Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

:) hey Descalzo ! you know anyone who wants to buy a hardly used Star Trek insignia to stick on their car dash ? ;) look really kool :)

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I've received the Brodit Active mount but had to return it twice.

Whenever I slide the phone in it turns off.

Has anybody else experienced this fault?

Twim

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Further feedback. WIth the ground loop isolator in place I cannot detect a decrease in sound quality. Given the acoustics or the average family saloon, the quality of MP3s and then the Car Audio Equipment used (high end Sony), it would be quite hard to detect any change anyway.

It makes the N900 a great in car audio device for me. Also I can use it to amplify the Sygic Sat nav, and by swithcing sources on my head unit I can instantly silence the Sygic commands :)

So couple the N900, Brodit mount and and Aux in socket on your Head unit and you have a great solution for those without Bluetooth A2DP.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I bought a Ground Loop Isolator (PAC SNI-1/3.5) from eBay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ground-Loop-Is...item5192101f6b). There are a couple of UK sellers, but I didn't want to go through the whole registration process for a webstore I'll probably never use again. Delivery from US to UK took 2 weeks.

Using it produced instant results: clear sound with no noticable drop in quality. Would recommend one to anyone having this problem.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Hi, got a question here,
I need a car mount that has these feature :
- FM transmitter with good quality, OR FM signal booster, because N900 already got its own FM transmitter
- Car Charger
- Rotatable
And most importantly, suit my Honda Jazz' Lighter postition :

http://i40.tinypic.com/14v6zjk.jpg

As you can see, the lighter is positioned too deep below the audio,

I'm considering this one :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170449670588

But i'm not sure if it would suit the lighter position in my car, i'm worried that it might get in the gear's way..

Could anyone give me a good recommendations?
thanks.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I've installed the Brodit N900 mount hard cabled to my '00 BMW E38 740i. I'm using a Ventev Soundclip to get the audio to my factory system via A2DP.

I use the N900 dedicated for the car, I don't often take it out of the mount.

All is well except the circuitry in-line on the Brodit charging cabling seems to gradually decrease the voltage slowly on car power off. The N900 never detects that it has stopped charging, and will drain its battery overnight if I leave it plugged into the cradle. I have to slide it an inch to the right in the cradle to unplug it from the MicroUSB every time I get out of the car.

Anyone else seen this behavior with the Brodit N900 mount and charger?

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

:O
Wow you must live miles from civilisation. If I left my N900 in my car for 30mins it would be gone as would one of my car windows. Despite all else I use my N900 way to much to leave it in the car overnight. I can't vouch for the Brodit active mount and its charging capability but the Nokia car charger is patheric. Even on a long drive I think it barely adds to the charge of the N900 and just about stops natual battery drain. I would love to find a car charger that charges at the rate of the dektop one.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I coul only recommend the brodit and a dedicated Honda Jazz proclip add on.

As for using the FM transmitter. There are some things to consider. If you are not getting good results you can intal FM booster. This helps quite a bit.

HOWEVER, you will not be able to charge the N900 AND use the FM transmitter. The level of charger and ignition noise transmitted made it useless for me. :(

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

@Twim
No problem here using brodit active mount. Works perfect and I use it daily. The only thing is that sometime it enters like a little forced because of the volume button but not a big issue.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Anyone thought about taking a dremel to the brodit mount so that the power button is accessible while cradled? Anyone done it successfully?

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Thanks, i considered brodit before but i think i was too expensive,
so i finally settled for this :

http://www.handhelditems.com/transmi...-p-125627.html

The best one i could find, also i found a 10$ coupon for it as well so it's a good deal :)

About charging problem, i think i saw someone mentioned using ground loop isolator to solve it, does it work?

And i got 1 question, is it impossible to accept calls while transmiiting FM? I only hear beeping sound whenever i pick up the phone in transmit mode.. thanks

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

The ground loop isolator solves the issue if you are using the headphone socket to feed the stereo (as it connects between the headphone socket and line in socket of the car head unit)but not if you are using the FM transmitter as ther are no wires of course :(.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I see, but it's possible to do it with this right?

http://www.handhelditems.com/transmi...-p-125627.html

It also works as separate FM transmitter by connecting the phone's headphone socket to its socket.. I hope it works, because i bought it already :(

Can anyone answer my question? Is it possible to accept phone calls while FM transmitting? I can't seem to do it, i only get beeping sounds when i pick the phone while transmiting..

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I suspect that using that transmitter with the N900 charger would still induce noise. I do know if introducing a ground loop isolator between the N900 headphone out and that device would solve the problem. At £10 for a ground loop device it might be worth trying it anyway.

As for using the N900 internal FM transmitter the stock answer is no as it appears the transmitter is stopped when a call is made or taken and then re-started once the call is finished.

It may be something that someone fixes with an application or hack later (it may have already been done).

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Just read this entire thread, only had my n900 for a few weeks now.

Is the interference caused by the car charger definitely a ground loop as in my car it doesn't sound like one. In theory if it's a ground loop then disconnecting the ground from the charger (which I did by disconnecting the earth wire to my ciggy lighter socket) should also get rid of the noise. It will earth through the headphone cable, which goes to the back of my radio, in my case thus no ground loop, but the noise is just as bad. It also doesn't have the characeristic whine that increases in pitch as the revs increase.

Therefore I'm guessing the problem is actually due to a crappy charger. Has anyone tried putting ferrite rings around the end of the cable or anything like that.


I'm also struggling to find a decent car mount. The brodit one looks good (though the fact that their charger also suffers from interference issues worries me) but it would be nice if the camera had a hole to poke through*. My main concern is that they only make a proclip for 1 of the 3 vehicles in this household, and it's the one I'm about to sell. The remaining cars are an 1994 S13 Nissan 200SX (240SX for the Americans) and a 1993 A31 Nissan Cefiro SE-4. Do they make any kind of universal proclip that can stick to the dashboard or windscreen?

The other mounts don't let you use the keyboard and thus aren't much good to me.

*I'm also interested in using it to record in case of traffic accidents. You don't need huge amounts of storage, just delete footage over 10 minutes old and have a button you can press for when some scam artist pulls in front of you and slams on the brakes then claims you drove into the back of him. Shouldn't be too hard to make an app like that.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

The brodit is superb. And I made my own mount because I wanted it higher than the proper c-max ones (which cover the air vent... bah) which was easy to do with a strip of bent ally. can post a pic or two, but it's just a very good bodge.

One thing to note - the power socket was not quite lined up right for my phone - but losen two screws at the back, slide in a slim of plastic (from a milk bottle or bacon wrapper) and re-tighten - beautiful, works a treat now.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

This post made some explanation
Yes I added big ferrite rings around both ends of the charger and also the line out cable to the car head unit. Made a tiny difference but still unacceptable sound quality. Ground loop isolator is fab.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

My kit
http://jekabsons.lv/privaatie/N900_BigCrab_Mateus.jpg

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Here's mine.

Fits the N900 just perfectly. Cost me about $7 to make out of an old adjustable mount from DX, a piece of cardboard to redirect air flow and a about 10 minutes of time.

Swapped it for an iPod Touch so I could use the N900 to take a picture. Yes, it's playing Beyonce.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...1_434745_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7015616_n.jpg

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Ok, one more question about the Brodit. Obviously the active holder has a micro USB connector there. Are the data lines wired up to anything? For example if I had a car radio with the ability to play off USB mass storage then the brodit active holder hooked straight into the back of said car radio would make for a very friendly solution.

I'm reluctant to muck about with ground loop isolators as last time I tried one (in a different car) the sound quality was awful, so I took it out and actually fixed the ground loop. It's not really possible to do that this time as last time I was dealing with external amps and stuff.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Man, i guess i was wrong about this product :

http://www.handhelditems.com/transmi...-p-125627.html

It's not their fault, they claimed it's compatible for IPhones, not for N900, i just thought it would work for N900:p
Well the FM transmitter works, but there are other problems :

1. N900 is too fat. lol. The holder is just not strong enough to give stable support when you're pressing the touchscreen.. The holder is a bit weak IMO..
2. You can't charge using the USB slot because the USB type is different, thus there's no way to charge using this thing :(
3. The audio quality seems to be worse than the built in FM transmitter.

Oh well hopefully i can sell this to my friends :(

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I have got a passive Brodit mount. At the beginning it was fine, but now the power button is pressed when i insert my N900 complete.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I have got a passive Brodit mount. At the beginning it was fine, but now the power button is pressed when I completely insert my N900, too.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Well my PDAir case and windscreen mount arrived today from Hong Kong. Initial impressions...

The case itself feels solid and like a quality product, it comes in a nice presentation box with a removeable belt clip attachment.

The case is hinged along the bottom edge. I can see why they've done it, because the top is mostly open but it's a little annoying as it hangs down. The case must be open if you wish to slide the screen up, the phone is still held securely in the case even when it is open.

The belt clip attachment itself is a little annoying as it protrudes by about 1CM and makes it a little awkward to hold, it also protrudues about 2mm too far to line up with the little stand so the phone wobbles while typing or touching the screen. It's an improvement on just the camera stand which makes the phone fall over when you touch the screen. You could probably file the edge of the belt clip to a little flat angle and make it into a very good stand.

The belt clip supplied with the case is incompatible with the windscreen mount. The windscreen mount comes with a special octagonal one. I'm guessing this is to hold the phone stably. It seems to hold it fairly well though I have not tried it in a car yet.

Digression but today I also had a decent car audio install done, and sadly it's shown up just how crap the analogue output on the N900 is. I'm going to stick to burning MP3 CDs until I get some head unit that can use USB mass storage.

With careful positioning of the windscreen mount it may well be possible to use this for recording video while driving, you have to bend it to the extreme right of the phone though, at which point it may not be stable enough for filming. If you can handle having the suction cup in view on the edge of the screen, filming should be fine. Just need an app now that does a continuous loop style recording, discarding footage over 10 minutes old and providing a "that **** just pulled in front of me and slammed on the brakes" button to archive the footage to a safe location.

I took some pictures, please excuse the poor quality but I was using the works Nokia 6303 which has a terrible camera.

http://www.lum.co.uk/OcUK/N900_camera_mount_thumb.jpg http://www.lum.co.uk/OcUK/N900_case_thumb.jpg http://www.lum.co.uk/OcUK/N900_winds...ount_thumb.jpg

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Well I took the car out for a spin with the phone mounted. As I suspected the mount vibrates too much really, however with something to stabilise it (I'm thinking a blob of blu-tac) then I think it should work.

I took a run down a single track lane in the evening, still daylight but not much. The lane is full of ruts and potholes and dark sections due to being completely covered with trees, to see how well the camera reacts to changes in light.

The first video is in "Automatic" mode (ie. day mode) and worked reasonably well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuZevxNOYKk

"Night mode" seems to mean lower frame rate and longer exposure. This exacerbated the effects of the vibration, it looks pretty cool but it's not particularly useful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Qaxs41swI

Lessons learned:

Vibration really ruins the image quality.
The few static shots show that the picture quality could be quite good once the vibration is dealt with.
The audio quality isn't bad at all.
The projection headlights work much better with the N900 cam than the halogen high beams. HIDs would probably work better still.
In order to mount the phone where it isn't obstructing my vision, a lot of screen space is lost to the dashboard and wiper blade. This can be fixed by cropping the bottom and calling it "ultra widescreen".
Also as a result of this the phone is positioned quite far forward giving a narrower field of view and can't show where the driver is looking. This doesn't matter if the intent is to defend against common insurance scams though.
I need new brake discs (that's what the squeeling is. They are still safe and legal though)
I also need to clean my windscreen.
Caerphilly council really need to resurface Troed-y-rhiw Road. No wonder everyone is buying 4x4s you need one just to clear the bloody pot-holes.

All in all, I think it warrants further investigation. I'll come up with way to stabilise the mount and try again soon.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Fixed the vibration issue with the PDAir mount using an innovative and inexpensive vibration dampening product:

http://www.lum.co.uk/OcUK/N900_mount_stable_thumb.jpg

Now that that's sorted, you can get a decent recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_uA59FtVHw

Biggest problem is numberplates are still not readable, and probably never will be. But with the addition of accelerometer data and GPS data (which is timestamped) it should be enough for insurance purposes.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Has anyone seen one of these?
http://www.kidigi.com/product_lv2.php?pid=1128

Looks interesting....
Link to store
http://www.4u-mobi.com/onlineshop/on...t.php?ssid=428

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

hmm..

Portrait only
No access to keyboard
No access to headphone socket (ie. to use as a music player or for hands free audio)

Fail.

Might be ok if you use bluetooth handsfree / music though.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Looks like it has a swivel, and the audio jack is on the charger. As for keyboard I think you are correct.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Rotating that 90 degrees would make me nervous. Turn right too hard and you may end up picking up bits of N900 from the side of the road, or at least hitting your passenger in a painful area (RHD cars only)

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Good point! I wonder if they are using the jack to try and keep it seated. Thats almost what it looks like.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Anyone know if the CR-117 will fit the N900?

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I would douibt it as it is designed for the n97 mini.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

i think the N900 is small for a car solution....am getting a N800 for my explorer....just wish I could put mobile Map 10 on it....cause I hate navicore.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I have the brodit active mount on my shite french car. It works great.

Works well having bluetooth via the Nokia CR7 or whatever car kit that I had for my preivous nokia phones and using FM transimietter for music.

oCcasional use ofthe FM boost required to override the default fmtransmit failue on charge etc, but other than that, great.

I can can crank up my entire music collection to max+1 and ignore tha rattling sounds comeing from my shite french car.

did I mention that my car was french and it was shite?

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

hmm. the new wine bar/taps place in town was good...but not for my typing/spelling .hic .bedtime,.

Re: ProClip N900 vehicle mounts now out
 

Ok...I want the Nokia N900 - Charging Holder with Tilt Swivel and Cigarette Lighter Adapter for $59.99.

Can I use my N900 in Portrait mode??? that's up and down.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Does anyone know of a car mount/charger that just has a long adjustable stem coming from the lighter socket to mount the n900 to?

Because of my stereo system I can't fit a Brodit via the Proclip mounting solution.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

I see consensus seems to be the Brodit kits. I like the active mount for charging the phone. Has anyone here tried the Nokia kits like the CK-300 for audio integration to the car?

I'm looking for:
a) charging
b) connection to stereo via aux as with FM transmitter there is both charging interference and white noise due to rear mount antenna
c) eye level position to see GPS

Don't mind proper installation, in fact that's necessary for the AUX input in my car model.

Re: N900: Car Kit & Mounts
 

Also, the Nokia website says the N900 is compatible with the CK-300, which has the "car menu" feature? But how does this work on the N900, as there is no download option under the CK-300 website?