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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > Lightning car charger + audio out

Lightning car charger + audio out
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turtle777
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Oct 5, 2013, 07:45 PM
 
I don't understand why this is so complicated to find, does it even exist ?

I'm looking for a CLA (car charger) that also has an 3.5mm audio out port to connect to the car stereo.

The only thing I could find is this:



However, this won't work with any iPhone case / sleeve. I need something that has just a Lightning cable end.

It's absolutely amazing that this doesn't seem to exist. Any ideas / recommendations ?

-t
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 5, 2013, 08:02 PM
 
I'm looking for something like this, just with Lightning adapter:



http://www.xtrememac.com/en-US/produ...arge-auto-aux/

-t
     
subego
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Oct 5, 2013, 08:21 PM
 
I'd say "**** it" and get a 30-pin to Lightning jobby.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 5, 2013, 08:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I'd say "**** it" and get a 30-pin to Lightning jobby.
Jobby ? Are you talking about the adapters ?

I have those, but they don't work with cases because the adapter is flush against the phone.

My only other solution would be the Apple Lightning to 30-pin Adapter (0.2 m) cable, and then use my old 30pin audio adapter.

-t
     
subego
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Oct 5, 2013, 08:42 PM
 
Gotcha. I go caseless, so I've never had a problem with the adapter jobby.
     
subego
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Oct 5, 2013, 08:44 PM
 
You know they were going to make one which worked with cases, but then Jony curbstomped whoever came up with it.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 5, 2013, 08:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Gotcha. I go caseless, so I've never had a problem with the adapter jobby.
I went caseless for one year with the 5. It got scratched quite a bit, and the sides of the bezel are worn off. I typically pass on my 1 year old phone to my wife, and after another year, it gets unlocked and sold. Therefore, less scratches would be desirable. Plus, the new leather cases do look nice.

-t
     
subego
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Oct 5, 2013, 09:18 PM
 
Mine survived well. Couple of small dings on the bezel and some barely visible scratches on the glass. We'll see whether Gazelle agrees.

However, I have a strictly enforced "nothing goes in the phone pocket except the phone" policy.

I was going to hand-off my old 5, but that person isn't planning on leaving AT&T, so they'd be shooting themselves in the foot by not getting their own 5s with the Gazelle money.
     
subego
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:13 AM
 
My 5s already has similar micro-scratches BTW...

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Spheric Harlot
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Oct 6, 2013, 05:48 AM
 
I cannot believe that there are no iPhone 5/s car mounts that do power and audio.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 08:36 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
I cannot believe that there are no iPhone 5/s car mounts that do power and audio.
Well, after hours of googling, I found exactly *one* car mount. It's a Frankenstein for $70.



I don't need that freaking arm that holds the iPhone up. I have a perfectly working dash mount.

-t
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 6, 2013, 08:45 AM
 
And that ****ing thing doesn't even DO audio. It still requires you to plug into the headphone port, which defeats part of the point of having a cradle you can just pop the phone into.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I'm looking for something to replace my TOmTom cradle, which held, charged, and just had a simple mini jack on the side that I have connected to the stereo.

The 5s won't fit that.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 09:01 AM
 
The Frankenstein unit does provide audio out - that's what the cable with the 3.5mm jack is for.

TuneBase� Hands-Free AUX for iPhone 5 | In-Car | Lightning | Products | Belkin USA Site

However, this is still BS. The whole concept of an arm held by the CLA is just plain stupid.

-t
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 09:05 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
The 5s won't fit that.
One of the issues I have with many cradles is that they don't work with any cases.

So if you want to have a cradle that can adjust to a case, you can never have a Lightning port that automatically connects to the iPhone.

The plus side of flexible cradles: they don't care about what phone you have.
I have been using one like this for the past 5 years, and it's still working.



-t
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 6, 2013, 09:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
The Frankenstein unit does provide audio out - that's what the cable with the 3.5mm jack is for.

TuneBase� Hands-Free AUX for iPhone 5 | In-Car | Lightning | Products | Belkin USA Site
Doesn't the Belkin just grab the audio from the headphone jack, and NOT through the Lightning connector?

In which case, the only reason to go through the Belkin at all is to allow it to inject the mic signal into the headphone port for hands-free, which I neither want nor need. Otherwise, I could just get a generic cradle and plug the 3.5mm cable into the headphone jack.

I need something that will hold my phone, charge it, and give me line-level output, without me having to plug something in before I mount it. No more, no less.
     
P
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Oct 6, 2013, 11:27 AM
 
I use this. The audio goes over Bluetooth from the phone, but that's just an advantage in my book. If I need to charge it, I use the regular USB-to-lightning or 30-pin with the provided port.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 6, 2013, 11:50 AM
 
I have pretty specific needs, I guess.

Calls run through a Jawbone ERA, and that will stay that way. I hate having calls routed through a car stereo, whether I'm the one making the call or (arguably worse) just along for the ride.

Anything that has a 3.5mm cable permanently attached is a kludge, because my car stereo's Aux in is at the rear of the radio, running through a proprietary Blaupunkt plug. That can be fixed, though (I have no problem using a m-to-f adapter or soldering another plug onto the cable), if everything else is perfect.

Is it possible to route calls through one Bluetooth device, and music through another?
     
P
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Oct 6, 2013, 02:50 PM
 
I don't know with multiple Bluetooth connections, but in general you can move the call from Bluetooth to a wired handsfree or the phone itself.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
P
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:03 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
I don't understand why this is so complicated to find, does it even exist ?
I think accessory makers are moving from 30-pin to Bluetooth rather than to Lightning. iPhones work well with Bluetooth, and you get the Android market as well.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:17 PM
 
Yeah, the bad thing is, you need a fairly recent car that supports Bluetooth audio.

-t
     
P
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:29 PM
 
No, that's the point about the adapter I posted. It plugs into the line in in the car and uses Bluetooth to the phone.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:33 PM
 
Oh, wait, let me check that out.

-t
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
No, that's the point about the adapter I posted. It plugs into the line in in the car and uses Bluetooth to the phone.
Does it remember to automatically connect, or do you have to manually tell the iPhone to connect every time ?

-t
     
P
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Oct 6, 2013, 03:58 PM
 
You place a big button somewhere on your dash (it is also the microphone for when you make a call). To connect after the power has been off, you push the button once to reconnect to the last device connected. This is by design, because the iPhone will automatically start playing the last thing played when it reconnects. In practice, it works well. If you want to play something off the phone, set the stereo to AUX and push the button once. If there is a call, push the button again to take the call. If there is a call and you are not connected, switch the stereo to AUX and press the button. It will connect and answer the call. This takes a few seconds, but it works the same otherwise.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 05:35 PM
 
Thanks. This might be a real option.

-t
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 6, 2013, 10:41 PM
 
Amazon reviews are good. I'm giving it a spin. Thanks again.

-t
     
P
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Oct 7, 2013, 02:29 AM
 
Good luck. I'm using mine a lot, it's a real improvement over plugging in that cable every time even if I'm not getting phone calls.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 12, 2013, 02:14 PM
 
Got my Belkin BT adapter. First impression: good.

Audio quality playing music is very good. I like how you can start / stop playing music by pressing the button. I don't even have to remove my phone from my pocket if I just want to reconnect and listen to the last item played.

However, downside: audio quality for phone calls is really bad. A lot of distortion. Doesn't matter too much for me, since I don't need the hands-free functionality very often.

-t
     
P
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Oct 12, 2013, 04:44 PM
 
Glad you like it. What do you mean about distortion, what you hear or what the other person hears? The second sounds like you might have a bad mic.

Note: two pushes means skip to the next song, three means go back one. The rhythm for doing it is tricky, though - it's a fairly slow rhythm.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
turtle777  (op)
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Oct 12, 2013, 06:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Glad you like it. What do you mean about distortion, what you hear or what the other person hears? The second sounds like you might have a bad mic.
Oddly enough, even Siri voice was distorted. This might be partially iOS 7 fault, I noticed how Siri voice quality via BlueTooth has gotten worse in general.

I probably have to do multiple calls and see how it compares.
But as I said, I don't really need that feature all that much.

-t
     
Spheric Harlot
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Oct 13, 2013, 05:16 AM
 
Siri and hands-free calling sound fine and do not distort on my Jawbone ERA headset.
     
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Oct 13, 2013, 02:53 PM
 
Odd. Phonecalls sound fine to me.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
   
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