heespharm

okay i got the sony ericcsson hcb30 kit.

it comes with:

the main unit
speaker
microphone
external control device

Installed it to the head unit wiring harness using the diagrams at

http://stephen.fosketts.net/miata/audiopins/index

for the constant on and ground cables as well as the remote wire (ignition switch power)

I ALSO HAVE:

the pie mazda/alpine external input wired into the back of my head unit


So I spliced the wires from the external speaker with an 1/8 inch headphone jack cable (cut one end off/ twisted the right and left chanels together and connected that and the ground to each of the wires), got a Y-cable input for the external input, and wired it all up.

now whenever I recieve a call, I hear it ring through the external speaker then I press the "cd" button which switches my bluetooth handsfree over to my regular speakers (also pausing my current song might I add) and let the auto answer take over.. And I still have my external input to boot... (i figure if I'm ever using it and I want to recieve a call I'll just stick to the external speaker and press mute on my radio)


I love it... it's just like wiring up a telephone mute except I can pause my song instead of muting it

XDEEDUBBX

sweet..i guess that tops my bluetooth headset..hehe

Zaku-8

how much does the sony ericsson kit cost? im thinking about buying that new phone of theirs once it comes out

heespharm

http://blueheadsets.zoovy.com/c=BSWv...lcarhandsfree/

here are 2 options about 140-160... I love this setup....

pm me if you have ne question

Rx-Appreci-8

I have a similar setup with a Motorola Bluetooth Handsfree and PIE adapter except I also added a $45.00 SoundGate Aux3 device before the PIE adapter to allow any one of three AUX IN RCA sources to be switched in (using a small dash mounted selector switch). Now I have the Bluetooth phone adapter, an XM Commander satellite radio, and an IPOD all feeding into the AUX3 unit which selects one input source to go to the PIE RCA input.

Since my Bluetooth handsfree kit has the optional radio mute wire (an orange wire in my case) I decided to connect it to a 12 volt relay that overrides the Soundgate AUX3 selector switch so IPOD/SAT/Phone audio is automatically switched to phone whenever I receive a phone call.

As long as I'm listening to the SAT radio or my iPod the switch to phone is totally automatic. If I'm listening to CD or FM I still hear the phone ring through the little Bluetooth speaker and I just hit the CD button on the HU to switch to phone (the AUX3 has already switched to phone) and talk. Works really well.

HU V9.55 + Bose + NAV

gr8jab

Which Motorola unit did you use?

I've been checking out the HF850 (cheaper than their newest HF1100).

I was worried about driving the PIE input with the unit's speaker wires, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for you. Have you noticed any distortion due to clipping (probably not)?

The included speaker is rated at 5 Watts, assuming it is 8 ohms, thats only 0.8 volts rms. I think line level are 1 volt, so no converters are needed!! Was this your assessment, or did you just wing it?

The installation instructions from Motorola stress not to aim the speaker at the mic. I assume this makes it more difficult to prevent echo and feedback. Using the car speakers via the PIE would possibly cause similar problems. Have you had any problems with echo or other unwanted noise, especially on the other end of the call?

I assume the mute line from the HF is active-low. What relay did you add to the Aux-in selector box? Would you care to provide a quick schematic of what you did?

Thanks!

Rx-Appreci-8

gr8jab -

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been offline for several weeks and didn't see your post or private message.

I have the Motorola Handsfree S9642C car kit. The volume of the original handsfree speaker was low relative to road noise levels in my Rx8 so I sometimes had a hard time hearing people unless sitting still.

My handsfree speaker line is now driving into a "SoundGate Aux3" 3 input switch which is internally transformer coupled before the signal goes to the PIE adapter. I've had absolutely no trouble driving the Aux3 input's transformer (I'm guessing a 600:600 ohm transformer but I didn't measure it) and I'm achieving very crisp high level telephone audio out of my Rx8 radio that is very well level balanced as I switch between phone and the other AUX 3 inputs (iPod and Sat radio). I can turn telephone audio up to uncomfortable levels without experiencing echo or feedback or distortion due to clipping. I found it even works well if I leave the original handsfree 8 ohm speaker connected so I can still hear incoming calls "ring" even when listening to CDs or FM radio! As an engineer and former TV/Stereo repairman I realize that leaving the 8 ohm speaker connected while driving the transformer in the Aux 3 switch probably causes some distortion in the telephone / BT audio but I sure can’t hear it and it does not affect the integrity of the iPod or XM radio sources where distortion could not be tolerated. The relays and transformer coupling in the Aux3 switch virtually eliminates ground loop noise problems.

I drew up a schematic but don't have it here at work. I'll try to find it tonight.

The relay connection is pretty simple. There are just three wires running between the Aux3 main module and a 3 position control switch. One wire is +12V. As you flip the switch to position 1, the 12V wire is connected to one of the other wires going back to the Aux3 main module to drive the necessary Aux3 relays. In switch position 2 (center position) nothing is connected at all. In position 3 the 12V wire connects to the remaining wire back to the Aux3 module. Any DPDT relay with a low current 12 volt DC coil can be used. I had one lying around in a junk box with a 12V coil and I verified that it still activated reliably if vehicle voltage ranged between 9 and 16 volts. I put the usual protective diode across the relay coil to protect the pull down transistor in the handsfree kit. I connected one side of the coil to the diode's cathode and to the +12 volt line going to the Aux 3 switch. The other side of the relay coil (anode side of diode) went directly to the handsfree kit's active low mute line.

When the relay is activated by the HF mute line, the relay's DPDT switch changes state to completely isolate the three position switch from the Aux3 main module while simultaneously connecting the +12volt wire to the position 1 wire going to the Aux 3 module (the position 3 wire is forced open).

Electrically, because one of the 3 wires running between the AUX3 main module and the control switch is +12V, the relay can be placed anywhere along the 3 wire cable between the Aux3 module and 3 position switch with just one additional wire added going to the HF mute pull down wire. When I realized my relay was small enough to fit inside the Aux3 main module box I placed it there and just glued it down. For $45 I wasn't worried about warrantee.

I'm guessing it is pretty straightforward to you from the above description but I'll still look for my schematic tonight.

gr8jab

Thanks for the great info. It was really helpful. Don't bother posting the schematics if they are not handy. I followed what you did.

I've built my own switch box, instead of buying the Aux3. I had some worries about using the speaker output as a line in, but resolved them.

Now, my biggest worry is echo on the other end of the line. I've already installed the system, using the factory speaker setup, and my wife reports hearing an echo sometimes. I've tried moving the speaker around the cabin, with good results. Feeding the audio through the stereo might make the echo much worse.

Where did you mount the microphone? Do you know if you suffer from echo (on the other party's connection).

Thanks!!

Rx-Appreci-8

gr8jab -

My microphone is in the extreme corner of the headliner between the windshield and the driver’s window. It's only a few inches from my head. I asked my wife about the echo and she replied that I "often repeat myself anyway" ;=) She says she doesn't notice echo but I do sound like I'm yelling. In those cases I might be talking louder to get above the road noise but apparently don't need to. My secretary hasn't mentioned echo either.

Perhaps the difference is that I'm not using the mic that came with the Motorola handsfree. I had a previous (Nokia) handsfree in my Rx-8 that was ripped off along with the phone. No damage to the car so I was thankful for that. They left the Nokia microphone and under dash speaker so I left them in place and just soldered new connectors on the cable ends to match the Motorola HF system box. Maybe the Nokia mic is a little more directional. Initially I was very worried about echo but, in my case, even though I'm going through the entire HU / Bose system with speakers all around the cabin and volume turned pretty high - I get no serious echo complaints.