Wire a tom tom 730 directions through radio while listening to the radio

Joined
May 30, 2009
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Hi i previously owned a tom tom 700 and purchaed a penermant docking kit that wired into the radio and when any instructions or telephone call same through it would intterupt the front 2 speakers allowing the rear 2 speakers to continue to play the radio station of my choice

now i have purchased a tomtom 730 i found that i only can play mp3's on my tomtom while listening to instructions over my car radio

Im just wondering if anyone knows anyway of having my tom tom to once again let my radio play any radio station i want and when a navigation instruction or a phone call comes through that it cuts music to the front speakers and plays it through that

ive search but cant find anything
i notice you can get a line out cable for the tomtom. is there a way to hard wire it in. Because im not bothered about wires cause i can hide them

this is what i had for the tom tom 700 before i got the 730

Buy TomTom GO 300/500/700 Permanent Docking Kit Reviews

but this is old style connection so cant use it now

any help would be appriciated
 
I don't see how the 730 would possibly be able to "cut out" your music on your radio in order to play an instruction by means of hardwiring anything. The radio tuner is internal to your car stereo, so I dont see how the TomTom itself would be able to do something like that.
 
thanks for your reply. I know tom tom did it for the 700 as it was a great system just wondered if anyone had worked a way out how to do it for the 730 seeing as they never released a docking kit for the 730 :(
 
I know another UK member here, mikealder, uses the same IO system and loves it according to posts he's made in a Brit gps forum relating to the item.

You may wish to pm him for further info if he doesn't stumble upon this thread in short order.
 
On this occasion E-Bay might your friend, you can find the iO-Play unit for sale on there for around the ?70 plus postage, for example Here but be sure to check with the seller for postage charges to the USA as it will pop the price up a little bit - Great bit of kit and I use it every day for the handsfree from the phone. At the same time as being able to get the phone audio through the car speakers you can also get the TomTom nav instructions through the car deck while the radio is being used (so you still get the RDS traffic alerts over the radio).
I have to say this is the best gadget I have fitted to the car in quite sometime, to save me posting a direct link to the UK based forum, I have taken the entry and will post it below for information purposes:

So what’s this got to do with GPS I hear you ask, well some of you might remember the TomTom Bluetooth Car Connect accessory that was mysteriously dropped before it was ever released, but this unit offers greater potential than I ever remember reading about on the adverts for the TT unit.
This device can be used for hands free via Bluetooth for voice calls to/ from your mobile phone, the audio is routed through the car speakers. In addition it offers support to the A2DP Bluetooth profile which is employed for stereo audio playback. Now for the “connection” with the GPS industry, this device is so easy to pair and connect to any of the TomTom Go range (x10. x20. x30 and x40) the audio quality is far better than FM Tx and far less messy than a wired connection, less spaghetti strewn all over the inside of the car is always a step in the right direction.



Nicely packaged box, once open all the contents are revealed, the two orange boxes are the Bluetooth module and the four channel 15 Watt amplifier unit, a few cables are supplied that go between the boxes and the car head unit. The easy connection to the car deck is via ISO plugs, if your car deck doesn’t have these connectors then adaptors should be available to suit most factory installed equipment. An external microphone is supplied which has a rather long 3 meter cable which is great – too often microphone cables are too short – its easier to hide excess cable than have to purchase extension leads.



The only part you can see when in use is the small control unit, everything else gets buried behind the dashboard of the vehicle.



All cabled up and ready to go, this will give you an idea of how much cable and kit needs to be hidden behind the dash, if space is tight you might have some fun with this, but the two main orange boxes can be located in the glove box if required due to the generous length of interconnecting cable to the first unit.



For the Volvo I have had to purchase adaptor cables to the ISO plugs needed, it would have been possible to chop the plugs off and rewire the car with the correct connectors, but this takes considerable time so I took the easy option (Halfords).



Both Orange boxes are now hidden in the rather cavernous void behind where the stereo fits.



The next job is to hide all the cables back in the dash without impeding the fitment and security of the stereo.



All done, the little control unit is secured to the vehicle with some self adhesive tape (supplied with the kit), to degrease the surface prior to attachment I use those hand towels you get with a certain brand of Deep Fried Chicken from an American state.



In use:

I have the TomTom 940 connected to the device using the A2DP connection for the HiFi sound output, the instructions are still routed via the internal speaker on the navigation device. Doing this allows the unit to be set not to pause the music while playing navigation instructions. At the same time the TomTom is connected the iPhone is connected for the Hands Free mode this package offers. If the phone rings and you answer it the audio from the phone is routed through the car speakers, the HiFi output from the TomTom is muted.
Pairing the device to both the TomTom and the phone is very easy, and subsequent connections between the hardware have never failed (unlike the TomTom connection to the car stereo via Bluetooth which has a 50% chance of working).

So why is this device so clever and of interest to those of use using GPS devices?

Well if you want the quality that Bluetooth Audio (HiFi/ A2DP) offers but don’t want to invest in a new stereo, and also desire a hands free kit that works without any problems feeding the audio signal through the car speakers then this product is worth considering. I have tried it with the 720, 930 and 940 as well as a number of different phones, it can store up to 5 different devices in its memory which is also handy for users of multiple devices. These units can be found for sale on the internet for around ?70 although the RRP is ?107 - Mike

Since the above was written I have now added a large 7" screen double DIN stereo that does all sorts of functions including GPS/ DVD/ rear view camera etc, and while the new deck supports Bluetooth I still prefer the iO-Play module for the handsfree, it is just reliable in use and has never let me down. You also have the option to route the TomTom Nav instructions via the Bluetooth connection which does provide a function desired by the OP, a way to mute the radio and get the spoken instructions via the car speakers, hands free still works and over rides all other audio, this device just opens up a wealth of options for differing connectivity to the TomTom and phone - Mike
 
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And THAT is why I suggested the poster seek you out, Mike! :D

Great information, sir.
 
I just went to some stereo stores for a built in bluetooth for my car so I can connect my TomTom to it. Now I think I may just go for this!!!

Not sure if I will need adapter cables for the ISO on my Scion xB.
 
If you want to use a TomTom with a car deck then you need to be aware that not all decks that support A2DP will work with the TomTom, no idea why but it is fact. I took my 930 in to Halfords (motor accessory store) last year and found it would only connect to a handfull of decks that were equipped with Bluetooth. I then loaded a Bluetooth work around to the TomTom and returned to the store where the same TomTom would connect to everything and anything that used Bluetooth!
The work around is known as HiFiFix and can be found Here

To be honest if your car does use ISO plugs on the stereo if you can find somewhere that sells the iO-Play over in North America then its well worth considering as the TomTom works without any fix or messing about - Mike
 
This might not be the correct thread to ask this But I was wondering if anyone has has tried the line out of tt with a Honda Mp3/ I-Pod input jack and if you can be listening to an radio station and then have the TT instructions cut in and then go back to radio ?
 
GarCor, the line-in of the car is an all-or-nothing situation, it won't allow switching back and forth between radio and line-in automatically when there's audio on the input. It's a design limitation with the car, not the GPS.
 
GarCor, the line-in of the car is an all-or-nothing situation, it won't allow switching back and forth between radio and line-in automatically when there's audio on the input. It's a design limitation with the car, not the GPS.

Thanks !..............
 
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