Retrofitting an Amazon Echo Dot to a Rapid

[chrisgreen]

Hello

 

Been a while since I’ve done any fiddling with the car. The last major tech upgrade was the dash cam, but today I tried something a bit different.

 

I had an Amazon Echo Dot in my home office, which was replaced today with one of the new smaller full Echo units that just started shipping. In the picture below you can see the Dot alongside the full-size mk1 Echo we have in the living room and the new smaller mk2 Echo that is replacing the Dot in my home office. 

 

 

With a spare Dot knocking around, and having seen a few videos on YouTube of people putting them in cars, I decided to have a go.

 

Firstly, the MDI interface USB port is capable of powering the Dot. This is good as many owners here will know that the MDI interface on the Mk1 Rapid and Spaceback is a temperamental pain in the arse when used with phones. Using it as a power source for the Dot is hopefully going to be a better use for it. The 3.5mm input connects to the same on the Dot for audio, keeping the Bluetooth interface free for my iPhone to connect on both the A2DP and handsfree profiles. 

 

After some experimenting I worked out that you need 25cm USB and 3.5mm cables to get the optimum balance of connectivity and no excess trailing wires. Also, the Dot is slightly too big to sit flat in the coin tray below the AC controls, so you will need to put some kind of spacer under it. I’ve stuck an 8mm thick, 5cm diameter MDF disc to the bottom of the Dot, with a couple of sticky pads holding it all in place in the coin tray. The fit is now perfect.

 

 

The end result looks like this:

 

 

For connectivity I am currently tethering with my smartphone, but I recently acquired a HUAWEI 4G USB Mifi (the type that auto powers-on and connects whenever USB power is present). I’m going to wire this to the switched 12v accessory socket hidden behind the dash that currently powers the dash cam and hide it behind a plastic part of the dashboard. It will mean the car has a permanent WiFi hotspot on board that the Dot will be able to use, but only running when the car is running.

 

Here’s a pic of the Dot up and running, streaming music as I drove to Waitrose earlier this evening:

 

 

Thanks

Chris

Edited 31 October, 2017 by chrisgreen

[XAlp]

Did you do the “HUAWEI 4G USB Mifi” bit yet?

[chrisgreen]

I did - have got pics as well so will post a more detailed write up as soon as I have time. Having a 4G hotspot in the car is so useful, not just for the Echo.

[RickTT]

What functionality does this amazon dot offer say Just using smartlink (ie android auto) to listen to amazon music or using Google commands ?

 

Thanks

[octyal]

How does that dongle work? Is it a PAYG type thing or do you need to purchase a new SIM card when the data bundle expires?

[chrisgreen]

2 hours ago, RickTT said:

What functionality does this amazon dot offer say Just using smartlink (ie android auto) to listen to amazon music or using Google commands ?

 

Thanks

 

Can’t comment on Android other to say that I still find it a complete ballache to use compared to iOS. Google’s voice assistant is very under developed compared to Alexa and is not supported as widely as either Alexa or even Apple’s HomeKit. 

 

The Echo Dot gives you the full range of voice enabled Amazon services without ever taking your hands off the wheel. I use it for everything from listening to radio stations via TuneIn, music via Amazon Music (Spotify also supported), podcasts, news, weather, I can do my shopping with Ocado, add things to general shopping lists and to-do lists, control the heating and lighting back at home, make Echo-to-Echo calls, get travel info on-demand, manage my bank accounts and shedloads more. 

 

I connect mine using the 3.5mm out on the Dot and the 3.5mm in on the MDI interface (with the MDI USB port used for power).

 

In short - it adds a level of modernisation and voice control that is simply not available as an option from the factory (though ŠKODA will be integrating Alexa into new cars from April 2018 apparently). 

[chrisgreen]

2 hours ago, octyal said:

How does that dongle work? Is it a PAYG type thing or do you need to purchase a new SIM card when the data bundle expires?

 

Now I have it permanently fitted, I stuck a contract data sim in the dongle. My mobile provider (EE) offers a deal where you can have additional data sims that share a single data package with your phone. My iPhone X, iPad, Apple Watch and the dongle in the car all share the 100GB a month data plan I have for the iPhone. I pay £5 a month for the Sim in the dongle. 

 

However, there’s nothing to stop you using a PAYG sim or a pre-loaded Data sim, like the 12GB sim that Three sells (that doesn’t expire for a year once activated). The Three sim can be bought for as little as £30 on eBay.