User article by Brett Oliver

We have a diverse user group at PocketGPSWorld.com, with a lot of talented people out there. Every once in a while we get an article sent to us that highlights the ingenuity of our users to create a solution to an irritating issue. Brett Oliver has done just that with his modified Navman PiN570 mount.

Bret's Article

Objective: Fixing and hard wiring a Navman Pin 570 in a Ford Focus no holes made in the dashboard using the standard Navman cradle and car power lead.

Here is my Navman Pin 570 mounted in my Ford Focus.

It is mounted on a bracket made from 2 100x15mm mending strips available from any DIY store.

The bracket is mounted through an existing hole and self tapper in the dash board bezel. This means no fixing holes are drilled in your dash.

The Navman cradle as supplied is modified by discarding the bracket and taking off the back of the cradle (5 screws) then fixing 2 bolts through the cradle and the new mounting bracket. The back of the cradle is then refitted and the bracket attached to the dash through the 2nd hole on the left of the dash bezel and the 2nd from last hole in the top mending strip. This means the bracket stops against the recess on the dash and is held firmly in place.

The middle of the bracket joins a 2nd bracket and pivots at this point for positioning. The 2nd bracket is bent down almost 90 degrees this give your vertical adjustment.

Bracket diagram showing fixing and bends. Click on the image for a full size version of the diagram

Cover bracket with black tape to blend in with the dashboard.

Hard Wiring the Car Power Lead

I have modded the supplied Navman power lead and connected it to an ignition switched supply from my CD player.

If you do not want to void your warranty just use a car accessory socket from Maplin for 99p (click here for details).

The power lead is placed behind the dash with the wires coming through the small storage drawer above the cigar lighter socket. The lead just sits in this drawer when not in use. When in use the lead is pulled out from the drawer and plugged into my Navman (the drawer can then be almost closed on the lead) see top pic.

To mod the supplied plug unscrew the silver nut at the end then pull off the silver collar. The plug can then be split in half. Remove the fuse and de-solder the +ve from the spring and Earth from one of the side contact springs. Cut off the red and black wires and solder new wires in their place.

On the +ve put in an inline fuse holder (Halfords or Maplin etc). I have used Hot Melt glue to fix the wires to the plug housing see above.

Refix the top of the plug put the collar back on and screw on the silver fixing nut. Note the end contact spring and side earth contacts can be discarded.

Remove the drawer from the Focus dashboard (pull forward then depress the retaining tab).

File the slot in the rear left corner to make it fit the power lead.

Feed the plug and lead through the hole where the drawer went then put the drawer back in the dash. I have found that the lead fits best when hooked over the slot about half way down the cable.

This leaves enough slack to open the drawer and remove the CD player if needed.

Remove the CD player. I fixed the earth to the earth tag on the CD player and used the Yl/Gn on the CD as the +ve. This is ignition switched so the plug with inbuilt regulator is off when the car is unattended.

References

Brett Oliver

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