Tiny Radio Head Unit

Am I correct, it is the Bluetooth function only, so the music controls will come from your source device and the amp controls are on the dash head unit?
What type of stereo did you connect it to, a regular dash mounted head unit? I wonder if it could be wired directly to an amp and speakers, without an actual stereo head unit. Provided your source device has the controls needed, everything would be out of sight. Maybe just a on/off switch on the dash to control the basic power to everything.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Am I correct, it is the Bluetooth function only, so the music controls will come from your source device and the amp controls are on the dash head unit?
What type of stereo did you connect it to, a regular dash mounted head unit? I wonder if it could be wired directly to an amp and speakers, without an actual stereo head unit. Provided your source device has the controls needed, everything would be out of sight. Maybe just a on/off switch on the dash to control the basic power to everything.
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Yes, you could connect it directly to an amp as long as you use the source to control the volume. You may or may not get maximum power out of the amp depending on its input sensitivity and the output levels of the Bluetooth receiver you use. I found those little battery powered ones discussed above to be a little lacking on output. This 12V powered unit I installed seems to be quite a bit better but I have not measured it. With the volume control on the head unit about a third way up, I need to keep the phone volume below half way to keep from getting blasted out of the car.

In my case, I am using it with a Pioneer car receiver. It was one of their high end units in 1995 and I got to listen to it for a few months before the engine blew. It uses the Pioneer IP-BUS to add peripherals - in my case a 12 disc CD changer and an AUX input box. The cassette transport is in the head unit. I hooked the Bluetooth receiver to the AUX input. It is nice to hear music through it again after all this time. It may be one of the few cassette units in the world with Bluetooth.
 
I wanted a radio for my 1972 Honda 1300 Coupe which has factory installed AM only radio in it. Obviously I did not want to install a modern radio. I also own a 1981 Fiat x1/9 and as I live in the middle of British Columbia, our choice of radio stations is very limited. I finally found a solution using a module out of China but readily available from a supplier in Canada. I have mounted mine in an empty 8-track tape cartridge as my Honda has a special tray to hold 8 tracks so the unit will be hidden. I will be using mine with a microSD card full of my music but as you can see from the descriptions, it also has Bluetooth, an FM radio, USB port to accommodate any input you would like.

Check out https://universal-solder.ca/product...plifier-fm-radio-bluetooth-mp3-player-remote/
or his Ebay listing number 263951222541 for all the details.
 

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CanuckOwner said:
I wanted a radio for my 1972 Honda 1300 Coupe which has factory installed AM only radio in it. Obviously I did not want to install a modern radio. I also own a 1981 Fiat x1/9 and as I live in the middle of British Columbia, our choice of radio stations is very limited. I finally found a solution using a module out of China but readily available from a supplier in Canada. I have mounted mine in an empty 8-track tape cartridge as my Honda has a special tray to hold 8 tracks so the unit will be hidden. I will be using mine with a microSD card full of my music but as you can see from the descriptions, it also has Bluetooth, an FM radio, USB port to accommodate any input you would like.

Check out https://universal-solder.ca/product...plifier-fm-radio-bluetooth-mp3-player-remote/
or his Ebay listing number 263951222541 for all the details.
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I notice that they recommend a 24V power supply. It might be worth seeing what the specs are for 12V operation.
 
I have tested mine at 12V and it puts out a very good volume. Using 12V also reduces the heat generated by the module.

As both my cars are in storage for the winter, I have not yet installed the module in the actual cars. I have tested it on a table with two speakers attached and using 12V power supply. Remote works great to adjust the volume. I have not tested the FM radio or bluetooth function.
 
The specs say 8-26 V so it might work fine, just a little less output. It also says 10% THD which is really high, but with these cars being so noisy it might not matter - depending your personal fidelity preference. Personally, in the case of my X1/9, that is rarely driven and music is mostly a distraction from my reality, that would be fine.

This could be what I'm looking for. I see it has a remote control. I'll be very interested to learn how well that controls all of the usual functions for music selection, volume, tone controls, etc. The rated 50 watts into 4 ohms isn't a lot, but with efficient speakers will be plenty. And with only 2 speakers (in my case 6-1/2" in the kick panels) it should work. For me Bluetooth isn't as important as having a file onboard, like in this case putting a SD card into it with all of my music. It does not specify the maximum memory for the SD card?

Please keep us informed after you actually get it hooked up and working. I'm very interested to see how it works out for you. Also please include any additional information about it that you have. Thanks.

EDIT: I just did a quick search and this unit did not come up. Do you have more details with the model number, part number. makers, etc??
 
Dr.Jeff said:
The specs say 8-26 V so it might work fine, just a little less output. It also says 10% THD which is really high, but with these cars being so noisy it might not matter - depending your personal fidelity preference. Personally, in the case of my X1/9, that is rarely driven and music is mostly a distraction from my reality, that would be fine.

This could be what I'm looking for. I see it has a remote control. I'll be very interested to learn how well that controls all of the usual functions for music selection, volume, tone controls, etc. The rated 50 watts into 4 ohms isn't a lot, but with efficient speakers will be plenty. And with only 2 speakers (in my case 6-1/2" in the kick panels) it should work. For me Bluetooth isn't as important as having a file onboard, like in this case putting a SD card into it with all of my music. It does not specify the maximum memory for the SD card?

Please keep us informed after you actually get it hooked up and working. I'm very interested to see how it works out for you. Also please include any additional information about it that you have. Thanks.

EDIT: I just did a quick search and this unit did not come up. Do you have more details with the model number, part number. makers, etc??
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The information on the amplifier data sheet is a bit incomplete/misleading. I decided to check out the data sheet for the TI TP3116 chip that this device uses as an amplifier:

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tpa3116d2.pdf

If you look at Figures 7 (4 ohm load) and 9 (8 ohm load), THD + noise versus output power with a 12V power supply, you will see that the distortion begins to increase sharply a bit above 10 watts for a 4 ohm load (typical for car speakers) and a bit below 10 watts for an 8 ohm load (typical for home audio). I don't think this is a great device for an automotive application unless you don't mind lots of distortion at higher volume levels. If you are running dual DCNFs, a halfway loud exhaust, and have the roof off, it may not be loud enough to hear the distortion (or the music).
 
Thanks, that is helpful. I like that you found info on the main controller component. I'll have to review the linked info and look closer into it.
For my personal needs, I'd like to find a simple unit that can take my stored music files (SD card or USB) and play them back through an amp and 1 pair of speakers. And be either very small or hidden completely. Nothing more; I really don't need Bluetooth, radio, aux input, or other features if it will do that much. My music files are on my phone, but I prefer to not use it as my source. I'd rather have the files in the music unit directly, with its own controls. Surprisingly that has been almost impossible to find, so this unit is about as close as I've come across. I can also add another external amp, but that would only increase the THD.
I just located this one on one of my sources for about $10 USD (shipped). So it might be worth trying, regardless how poor the quality might be. I won't be needing it for sometime, but it will be simple to test then. Unless I find something better for my particular needs.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Thanks, that is helpful. I like that you found info on the main controller component. I'll have to review the linked info and look closer into it.
For my personal needs, I'd like to find a simple unit that can take my stored music files (SD card or USB) and play them back through an amp and 1 pair of speakers. And be either very small or hidden completely. Nothing more; I really don't need Bluetooth, radio, aux input, or other features if it will do that much. My music files are on my phone, but I prefer to not use it as my source. I'd rather have the files in the music unit directly, with its own controls. Surprisingly that has been almost impossible to find, so this unit is about as close as I've come across. I can also add another external amp, but that would only increase the THD.
I just located this one on one of my sources for about $10 USD (shipped). So it might be worth trying, regardless how poor the quality might be. I won't be needing it for sometime, but it will be simple to test then. Unless I find something better for my particular needs.
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Actually the TI TP3116 is just the power amp section. Not sure what they are using as a controller.

How about an mp3 player (iPod or something that takes an SD card) and a power amp? You can find mp3 players pretty cheap these days.
 
I have a small MP3 player (iPod with card) and tried using it on one of my other vehicles. It works, but isn't ideal. It requires a power supply and wired connection to an input on an existing amp/head unit, etc. But it cannot be hidden because the music controls are on the unit itself. So you end up with it dangling from some cables, which is not a very clean way to do it. Plus I currently do not have any music components in my X1/9; no radio, head unit, amp, speakers, etc. I'll be adding a pair of speakers in custom kick panels, and any needed amps/controller behind the dash. I have a couple of head units that would work, but I want to avoid having a dash mounted unit of any kind. Preferably I can find a hidden source with a very small (or remote) control panel. And I don't care for any of the "hidden stereo" products currently on the market...just not what I'm looking for (and very pricey for what you get). Something similar to the above posted unit would be more than I require as far as features go. A little better quality sound and more power would be nice. But for the money, with my X being a rarely driven vehicle, it is a decent choice.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
I have a small MP3 player (iPod with card) and tried using it on one of my other vehicles. It works, but isn't ideal. It requires a power supply and wired connection to an input on an existing amp/head unit, etc. But it cannot be hidden because the music controls are on the unit itself. So you end up with it dangling from some cables, which is not a very clean way to do it. Plus I currently do not have any music components in my X1/9; no radio, head unit, amp, speakers, etc. I'll be adding a pair of speakers in custom kick panels, and any needed amps/controller behind the dash. I have a couple of head units that would work, but I want to avoid having a dash mounted unit of any kind. Preferably I can find a hidden source with a very small (or remote) control panel. And I don't care for any of the "hidden stereo" products currently on the market...just not what I'm looking for (and very pricey for what you get). Something similar to the above posted unit would be more than I require as far as features go. A little better quality sound and more power would be nice. But for the money, with my X being a rarely driven vehicle, it is a decent choice.
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For $10, you can't go too far wrong.
 
Well after a little more reading I realized the limitations of this type of music player. Although it has a remote control, the main unit only has some extremely basic functions to be controlled. No "shuffle" random play, no memory presets, no tone adjustments, no files or folders, etc. So it will play back your music from a memory drive (card or USB), but only a straight playback as it is saved on your memory source. Won't even remember where you left off, so every time you power up it starts from "0" again. Same when you switch to the radio function, you don't have control of station selections, presets, etc. Sort of too limited to really be functional in my opinion. Guess you shouldn't expect much for $10 though. Not bad but not what I'm looking for.
 
I will hopefully have sometime tomorrow morning (Monday) and I will set mine up on the table and let you hear what it sounds like. I will create a short video and hopefully I will be able to post it here. I will test the remote and its functions for FM etc.
 
Thanks for doing that, I'll be especially interested to find out more about the functions. And to clarify things, in my last post I was referring to the one I found from a different source. So yours will not be the same as what I saw.
 
Okay I set up the unit along with some 8" round speakers (no enclosures) and recorded the sound of a song on the microSD card. Using the remote control, I also demo the equalizer function as you tap the EQ button on the remote. I did not have time to get the FM radio working so I wrote the Ebay seller to see if he can explain the different buttons.
 

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CanuckOwner said:
I wrote the Ebay seller to see if he can explain the different buttons
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Sort of typical with items like this; no instructions included and I bet the seller won't have anything more to offer. Kind of have to keep playing with buttons and see what happens - short push vs long push, each button while in each mode, etc. I've read reviews for some stuff where people discovered hidden functions that weren't really intended. I presume the maker used a chip that did more than they realized while designing it. But I've also read reviews saying claimed functions do not exist. A bit of a crap shoot.
 
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