Mobile Car Stereo Player – DIY Project

Using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous. It is also against the law. However, you can use your mobile phone as a powerful music player with the help of a stereo power amplifier. So here we would like to share a (do it yourself) “Mobile Car Stereo Player” circuit that you can make by yourself if you have enough knowledge about electronics and building circuits.

Most mobile phones have a music player that offers a number of features including preset/manual sound equalisers. They have standard 3.5mm stereo sockets that allow music to be played through standard stereo headphones/sound amplifiers. Nokia 2700 classic is an example.

A car audio amplifier with 3.5mm socket can be designed and simply connected to the mobile phone output via a shielded cable with suitable connectors/jacks (readymade 3.5mm male-to-male connector cable is a good alternative).

Circuit Design:

Working:

IC TDA1554Q contains four 11W identical amplifiers with differential input stages (two inverting and two non-inverting) and can be used for single-ended or bridge applications. The gain of each amplifier is fixed at 20 dB. Here it is configured as two 22W stereo bridge amplifiers.

The amplifier is powered from the 12V car battery through RCA socket J2. Diode D1 protects against wrong-polarity connection. LED1 indicates the power status.

Connect stereo sound signal from the 3.5mm headset socket of the mobile phone to audio input socket J1. When you play the music from your mobile, IC1 amplifies the input. The output of IC1 is fed to speakers LS1 and LS2 fitted at a suitable place in your car. Electrolytic capacitor C5 connected between pin 4 of IC1 and GND improves the supply-voltage ripple rejection. Components R2 and C4 connected at mute/standby pin (pin 14) of IC1 eliminate the switch on/off plop.

The circuit is quite compact. A good-quality heat-sink assembly is crucial for IC1. Fig. 2 shows the stereo socket and stereo jack.

Assemble the circuit on a general-purpose PCB and enclose in a suitable cabinet. Small dimensions of the power amplifier make it suitable for being enclosed in a plastic (ABS) case with vent holes. Signal input socket, speaker output terminals, on/off switch, indicator, fuse holder and power supply socket are best located on the front panel of the enclosure as shown in Fig. 3.