Ok so I'm stupid.
Whilst trying to boost 3g reception and having plugged an external antenna into my gsm external port (the one on the left). I have damaged my kaiser. Now when I remove the external antenna the internal antenna no longer works. I get no reception whatsoever.
I presume there is some sort of physical switch in the port which has been damaged by plugging in the external antenna.
Do any of you guys know about this and if it can be fixed (say by soldering the port)? Any help (other than insisting that the phone will just have to be replaced) appreciated.
bump up - please help
Not a total loss
Looking at pg 92 of the Kaiser service manual, I see there is just the earth connection on the pcb either side of the connector and a single track down the middle so I cant see how there would be an isolator switch built in. Theres nothing about using the RF connector in the user manual (only the GPS connector) and plugging in an external RF antenna, as well as requiring the correct part (and I don't know if this connector is for an antenna or just testing purposes), would require removal of the battery cover. I think you may have damaged the RF circuitry/receiver. Have you tried removing the battery for a few minutes, attempting to power up the device (to remove any residual charge), performing a hard reset and trying again in different locations (assuming you haven't changed anything since it was last working fine)?
I don't think the phone would need to be replaced but it may require some components to be replaced by a service centre that knows the device well if none of the above makes any difference.
Flying Kiwi said:
Looking at pg 92 of the Kaiser service manual, I see there is just the earth connection on the pcb either side of the connector and a single track down the middle so I cant see how there would be an isolator switch built in. Theres nothing about using the RF connector in the user manual (only the GPS connector) and plugging in an external RF antenna, as well as requiring the correct part (and I don't know if this connector is for an antenna or just testing purposes), would require removal of the battery cover. I think you may have damaged the RF circuitry/receiver. Have you tried removing the battery for a few minutes, attempting to power up the device (to remove any residual charge), performing a hard reset and trying again in different locations (assuming you haven't changed anything since it was last working fine)?
I don't think the phone would need to be replaced but it may require some components to be replaced by a service centre that knows the device well if none of the above makes any difference.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your comments. I have removed the battery but I have not tried a hard reset. I'm out in africa at the moment and can't deal with the other problems this would cause.
Right now I have temporarily fixed it by bending a paper clip and putting it in the port with the rest fitting snug under the cover. The reception is surprisingly good.
If the temporary fix works....
knmwt15000 said:
Right now I have temporarily fixed it by bending a paper clip and putting it in the port with the rest fitting snug under the cover. The reception is surprisingly good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like the mark one 'coathanger car aerial' that was popular in New Zealand many years ago
Ok guys, i just got my tilt about 3 weeks ago from a friend and was disappointed by the horrible reception it got. I tried everything i could find, different spl, pretty much every radio released even 1.65.30 X_X, but nothing improved reception. I had pretty much given all hope of using the phone since i only had 1 bar of reception where i lived until i decided to take off the cover. I noticed 2 connectors in the back of the device and some quick goggling showed that they were external antenna ports. So i thought what if i stuck a pin in there? what'd know once i stuck a pin the gps external antenna connector the gps signal jumped through the roof...than i tried the other port to the left and what'd know? my signal went from 1 bar to a solid 4 bars. I thought maybe this was caused by me holding the pin so i bent the pin enough so that it can be pushed into the connector yet lean on the case and added a bit of tape. To my surprise the increase in signal strength stayed! I decided to test out my little mod to make sure the increase in strength wasn't just cosmetic. I took my phone on the train with me (I live in nyc) 4 bars through the train ride. I made a call on the way back and i was able to have a Cristal clear conversation something i was not able to do before. The reception i get now is pretty much solid anywhere i go no matter which radio i use, 4 bars all the time even with 3G..
To sum it up:
1) get a pin, you'll see 2 connectors near the camera, stick the pin in and observe your signal jump from 1-3bars to a solid 4 bars.
2) bend the pin so that it still makes contect with the connector yet is flush with the phone so that the cover will somewhat close.
It seems our devices have pretty crappy internal antennas if sticking a small pin in the external antenna connector can give such a huge jump in signal strength.
Right now i haven't been able to get the cover to close completely. Maybe someone can find something that works better than a pin while allowing the cover to close properly?
Well, tried out with my Vario what you did. And now I don´t get it work with internal antenna again.
So right now I have no signal without a pin in the external antenna connection. With one I do.
Anyone there who knows if the internal one is just deactivated or if broke something when i softly put the pin in the connector?
How can I reactivate the internal antenna?
I highly doubt you broke anything. what radio are you using? try 1.70.19.09. Did you try a soft reset? I just don't see how activating the external antenna port would cause the internal one to completely stop working. I had this mod working for about 2 weeks before i posted it. I put the pin in multiple times carelessly even and never had problems.
Found this:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=356460
That´s my problem. I work with WM Smartphones now since 5 years and do flashing and expermiments all the time. So I think I´m right when I say, that I broke my phone with the pin i used. Damn thing.
Of course I will try to fix it, but maybe that fault will be the reason for an upgrade to touch pro (II). We will see.
Any ideas of solution are highly welcome.
I tried other Radios and made a Hardreset without success.
Greetz
Cutter
The problem with what you have done is that you opened a rarely opened contact. The pin goes in and splits a connector apart, and when you pull the pin out, the connector doesn't make good contact. You have to make the contacts clean. I would suggest using a pin that has been mildly roughed up some how (maybe sanding side to side on the shaft of the pin to create grooves) and then use contact cleaner to wash and clean the contacts. Or, just put the pin in, and cut it off flush (or near flush) with the top of the connector.
This has been discussed elsewhere on the board, but I do not recall where right now.
It is not a software/firmware problem - it is just a mechanical failure.
Hello everyone, I've searched all over for an answer to this one with no joy.
I've had my stock Orange locked Diamond for almost two years now, and towards the end of a family break I dropped it.
Now it won't switch on beyond an initial buzz, and none of the mini USB chargers or pc cables will persuade it to charge.
The problem is that I used it to take all the photos during the family break, and now can't access them.
Now I read the reply about "jump" charging the battery and will be giving that a go, but can the memory chip be accessed independantly to offload the contents?
I should add that for quite a while before, the phone picked up and dropped the usb connection when connected with a frequency of about 3 - 5 seconds, which was very annoying.
Many thanks in advance
Luke
Little update
Hello all, thank you for reading about my plight.
Well I managed to charge the battery, and I think the phone switches on, as the volume controls make the appropriate sounds. However the screen is black, and even under heavy sun I can't see anything, so it's not just the backlighting that's gone.
The pc doesn't notice it when I connect, so I can't get in that way, unless someone can point me to how to chop up a cable and hardwire a data connection "upstream" of the mini-USB socket? (I'm hoping it's just the connector which is dead)
Otherwise, is there a combination of hardware buttons that will switch on bluetooth? I dropped it when it was in airplane mode. I had BT explorer checked, so if I can get BT on, I should be able to browse the phone with the pc? Please confirm.
Looking forward to reading your suggestions
Cheers
Luke
ps now I've discovered the limitations of a fixed memory; if the card were removable, all this wouldn't be an issue.
Your solution
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=657514
Thanks, I'll give it a try
Hi, thanks for the tip, I guess I have nothing to lose.
I've just found an appropriate screwdriver so here goes.
I saw that thread, but as one of the symptoms involved actually being able to read something on the screen, I didn't pay that much attention.
News soon.
Cheers
Luke
ok let me know.. best of luck
OMG it worked!
Hi, fantastic tutorial.
It took me several attempts to realise that when you say "chip" you mean circuit board.
Pressing and pressing gave no joy, but further investigation showed that I could slip the screwdriver underneath the loose connector and engage it from there.
Yes bad design on HTC's part, there should be some sort of physical lock, or at least a block underneath that pushes the connector into its socket.
However nice the phone was, the WM6 bugs & glitches were annoying, the USB connection still doing that really annoying thing of connecting and disconnecting every few seconds, so it's going to be hard to retrieve the photos; GRRR!
Does anyone know of a program that can block send files from the phone, either over wifi or bluetooth??
Anyway, many many thanks Siddharthsai, at least it's up and running. I doubt I'll be using it much now, despite that superb screen, my insurance replaced it with a Desire, and I have to say I'm impressed with my new toy
Oh yes, where's the command for auto screen lock? It's annoying me.
Many thanks again
Luke
Getting there
OK so thanks to Diamond tweak I was able to stop the screen locking every 5 seconds.
The USB problem is mechanical; I forced the phone down onto its mini USB plug really hard and it stayed connected. Thanks to SuperCopier 2 I was able to dump the contents before my hand got cramp
Yippee.
So I've got TomTom on the diamond, but no on-board nav on the Desire. My diamond might just end up relegated to being the permanent in car nav unit.
Anyone got a fix for the dodgy USB problem? I've tried all 3 of my mini-usb cables, but they do all happen to be HTC oem.
I guess that's why the micro USB has been adopted.
Thanks
Luke
While I already have this posted over at Rootzwiki, I figured it would make sense to post it over here for the wider audience. There may be some parts missing from here (copying useful parts over, and the thread covers a few months), but the full thread can easily be found. I am using Timur's ROM, and installing the Nexus into my 2006 Audi A4. Ever since I bought the car I have been annoyed/disappointed with the factory stereo, for one thing it has a tape deck (why a car made in 2006 has a tape deck, is something that will forever confuse me). It also has no bluetooth, no GPS, no way to add an aux input except using a cassette type adaptor. All in all, its pretty limited. My options for replacing it were either an RNS-E ($800+) or an aftermarket unit (cost of aftermarket unit + approximately $200 in wiring to get it functional).
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I have already replaced everything downstream of the head unit, starting with a JBL MS8, I then have a pair of Alpine amplifiers running all of my speakers. The sound is good, but just something about the original head unit always bugged me. On an Audi forum I am a member of, I recently saw someone had mentioned they were looking to install an iPad into their dash. That got the wheels turning, and before you know it. I was holding my wifes Kindle Fire up to the dash.
Since the fitment was good, I decided to go ahead with the project. Bought a 16GB Nexus 7, I went with the 16GB because I don't plan to store a whole lot on the tablet itself. I also started ordering a bunch of supplies that I would need:
Dash kit
12V DC-DC Regulator
Fuse Tap
OTG Cable
USB Hub
90 degree mini USB connector
Sabre USB-DAC
I thought about leaving the Nexus stock for a couple weeks, but after about a day rooted it and flashed with Timur's USB ROM. I removed my stock head unit from the car, plugged the JBL MS8 into the 3.5mm output, and nothing. I then realized that the MS8 currently gets a remote turn on signal from my OEM head unit. Currently I am trying to locate a switchable 12V somewhere, but likely will end up using the fuse tap.
Here is where things look so far:
The kit is not pushed all the way back in, this was really just for test fitment purposes. Since I don't yet have the fuse tap, I want to keep my OEM head unit in there for a couple more weeks. Mental note: If you think you are going to sneeze when using a Dremel, switch off the Dremel:
In order to get the Nexus to sit flush, I had to dremel off some material on the back of the dash kit. The scratch is only noticeable at certain angles, but I may well pick up another dash kit at some point. Once my 90 degree USB connector arrives I need to figure out which of the area's in red below I need to cut some away from. They are simply plastic, that I think help hold the stock head unit in place. So I should be able to cut a notch out for the USB cable to go through:
That's about the extent of my progress for now. As I am currently waiting on a few things to arrive in the mail. Ultimately I will have the Nexus semi permanent in the dash (I want to be able to remove it if parked in high crime areas), USB-OTG cable plugged in, then a USB hub, with the USB-DAC sending signal to the MS8, and an iPod flashed with Rockbox as external storage in the glovebox for music. I plan to use my cell phone and bluetooth tethering for streaming music / navigation. At some point I am also going to pick up a Connects2 harness and Joycon to retain my steering wheel controls, and am also keeping an eye on the useage of an easycap in order to add a back up cam.
Original Rootzwiki Link: http://rootzwiki.com/topic/39361-2006-audi-a4-in-dash-install/
Edit: Had a few people asking me for the launcher, it should now be attached to this post. The black border was in order to keep the image centralized on my home screen. Along with this image I just used UCCW to create hotspots for opening the apps.
Bit of an update from today...
Safety first when working on the car.
Pulled out the glovebox, knee bolster on the drivers side and trunk trim in order to run wiring. I had to run a new remote turn on wire to my MS8 as there is no switchable 12v in the trunk. Power and ground to the fuse box area, and I wanted to run a USB extension into the glovebox for my flash drive.
For now I ended up removing the inline fuse that I was using behind the fuse box on the 12v going to the 12v regulator, I may add it again, but have it tapped into a fused circuit, so not sure I need to.
I got 99% of things working today, my ground wire to the USB hub needs to be re-done. The wires are so thin that the splice was not working, for now I just have them twisted together. I did get music playing through the MS8, and my USB flash drive was mounting fine. The other issue I am running into is when I turn off the ignition, the hub loses power instantly, causing the Nexus to give me a warning about improper removal of USB storage. I am trying to find out if there is a way to use Tasker to unmount the storage. But, I don't think I can get it to work, as the second the ignition goes off, the hub loses power. I may just have to manually unmount each time (which sucks).
The other thing is that I need to trim some more plastic to the right of the tablet, due to the 90 degree micro USB adapter, and charger cable, the dash trim does not seem to fit in properly. I am planning to finish these pieces up tomorrow, and then see how it does with my commute to work on Tuesday.
Last update for the weekend, mostly working.
I glued a couple small pieces of foam at the top to push the Nexus outwards, I may add something to the bottom as well to make it sit a little more flush. Somewhat afraid to remove it at the moment though, due to the USB issue with the cable being knocked slightly causing it to lose connection. I do want to think of a solution though, as like I said, I want to be able to remove it from the car.
Took a quick test drive into town and back (about 30 miles of driving) audio / power did not cut out at all. Battery went from 78% when I left, and was back up to 83% when I got home. Spent half the time streaming music from the flash drive, the other half streaming over Slacker using Bluetooth tethered to my cell phone.
Next steps are to save up for a CAN-BUS interface, and then pick up a Joycon. Having had to change the volume via the screen, I want to use steering wheel controls. It's difficult to accurately adjust the volume, so I want the steering wheel option back. I also need to try and think of what to do with the USB. If I can find a charger cable with a shorter plug section, that may work as I can remove the 90 degree bend. But, most I have looked (I have 3 different kinds laying around the house) all have a similar length to them. I also need to re-calibrate my MS8, the center image is slightly off to the left with the Nexus. I am also likely going to refine my Tasker profiles at some point.
The one issue I did have after going for a drive, was that the Nexus froze when I got home. I am 99.9% sure it was my fault though. When I was running wires, I had the battery disconnected, which caused my key-fob remote to be out of sync with the car. To sync it back up, you put it in the ignition, turn the ignition on, push the lock button, then turn the ignition off again. I did this in fairly quick sequence, which I think caused Tasker to lock up as it was still powering everything on, when I removed power again. I had to pop the dash trim off, and reboot using the power button. Working fine now though (still need to sync the key).
I drilled a larger hole today for my new USB cable (the hole is a mess as I had to use my Dremel, and there is 0 room to work there, especially as the tan piece to the right is a visible piece of the dash that I don't want to tear up):
What's annoying is that while USPS say my new cable has been delivered, it's not in my mailbox
Next thing I need to do is figure out a better way to make the Nexus sit flush against the bezel. I could tape it, but would prefer not to do that. In the first picture above, the blue box is around a piece that I glued some foam to, but it came off (I only used a small amount of glue). I may go this route again, the only other option is to try to fabricate some kind of hook system to the back of the bezel, but I am there is not much room on the back:
The advantage to making some kind of hook system though, is that it will likely hold the tablet nicely against the bezel, and make it a little easier for removal/installaiton. You can see in the bottom right of the bezel where I had to cut a section out, this kept pushing on the power / volume rocker when I was installing it in the car causing it to either end up muted, or power off.
I wish that cable were in my mailbox!! I might try to get things working in its current configuration at least for my drive to work tomorrow. Chances are I will get annoyed with it cutting out though, and give in.
Edit: So, just went down to the garage to take a look at things. Seems like I need a new OTG cable, I was looking at the male end of mine that would plug into the Nexus, and noticed it at a slight angle, if I touch it, I see it spark. Not sure if that's a result of it being a cheap Chinese cable, or the plug being pushed at an angle by the dash. Either way it means I am now having to find another OTG Y-cable, which I will be lucky to get before Monday. I may try to look inside at the pins, just to make sure there is not something that has fallen in there causing a short. But, at the same time am not sure I want to risk my equipment on it.
Thankfully I can use my phone to listen to music on the way to work and back.
Here is my awesome fix for getting rid of the gap:
Yes, that is elastic from some underwear. LOL. I did not want to buy some elastic if it did not work, so figured what the heck, use some elastic from some boxer shorts. Works perfectly, holds the Nexus up against the bezel, and is strong enough that I can hold onto the plastic with the Nexus in there, and it won't fall out.
The gap that is left though is due to a slight curvature in the bezel:
Currently I am not sure what to do about that piece, if I try to sand it flat then I essentially am going to have to sand the top and bottom lip away almost completely. I have a new trim piece coming that should match the interior a little better, not sure if that is curved or not yet though, if it is as well, I may just deal with that piece. When it's in the car it's not too bad, and I don't know that I want to eliminate the bottom/top lip to have that piece flat.
Also, since I don't think I posted this picture yet, here is the downward facing micro USB cable from usbfirewire.com:
Some new parts arrived today, first new trim piece, this matches the dash perfectly. I just hope I can get it to work as it seems deeper than my current one.
Also my Joycon arrived, with pre-shrunk heat shrink... LOL. We have had unseasonably warm temperature here the last 2 days (90F) so I think the heat shrink did what it was supposed to do.
Finally the CAN-BUS adapter arrived as well.
I am hoping to get the Joycon installed this evening
After getting the Joycon installed, I also went ahead and ended up ordering a DCDC-USB, I had been having various odd issues and it turns out that most of them were a combination of poor power, and poor connections. I created a pigtail to connect to the DCDC-USB that has 2 female USB ports, one of them provides power to the hub, the other to the Nexus. Also running a Jabra Journey to route phone calls through. Charging rate is awesome, my battery typically gets to full during a single drive to work, and remains full all week long. Here is how the Nexus currently sits in the dash:
And here is a launcher I am working on:
It's supposed to mimic the RNS-E, so far it's not quite where I want it to be as I want to use %MTRACK to have a basic text of what song is playing, and not use the current widget. Apart from that though I am pretty happy with it.
Next things to do are to try and program a button on my steering wheel to activate voice search on the Nexus, possibly a back up camera and that's about it really.
Pretty neat!
Very cool! You made me LOL when I saw the Hanes. :good:
bhess said:
Pretty neat!
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Click to collapse
Thanks.
~wolverine~ said:
You made me LOL when I saw the Hanes. :good:
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Click to collapse
Haha yep, that worked surprisingly well for holding the Nexus in place!
That looks pretty darn good man! From a fellow A4 owner (06 A4) I got stuck with the symphony II as well and was looking to upgrade to the RNS-E but I just don't know if i wanna pay that much, but i do prefer the OEM look over aftermarket. Looking how you got this thing set up and diggin the RNS look a like launcher, I might just need to get another nexus and have a side project. Subbed man! Will be willing to share the launcher? Keep us posted!
So what are you doing to keep your n7 from getting so hot in such a confined and unventilated space?
Awesome mate.:good:
Very nice build. A lot better than my setup in a 98 Dakota Sport (cheap eBay dock and an old droid 2)
Sent from my XT907 using xda premium
Freshtojeff said:
That looks pretty darn good man! From a fellow A4 owner (06 A4) I got stuck with the symphony II as well and was looking to upgrade to the RNS-E but I just don't know if i wanna pay that much, but i do prefer the OEM look over aftermarket. Looking how you got this thing set up and diggin the RNS look a like launcher, I might just need to get another nexus and have a side project. Subbed man! Will be willing to share the launcher? Keep us posted!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kept looking to upgrade to the RNS-E as well, but it's typically $800 cost, plus the wiring harness costs required put me off. I can definitely share the launcher, I am still working on it some, but as soon as I am happy with it can send you a copy. It's the 1st launcher I have put together, so a bit of trial and error at the moment. I would need to figure out a way to share it all as one thing, at the moment it's a combination of a background, and UCCW widgets. If nothing else, I can certainly help you getting it set up on your Nexus.
CreepyE said:
So what are you doing to keep your n7 from getting so hot in such a confined and unventilated space?
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Click to collapse
Absolutely nothing, well, I put a sunshade up in my windshield, but that's it. So far I have had no issues with it, and that has been with the 100F+ temperatures that the inside of the car can see in the Virginia summer. I thought about modifying the A/C ductwork that runs behind/above the tablet, but at the moment see no real need to do so.
naiku said:
I kept looking to upgrade to the RNS-E as well, but it's typically $800 cost, plus the wiring harness costs required put me off. I can definitely share the launcher, I am still working on it some, but as soon as I am happy with it can send you a copy. It's the 1st launcher I have put together, so a bit of trial and error at the moment. I would need to figure out a way to share it all as one thing, at the moment it's a combination of a background, and UCCW widgets. If nothing else, I can certainly help you getting it set up on your Nexus.
Absolutely nothing, well, I put a sunshade up in my windshield, but that's it. So far I have had no issues with it, and that has been with the 100F+ temperatures that the inside of the car can see in the Virginia summer. I thought about modifying the A/C ductwork that runs behind/above the tablet, but at the moment see no real need to do so.
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Great work I installed one in my friend b6 a4
Good work on this Audi, seems original not custom made. Congratulations!
Excuse my ignorance, but the CAN-BUS adapter is used with the Joycon? The Joycon does not function as a steering wheel control on its own?
TampaChris said:
Excuse my ignorance, but the CAN-BUS adapter is used with the Joycon? The Joycon does not function as a steering wheel control on its own?
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The Joycon only reads resistance based signals, which CAN-BUS is not, so the adapter essentially takes the CAN-BUS signal and converts it into a resistance type signal that the Joycon is then able to interpret.
naiku said:
The Joycon only reads resistance based signals, which CAN-BUS is not, so the adapter essentially takes the CAN-BUS signal and converts it into a resistance type signal that the Joycon is then able to interpret.
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Click to collapse
I just bought a joycon for my mazda 3. Do i need this adapter? i thought i can go from the steering wheel harness into the joycon into the USB hub. Will this not work?