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ra-san
Member
Think we had a thread about this a long time ago, before the 2.0 days. Obviously we didn't have the built in dock area then.
If you have a pre 2.0, or a 2.0 and want to do something different (and if the tray is still the same in the appropriate spots), you might do something like some of us did "back in the old days".
I picked up Stephen Casner's designed proclip mount and am completely happy with it. I also got the front plate mount he designed and love it too. I'm afraid that's not too helpful since Stephen, to my knowledge, never wanted to make bunches of them and turned it all over to EV Components to handle. Last I heard their status wasn't great, but I don't know if they or anyone else is still making them.
The proclip I use is the swivel one, part number ProClip 915255. It's very solid. Has worked well with all body styles of the iphone, though it clearly doesn't exactly fit the iPhone4 (works fine though, plenty secure, no scratches). I'm sure there's an iPhone4 specific version as well, just haven't bothered to pick it up.
If you have a pre 2.0, or a 2.0 and want to do something different (and if the tray is still the same in the appropriate spots), you might do something like some of us did "back in the old days".
I picked up Stephen Casner's designed proclip mount and am completely happy with it. I also got the front plate mount he designed and love it too. I'm afraid that's not too helpful since Stephen, to my knowledge, never wanted to make bunches of them and turned it all over to EV Components to handle. Last I heard their status wasn't great, but I don't know if they or anyone else is still making them.
The proclip I use is the swivel one, part number ProClip 915255. It's very solid. Has worked well with all body styles of the iphone, though it clearly doesn't exactly fit the iPhone4 (works fine though, plenty secure, no scratches). I'm sure there's an iPhone4 specific version as well, just haven't bothered to pick it up.
Attachments
Strider,
Not sure I understand. Is there a way of easily making the dock plug smaller, without destroying it? If the height of that could be reduced, the dock would fit lower down, and the 15 degree slope piece could be added to improve the angle.
I'd recommend using a standard iPhone 30-pin connector and tweaking the console. It's a simple, non-destructive fix that leaves you with an iPhone dock that looks like it was supposed to be there. What's more, you can drop the iPhone in/take it out without even looking.
DIY iPhone Dock
DIY iPhone Dock
I've struggled with this too, my solution was pull out the bluetooth USB dongle and leave it somewhere, plug that in when you need it rather than dealing with the other way around.
Another solution is to set the unit (I'm assuming JVC R-900) not to connect automatically. I've had it set like that for a while recently and it does seem to work ok.
I have to say though that the BT hands-free is so poor in the roadster that I don't use it anymore.
strider
Active Member
When I got my car there was a rubber grommet that was stuck down into the console and held the dock plug. I removed that rubber insert and now it's much easier to pull the cable out, plug it into my phone, and then push it back down into the console. I'll try to take a picture.
SByer
'08 #383
I had the Casner bracket w/ ProClip swivel adapter and iPod holder in the car, but went for even-more-spartan and just bought a dedicated black classic iPod for the car and stuck it down in the bottom tray on a custom cut (me with scissors - the optimal shape is a strange trapezoidal with weird corners thing) StickyPad to keep it from sliding around and making noise. The newer iPod works better with the JVC unit, and being black, is pretty much invisible when it's off.
I kept the Casner bracket and added a generic phone holder (with ProClip's quick switch adapters) to hold my Nexus S when I want really good nav for somewhere, since the bracket pops in and out fairly easily. I also use the ProClip fast change adapters in my wife's car, so everything can mix and match - her car doesn't have BlueTooth or an iPod dock, and the Android phone does really great at a do-everything-at-once solution. But when she just needs nav, she docks her handheld GPS (since dealing with Android can be, uh, techie).
strider
Active Member
Dragon,
This can easily be changed by your local store. The radio only has a USB input - Tesla just puts either a USB-Apple cable or a USB-USB cable on the end.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Just call and ask. I was asked which I wanted (USB or iPhone connector) the week before I picked up the car. It shouldn't be an issue.
benji4
Roadster 2.5 #0476
Following Michael's design here I put together a dock for the iPhone which quoting him "looks like it belongs in the car". The iPhone now fits perfectly into the dock as intended, and drops right in and out effortlessly even in the dark. It's a 100% improvement over the sorry excuse for a dock which comes with the car.
DIY iPhone dock
DIY iPhone dock
benji4
Roadster 2.5 #0476
The nice thing about Michael's design is that basically all you are doing it replacing the old iPhone cable with a new one, mounting it in the correct position with some double sided tape, and then putting some foam around the opening (optional) to make it look perfect. The dock is just the Roadster's own dock, nothing more or less. The phrase simple is best really describes this, it's just unbelievable Tesla just doesn't do this and deliver the car like this.
Any newer iPhone cable will do the trick (get a black one obviously), and total time needed for the project is about 30 minutes. It looks great with or without the phone docked, position of the phone is perfect and stable in the dock, and you can dock and undock even in the dark with no problem. I tried the ProClip, but this way is about 95%better all around. The one problem, if you could call it a problem, is that it makes it harder to text while driving because the parking brake gets in the way a bit. I'm sure Roadster drivers never try to text while driving though :smile:
Anyway, try this and you can then give your ProClip to a friend, it will make a nice present!
Thanks benji4: Would this work?
Amazon.com: Qmadix USB Charging/Sync Cable for Apple iPhone 3G/3GS/4G/iPad/iTouch (Black): Cell Phones Accessories
or if you know of something better I can order off of Amazon, let me know. Thanks.
Dave
Amazon.com: Qmadix USB Charging/Sync Cable for Apple iPhone 3G/3GS/4G/iPad/iTouch (Black): Cell Phones Accessories
or if you know of something better I can order off of Amazon, let me know. Thanks.
Dave
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benji4
Roadster 2.5 #0476
Yes, that cable will work fine. In fact, the connection looks pretty much exactly like the one I used. Perhaps you could opt for one that has a bit more surface area at the top (like the one that came with the car) to give you more area to tape it onto the dock, but as long as your double sided taped is strong enough, it's no problem at all.
A few points: make sure you use the strongest double-sided tape you can get. If your tape is fairly thick, then one layer works fine. If it's a bit thinner then perhaps you'll want two layers. Black colored tape is best too to give the whole thing a uniform appearence even though you don't really see much of the tape since it's between the adapter and the console. I found some strong, thick, black colored tape at a home improvement store that was perfect for the job, just one layer got the adapter in perfect position. Test that the phone slides right onto the adapter before actually affixing the adapter (although even if you get it wrong you can just pull the tape off and re-do it). You'll want the top of the adapter to be around 3 or 4 mm out of the hole. If it's down in the hole, obviously when you slide your phone in it won't dock.
Next, you'll find that the iPhone adapter that comes with the car plugs into not only a USB, but it's split at the bottom and plugs into something else as well. I have no idea what the other connector is, but I ignored and have had no problems. At first I thought maybe it was to charge the phone, and maybe it was with the old adapter??? But in anycase, just the USB connection works just fine. The other connection is just some kind of vesitage I guess.
Actually removing the plastic piece from the center console to do this can be a bit tough because of a very tight clip that is used to hold it in place on the back of it. Remove the docking piece in a controled and smooth manner as you don't want to yank it out of the car and damage it. The front is only held in place by the screw-- remove the screw first, and then work the backside up off the clip. After you finish making your dock and are ready to screw/clip the center piece back in, be sure you hold the piece down tight into the center console when you put the screw in so that you get the original good, tight fit.
Finally, the black foam -- this is really optional. I got some black foam and cut a piece that fit right into the hole around the new adapter. It looks perhaps a bit better like this, but either with or without the foam it looks good, definately not manditory. That's it, you should be good to go!
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Benji4, about 9 months ago I opened up my console and put the original connector and the Schoche adapter down underneath, with an extension cable sticking up through the hole. That has worked fine and the phone fits in the Tesla dock perfectly but I do get an annoying "not designed for this iphone" error. Does Michael's solution eliminate this error?
Also, when playing from the Apple native (IPod) app on the iPhone are you able to skip songs and see the song names on the OEM amplifier in the car (instead of on the iphone)? I am wondering if the second cable you had found underneath enabled that or not. If I switch to the replacement cable (no Schoche) solution I'm wondering if I would lose that functionality.
Thanks!
benji4
Roadster 2.5 #0476
I think I got an "accessory not supported" error with the original cable, at least with the iPhone 3G. I have an iPhone 4 now and I don't get any errors at all with the new setup, and my friends iPhone 3G worked fine as well. I can see all the song lists, etc. on the screen of the Infotainment system and all the commands work. I can't get bluetooth to work however -- but who needs it really. Just push the speaker button on your iPhone when a call comes in and you get excellent quality. One nice thing is it only costs about $5 to test this out since that about what a new iPhone connector costs (and you probably have one or two of those around somewhere anyway).
Cool! Silly that I got all that gadgetry not realizing I just had to plug a regular iphone cable in instead. I also have an iphone 4.
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