"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
05/02/2016 at 13:44 • Filed to: None
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"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
05/02/2016 at 13:44 • Filed to: None | 4
| 15 |
Talking on a handheld phone while driving is not only illegal in much of the country, but hella dangerous if you have a manual car (as I do). My car has an aux jack in the center armrest, but that’s only a half solution since it means opening it up and dealing with plugging in the phone every time I might need to use it, plus there’s the whole mic issue. So I finally decided to install a bluetooth module.
Installation required pulling the radio out of the dash, during which I discovered the local Subaru dealer (Bertera in West Springfield, MA) didn’t replace the screws on the left side of the unit (or a half dozen plastic panel clips) when they took the dash apart to replace the Takata airbag back in February. Fortunately they did leave one of the missing screws sitting under the shifter boot, so I could at least put in one of the two screws when I was done.
Installation was easy enough, as the bluetooth unit, which came from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is wired and programmed to attach to the one empty port on the back of the factory stereo. Once plugged in the Grom is selectable by pressing the aux button on the radio twice. I can switch back to using the actual aux input jack by simply pressing the button again. Neat!
With the bluetooth unit working I then had to figure out where to put the box. Fortunately there’s a void beneath the radio unit behind the HVAC controls. I stuck a couple of those 3M command strips on the Grom and used it to attach the box to the bottom of the radio.
The only remaining step was running the mic cable through the dash, up behind the plastic trim piece on the A-pillar, and securing it to the top left corner of the windshield, which is where I decided I wanted it. This part of the process was actually the bit that took the most time. Mostly because of the part where I decided to zip tie the cable in place inside the dash so it wasn’t just hanging in there. I really could have used Donald Drumpf’s tiny hands for that bit.
Fortunately I had the foresight of buying about a dozen of those aforementioned plastic trim clips in case I broke some, so I was able to replace all the missing clips and put the dash back together properly (as it should have been). Calls through the bluetooth are crystal clear in both directions, and the sound quality for music is better than it was with the aux cable. Not bad for $140 and about an hour of work. My only wish is that the screen on the stereo would show music/call information instead of the odd static code that it does, but I understand that might simply not be possible due to the programming of the stereo. Either way I’m thrilled with the outcome.
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 13:50 |
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This may be something that I should look into.
Ash78, voting early and often
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 13:51 |
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Nice! Is it really illegal in most of the country? I thought it was just like 5-10 states, plus a ton of random municipalities. Around here, it's town by town, so you have to be really careful. Of course, I'm old school and spent most of my early 20s driving manual, smoking a cig, and talking handsfree on a Nokia wedged between my shoulder and cheek (Bluetooth was years away and speakerphones were useless). I learned to see the world at a 45-degree angle.
TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 13:54 |
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lol i drove the miata thru town the other day on the phone. pretty easy to drive one handed
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Dusty Ventures
> TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
05/02/2016 at 14:00 |
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Not around here. Decent size city, lots of traffic lights, cars, and usually a lot of turns between you and where you’re going. With all the gear changes it feels like I’m doing a lap of Sonoma, except 99.9% less fun.
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TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 14:03 |
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thats why i rev gears out usually. less shifting that way :)
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Dusty Ventures
> Ash78, voting early and often
05/02/2016 at 14:04 |
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14 states ban all hand-held use (less than I thought, as it turns out), 38 ban all use by novice drivers, and 46 ban texting.
Chart
functionoverfashion
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 14:04 |
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Nice! I have a similar setup (module into CD changer port) on my E46. Mine will play music, too, and somehow (magic) the steering wheel controls will skip tracks on the phone, even in Spotify for example. And if I’m listening to music, I can answer the phone with the track forward button on the wheel (strangely).
My biggest complaint is that I have to be on that source to answer or even be notified of an incoming call. I do mostly use my phone for music, but if I’m listening to the radio, I get nothing if a call comes in. Details, details. [sarcastic voice] (
ugh, I hate when I’m driving my Bee-Emm-Double-U, and my phone is all like, hooked up to bluetooth and everything, and I’m like, listening to NPR and the stupid thing won’t interrupt All Things Considered to transfer my call.
)[/sarcastic voice]
It’s a bit refreshing to drive my ‘61 Ford, which has no radio, no cutout in the dash where a radio
might
have been, and no cigarette lighter to charge my newfangled talking/video/phone/magic box anyway. Sometimes I like to imagine what someone would have thought of a modern smartphone in 1961. Other than, perhaps, witchcraft.
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Dusty Ventures
> functionoverfashion
05/02/2016 at 14:07 |
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Yeah, the steering wheel buttons work for me as well, which is awesome. I do have the same problem with the phone not making noise if I’m switched to another input, but I figure if nothing else I can turn off bluetooth on the phone so it’s not connected and will ring like normal
BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 14:32 |
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Your Subie is so much more clean than mine...jealous ;)
But yeah...my greatest fear with having them do the airbag recall is that the dealership will screw something up horribly (or break the dash, which apparently happens in a majority of cases).
facw
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 15:13 |
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That’s some fancy mounting with that tape. I just kind of threw mine back there to live in a bundle of cables. I guess I should secure it at some point. I really like having it, but the price seems absurd when every other bit of Bluetooth junk costs like $50, with no-name Chinese knockoffs available for $15.
area man
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 15:40 |
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Just curious why you didn't opt for a cheapo Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the aux port?
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Dusty Ventures
> area man
05/02/2016 at 15:54 |
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The dongles I looked at wouldn’t let me use the radio and steering wheel buttons to skip forward and backwards, which was one of my big frustrations in the first place, and it wouldn’t solve the mic location issue when making calls. Plus I like still having the aux jack free for other things, like when I plug in my laptop for movie time.
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Dusty Ventures
> BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
05/02/2016 at 16:26 |
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The reassembly of the dash was so pathetically half-assed. Fortunately replacing all those missing plastic clips made a huge difference
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functionoverfashion
> Dusty Ventures
05/02/2016 at 21:44 |
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My issue is I never remember to switch off bluetooth if I’m not listening to the phone. Or, I don’t bother... there’s a perfect spot for the phone, right in front of the shifter. If it lights up, it’s in my peripheral vision enough to catch my eye.
The best part of my installation was that the CD changer plug was in the trunk. Awful place for a CD changer, but it makes installing aftermarket bluetooth modules very easy. Remove panel with one hand. Plug in module. Replace panel with one hand. Done.
Oh and my dash screen will show track info, but it’s very quirky. Probably would be less annoying if it just didn’t work at all.
atrombs
> Dusty Ventures
05/03/2016 at 08:51 |
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I installed one of those Grom boxes in my old Accord about 5 years ago. Thing worked like a charm, even kept the functionality of the steering wheel buttons. My friends couldn’t believe my ‘98 Honda had bluetooth!