Installation of PocketPC Navigation to J12
Text und Bilder: Pekka Asikainen
Background
I made a mistake and didn’t by the Executive, so there was no navigation in my J12. After looking all the available third-party navigation systems (Pioneer, Kenwood etc) I decided to try TomTom Navigator (www.tomtom.com) in my PocketPC, since that was >60% cheaper solution and sounded quite promising.
I found it quite good. Actually after trying Mercedes and Toyota J12 original navigation systems as well as Becker, Panasonic etc I must say that TomTom has the best user interface and best features for my use. I like especially the possibility to "record" my trips and later on put it on map for example in Microsoft AutoRoute. It’s nice to know where you have been...
The only bad thing is that there is no gyro sensor and no distance measuring from the wheels, so sometimes between high buildings or trees you lose the position for a moment. Anyway, I haven’t found that as a major problem, the position is back usually in the next junction.
PocketPC + Software
I have HP iPaq 2210 + TomTom Navigator 3 + TomTom Western Europe Maps. iPaq 2210 is a good choice since there is also Compact Flash slot. 1GB SD-cards are rare and really expensive but 1GB CF price is something you can pay. 512Mb card is a bit small, since you can’t fit DE-AT-CH, FR and BeNeLux maps to it at once.
In off-road use TomTom is useless, but for example Oziexplorer, TTQV and MemoryMap makes it possible to use your own CD raster or scanned paper maps together with GPS.
Holder
For quite some time I used the suction cup mounting on the windscreen for the PocketPC and the GPS-mouse was just on the dashboard. It worked well, but I hated all that mess with the cables. I thought about the Bluetooth GPS but anyway you need sometimes power for GPS and especially to the PocketPC, and I haven’t seen wireless power cords yet...
I found that Carcomm (www.carcomm.nl) makes quite nice cradles for PocketPCs. There is just one cable coming to the cradle and the voltage regulator is built in so that you can cut the cigarette lighter plug off and make a fixed installation. I bought my Carcomm cradle from www.supplies4mobility.nl, the price was about 70 euros. In the cradle there are D9 and PS/2 connectors. There is available an adapter for Leadtek RJ-11 connector but I made my own from PS/2 connector of an old PC mouse.
Also Brodit (www.brodit.com) makes quite nice cradles and especially vehicle specific mounting plates (no holes - installation in 5 minutes)
The problem is just that after hours of searching the entire web I still could not find anybody making suitable mounting plate for J12. For other LC models the Brodit selection is quite good.
Because there was no mounting plate I had to make it myself.
Mounting plate
I bought a 50 x 50 cm piece of black acrylic plastic from local plastic shop. Only 10 x 20 cm is needed but it is good to have something to practice with. The price was enormous 2 euros...
I made a model from cardboard, draw the outline to the plastic and cut the piece with a small metal saw and finished the edges with a fine file.
Acrylic plastic is very easy to bend/form when hot, so just a little blowing with hot air pistol and there you go, the mounting plate was ready.
I bended the plate to about 75 degrees to get a good viewing angle. I also pressed the hot bottom of the plate against the top of the silver color panel that is on the left side of the radio. That way I got the same curve to the plate as in the silver panel.
The cradle is fixed to the mounting plate with screws. The holes for the screws must be big enough - it is quite easy to crack the acrylic plastic. I tried hot melt glue pistol on the side of the silver panel and it was quite easy to remove without any damage to the panel, so I fixed the mounting plate to the panel with hot melt glue. Actually the glue is a bit too easy to remove, after a few months the whole system is starting to fall off. When it does, I’m going to fix it with elastic glue like SikaFlex or Silicon or something like that.
Installation - How-To
The first thing to do is take off the silver panels. First you have to remove the lower parts from the center console and then the upper parts on the both sides of the radio.
Put your fingernails close to the rear end under the edge of the lower panel and lift it up. It is fixed with plastic clips that will not break when you remove it.
Then remove the upper panel. Start from the lower end and carefully pull it out. It is also attached with clips and it is tight, so you have to pull quite hard. You will think that you are trying wrong way but just trust yourself and pull. There are no hidden secrets in it and it will pop out (anyway, be careful, new upper side panel costs about 130 euros).
The air vents should also come out with the panel.
When you take of the left panel you must disconnect the cable from the Hazard blinker button. Just pull the connector out, there is no locking mechanism.
Then you must remove the radio unit. First take off the two 10mm bolts from the both sides of the radio as shown in the picture. The radio will still stay on its place with the plastic/metal clips. You have to open also the 10mm bolt on the left side of the radio, which is securing the big white cable connector, and pull the connector out.
Then pull the whole radio unit out. The clips are holding it quite strongly until it pops out. You don’t have to disconnect any other cables, just leave the radio unit between the gear stick and the dashboard.
Then you can place the GPS mouse between the air duct and the dashboard. I fixed it in place with double-sided tape but it is so tight that I think it will stay there without tape as well. Before putting the GPS there remove the magnet from the GPS mouse. In Leadtek 9532 TomTom mouse there are four little magnet buttons on the bottom under the rubber layer. You don’t have to open the screws, just pull the rubber out a bit and dig the magnets out with a small screwdriver. If you don’t remove the magnets the J12 electric compass will not work, it is too close.
After fixing the mounting plate with the cradle to the silver panel you must make a little hole for the cable. The hole will be hidden, so if you remove the cradle later you will not see the hole.
Take the air vent off from the panel. It is fixed from both sides with silver color plastic clips. You need a small screwdriver (or strong finger nails) to bend the clips out. Then cut a little piece of from the top right corner of the air vent. A Leatherman Tool file is very good for this...
Then connect the power cable of the cradle. I was lazy and connected it to the cables of the cigarette lighter instead of the fuse box. I left the fuse to a long cable behind the right silver panel – it is easy to open with just fingernails if needed.
Make sure that the cradle and GPS cables are not loose (tape or cable ties), otherwise they might keep noise on bumpy roads.
Then put everything back in reverse order – first the radio with the clips & bolts, then the radio cable connector + bolt (not too tight), then the upper silver panels with the cradle on the left panel and finally the lower silver panels and then you are ready to go.
How does it work
The satellite reception is much better than I expected. The GPS receiver is located under the 50-cent coin in the picture.
It has quite a good view to the sky and an average number of satellites that I get is 5-8. The best so far is 11 (theoretical maximum is 12) and 9 is also very common as you can see from the picture on my way to Allrad Abenteuer...
The position of the screen is perfect. You don’t have to turn you eyes off from the road like in original J12 navigation (or even worse in Mercedes, down in the center console). There are some reflections on the screen and I might install the adjustable ball joint that came with the cradle.
The mounting plate could also be made of a bit thicker acrylic plastic, it vibrates a bit too much and removing the PocketPC from the cradle must be done too carefully. Maybe I will make an extra support from the same material and fix it between the top and the front end of the base plate when changing to better glue.
Costs
- HP iPaq 2210 EUR 322,00
- CF 1Gb EUR 159,00
- TomTom 3 + GPS EUR 299,00
- TomTom West Europe EUR 189,00
- Carcomm cradle EUR 77,00
- Acrylic plastic EUR 2,00
Total EUR 1.048,00
Conclusion
Some fixing has still to be done but overall I’m very satisfied. TomTom 3 is very good and now also live traffic information via GPRS phone is available.
The costs are much lower than in dedicated car navigation system and there are million of other uses to the Pocket PC as well. It is also possible to use topographic or whatever maps with additional software.
The screen is in perfect position and the only visible parts are the cradle, the mounting plate and 4 cm of cable. 1.000 € is a lot of money but I think this is definitely worth it...
peeaa
