Got a 2017 Superb Combi/Estate last month, and of course one of the first things I needed to do was plug my iPhone into it for music, calls, maps, etc. It has a Columbus head unit, so wired CarPlay is there, but there's nowhere proper to put the phone, and the cable is a bit of a mess. The car came with an ashtray (which fortunately was never used for its intended purpose).

 

 

So I wanted a place to put the phone, and the ability to wirelessly charge. I didn't want a phone holder up on the dash (makes no sense when the car's screen will be displaying CarPlay), and I didn't want to put it into the arm rest storage, because I'd forget it when I got out of the car. I didn't want cables trailing about the place at all. So I wanted it visible and accessible, but discreet. I also wanted whatever I built to be fully reversible. 

 

I looked into retrofitting the proper Phone Box, but I've an iPhone 13 pro in an Otterbox case, and my wife has a 12 Pro Max, and I don't think the Phone Box will fit the larger phone. 

 

I also liked the idea of wireless CarPlay. For short journeys, I'd just hop into the car with the phone in my pocket, and it would connect up automatically for calls and music. For longer journeys, I could set the phone down to charge. 

 

Never being one to put common or economic sense before a DIY project, I decided to build my own solution. 

 

And here's what I ended up with (excuse the banding on the screen, my camera was in silent shutter mode, and the sensor's refresh rate conflicts with the screen's):

 

 

 

 

 

You get in the car, set the phone down on a glossy black surface below the aircon controls, the phone magnetically sticks to a MagSafe charger underneath, starts charging, Then when you turn on the ignition, the phone connects to a wireless CarPlay dongle, and within 20 seconds, you're wirelessly connected. 

 

So what exactly did I build? I'll explain in the next post. 

 

 

Edited 22 September, 20214 yr by john999boy
Typo

The wireless CarPlay bit is easy. An Ottocast U2-ONE wireless CarPlay adapter.

 

Chosen above rival devices as reviews claim it's the fastest to connect, and most importantly, the USB cable is detachable. So I was able to use my own 90 degree angled USB cable to hide it out of the way in the ashtray. I did have a Cplay2Air one, but it was slower and has a fixed USB cable, which made tucking it into the ashtray more difficult. But the main reason I had to stop using it was that it had a very dodgy cable/USB plug that would disconnect at the slightest bump or touch. The Ottocast connection is rock solid. 

 

 

 

Then, there's the wireless charging plate itself, that goes over the entire area. This is where the DIY comes into play. 

 

I put a lot of effort into making it look as as inconspicuous as possible. So it doesn't look like much in the pictures, and when you look at it, it's just a glossy black sheet, but there was a fair bit of thought and multiple iterations in getting it to look so underwhelming. 

 

The core is the wireless charging. I use an iPhone, and I wanted to use MagSafe, as it attaches to the phone via a magnet, and will prevent the phone from sliding about when driving. Also, you have a physical indication that you've pit the phone in the exact right spot and that it's successfully charging - you fell the magnetic attraction. You don't get that with Qi chargers. Both myself and my wife (the only two drivers of the car) use iPhones with Otterbox MagSafe cases. 

 

I first thought about using an Apple MagSafe charger, because I had a couple in the house anyway, but quickly rejected them for this project. I went with an ESR HaloLock Kickstand Wireless Charger for a few reasons. It's MagSafe compatible, so it has the magnetic attraction I want. It's exactly 6cm in diameter, and I have a 6cm hole saw, so drilling a hole to mount it in the plate would be easy. It also has a replaceable USB cable, which means that I could replace it with one with 90 degree angles, so that the plate could sit flat over the ashtray frame. It charges the phones at 7.5w, which is plenty for my use. 

 

Then I had to think about how to mount the charger and creating a plate. I use a 3mm sheet of black plexiglass. Plexiglass is very easy to cut (score and snap, like a tile or glass, and it can be drilled too). I measured the shape of the ash tray cubby - it's asymmetrical - the corners on the left side are 90 degrees, but on the right, it's an obtuse angle. I made a few prototypes with cardboard to make sure I had the shape exactly right for a perfect fit before I cut the plexiglass. I basically opened the sliding lid, and have the plexiglass plate sitting on the frame of the ashtray. Nothing is fixed down and nothing was removed or modified. 

 

Here's the plexiglass and the charger during cutting (these pics are from various versions, the final one has the hole positioned about 8mm more towards the front off the plate):

 

 

 

Once the plexiglass was cut (and a notch to accommodate a USB-C elbow adapter), I covered the top in a sheet of 0.5mm plexiglass. This is to give the plate a smooth top, and makes the charger invisible. Charging is no problem though the 0.5mm of perspex. This is the view of the bottom of the plate during construction, with the thin plexiglass surface sheet on the cutting mat side:

 

I was hoping that I'd just be able to use the think plexiglass sheet as the surface of the plate, but it turned out to not be as glossy as I wanted (to fit in with the trim around the gearstick). I tried polishing it, but I couldn't get it glossy enough. So I covered it in a sheet of self-adhesive black glossy vinyl for a perfect finish.

 

 

But what's going on underneath. Well, I mounted the charger disk in the hole I cut. It was nice and snug, but it needed fixing. I had used some Sugru mouldable glue in an early prototype. It looked good, but it's expensive and unnecessary as this part isn't visible. So I just used liberal amounts of hot glue. I put strips of self adhesive foam all around the edge so that the plate can sit firmly on the structure of the ashtray, and to bring the thickness of the plate up to the level of the gearstick trim. 

 

 

hooked up a USB-C cable with a 90 degree plug, and everything fits neatly under the plate when it's installed. I had assumed that I'd need to fix it down with maybe double-sided tape or glue dots, but actually it fits snug enough that it doesn't shift at all when you remove the phone, despite the magnets. 

 

It was a fun project, and it works flawlessly. Parts, including the wireless CarPlay dongle probably cost me about €220. Is that too much to pay for wireless CarPlay and wireless charging? Maybe. But sometimes you get an idea in your head that you just have to pursue. And there's value beyond the surface economics in conceiving, designing, building and using something like this. I wonder what's next?

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 September, 20214 yr by john999boy
Typo reference sorted.

Looks brilliant and nicely done.

No one would think anything different.

Edited 22 September, 20214 yr by JR RS

A very good effort there. 

I really should follow your lead! 

I came in here expecting something really dodgy. 

 

Im pleasantly surprised. Really good job there!