[kayandjohn]

The Miccus Blubridge receiver mentioned above, though discontinued by Miccus, is available on eBay, from a supplier named "gadgetsvillestore." here is a link.

This is what it looks like. Turns out I have its date-mate, the Miccus Blubridge transmitter, which I plug into my TV earphone outlet to allow my TV to transmit wirelessly, via bluetooth, to my headphones. Works well.

I have ordered one to try the idea of plugging its coax connection into one connector in my glove compartment, and the USB, for trickle power, into the USB connection. Stay tuned.

OK... I received the miccus Rx, paired it to my iPhone4, then put phone and miccus in my Abarth Cabrio, plugging the little male/male connector into the minijack inside the glove compartment, and the little cord to connect the miccus to the USB port near the minijack .

It works FABULOUSLY!

It streams music from the iPhone 4. All control of playing is ceded to the iPhone... steering wheel controls to skip to next song don't work, though the "Mute" does (but the phone keeps playing... you just don't hear it).

I was startled and amazed by the fact that the iPhone still worked through Blue & Me. I could still push the steering wheel button for speech recognition, then speak the desired name, and it dials it, and the phone conversation takes place through the FIAT speakers and microphone as before!

The sound quality through the miccus is superior to the iPhone connected to the USB port. The volume is twice as high (i.e., 20 on the car if you have the iPhone volume set at max is equal to a car setting of 40 for iPhone through USB.) The bass is better, the treble is better, the overall sound is better than iPhone through USB. The miccus uses A2DP Bluetooth protocol, which if I understand is a lossless format, unlike other Bluetooth formats.

So you can trade better sound quality for less integration with the car... you control all play from your phone.

The only feature I haven't tested yet, but I think it works, is whether the miccus actually charges through the USB port (which is the only reason to have it plugged in there as well as the mini audio jack!). The battery lifetime is 7 hours, and I charged it before I put it in, so it has not been there long enough to see. However, I know that the USB charges my iPod, so I suspect this will work.

I consider the ability to stream through Blue & Me to be solved by this technique. You can do any audio playback that your phone can do... not just music, but Pandora, audio books, spoken directions, etc. WOW!

 

[psadek]

I quite agree, John....the Miccus solution is a very good one: The audio quality is excellent, and it doesn't need to be manually powered up every time the car is started. I've had a LITTLE bit of trouble with my phone "seeing" the Miccus, but I want to mention that I have also found the customer service people at Miccus to be VERY helpful, including offering me a replacement and a prepaid mailer to return a non-working unit (not necessary, as it now works great).

I still have a cable running from my glovebox to a USB charger in the 12v outlet, but I'll go with the USB Y-adaptor (do NOT buy a "hub"--it won't work) and gender changers after payday. See the earlier notes here.

Paul

 

[kayandjohn]

I've had the miccus in several days now and drove over 500 miles to and from the Abarth Track Experience.

My open question on whether the miccus stayed charged through the USB port is now answered, as it has been long enough for the miccus to have run down.

The miccus DOES stay charged on the USB port.

In all, a Great solution to implementing streaming from a Bluetooth source.


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[Matt13Abarth]

I have used the BlackBerry Bluetooth Gateway, it works for any aux input, home, auto, whatever. Will need to be plugged into the usb for power though.

http://ca.crackberry.com/blackberry-music-gateway/A9A11438.htm

M

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[Seattle500C]

Fcan't get it to work with my flashdrive. Very frustrating. I've about given up!t, pardon my typo: I have a Fiat 500, not a 500L.

What I need is a USB "passthrough" adaptor which sends power ONLY through one port, and data AND power through the other. I thought that was what I was getting through Amazon, but it turns out that it's technically a "hub," and thus doesn't do the job.

However, I went "down and dirty": I have a 32gb flash drive with my mp3 library plugged into the USB port in the glovebox, and the Miccus bluetooth receiver plugged into the "aux" jack. To power the Miccus, I have a cable running out of the glovebox, along the seam in the console, around to the 12v outlet, where I have a dual USB charger plugged in.

In truth, I'm down at the moment, because the Miccus gave up the ghost. However, a vast majority of the reviews of the Miccus were glowing; so, in the hope that I just got a bad one, I'm returning it to Amazon, and my replacement should arrive tomorrow.

I have most of the same music on my phone's SD card that is on the flash drive in the car; but what I really want is Pandora, Tune-In Radio, and a number of other audio apps to stream through the Fiat's stereo. It worked beautifully for a few days, and hopefully, will work again for a longer period

Paul

I bought a Miccus and can

 

[Seattle500C]

Mine failed to work as well. Frustrating! I've about given up!

 

[Matt13Abarth]

Hey guys,

Just another option, this is a battery powered bluetooth speaker but you can connect the unit to the Aux port and stream.

I have tried it, it works well and plays all day on a single charge.

As a bonus it can be used as a louder speakerphone option for larger groups as it has a microphone built in.

http://ca.crackberry.com/blackberry-mini-stereo-speaker-acc-52983-001/9A147A13754.htm

Matt

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[Steve-O]

only if you have the TomTom Navigation can you stream music via bluetooth however there is a USB bluetooth adapter you can plug into your usb port from ebay to make it happen. however you will still have to control your music with your phone which i would advise getting the Mountek CD Phone mount from amazon

 

[Steve-O]

best setup in my opinion for those with out the nav

your phone can pair to multiple devices and use multiple devices at the same time. so your phone will connect and use the blue and me for phone calls and this usb adapter for streaming audio from your phone

Link for Bluetooth adapter http://www.ebay.com/itm/380629014194?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

^I bought 4 from the same person on ebay. fast shipping and really cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Mountek-nGroo...ices/dp/B004G1L52Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379606800&sr=8-1&keywords=cd+mountek

^great mount...i never use my cd player EVER. i use SXM and Pandora on my phone so i can see the display on my phone and change stations like if i had a touch screen radio

I also bought an extended battery pack for my phone so i dont have to worry about charging it so many times

 

[psadek]

Glad to see you're finding options. They shouldn't be necessary, of course: Blue&Me should be able to handle this, but it doesn't. I'm with you on the extended battery for a smartphone: I will happily put up with the fatter phone when I don't have to be plugging it in to charge every chance I get, just to make sure that it has power when I need it.

 

[navanod]

Glad to see you're finding options. They shouldn't be necessary, of course: Blue&Me should be able to handle this, but it doesn't.

I agree 100%... There is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be able to do so. Fiat need to get off their butts and update the firmware.

 

[psadek]

Well, I finally completed my workaround on this! I had been putting off getting the cables and adaptors because the money--relatively small amount that it is--was needed elsewhere.

I have the following....

Miccus Bluebridge A2DP bluetooth receiver
Sandisk flashdrive
USB Y-adaptor
USB gender changers

Now, it's important to make this distinction: By "USB Y-adaptor," I do NOT mean a USB hub. Since the USB-like connector in the glovebox of the Fiat 500 is not a TRUE USB 2.0, it will not accept a USB hub. It must be an adaptor of the type designed to give charging power from two USB ports to one device; that's its INTENDED purpose. We're using it for almost the exact opposite, which is why USB gender changers are probably necessary.

Only the flashdrive is exchanging data; the bluetooth receiver, plugged into the Aux jack, only needs the USB connection for trickle-charging power.

My Android phone pairs--and connects--with BOTH Blue&Me (for phone call audio) and the Miccus Bluebridge A2DP bluetooth receiver (for audio services such as Pandora, Tune-In Radio, and audio files on the phone's SD card). The flashdrive contains my mp3 library.

It all works, and my cables are now all tucked into the glovebox. I get phone calls on Blue&Me, I listen to phone apps on Media/Aux (and phone calls interrupt it), and my mp3 library is available normally on Media/USB.

I do NOT claim credit for any of this....it's all from elsewhere on this board. I just thought it might be good to spell it out again. Some folks have had luck with other bluetooth receivers; but I have found that the Miccus doesn't need to be manually restarted every time I start the car. I've read that some people have had bad luck with some flashdrives; the Sandisk that I use is fairly generic--the type with the push-slider to expose its USB connector.

I just put the Y-adaptor in this afternoon, so I haven't had it running long enough to document that the bluetooth receiver is getting a charge...but others have documented that it gets sufficient charge to keep on going.

I'll probably give it a decent workout next Monday when I have to make my monthly 300-mile road trip.

 

[kayandjohn]

Thanks! To be sure I understand... the Y USB connector is used to power both the flash drive and the miccus from the USB socket in the glovebox, right? If your tunes are on the flash drive, how do you control them (i.e., play, select, stop)?

I have a very similar arrangement, but I use my iPhone, in my shirt pocket, as where the music is stored... I can control it there, and the miccus picks up the Bluetooth transmission from my phone and plays it into the car sound system.

Thanks!

 

[psadek]

Flashdrive is controlled from the Blue&Me program....either with voice commands or from the steering console.

 

[redred]

Have a similar setup. I bought a weird Fan from Amazon.com. It came with this really weird USB pass through. On the side of the pass thru was a power cable. I cut it off and soldered in a mini-USB male connector to the end of it. That powers the Miccus. The pass thru is plugged into the USB port in the car. The other end of the pass thru is where I plug in my iPhone cable. Works great. Just need to re-do the cable and make it shorter now.

 

[goaterguy]

I know it's an old thread, have we figured out a better way or a better dongle to stream audio to a 2012 Blue&Me unit?

 

[Tedolph]

I agree 100%... There is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be able to do so. Fiat need to get off their butts and update the firmware.

FIAT did not make the firmware-MicroSoft did, and they ain't making it any more.


Good luck getting them to help you or FIAT.

TEdolph

 

[smark]

I know it's an old thread, have we figured out a better way or a better dongle to stream audio to a 2012 Blue&Me unit?

Crutchfield, sells lots of blue tooth adaptors, for audio. I bet Best Buy would too.

https://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/blue_tooth_for_cars.html?&pg=1