Magnetic Mount for iPhone (or anything)

humps

A2OC Donor
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.

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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!
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Once happy with the arrangement of the magnets, let's move on to the install. First, remove the headunit and expose the two mounting screws that holds the top vent housing.

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Undo them and pull the vent housing out carefully! There is a cable to the hazard light switch and you need to unclip it.
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The picture shows the housing looking from the back of it. Carefully unclip the red circle part. Now you have full access to the little space between the air channel and the top of the dash. Experiment where you want to mount.
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Then simply use double sided tape on the correct side of the magnet array and stick it to the inside of the dash! Then reconnect the hazard light switch, put everything back together and see the result!
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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.
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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!
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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!

The next step? A solution to the charging cable and audio signal routing. But I'm not fuzzed as I don't normally need Satnav for extended period of time. But I'm sure other members will be interested in that.
 
Nice work Humps,looks very tidy and nice positioning.

Word of warning - go carefull when handling the magnets, they can give you a really nasty nip on the end of your fingers they're so strong!
 
Nice work. Looks good.
Just wondering if you could let me know where you got the holder? I need to replace a cup holder soon so this would be ideal to install then.
All the best
Nick
 
(no relation to the sellers)

I bought these magents
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400124253441

and the mount for £5.99 shipped from Hong Kong!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120565412849

Mind you the mount is for phones without any protective casing. I have a clear protective film on the phone (you can just about see a slight peel on the 1st picture) and it wouldn't fit. However, I sanded down a little of the two rubbing strips on the mount and it is perfect.

The best part, when i get the iPhone 4, i just need a new mount like this and it will fit without taking the vent housing out again!
 
Absolutely brilliant! All cars should come standard with this!

I also think all cars should as standard have that top square on the A2 openable with the 12V socket(s) in there - and not on the dash or under the handbrake! Shortest route to your satnav etc is from right there at the top of the dash!
 
Hi Humps,

I love your brilliant idea so much that I decided to use it. I also slightly extended and refined it and thought that I could share this. This time modification is done for my Samsung Galaxy S3.

P1160574 scalled.jpg

I managed to hide the magnets completely thanks to using this holder:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Car-M...1930?pt=UK_Holders_Mounts&hash=item2ec12f829a
and two sets of such magnets:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50mm-dia-...279?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item336e6fcebf
I think that slightly cheaper (thinner) version should also work:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50mm-dia-...934?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item336e6fcd66
but I haven’t tried this. The force which I get from my thicker magnets is really very high. As you suggested, I glued a thin soft fabric to the bottom of the magnets in the holder to protect dashboard from scratches.
I also added a USB charging by using DC/DC converter:
http://onecall.farnell.com/xp-power/jcd0412s05/dc-dc-converter-4w-5v-dip-24/dp/2065187?Ntt=2065187
with standard micro USB cable. Note, that this DC/DC converter is wired in a way that it is only powered when the ignition is on.
I also added possibility to play music from my phone and hands-free set by combining Dension ice Link Plus (well described on this forum) with these headphones:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEADPHONE...L-FOR-SAMSUNG-GALAXY-S3-i900-B-/110906560822?
By doing this I have separate volume control and can take or disconnect the call and have play/stop with separate buttons (visible next to the right coup holder).
I routed a long cable up to the interior light location to place the microphone there as this is less noisy option.

Cheers,
Marius
 
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