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[sloth]

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[Seth]

[Karlis]

[sloth]

What's the ethernet for? :)

[Karlis]

I used an Ethernet cable for handling steering wheel button control on an old 3.5mm (wired) version of the module. I've kept it for now. Maybe some day I'll find some good use for it.

[homerisback]

As my Cab is actually drying from the heavy rain we are having, I don't have any picture in car yet...
But I did this tuning to the BlueSAAB boxes with my father in law's EGX-20 engraver, just missing the EPC part number

Isn't it classy ?

[Seth]

that is awesome :D

[Pilkerton]

Mounted using an existing hole situated near the antenna assembly.

[Karlis]

That's some really nice solution, Pilkerton! How the heck did you manage to get those bolts behind that metal plate?! :) I guess patience is a virtue...

[Pilkerton]

There's actually a small gap between the exterior body and the structure the box is mounted to. I merely had to wiggle the screw into position around back while compressing the gray foam shown on the left. There's only one hole (I didn't drill a second one), so it's only secured with a single bolt, but it's good enough for now.

[Karlis]

Did you put something underneath the module so it doesn't resonate on vibrations from the body?

[Pilkerton]

I haven't, but that's a good idea - I just threw on a couple of lock washers from the junk bin as a temporary solution, but maybe a square piece of rubber gasket material would be help. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll be messing with it.

I did not take your suggestion (I think it was you) of simply feeding the CDC cable through a hole cut in the liner, but perhaps I should. If there was a cheaper source of connectors, I'd build an extender cable in a heartbeat.

BTW, the noise I initially had in the right audio channel abated somewhat after I:
• Inspected the connections and noticed I hadn't soldered the top side GND pads at the connector, and
• Removed the head unit, sprayed the connectors with contact cleaner, and performed a few vigorous plugging/unplugging cycles

There still remains a bit of right channel noise, but it's now "within acceptable limits".

[Seth]

Looks nice :) I wonder though, if being that close to metal, if that will help or hurt your signal strength/reception? I know some people have mentioned that if their phone is in their pocket, they'll get dropped audio from the bluetooth signal having trouble going through so many obstacles.

I'm lazy, and I remove my module a lot, but eventually I plan on mounting it to the carpet, off the trunk floor, so it won't get damaged by any cargo moving around...

[Pilkerton]

I personally have not had any problems with my iPhone 5S dropping out or failing to pair/reconnect, but then again I tend to keep the phone in a vent mount on the dash (similar to the one Karlis uses, but perhaps poorer quality).

Something I just remembered: the RN52 datasheet recommends keeping the antenna portion of the module unobstructed. I don't know if you have a ground plane underneath that area, but might it affect performance? The Sparkfun RN52 breakout board has the antenna portion kinda hanging off the edge.

[Seth]

there's no ground plane under the antenna; i followed the datasheet's recommendations (except for having the antenna hang off the pcb, part). There is an exposed ground around the edge of the entire pcb, minus the edge where the antenna is, on v3.3a pcb (I don't think I ever released v3.3, so I just called v3.3a --> v3.3). AFAIK, this ground edge hasn't affected performance/reception; it's strictly for helping with handling the pcb by hand and ESD (not sure if it actually helps, but can't hurt, and at one time I thought I had fried some stuff with ESD).

[Nickhe]

Anyone got any recommendation and picture how to ground it properly ? :) I cant seem to find a good enough bult too fit the cable too ground it

[Karlis]

I used a mount point just behind of upholstery. There is one bolt that is placed conveniently for CDC wiring harness to reach.

[Trionic Seven]

This is my kit! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30qahGvou3k

[sbt]

OK, just built v5.0:

Here's the grey Saab:


And here's the BlueSaab:

The unit:


On the back, added some velcro:


Installed. I was able to delete the old CDC unit and put in the optional storage bin; great for beer or other wet things:


Cheers,
Sam.

[sbt]

Update: added amp shield v1.1:



Back of shield: