Hands-Free GPS using iPhone

Summary

There are several reasons to use your iPhone (or Android phone) as a direction-finder instead of using your dedicated GPS. The phone can provide access to your address book for the map app, and it can respond to voice commands! Siri will access all your searching apps when you push the Home Button. You just tell her what you want. Mounted on your visor, the phone is also handy as a hands-free speaker phone with Siri doing the dialing for you.

Instructions

The Hands-Free GPS is designed for 3mm carbon fiber tubes (cut to 12 inches long), http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ... for the delux version.

For the easy version, use 1/8 inch bamboo skewers from the grocery store (snip off the points), or 1/8 inch steel rod or wooden dowels from the hardware store.

• Wrap the carbon fiber tube with painter's tape in the spot where you will cut it with a hacksaw.
• Use 4 zip ties to make 2 straps across the back of the phone. Snip the buckle off of tie #2 and put it on the belt of tie #1, then snip the buckle off of tie #4 and put it on the belt of tie #3.
• Tighten the zip ties with the iPhone in place so that the phone-holder fits snugly on the phone, then trim the loose ends.
• Assemble the system as shown, and insert your phone. Drill out the holes if they are too tight for the rods.
• Add a dab of super glue to hold the rods to the plastic parts.

Using the Hands-Free:

• Tuck the rods and visor bracket in between the visor and the roof of the car.
• The phone can be positioned near the mirror or near the edge of the windshield in order to minimize obscuring your view of the road.
• Tested to work fine with iPhone 4S and iPhone 5.  Hopefully, adjusting the scale of one axis on your printer can accommodate a different phone.
• Please post a comment if you try it with another type of phone.