I spotted this on the A2OC. Not sure if you have to be a member or not to read that so here is the cut and paste below. This process will be far easier on the Yeti if you put the magnet on the underside of the lid to the middle storage compartment on the dash top. I know you won't easily get into that space if your iPhone is mounted but since it is a magnet you can still lift the lid I'd wager...

Magnetic Mount for iPhone (or anything) Many have asked if the square on the centre of the dashboard can be used to mount a SatNav or TV screen. While this mod doesn't exactly do that, it shows you what you can potentially do around that area! I ended up mounting closer to the vents as I can't see the small screen that well mounting on the flat square part.

I mainly want to mount my SatNav (iPhone for now, but can be anything) above the vents so I, not the phone sitting in the cup holder get to enjoy the cold air in the summer! But i don't want permanent drilling or adhesive mounts. I also want the mount removable so people don't need to think I may have something valuable in the car. Here it is, a very low cost solution costing less than 20 GBP and 30 minutes to install :-)

You'll need:

radio removal keys (2 for single DIN, 4 for double DIN units)

philips screw driver

Rare earth (neodymium) magnets

A suitable mount for your device of choice

Double sided tape

WARNING: Do this at your own risk, I will not be responsible if your magnet got close to your electronic device and damage it in anyway! These rare earth magnets have extreme force but the effective range of field is very little.

First, acquire the magnets. I got 20 pieces of 10x50mm bars of N30 grade rare earth magnets from eBay for around 8 GBP. The size of the magnets should ideally allow a combination such that it fits to the base of your device mount. My cheap ebay iPhone 3GS mount comes with an adhesive base that I can stick two pieces of the magnets to it.

Then you want to test the holding force. See the pictures below. I ended up with a stack of 3 magnets arranged in a 2x3 shape. Stack of 3 gives me the distance and strength, but do test your magnets. I have 2x1 on the base of the mount. This is enough to hold the iphone across a thickness of 3.5mm (simulated using a deck of cards), roughly the thickness of the dashboard. I strongly recommend having a thickness simulation, this also allows you to have the poles of the magnets in the right orientation so there's no mix up at install.

Holds one iPhone (140g) no problem. Holds test weight (450g) fine. This is enough even if my car generates 3g of acceleration or cornering force!

He then shows A2 specifics to open the dash etc which I won't copy here, but the final bits:

Then simply use double sided tape on the correct side of the magnet array and stick it to the inside of the dash!

My mount has a ball joint so I can still freely reposition it. If you want to avoid any potential pressure marks on the dash, stick something thin and soft on the magnets, may be a piece of fabric on double sided tape.

Some might be thinking magnet on one side and metal base would work. Yes it would, but using metal on the other side, without the magnet's poles, it could rotate and slip!

This is what mine looks like. The touchscreen is reachable, text readable, GPS signal is good. It doesn't block the air vents. The phone speaker are towards the driver side so I can hear the voice instructions clearly too. If I place the phone horizontally, the HUD+ app should work rather well as a head up display at night too!

Pretty neat I think. And no holes in the dash and when you don't have something to fix there is nothing visible on the dash - for yourself or would be thieves.

I've used these for a while now:

http://www.dsldevelopments.com/

The Brodit ProClip. It's pretty strong, is car specific and if you change phones, you only have to buy the holder section.

OOOOO nice :p

iOS4 is out next Monday and the iPhone 4 out 23rd, pre-orders taken from the 16th

I've used these for a while now:

http://www.dsldevelopments.com/

The Brodit ProClip. It's pretty strong, is car specific and if you change phones, you only have to buy the holder section.

I went for the Brodit system (after a recommendation on this forum) and it is quite brilliant. I chose the clip that mounts near the radio, it fitted easily and is perfectly located for phone operation.

I went for the Brodit system (after a recommendation on this forum) and it is quite brilliant. I chose the clip that mounts near the radio, it fitted easily and is perfectly located for phone operation.

By the way it is not the mount I am excited about!!! It is the fact that any mount can be attached via an invisible magnet. That is the bit I would like to see on all cars as standard.

I went for the Brodit system (after a recommendation on this forum) and it is quite brilliant. I chose the clip that mounts near the radio, it fitted easily and is perfectly located for phone operation.

How did you run the power and audio cabling to the phone?

Edited 15 June, 201016 yr by davehutch

I've used these for a while now:

http://www.dsldevelopments.com/

The Brodit ProClip. It's pretty strong, is car specific and if you change phones, you only have to buy the holder section.

I agree. I have one on the Passat and have just fitted one to the A pillar on our Yeti.

John

How did you run the power and audio cabling to the phone?

The power is so close that I just plug in when needed and the audio is through a handsfree Bluetooth.

Brodit do supply a holder with a built in power plug but I only use the power lead on long journeys and, as the holder is almost directly above the power socket, the power lead rarely gets in the way.

Edited 16 June, 201016 yr by Terfyn