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[SixtySeven]

Guys,

Has anyone made up a cable and tried this on a Street Pilot 3 (or 26xx)? I built a cable and got massive clipping and noise when I enabled it.  [smiley=nixweiss.gif] I think the problem was the Garmin is spkr level out and the Aux in is Preamp level in. Have you guys figured out how to get around this? I believe you can buy a "converter" that will take the spkr level back to preamp level, but not sure.  [smiley=confused5.gif] Any help would be appreciated, it is a shame to lose the voice prompting feature...

Thanks, Steve
'04 FLHTCSEI

[Twolanerider]

Guys,

Has anyone made up a cable and tried this on a Street Pilot 3 (or 26xx)? I built a cable and got massive clipping and noise when I enabled it.

[SixtySeven]

Ok, now at least I know it's not just me.  I had also been living with this for a while, but
I had decided last nite was going to be the nite I researched this problem to come up with a solution.  I definitely believe the issue to be signal level differences and found a couple ideas around that.

First, if someone is ambitious enough, here is a link to a line-level converter you can make. Even if you don't want to make it, it definitely explains the issue so is good backup reading.

http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/speaker_to_line.html

However, I also found these are readily available in the audio installation market under the general category of "Line-Level Converters" or "Line Output Converters". A company named Peripheral Electronics makes quite a selection and I ordered their 2 channel, adjustable attenuation unit. The model number is P35A and you can see it at the following link:

http://peripheralelectronics.com/2002/loc.asp

I ordered this unit from http://www.autosoundgear.com for $28.58 delivered. I am going to redo the cable now with this line out converter buit in.

If I get it this weekend, I should have the cable built and tested and will let you know how it goes and the specifics on the cable.

Thanks, Steve
04 FLHTCSEI

[Bungy]

I connected my Garmin 276c using an adapter cable from Garmin http://www.thegpsstore.com/detail.asp?product_id=GAX10082 & had no problem. Audio works fine. One problem I had however was that the wire marked audio (-) was not a ground as I mistakenly assumed. I had to use a "stereo plug" & hook the (+) wire to one channel & the (-) to the other.

[SixtySeven]

Thanks for the pointer. I went and researched what you used and it looks like that your unit uses a different connector than mine so the cables wouldn't be compatible. I also looked at the picture of your cable on GPS City and it looks like there is a little module in line which I'll bet is the line output converter.

I scoured the Garmin site and couldn't find anything for the street pilot III like you got. Sure would be much easier...

[Twolanerider]

If I get it this weekend, I should have the cable built and tested and will let you know how it goes and the specifics on the cable.

That'd be great.  Thanks for the info.

[SixtySeven]

Well, it took a while to get the part, but the line level converter came in. I made up a new cable with the converter in line and it worked!!!  [smiley=7.gif] I got perfectly clear speech from the StreetPilot through the bikes stereo. The only issue was that the converter was a little larger than I had hoped at about 2 x 3" so it's not just a lump in the cable as I was expecting. I now have to fabricate some type of velcro mount for the converter so it can be stuck to the bike when I have the GPS mounted. That's not that tough, just glad I now have the voice working!!!  [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]