DionR
Well-Known Member
So I did a thing:
Now that I have a picture to grab some attention, I can give the back story and what that is for.
Years ago people started posting about wiring in an amp and some 6x9 speakers that they pumped music through direct from their phone instead of a radio. Seems like there was a couple of ways to do it, but they all used the phone as the "head unit" and avoided cutting the dash or hiding a radio in the glove box or similar. I thought that was a great idea as I already had a functional AM radio and while I didn't usually turn it on, it looked stock and worked. And since I am not an autophile, I didn't have to feel like I need the best of the best, so cheap and functional was my only real criteria.
I bought a small 400W amp and made plans to get it mounted and wired but changed directions and returned it. I realized I had several aftermarket radios I had accumulated over time (not really sure why) so I set up a battery and speaker and tested them to see what worked and what I had. I ended up settling on a Sony CDX-GT260MP as it seemed the most advanced and still worked. My thought was; who cares if it is a stereo or an amp, if it has a line-in option it works the same and cost much less since I already had it. So, I hung it from the package tray, wired up some 6x9's and ran a headphone cable to under the drivers seat so I could plug my phone into it and off we went.
I sure got some grief about hanging a radio in the trunk where I couldn't tune it and such. Most people didn't understand that all I was really using was the build in amp.
Well as time rolled on, my phone got upgraded and now no headphone jack. So I wired in a bluetooth unit and plugged that into the line-in port on the radio so I could continue to use my phone. Seemed to work fine, except....
I got really tired of messing with my phone every time I got in the car. And with every other car I owned, the radio started playing when I started the car which made it all that more irritating. Then it occurred to me that I have a functioning radio hanging in the trunk of my car, I just needed a way to control it. And yes, I found the irony humorous.
I have found wired remotes for this radio, seems it was popular for boats so they had a fixed control that could be placed at the back of the boat to control it. Of course, by the time I started looking around there were only cheap knockoffs that I didn't trust to actually do the job. But I had an IR remote for the radio and could even still buy a replacement if one was needed (which it was, volume buttons were worn out). So I bought an IR repeater cable and did a test and it worked. Bought a 20' one that was USB powered from the wrong end, but oh well. Added a hidden antenna so I didn't have to run the antenna cable to the back of the car and a USB power port and rigged it all up as a further test and it seemed to work great.
Since the power supply for the repeater would need to be in the trunk, I was going to need to build a mount. And the transmitter end of the repeater needed to be close to the IR sensor on the radio and it needed to be positioned correctly. Well, I wanted to learn how to do sheetmetal parts in Fusion 360 so I figured why not create a mount for the USB power port and an arm to hold the repeater transmitter in about the right spot.
So I drew this up, had SendCutSend cut it, bend it and powder coat it and Bob's your uncle.
Only real issue is that I missed that the line-in port is partially obscured by the arm for the repeater so I had to hand file a relief into it and hit it with some black paint. Not a big deal and I got to keep my BT connectivity if I wanted to play something off my phone. I still have to program the memory buttons, but overall really very pleased to have music without messing with my phone.
And yes, this all could have been done better. I wish I had bought a shorter repeater cord, I wish the USB power port was in or around the dash instead of in the trunk, no I wouldn't have planned to mount a functioning radio in the truck and it would be a hassle to scan for stations if there was one I wanted that wasn't in memory. But in the end I have very little into it and it is completely hidden with the trunk closed. Heck, it isn't all that noticeable with the trunk open.
Now that I have a picture to grab some attention, I can give the back story and what that is for.
Years ago people started posting about wiring in an amp and some 6x9 speakers that they pumped music through direct from their phone instead of a radio. Seems like there was a couple of ways to do it, but they all used the phone as the "head unit" and avoided cutting the dash or hiding a radio in the glove box or similar. I thought that was a great idea as I already had a functional AM radio and while I didn't usually turn it on, it looked stock and worked. And since I am not an autophile, I didn't have to feel like I need the best of the best, so cheap and functional was my only real criteria.
I bought a small 400W amp and made plans to get it mounted and wired but changed directions and returned it. I realized I had several aftermarket radios I had accumulated over time (not really sure why) so I set up a battery and speaker and tested them to see what worked and what I had. I ended up settling on a Sony CDX-GT260MP as it seemed the most advanced and still worked. My thought was; who cares if it is a stereo or an amp, if it has a line-in option it works the same and cost much less since I already had it. So, I hung it from the package tray, wired up some 6x9's and ran a headphone cable to under the drivers seat so I could plug my phone into it and off we went.
I sure got some grief about hanging a radio in the trunk where I couldn't tune it and such. Most people didn't understand that all I was really using was the build in amp.
Well as time rolled on, my phone got upgraded and now no headphone jack. So I wired in a bluetooth unit and plugged that into the line-in port on the radio so I could continue to use my phone. Seemed to work fine, except....
I got really tired of messing with my phone every time I got in the car. And with every other car I owned, the radio started playing when I started the car which made it all that more irritating. Then it occurred to me that I have a functioning radio hanging in the trunk of my car, I just needed a way to control it. And yes, I found the irony humorous.
I have found wired remotes for this radio, seems it was popular for boats so they had a fixed control that could be placed at the back of the boat to control it. Of course, by the time I started looking around there were only cheap knockoffs that I didn't trust to actually do the job. But I had an IR remote for the radio and could even still buy a replacement if one was needed (which it was, volume buttons were worn out). So I bought an IR repeater cable and did a test and it worked. Bought a 20' one that was USB powered from the wrong end, but oh well. Added a hidden antenna so I didn't have to run the antenna cable to the back of the car and a USB power port and rigged it all up as a further test and it seemed to work great.
Since the power supply for the repeater would need to be in the trunk, I was going to need to build a mount. And the transmitter end of the repeater needed to be close to the IR sensor on the radio and it needed to be positioned correctly. Well, I wanted to learn how to do sheetmetal parts in Fusion 360 so I figured why not create a mount for the USB power port and an arm to hold the repeater transmitter in about the right spot.
So I drew this up, had SendCutSend cut it, bend it and powder coat it and Bob's your uncle.
Only real issue is that I missed that the line-in port is partially obscured by the arm for the repeater so I had to hand file a relief into it and hit it with some black paint. Not a big deal and I got to keep my BT connectivity if I wanted to play something off my phone. I still have to program the memory buttons, but overall really very pleased to have music without messing with my phone.
And yes, this all could have been done better. I wish I had bought a shorter repeater cord, I wish the USB power port was in or around the dash instead of in the trunk, no I wouldn't have planned to mount a functioning radio in the truck and it would be a hassle to scan for stations if there was one I wanted that wasn't in memory. But in the end I have very little into it and it is completely hidden with the trunk closed. Heck, it isn't all that noticeable with the trunk open.
