Project: Five2Oh

[RumoredNow]

Over 25% of Windows Phones in use were a Lumia 520 during a November, 2014 study by AdDuplex.



That is a lot of 520s out there. As the OS transitions to Windows 10 and the array of budget Windows Phones is growing so quickly, a lot of these little guys will get rotated out of active duty service. True enough; that could apply to 521 as well, or any number of older models. But none are so numerous, so widespread across the globe as the mighty little Lumia 520. That's what I just picked up recently and why I'm posting here in the 520 forum.

Why relegate them to a drawer? Don't throw them away and clog a landfill. If your little niece Sally wrinkles her nose at it, that doesn't mean it stinks. There is a lot of post-daily driver use left in these plucky little devices.

Let's repurpose them and post about it here. What can you do with your 520 after it is done being a phone?

 

[RumoredNow]

Recommended:​

Hardware:
Automobile Cell Phone Cradle: There are several types and styles. I prefer a weighted base + non-slip pad type. It sits on top of the dash for quick viewing. The qualifications of any cradle is that it must hold the phone securely and be mounted firmly. I have never had any luck with suction cup based cradles. I also have never tried any vent mounts, etc. as I prefer to mount on top of the dashboard.

Car Charger: You are going to need a power source for your Project: Five2Oh device while tooling around.

microSD Card: The Lumia 520 can take a card of up to 64GB and that means class 10 is acceptable. If you are going to store media on it on use it as a dedicated player, you probably should not cheap out on the SD card.


Software:
Double Tap - to - Wake: This should probably be enabled in Settings > touch. Makes it easier to wake the screen during in-car use.

Media Player Apps: I like Modern Music and MoliPlayer. Your tastes may differ, but I find that these play any format I have and the UI is pretty clear and easy. You don't want a lot of fiddling about while driving...

Navigation Apps: I really like and depend upon Here. Offline maps is essential for this application of the device at any rate.

 

[RumoredNow]

So I just recently got a hold of 2 Lumia 520's with tempered glass screen protectors and locked to AT&T (GoPhone packaged) at a really good price... (Thanks, rhapdog!!!)

The first thing I did was test if a Straight Talk AT&T style SIM would work in them without an unlock. My SIM is a nano. My wife's is a micro. So I used her SIM to test and it worked. She has yet to take the SIM out of the 520 and put it back in her Note 2. It has been about 2 weeks!!! So one of the two 520s is doing it's job; being a phone and converting a new user to Windows Phone.

The other 520 I've been using as a WiFi only device.

• Inserted an 8GB microSD card
• Transferred my music library to the SD card
• Loaded some basic Apps
• Downloaded Here maps for offline use

I need to get a dongle to play the Music on my car radio. I'm looking for an inexpensive one that plugs into the headphone jack and can be dialed to a blank FM frequency. Any recommends?

I've got a great dashboard mount... It has a weighted base, a non-slip pad and a clamshell design. Holds the phone very securely and doesn't move. Keeps the phone handy to my line of sight while driving.


Navigation is a go and I tested it on a recent 150 mile each way trip. Here Drive does great even offline with the downloaded maps. No data and it still just works with all functions including: voice, rerouting, speed alerts, etc.

I will also test this mount and try using the 520 as a dash cam. Not that I do any racing or anything. LOL. If we get some snow here it might be cool to dash cam how well my Outback gets through the slop!!!

Also, and thanks again to rhapdog for the recommendation, I've been trying out an App called Remote Viewfinder. I can use it to connect the 520 to my 1520. The 520 then "sees" through the 1520 camera and acts as a remote trigger. I already have a bracket to allow mounting my 1520 to a tripod... So that will definitely allow more uses.

I did connect the 520 to my 1520 via Bluetooth and try to make a phone call... The dialer opening on the 520 would kill the Bluetooth pairing so that was a no go...

What am I missing? What else can be done? What have you done with your 520 besides using it for a phone?

 

[ven07]

Use it as a speedcam?

 

[RumoredNow]

I do have it on my list to test the 520 as a dash cam...

I have about 5GB storage on my SD card and I've set up Lumia Camera on the lowest frame rate in Video settings to save space.

 

[ven07]

I could also see myself using it for testing W10 lol, but I'm not sure if I can handle 512 :/

 

[amitnahar]

You got a lot of 520s. Send me one here.

 

[ven07]

You got a lot of 520s. Send me one here. ��

Lol the phones are cheap enough so that anyone could afford one

 

[RumoredNow]

No one has any recommendation for a dongle to play my music over the car radio? I don't have Bluetooth in my car and I don't want to spend a fortune. I just want a nice, dependable way to transmit via headphone jack to a blank radio frequency at a reasonable price...

 

[dwigfor]

I use Flexsmart x2. It's okay, but the bigger problem is not having enough empty fm frequencies in your area. I can use it fine in my city or the next one over, but beyond that there's too much interference in LA.

http://www.amazon.com/GOgroove-Flex...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU2961405

 

[RumoredNow]

Thanks, dwigfor... Congestion is not really an issue where I live, but that's a good point to remember when traveling. And that's mostly when I would use such a feature, long haul drives when the Nav won't be kicking in for 100+ miles.

The Flexsmart is a bit more than I want to pay... I may just use a cassette plug-in if I don't find something soon.

 

[jmshub]

Love this idea. A 520 would be a great media player for people who miss their Zune or old iPod.

Sorry, the last FM transmitter I had was some sketchy looking thing I bought years back on Woot.

 

[RumoredNow]

So I had gotten the clamshell style cell phone mount shown in Post #3 of this thread right after I first received my 1520. It's a lot of phone and very heavy. But the clamshell intrudes too much on the camera view with the 520 to be a good mount for a dash cam. Since I probably won't be mounting my 1520 any time soon, I'm going to have to dig out my other mount and try that. It looks like this...



The 1520 just seemed like it would be too top heavy mounted in this style holder... The 520 will ride in there nice (I originally got this for my 925). Hopefully I can get the camera far enough out past the mount to get a clear shot through the windshield.

 

[RumoredNow]

I recently picked up a SanDisk Ultra Class 10 32GB microSD card for my 520.... Mmmmm... Capacity.

Loaded a ton of media on there for ModernMusic and MoliPlayer Pro to handle.

Got out my mount shown above and put the Dash Cam function to the test. I shot in 720p @ 30fps. 20 minutes and 37 seconds used up 1.53GB storage!!! And the car charger could not keep up. I lost about 10% battery during that shoot... Also, I think it needs a wide angle add on lens. Here's the result:

 

[zlx]

I use my 520 abroad - on holiday, I buy a cheap prepay card, so I have no roaming cost on my other phone (1020)

 

[libra89]

Just found this thread after wondering what to do with my 521 since upgrading to the 640. Great ideas here! I have a question for you though, RumoredNow (and anyone else who feels like answering). Did you use your main Microsoft account or did you use another one?

I just chose to reset the phone, because I'll rather not have my emails syncing across devices.

 

[RumoredNow]

Just found this thread after wondering what to do with my 521 since upgrading to the 640. Great ideas here! I have a question for you though, RumoredNow (and anyone else who feels like answering). Did you use your main Microsoft account or did you use another one?

I just chose to reset the phone, because I'll rather not have my emails syncing across devices.

Sorry, I've been away from this thread and no longer am doing this project. It was fun, but I simply moved on. I think you answered your own question.

Use your main Microsoft Account if you do want your messages and email to sync over WiFi with your media player toy. Get a throwaway account somewhere and use that for a different profile if you don't. The advantage of using your main account, and why I did is App ownership. Some stuff you purchased might be useful on the 520/1...