By purchasing vehicle, motorists pay attention not only to its technical condition, but also to the level of comfort that accompanies this car. Of course, over time, even the most modern equipment of a technical facility becomes outdated, alternative options, which are even more actively welcomed by motorists. The modernization process is developing rapidly, affecting, among other things, the equipment of the interior with playing devices.
You can connect a flash drive to the car radio to listen to music recordings.
Just a few years ago you could find car radios on sale that were designed to use optical discs. Currently, devices that play music files from a flash drive are extremely popular. Of course, relying only on the playback source, it is difficult for most motorists to abandon their favorite car radio. Moreover, the majority digital devices, sold in the retail chain, are of dubious origin.
If you want to keep your radio, but equip it with additional devices, thanks to which it will become possible connection flash drive to it, then it will be quite useful for you to study the recommendations on how to quickly connect a flash drive to a car radio.
Connection options
There are several options for solving the problem associated with connecting a removable storage device to a playing device. Among these options, there are some that are welcomed only by a limited number of motorists. An excellent alternative to them are quite popular actions that allow even those who do not have a technical education to figure out how to connect a flash drive to the radio.
You can, of course, not subject yourself to any tests, but simply visit a retail establishment and purchase a high-quality reproducing device from a famous brand. However, although such a solution to the problem will be desirable for many, it is not at all affordable. For this reason, it is still useful to consider the recommendations of motorists who have gone through this modernization path on how to connect a flash drive to a car radio without a USB connector.
Perhaps someone already has experience connecting a flash drive to a radio using Bluetooth adapter. Of course, this option can be considered as one of the likely ways to solve the problem. However, those who have already gone through this technical solution path were, in most cases, left dissatisfied with the result.
First of all, it needs to be connected to the cigarette lighter; accordingly, you have to consider the need to purchase a splitter. And this is not only additional financial waste, but also the occurrence of some discomfort when the protruding parts do not allow quick movements. In addition, such a specific clutter provokes a decrease in the aesthetics of the car interior. However, the main disadvantage is that you can't expect high-quality sound reproduction.
Some skilled technical craftsmen can not only successfully implement a USB adapter into any car radio, but also pre-construct it themselves. However, this option is unacceptable for absolutely everyone, since you have to work with microcircuits and boards, which are important to understand. Even one incorrect soldering can cause the car radio to fail.
A burnt-out board can, of course, be replaced, but this will again require certain knowledge and skills, and you will also have to fork out money, since the cost of such “parts” can be quite high. If you wish, you can find a special USB adapter in the retail network that can be easily connected to your existing car radio.
This method of solving the problem is good because it eliminates the need to disassemble the device and also connect to the cigarette lighter. You just need to first remove the radio and remove the cable.
The next step will ensure that your desire is achieved. Between the connectors of the radio and the wires, you will need to install a purchased special adapter, which has a hole for subsequent connection of a USB adapter to it.
After you have connected all the specified devices, all that remains is to return the car radio to its usual place, place the adapter where you consider acceptable for you. Most motorists prefer to place the USB adapter in the glove compartment, in this way, providing convenient access to it, but at the same time hiding the device from prying eyes, which helps maintain aesthetics.
However, your actions do not end there. Only theirs ends technical side, and ahead you have to perform some manipulations related to the necessary settings.
IMPORTANT. The radio is designed to work with optical discs, so the USB adapter acts as an emulator that “deceives” your radio.
Without special “preparation” of the removable drive, you will not be able to cleverly “deceive” your radio, so you should subject the flash drive to some settings. Connect the removable drive to your computer, then create seven folders on it. Each should be signed as a “CD” with a number added. All the first six folders should remain empty, and the seventh folder “CD 7” will be the storage for music files.
IMPORTANT. If you ignore these tips, playing music will be impossible.
Using these recommendations, you can bring back to “life” those radios that are already reading poorly optical discs, due to the laser head being worn out. In addition, updating music albums will become much easier, because a flash drive allows you to record music files quickly and efficiently. The quality of the reproduced sound will be high, so it will satisfy any music lover.
So, connecting a flash drive to a car radio is a process that anyone can carry out if they carefully familiarize themselves with the algorithm for carrying out recommended actions aimed at upgrading an existing sound device.
Have a nice day everyone!
The following will probably cause misunderstanding among true connoisseurs good sound, but, nevertheless, with the help of this module several sound-reproducing devices have been converted, the new owners are quite satisfied.
Periodically, thoughts arose to somehow diversify the playlist in my car. At the same time, I really didn’t want to change the standard radio, because for some reason I got used to it.
I drove for a long time, listening to music using various players, the output of which was connected to the linear input of the radio ( line input Naturally, I had to do it myself)
I've been waiting for a long time for the Chinese brothers to invent something that can be inserted inside a standard radio, and finally they got it.
Price $7.8
The photo is on the website, here is my general view from the details.
As soon as one such board arrived, the child asked to install it in computer speakers. It turned out neatly, you can listen to music from a flash drive, and, oddly enough, all radio stations were caught on a stub of wire without hissing and with acceptable sound quality.
Since I did this at work in my spare time, and my colleagues were interested in what I was doing, the next three boards suffered the same fate
One was built into speakers, two into old radios.
The owners are glad that they used to have a radio on their refrigerator, but now they have a radio with flash drives.
And finally, we got around to the standard radio in the car.
I was satisfied with the sound quality digital noise, oddly enough, is absent even in pauses. I think the sound is about the same as if we took it from the line output of a regular sound card and would feed it to the speakers. And if you compare it with what it was (and there was only one radio in the car), then I’m just very pleased.
A little more about the device:
Using a module + a purchased amplifier chip + old 25W speakers + a homemade case, we got a super-duper boombox for the dacha. Plays loudly, floors vibrate
In the case of MP3 there is a semblance of an equalizer, in the case of radio there is no equalizer.
The remote control can be heard from about five meters away.
There is fast forward, rewind, pause, and auto-search for stations. There is no random playback. Shows only the track number. Tracks are played in the order in which the files were recorded, using this you can create something like a playlist.
If you have both an SD and a flash drive, you can switch from one to the other.
In general, we can say that the module is the internals of the miniboomboxes described in neighboring topics, but is cheaper due to its light weight.
It should be noted that different variations may arrive.
They come with an amplifier for each channel (about 1W), and they come without it. There are clearly defined linear output, it happens that you need to look for it on the board.
There are various options for such devices on household farms. I liked the one described because the indicator can be disconnected and, by connecting it via a cable, installed more flexibly in the donor device.
I couldn’t find it cheaper anywhere, so I had to buy it at DH, spent a month trying to get it shipped, then waited another month. If this feature of the store is unknown, it should be taken into account.
I hope the review will be useful to readers.
Thank you for your attention.
Repairing the USB connector of a radio is not an easy task.
In our life it happens that when we break a flash drive, we also break the USB motherboard of the radio along with it. In the photo below we see the radio panel, on which you can see the USB mother for reading USB flash drives. In appearance it looks quite normal, but when you insert a flash drive, the flash drive and this connector dangle back and forth. It’s immediately clear that the contacts of the USB connector of the radio have been torn out by the roots.
We make a decision: instead of this connector, we will solder a cord with a USB female at the end:
We choose a cord of such length that it is more convenient for you to hide this flash drive somewhere in the glove compartment.
Disassembling the radio and soldering the USB cable
We unscrew the bolts from the back side and use a pick to half the radio socket:
Don’t forget to remove the video for adding and decreasing the volume, otherwise your panel will not split in half:
And here is our panel scarf:
We remove all the rubber bands and plastic and from the back side we begin to dismantle the USB connector using a desoldering pump and copper braid:
Now a small lyrical digression... Almost every modern car radio has such a connector, called “AUX”.
For those who don’t know, this is a standard 3.5 mm jack, used to listen to your music directly from an MP3 player or from your phone. To do this, just plug it into the radio and into your gadget using the following cable:
This “AUX” input is often not used, so we will lock it. We'll run the USB cable through it. For those who still use it, it is better to make a separate hole in the cover, or run the wires in the back of the radio.
We also insert the cut end of the cable through the “AUX” connector itself. If the cable does not want to pass through it, then use a hot soldering iron or burr to widen its hole and push it through.
We seal it on the reverse side: K - red, B - white, G - green, H - black.
On the reverse side it looks something like this:
We assemble the radio panel in the reverse order. It would also be a good idea to pour epoxy glue into former entrance"AUX"
We check the radio by plugging it into the other end of the cable USB flash drive and inserting the radio into the car.
More recently, USB port in a car it was almost an element of luxury. But even today it is not uncommon to have cars that do not have this type of connector. And we can’t even talk about cars produced more than ten years ago.
But before answering the question of how to connect USB to a standard radio, let’s find out what a USB connector and an AUX cable are and for what purpose they are needed.
AUX, USB
In English, USB is read as Universal Serial Bus, which literally translates as universal serial bus. A special connector in a car radio (laptop, music center, tablet, etc.), for serial connection various types devices.
AUX - output on the radio, as well as an adapter cable equipped with specialized connectors and performing the same role as USB. (connects various devices and equipment for the car's standard radio).
iPhone
How to connect an iPhone to the radio via USB? The action is performed through the AUX connection (connector on the radio panel and cable) of your iPhone and the standard Focus 2 car player. In this case, the iPhone plays the role of a carrier audio information(files) and a radio receiver, and the player itself acts as a sound amplifier.
- The ease of connection allows you to use any device in the operation of the radio.
- No additional configuration required.
Disadvantages of connection:
- Hanging cables.
- The iPhone battery is gradually draining.
The connection is USB, it connects almost all devices with the appropriate port, but unlike the AUX connection, control can be carried out not only from the device itself, but also from the car radio panel or from the steering wheel of the car, if such functions are connected. Setting up (synchronization) of equipment is carried out in automatic mode and often looks like two commands on the display - connect the device and - insert the cable into the connector.
Pros of connecting via USB:
- Unlike AUX, battery The iPhone is charging, which is very important considering it is exclusively high level energy consumption.
- The ability to actively use the display of a standard audio player.
- The disadvantage is the presence of a wire in the cabin.
All of the above is also the answer to the question - how to connect your phone to the radio via USB.
Flash card
A carrier of video and audio information that replaced technically obsolete CDs. Features a large amount of built-in memory.
You can connect USB to a radio without USB, due to its absence in the standard configuration, in several ways.
The first is a connection via USB - an adapter created for a car. This device is connected through the input/output intended for a CD player, which is definitely available on all models of outdated, standard radios. With this connection, the standard receiver takes the adapter for a multi-disc player (CD changer) and plays the recorded music files. The changes in control are not significant, it’s just that the buttons (disk, - +) that were previously responsible for changing disks now control the sound files of the flash card, and the buttons for selecting a specific composition perform the same function, but in the file itself.
Externally very similar, USB adapters may differ in the connectors on the connection cables. Depending on the make and model of the car.
The second is USB and Bluetooth as a universal connection.
DIY USB connection
To do this, you will need any cheap (Chinese) MP-3 player that reads information from flash memory cards, with a headphone jack.
We remove the radio from the front panel, disassemble it, remove the CD drive, wire with positive (plus) power from the player, solder it to the contact of the disk player, at the point where there is voltage after switching on. We reconnect the sound in the same way. The MP-3 output to the AUX input of the radio is connected with a wire. The electronic board of the MP-3 player is mounted into the body of the standard car audio system. After removing the CD drive, quite a lot of space is freed up there.
The main connection is the correctness and accuracy when making connections. To prevent the possibility of short circuiting the electrical wiring. The buttons responsible for controlling the functions of the MP player are transferred to those similar to those from the CD changer.
After checking the correctness, consistency and reliability of all contact connections, the car radio is assembled and installed in the reverse order. And you get the opportunity to connect, listen to music from a flash drive and other digital devices.
When cassette recorders and CD players appeared, cars began to be equipped with car radios. But with the development of radio electronics, USB flash drives appeared, which completely replaced other media. They do not take up much space, you can record a large number of music files on them, and during the trip the music will not be interrupted by off-road driving. How to make a USB port (adapter) for standard radios with your own hands is described in this article.
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Guide on how to make a USB input in a car radio
Almost all modern cars are equipped with a car radio. Many drivers do not want to change it to a new Chinese device in order to get a USB input. In order to be able to listen to music from a flash drive, you need to connect a USB adapter to the standard radio (the author of the video is oleg ko).
Preparation
It won’t take much time, but you need to have some knowledge of radio engineering and be able to use a soldering iron. First of all, you need to purchase an MP3 player that can read flash drives and memory cards. It is important that it has a headphone output. This is necessary so that you can record the audio signal.
You can use an FM trimmer that is equipped with an audio output. The advantage of the trimmer is that it comes with remote control management.
Stages
Having purchased a suitable device with an audio output and prepared the necessary tools, you can get to work.
The connection consists of the following steps:
- We take out the device and remove the tape drive or CD drive from it.
- We solder the positive power wire from the player to the radio contact. After switching on, a voltage of 9 or 12 V should appear.
- For an MP3 player, you need to include a voltage converter from 12 Volts to 5 Volts in the circuit. It is built-in in the trimmer.
- To connect sound, you need to take a shielded wire and connect it to the audio output of the player. If there is no such wire, then you need to find a pre-amplifier on the board, it is the wire that we need that goes to it.
- We find the audio signal output on the microprocessor. We unsolder the capacitors, and in their place we supply an audio signal from the player.
- Now we install the MP3 player board. In this case, care must be taken not to avoid a short circuit.
- Do USB input You can have a hole in the panel where discs or cassettes were inserted.
- The buttons for controlling the player are connected to the control keys located on the front panel.
- Next, it remains to assemble the standard one in place.
Now you can listen to music from digital devices via a DIY USB port. To do this, you need to turn on the TARE or AUX mode. Tracks are controlled either using the buttons on the panel or the remote control if an FM trimmer was used.
Conclusion
Advantages of connecting a USB adapter to the radio:
- easy to install;
- The flash drive does not have the disadvantages of playing CDs, when the laser burns out and problems arise with playing discs;
- A lot of files fit on a flash drive, they are easy to update and supplement;
- the recording is played back in the quality in which it was recorded;
- you can use a standard device;
- The USB input does not occupy the cigarette lighter.
Thus, connecting a USB port is not difficult. The main thing is to be able to use a soldering iron and understand at least a little about electronics.
By connecting your adapter for flash drives to the car radio, you can save on buying a new device equipped with a USB adapter.
