Database Users

OKAY, What's the BEST HORIZONTAL SURFACE INSTALLABLE HANDS-OFF CAR KIT on the market?

First, for those people responding - only please post replies having to do with the below four requirements, it would make it a much easier read for everyone involved, thanks. I am going nuts looking and cannot find a unit meeting the 4 below requirements. I have been looking for a long, long time. I am willing to do some extra installation work to get this done properly. If I cannot get an answer here there is probably no hope so I may then defenestrate! Requirements:
1. SMALL holder that can attach to a HORIZONTAL surface (not a huge geeky looking contraption with huge arms or snaking bendable supports, no huge sand-filled weights - minimal size - also power supply not on the holder which makes it bulky)
2. Allows the Kaiser to be switched between landscape/portrait position
3. Allows the Kaiser to be held with the keyboard open if preferred
4. Full functionality for auto-charging, interrupting radio speakers when turn by turn directions are spoken by GPS on the unit (extra wires and transformer kit to be hidden for installation - AND NO USE OF CIGARETTE LIGHTER!). Power supply for charging the unit must be OFF when car is not in use, so as not to wear out car battery (I would assume that is just an installation preference).
Anybody have any ideas?

KruseLudsMobile said:
First, for those people responding - only please post replies having to do with the below four requirements, it would make it a much easier read for everyone involved, thanks. I am going nuts looking and cannot find a unit meeting the 4 below requirements. I have been looking for a long, long time. I am willing to do some extra installation work to get this done properly. If I cannot get an answer here there is probably no hope so I may then defenestrate! Requirements:
1. SMALL holder that can attach to a HORIZONTAL surface (not a huge geeky looking contraption with huge arms or snaking bendable supports, no huge sand-filled weights - minimal size - also power supply not on the holder which makes it bulky)
2. Allows the Kaiser to be switched between landscape/portrait position
3. Allows the Kaiser to be held with the keyboard open if preferred
4. Full functionality for auto-charging, interrupting radio speakers when turn by turn directions are spoken by GPS on the unit (extra wires and transformer kit to be hidden for installation - AND NO USE OF CIGARETTE LIGHTER!). Power supply for charging the unit must be OFF when car is not in use, so as not to wear out car battery (I would assume that is just an installation preference).
Anybody have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there something about the Proclip holder that doesn't meet those criteria? The only thing I can find is connectivity to the stereo. For me, I redirect the GPS audio to my Bluetooth headset where I can hear it better anyway.

Yeah, Proclips is your best bet. There's nothing that does all that out-of-box on the market right now. If you want to hook it up directly into your stereo system, then of course you're going to have to do that yourself. Or use bluetooth.

I guess there is nothing on the market
The solutions from Proclip that you suggest have no way of mounting the unit on a flat horizontal surface without damaging the car - I guess I would have to use one or two of these:
http://www.proclipusa.com/?sectionp...egoryid=&p_year=&p_countryid=0&p_leftorright=
from proclips to mount the holder (have to drill holes on the mounting surface).
Since the Tilt will work with the soon to be released higher capacity Micro SD cards (now only 8GB available but the tilt would be able to handle up to 32GB - when available) it would be nice to add the audio (music) as an automatically overriding input for the car's audio as well, for that I will have to use the hack mentioned here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=339263
for replacing the plug on the unit with one that includes the audio out...
I will post pics once I figure out what direction I want to go with this...

Contemplating using N7 as car head unit/nav system

As the title says I am very interested in using this tablet as a head unit replacement. I still have plenty of researching to do, but before I get too deep into it, I think there is one problem that should be addressed.
I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, but I do like my music. So using the 3.5mm jack for audio simply will not do. I have seen a video of someone using a Turtle Beach audio adapter to get usb audio out of the N7, and then into the stereo/processing unit. This would be perfect for me, however I also need to be able to hook up an external drive for additional storage.
So my question is if it is possible to hook up the usb audio cable, and an external drive simultaneously to the N7. My idea right now is to hook up an OTG cable to the N7, then plug in a small non powered usb hub which would have both the external drive and usb audio cable hooked up to it. I am just not sure if this setup is possible, and before I purchase all the components I would like to have some confirmation that it will work like i think it will.( I will be using a rooted N7 with stickmount installed, I believe that is all I need to allow Host capabilities)
On a side note, I also plan to use the pogo pins to charge the device. I saw a video of someone using a hacked usb cable to charge the galaxy nexus with it, so i think that should work. (I just read a thread saying that the galaxy nexus can't charge through a pogo pin dock while having a OTG cable plugged...My dreams are being crushed.)
If you would like any more info about the specifics of the setup, I would be happy to share my ideas.
Sorry for the length of the post, I just want it to be clear what I am trying to do here.
Any information, or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

I think my dreams are also crushed, I believe the pogo pins are a pin-out extension of the usb port, not a separate port, therefore using OTG would ****-block charging, which is disappointing.
You could however use one of these in your car http://www.slashgear.com/seagate-goflex-satellite-wi-fi-hard-drive-gets-android-app-01168797/ which would provide 500GB of storage accessible whilst your nexus 7 is charging, combine that and a pocketwifi device to act as a router and provide internet access it would be perfect
if you had an AC power inverter or appropriate power supply for DC to the unit (saves inverting then converting again), you could use this one http://www.ccpu.com.au/show_prod.php?class_id=disk-ext&prod_id=STAM1000200

would be very awesome, looking forward to updates.

Thanks for the info.
That is deeply saddening that you can not use both at the same time, although I guess it does make sense for the purposes of a dock. So it looks like now the only way I can still use a plugged in external hdd, usb audio, and be able to charge the device at the same time is if I can do all of that through the mini usb port in conjunction with a usb hub...but i think that is unlikely. does anyone know for sure?
And thank you for bringing up those wifi hard drives. I didn't want to use them, something about having it plugged into the device directly just makes me feel better...although now I will have to seriously consider them.
Also, if anyone has any info regarding tablet install you think may be useful, feel free to post the link. Even if it is not directly related to the N7, it could still be useful info, and maybe get some gears turning in our heads.
I just became a member so I am not allowed to post links yet :silly:
I will still keep my hopes up about using this device, though! It is my favorite 7 inch tablet by far.

What about usb powered hubs?

Wololo7 said:
What about usb powered hubs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can the Nexus output digital audio, charge, and read an external HDD, via powered usb hub from its one micro usb port? If it could then all my problems would be solved! Until I encounter my next problem, of course. :silly:

Sounds very interesting indeed. I look forward to seeing what can be done.

Wololo7 said:
What about usb powered hubs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Did not work for me.
I thought about using the Nexus 7 as my car nav system as well. I stumbled across an issue where I want to mount external USB drive AND charge the tablet at the same time. I could not get the tablet to charge with a powered USB drive. I believe the tablet is going into host mode to read the USB drive, and thus disallowing any kind of power to charge itself.
Please someone prove me wrong.. I really like this tablet. It is the perfect size for the car.
Another issue I found... Using polarized sunglasses + nexus 7 (landscape mode) = completely black screen. This may or may not convince you to continue with this project. I am certainly looking at different options..

Im thinkin about this too. But not to completly replace my headunit but only to slap it on for long drives
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

voidshado said:
Another issue I found... Using polarized sunglasses + nexus 7 (landscape mode) = completely black screen. This may or may not convince you to continue with this project. I am certainly looking at different options..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed this, too. Disappointing. My HTC EVO View works fine, though.

Very interested in this. I've actually been working on this very project. I'm near completion (sort of) actually, but I'm having a separate electrical issue currently so its been on hold for the last week or so. At this point I've run sound via the 3.5 mm jack, but if a USB solution is found, I'd be all over that. I guess I settled for the 3.5 mm jack as previously, I tended to stream Pandora and various music through the aux jack on my phone anyways. Probably more than 90% of the time actually. I may look into the Seagate GoFlex Satellite WiFi HDD for external storage since charging and USB OTG at the sime time at this point seems impossible/difficult. I have a pair of polarized oakleys that i usually wear, and havent noticed the screen blacking out yet, but I'll have to see when I get home tonight.

On charging & usb host mode at the same time..
Has anybody tried this:
1. Setup a powered USB hub plugged into the Micro OTG cable
2. hack the cable from right after the OTG cable to where it plugs into the hub, so that the voltage pins are exposed
3. solder in the voltage pins to a usb connector so you can plug in a normal charger [5V 2A]
4. check to see if you can use the USB hub and charge at the same time
I currently have a Asus transformer TF101 and the primary use is watching clips off a 500GB usb HDD. I really, really want to get a N7 and sell my TF101, but if charging & simultaneous host mode is not possible, I would be slightly hesitant to buy it, even though it is really a awesome tablet from what I hear.
so if anyone has any info on that, I would greatly appreciate it!

ahavens17 said:
At this point I've run sound via the 3.5 mm jack, but if a USB solution is found, I'd be all over that. I guess I settled for the 3.5 mm jack as previously, I tended to stream Pandora and various music through the aux jack on my phone anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know a lot of people that the 3.5 mm jack for audio. And It really does sound just fine. It is just that I am planing on investing a lot in amps/speakers, so I don't want my weakest link to be my inputs right out of the gate. Although, this tablet is making it pretty difficult to not use that jack.
I would be interested to see your project whenever you finish, or if you have information up of of the process now, that would be interesting to look at.
Thanks again everyone for all the info! I still have a shred of hope for using this tablet in my car!

pikachu2000 said:
I know a lot of people that the 3.5 mm jack for audio. And It really does sound just fine. It is just that I am planing on investing a lot in amps/speakers, so I don't want my weakest link to be my inputs right out of the gate. Although, this tablet is making it pretty difficult to not use that jack.
I would be interested to see your project whenever you finish, or if you have information up of of the process now, that would be interesting to look at.
Thanks again everyone for all the info! I still have a shred of hope for using this tablet in my car!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running 4 Polk 6" speakers that replaced the stock ones in my car (just replaced them all last year when I blew one of the stock ones), and a cadence 4 channel amp to power the speakers. Nothing top of the line, and no subwoofer or anything as of yet. Picked up the cabling from monoprice, with all of it being their "premium" selection. It all seems pretty heavy duty and solid. Only ran me around 30 bucks. I just have an 02 Mitsubishi Lancer that I'm putting this in. The dash is originally a single din so it's taken quite a bit of modification to get it to fit. More than I originally anticipated. Just a hobby project I've wanted to do for sometime and when the nexus 7 came along I jumped on it. I'll post some pics when I have a chance but at this point it looks far from professional. lol.
Also, I pulled out the Nexus 7 last night and had my polarized glasses on, no screen blackening that was mentioned previously for me. Maybe a little distortion/filter over the screen at certain angles, but still viewable.
I think this thread is great. I'd love to see/hear what other people are doing or what ideas come about from this.

Thank you, I am really glad this thread has spiked some interest, and that other people have similar ideas. I will start up my research again and come back to post any new info when I can. Gotta keep this thread going strong!

pikachu2000 said:
I would be interested to see your project whenever you finish, or if you have information up of of the process now, that would be interesting to look at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created a thread with the few pictures I took along the way, as well as the semi-finished project. The only thing I believe I still need to do at this point is get a screen protector. (Tablet still has the plastic cover on it from when it was in the box!) Other things may come up in the future, (such as adding an OTG cable if someone figures out a way to charge simultaneously) but this is it finished for the time being.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29824916#post29824916

Thanks for making a thread! That is very cool, I like your setup a lot. Is the tablet meant to stay in the car permanently, or do you plan on taking it out often?

Alright, I haven't had much time to find much new information. But I was just thinking if I can't have it charge from the usb port and run usb audio out at the same time, then maybe I could take off the rear cover of the N7 and cut a hole in it, where the camera was supposed to go, and route positive an negative wires directly to the battery...then I could use a hacked usb cable to charge it...? Just the thought of that is scary, but I don't plan on taking out the N7 ever, it will always stay in the car.
Just a thought, let me know what you think.
Additional info: I am going to be putting this in an 02 e46 BMW 325xi. And I will use a modified double din face plate. In my head the final setup looks beautiful, but we'll see how it turns out. As for the time frame, I have a list of parts I want to get for the car, and I want to do most everything at the same time. It will take a good 3 or 4 months before I can get everything and then installing it might take another month(assuming everything goes smoothly) I just want to get all of my preliminary research out of the way. Sorry if you guys were expecting pictures soon.
Thanks

pikachu2000 said:
Alright, I haven't had much time to find much new information. But I was just thinking if I can't have it charge from the usb port and run usb audio out at the same time, then maybe I could take off the rear cover of the N7 and cut a hole in it, where the camera was supposed to go, and route positive an negative wires directly to the battery...then I could use a hacked usb cable to charge it...? Just the thought of that is scary, but I don't plan on taking out the N7 ever, it will always stay in the car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the pogo pins? Aren't they for a [future] dock? I wonder if you can charge the tablet via the pogo pins and use USB OTG simultaneously? This would indeed be good news, because I will primarily use my N7 [when it arrives] for videos on a USB HDD, so it would wear out the battery to be constantly charging and discharging the battery every day.

mvmacd said:
What about the pogo pins?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Earlier in the thread we had thought of that, turns out you can only use one at a time, and it's a hardware limitation so no way around it.

MKV Jetta 2013 Nexus 7 Install - work in progress

Hey everyone. I have been working on an in-dash Nexus 7 install in my 2010 Jetta Wolfsburg, and I thought I would share my progress as I go in case any one else was considering this for their car. I did a similar install with the original Samsung Galaxy Tab in my 1998 BMW 540i which can be seen on bimmerforums if you're interested. Just search E39 Android Tablet Install.
The first think I did was to buy a double din kit from Metra for about $12 from ebay. I took a Dremel to this and modified it by cutting off the center piece as well as all 4 clips on the corners. Then I got some Plastic Weld made by JB weld from Home Depot and started to shape the bezel like I wanted it to be for the Nexus 7. To get this to be flat and mate with the tablet nicely, I had to take a nail file and sandpaper and fill/sand/fill/sand etc until I got it to be as flat as I could. This is what it looked like at first:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I then added more to the bottom molding to give the tablet some support from the sides as well. I think this will help in keeping it stable. These are depicted by the yellow arrows. The filing/sanding I was talking about was referring to the red lines in the pictures. I am trying to get these surfaces to be as flat as possible so that the tablet will mate closely with the bezel.
I plasti-dipped the bezel, which FYI matches remarkably well with the interior plastic. Then I attached elastic bands traversing each other diagonally to hold the tablet to the bezel. In addition, I attached magnets around the bezel, which can be seen as the black circles around the edge. I will explain why I did this in more detail as I continue with the install. I also started messing around with the tablet to make it how I would want it in the car. I am using the 2013 Nexus 7 running Paranoid Android so that I can customize every app individually. I put the buttons on the side and made them red to match the interior. One thing that I am happy about is that the way that I chopped up the bezel, I left the camera, light sensor, and notification light open to be used. This way I could even do video calls (granted I will be looking at the road) which might be pretty cool. Here are some more pictures:
I then removed the stock headunit.
This gave me more room to work. I bought a CR2-VW2 harness by PAC from one of the VW forum members. This harness allowed me to connect an aftermarket headunit and retain the stock audio system (amp, speakers etc) but did not include steering wheel controls, which I did not need anyway. I chose the Alpine UTE-42BT for a few reasons. First, it is only $88 which is very reasonable. Secondly, it doesn't have a CD player which is good since that feature would never be used anyway. It has a front auxiliary port and bluetooth handsfree built in, which will allow me to use handsfree from the tablet. I will explain the intricacies of this in a more detailed write up when the project is completely done. As of right now, this is how it is looking:
Pardon the mess, the project is ongoing =) As of right now, the tablet is running on battery, but I am planning on setting it up so that it receives power when the car starts, thus turning on the screen, and when the power shuts off, the screen timeout of 7 seconds will kick in. I'm realizing that 16GB is not a lot of space for something I want to keep music on, so I recently bought a USB OTG cable to mount external storage and I'm waiting for that to arrive. Does anyone have experience with using USB OTG that could provide some insight into this? Will Google Music pick up on the media on the USB storage and add it automatically if I use Stickmount or something like that? I'm going to see how that works out before I decide I need to buy a 32GB Nexus 7 instead. To charge it (if USB OTG works, meaning that the micro USB port will be taken), I will get a wireless charger and plug that into the cigarette lighter for power. If USB OTG doesn't work, I will power it directly using micro USB. One thing I would recommend to anyone trying this is to pick up a ground loop isolator, since charger and using auxiliary at one can lead to some interference. There should be more to come over the next week as I get some more of these peripheral supplies. It sounds great though, and the functionality is far superior to the stock headunit.

Very amazing. I've a plan to put a tablet of some sort in one of my cars! you beat me to it long ago seems like! I wanted to connect my rasberry pi to some sort of 7inch touchscreen!
but this is wayyy nicer.
PROPS!

Reminds me of Statham's Audi from Transporter. Looks pretty futuristic.

Kookas said:
Reminds me of Statham's Audi from Transporter. Looks pretty futuristic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My friend just got the statham harcut

Awesome work samboner, keep us updated on your progress!

7786 said:
Awesome work samboner, keep us updated on your progress!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, leave me alone! Unless you're here to answer my USB OTG questions. Otherwise, back to leaving me alone Olley.

Looks good, but otg and charging will not happen unless a kernel supports it.
They got it working on the 2012 n7 so most likely will happen
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

BrianDigital said:
Looks good, but otg and charging will not happen unless a kernel supports it.
They got it working on the 2012 n7 so most likely will happen
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm this for wireless charging and USB OTG. On mine the wireless charging cuts off when the OTG cable is plugged in.

7786 said:
Awesome work samboner, keep us updated on your progress!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BrianDigital said:
Looks good, but otg and charging will not happen unless a kernel supports it.
They got it working on the 2012 n7 so most likely will happen
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PMentior said:
I can confirm this for wireless charging and USB OTG. On mine the wireless charging cuts off when the OTG cable is plugged in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh shoot, you can't do wireless charging and USB OTG at the same time? That is going to be a major problem for me. Well I'm glad I didn't buy a wireless charger yet. The USB OTG is working out like a charm, but I definitely need to have a long term charging solution. I don't want to have to take it in and out. Do any of you know if anyone is working on a kernel that allows USB OTG and wireless charging simultaneously?

faruqster said:
Oh shoot, you can't do wireless charging and USB OTG at the same time? That is going to be a major problem for me. Well I'm glad I didn't buy a wireless charger yet. The USB OTG is working out like a charm, but I definitely need to have a long term charging solution. I don't want to have to take it in and out. Do any of you know if anyone is working on a kernel that allows USB OTG and wireless charging simultaneously?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you somehow use Bluetooth instead of OTG?

Options!
I made a steering wheel interface for Androids, n7 primarily.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2206156
For one, I can tell you that you can Charge and use USB OTG if you install the right kernel.
read here too
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2113259
I haven't tried the pogo pins and USB OTG together, that might work. Otherwise there are a few options.
(to be clear, the best option would be a kernel that allows USB OTG and charging, at the same time. )
:good: First, probably best, Buy an adjustable regulator like this : http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/adjustable-dcdc-power-converter-125v-35v3a-p-1534.html and adjust it to 3.9Volts (lipo used in tablet works between 3.7v and 4.2v) , use the always on BATT 12v input. Then remove the back cover of the N7, remove the battery, and power it directly from the car. http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+7+Teardown/9623/1 It looks like the black, yellow and red wires would be Ground, Vcharge and Vout, but you'd need to verify. You'd probably have to cut the wire. You might want to order a replacement on Ebay to use. You can then use tap to wake to turn the screen on or a USB micro setup like the one I made to tell the tablet to turn on/off with the key (act as if a keyboard was plugged in and you hit the power key).
Second, and most tricky. USB OTG uses pin 5 as the sense pin for Host/Client. IF you don't intend to use Host mode all of the time, like just when pressing a steering wheel button, you could use a Microcontroller to trigger the mode.
Third, Would be to charge when the car is off, and USB host when the car is on. Again this comes down to using pin5, or if you follow Kuchar09's post he has a wire diagram for this.
---------- Post added at 01:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 PM ----------
Sorry, I just realized yours is a 2013 version. Same deal, not sure about the kernel, but someone will make one. Also not sure about the touch control, it needs kernel modules to work, so again compatible kernel.
BUT my first option, still the best work around.
Here is the tear down http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+7+2nd+Generation+Teardown/16072/1 and you can see the battery still uses wires. you'll need to test what they are. Powering the tablet with a regulator in place of the battery would be ideal.

...

http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/seagate-satellite/
That would solve the problem.

fzelle said:
http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/seagate-satellite/
That would solve the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, my first thought was a wifi HDD as well. Just give it power and put it somewhere out of the way. personally, I'd wire it and put it in/under the glove box for easy media adding/removal.

I've done this in several vehicles so far.
What are you doing about heat in a parked car in the sun? At 90 outside, in my sons car ( lighter colored cloth interior ) it's approx 110-115 in the car. In my 350z with black leather, it's over 120 inside.... With the hookup you have going, making that a removable mount would be pretty easy with a pair of nice magnets to snap that entire enclosure and tab into place. Makes it nice when you have to leave the car in the sun for any amount of time, or to work on it, etc.... I've seen 1 screen physically crack, and a 2nd device just flat out die. Something to keep in mind depending on where you live.
As far as the power issues.... I use tasker. When the power is cut to the device, I force it into deep sleep and airplane mode. It will go for 2 weeks+ sitting there idle without dying. When the power is fired up, wake up ( no lock screen ), and set the screen to full bright and no timeout. No need to hack the device. A kernel for this would be great like the orig N7 had, but until we get one, this will work too.
Also, don't go BT to a head unit IF you care about the sound quality ( compressed audio sucks and if you have a good system, you'll hear the difference ). Go with a DAC ( from 30 to 300 bucks depending on what you get ). The sound quality will be much better then using the compressed BT crapola. Or even go out via the head phones, it's still much better then BT.
Just some things I've come across doing this for a few years now with various devices.
Oh yea.. and put an anti glare screen protector on it. Play with them to find the right one, or your screen will be invisible when you have glasses on. IPads do the exact same thing. Once you go into landscape mode, black screen ( put on your shades and just turn it, you'll see.... it sucks )..

fzelle said:
http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/seagate-satellite/
That would solve the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coronado is dead said:
Yeah, my first thought was a wifi HDD as well. Just give it power and put it somewhere out of the way. personally, I'd wire it and put it in/under the glove box for easy media adding/removal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly do these wifi hard drives work? Can I connect to a wifi hotspot while using one of these? How exactly is the storage mounted? Do you have to use a file explorer to access the files, or will Google Music be able to find the media automatically? ie media scanner
rkennison said:
I've done this in several vehicles so far.
What are you doing about heat in a parked car in the sun? At 90 outside, in my sons car ( lighter colored cloth interior ) it's approx 110-115 in the car. In my 350z with black leather, it's over 120 inside.... With the hookup you have going, making that a removable mount would be pretty easy with a pair of nice magnets to snap that entire enclosure and tab into place. Makes it nice when you have to leave the car in the sun for any amount of time, or to work on it, etc.... I've seen 1 screen physically crack, and a 2nd device just flat out die. Something to keep in mind depending on where you live.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice. Yeah, that's the plan with the magnets I built into the bezel. I am going to put some metal/magnets in the cavity where the tablet will go and I'll use those to put the tablet/bezel combination in and out.
rkennison said:
IAs far as the power issues.... I use tasker. When the power is cut to the device, I force it into deep sleep and airplane mode. It will go for 2 weeks+ sitting there idle without dying. When the power is fired up, wake up ( no lock screen ), and set the screen to full bright and no timeout. No need to hack the device. A kernel for this would be great like the orig N7 had, but until we get one, this will work too.
Also, don't go BT to a head unit IF you care about the sound quality ( compressed audio sucks and if you have a good system, you'll hear the difference ). Go with a DAC ( from 30 to 300 bucks depending on what you get ). The sound quality will be much better then using the compressed BT crapola. Or even go out via the head phones, it's still much better then BT.
Just some things I've come across doing this for a few years now with various devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking about rolling on battery alone, but I thought it would be nice to run it from a charger. I'm realizing that there physically isn't room to use the micro USB port, so I think I will use a wireless charger. I figured I would use Tasker to turn the timeout off, turn on the wifi and bluetooth, and other stuff like that with power, and reverse it when the power drops out. I am planning to use the auxiliary output for now.
rkennison said:
IOh yea.. and put an anti glare screen protector on it. Play with them to find the right one, or your screen will be invisible when you have glasses on. IPads do the exact same thing. Once you go into landscape mode, black screen ( put on your shades and just turn it, you'll see.... it sucks )..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is definitely something to think about. Are there any brands you would recommend or have experience with?

You could also mount a 120mm fan behind it for when it's hot. Heck, I bet the fan could run while the car is off and draw next to nothing from the battery. You would only need to run the fan at a few hundred rpm as well.

Fiio makes some pretty good ones without breaking the wallet. You can bypass the charging issues by just going headphone jack into the DAC, then into your headunit via an aux port (3.5 or RCA, they make DACs for each). You can go with a USB DAC as well, but I think there are driver requirements and crap to deal with on top of the power issues when hooking up via the N7s usb port. Just sounds messy so I've not tried it that way.
I pulled the HU from my son's completely and go from DAC right into the amp ( well into a crossover first so I can pull the sub frequencies into a separate amp as well ).
I kept my HU in. I just like having the 2 7" screens on the dash so I can still have full nav on the HU and music on the N7.
Oh and I just checked, the spigen ultra crystal screen protectors will cure the landscape sunglass issue. I'm sure others will as well, but I can verify these.

The hdd's create a hotspot the tablet would connect to. I don't know how the tablet would react as far as scanning media. You could soft link the files from the hard drive to the tablet if it doesn't just recognize cans play them. The Seagate is dlna compatible so it should be easy to play from.
A small fan would be easy enought to cool the tablet, you could even have a temp sensor on it, think attic fan, that would just come on automatically. Also of you follow my suggestion and remove the battery, and power it right from the car, the back cover would be off so cooling would be easier.
I run my system phone to Bluetooth (Sony sbh20) straight to my amps, it sounds great. All this bs about USB DAC's is mostly BS. The tablet has a DAC inside its what is converting the 1's and 0's to music. Yeah it might not be the best DAC on the market but I don't think its the source of bad sound quality on most any unit.
I personally am not a fan of hiding a deck just for the amp inside of it. This basically makes zero sense. However many new factory sound systems have the head unit specially eq'd to make the crappy speakers sound good. You might have to get new speakers to make a direct tablet -> amp -> speaker method sound good.
I did car audio for 10yrs I know a bit about it.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

That is beautiful! I want to do that so bad but I change tablets too much. So here's my option, bluetooth and all.
2013 N7 Kang Banged!

Is this the OTG + Charging solution some have been waiting for?

(long time lurker and flasher of Nook HD+ roms, first time poster...)
Like a few others scattered around the subforum, I'm looking to do an in-car tablet install. Like others I hit the "Can't charge and use OTG at the same time, you need an ancient nexus and Timur's" just as old but revered ROM." wall.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=site:https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a+otg
Then a hole in the matrix appeared and I saw this post on a different device thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-s2/help/usb-otg-charge-t3588019
The second post there, refers to a vendor LAVA whom "LAVA is the only manufacturer of adapters for Samsung tablets that allows that since Samsung doesn't sell anymore their hubs" (from that post).
Confirmed that the Compatability list shows SM-T580 (the device amazon has factory refurbs for 200$):
http://lavalink.com/samsung-tablet-adapters-support/compatibility-list/
Would it be possible this is the device to make the magic happen? http://lavalink.com/samsung-tablet-adapters/
EditToAdd: Tech Spec sheet here for the meaty innards: http://lavalink.com/wp-content/uploads/manuals/sts_product_family_manual.pdf Main takeaway for me was don't extend the cable to the tablet.
Also found the "cheap" lol single port on amazon with a wide swing of reviews: Encouraged by the long one that says it is working with external DAC: https://www.amazon.com/SimulCharge-1-port-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B00MOQFUQM
Also this mini-writeup shows one in use in 2015 with DAC, am I missing something on why this was a wall for many?: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-usb-hub-samsung-galaxy-tablets-charging.html
Thanks for any help,
AoB

On the (i hope) tail end of the first version of my dash tablet install, and after my research and work over the past few days, I will try to answer my own question -- just for others. no pity for me. OTG-Host was not a "must-have" (yet).
My big mistake (i think) was not being aware of the distinction between OTG-Accessory and OTG-Host. The Lava-link hub/cable in my OP allows OTG-A and charging the device. OTG-H seems to be a different animal,.. something that the kernel and maybe the hardware has to support? I have flashed Extremely ROM on my T580 and a USB keyboard plugs in to OTG cable and is detected, but a USB RLT-SDR device is not detected (nor powered).
So I guess back to the beginning, still need Kernel support for OTG-Host? Correct?

AfraidOfBears said:
(long time lurker and flasher of Nook HD+ roms, first time poster...)
Like a few others scattered around the subforum, I'm looking to do an in-car tablet install. Like others I hit the "Can't charge and use OTG at the same time, you need an ancient nexus and Timur's" just as old but revered ROM." wall.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=site:https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-a+otg
Then a hole in the matrix appeared and I saw this post on a different device thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tab-s2/help/usb-otg-charge-t3588019
The second post there, refers to a vendor LAVA whom "LAVA is the only manufacturer of adapters for Samsung tablets that allows that since Samsung doesn't sell anymore their hubs" (from that post).
Confirmed that the Compatability list shows SM-T580 (the device amazon has factory refurbs for 200$):
http://lavalink.com/samsung-tablet-adapters-support/compatibility-list/
Would it be possible this is the device to make the magic happen? http://lavalink.com/samsung-tablet-adapters/
EditToAdd: Tech Spec sheet here for the meaty innards: http://lavalink.com/wp-content/uploads/manuals/sts_product_family_manual.pdf Main takeaway for me was don't extend the cable to the tablet.
Also found the "cheap" lol single port on amazon with a wide swing of reviews: Encouraged by the long one that says it is working with external DAC: https://www.amazon.com/SimulCharge-1-port-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B00MOQFUQM
Also this mini-writeup shows one in use in 2015 with DAC, am I missing something on why this was a wall for many?: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-usb-hub-samsung-galaxy-tablets-charging.html
Thanks for any help,
AoB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did a car install on my eclipse usb charged headphone jack to amp and bluetooth to obd2 interface for gauges i used an app called auto power off or something like that. and it mimicked a cars gps system prety good it would wake up screen and keep awake til key shuts off counts down 30 seconds click here to keep awake or shut down but it only put tablet in low power state i drove that car every day it was long enought to keep it charged all the time

N
AfraidOfBears said:
On the (i hope) tail end of the first version of my dash tablet install, and after my research and work over the past few days, I will try to answer my own question -- just for others. no pity for me. OTG-Host was not a "must-have" (yet).
My big mistake (i think) was not being aware of the distinction between OTG-Accessory and OTG-Host. The Lava-link hub/cable in my OP allows OTG-A and charging the device. OTG-H seems to be a different animal,.. something that the kernel and maybe the hardware has to support? I have flashed Extremely ROM on my T580 and a USB keyboard plugs in to OTG cable and is detected, but a USB RLT-SDR device is not detected (nor powered).
So I guess back to the beginning, still need Kernel support for OTG-Host? Correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See post above
I had to rig in the mount since a eclipse console is so small. I didnt want a 5 inch or 7 inch screen i wired a switch to the factory amp for remote turn on and a headphone jack to the fro and rear left rite of the factory amp as the eclipses some have a fac amp under the seat to the factory stereo used the fac stereo power wires for a 12 volt usb charger in the dash to turn tablet on with the key and my fancy little led toggle for the amp power

Atoto A6, my thoughts / review

Mirrored from my Amazon review on this unit:
Here are all of the pieces we purchased with the A62721PB 2G/32G, in order to install in our 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 truck. Install is still not complete, but I'll get to that in a bit.
(associate links removed for spam filter)
As you can see, its an ordeal to install this unit. Even the manufacturer doesn't seem to understand the vehicles it will be installed in, in our case, a 06 Ram 1500. Standard Chrysler wiring (would be the same for almost any 06 Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep... etc) telling me to tap into the -5v canbus wiring as the accessory switch. To properly install this in those vehicles, you need a CanBus adapter, which will give you the ability to turn to ACC and run the unit, and allow it to dim with the interior lighting. Neither of those are done in a 12v switched wire in these vehicles. Oh, and you will need an antenna adapter too... both of these I have yet to buy . If you have more than basic radio functions in your vehicle, you need a better install kit. Basic wiring wont cut it to do the job right.
As it is, I used a tap to the ignition switch (+12v) to turn the unit on until I have a few bucks to pick up a proper install. So think of all of that when buying. To get all the functions, you need more parts, so a $300 radio turns into a $500 radio quick.
OK.. Use. Most of my use is with Google Maps, Amazon Music (offline) or the backup cam. Getting those or any software setup with large downloads was a pain, as this unit shuts off the wifi with the key, so no updates while you sleep, and no way to turn that functionality on. Unless you leave your keys in the vehicle (not the best choice). And with the sub-par performance of the wifi in this unit, its going to take a while. I can see my home wifi all over my property with our phones. The truck only seems to see my neighbor's connection. The antenna is mounted under the black part of the windshield trim, just out of view. In fact, the only good reception I've gotten is with a portable hotspot in the truck. The A6 also cannot seem to see our 5gHz channels. These seem to be built to the same standards as generic 2010 tablets.
The built in pairing is useless. It just shares the screen image with the head unit. No controls, no passthrough... just video. If I wanted to use my phone I would have stuck to the ram mount. PDA-Net is the only way I've been able to connect, as my phone plan doesn't include wifi hotspot.
Speaking of phone hookup and this unity, you can share data (like PDA. net) or use fast charge. not both? And those USB leads really should come with some sort of bracket and template for in-dash installation. We plan on making these, but really, it would be a lot nicer to have it come with. Right now, they just fall out of the bottom of the dash like an afterthought.
Additionally, we negated to install the microphone. Most times people can hear you fine. If not, you have to re-boot the system. You also have to reboot when it wont pause music when a call comes in, or lower sound when the rear camera activates.
-Side note about that pause... most sub $30 bluetooth adapters resume your media when you start the vehicle back up. not this one.. you got to hush the FM software, navigate back to your music (Amazon music in our case) and then hit play. Since there is no play button on the factory remote, its a real pain in the backside. Not well thought out Atoto. -
Reverse cam is basic, we bought the matching ATOTO one and the quality is garbage. Looking for a better unit now. Nice that it just lowers the music while backing up, and doesn't cut out though.
I haven't tried to install a better home screen or layout in this unit. It would help to have a bit more open framework. The colors and designs are bland and garish at the same time (congrats on that hot mess Atoto) with no support for changing them.
The best looking interface and use so far has been Torque, which we have the pro version of, and has been useful to see a few tuning parameters as well as info for towing. We bought a generic ODB2 dongle and it works fine. The downside is the built in browser for looking up a trouble code that came from blowing out our dash lighting during install (dumb grounding mistake, should have known better and pulled the battery leads. ) No support for acceleration sensors though, seems the A6 does not have them. So if you want this for your autocross car, maybe skip it and just use a used Samsung Tab or something.
Im going to look into re-flashing the headunit after we button up the install with a better ROM, better apps, and hope I can find a good dashcam utility that works for this. CarWebGuru works at first, but then on re-boot will disable all sound, cameras, and the remote if left as the launcher. If not, it still works, but is kindof redundant.
overall, its a project. Take a full day to get it all installed, maybe longer to dial it in right.
Overall, so far, we spent a total of $368.17, and will be spending at least another $80 on this unit. I guess that is the name of the game when you want to do things right, and not spend $800+ on a turnkey system.

I also discovered that Prey security will install, but not open on this unit. Thought it would be nice to have a bit of additional theft protection int eh truck and the ability to track it if it did get stolen.

. I recently bought the a6 and had to learn the hard way also. I'm installing in a 13 Dodge Durango.
Majority of the extra cost would come with any new aftermarket unit since newer vehicles need to communicate with the can us system. I went in also thinking I could buy the cheap harness and be good to go. Majority of the Chinese headunits are made for international vehicles. . Most are plug and play.
I got on lightning deal for $200 and so far about $100 in parts. But I expect this with any aftermarket radio I install. Days of cheap harness and dash kit are over.
But anything is worth the cost vs my stock radio.
Just like any Chinese product(coming from Android TV boxes) they take a lot of tinkering but that comes with the cheap price. I plan on 8nstalling one of the car launchers and replacing every non essetnial app.
Power amp or gmmp for music. So with my limited testing, I've had a good experience. I'm within 20ft of my router at home so speeds been great. Bluetooth has been Rock solid also with media.
Will post more on Sunday when I complete the install.

Right on. I didnt have the cash to buy one from some place thats worked out more bugs. I have industry friends that sell a unit that retails at $800, adn I could get it wholesale, but thats still a chunk more cash than I had.
Got my wifi a bit better sorted this afternoon by putting a repeater out in my little tool shed, and finally have 75% of the tomtomgo USA map downloaded. This unit nor that app are good at downloading. I also noticed something about Car Web Guru on startup... if the factory launcher does not have default access, not only will certain things stop working (cameras, sound, USB), but it screws with the clock, which then throws off other apps that use the clock as part of any sort of key. Amazon does this with offline music, which I have a lot of on here.

TeamADW said:
Right on. I didnt have the cash to buy one from some place thats worked out more bugs. I have industry friends that sell a unit that retails at $800, adn I could get it wholesale, but thats still a chunk more cash than I had.
Got my wifi a bit better sorted this afternoon by putting a repeater out in my little tool shed, and finally have 75% of the tomtomgo USA map downloaded. This unit nor that app are good at downloading. I also noticed something about Car Web Guru on startup... if the factory launcher does not have default access, not only will certain things stop working (cameras, sound, USB), but it screws with the clock, which then throws off other apps that use the clock as part of any sort of key. Amazon does this with offline music, which I have a lot of on here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe these stereos are any different from one another. I've read about changing launchers breaking things. Luckily I believe there is a fix out there.
Probably try emailing them for possible fix..
I still need the steering wheel module but thats something I'll do in future upgrade

intruda119 said:
I don't believe these stereos are any different from one another. I've read about changing launchers breaking things. Luckily I believe there is a fix out there.
Probably try emailing them for possible fix..
I still need the steering wheel module but thats something I'll do in future upgrade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have emailed them, but the language barrier is strong here. Talked about changing the launcher, and they told me it is not possible, but I am willing to try more now that I have a few more tools at hand.

Just curious, if your vehicle doesn't have a 12v acc, is there a 12v power outlet /cig lighter (or anything else) that is controlled by the key. You could use any 12v that is controlled by the key and tie it the unit acc.

stabone00 said:
Just curious, if your vehicle doesn't have a 12v acc, is there a 12v power outlet /cig lighter (or anything else) that is controlled by the key. You could use any 12v that is controlled by the key and tie it the unit acc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What vehicle do you have?
If nothing is there under the radio dash, you can tap into the fuse box.

Wont work. 12v+ ACC is controlled by the bus. With the key off, the cigar lighter ports are still charged with 8-10v, which the unit sees as an on trigger.
In order to get around this, you need a canbus controller, which is available from a few companies.

intruda119 said:
What vehicle do you have?
If nothing is there under the radio dash, you can tap into the fuse box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, fuse box would be your best bet. Aside from just the key switch, you could probably find a delayed off or open door off. If not, you just need to find a circuit activated by the key, could be any voltage made or ground made. Relays are cheap.

stabone00 said:
I agree, fuse box would be your best bet. Aside from just the key switch, you could probably find a delayed off or open door off. If not, you just need to find a circuit activated by the key, could be any voltage made or ground made. Relays are cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah need to know what type of vehicle it is.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Any body get Waze working?
Unit can't find position/gps

Why would I do that in this truck with a relay and aux fuse panel, when I can control th dimming and ACC on via the canbus and an appropriate interface? Ive dealt with a lot of vehicle electronics (its part of my job) and going around a proven modern system with a bunch of jankey wiring just looks bad, especially in this case where it isnt needed.
In our Jeep Cherokee, maybe, but that also has things liek additional trailer wiring and radio equipment going in, as well as separate harnesses for the lighting to overcome stock deficiencies, but the Ram is pretty solid. Atoto says they have a built in canbus interface coming, just not there yet.

TeamADW said:
Why would I do that in this truck with a relay and aux fuse panel, when I can control th dimming and ACC on via the canbus and an appropriate interface? Ive dealt with a lot of vehicle electronics (its part of my job) and going around a proven modern system with a bunch of jankey wiring just looks bad, especially in this case where it isnt needed.
In our Jeep Cherokee, maybe, but that also has things liek additional trailer wiring and radio equipment going in, as well as separate harnesses for the lighting to overcome stock deficiencies, but the Ram is pretty solid. Atoto says they have a built in canbus interface coming, just not there yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah why would you do that?
Our last few post was towards the guy asking about it. We can only assume he has an older vehicle.

intruda119 said:
Yeah why would you do that?
Our last few post was towards the guy asking about it. We can only assume he has an older vehicle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, my bad. Yeah, if you have an older vehicle, you could do a relay setup for ACC, but normally thats just a stop on the key, at least back to the 70s.

My thoughts.
Built in amp is 10x better than the stock one.
Very little lag when operating the unit. Lags a bit when streaming and downloading at same time.
Plays all types of media.
Screen is great. Easily used with sunlight shining through(sun roof)
Dims at night time correctly.
2sec boot is amazing.
Presistent app permissions notification drives me nuts.
App installs take forever(download is fast as the connection)
3ven thought 99% of time I'm listening to Google play or off HDD would be nice to limit volume when turning on car when fm radio auto starts.
Everything outside of my noobnesw and lots of user error has been plug and play. What's taking me 2 weeks so far would probably take experienced person 1hr or less.
I took apart the unit and can't understand why these units are bigger than name brand headunits. There is nothing in them but space.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

The screen is very nice. Boot time is more like time to pop the screen on, like when you hit the power button on your phone after its been in your pocket on standy. The real boot time takes forever (why is this microwave so slow!!!!1)
Mine keeps having issues with SD cards. have had it randomly say its corrupted, pull it out, reinsert, and all good. Just odd I think . And I finally found a good GPS app for this one, since it has enough space, the TomTom app is perfect. At least for my uses, even with having to pay for a month when using it for longer distances.

My biggest issue other than the few mentioned already in this thread, is the lack of speaker settings. There isn't enough options for speaker fine tuning, and as a result I can't get my speakers to sound good at all without massive distortion and clipping. Anyone know if there's a solution for this?

XDApurp said:
My biggest issue other than the few mentioned already in this thread, is the lack of speaker settings. There isn't enough options for speaker fine tuning, and as a result I can't get my speakers to sound good at all without massive distortion and clipping. Anyone know if there's a solution for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best I can think of would be through a different amplifier than the built in one. Best luck I have had is with the "natural" setting. Its all software based, I found that it stops working and needs rebooted to get the profile back. Im betting thats a driver issue, and one we wont see updated in the A6.

You guys do know the trick about hitting BACK when the FM tuner comes up, then selecting the Atoto AUX and hitting HOME (leaving it in memory) to prevent the auto-start of FM and getting blasted out of the cab, right?
With the AUX trick, CarWebGuru (or other launchers) will autostart just fine. Every now and then (especially after a long power-off, like a day or two) you might have to repeat the trick, and more often, you'll need to manually start AUX if things like steering wheel controls or the Atoto equalizer isn't working after a restart (Aux or FM will force a restart of the MCU hardware).