How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock

Computers & Mobile Home
How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock

Your friend and mine, Jason Torchinsky has created another wonderful, simple car hack. This time, he shows you how to convert the ashtray in your car into an iPhone dock.

The basic idea is really simple: let’s put an iPhone (or Android) dock inside the little drawer-like ashtray. Let’s get it hooked up to the car’s 12V for recharging, and patch it into the stereo. For many old cars, this solves the very big question of Where The Hell Did People in the 60s and 70s Put Their Nonexistent Cellphones? Cars now are full of little nooks and power jacks and phone connections. Old cars, not so much. My old Bug didn’t really even have a good dash-nook to put a phone, or even a cigarette lighter for power. I installed the 12V socket years ago, and this ashtray conversion will take care of the rest.

Jason isn’t just awesome for his incredible mind and illustration skills — he signs emails with this:

How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock on Jalopnik

34 thoughts on “How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock

  1. caskings (@caskings) says:

    John, the article content seems to have gone AWOL.

    1. John Edgar Park says:

      Hi guys, you’re right it was late at night! The link was at the bottom of the post, but I’ve also included it inline in the first sentence. Funny that that link in the bottom was hard to spot, sorry about that.

  2. Chief Robot says:

    Nice headline. Where’s the article?

  3. Mirko Alessandria says:

    First rule about how to turn your car’s ashtray into a Smartphone Dock: You do not talk about how to turn your car’s ashtray into a Smartphone Dock!

  4. ka1axy says:

    “Where’s the article?”

    Cigarette manufacturers don’t want you to read it.

  5. CallsignBaron says:

    It was late at night when he posted this article, perhaps he got as far as the title and then fell asleep. **shrugs**

  6. charleshobbs says:

    Please switch to the old format… the new look just sucks!
    BTW…no article posted recently has any content.

  7. Ear says:

    Uh, *what* ashtray?

  8. Mark says:

    I cringe at how much stress this will put on the phones usb connection.

  9. nurrys says:

    love it simple to do easy pictures to look at even the way he drew it yells maker

  10. 자동차 재떨이를 스마트폰 독으로 쓰기 | Make: Korea says:
  11. Rob's Personal Aggregator » How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock says:

    […] From Make Blog: […]

  12. MAKE | Your Comments says:

    […] the piece How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock, Mirko Allesandria remarks: First rule about how to turn your car’s ashtray into a Smartphone […]

  13. ○DIY/Tip▶ Your Comments « dot dot dob tob tob says:

    […] the piece How To Turn Your Car’s Ashtray Into a Smartphone Dock, Mirko Allesandria remarks: First rule about how to turn your car’s ashtray into a Smartphone […]

  14. benroger60 says:

    Haha…What an funny idea!!!
    White Label Solutions

  15. Clive says:

    If only my ashtray were higher up so I didn’t have to glance down all the while whilst using the navigation function of my phone.

    However, a good use for something that many people no longer use in their car (along with the the lighter – except to power their phone!)

    Brides

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

John Edgar Park likes to make things and tell people about it. He builds project for Adafruit Industries. You can find him at jpixl.net and twitter/IG @johnedgarpark

View more articles by John Edgar Park

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK