In-Car Media

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:21 am

I’m going on a 2,000 mile Europe roadtrip next month and so I need my media connectivity on point.

Is there a way to both charge my iPhone and play music at the same time? (So that battery is not drained on the trip).

AldridgeZ4 · Post by **AldridgeZ4** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 10:30 am

I installed a Grom unit, BT3 I think it was called. It gives Bluetooth connectivity for music and calls ( comes with a microphone). But also has a lead for charging and wired playback that can be controlled from the stereo or mfsw.
It's a bit hit and miss to get working, and the interface is awful....but it does the job...just.

Monkeydonkeyratmagic · Post by **Monkeydonkeyratmagic** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:20 am

The cables for these units are pretty pricey. Best off getting a 12v fag lighter to usb.

Other than that you have 3 choices for BT and calls.
Grom
Dension
Intravee

Cables are £30 for a plug in interface

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:51 pm

AldridgeZ4 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 16, 2018 10:30 am I installed a Grom unit (BT3) I think it was called. It gives Bluetooth connectivity for music and calls ( comes with a microphone). But also has a lead for charging and wired playback that can be controlled from the stereo or mfsw.
It's a bit hit and miss to get working, and the interface is awful....but it does the job...just.

I’ve heard about these Grom thingys.

You got any pics of your set up?

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:52 pm

Monkeydonkeyratmagic wrote: ↑Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:20 am The cables for these units are pretty pricey. Best off getting a 12v fag lighter to usb.

Other than that you have 3 choices for BT and calls.
Grom
Dension
Intravee

Cables are £30 for a plug in interface

If I plugged my iPhone into the usb - faglighter, how could I play music at the same time though?

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 2:01 pm

Bluetooth streaming or the 3.5mm headphone jack

Monkeydonkeyratmagic · Post by **Monkeydonkeyratmagic** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 2:56 pm

R60BBA wrote: ↑Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:52 pm
Monkeydonkeyratmagic wrote: ↑Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:20 am The cables for these units are pretty pricey. Best off getting a 12v fag lighter to usb.

Other than that you have 3 choices for BT and calls.
Grom
Dension
Intravee

Cables are £30 for a plug in interface
If I plugged my iPhone into the usb - faglighter, how could I play music at the same time though?

Bluetooth still broadcasts. I have mine plugged in to the cpu at home and stream music through a BT wireless speaker. This won't be any different.

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 3:38 pm

Okay, I think I’m gonna go for the Grom.

Anyone know where I can get it installed?

I’m based in London.

Monkeydonkeyratmagic · Post by **Monkeydonkeyratmagic** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 4:35 pm

It'll cost a fortune. Car audio security are in Hayes.
Question is do you have a CD changer installed?
If not you could mask it to the rear of the glove box after pulling the head unit.
If so you'll need to pull the rear console out. Takes about 2hrs. Well it took me that, to remove the CD changer. It CANNOT come out otherwise. It's twice the size of what you can see through the doorway and requires the nav bracket or nav unit to come out as it requires to be moved up off it's support to come out. Needs to be raised about 4 inches in total.
It's not that hard though.
Getting the rear door off is the hardest part.

AldridgeZ4 · Post by **AldridgeZ4** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 4:55 pm

R60BBA wrote: ↑Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:51 pm I’ve heard about these Grom thingys.

You got any pics of your set up?

Its all hidden, so nothing to photograph to be honest, just a charging lead fed into the box where the Nav DVD player is. Simple to fit, but takes a bit longer to set up.

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 4:59 pm

You can get a great result for £20 if you are happy with a small controller on the dash... viewtopic.php?f=2&t=104224

1000rr · Post by **1000rr** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:21 pm

Bluetooth streaming.

What I did, was get a spare panel from eBay, drilled a hole to feed a usb charger cable through it. It is connected to a usb hub behind the panel. When I need to charge the phone, I pull the cable through, and connect to phone to it...when not used, it threads back through and keeps everything tidy.

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R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:33 pm

Electrics isn’t really my thing, I’d rather take it to a specialist.

Thanks for the ideas though.

@1000rr that looks handy!

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 6:31 pm

Fair enough. If you read through that thread I linked to you will see most of the popular options.

skelters · Post by **skelters** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 6:45 pm

Have you thought of getting a portable battery as the fag lighter is usually crap charging anything.

https://www.anker.com/products/107/201/ ... e-Chargers

Can usually charge a phone about 5 times before you need to recharge it. You can also charge two devices at the same time.

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