AUX audio/ dash-compartment work-around sought...

[robofavo]

Has anyone come up with a decent solution for this?

I thought I was brilliant, purchasing a phone cable (for the I-phone) that would allow the bike to charge the phone and port the audio - (via the Upper right-side Dash-Compartment AUX-port) enabling the phone to be charged and play-back through the speakers (which it does quite well!) without resorting to the usual blue-tooth voodoo - (which is possible if you remember each time how you did it the last time you rode).  
The #$%&* problem I've run into (and obviously not alone) is the phone (which is the smaller one) just does not fit in the upper right-side dash compartment (photo) with the cords attached.  
So frustrating.  
The only two solutions I can think of are:
A. ride with the phone and its cables in a tank-bag (trailing back to the dash compartment) and leave the dash compartment wide OPEN while riding, or ... 
B. (God forbid, modify the Dash compartment lid (drill a hole) and somehow cleanly rubber-grommet this hole to thread the cables through and back to a tank-bag.  

Since my bike was purchased brand new and is less than a year oid, I'm very reluctant to modify yet, (was not afraid of modifying my 15 year old ST1300 though).  
Any ideas would be appreciated as I have found much joy in having speakers to stream radio and tunes (from my phone) on long rides.      

[dirtrider]

13 minutes ago, robofavo said:

Has anyone come up with a decent solution for this?

I thought I was brilliant, purchasing a phone cable (for the I-phone) that would allow the bike to charge the phone and port the audio - (via the Upper right-side Dash-Compartment AUX-port) enabling the phone to be charged and play-back through the speakers (which it does quite well!) without resorting to the usual blue-tooth voodoo - (which is possible if you remember each time how you did it the last time you rode).  
The #$%&* problem I've run into (and obviously not alone) is the phone (which is the smaller one) just does not fit in the upper right-side dash compartment (photo) with the cords attached.  
So frustrating.  
The only two solutions I can think of are:
A. ride with the phone and its cables in a tank-bag (trailing back to the dash compartment) and leave the dash compartment wide OPEN while riding, or ... 
B. (God forbid, modify the Dash compartment lid (drill a hole) and somehow cleanly rubber-grommet this hole to thread the cables through and back to a tank-bag.  

Since my bike was purchased brand new and is less than a year oid, I'm very reluctant to modify yet, (was not afraid of modifying my 15 year old ST1300 though).  
Any ideas would be appreciated as I have found much joy in having speakers to stream radio and tunes (from my phone) on long rides.      

 

 

Afternoon  robofavo

 

Does the rubber lid seal give enough (enough squish)  to just run your small diameter wires out then shut the cover on the wires? 

[fourteenfour]

I stuffed an older iPod Touch in there and only once in awhile take it out to add new songs.

[robofavo]

37 minutes ago, dirtrider said:

 

Afternoon  robofavo

 

Does the rubber lid seal give enough (enough squish)  to just run your small diameter wires out then shut the cover on the wires? 

 

BMW's very German engineers, have created a pretty good - unique seal using a Male to Female molded rubber gasket system with a hard plastic under-structure on each the lid and the receiving surface.  Cinching down the lid would probably damage the delicate audio wires, the rubber seals, or the lid hinges but may be worth a try - the aux wire adapter-rig is about an $18.  If I get desperate, I might give that a try, maybe. 

[robofavo]

17 minutes ago, fourteenfour said:

I stuffed an older iPod Touch in there and only once in awhile take it out to add new songs.

I also have an older I-pod too - and will use it, but the I-phone allows me to steam Pandora, which happens to be one of my favorite music venues... 

[Skywagon]

I will be curious if anyone does have an idea how to work around this.  It started on the 2014 RT's.  Min is just like that.  

 

DR...The cables are too thick to shut the lid.  I carry an iPhone 7 and I can just wiggle it in the compartment with the cables and shut the lid.  It's very tight.  I looked at a couple of ways that I might drill holes in the side of the box and mount the internal cable....but chickened out as figured it would never be waterproof again....and it rains here a lot.  It really is a  poor design 

 

[John Bentall]

I - and many others - have moved our music from the phone to a USB stick, which fits into the compartment with ease. 

 

The phone can then stay in a pocket. If you use a bluetooth headset, then connect to the bike with the A2DP profile and to the phone with a Hands Free Profile. 

 

I would argue that it is not a poor design by BMW. rather it is poor design of the phone manufacturers to create super-sized phones that will not fit in the BMW compartment. 

[Skywagon]

not a fan of big phones.  That is why I have a 7 instead of a bigger one.  My wife has some great big iPhone.  I told her with her big clown phone it is so big she should get these to go with it.

 

 

 

I guess I should try to revive my first cell phone it was so small

 

 

[Roaddawg]

On 5/9/2020 at 10:13 AM, robofavo said:

Has anyone come up with a decent solution for this?

I thought I was brilliant, purchasing a phone cable (for the I-phone) that would allow the bike to charge the phone and port the audio - (via the Upper right-side Dash-Compartment AUX-port) enabling the phone to be charged and play-back through the speakers (which it does quite well!) without resorting to the usual blue-tooth voodoo - (which is possible if you remember each time how you did it the last time you rode).  
The #$%&* problem I've run into (and obviously not alone) is the phone (which is the smaller one) just does not fit in the upper right-side dash compartment (photo) with the cords attached.  
So frustrating.  
The only two solutions I can think of are:
A. ride with the phone and its cables in a tank-bag (trailing back to the dash compartment) and leave the dash compartment wide OPEN while riding, or ... 
B. (God forbid, modify the Dash compartment lid (drill a hole) and somehow cleanly rubber-grommet this hole to thread the cables through and back to a tank-bag.  

Since my bike was purchased brand new and is less than a year oid, I'm very reluctant to modify yet, (was not afraid of modifying my 15 year old ST1300 though).  
Any ideas would be appreciated as I have found much joy in having speakers to stream radio and tunes (from my phone) on long rides.  

 

 

 

 

 

Did you solve your problem? A solution I saw was using a bluetooth transmitter connected to the USB plug and aux connector. You pair the BT transmitter to your phone and play your music on your phone.

[robofavo]

To answer your question - not yet!  Have not heard of a bluetooth transmitter, but I'm willing to check it out.  I've been looking at re-purposing a 12 volt outlet cover that can be opened & closed (mounted into the lid of the glove-box)  (Pics) so you can pass the cords through to a tank bag. When not in use, just close the cover. Or using a water-proof grommet. (pic) as a pass-through in the lid - but have only seen them in White plastic, not Black..  I may wind up just purchasing a handful of these items on line (I cannot find them locally) to see if any would be a good fit.  In the meantime, I've just been using the right-hand power-outlet that comes with the RT to power my phone on longer trips.  The ultimate goal is to port my phones music (MP3's) and stream Pandora through the radio speakers. 

[Roaddawg]

Here is a BT Transceiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081ZT2QL7/?coliid=I306KZFLJY7YCF&colid=2I1Q00EB3PXVQ&psc=1

 

How it's connected:

 

 

 

[John Bentall]

Here in the UK, I am using completely different technology to listen to my favorite media, namely digital radio (DigitalAudioBroadcasting). The radio is powered from the USB and displays its radio stations as USB tracks, meaning that I can change stations from the wheel.

 

To pass the USB plug of the DAB radio into the glove compartment, I removed the RHS fairing panel and drilled a suitably sized hole (16mm in picture). Once free of the compartment one could thread some extension cables into a tank-bag using a pass-thru adapter such as a simple compression gland or the Optimate O20 or O30 cable sets. Alternatively use could mount a waterproof mobile phone holder favored by those using the phones as a navigation device.

 

I would have been equally happy to drill towards the inside of the bike and use grommet to stop entry of water. Insert a blanking grommet when you sell the bike.

 

Hope this helps.

[robofavo]

I had not heard of this bluetooth transmitter - for 20 Bucks it's worth a try...thanks for the tip - will let you know how well it performs. 

[John Bentall]

Would this work as well USB Dongle?

[Claudio]

22 hours ago, John Bentall said:

Would this work as well USB Dongle?

 

I don't think that is what you are looking for. On the RT, you have to deliver an audio signal to the 3.5mm audio socket. The USB is there for power or to deliver MP3/digital audio files (not sure about the later).

 

The USB dongle you cited simply relays the bluetooth to a computer over USB (this is used to add bluetooth capabilities to older computers that don't have bluetooth built in).

 

Something like this is what you want.  It powers off the USB but delivers the analogue audio signal from your paired phone.

 

[robofavo]

Ok, this is what I have settled for,... ordered this off of Amazon, 20 bucks and it was delivered in 3 days. 

Best of all, It works!  

The USB gives it power, it (the receiver) receives a blue-tooth signal from my phone, (I like to stream Pandora) and performs play-back via the RT's dash speakers but ONLY using the AUX channel. 

You cannot control your phone via the wonder-wheel.  Best to stream pandora or create a play-list on your phone and let it play. 

This is the unit I ordered: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081ZT2QL7/?coliid=I306KZFLJY7YCF&colid=2I1Q00EB3PXVQ&psc=1

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread! 

Love this site! 

[Dann]

Not really a workaround since my R1250Rt doesn't have the audio package which means no right side glove box.

I simply load my music in my NAV VI and play it using the built-in player.

[robofavo]

Dann - Great tip!  But please forgive my laziness... I'm sure I could also read my Garmin VI instructions ... so how does one "load" music in the VI navigator and which Garmin app is used for playback? ? 

Thanks! 

[Claudio]

38 minutes ago, robofavo said:

so how does one "load" music in the VI navigator and which Garmin app is used for playback? ? 

 

On a Mac (and likely similar in windows) when the Nav is connected, you'll see its storage appear as a USB drive.  Within that drive you'll see a folder for music. Drag n' Drop your MP3s there for a basic load.  The music is played through the media app (just change source to "MP3").  I believe you can also prepare and load playlists (check your manual for that).

[Dann]

15 hours ago, robofavo said:

Dann - Great tip!  But please forgive my laziness... I'm sure I could also read my Garmin VI instructions ... so how does one "load" music in the VI navigator and which Garmin app is used for playback? ? 

Thanks! 

 

With my computer, I created a folder called MP3 in the Garmin internal storage space and put mp3 files in it. They can be in sub directories like different albums

The NAV VI has a built-in player . I've put a quick access icon for it on the map screen.

(Mine had no folder for music already created and it wouldn't play files if they were on the SD card either.)

YMMV

[robofavo]

OK, spent some quality time with my Mac laptop & the r1250RT's Garmin VI...

Successfully loaded a bunch of MP3's into the Garmin music folder - however, when I went to play them back via the Garmin Media Player (pic) , all I got was this...."An A2DP headset must be connected to listen to music."  Guessing this is BMW's private label bluetooth headset?  

So I paired my SENA with the Garmin, but to no avail... Not a big deal, but if I missed a step, please let me know! Thanks. 

[Dann]

It's not BMW proprietary. I have no issues using my Sena 10R with the NAV media player.

Check in the bluetooth settings if multimedia is enabled for your Sena. It doesn't always enable it automatically with my 10R.

You will also get this message if the headset is not actively paired.

[MachineJoe]

Thanks for posting .... Great info to the uninformed!!!  HAHA  (that would be me)

just made the MP3 file on my Nav6 and took 25 min of download time. That's a lot of music and was surprised it all fit!

I don't know how much more space is on the Nav6

[Dann]

8 hours ago, MachineJoe said:

Thanks for posting .... Great info to the uninformed!!!  HAHA  (that would be me)

just made the MP3 file on my Nav6 and took 25 min of download time. That's a lot of music and was surprised it all fit!

I don't know how much more space is on the Nav6

25 min transfer doesn't mean mean much.

The transfer speed of the NAV is not that fast + - 2mb/sec

Mine took over 40 min for 3gb

The total storage space on the NAV 6 internal memory is 14 Gb . This includes software,  maps etc. (there is also an old version of Basecamp(3.3.2) that uses 1.36Mb for nothing.)

There is around 8Gb of free space available.

[MachineJoe]

My bad, I should have stated it differently.

I was impressed with the fact  that I was able to get 65 hours of music on the GPS.

That'll take me a few trips back and forth to the left coast before it repeats a song.

I used about 6Gb out of the 8 available.

I appreciate the info Dann.

[Skywagon]

I have a Nav 5. It shows a media player but I’ve never been able to load or hear music from the gps. I use my phone for that   I created a folder on the gps and transferred a couple of songs in it but can’t see them unless connected to PC. I can do this easily on old Zumo but can’t figure it out on this Nav 5. There is no music folder and no media folder. How did you guys do it?

[lkraus]

The music must be in the MP3 format with the .mp3 file extension. It does not really matter which folder contains the file, the GPS will find it.  I initially used MP3 as the folder name in internal storage just for my own convenience. Playlists (if any) must have a .m3u or .m3u8 extension.   I now have most of my music on a microSD card (FAT32 format only) and my music database created Music, Playlist and Audiobook folders on the card. The GPS finds music and playlists in all four folders with no trouble, though initial startup takes a while after adding more files as the music is found and indexed. Right now, the 32 Gb card has about 4 Gb of music, 44 hours worth, in 664 files.   I usually set the media player app to shuffle and just listen to whatever comes up, like my own personal commercial-free radio station.

[Bernie]

David if you create a folder Garmin/music on the Micro-SD card and transfer or copy your MP3 files into it, your GPS should find them the next time you reboot it. Except if it is connected to a GPS cradle on a WetHead/ShiftCam RT with the builtin factory radio.

The newer RT's (2014+) will not let you play music from your Nav6 or 5. Then you are best to move your music in MP3 format onto a USB Stick and plug it into the USB outlet in the right compartment.

[Skywagon]

Thanks Bernie. I feel vindicated. I do exactly as you said. My bike has the BMW audio system and built in Nav 5. I use my Sena and have audio, gps, and iPhone all working together since new. I also carry a flash drive with all my music. When folks were talking about music in the gps media folder I wanted to see if that would work 

[Dann]

9 hours ago, Bernie said:

David if you create a folder Garmin/music on the Micro-SD card and transfer or copy your MP3 files into it, your GPS should find them the next time you reboot it. Except if it is connected to a GPS cradle on a WetHead/ShiftCam RT with the builtin factory radio.

The newer RT's (2014+) will not let you play music from your Nav6 or 5. Then you are best to move your music in MP3 format onto a USB Stick and plug it into the USB outlet in the right compartment.

My NAV VI has no issue playing music while in the cradle of my R1250RT with no audio package.

It will not find any mp3 files on the SD card though. They have to be in the internal memory.

[Bernie]

Good evening Daniel.

My observations have been with a 2018 R1200RT-LC, WetHead with Audio Package. I suspect that a RT without the audio package will have the GPS work similar to a GS/GSA/R/RS models.

I have not tried to play MP3’s from my SD Drive on my Nav6, but it used to work without any problems on my Zumo 590.

I guess Garmin disabled that feature on the BMW Nav6. 

[Dann]

Hi Bernie

I was finally able to play music stored on the SD Card.

The NAV VI will find the mp3 files on the SD card if there's a least one in the internal memory.

 

[Bernie]

I have heard of that trick before. I also think you have to activate the function in the menu on the GPS.

 

[Skywagon]

Bernie. That automatically play music selection isn’t on my Nav V. That screen ends at Friendly Name. Think I will write Garmin and see if it can be added with a patch

[Skywagon]

Just got though talking with Garmin.  This feature not available on the Nav V....bummer.

[Bernie]

Sorry to hear. I try to remember in future. 

[Dann]

On 6/26/2020 at 3:41 AM, Bernie said:

I have heard of that trick before. I also think you have to activate the function in the menu on the GPS.

 

Does this means that the playback will start automatically when there is a connection to the helmet?

I don't want that. I don't always feel the need to listen to music when I start riding.

 

YMMV

[Bernie]

Try it out. It’s easy to turn it off. 
I don’t think it will start playing by itself, but may let you select the option. 
Try it. 

[TJRL]

On 6/20/2020 at 10:00 AM, John Bentall said:

Here in the UK, I am using completely different technology to listen to my favorite media, namely digital radio (DigitalAudioBroadcasting). The radio is powered from the USB and displays its radio stations as USB tracks, meaning that I can change stations from the wheel.

 

To pass the USB plug of the DAB radio into the glove compartment, I removed the RHS fairing panel and drilled a suitably sized hole (16mm in picture). Once free of the compartment one could thread some extension cables into a tank-bag using a pass-thru adapter such as a simple compression gland or the Optimate O20 or O30 cable sets. Alternatively use could mount a waterproof mobile phone holder favored by those using the phones as a navigation device.

 

I would have been equally happy to drill towards the inside of the bike and use grommet to stop entry of water. Insert a blanking grommet when you sell the bike.

 

Hope this helps.

John, can you let us know the DAB unit you purchased and also what the antenna you used and where you located it? - Many thanks Toby