Mini USB expander or Orbit 2- does it exist?

Dr. Will · 10-04-2008, 04:25 PM

Am enjoying my Orbit 2 so far, was aware before I bought it that you have to use the same port of headphone and charging however recently had a bright idea- does a mini USB port expander exist? If that was the case could I use it to plug into the aux input of my car stereo to get better sound for the MP3 player while simultaneously charging it for the GPS? Or does the compact design mean creating two ports from one is impossible?

Bassey · 10-04-2008, 04:37 PM

Perfectly possible. I bought an adapter off eBay (available from lots of places now. Try mobilefun.co.uk) that has a USB port for charging, a 3.5mm headphone socket (could be used for RCA plugs to connect to car stereo), a mic for handsfree and a call answer/end button. Cost about 99p!

StevieC · 15-04-2008, 05:37 PM

I picked up one of these:
HTC 3 in 1 USB Adapter

UKenGB · 23-06-2008, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevieC

I picked up one of these:
HTC 3 in 1 USB Adapter

I just discovered that with this adapter, although the audio works (i.e. headphones and mic for calls) the buttons on the (supplied with the Polaris/TC/Orbit 2) control pod do NOT work. Apparently this adapter is not designed to enable them to work, so it's not a fault. It's just never gonna work

cyclist · 24-06-2008, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKenGB

I just discovered that with this adapter, although the audio works (i.e. headphones and mic for calls) the buttons on the (supplied with the Polaris/TC/Orbit 2) control pod do NOT work. Apparently this adapter is not designed to enable them to work, so it's not a fault. It's just never gonna work

I find that the adapter thingie works with some media players (WMP, Mort Player) but not others (40iPlay). So be sure you are comparing using the same software.

UKenGB · 02-07-2008, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyclist

I find that the adapter thingie works with some media players (WMP, Mort Player) but not others (40iPlay). So be sure you are comparing using the same software.

I was trying it with Windows Media Player and with the HTC Audio Manager and neither can be controlled by the buttons on the mic/control pod when connected via the HTC 3 port adapter. The supplier (GPSforLess) then told me it would never work as the adapter would need to be specifically designed to work with the buttons and this one is not. Apparently it's more a hardware issue than software. How come HTC can make such an unsuitable adapter?

I also found on a recent trip that the 3.5 mini jack for headphones is not a good socket. When all packed into a bag the audio continually dropped a channel or became mono until I wiggled the jack in that socket, then it would work correctly again for a short while. I was trying to listen to music and it was such a nuisance I gave up. How hard can it be to make a jack socket that works reliably.

cyclist · 03-07-2008, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKenGB

I also found on a recent trip that the 3.5 mini jack for headphones is not a good socket. When all packed into a bag the audio continually dropped a channel or became mono until I wiggled the jack in that socket, then it would work correctly again for a short while. I was trying to listen to music and it was such a nuisance I gave up. How hard can it be to make a jack socket that works reliably.

I don't have that problem; mine does work OK in a bag or pocket, even when I'm doing something with lots of movement e.g. rowing machine at the gym.