Wired Microphone Mod - Handsfree kit in car! — Nokia N95 and N95 8GB

FaZyCrUcK 11 Jun 2008, 10:24

Hi all, I had a bit of a brainwave the other day...

I have been wiring in a new stereo into my car... The rear of the head unit has 2 Phono 'Aux in' connectors (Meant for a CD changer) but using the N95's TV out lead, I can hook the left and right audio to the head unit..

Excellent, now I can throw the CD changer away and listen to my many hours of music on the N95.

I then wondered about the microphone modification. The N95 has a mic input, but is not officially supported for some reason, and the only real place you'll find it is on the official handsfree music controller (Not ideal for in-car use)

I searched eBay for the microphone used in their old handsfree kits (the wired ones) and found one for �5.50 inc postage, brand new. I don't know the part number but look for 'nokia visor microphone'

It arrived this morning and I was a little wary as to whether it would need a 9v power source to work (the N95 does not supply one).

I chopped the 2.5mm connector off the mic, and held the 2 wires onto the yellow lead of the TV cable, then plugged it into the N95 and when asked I selected 'Headset'

I called home, and everything worked fine, clear sound!

So, now I have a quality audio system in my car, which will be removed every time I leave the vehicle, making it safe from thieves, and also, I have a decent quality handsfree kit

I was also thinking about dismantling the nokia MP3 controls/microphone unit, and making a steering wheel control button unit, for the N95's stop/play/pause/ffwd etc etc. That can't be too hard to do.

I hope this thread will be useful to other people here, but if not, or it's been covered elsewhere (couldn't find it) feel free to delete.

When I've made a pretty phono lead to connect it all up I'll post pics

Thanks all,

Andy

tonymy01 11 Jun 2008, 14:06

Nice one! How did you guess the mic was connected to the yellow of the AV cable? Did you buzz out the original controller for the Nokia headphone/mic assembly?
I have been mucking about with getting a bluetooth carkit working a bit better with the addition of my cark91 speaker and mic (I was going to hack one of those bluetooth headsets to work with my old 6130 CARK91 carkit & cradle, but I spent 2 days googling to find out exactly what the pinouts of the Cark91 input and cradle to the phone are, and came up with really not enough to go on. I tried connecting the bluetooth to the mic/speaker pairs in the cark91, but there needs to be something else connected to convince the cark91 that a "phone" is connected I think, it all became too hard, I am too lazy, and I got a Supertooth car kit for $5 from Dick Smiths here because it doesn't charge up anymore... perfect really, as this means when I switch on the car, the supertooth kit switches on).
But your connectivity is a heap better as you get proper stereo too 😊
Regards

FaZyCrUcK 11 Jun 2008, 15:41

I've seen one or 2 microphone mods floating around on the net, which explained it was the yellow phono plug, so I knew where to begin.

Initially I had it wired into the Autocom unit on my motorcycle, which I can honestly say is the most brilliant device ever. It allows you to link your phone/GPS/MP3 player/2way radio to speakers/mic in your helmet.

Long story short, I had my phone inside the clear waterproof top of my tank bag, wired to a 12v charger and the autocom.

I could play MP3's on the way to work, while using (and being able to see) TomTom, and both were muted when somebody called me. crystal clear sound, both ends (it cancels the engine/wind noise out)

Then shortly after installing this setup, I made a mount behind the front screen for my phone, and wired in a 'Zorst' microphone (has a separate 9v power supply) and was able to record high speed racing, with perfect engine sounds

Since I've sold the bike I decided I would still keep using the 3.5mm jack for audio as it's better quality than bluetooth, so I came up with this.

I have another idea for the mic port, but you'll have to wait on that one 😊

Thanks for your interest,

Andy

m.r.davies 13 Jun 2008, 09:24

very intresting mate, i'd like to be kept informed of these developments

loopyludo 13 Jun 2008, 14:00

Yes I too would be interested on any progress, I would love to integrate something like this into my steering wheel controls. I don't really have much technical know how though.

FaZyCrUcK 13 Jun 2008, 20:28

Ah, after adding a nice phono connector to the microphone, and connecting it to the yellow lead of the tv cable, then hiding it all behind the dashboard, i realise one error..

For some reason, if you plug the TV lead into the N95 alone, you can select 'headset' then plug in the mike.

If the mike is already plugged in, it defaults to 'headphones' mode and makes you use the phone microphone.

I think the only way to cure this is either dismantle the mp3 controller, or wire an on/off switch for the mic when plugging the n95 into it

I'll keep you guys informed either way

Oh, and i managed to go for a drive and test the mic today, works flawlessly

Andy