Bluetooth while maintaining the look Options

[stickyfingers]

Hi everyone.

So thanks for everyone with their feedback on whether a PCCM or a Retro radio with BT would be the way to go in my 914. Clearly the PCCM is way too expensive and being in Canada getting one of those Retro Radios that maintain the period look are still very expensive.

So I recall someone saying they installed a small BT amp which is the direction I went towards. I am able to use my radio and pipe music through Bluetooth to my car speakers (OEM). I will never use the radio because there is a lot of static on any FM channels so I wanted to get music playing from my phone. Hope this helps others that maybe looking to do something similar.

I purchased these 2 items:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B074FR4B7H...=UTF8&psc=1

and

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071YH69GJ...=UTF8&psc=1

which powers the amp. Mounted the amp behind the radio with double sided tape and voila - beautiful sound from my phone.

For $35CDN it's very cost effective.

[76-914]

I like it. Smart, small and inexpensive! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[pt_700]

could you elaborate a bit for the clueless (like me)?

i gather there are connections for the speakers on the amp. to get started, do you power it up and somehow link your phone and the amp via bluetooth?

have a pic of the installation?

[Tom_T]

Hi everyone.

So thanks for everyone with their feedback on whether a PCCM or a Retro radio with BT would be the way to go in my 914. Clearly the PCCM is way too expensive and being in Canada getting one of those Retro Radios that maintain the period look are still very expensive.

So I recall someone saying they installed a small BT amp which is the direction I went towards. I am able to use my radio and pipe music through Bluetooth to my car speakers (OEM). I will never use the radio because there is a lot of static on any FM channels so I wanted to get music playing from my phone. Hope this helps others that maybe looking to do something similar.

I purchased these 2 items:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B074FR4B7H...=UTF8&psc=1

and

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071YH69GJ...=UTF8&psc=1

which powers the amp. Mounted the amp behind the radio with double sided tape and voila - beautiful sound from my phone.

For $35CDN it's very cost effective.

For others looking for classic look or hidden radio/audio upgrades -

Woody's Customs in Costa Mesa CA has offered a range of radio upgrade solutions for Porsches & other classic cars, and have been regulars at the big LA/Orange County March Porsche Swap Meet for years.

Theirs are proven solution which are fully hidden without the cigarette lighter plug-in.

They also have some small flat square pod speakers that allow 914s & 356, 911/912/930 etc. to go to full 4 speakers without cutting up door panels etc. They mount under or behind the rear seats.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hidden-Under-Seat-...MQAAOSwNyFWculO
.


They also sell modern retro look radios.

https://www.woodyscustomshop.com/

https://www.ebay.com/str/woodyscustomshop

Folks out of the SoCal area can buy on their evil-bay store linked above.

Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
///////

[stickyfingers]

could you elaborate a bit for the clueless (like me)?

i gather there are connections for the speakers on the amp. to get started, do you power it up and somehow link your phone and the amp via bluetooth?

have a pic of the installation?

It was actually very simple. The amp ($25 CDN) has 2 screw downs pins for power which I took using the cigarette lighter adapter ($10 CDN on Amazon as per my links). I cut the + and - wire from the lighter adapter so I could screw in the wires to power the amp. The amp can be powered using 6v upto 47v so thankfully it can handle low and high voltages in case. The amp is left and right speaker screw downs. I spliced the left and the right speaker wires into the amp. Voila. Then use your bluetooth settings and connect to the amp when the key is on. Beautiful sounds from your speakers. See image below for a better look at it:

It also has auxiliary 3.5mm input as well if you want to hook an ipod or another phone rather than bluetooth. This is intelligent enough to decide between BT and 3.5mm inputs. And the connection is immediate. You can also pause and skip songs and change the volume from the board. I just use my phone and hide the amp. I was thinking about hooking up buttons and wiring them but it's not necessary because I wanted to maintain the original look of the interior and not start drilling holes for buttons.

Caveat: I left my stereo in there but I never use it so I actually just remove the speaker wires from it but left them there for easy connection if I ever need to sell the car the new owner wants the radio to play sound through the speakers. The radio powers up. I just don't see a need to connect it. But you could build a Y connected for the speaker wires to go to both the amp and the radio.

I've stuck the amp (it's very small) with 2 sided tape so it's a little challenging to remove and put back but if you really want me to do it I will. lmk otherwise the instructions above are very straight forward.

For the adventurous they can take the power from the radio or another source to power the amp. I just found that I wanted to control the source of the power in case of troubleshooting and the cigarette lighter adapter was a great option for me.

Thanks and lmk if you need further info. For $35 it's a great option.

[913B]

That is cool.

Is there a device to switch between the Bluetooth input or the input of my regular radio to the speakers

It would be nice to have normal radio or say push a button and have it go to BT.

Any audio experts know if I can just rig a relay(s) and have it switch that way or would that cause problems.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[stickyfingers]

That is cool.

Is there a device to switch between the Bluetooth output or the output of regular radio.

It would be nice to have normal radio or say push a button and have it go to BT.

Any audio experts know if I can just rig a relay(s) and have it switch that way or would that cause problems.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I'm going to spend some time on this tomorrow and see if I can wire it so both can work simultaneously. I had it going on 1 side but for whatever reason it would mess up when hooking up the other speaker. I gave up but I'll get it going and provide some feedback. I had it going where both BT and radio were on at the same time. The reason I removed the speakers from the radio path was because my radio was getting a lot of static. This way I can just get a radio app to play the radio. But to each their own.

[913B]

That is cool.

Is there a device to switch between the Bluetooth output or the output of regular radio.

It would be nice to have normal radio or say push a button and have it go to BT.

Any audio experts know if I can just rig a relay(s) and have it switch that way or would that cause problems.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I'm going to spend some time on this tomorrow and see if I can wire it so both can work simultaneously. I had it going on 1 side but for whatever reason it would mess up when hooking up the other speaker. I gave up but I'll get it going and provide some feedback. I had it going where both BT and radio were on at the same time. The reason I removed the speakers from the radio path was because my radio was getting a lot of static. This way I can just get a radio app to play the radio. But to each their own.

Oh yeah huh why not just leave the BT and radio connected to the speakers.
I don't plan on using both at the same time or have a switch to power on/off the BT module to turn it off and eliminate it completely.

Thanks for your idea!

[stickyfingers]

I have to figure out the speaker wires coming from the radio. The minute I connect the radio leads to the speakers while connected to the amp it kills audio coming from the amp (BT audio stops - clicks).

Have to sort that out still.

[moldygreg]

Hi everyone.

So thanks for everyone with their feedback on whether a PCCM or a Retro radio with BT would be the way to go in my 914. Clearly the PCCM is way too expensive and being in Canada getting one of those Retro Radios that maintain the period look are still very expensive.

So I recall someone saying they installed a small BT amp which is the direction I went towards. I am able to use my radio and pipe music through Bluetooth to my car speakers (OEM). I will never use the radio because there is a lot of static on any FM channels so I wanted to get music playing from my phone. Hope this helps others that maybe looking to do something similar.

I purchased these 2 items:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B074FR4B7H...=UTF8&psc=1

and

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071YH69GJ...=UTF8&psc=1

which powers the amp. Mounted the amp behind the radio with double sided tape and voila - beautiful sound from my phone.

For $35CDN it's very cost effective.

Thank you! This is awesome. Was looking at buying a much more expensive set-up!

[stickyfingers]

No worries. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 mins to hookup except my shoulders and back are crushed now trying to get behind the radio etc. lol.

[DC_neun_vierzehn]

No worries. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 mins to hookup except my shoulders and back are crushed now trying to get behind the radio etc. lol.

Thanks for sharing your solution to the radio challenge. I also want to keep the OG look, but I want the convenience and capabilities of modern technology. Thus, I'm considering your setup. Are you doing all of this work under your dash or from the front trunk?

[stickyfingers]

No worries. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 mins to hookup except my shoulders and back are crushed now trying to get behind the radio etc. lol.

Thanks for sharing your solution to the radio challenge. I also want to keep the OG look, but I want the convenience and capabilities of modern technology. Thus, I'm considering your setup. Are you doing all of this work under your dash or from the front trunk?

Everything under the dash.

Step 1: cut the wires going to the speakers from the Radio (leave enough wire from the radio in case you want to reconnect them back.

Step 2: I used additional speaker wire (about a ft for each speaker - L/R) to extend to my amp.

Step 3: Use the lighter adapter and cut the ends as I didn’t need those. Strip the ends of the +/- (Red and Black) wire. Stick Red in Positive and Black in Negative. The amp does have polarity protection in case you put the incorrectly. The lighter adapter also has a fuse inside for protection. Thankfully the kit comes with a spare fuse as I accidentally blew one.

Step 4: Put your amp in a conspicuous place using double sided tape or whatever you prefer.

Step 5: Find the amp via Bluetooth on your phone. Enjoy music.

The connection is very fast. Much faster than my other new cars. It connects instantly to my phone. Very surprised.

Good luck. Lmk if anyone had questions.

[pt_700]

thanks for elaborating, now i get it!

[Mitox]

I have to figure out the speaker wires coming from the radio. The minute I connect the radio leads to the speakers while connected to the amp it kills audio coming from the amp (BT audio stops - clicks).

Have to sort that out still.

You should never have speakers connected to two sources without a switch that fully disconnects from one source and connects to the other source. If connected at the same time, as would be the case with a “Y” connection, you will eventually or immediately let the smoke out of your electronics ( non-technical explanation).

[stickyfingers]

Definitely. Switch will be necessary. You can also use the 3.5mm jack and wire it into the amp. When sound is detected on the 3.5mm switch it turns off Bluetooth. That’s why I chose this amp.

[914e]

Somehow handsfree works through this?

[stickyfingers]

Somehow handsfree works through this?

It does not. The amp doesn't have a mic input. There are amps you can probably buy if you want a clip mic attached to your visor or something. For the time being I'll just use my BT headphones for any cals.

[Jett]

Cool solution!

We wanted to use BT but also the radio, so for each of our Blapunk’s a fellow name Matthias from Oldtimer-radio builds them. They use high quality parts and connects to the back DIN. With shipping from Germany these are about $110 USD, but click in the back of the stereo, connect BT, and go. No AMP though!

Related discussion.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...w=&st=&

[stickyfingers]

Cool solution!

We wanted to use BT but also the radio, so for each of our Blapunk’s a fellow name Matthias from Oldtimer-radio builds them. They use high quality parts and connects to the back DIN. With shipping from Germany these are about $110 USD, but click in the back of the stereo, connect BT, and go. No AMP though!

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...w=&st=&

nice - Did you have to ship him the radio?