droid in my car

[jntdroid]

I still use my 10 year old cassette adapter that I got with my first "Discman" and it works great. FM Transmitter in the DFW area is pretty good, too, but there aren't many completely open frequencies.

 

[Fryeguy]

I have a 2009 Toyota Prius (company car- too Republican to own one myself) that has auxiliary jack in the center console.

I play my music downloads and actually use RadioTime app to play through vehicle's speakers. When you have the Droid charging through 12v system at same time there is some distortion but that was solved by using a set of Griffin Noise Canceling Cables.


Through RadioTime I can listen to quite a few terrestrial stations that broadcast over net as well as hundreds of net only stations (like all the Yahoo! stations). I can listed to my local radio stations even when out of town. You do need to obviously have a good data signal.

In my wife's 2004 Honda Odyssey there was no auxiliary jack. I installed an auxiliary unit that hooks to an open 14-pin jack on OEM head unit. The extra port was designed for use by CD changer but was open since none was installed.

This unit is manufactured by PIE and they make units for many different vehicle models.

Amazon.com: Precision Interface Electronics HON98-AUX Connect a portable music player, satellite radio tuner, or DVD player to your factory Honda receiver!: Electronics

The PIE unit has 2 RCA plugs. I ran a RCA to 3.5 mm cable into storage compartment beneath stereo and plugs the Droid into it when I have to drive the van. A suggestion to avoid the interference I have in Prius is not not install the ground wire on the Aux. unit.

Google Navigation, Pandora, My Music, RadioTime, pays through the stereo even if I have a bluetooth headset on.

I have found that when running several apps. (Navigation, Pandora, Radio, music, etc) the Droid battery discharges faster than it could be recharged.

 

[takeshi]

I have a 2001 Ford Taurus and the stereo has buttons for an external CD.

What do I need to connect my Droid directly to the stereo?

Hit the site of one of the companies that makes a line in adapter for factory stereos and see if there's anything for your year/make/model. Off the top of my head you can try DICE, Blitzsafe, Peripheral Electronics, USA Spec... There are certainly more out there.

I'm going to cut a toggle switch into the Seidio (so the droid's not charging constantly and frying my battery)

Surely your car has lines that are switched with the ignition?

So for long road trips w/ nav, pandora, etc.. running I do not want it plugged in. Same reason I unplug my laptop or take the battery out if I'm using it at home for a long period of time... plus... toggle switches are cool.

Ah, I see. Still seems like a PITA. I've never had a Li ion battery die or suffer a performance hit from usage on long car trips while connected to a charger. I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen but I probably don't keep any device long enough for it to be an issue. To each his own though.

I have a 2009 Toyota Prius (company car- too Republican to own one myself)

What does political party affiliation have to do with it?

 

[skidemn]

@skidemn
I'd like the info on aftermarket radio and where to get the Dice product you linked.

Alternately, do you know if the oem radio in a 2001 Lincoln can have an aux input added? Thanks.

I always suggest the name brands when it comes to car audio, so here is a link to a Kenwood CD player with USB input and 3.5mm input:
Kenwood KDC-MP345U (kdcmp345u) - Car Stereo In-Dash Receiver at Sonic Electronix - Sonic Electronix

If you want something with built in Bluetooth, it will run you a bit more:
Sony MEX-BT2800 (mexbt2800) - Car Stereo In-Dash Receiver at Sonic Electronix - Sonic Electronix

If you want something with more features, look around on the site and you will see the upgraded models for a bit more money. You can also check Amazon and other sites, but this place usually has some of the best deals on radios.

As for the 2001 Lincoln, what model Lincoln is it?

 

[jefblack]

Does anyone know if theres a way to connect the droid to a car stereo so the music i've downloaded can be heard through the speakers? The volume on the phone is not loud enough that i can hear while driving with the windows open.
Thank you
:icon_ rocker::motdroidvert:

If you give me the make/model/year of your vehicle, chances are I can find an auxiliary input adapter for you so you will get the best possible sound quality.

How about a 1978 Volvo- with original stock tape deck and speakers? Im using the tape desk to play music through the car now and it works ok, but I was wondering about the bluetooth or wireless options and quality.

 

[rkeller62]

As for the 2001 Lincoln, what model Lincoln is it?

Continental. Radio has CD controls on it, but no changer attached.

Thanks for the info.

 

[gsxtra24]

thank you for the info. the radio is stock and no aux b/c in order to hear satellite radio i used to use the cassette adaptor due to the fact that the FM transmitter did really suck. i guess i'll have to try the cassette adapter method. thanks again.

that's what I did with my XM satellite radio cassette adapter, it really works well.

 

[CGT80]

Anyone had any luck with Alpine aftermarket head units? I just came across a used iDa-x001 for cheap, and it's pretty cool. Problem is it doesn't see the Droid as a mass storage device as it does other USB drives. To be specific, nothing happens when I plug the phone up to the head unit. I also just picked up a 400bt bluetooth adapter, but haven't hooked it up yet because I am waiting on the cable that works with my head unit. That will probably do the trick, but I do still wonder why I cannot connect via USB.

I use a Pioneer head unit with usb. when you connect the droid, immediately to to the notification at the top of the droid screen and choose to mount the droid's usb. If you don't mount the droid within a few seconds the head unit will not see the drive, or at least that is how it works on my setup.

 

[leftbrain99]

I use a Pioneer head unit with usb. when you connect the droid, immediately to to the notification at the top of the droid screen and choose to mount the droid's usb. If you don't mount the droid within a few seconds the head unit will not see the drive, or at least that is how it works on my setup.

I will have to give that a shot. I was paying close attention to any notifications while I was trying it, but didn't say any, but I will have to check into this some more. Equally frustrating is the fact that I have read someone using the exact same setup in their wife's car (Droid and iDA-x001 HU) via USB with no problems. So, it should work, I guess.

On a related note, I finally wired up my Alpine KCE-400bt BT adapter to my iDA-x001 HU and got the Droid to pair up and communicate very well via BT. Music sounds great, phone works nicely. As with others, I believe, I cannot upload contacts so I cannot select from contacts using the HU. I can select from call history, though, so that's kind of neat. Also, so far, I have only been able to get Navigation audio to play through the HU when the HU is set to BT audio, and while the Droid is paired no audio plays from the Droid speaker, either. So, listening to FM radio, I don't hear Navigation instructions. But, I haven't tried very hard. A firmware update on the BT adapter might help.

 

[DesertFox]

Here's my setup, some vent mount set up I bought from BB.

 

[LassieGal]

Does anyone know if theres a way to connect the droid to a car stereo so the music i've downloaded can be heard through the speakers? The volume on the phone is not loud enough that i can hear while driving with the windows open.

I have a cassette/CD combo in my PT Cruiser, so I just use the cassette adapter that came with an old disc player. However, husband's 2005 Tacoma only has a CD player and no aux jack. We were listening to podcasts in the truck with me holding up the phone between us and when the windows were open it was totally inadequate. Last Sunday we were in the drugstore and walked past their "as seen on TV" stuff and I saw this "Jupiter Jack" gadget that is supposed to help you talk hands-free in the car. Neither of us use cells while we're driving, but I wondered if this would work for listening to the phone media. Sure enough, it works fine! It plugs into the headphone jack of the Droid using an adapter that comes with it (several adapters are included), and you can set it to one of two frequencies, 99.3 or another which is 101...102 something (don't recall since the 99.3 worked perfectly in our area).

The best part is that the thing only costs $10, comes with a battery, and the one we bought came with a coupon to get three free batteries for it for the price of postage.

 

[bassjason]

Soundfly - I got one of these and I love it. You get multiple frequencies in case some aren't working well, you can use sd cards, it's got a usb port, and even a remote! Cannot recommend this enough!

 

[seaniekaye]

i drive a 2002 chevy monte carlo.
thank you.
:reddroid:

Your phone is worth more than your car.

 

[VilliamRobat]

I've been having the same issue, I haven't fixed mine yet but in seeing this, I feel that I should help out and give you what info I've found. They say it is just a simple piece you need to install to make the static go away, it is the charging that is supposedly causing the issue. This is the address for the piece we need. Ground Loop Isolator - RadioShack.com