Insufficient volume on Nuvi 360 in a motorhome

[skipper1]

This is my 1st post to this group.

I've recently got a Nuvi 360 for my motorhome. Its great except that at around 50-60mph the road noise makes it difficult to hear the voice instructions.

Can anyone suggest how I could amplify the sound? There only seems to be a jack point for a microphone.

[alix776]

fm transmitter so you can also play mp3s whitle the navigation is running
_________________
currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .

Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl

[skipper1]

Thanks alix776 for your speedy reply. its good to know there is a solution. Could you tell me a little more about how I would do this? How would I connect the fm transmitter to the Nuvi360? Where would I go to get one? I live in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. Would the fm transmitter nedd a seperate power supply?

Sorry to burden you with these extra questions but I am a bit ignorant on electronics.

[alix776]

www.techsplosion.co.uk ive used them before and have a couple of transmitters from then they are around 14 quid
_________________
currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .

Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl

[skipper1]

Many thanks alix for your help. I've been on the website you recommended and i can see what I need to get.

Thanks

[MaFt]

or for a cheaper option find some old pc speakers and plug those into the headphone socket ;)

although the fm transmitter is more elegant!!

MaFt

[skipper1]

I went to my nearest electronic store (Maplin) today and took my Garmin. They were not able to help me because they said there did not appear to be a headphone socket on the Nuvi 360, only a microphone jack socket.

Is the microphone socket also a headphone socket? There is nothing in the Nuvi Manual to say so. Am I missing something?

I could do with some advice!

[mikealder]

Lets take a quick look at options for increasing the sound volume from the navigation device.

With the recent increase in number of devices that can play mp3 audio files, movie files, read out loud SMS text messages, the simple inbuilt speaker leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of audio quality and volume.

There are a number of generic solutions to this problem, but first you will need to see what type of output is available from the navigation device.

The most common connection is the 3,5MM stereo socket, which your device is equipped with (irrespective of what your local Maplin store thought).

Next take a look at the vehicles audio player, some have external or auxiliary inputs sporting an input socket on either the front or rear of the device.

Most Ford's (European) have a 3,5MM socket for this purpose in the glovebox for example. You will need to know what is available and supported, again the manual will help work this out. If your unit doesn't support an external connection there are still options available to port the audio through the car system.

The simplicity of the direct wired connection is by far the easiest to implement, all you need to do is plug the output from the navigation unit in to the car stereo aux input. Leads with 3.5MM stereo plugs are available from Maplins in various lengths, cost circa £5 see Here.

If the car stereo has an RCA style input on the rear use a 3,5MM to RCA plug style lead instead, again pre made leads are available from Maplins circa £5 see Here.

What if your car unit doesn't support external wired connection?

1/ Consider an FM transmitter, these were legalised last December for use within the UK - make sure it is CE marked to ensure legality. You simply connect the transmitter to the navigation devices output socket, switch it on and tune to a frequency not in use - both the frequency of the transmitters output and the frequency the radio is tuned to must match.

2/ Consider an FM Injection unit, these take the audio output in wired form and inject the audio signal directly to the cars aerial lead. These do require more in the way of wiring to the car, but in use they are far superior to the transmitter option. To justify this claim the simple FM transmitter needs a clear frequency to avoid interference, long trips around the country necesitate re-tuning of both transmitter and radio, the injection unit disconnects the car aerial, and as a direct result suffers no interference.

Finally a word about electrical interference which can cause noise with any wired connection to the audio system in a car. If when connected the sound is accompanied by a whine/ whistle noise you should consider a ground loop issolation device, again Maplins supply such a unit, wire it in between the navigation device and the stereo and the noise will cease.

I have tried and used various options and settled on the FM injection unit for a number of reasons:

1/ my car deck doesn't support aux input.
2/ FM transmitters require constant re-tuning.
3/ Flexibility of connection- I can connect any devices output to the injection units input (via low cost addaptors where required).
4/ It frees up the cars aerial for use with the RDS-TMC unit providing a quality input (this did require additional wiring and soldering iron activity)

In this case a simple FM transmitter plugged into the Nuvi's socket will suffice although I would consider the other options if they are supported by your vehicles hardware, you should be able to try this in store, so long as the FM transmitter is equipped with a 3,5MM plug input it will work with the device (I have had this connection working with the Nuvi 310) - Mike

[skipper1]

Many thanks Mike for that very comprehensive reply.

I think I now understand what I need to do. My confusion was over the manual describing the 3.5 mm jack point as for a microphone and I therefore assumed it was line in only. Ive just discovered that in the back of the manual it describes it as for headphones. So it all ties together!

Your reply was greatly appreciatd and will I am sure help other newbies

Peter

[MaFt]

i currently use one of those old cd player to tape convertors for my various mp3 players / sat navs. works well and didn't require any new wiring!!

mike, these fm injection thingy's - does it mean you can't listen to radio anymore or can you still plug the normal aerial into it? where can ye get them from too as this would be a tider option than my cd-tap convertor as i have a spare/blank button i could add a 3.5mm jack socket to to tidy things up ;)

MaFt

[mikealder]

The injection unit plugs inline between the aerial and the car stereo, it is opperated via a switch (supplied with the device), if off the aerial is connected to the car for normal usage, when the injection box is switched on it disconnects the aerial and feeds the signal from the nav device into the aerial lead going to the stereo (that is a simple description of what is does). As the car aerial isn't in use when the injection box is switched on the car aerial is free to be used for "other" purposes, it makes a handy feed for the TMC units. As for where do you get one from, click the red text in my post above it will take you to the data sheet (Maplins) - Mike

[skipper1]

:D Success!! I bought a small fm transmitter from techfocus.co.uk for about £12, it arrived next day, plugged it in to the headphone socket and it worked! It was so easy!

The fm transmitter is small and very neat and sits close to the gps.

The only thing I found was that when tuned to 87.5 MHz it seemed to interfere with satellite reception, so I went to the other end of the scale at 108.0 MHz and it worked fine.

Perhaps some techie can explain why I got a problem with satellite signal at the lower setting.

My thanks to mike, alix and MaFt for solving this signifant problem for me.

[m623d]

Mikealder:
You say you have fitted your tmc with the modulator too, how have you wired it in?

thx
_________________
Garmin Emap, Ipaq 2210 with TomTom Navigator 5, TomTom One, Pioneer AVIC-X1R, TomTom 910 (stolen). TomTom 520, TomTom 6100 (Faulty, replaced under warranty), Currently got a TomTom 6200

[mikealder]

I removed the RF switching relay from the PCB in the Injection box and fitted a different one that allows the aerial to feed the car stereo with the injection box switched off, when you switch on the injection box it energises the relay switching the aerial to the normally open contact which is is wired to the RDS-TMC unit.
As I only need the injection box on when the sat nav is in the car this works great. I was looking into getting a wire from the 910's mount to automatically switch the relay - but need some time to work out if there is a pin that goes to +12V with the nav unit powered up.
Actually wiring the aerial feed into the RDS-TMC is covered elsewhere in the forum, and please be aware doing this will invalidate any waranty with the RDS-TMC unit, details of this modification can be found in the post by GizmoB73 in This Thread - Mike

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