carbonation
02-02-2020, 10:42 AM
I have a Garmin LM50. Nothing special, a leftover from the car we traded in last May.
No audio out, no bluetooth, useless on the Spyder. Hmmm, maybe not. I found an article describing how to add bluetooth to a GPS.
The tutorial is written for the Garmin, but I suspect could be applied to nearly any GPS.
https://www.m-p-c.com/GPS_Bluetooth_Audio.htm
A little shopping spree got me a 3.5mm patch cord and T5 driver at Grainger for 5.00 total, and a cap from the scrap bin for nothing.
I got a refurb TaoTronics transmitter for 14. delivered from Amazon, and set to work.
Opened the Garmin, drilled a small hole for the cable, soldered the positive leg of the cap to the speaker connection on the board. The negative side of the cap went to the patch cable center conductors, the shield of the patch cable went to the negative side of the speaker connection. A dab of hot glue seals the cable to the case.
I reassembled, and pairing the TaoTronics went well with my Sena headset in the helmet.
So now I've got a GPS that can bark into my helmet, and I'm not burning data on my phone with Google maps.
Now, how to mount?
Amazon to the rescue again. https://www.amazon.com/Techmount-4-80007-device-Perfect-customer/dp/B00HKPY8L0 The Techmount looks good, I'll know when it gets here. And I'm going to try this to hold the GPS and bluetooth transmitter all in one spot. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00346WOC4/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
This is all kind of experimental, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. The Garmin works well in the car, always has. My only concern is seeing it in broad daylight, but if it's telling me what to do in the helmet, I think I'm golden.
No audio out, no bluetooth, useless on the Spyder. Hmmm, maybe not. I found an article describing how to add bluetooth to a GPS.
The tutorial is written for the Garmin, but I suspect could be applied to nearly any GPS.
https://www.m-p-c.com/GPS_Bluetooth_Audio.htm
A little shopping spree got me a 3.5mm patch cord and T5 driver at Grainger for 5.00 total, and a cap from the scrap bin for nothing.
I got a refurb TaoTronics transmitter for 14. delivered from Amazon, and set to work.
Opened the Garmin, drilled a small hole for the cable, soldered the positive leg of the cap to the speaker connection on the board. The negative side of the cap went to the patch cable center conductors, the shield of the patch cable went to the negative side of the speaker connection. A dab of hot glue seals the cable to the case.
I reassembled, and pairing the TaoTronics went well with my Sena headset in the helmet.
So now I've got a GPS that can bark into my helmet, and I'm not burning data on my phone with Google maps.
Now, how to mount?
Amazon to the rescue again. https://www.amazon.com/Techmount-4-80007-device-Perfect-customer/dp/B00HKPY8L0 The Techmount looks good, I'll know when it gets here. And I'm going to try this to hold the GPS and bluetooth transmitter all in one spot. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00346WOC4/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
This is all kind of experimental, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. The Garmin works well in the car, always has. My only concern is seeing it in broad daylight, but if it's telling me what to do in the helmet, I think I'm golden.