Handsfree over line out

[wildwilly]

Bump due to frustration. Maybe we should petition them to allow hands free over line out?

 

[Pedro2NR]

I agree. Contacting support and letting them know about it. They keep records and call it customer feedback.

 

[hamzer11]

Has anyone been able to come up with a solution to the hands-free over line out issue. I have a 910 and I am running version 7.162 and this thing is really annoying. I can not hear well while driving at all. I am willing to Paypal $25 to anyone who can figure this out. The settings must still exist somewhere, and someone has to know how to do it.

 

[Ricochet]

Has anyone been able to come up with a solution to the hands-free over line out issue. I have a 910 and I am running version 7.162 and this thing is really annoying. I can not hear well while driving at all. I am willing to Paypal $25 to anyone who can figure this out. The settings must still exist somewhere, and someone has to know how to do it.

Not sure. I've installed the 'enable_lineout_hands_free' file & will run some tests during tomorrow's commute.

Or has this already been tested, under NavCore8?

 

[hamzer11]

Not sure. I've installed the 'enable_lineout_hands_free' file & will run some tests during tomorrow's commute.

Or has this already been tested, under NavCore8?

I did the same thing, no luck and it has been tested. I am thinking of dropping the file in multiple folders. I looked if there were other similar files in any folder but couldn't find any. A programmer could probably get into some of the dat or other files and figure out where the line out is defined. We just need to find someone willing and solve the problem.

I also came about another idea that I will try as a last resolve. I know there are write-ups on how to open the unit. I till just take the positive and negative wires going to the speaker and run them out to a stereo jack which would then function as a line out for everything that is directed to the internal speaker.

 

[Ricochet]

Yeah. Still doesn't work under NavCore8. Guess they weren't too keen on fixing this one (cf. damaged compass & broken itineraries...).

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

The bluetooth phone feature plays audio thru the TT unit by design, even if you are listening to guidance thru your vehicle head unit.

According to TT, this was done so that the guidance wouldn't interfere with a phone call, and vice versa.

Remember, I'm just the messenger here...

TO be honest, I have found the bluetooth feature to be superfluous and useless for cell phone use (that's just me). It works fine, but I find that a BT headset is much more useful, and I let the TT unit just do what it does best.... navigate.

EDIT: THUS, you won't get phone audio over your head unit. Another thing, unless you're plugged in, bluetooth drains your battery zippity quick. I just leave it off. Now, I haven't tried the traffice features or weather (haven't had the need). I am sure the bluetooth is valuable for that.

 

[hamzer11]

Im bumping this hoping for some help. i assume that the commands for lineout have been moved into another file. Unfortunately when I go through the files I see weird characters. Someone has got to know how to read and edit these files. I assume knowledge of linux would help.

 

[MrChris]

I also have a 920 and would like to know how to use the FM Transmitter to transmit my cell calls across my FM Radio. That would work great.

MrChris

 

[cputrdoc]

Dumb question but I'm sure TomTom engineers are thinking along the same lines so it's worth asking: most phones support a wired headset, bypassing the TomTom completely. If you have something to plug into line out, why not plug that directly into the phone instead? Why bother with Bluetooth wireless support in the TomTom at all?

I can guess it's so that all the audio goes to the same place, using the GPS's built-in sound mixer, but is there any other reason?

 

[hamzer11]

Dumb question but I'm sure TomTom engineers are thinking along the same lines so it's worth asking: most phones support a wired headset, bypassing the TomTom completely. If you have something to plug into line out, why not plug that directly into the phone instead? Why bother with Bluetooth wireless support in the TomTom at all?

I can guess it's so that all the audio goes to the same place, using the GPS's built-in sound mixer, but is there any other reason?

I really want everything routed through one place, the Tomtom. And I hate wearing those headsets, I would rather just have it play over speaker. I have already wired the mike and did a direct install (for power) to the mount. The line out has already been run inside the dash to the radio as well. Everything is working great except this. I am buying torx bits this weekend and intend on either creating another line out directly from the TomTom or trying to wire the speaker out to pins 5 and 6 on the rear connector to push the audio through. I will let everyone know how it turns out.

 

[Targonis]

I also have a 920 and would like to know how to use the FM Transmitter to transmit my cell calls across my FM Radio. That would work great.

MrChris

I suspect the reason for this is to avoid the "echo" effect that comes from using a microphone and speakers that are not adjusted well. I see this in a number of computer voice applications as follows...

Speakers plus a standalone microphone. When someone else speaks, it comes through the speakers. The increased volume from the radio causes the microphone to pick it up as if YOU are speaking, so the person on the other end of the call hears him/her/itself from your end as an echo(there is always a fraction of a second or longer delay between when someone talks and you hear them). To avoid this, I and others with this configuration use headphones rather than speakers so the volume from what we hear does not feed back into the microphone.

There are some ways to avoid this on a computer, including reducing the sensitivity of the microphone, but in a car, this would not be desirable.


It is possible that the Tomtom engineers have thought of this as well, and felt that if people use the line-out for voice calls, the same issue would show up. It becomes an issue where people would call in continually to complain about echo problems on the phone call as a result, and the increased support costs would make this a bad idea since having to pay someone to tell customers that the echo is normal when you configure the hands free to go via radio just doesn't make a lot of sense.

A true headset would work, but that would also eliminate the point of using the Tomtom as a hands free device for your phone, except to have YOUR bluetooth headset play music/directions for you, on top of your cell phone calls. It just seems messy no matter what.