HD station or Car Dock have line out? - Motorola Photon 4G

Do either the HD Station or the Car Dock have an NON-amplified audio line out?
Music sounds pretty crappy playing it through the amplified headphone port or bluetooth audio to my truck. Looking to used one of the docks instead if they have a line out.

The official Motorola car dock has no line out. Only a micro usb charging port in.

KSmithInNY said:
The official Motorola car dock has no line out. Only a micro usb charging port in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about the Car Dock? If so, that rules out that option for me.
The HD Station looks like it has a 3.5mm audio port, but i'm not sure if that is a line out or amplified?

The car dock has a 3.5mm female connector at the lighter adapter. I have that running to the front of my truck's deck.
Check the manual here to see if that's what you're looking for.

I have the car dock and have tested the aux out. Its ok but the sound quality is not that good. It like im listing to xm in my car.. sound is ok but not the best. Im am comparing the quality to my Ipod that is hooked up to a digital out to aux cable that sound great. The day someone makes and android player that sounds as good as my ipod is the day i can fully leave apple behind.

this might not directly answer your question but, I have used BT in a few cars and with BT headphones. It sounds fine and I've never had any problems with sound quality. as an AUX input it sounds ok but, playing music off my phone gets pretty old fast. I personally prefer to use USB flash drives. I just put a stereo in with usb and an aux for 90 bucks. i can add on BT for 50 but, i have no use for it really. decks with bt built in cost about 160+. anyway, if u have a usb port, u can use ur phone as an flash drive and play the files directly off of there.
as far as docks go, i just use a cup holder or the dash space that i have.

Kevets said:
The car dock has a 3.5mm female connector at the lighter adapter. I have that running to the front of my truck's deck.
Check the manual here to see if that's what you're looking for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow good catch. Hadn't noticed that. I can't make use of it because I have no aux in, currently using bluetooth, but good to know for future cars.
Thanks!

Related

play mp3's in the car

Hi. im using a car kit that connects the cassete to a 3.5mm jack and a converter to a 2.5mm jack to my MDA. I hate the quality of the sound. I have to turn the music up way up. almost near maximum both in the phone and the car stereo. Is there any way that I can hook my MDA to my car to play mp3's without diminished quality??? id really appreciate any help.
thanks in advance
Bryan
What software are you playing the files with? Use GSPlayer or TCPMP over the built in WMP (the sound quality is far greater with those programs).
yeah im using wm5... i dont think it has anything to do with the software. im thinkin it has something to do with the headset jack bein 2.5mm. i own an n-gage too and it has the same kind of jack. same kind of results. really poor quality. but when you use the earphones/headphones, the quality is really good. can someone confirm this?
well things seem to be going well for me today. fixed 2 problems with my MDA today :lol:
anyway, figured out the loss of quality when i hooked my MDA to with a cassette adapter and a 2.5mm to 3.5mm jack was not because of any of the accessory defect and not a phone defect... it all trailed back the my cassette player in the car. figures tho... the tape deck probably has never been used in 6 years :lol:
just cleaned it up with a cassette cleaner... TADA! clear music. although i need to run it a couple more time theres some interference going on. probably needs more cleaning. cheers!
bryan :lol:
What kind of car radio do you have??
Sometimes (also with the older car hifi) on the back you have an IP bus or some connector to the cd changer.
You can buy connectors (ebay) brom this ipbus to the 2,5 jack (or3,5)
I have my pioneer ipbus directly connected to my Magician. Works perfect with no loss of quality
I had trouble finding a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter that worked reliably, so this is what I did.
I bought a Globalsat GBH-820 BT adapter, which supports A2DP and AVRCP, and has a 3.5mm jack. So, I just plug in the 3.5mm plug from my cassette adapter, activate the "Wireless Stereo" profile for the GBH-820, and viola, music in my car from my 8125!
The sound quality is better using TCPMP, since I can use the equalizer to add bass and cut out some high-end hiss. However, the AVRCP functions don't work with TCPMP. They do work with WMP.
Is the quality as good as a CD player, or even using actual cassettes, would be? Probably not, but it's nicer having a wider range of music available to listen to in the car, and not having to tote CDs or tapes around in the car. And, makes it a little easier to keep hanging on to my 10yr old Q45 for another couple of years.
fj1200 said:
What kind of car radio do you have??
Sometimes (also with the older car hifi) on the back you have an IP bus or some connector to the cd changer.
You can buy connectors (ebay) brom this ipbus to the 2,5 jack (or3,5)
I have my pioneer ipbus directly connected to my Magician. Works perfect with no loss of quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have a stock car radio. hmmm i actually thought about that. but i was thinkin, it would be kinda messy to install that by myself? i mean wires all over the place. i kinda want to keep my car as clean lookin as possible. i was actually thinkin of letting a professional do it for me instead, but i see negatives from it.
1. gotta pay about $100 for installation or so. plus the converter. (vs $20 at most for the casette deck adapter. just borrowed what my bro uses for his ipod)
2. wouldnt that mean that i'll lose the function of my cd changer? i know i wouldnt actually need it once i got it running but then again, it still would be nice to have one.
and 2 good things:
1, better quality
2. more space in my glove compartment. :lol: cd changer is located there.
i got question tho. since you replaced the cd changer, when you play music, do you play music through the cd option?
I saw this the other day at a local car audio store. I hear it works great. It's a bluetooth Pioneer deck. Here is the link.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2006-PIONEE...ryZ39752QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
:wink:
It depends what type of car you have, but you can tap directly into the AUX of your car and transfer audio through headphone jack.
I did it on TL http://www.fperkins.com/AudioinputandAudiovox6600installina2006AcuraTL.html
Why not use an FM transmitter device?
I currently use this: http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/irock_wireless_music_adapter_review
Works great.
MPIIIMan said:
Why not use an FM transmitter device?
I currently use this: http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/irock_wireless_music_adapter_review
Works great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have to use a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter? If so, which one do you use?
Yep I use an adapter I picked up at Radio Shack.

Cradle, Keyboard, Monitor, USB Hub and Mouse

Guys,
I bought a cradle from ebay (leeonline) because I cannot get a 4 in 1 adaptor from HTC. I tried using the vga-out (17 inch CRT Monitor), rca video out (our Television Set), Brandless USB hub, Generic/standard USB Keyboard and Generic/standard USB Mouse on it all at the same time. Everything works.
Now, I really no longer bring my laptop to work. My athena is all I need for Word Processing, Spreadsheets etc. There are quirks though. Sometimes, the mouse stops working or the athena hangs. (It may be the amount of programs installed.) Then again, It is still faster to boot than my laptop. The other downside is that even with the cradle plugged to the adaptor, It will still consume energy from the battery of the unit.
What I have done to my athena may not be new to most people but I would like to hear from other people what attachments or modifications they have done to make their athena more useful and powerful. In this way, we can all benefit from these ideas. Thanks!
Thanks!
yetdy said:
Guys,
I bought a cradle from ebay (leeonline) because I cannot get a 4 in 1 adaptor from HTC. I tried using the vga-out (17 inch CRT Monitor), rca video out (our Television Set), Brandless USB hub, Generic/standard USB Keyboard and Generic/standard USB Mouse on it all at the same time. Everything works.
Now, I really no longer bring my laptop to work. My athena is all I need for Word Processing, Spreadsheets etc. There are quirks though. Sometimes, the mouse stops working or the athena hangs. (It may be the amount of programs installed.) Then again, It is still faster to boot than my laptop. The other downside is that even with the cradle plugged to the adaptor, It will still consume energy from the battery of the unit.
What I have done to my athena may not be new to most people but I would like to hear from other people what attachments or modifications they have done to make their athena more useful and powerful. In this way, we can all benefit from these ideas. Thanks!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to do that, but the novelty wore off eventually. Now i just bring in a mini notebook. It's easier than carrying loads of bits about and connecting things to monitors (though that option is still there if necessary).
Pretty cool though if you like your gadgets.
Leoni is correct, however he can always leave the other stuff connected to the cradle and use it sorta like a docking station, but you would need a second cradle for the home TV. I'm glad this thread started because I myself was considering getting one for my TV. However, what should I do about the audio coming from my device (will I still be able to connect audio to my AV receiver)? As far as the 4 in 1 cable I would be able to get to the audio jack on the Athena however the down side is that not all USB flash drives would be supported with the 4 in 1 cable. Yetdy can you tell me how you work around getting audio streamed?
I think there are a few ways to stream audio.
#1 S-Video if I'm not mistaken is supposed to stream audio to your TV.
#2 Audio Jack to RCA Audio converters connected directly to the TV or amplifier would also help assumming you are using the 4-in 1 adaptor. Cradle cannot help you out with this option.
#3 Of course there is bluetooth connection which is what I am going to use. Got a bluetooth transmitter and receiver from ebay but is currently busted (bad seller). Another is to get a BT that has a changeable earphone/buds. Change the earphone to an audio jack to RCA Audio jack and follow #2.
Hope this helps.
yes and no
yetdy said:
I think there are a few ways to stream audio.
#1 S-Video if I'm not mistaken is supposed to stream audio to your TV.
****You are mistaken, S-video is video only (the pins are luminance, chroma, ground and something else I can't remember off the top of my head) ****
#2 Audio Jack to RCA Audio converters connected directly to the TV or amplifier would also help assumming you are using the 4-in 1 adaptor. Cradle cannot help you out with this option.
****if it is anything like the one I got from ebay then no, as it covers up the headphones out port from the athena but does not replicate it on the back ! the athena also carries audio out from the same USB connector that you charge it from (this is why the socket on the athena is an unusual/different shape compared to your plug on USB charger) if they had replicated this port propely on the dock then you could have got audio out that way, but the dock connector for that is also wrong (standard USB shaped socket, not the odd one from the athena) ****
#3 Of course there is bluetooth connection which is what I am going to use. Got a bluetooth transmitter and receiver from ebay but is currently busted (bad seller). Another is to get a BT that has a changeable earphone/buds. Change the earphone to an audio jack to RCA Audio jack and follow #2.
****it is feasible to have the athena transmit stereo bluetooth to a nearby device !****
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just my 2 pence worth
If you want to play audio on your home theatre speaker, you could also consider the option of plugging an FM transmitterinto the headphone jack, then use your FM receiver to play through your theatre speaker.
That was how I used to play my music in the car, through the car's srereo speakers.
eaglesteve said:
If you want to play audio on your home theatre speaker, you could also consider the option of plugging an FM transmitterinto the headphone jack, then use your FM receiver to play through your theatre speaker.
That was how I used to play my music in the car, through the car's srereo speakers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wont work if the Athena is in the ebay dock/cradle, as it covers up the audio out port, but does not replicate it.
Ice coffee,
Maybe you can share some other options here. You may have other ideas that may be useful to us. I just got my athena last month and cradle last week so I cannot really say with authority what it can and what it cannot do. If you can help us out in maximizing the athena with its cradle, many will appreciate it.
None of the video outputs from the 4-in-1 carry audio, the only options are BT a2dp or the headphones jack. Seems a bit long-winded to me though - I'm sure there are less fiddly mods out there. I just used to use the magnetic keyboard as a stand, slipped a BT keyboard over the top of it and the 4-in-1 for usb hub etc. This left a free audio jack to use as I wished. Seems like the docking station is more of a hindrance than a help.
HTC Advantage
Docking station
Keyboard
Mouse
Hifi Bluetooth A2DP adaptor
USB Hub....
I think my EEE pc is a more convenient device on the whole than the above setup would've been if i'd carried all that with me I wouldn't have had any space to fit my work stuff!
I came accross another docking station for $119.00 USD that has the audio option on the side along with 2 standard USB ports instead of 1. I think it's a bit too pricey, due to the fact that on flebay they do have a2dp stereo bluetooth adapters for like $50 USD. Besides with that and your bluetooth headsets it might still be possible to answer a incoming phone call on your bt headset without having to hear the audio coming from your A/V receiver (considering you left the phone on). Leoni, both options have their own drawback (no powering source with the 4 in 1 cable for all USB storage devices and the inaccessable headphone jack when using the docking station). But anyway I'm going to order the 4 in 1 cable too and see which one works best for me on a day to day use.
as I said the only simple option is to use bluetooth and as tootalk2000 pointed out you can get adaptors on ebay for £25 ish, I suppose the other more complicated option would be to, take your cradle apart and replace the USB connector into the phone with this,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2in1-Audio-US...oryZ3728QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and then take the other end of this apart and make it fit in your cradle, it would actually be quite easy to do as there is a lot of space in the cradle.
ice_coffee said:
as I said the only simple option is to use bluetooth and as tootalk2000 pointed out you can get adaptors on ebay for £25 ish, I suppose the other more complicated option would be to, take your cradle apart and replace the USB connector into the phone with this,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2in1-Audio-US...oryZ3728QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and then take the other end of this apart and make it fit in your cradle, it would actually be quite easy to do as there is a lot of space in the cradle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awwwww shux, someone just gave me some experimenting to go do. I'm ordering one of those jacks today, and hopefully it will come around the same time as cradle. I'll just super glue it to the back portion of the cradle and plug it in externally. Due to the fact that the USB port is still on there you would still be able to sync even when the ear phone jack is still in use.
tootallk2000 said:
Awwwww shux, someone just gave me some experimenting to go do. I'm ordering one of those jacks today, and hopefully it will come around the same time as cradle. I'll just super glue it to the back portion of the cradle and plug it in externally. Due to the fact that the USB port is still on there you would still be able to sync even when the ear phone jack is still in use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol my thoughts exactly.

I need a cord that plays audio from my phone to a stereo. Any suggestions ?

Does anybody know of a cord that plugs into the headphones jack of the phone and a stereo that allows you to play music from the phone to the stereo? I need one that works. The one I have now was cheap and doesn't do its job.
Or maybe an accessory much like the iTrip for ipods that could do the job wirelessly? Any input would be much appreciated to help point me in the right direction.
Like an aux cord? That of course requires an aux port on your stereo though.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
Here you are
http://www.amazon.com/BlackBerry-60-1699-01-RM-Bluetooth-Stereo-Gateway/dp/B001FFRN18
depending on available input on your steroe you need either
a) 3.5mm male stereo to 3.5mm male stereo (headphone jack on both end), for AUX connection
b) 3.5mm male stereo to RCA audio (headphone jack on 1 end, Red and White plug on other end) RCA input
if you want the best quality, i would suggest wired over wireless, bluetooth audio still not quite up to notch sound quality wise, and may skip sometime
You should go to Radio Shack. They have 3.5mm cords that plug into your headphone jack, and then you run the other end into a 3.5 aux in port, or if it has RCA (red and white sockets), Radio Shack sells a 3.5 to RCA adapter. IMHO, Best Buy sells this great portable unit called the iHome. Plug your phone or iPod into it and rock wherever you are. AC, or battery powered, great sound. I run Pandora thru my Evo @ work on it for 8 hours a night.
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seethrgrl said:
You should go to Radio Shack. They have 3.5mm cords that plug into your headphone jack, and then you run the other end into a 3.5 aux in port, or if it has RCA (red and white sockets), Radio Shack sells a 3.5 to RCA adapter. IMHO, Best Buy sells this great portable unit called the iHome. Plug your phone or iPod into it and rock wherever you are. AC, or battery powered, great sound. I run Pandora thru my Evo @ work on it for 8 hours a night.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or order the cable you need from monoprice.com.
or search for one like what I have. cost me about $4-5 online and it goes from the headset jack on my evo (and soon my evo 3d) to the aux input on my stereo. the other advantage of my cable, it has an inline microphone, so I just leave it plugged in and I can talk through my car speakers without spending $100+ for a bluetooth setup
+1 for monoprice.com
Don't ever buy a cable / accessory from Worst Buy. Rat Shack is good for a quickie if you need something fast. Get their private label (RadioShack branded) stuff. Its good quality.
Is your stereo DLNA compliant, or do you have a DLNA compliant device attached to your stereo (like a WDTV Live Plus)?? If so, just stream it through there to your stereo.
Stuff on Monoprice.com was exactly what I was looking for! Prepare to be thanked when I get back on my laptop
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Gumby63 said:
Stuff on Monoprice.com was exactly what I was looking for! Prepare to be thanked when I get back on my laptop
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never pay retail for wiring mounts, and adapter again. Monoprice has so much, ships fast and has the best prices. I know a lot of installers in So Cal who buy stuff from them and resale it to their clients at a hefty markup yet still come below best buy or radio shack pricing.
HOW TO Hook up your EVO 3D to your HiFi Stereo
I've hooked up my EVO 3D to my surround sound system in my bedroom and it's really not that hard at all if you know how to hook it up.
If you have a Hi-Fi stereo with RCA inputs, go to your local Radio Shack and buy a 3.5mm to RCA adapter, Two Female-to-Female RCA Couplers, and a long (20 foot) RCA cable if you want to be able to sit on your couch with your EVO 3D still have it play music through your stereo.
Once you get home, take one end of your RCA cable, and put it where you would like to be listening to music at, like your couch or bed.
Then, measure about 4 to 5 feet down your cable from the red and white RCA jacks (to leave enough room if you like to sit in different places of your couch), and run the rest of the cable under the baseboard of your wall (there's usually a very small gap between the bottom of the baseboard and the floor that is just the right size to tuck an RCA cable into) until you reach your stereo.
Then plug the red and white RCA plugs on your cable into the AUX INPUT jacks on the stereo.
Once that step is completed, go back to your couch, take your two Female-to-Female RCA plug couplers, and plug your long RCA cable in on one side, and your RCA to 3.5 mm headphone jack in on the other side. (Be sure that you plug it in Red-to-Red and White-to-White, the Red is your Right channel and the White is the Left channel)
One that's all done, plug the 3.5mm headphone jack into your EVO 3D, turn your stereo on, select the AUX option, then turn the volume up all the way on your EVO 3D and press play.
Viola, you are now able to listen to music through your stereo, and use your EVO 3D at the same time! Hope this helps!
Also, since I'm a "new" XDA Member, as far as posting is concerned anyways, I can't provide links to you at this time, but I can give you the items to search for on Radio Shack's website:
Items Needed:
20-Ft. Stereo Audio Cable with Dual-RCA Plugs (Product No: 42-490)
RadioShack Gold Series Phono (RCA) Coupler (2-Pack) (Product No: 274-874)
3-Ft. 1/8" Stereo to Dual Phono (RCA) Plug Y-cable (Product No: 42-494)
I can vouch for the above method as well. Some systems have a 3.5mm aux in connection too so you might not even need the rca cables depending on your setup.
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Streaming music wirelessly from phone to car stereo

My car does not have an aux port for the simple solution, so about a year ago I reluctantly invested in this guy:
http://www.amazon.com/FlexSMART-Transmitter-Hands-Free-Blackberry-Smartphones/dp/B003PPGOC0
I've used countless wireless transmitters in the past and they were all garbage. You'd have to have the phone right up against the radio, and even then it wasn't that clear. This is by far the best product I've used for the purpose. You can connect via bluetooth or even a 3.5mm headphone port(cable included) on the side. My phone doesn't have to be anywhere NEAR the unit for it to work perfectly. It also comes with a microusb cable that plugs directly into a usb port on the unit, to charge while it plays. I highly recommend this product.
motorola roadster
I use the motorola roadster.
You can find an OEM version for about ~ $40 if you google search for it.
I use it along with voice command. You touch a button on the speaker phone and my S2 lights up and asks for a command. Ofcourse it also has FM transmitter mode and it has a play/pause button, though it doesn't seem to work with the stock music player, but the play/pause works with Winamp.
Not as nice as the bluetooth built into my wife's 2012 murano radio but on my older 2002 pathfinder this works great.
Thats cool. Does it matter how you set a station? Does it have static like regular "transmitters" ? I used to use/try one with my zune, and it was awful.
My friend plugged his in with an AUX jack (from top of phone into car radio) and it played stereo/cd quality
My car doesn't have an aux jack but I think it can be done for 20-40$? maybe
with the motorola roadster how do you set the fm transmitter?
I'll be honest with you - I've never seen an FM transmitter that wasn't horrible.
I'd invest in a new headunit (with an aux input, or MAYBE bluetooth if you must have wireless) and a wiring harness adapter kit over any FM transmitter, any day of the week.
I'm in the same boat as the OP, my car doesn't even support an aftermarket stereo due to the Bose/HUD integration and I got the FlexSmart and love it as well. Would certainly recommend to anyone.
I'm with Edgarhighman . How's the audio quality? Any static?
skelevate said:
I'm with Edgarhighman . How's the audio quality? Any static?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking I'll DIY aux input or have a store down the street do it
I'm not yet fond of splicing, soldering, or using a heat gun =/
VERY minimal static. Nothing that is even close to hindering the experience.

Stereo Dock

I have searched without any luck for a stereo dock that doesnt use the headphone jack. I have a logitech for my old iphone that u just set the phone in it and use the remote. Has anyone come across one for the galaxy s2 yet?
I believe there's one made by Philips which is available at Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Philips...87&skuId=3044077&st=philips android&cp=1&lp=3
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Philips...93&skuId=3021696&st=philips android&cp=1&lp=4
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Philips...28&skuId=3044095&st=philips android&cp=1&lp=5
thanks,
I found this one too AS851 (Cant link yet). Comes with a remote and is 30 watts. They say you cant stream music thru the micro usb, but then how does the unit send audio and video to a HDMI cable, so I would think its possible. shrug
runtohell121 said:
I believe there's one made by Philips which is available at Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Philips...87&skuId=3044077&st=philips android&cp=1&lp=3
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Philips...93&skuId=3021696&st=philips android&cp=1&lp=4
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Philips...28&skuId=3044095&st=philips android&cp=1&lp=5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of those docks use Bluetooth to stream the audio. From what I know the USB port on the bottom doesn't have the ability to natively send audio out of the pins. I would love to have a simple dock too for this phone that would let audio out without having to jack in on the top of the phone, but it's just not designed that way.
I used to have an ATT "Fuze" (touch pro) - used to have to carry a dongle everywhere with me to plug in headphones. I'm much happier that I don't need a dongle, but it does suck to have to plug in 2 things in the car to get audio and charge at the same time.
You might want to take a look at this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1321491

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