Adding bluetooth and USB Charger

[randomfire]

Finally decided to chuck the original stereo unit and add a bluetooth receiver to an old Sony Stereo that I had in the garage. I also mounted a 2 port USB charger at the same time. Whole thing cost me around $40 and half a day of work. Now I can finally play my music straight from the phone and charge whatever devices I have in the car. Nice thing about the USB ports is that it's flush mounted so it doesn't hang out with those adapter devices; and it doesn't eat up the only 12v port which I use for my GPS. It's barely visible when I'm not using the charger.

Yes, I know it doesn't make the car go any faster or increase MPG, but it definitely makes the long commutes more enjoyable.

[Baloo]

Can you point me to a link for the items you installed.
Thx

[randomfire]

Here are the parts I purchased. Most of it were from Amazon. The headphone extension I bought from RadioShack at an outrageous price, but later found it on ebay for $1. I also had an extra 1 port usb charger from meritline (think it was $0.99) that I use to keep the bluetooth receiver's internal battery charged. Make sure you use a low current charger for the battery so you don't cook the unit. Whole thing tapped power off the original 12v accessories port. Hope that helps.

Aluratek Bluetooth receiver

Aluratek Bluetooth receiver

USB 2 port charger

USB 2 port charger

headphone extension cable (for connecting to AUX input in front of headunit)

[Mario]

The reviews on that receiver look pretty good! How's the sound quality for you?

The worst part seems to be that you have to hold the power button to turn it on. Do you have to do that every time you get in the car? You could probably fix that really easily with a 555 one-shot circuit that activates when the car turns on. Do you have to pair your phone each time?

[freezin4]

Nicely done!

I've been needing to get an additional power source for the phone/GPS charger. I really like the way you mounted the USB access, for the reasons you mentioned.

Nice pics too. Thank You.

[randomfire]

Mario, the quality is right on with all the reviews on Amazon. No static and the sound is bright and clear across all frequencies. I'd definitely recommend this one if you are going to install it for your car.

As for the pairing, you just have to pair it once and it'll remember it. The on/off button is not too bad for me since I use the car for work (once to work and once on the way home), but it can be annoying if your driving needs are where you have to make a lot of short stops. The 555 timer is an awesome idea. I think you will need to add a 1 to 2 second delay though after the car starts before triggering the power button. The only nice thing about the power button is that I can play and pause the music on my phone without actually picking up the phone and going to the app. This is on the IPhone, but I'm guessing the other devices should behave the same.

Originally Posted by Mario

The reviews on that receiver look pretty good! How's the sound quality for you?

The worst part seems to be that you have to hold the power button to turn it on. Do you have to do that every time you get in the car? You could probably fix that really easily with a 555 one-shot circuit that activates when the car turns on. Do you have to pair your phone each time?

[randomfire]

Originally Posted by freezin4

Nicely done!

I've been needing to get an additional power source for the phone/GPS charger. I really like the way you mounted the USB access, for the reasons you mentioned.

Nice pics too. Thank You.

Thanks! If you have a tablet or something that needs more juice, you can install a 2 port USB charger that has 1 port with a higher output current and the 2nd port at the normal charge rate. The one I installed is rated at 1A each port, but I've seen them as high as 2A now.