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-   -   DIY: GPS mount from an old diary! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do-yourself/171354-diy-gps-mount-old-diary.html)

Hello Guys,

Most of us now a days use our smartphones for navigation, especially now that Google maps became so popular and and efficient for turn by turn voice navigation, we all opt to simply buy those cheap universal car suction mount and hang our smart phone for navigation during long distance drive.

I did the same thing for entire my life of driving until i bought Mahindra XUV 500 which offers lot of storage (Inside out) for almost anything you can think off lol:.

I have been thinking about making Phone cum GPS navigation mount for my XUV 500 W6 variant, as those of you who know the interior compartments of XUV there is one compartment with spring loaded lid above Infotainment screen. I usually use this compartment for keeping toll receipts and charging cables.

And one day something struck my mind.... wait let the pictures speaks for itself.

I will share the video of making and actual usage of mount shortly.

Hope you guys like it....

Thank you.

Very ingenious! So when you flip that lid open it pops your phone up and when you push it down it automatically folds your mount to take the phone in, does it? That's actually a good thought and gives me some more thoughts on making a similar but a little more refined contraption, may be! :D

P.S.: So you work for CDAC Pune, do you?

Hey thanks for your kind words, the current design doesnt allow auto pop-up or close when i open the lid, but yes i am thinking of some spring loaded mechanism to do that in future, this isa quick setup for my upcoming long drive from Pune to Jaiselmer road trip....

The design is also safely hidden from prying eyes, i simply close the lid and everything is hidden inside...

lol: and yes I work with C-DAC :D

I LOVE this. I am so impressed by what you have done in turning an old diary into a beautiful mount for a phone or tablet.

Very impressive and I am going to try this someday.

Thanks for sharing.

This is fantastic! clap:

Really well thought out and properly executed. Loved the attention to detail.. especially taping the 2 candy sticks with the same diary material.

One of the recent launches - don't remember whether it was the Ford Aspire/Figo or something else - uses a similar concept for one particular variant and when I saw that pic in our review, I thought - with a similar top compartment, this would work in the XUV as well.

PS: On a different note, I was using Google Maps my MotoG (gen 1) in the XUV one day and to ensure that I don't end up with low battery, I had plugged it into a good quality charger. 10 minutes into the trip, god knows what happened, but the phone switched off and wouldn't switch on again. It felt very warm to the hand. Two days later, Motorola service center announced that my MotoG's motherboard has fried and it would cost almost the same as a new phone. So eventually I lost a good phone. No idea if it was the phone's fault or the charger's fault or the XUV's fault. Long story short, just be a bit careful while using maps on mobile in the car.

PPS: I have a W8 and still I was using Google Maps as there was a problem with GPS in my XUV.

during Xmas holidays

Thank you for the appreciation. I have been using my smartphones during long drives for navigation, and so far (touchwood) i have not faced any problem of overheating due to charging in car. And moreover the mobile picture shown above is cheap Lenovo 5 inch android phone which i am not using anymore so thought of dedicating this mobile to XUV.

PS: did you check with Mahindra for why the inbuilt GPS not working?

As promised here is the video clip of making/explaining and a usage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiNmVm_Op5c

Amazing DIY:thumbs up Really helpful for people owning a W6/W4 and looking for an aftermarket accessory to replace the existing HU.

Couple of questions from me,

1. How does it hold during high speeds or pothole filled roads?
2. Does the lid rattle on the move?

PS: Sorry to go out of the thread, where did you get that anti slip mat? Available online?

Dear joeblack,

Nice job.

The first thing I need to do is to get a XUV!! :)

Jokes apart, you have a good set of DIY skills.

Just wondering - why don't you provide a place for the charging wire too?

Girish Mahajan

Brilliant. That's good thinking and I love the concept of reusing and up cycling that has happened here.
I think this could be done on a normal car dash as well. Just need to cover the diary with some nice looking paper or something.

Just an idea, instead of using the hard diary to support the face on which the mobile rests, can you use something soft so that while closing the lid of the box, the mobile squeezes inside the glove box?
May be an old sponge which is hard enough to take the weight but squeezes while pressing down ? Or may be an old memory form ? stupid:

Thanks Fusionbang for your kind words.

It holds very well on high speed, i tested on NH4, I have not used anti slip mat here, i stuck the velcro on both end.

So far the lid is not making any rattling sound, yes there is little gap between the mount and the lid, I am planning to rest the lid on mount, will post pics later.

Thank you GKMahajan, seriously i find XUV is the best value for money. go for it if you are thinking about it.

I am using charging cable from cigarette lighter socket, but i can also use my power bank to charge and keep the power bank behind the mount with small charging cable to avoid clutterness.


Hi rejoycjohn, thanks for the suggestion,

This is a quick setup for my upcoming long drive. I could have simply used my Universal suction mount for GPS but i m also planning to place my HD dashcam and wanted to avoid too many obstacle on wind screen.

The auto pop up screen is something i have initially thought, i wanted the back of screen mount should be sturdy so that it can easily take the load of mobile. I am planning to use a spring loaded mechanism for the back panel, i will keep updating this blog for further development in this DIY.

Nice to know it holds good at high speeds:thumbs up

And I was referring to the anti slip mat placed above the lid where you have kept a small plane. This is totally out of the contextstupid:

Ohhh... that i got it from a local car accessory shop for 100.00, they are available on ebay too.

Dear joeblack,

I had not noticed the anti-skid mat! Somebody actually saw your video in greater depth than me! Kudos to fusionbang!!

My personal experience with these type of pads is not very good. One of these actually melted in the heat and created a mess. Now I use another type - which is not really 'sticking' to the dash. It is not as stable as the one that 'sticks', but it is good enough.

Girish Mahajan

agree: moreover the diecast airplane that i have was trying to fly all over when i start rolling the car so wanted some grip on my dashboard. this mat i found was not that sticky yet could hold object placed on it. I have been using this mat for more than 2 years and mostly my car is parked in semi shaded area and so far no melting issue faced.

Genius, indeed very genius clap:

That's simple yet smart DIY.

Have gone through each of your step @joeblack and would surely give it a try.

An easy (as it seems) and comprehensive one.

Good Job :thumbs up