Navigation voice mutes my radio...is this possible?

This is for the electornics gurus out there. I don't know much about how this stuff so please correct me if I'm wrong with my assumptions, thanks.

I have a Pioneer AVIC-88DVD (Pioneer Navigation Unit), a Pioneer AVX-P8DVD (Pioneer in-dash monitor) and a Pioneer Head Unit.

The Problem:
Navi connects to the monitor, but the navigation voice is outputted to a seperate speaker connected with a 3.5mm headphone jack. I have a small navigation speaker, but I would like to mute car audio when the navi voice comes on. My head unit has a Cell Phone Mute wire which requires a ground to activate the mute. Can I use somehow connect a relay between the cell phone mute wire and the seperate navigation speaker that would activate the cell phone mute on my head unit when the navi voice comes on?

My hair-brained idea:
The big assumption here is that the current carried by the navi voice speaker is enough to activate a relay. The relay would sense the current being generated by the navi voice from the speaker wire, and if connected like this would send a ground signal to the cell phone mute wire of my head unit.


Someone help me here...thanks people!

-HD

.. im wondering if this could be done with a relay control board (the ones with input). Don't some of them detect current? Its like $40 or so....but should work...and hey, then you have a relay controller board.

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Originally Posted by Peoples

.. im wondering if this could be done with a relay control board (the ones with input). Don't some of them detect current? Its like $40 or so....but should work...and hey, then you have a relay controller board.

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Thanks for the suggestion! Can you provide me with some links? I saw these, but I'm not sure I understood their purpose.

I guess my question was about the current traveling through the speaker wire - is that enough to set off a relay? If not, anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

Why not try something like this: MPSS-4. on the is300.net forums, this is what alot of people use for alternate audio inputs. I don't know if crutchfield is cheapest, shop around.

-psyrex

I found this, but it seems a little complicated for what you want...

http://sound.westhost.com/project38.htm

Runs off 9-15v.

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Originally Posted by markbuts3

I found this, but it seems a little complicated for what you want...

http://sound.westhost.com/project38.htm

Runs off 9-15v.

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Thanks for the suggestion, I think this is exactly what I was looking for, but I would need a ground signal ouput rather than a 12v+, i guess that's where the relay comes in.

I'd rather get something premade though, wonder if anyone produces something like this.

What's wrong with the MPSS-4 that I linked to above? It takes two 4-channel inputs and outputs to one. Splice it to be between your stock HU and the speakers on the first set of inputs, and put your nav as the second set of inputs. When the MPSS-4 sees signal on input 2 (nav), it mutes input 1 (HU). Isn't this what you're looking for? It's fairly cheap and I've heard nothing but good things about audio quality.

-psyrex

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Originally Posted by psyrex

What's wrong with the MPSS-4 that I linked to above? It takes two 4-channel inputs and outputs to one. Splice it to be between your stock HU and the speakers on the first set of inputs, and put your nav as the second set of inputs. When the MPSS-4 sees signal on input 2 (nav), it mutes input 1 (HU). Isn't this what you're looking for? It's fairly cheap and I've heard nothing but good things about audio quality.

-psyrex

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Sorry, forgot to address your post. Thanks for the suggestion, I just feel like there is a better solution out there. This one interfaces with the amp, and I would rather not go that route. Though if all else fails, I will definitely go for this sucker.

On another note, thanks to the suggestions you guys gave, I did a little more searching and found the Peripheral Electronics LVT2 device. It will apparently take speaker level inputs and convert that to a 12 volt remote turn on signal. If I combine this with the relay I spoke about earlier (to convert a positive signal to ground), this is it.

Here are wiring instructions from the LVT2's predecessor, the LVT. It seems simple and the +12 that the LVT2 outputs can go out to the relay load pin 86 which will in turn output negative on pn 87.

If anyone has ever used this, please give me your review, thanks again!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by psyrex

What's wrong with the MPSS-4 that I linked to above? It takes two 4-channel inputs and outputs to one. Splice it to be between your stock HU and the speakers on the first set of inputs, and put your nav as the second set of inputs. When the MPSS-4 sees signal on input 2 (nav), it mutes input 1 (HU). Isn't this what you're looking for? It's fairly cheap and I've heard nothing but good things about audio quality.

-psyrex

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That unit doesn't switch when it senses an audio signal, it needs a 12v signal to switch...

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The unit switches between two different sets of preamp inputs when 12 volts is sensed on either of its two amp remote inputs

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not to be negative about your goals for this project, but to tell you the truth I set my system up to mute audio when nav spoke, & it was so f*in annoying that I disconected it with a bypass that almost always is on... I found the better solution for me was to just put a better nav speaker to be loud enough to be heard over the audio.... if it would reduce volume slightly it may not be so bad..... but to have the audio going all the way up & down for every comment or turn was driving me crazy... a cell phone is way different.... you need the audio down for that....

to me the ultimate setup would be both audios in sync..... anotherwords audio volume up/ nav volume up etc..... then a knob or other way to fine tune the ratio to each other...... another good idea is for the nav speaker to be in the drivers side door pillar aimed at or around drivers ear..... the nav wouldn't need to be loud & overpowering to be defanetly heard by the driver...... I plan on adding a speaker there for nav.....