bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
  
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| Phone cradle modification |
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Did this a while ago, but have been too busy with work and dealing with insurance claims to post any info till now.
Anyway, when I got my D3, I was very pleased with the bluetooth functuality with my Sony Ericsson K608i (a '3' phone). However, the battery was going flat in a day and the D3 seems to be quite effective at blocking mobile signals. So, I had to do something. In my D2, I had a proper SE car kit with an external antenna, which worked very well (other than an odd hissy fit between the phone and the car kit).
So, knowing that most/all SE phones have same connector block, I decided to risk ordering the CR-9 cradle (for the T610). I've got a T610 here, and concluded that with a bit of modding, I would have been able to get my K608 to fit in the cradle by comparing the two side by side.
Anyway, handed over the €150 for the cradle, and proceded to take it to bits, and attack the phone side with sharp knives, a snips and a few files. The result was a disaster. The cradle ended up looking horrible, and the phone still wouldnt fit into it properly. It was looking like I had just wasted a load of money.
In the meantime I had gone out to my D3, attached the base part of the cradle, and pushed the connector block into the bottom of my phone, and was pleased to see 'Phone Attached' appear in the radio display, and my phone went into car kit profile. This was much needed encouragement.
Anyway, I started thinking about if there would be some way of using my existing cradle with the LR interface.
So, the SE cradle was butchered, and taken apart too. In front of me I now had the back of the LR cradle, and the front of the SE cradle. Most of you have probably guessed where this is going.  A small bit of superglue secured the connector block in the SE cradle. A tiny bit of modding was needed to the antenna connector to make it extend enough to contact the connector on the phone. I then simply superglued the two halves together.
The result isn't as bad as it sounds. It is a bit exposed as the LR cradle is longer than the SE one so some wires are visible, but due to the cradles location, I don't mind.
The modding to the cradles means there is no clip to hold the phone in. I initially used an elastic band around the top part of the phone, but have now discovered that friction seems to hold in in fine, even when offroad, and in crashes.
Anyway, observations after using this combination for the last few weeks:
1) Phone charging is nowhere near as fast as the mains charger for some reason. But it does charge it.
2) Phone signal strength is significantly better.
3) Audio quality through the speakers is perfect, controlled on the steeringwheel controls. My audio quality aparrantly isn't the best - there's an echo and some kind of background noise I'm told. Not sure if this is 'normal' or specific to my setup.
4) Phone phonebook is not available in the radio screen
5) For some reason, sometimes calls don't transfer through the car kit. The radio mutes when the phone rings, I answer it with the steering controls but then the radio unmutes. I have to take the phone out of the cradle and talk on it. I suspect this is an intermittant connection with the phone and have been meaning to clean the connectors on the phone.
6) I can dial numbers from the radio display.
7) I also can see the network name and signal strength in the display
AFAIK my vehicle has the standard 1 year old software, so it will be interesting to see what difference, if any, the infotainment upgrades will make.
I will post a picture of it tomorrow.
Brendan. IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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 29th Jun 2006 11:12 pm |
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zebadee
Member Since: 15 Feb 2006
Location: The Magic Roundabout
Posts: 1392
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Sounds good Brendan.
Don’t you just love getting something to work, that…..
A) Isn’t designed to work that way
or better still….
B) You’re told it “Can’t†be done……….(my favourite  )
I just love that moment, when you decide to ……….. “Modifyâ€
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| 29th Jun 2006 11:27 pm |
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