Laura´s Bluetooth Receiver for the Car 

That looks classy as heck! And with a switch like that, there's always some sort of James Bond-esque feeling to a car. Maybe you should label it "Catapult seat", for unsuspecting passengers!

Heck yeah!!! This is was an awesome project.........It had car accessory installation, wood work, electronics and last but not least that creative Laura touch!

I am so impressed. I am more fearless then I used to be but there is zero chance I would attempt to modify my car stereo. You remain my hero. I wish I had a daughter I could show your videos.

That's the true maker spirit - improving what you don’t like in your products. I've never dared to lay hands on a car, though - so I’m impressed, Laura. With the product, the process and the video. Excellent work!

I love your videography so much, Laura. Your vids always put me in a good mood. :)

Love your work Laura. Minor point, I think automotive toggle switches are frowned upon as they can be a bit stabby in an accident. Rocker switches are preferred.

I tend to approach projects from an engineering or manufacturing perspective, because that is what I know. It always amazes me to see the different way artists approach the same problems. Being able to see things from different angles is always a good thing. Good job, Laura.

I have Bluetooth capable phone, and a Bluetooth capable receiver, but I don't have a car. How do I fix that?

It seems as if everything you do, from the fun projects you select, from the happy video, to the cool music in them, makes me want to get up and do something.

nice job! I have the same van and built a whole Center console for a head deck and extra speakers. your version is a bunch nicer to look at though.

After coming back from work at 7am and sleeping for 4 hours your videos are real remedy for me. Thanks Laura!

Laura, you really make this all look far too easy. I would never have thought of that myself, and I'm amazed by your talent. Thanks for sharing it with the community. And me. 😁

love how you sent a nod out to Bob and Jimmy. im a new sub, and ive been binge watching your projekts the last couple of days, while being home, sick. must say im glad i found this channel ;)

Just come across your video in my recommended slot and love it. Fantastic editing and a great build had me hooked. Happily subscribed. Cheers. Jon.

You even know electronics and mix it into your design. Perfect !

Germany's Got Talent And the Winner Is Laura!! Very nice work!

Awesome in every way! A fantastic creative solution to a problem most people would buy some lame overpriced product for - or just grumble about for years. Your videography - the pacing, the editing, the wordless narrative flow - is fantastic. And the video and music go together like they were made for one-another. Thank you.

Hey Laura, just a tip for soldering wires together, Google Lineman's splice. It's easier to solder, stronger and neater. Love the project!

Good idea! Briefly looking at the title photo I thought you did a wood veneer on your entire head unit. Might be a fun additional customization if you want to classy up the interior even more. Also that shifter placement is fantastic, I wish that more US cars had the same option. I had it on a EP3 Civic and loved it.

We need Laura's line of designer pink tape sold in all hardware stores.

I've been wanting to do this with my car but have been overthinking it by wanting to add a microcontroller. Just splicing in the BT recover straight into the audio is a much simpler idea. Thanks for sharing!

Laura your videos are a tremendous Boon to the Soul at our time of social distancing and staying at home. You give us inspiration and creative hope to carry on another day. Thank you so much for your contribution

The queen of tape

Laura , you make these projects look so easy... you have mad skills !

Nicely done. A couple of months ago I did the same thing , but left out the original car stereo (it's a convertible). So now i can leave it open and it looks like the stereo got stolen, but actuallly everything works

Problem identified, problem fixed & looks better, everything to like!

Nice project... I'm going to do one for my 1994 pickup truck. Don't have a nifty dash pocket like you did... But I could certainly hide it away in the center console.

If you are into electronics, the cheapest way to do that is to add an 1/8" jack Aux In (find the Line In on the PCB before the Tape preamp circuit), and add the circuit of a Bluetooth Receiver (like $2 on ebay). The advantage of that method is if you have audio controls on you steering wheel, you can at least control the volume of your Aux In / Bluetooth input.

Wunderbar!! Laura is the top maker for me on the tube. Great skills and always changing, always moving and actually the edits are just as good. Just watched Toni Erdmann, it was the best film I have seen in many years. Any other German film recommendations?

Estupendo proyecto Lara!! Me encantan 🎶🚗🎶👍

By far, one of your more ambitious projects Laura. So totally awesome, how it fits & looks in your dashboard. And I must compliment the stereotypically excellent german talent for technology... :) And, as always, the music was perfect for the video. Yours is one of my favorite channels and I have told all my friends to subscribe. Thank you Eric central Florida.

and with kids in the car with you its also a turbo switch lol. Very clever and a cool job Laura x

Great build and good taste in podcasts

Nice, I like the minimal design, if you don't know what it does the mystery switch looks a little bit like it might be the self-destruct function of the van. By the way, how's the trasmitting range of those Bluetooth boards?

Another great video, and now you can say your van has a genuine wood grain dash!

Nice money saving hack! It looks like the shop is starting to get a little warmer as well...

Nice project! This channel is a good way to start Sunday mornings.

This is beautiful! Also, you have the neatest soldering skills I have ever seen in my life!

You never cease to impress. Nice build.

great Video and a great looking final product too, but please use by electrical connections something for isolation. Electric isolation tape is one option, a other and even professional option is to use heat shrink tube. Thats not this expensive but it makes the electrical stuff perfect.

That was a great video. Life problem solved. The tape rubbing/template was slick. Music was super tight too.

I had to laugh so hard when I saw the Making It podcast starting up. I listen to this all the time driving to work. Sometimes I switch cars with my wife and she also has a VW without AUX or BT. However, I'm not ballsy enough to disassemble half the car's cockpit to change that :) Totally my kind of video!

I was going to ask "Why not just buy a new stereo". Then I saw the final product, and... *instant* *envy*

nice build, good idea to use a block of wood like that! I would have used a different switch like a push button with a led built in.

I love this project. That saves you hundreds of dollars. Super rad.

Menuda mejora para el auto, buen trabajo Laura

The music alone makes this into a fantastic video! I really like the things you make!

Nice "Hack" job. Wish I had more electrical knowledge. I'd end up blowing my whole electrical system if I tried this. Great idea, great build great video. Scott

Great project! I should figure out if there is a similar adapter kit for my wife's vehicle. Bluetooth is great, but even an aux line would be a welcome addition.

Adding bonus: your van's resale value just doubled. Now, you can honestly advertise it has real walnut trim interior. But seriously, it does give a great contrast against the black ABS plastic.

Creative, I get a lot of inspiration form the randomness of your projects.

Incredible work! I like how you're good at not only wood work but also electronics. Keep up the good work, I love your videos!

Epic Laura! I wouldn't even have thought about that as an option!

Very nice! Those bluetooth boards are awesome! I've bought like five of them and I've got one in my car as well. There's one version of the card with 3.5mm aux out which can be quite handy. I'm powering mine from the cigarette lighter jack, but the electric noise from it interferes with the sound depending on the rpm of the engine. I've even tried putting a filter in-line with audio and it only slightly helps. Do you have similar issues or is you 12V "clean"? Have a great week!

Na besten Dank! Jetzt geht mir durch den Kopf wie das bei unserem Wagen einbauen kann. ;-) Super Arbeit und kann mir das in dem Wagen gerade gut vorstellen, da ich den beruflich unter anderem auch fahre. Deine Arbeiten sind wie bei dem ein oder anderen youtuber sehr präzise. Echt beeindruckend!

Amazing video! Just one tip: you coud have put one aux-in port and a usb port on that setup.

Awesome job Laura! ..... great choice of podcast as well.

you're so lucky to be able to have a car and a body that can stand like that to work on the dash. I'm always trying to do that in a short car with a really flat windshield and having to be all pretzeled and upsidown doing wiring ugh.

I'm amazed that you come up with such a good project every week... and kind of jealous too.

If I'm understanding correctly how this was done, I'm not sure I'm too fond of it, to be honest. It seems like this Bluetooth board also has a solid state amplifier built in, and is wired in parallel with the factory head unit. My first issue is the potential to have both amplifiers on at once, potentially damaging either, or the speakers. secondly, unless the Bluetooth board is wired on ignition power, I see it being accidentally left on and killing a battery from parasitic draw. Lastly, I could see the Bluetooth board's amp overheating, especially in a hot car. Instead, I would have installed a hardwired FM modulator in-line with the FM antenna wire, then used an off the shelf Bluetooth receiver with line level audio out. Neither produces much heat, could damage the factory head unit or speakers, and when wired to ignition/accessory power wouldn't kill your battery. There would be a slight loss in audio quality, but in my opinion worth it for the lack of other potential problems. Just my two cents! Still loved the video, and it does look nice.

I actually have bluetooth in my car but it's only for phone calls (won't allow music/podcast streaming) and the call quality is terrible. I had planned on doing something similar to this to allow me to control the lot from my steering wheel. Thanks for the inspiration!

Super clip! Nice idea, well executed. I would have added a USB for charging port for your phone, but the where the radio is on your car might not have worked out so clean.

Very well done. Simple, inexpensive Bluetooth solution! I've used the same board for a walnut speaker.

Great, as always. I can't help but feel that there could be sooooo many more buttons in the front though. I think you missed an opportunity to do a Back to the future-esque panel, is all I'm saying.. :)

What a good video! However soldered connections tend to break in moving projects. It's better to crimp...

I'm glad The Post-Apocalyptic Inventor is rubbing off on you. ;D

I love the concept Laura. I have a concern though. It looked like you tied the bluetooth output to the speaker wires. If that is the case, the power output of the bluetooth amplifier could fry the output section of the radio amplifier...and visa versa. I'm not sure that's the way you wired it, but it's a consideration if you did. It's very similar to connecting both the left and right speaker outputs to a single speaker.

sweeet, I need to do that to all three of our cars (average age 28 years ; average 7 cylinders per car...). Keep on trucking (from France) !

Nice project but that amplifier needs a bass/treble controller sometimes, especially we can not set a personal equalizer on iPhones. You could add something like that but also its means extra money,respect ^^

FYI - the safety worry-worts made the car manufacturers stop using toggle switches with handles like the one you show because they are an injury hazard in the event of an accident. Inexpensive rocker switches with indicator LEDs do exist...

So clever!! When you getting a tape sponsor on board? ;)

Good choice in podcast 👌

I literally just did this! I should have done a similar thing with the wood, that looks amazing! Great video as always.

i love stuff like that ! That remindes me of my customized hairclipper. I was super annoyed by the low battery life of it. Now it runs with a 18650 cell and charges by USB :)

Great Build! Extra bonus points for the Making It podcast. :) Can you build one for my car next?

your video is fantastic

Amazing! I just wish that you did a voice over explaining the process in this one... Like Diresta calmly does.

Never cease to amaze Laura! Great job!!😀

Shit fire Martha, that was slick!!! Dang girl, how'd you know how to do all that? I have a lot more talents than most, but I'm getting pretty jealous here... This project ROCKS!!!

That actually was amazing! I love your style! Keep up the good work! :)

You can buy on eBay or your electronics supplier a nice soldering iron and heat shrink gun combined just by changing tips and the tips go down to quite small sizes. I use one and find it so handy to use. Sorry, cannot remember name of the brand of soldering if I remember I will give you the brand name. I like your Bluetooth idea.

Thanks for making this video! I've been trying to figure out how to put an aux-in port in my car but I hadn't even thought of a bluetooth receiver. I may do something like this instead.

Nice execution and great looking stereo.

Alright that's pretty bad ass. Doing audio wiring always frustrates me because I'm colorblind, I'd probably turn on my a/c and get the radio.

Very awesome...maybe a cool prototype for cars who don't have bluetooth?

Sick radio, Laura. Very slick. 😎

retro fit safety glasses look amazing :)

You could use the space in the middle of the panel to mount a phone holder too.

That is fricken awesome! Nice job Laura.

I'm inspired. I have an AUX plug, but the cables don't last long. I also have BlueTooth, but it only works for phone calls. I'm wondering if I could come up with a solution like yours. Really great. Thanks for sharing.

what a soundtrack! [and awesome video, as always]

I love your work, Laura.

I had the same problem but I just made a holder fore a small Bluetooth speaker but your way is so much better

Damn, you are fearless! That's what I learned from this video....you're going to catch hell from the stereo geeks for some nuance, I imagine... Hahaha but you've got me completely impressed! Well done....

we the people love you Laura

Clever solution!

Just connecting the outputs of your radio and your Bluetooth-receiver is problematic and could also lead to damage of the devices. Always switch both wires of each speaker to be sure and safe.

It's silly how creative you are!!!!

Frickn epic video Laura! (I thought of TPAI) love the podcast shoutout. Keep on keepin' on.

Pretty cool project! I like your way to mark out holes, cuts etc with the tape, hat kind of tape are you using and where can we purchase it in Germany? Material looks a bit like this frog tape from OBI, though,