- Jun 30, 2004
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Last year, if you visit the "Garage" Forum, I posted a series of articles about bringing my 1995 Isuzu Trooper LS into the 21st century to make it an "Android Trooper". My [digital!] OEM vehicle audio-receiver is mated with two Blue-Tooth receiver devices: "Tape ' PLAY" and "FM/FM2". One communicates with the OEM receiver via FM transmission; the other using the long-standing traditional device of a cassette tape-player adapter. So I have my standalone MP3 player -- built into the dashboard transmitting to -- say -- 92.5 as a preset among five or ten radio frequencies; and I have my Android (9.0) 7" tablet mounted to the dashboard and transmitting to the other Blue-Tooth receiver. If I keep the sound files in sync and well-updated, I can queue up three sources of music including the 12-CD changer, so that I only need to push a single button on the OEM receiver to switch from one album or performance to another. This makes for safer sound-track control with some decent options that don't require pushing a button more than a very few times so you can keep your eyes focused on the road. I can run Google Maps, simultaneously to [rear-view-nightvision] camera, front-camera/recorder, 5-band equalizer with categorical presets (like "Folk" or "Classical"), and the Pulsar Player for sound files. Voice recognition; voice navigation. I can switch the sound-file source and device with minimal button manipulation and more attention to driving. Other times, one may want to pull over to the shoulder or rest-stop to find different albums or artists to play, but the distraction takes considerably less time than the cycle of an intersection traffic light.
Choice of a tape adapter led me to buy three or four of different makes -- the traditional design with the 3.5mm stereo phone plug, a Bluetooth model that could not be in use while charging, and the [Heibeige] iTape model, which I finally chose to install semi-permanently. It seemed that the time the second device would take to need recharging was a bit short of their 6-hour spec. I wanted to be able to run the device as connected to an active USB QC charger -- also installed in the dashboard to feed both the Android and the iTape. The USB cable is thin, and easily hidden or stowed away neatly on the dashboard so that it is almost not visible.
The iTape's only other "dangling cable" contribution is merely a tiny 6" wire with however so many conductors attached to a rubber-dongle with three push-button switches: "+", "-" and [pause/stop/[on/off]]. Again, the cable clutter doesn't exist but for a 2" loop between iTape and dongle. I used two-sided foam tape to secure the dongle to a proper location on the dashboard.
THE PROBLEM: After a year of normal use, the battery of the iTape does not seem to hold a charge for very long. It seems to stay on while BlueTooth is paired, but I need to test how long that might be. Otherwise, switching "ON" the dongle only activates the BlueTooth for as long as you hold down the button after the required 5 seconds. Yet, when The USB charging switch is "ON", the iTape functions just fine -- so far.
One friend and electronics veteran told me the Chinese don't use good batteries. He even suggested getting a replacement for the device (They're about $28).
I'm thinking -- debating -- as to whether I should attempt to disassemble a unit and then locating and possibly replacing the battery.
But -- what do you figure? There's an even chance their battery is soldered to the rest of the assembly. I only have certain soldering equipment, my eyes are 74 years old, and soldering something that needs a microscope to do so is . . . beyond my skill-set or desire.
How long can I count on the device working properly as long as the USB power is active? It seems totally reliable this way so far, and I don't need the battery-driven capability. Or, I could simply replace the device with a 3.5mm phone connection to my Android.
I can pair the Android with the MP3 player via Blue Tooth. But the player has a volume limitation just short of my listening preferences. Still, it is nice to have expanded use of the cassette player of the receiver, and the sound quality is superb -- supposedly noted in reviews of the Trooper still available on the web.
I'm just wondering what options I have to restore the battery function of the iTape, or merely continue using it with the USB active power.
More than a year "sheltering-in-place", carefully scheduling trips out in public, wearing masks . . . This is what it's come to: fretting over a $30 cheap Chinese Bluetooth adapter. . . . . I could get by fine just using the other one . . . .
Choice of a tape adapter led me to buy three or four of different makes -- the traditional design with the 3.5mm stereo phone plug, a Bluetooth model that could not be in use while charging, and the [Heibeige] iTape model, which I finally chose to install semi-permanently. It seemed that the time the second device would take to need recharging was a bit short of their 6-hour spec. I wanted to be able to run the device as connected to an active USB QC charger -- also installed in the dashboard to feed both the Android and the iTape. The USB cable is thin, and easily hidden or stowed away neatly on the dashboard so that it is almost not visible.
The iTape's only other "dangling cable" contribution is merely a tiny 6" wire with however so many conductors attached to a rubber-dongle with three push-button switches: "+", "-" and [pause/stop/[on/off]]. Again, the cable clutter doesn't exist but for a 2" loop between iTape and dongle. I used two-sided foam tape to secure the dongle to a proper location on the dashboard.
THE PROBLEM: After a year of normal use, the battery of the iTape does not seem to hold a charge for very long. It seems to stay on while BlueTooth is paired, but I need to test how long that might be. Otherwise, switching "ON" the dongle only activates the BlueTooth for as long as you hold down the button after the required 5 seconds. Yet, when The USB charging switch is "ON", the iTape functions just fine -- so far.
One friend and electronics veteran told me the Chinese don't use good batteries. He even suggested getting a replacement for the device (They're about $28).
I'm thinking -- debating -- as to whether I should attempt to disassemble a unit and then locating and possibly replacing the battery.
But -- what do you figure? There's an even chance their battery is soldered to the rest of the assembly. I only have certain soldering equipment, my eyes are 74 years old, and soldering something that needs a microscope to do so is . . . beyond my skill-set or desire.
How long can I count on the device working properly as long as the USB power is active? It seems totally reliable this way so far, and I don't need the battery-driven capability. Or, I could simply replace the device with a 3.5mm phone connection to my Android.
I can pair the Android with the MP3 player via Blue Tooth. But the player has a volume limitation just short of my listening preferences. Still, it is nice to have expanded use of the cassette player of the receiver, and the sound quality is superb -- supposedly noted in reviews of the Trooper still available on the web.
I'm just wondering what options I have to restore the battery function of the iTape, or merely continue using it with the USB active power.
More than a year "sheltering-in-place", carefully scheduling trips out in public, wearing masks . . . This is what it's come to: fretting over a $30 cheap Chinese Bluetooth adapter. . . . . I could get by fine just using the other one . . . .
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