Help with using navigation on an Xtrons HU - Android Head-Units

Posting here as I think I used the wrong secrtion previously
I recently installed a Xtrons PQS90MTVL head unit in a skoda superb. I have a couple of questions on how to get it to work correctly when navigating.
1) It seems that you can set the navigation sounds to be a percentage of the radio volume but cannot set it to play at a given volume regardless. The problem is that the radio seems to be constantly on and there is no way to turn it off. The 'on/off' button simply mutes the radio - and the navigation sounds.
Often I am in an area where I cannot pick up a decent radio signal on the programme I want and just get static. In these situations I want to turn the radio off but still hear navigation sounds. I don't want to listen to loud static just so I can have the nav sounds play at a percentage of that static. Is there a way to turn the radio off but still get navigation sounds? (a workaround I have found is to play a media file instead of the radio and then pause playback. The nav sounds are then still a percentage of the - non existent - playback volume. However this should not be necessary)
2) It also seems that a Internet connection is needed for any navigation. even google maps won't do a search without it as it says I am offline. (is this true?)
I have bought the 4G wifi dongle but have a question about its use. Does the HU connect to the dongle, as far as data is concerned, via the USB socket that comes out of the back of the unit or is that socket simply powering the dongle and the HUI is actually connecting to it over wifi using the dongle as a hotspot? If so then I don't have to use the wired usb socket from the unit (which I suspect is underpowered) and can plug the dongle into an ordinary 2A USB socket that I have in the car, positioning the dongle near the roof for a better signal
Incidentally I did try using Android Auto with my phone using wired connection. That seems sort of OK but is not very reliable. Often when starting the car it hangs at the 'connected' screen, or even at the 'trying to connect' screen, although other times it seems OK
3) There is a small socket on the left hand side of the HU that looks like a slot for a small memory card or a sim card. It is labelled 'GPS'. What is that socket used for? it is not mentioned in the manual as far as I can see. - The manual is generally a bit hand waving though, excitedly telling you what you can do but not how to do it.
(I did try the xtrons forum but not only are the last posts there around January 2022 but there seems to be no way to register for it. Hence posting here)

coldshiver said:
Posting here as I think I used the wrong secrtion previously
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Ask a moderator to delete this other post.

ze7zez said:
Ask a moderator to delete this other post.
Click to expand...
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Will I get answers here then?

coldshiver said:
Posting here as I think I used the wrong secrtion previously
I recently installed a Xtrons PQS90MTVL head unit in a skoda superb. I have a couple of questions on how to get it to work correctly when navigating.
1) It seems that you can set the navigation sounds to be a percentage of the radio volume but cannot set it to play at a given volume regardless. The problem is that the radio seems to be constantly on and there is no way to turn it off. The 'on/off' button simply mutes the radio - and the navigation sounds.
Often I am in an area where I cannot pick up a decent radio signal on the programme I want and just get static. In these situations I want to turn the radio off but still hear navigation sounds. I don't want to listen to loud static just so I can have the nav sounds play at a percentage of that static. Is there a way to turn the radio off but still get navigation sounds? (a workaround I have found is to play a media file instead of the radio and then pause playback. The nav sounds are then still a percentage of the - non existent - playback volume. However this should not be necessary)
2) It also seems that a Internet connection is needed for any navigation. even google maps won't do a search without it as it says I am offline. (is this true?)
I have bought the 4G wifi dongle but have a question about its use. Does the HU connect to the dongle, as far as data is concerned, via the USB socket that comes out of the back of the unit or is that socket simply powering the dongle and the HUI is actually connecting to it over wifi using the dongle as a hotspot? If so then I don't have to use the wired usb socket from the unit (which I suspect is underpowered) and can plug the dongle into an ordinary 2A USB socket that I have in the car, positioning the dongle near the roof for a better signal
Incidentally I did try using Android Auto with my phone using wired connection. That seems sort of OK but is not very reliable. Often when starting the car it hangs at the 'connected' screen, or even at the 'trying to connect' screen, although other times it seems OK
3) There is a small socket on the left hand side of the HU that looks like a slot for a small memory card or a sim card. It is labelled 'GPS'. What is that socket used for? it is not mentioned in the manual as far as I can see. - The manual is generally a bit hand waving though, excitedly telling you what you can do but not how to do it.
(I did try the xtrons forum but not only are the last posts there around January 2022 but there seems to be no way to register for it. Hence posting here)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all you need to fix your FM reception. You need to use a phantom power adapter to get some voltage to the OEM antenna.
There are some navigation apps which don´t need a internet connection. TomTom as example and others using offline maps. But you won´t get traffic messages if you don´t have an internet connection.
That would fix your white noise.
The FM radio can be closed if you use the back button on top right. If that does not help, chose the recent apps button on top and swipe the radio app away as for each other app... You really should learn how to use Android.
The navigation loudness can be set in the system settings. Depends on the unit where you can find it. In this case the navigation software needs to be registered as navigation in settings /Apps/Standard apps.
Regarding your 4G-WiFi dongle... The name itself shows the functionality.
It connects via 4G to the internet and provides the connection via WiFi to anyone in the car.... even too to the radio.
The GPS slot on your radio is nothing else as a micro-SD slot, which also can be used to store music on it or whatever else you want.
BTW: Seems that you are not that familiar with car electronics. May be a good idea to ask someone who can help you with some knowledge what has to be done.
Might be an easy task to just swap a radio, but there are more things behind than just swapping.

May I recommend 'Magic Earth' navigation, works fine with no internet but no live data of course.

At least there are a lot more offline navigation apps...
Out of memory:
Google Maps (partially with downloaded segmented maps)
HERE WeGo
Navmii GPS World
OsmAnd
MAPS.ME
Magic Earth
TomTom
iGo
But without internet... no traffic data..

rigattoni said:
First of all you need to fix your FM reception. You need to use a phantom power adapter to get some voltage to the OEM antenna.
There are some navigation apps which don´t need a internet connection. TomTom as example and others using offline maps. But you won´t get traffic messages if you don´t have an internet connection.
That would fix your white noise.
The FM radio can be closed if you use the back button on top right. If that does not help, chose the recent apps button on top and swipe the radio app away as for each other app... You really should learn how to use Android.
The navigation loudness can be set in the system settings. Depends on the unit where you can find it. In this case the navigation software needs to be registered as navigation in settings /Apps/Standard apps.
Regarding your 4G-WiFi dongle... The name itself shows the functionality.
It connects via 4G to the internet and provides the connection via WiFi to anyone in the car.... even too to the radio.
The GPS slot on your radio is nothing else as a micro-SD slot, which also can be used to store music on it or whatever else you want.
BTW: Seems that you are not that familiar with car electronics. May be a good idea to ask someone who can help you with some knowledge what has to be done.
Might be an easy task to just swap a radio, but there are more things behind than just swapping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for a helpful reply. I have already fitted a power injector for the FM antenna which made some difference but I like to listen to radio 4 and there are parts of the country (along the M11, on the A5 in North Wales), where you cannot pick it up on any radio - and of course in Europe where I have just been for a few weeks where I usually don't want the radio on at all. That's why having the nav sound set as a percentage of the existing volume seems a bit odd as it implies you already have some other sound on. Better to have a dedicated channel for it or have the nav mute any other sound.
I'll look at doing all the swiping etc to turn off the radio by closing recent apps although this doesn't seen like a very safe thing to start doing when you drive into a area of poor reception. I was hoping the unit would have a simple press button like in the good old days!
The dongle info is also useful thank you. Xtrons do not make this clear at all. They imply that by plugging it into the socket on the unit you have made a (wired) data connection. If the HU is still only connecting over wifi anyway then I can install the dongle wherever I like in the car so that it gets a good 4G signal, instead of it having to be in the driver footwell at the end of the short USB cable xtrons supply and I can use a dedicated 2A usb adaptor to supply decent power .
I guessed the 'GPS' socket might have nothing to do with GPS. Shame Xtrons couldn't say what it was for instead of just mis-labelling it.
Incidentally. The SIM in the dongle would only ever be used for the navigation to receive traffic updates or bits of map or whatever it needs i.e I don't intend to be surfing the net or downloading Utube videos. Do you have any idea what sort of data requirements this would mean. Would a 250Mb a month sim be enough?
I'll experiment with your suggestions.

rigattoni said:
At least there are a lot more offline navigation apps...
Out of memory:
Google Maps (partially with downloaded segmented maps)
HERE WeGo
Navmii GPS World
OsmAnd
MAPS.ME
Magic Earth
TomTom
iGo
But without internet... no traffic data..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll look into those thank you. I use maps.me on my phone but couldn't get google maps to work on the HU as it said I was offline. Of course I still need an internet connection to download any of those apps and install them on the HU but I could just park near my house and using the house wifi.

Data plan for using navigation online data depends on the app you use and the amount of mileage per month.
You can use your smartphone first to see what you need in a "normal usage" month and then decide what you need.
If you use any offline map solution, it´s also some sort of usage dependency.
BTW... If you would invest into a higher data plan (2GB), you could use the app Radionator to use Online radio. BBC Radio4 should be in there too. Radionator is the best alternative if you want to listen to one specific radio station. Just needs a stable internet connection, nothing else... and the sound is mostly better than FM.
May be you can use the Navradio+ as alternativ solution for receiving FM radio. Depends on the MCU of your unit. Search for it in MTCD software forum.

rigattoni said:
At least there are a lot more offline navigation apps...
Out of memory:
HERE WeGo
But without internet... no traffic data..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend to use HERE WeGo, it served me very well for the years I didn't have mobile internet connection. Also it shows the max allowed speed in most countries, whereas Google Maps doesn't do that.

Sure, Here WeGo is a good choice, even without internet connection.

Related

why does it take so long to get gps-signal?

hey guys,
i have a little question,
i just bought a haicom gps receiver and use tomtom 2 software. When i get out of my garage, it takes always more than 15 minutes to get a signal. sometimes during driving i also lose it. How comes?
when i connect my device to the receiver and power, i get something like "connecting to t-mobile MMS"...
oh, btw i have a MDA II with latest NL t-mobile rom. 1.60....
if anyone could help please...
thanks!
The gps should only take this long when first used, after that it should lock in a matter of a couple of minutes, to test the gps properly it is best to test it outside the vehicle, I think most Haicom mouse gps come with magnetic base so stick it on the roof and drive around, if it works better it is probably becuase your car has a metallised windscreen which blocks the signal. The message about connecting to the service provider is an error due to the com port being accessed i think, mine used to bring up activesync every time but once I canged my activesync settings on the xda to manual instead of auto sync it solved the problem.
so i should always drive around with my window open?? and stick the receiver outside the car?
I would agree with Crusin Through - I think your car may well have some form of heated windscreen or heat reflecting windscreen. What car do you have.
If when you do place the receiver on the outside of the car you do get good signal you can get a special anntenna that had an outside part and an internal part that you can fit permanently to the car so you can still move the thing about. Bit like a mobile phone antenna.
Alternatively as you have the XDA II you can get a bluetooth receiver an place it on the rear parcel shelf (I think the wider heating strips won't affect it - but can't confirm it.)
John, I wasnt suggesting you drive around with your window open, I was suggesting a way to ascertain if your windscreen is the problem regarding your blocked gps signal, by the way I have used a gps on the roof and the window will shut almost all the way however as the last post mentioned you can obtain a re-radiating antenna, this will solve your problem if indeed the windscreen is the culprit.
Re-rediating antenna - that's the word I couldn't remember :lol:
ok guys, thanks. i'll try with such an extern antenna.
thanks for your help
Before you spend your money on the re-rad antenna - try the thing on the roof - if this works then the antenna is your only real option if you want to continue with the thing in the front windscreen.
I'd hate you to buy the re-rad and then find it doesn't work.
Incidently what car do you have? (Does it have a heat reflecting or headted windscreen)
And if it works outside,
you still don't have to buy an external antenna, as normally the windshield have an area where is not metal coating...
try to check the manual of your car..
i own a toyota Camry 2002 model, it has indeed a windscreen etc...

TomTom: Worth it?

I still use my old XDA 1 (Himilaya) for sat nav (running TomTom5 - haven't upgraded to 6 yet) with a wired GPS mouse, so both the GPS receiver and XDA are always charging when the ignition is on/engine running. I leave all that kit in the car all the time. I've also got an MDA Pro (Universal) and am thinking of using that for TomTom instead because:
a) Take advantage of the data tariff on it and subscribe to Traffic Plus (or whatever TomTom call it)
b) I also intend to get a Parrot CK bluetooth add on for the car (allow the car speakers to be part of a speakerphone) so I can make/receive calls and also listen to WMAs whilst driving (I hate all headphones)
So, questions.
1) TomTom5 works really well on the original XDA 1 (no crashes, smooth scrolling, very responsive, etc). Will it work just as well on my Universal?
2) If using the traffic service (over GPRS/UMTS), will voice calls still come through OK? T Mobile UK
3) Would pretty much any BT GPS unit off ebay be OK?
4) How long do the batteries last before needing a charge on these BT units?
5) Are there any wired solutions, so I don't need batteries and the Universal could also be on charge? I'd much prefer that.
6) Is the traffic service good? I mean, does it warn/reroute you sufficiently in advance? Does it know, for instance, that some roads are always slow and avoid them?
7) Anything in TomTom6 worth the ugprade over 5?
Or should I forget the traffic (and still rely on the radio) and just stick to the satus quo, or maybe still get the BT thing for MP3/WMAs? Anyone got any experience of a similar setup to report? TomTom5 on the XDA is one of very few tech products with which I'm completely and utterly happy.
Can no one help on any of the questions?
Hi Xiasma,
I sell a Car Kit for £40, which sounds like it should do what you want.
http://www.mdapro.co.uk/shop/xcart/T-Mobile-MDA-PRO-Handsfree-Custom-Car-Kit-with-speaker-pr-36.html
It'll charge your phone and GPS at the same time, amplify the voice, etc. and comes with 3 different mounts to attach to your car. I haven't sold many and one person is complaining about people not hearing him when he makes recieves a call, although we've proved that the microphone is working correctly. See this thread for an in depth discussion on pro's, con's, etc.
http://www.mdapro.co.uk/phpBB-2.0.18/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=275
I have no experiance of other solutions, but I think that as you have problems with loudspeaker, you'll have the same trouble as the guy in the thread. The thread goes on a bit, but I think you'll find it usefull.
Any bluetooth GPS reciever should work well with your phone, but I'd advise going for one with a Sirf III chipset, people seem to find them much better than sirf II. I have some new ones due in next week around the £50 mark, which sound a better deal than any others I sell at the minute.
HTH
Dave
That's great, Dave, thanks. It's got a built in microphone, but does it have line out so I could have the sound going through my car speakers (ie for MP3 and the like)? That would be perfect. Well, almost, I'd prefer to mount the MDA Pro open with the keyboard underneath - I guess this won't allow that, will it?
How many hours use does a good BT GPS unit last between charges?
Hi Xiasma,
unfortunately it doesn't have a line out, but I've seen Y-adapters around for a few pence which could well serve the purpose you require.
As you wish to plug it into your stereo anyway, you don't neccessarily need an amplified mount. Herbert Richter make several suitable mounts and a body which will hold your device with the keyboard open. (Laptop Style) It has cutouts for most buttons, sockets, etc. So you could easily plug your phone in to charge and connect it to your stereo.
Heres a good GPS reciever, the manufacturer claims the battery will last 11 hours. I honestly haven't tested one myself, so I don't know how accurate this info is.
http://www.mdapro.co.uk/shop/xcart/GlobalSat-359S-Sirf-III-Bluetooth-GPS-Receiver-pr-42.html
HTH
Dave

Looking for some clarification/experience

Hello all,
I'm looking to purchase a Tablet to satisfy a couple of my needs and would like to find out if some of my ideas are possible.
I spend a fair amount of my time in and out of my car so I'm looking to use a Galaxy tab for Satnav, music, phone access and emails. I spotted a Samsung dock that looks promising the "EDD-D1B1BEGSTD" (cannot link as a new user)
It charges it and has audio out which is perfect so I don't have to mess about with plugging in different cables everytime im in and out of the car just drop in and go with an aux in car stereo ready. My concern is it doesn't looks like it could take breaking/acceleration forces very well. Do any other docking stations have both charging and audio that are more car specific?
I don't want 2 contracts for 3G connection so can i confirm i can bluetooth my HTC desire to my tablet to access the internet?
As far as satnav goes, is it possible to have google maps offline?
Is it possible to bluetooth my HTC desire to the tablet to make and receive calls? As if the Tablet is plugged into my car stereo it would be a nice to have hands free calls. Would this be able to pull up my contacts from my phone too?
Out of interest would it be able to use a torrent manager and save directly to a network device/nasbox
Hope some people can answer my questions as im almost certain im going to make a purchase
Cheers
Alex
Any dock you purchase will struggle in the car as it is quite large in size - I see the tab as more of a co-pilot/navigator's unit which can be handheld or on a lap. I would recommend looking at reviews carefully and looking for any videos of the mount in action before purchasing. I do find the gps reception excellent and Google Navigation is fairly good though not quite TomTom quality.
For car audio, I'd recommend a bluetooth car stereo as this makes connection and playback much simpler.
Google Maps can be downloaded offline up to about 10-15 "squares" of information but this doesn't work for the Google navigation app. Google Navigation requires an internet connection to create a route and any wrong turns will also require the internet as a re-route is made. Probably best navigation is Sygic which is free to try for a month and then is about €20 to keep the maps and it works all offline.
There are a few apps that link the phone and tablet for messaging but not sure about calls if your car would be connected to tablet then the phone couldn't connect to car stereo if a call comes in I think.
There are loads of apps for getting nzbs/torrents and sending them to your NAS remotely, e.g. Synodroid is the one I use for Synology NAS.
So I'm really after an in car mount with just the one connector... But has audio out and charging... any ideas?
If I'm bluetoothing my HTC Desire to the tablet my understanding is I then cannot pair with a car stereo so would rather the in car month had audio out.
If your Desire has a 3g connection, you can create a wifi hotspot for the Tab... that way you can use Google maps for navigation on the tab (I've tried it with my Tab + Arc, works great!) Ofcourse, it does use quite a bit of data.. so unless you have around 2gb a month this would not be a viable option
Also if your car has bluetooth you can pair it with the phone/tablet to get audio over bluetooth ( no cables required)
I use my Tab for navigation. Google cached maps are useless without a wireless connection if you go off route. You need something like CoPilot (what I use) or Sygic which stores all map data locally on the device. There's no "official" car dock so you'll have to use the single port and a car charger to keep it charged. You can either use the audio out port to connect physically to the car's audio via a 3.5mm jack or some type of BT adapter connected to the car's audio to connect wirelessly.
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8Z492-P-Bluetooth-Music-Receiver/dp/B0047T79VS
The idea of the docking situation is to make it as simple/lazy as possible. I find if I've got to mess about before a journey i just wont use the tech so wont buy it.
Ideal situation is, I walk up to my car with the tablet in bag and desire in my pocket. I step inside the car, drop the tablet in the docking station (no messing about with cables or adjusting cradles) turn tablet bluetooth on via widget on desktop and have everything ready to go. Data connection + phone ready to use when I want it and music/handfree kit through the car speakers via the aux in connection on the docking station.
The idea behind using bluetooth for Data is I could leave bluetooth on my Desire 24/7 (I already do) leave the phone in my pocket (not setup my phone for tethering each journey) push one button on my tablet and I'm ready to go. This could hopefully keep my data plan down to a minimal usage.
I know it sounds petty but in real life I want to get in and go.
Do people kind of understand what I mean? Or am i being too lazy/picky
cr33ch said:
Or am i being too lazy/picky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^^^
This.
At least as far as tablets go. You could probably fabricate something yourself using the Tab media dock and a third party mount yourself, but nothing like what you're looking for currently exists.
I don't think I'm asking too much and I'll still prob go ahead with one but it would be nice to have all the features...
I'm kinda going on this video (though its not in english) that you can tether your data via Bluetooth w.youtube.com/watch?v=5hglunqoZLo&feature=related (I can't post videos as a new user)
But I don't know if the phone's calls\sms\contacts can be tethered to the tablet. Plus it will need to do all the above while sending data...
Navigation im not too bothered about, ill prob just either use data like I've been doing with my Desire or download tomtom
Then all I need to find is either a docking station that's more car friendly with same functions or modify the samsung one some how to make it more secure
cr33ch said:
Hello all,
I'm looking to purchase a Tablet to satisfy a couple of my needs and would like to find out if some of my ideas are possible.
I spend a fair amount of my time in and out of my car so I'm looking to use a Galaxy tab for Satnav, music, phone access and emails. I spotted a Samsung dock that looks promising the "EDD-D1B1BEGSTD" (cannot link as a new user)
It charges it and has audio out which is perfect so I don't have to mess about with plugging in different cables everytime im in and out of the car just drop in and go with an aux in car stereo ready. My concern is it doesn't looks like it could take breaking/acceleration forces very well. Do any other docking stations have both charging and audio that are more car specific?
I don't want 2 contracts for 3G connection so can i confirm i can bluetooth my HTC desire to my tablet to access the internet?
As far as satnav goes, is it possible to have google maps offline?
Is it possible to bluetooth my HTC desire to the tablet to make and receive calls? As if the Tablet is plugged into my car stereo it would be a nice to have hands free calls. Would this be able to pull up my contacts from my phone too?
Out of interest would it be able to use a torrent manager and save directly to a network device/nasbox
Hope some people can answer my questions as im almost certain im going to make a purchase
Cheers
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google maps WILL cache for offline navigation, BUT you have to enable it in the Labs options, and predefine each area you want pre-cached making it pretty worthless. Your best option is to get wireless tethering working on your phone so you have a live internet connection on your tablet.
Docking your tab in the car will be a DIY project. I am sure it can be done but I have not run across any car docks that would work with this device. Charging can be tricky as well. The Tab requires 2 amps in its stock configuration. Very few car chargers put out that power. There are some rooted options that you can learn about.
As far as navigation goes, your best bet is a nav app such as Copilot. I have this app and find that it is as good or better than a stand alone GPS and the cost is very reasonable. My version does not offer voice control but there may be something newer out there that does.
The Tab can be tethered to a phone, (after rooting), but I have no experience with this so I cannot provide any advice. If it were me, I would use the phone for the stuff it does best and the Tab for what it does best. Phones are great for making and receiving calls as well as sending music to your car stereo. With a bit of effort you can do those things with the Tab but why reinvent the wheel. The Tab is best for things that require a larger screen. In the car, that would be Internet, assuming you have 3G access or are tethered along with navigation. The two devices compliment each other but IMO, cannot totally replace the other.
Hopefully this helps.
Bob
I'm fairly confident I can achieve what I'm looking for with a little modification. My Desire is already rooted with MIUI ill prob end up rooting the tab shortly after I purchase one too.
I think its just going to be a case of getting one and playing with it...
Just to confirm theres nothing really between the samsung and the Motorola xoom from a rooting/modification point of view?
No, no difference as far as rooting afaik.
I'd be interested into how you get on with your tinkering
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Well ive done it, ive put an order in for one with a Samsung docking station. Once it arrives ill report back with what i can and can't do

Android based HU that interfaces phone via BT or wireless?

I'm fairly new to this concept but I'm trying to get up to speed. Basically what I want to do is display waze, play pandora and other random things i do on my phone now. I would like to do it perhaps having the HU connect to my phone hotspot via wireless for data and perhaps even use the phones GPS data. If not I can always run a GPS antenna to the HU. But basically I just want to be able to use waze, pandora and maybe a select few other apps. Is there something out there like this? I know about app radio but It also appears the phone must be plugged in via HDMI to make this work. I currently have an AVIC-Z140BH which is ok but the navigation sucks and pretty much all i use it for is pandora and album art. Being that it's in a loud vert I rarely use the hands free part of it but that's a nice feature to retain if possible.
This Avin Avant-2 is the closest I found, opinions?
Thanks much guys.
Dave

Winlink/Ownice C300 Android 4.4.4 head unit

Ownice brings a new radio to the market, the C300
http://www.ownice.com/Pro_Car dvd player for universal 2 din OL-6666T_360.html
These are the most known specifications
1. OS: Android 4.4.4
2. CPU: AC8327 Quad core cortex-A7,1.0-1.2GHz (The IC is Specialy developed for Car DVD)
3. Fast Response: RAM 1G + ROM 16G
4. Resolution: 800*480/1024*600 TFT Capacitive Screen
5. Standard Features: Built-in WiFi + DVD + GPS Navi + FM/AM Radio + Bluetooth + Multimedia + USB/SD + AUX
6. Support: DAB+ OBDII + DVR +ipod +3G Dongle + TV(DVB-T2,DVB-T,MPEG4&ISDB-T) + Rear Camera + TMPS + MIRROR
7. Unique UI Design: Translucent Background gives a full-screen viewing
8. 3 sec quick boot
They seem to skip android 5.0, and going to android 6.0 this fall
i dont understand why the C200 had 2 gig of ram, and this new one looks like it has 1 gig. However I do like the looks of it, and the C200 gets pretty good reviews on XDA. So I emailed them about a C300 for my Jeep.
Has anyone ordered one? I'm curious on this unit as I require a cheap unit to go into my truck that will be used when required. So I don't need anything fancy but want something that will work.
I've been in contact with ownice and asked about where to get software updates and was told the unit wouldn't get any... Which is somewhat alarming. Perhaps its a language barrier with the person not understanding what I'm asking... Here's the quoted email.
--- my email to them ---
What's the warranty like if there were to have something go wrong with it (who would I contact)* how often is there firmware updates for the unit and where would I go to get the updates ?
--- response ---
Hi,Dear, All of these questions that you could ask me, *you could add my Skype and whatsapp for contact me any time.
If there are something wrong, I will give you solution or send the component for you replacement.*
Our c300 cannot upgrade the system.*
Thanks*
Best regards*
Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk
quick review of the universal c300 i just installed:
best described as a tinkerer's wetdream/nightmare, with some engrish subtitles. in other words, it's far from perfect, but in some ways it is the best solution available, if you don't mind messing about with it.
some immediate issues:
1. it's 178mm x 100mm. your double-din opening is 173x98. this means you will have to enlarge the opening or shrink the stereo (i suggest enlarging the opening) -- in either case, the installation is not as easy as it would be if this were a standard size.
2. google contacts do not sync (ownice has promised to look into it and fix in the next firmware release, but i wouldn't hold my breath). this means you cannot push the voice button and go: "call wife," since the unit doesn't know who your wife is.
3. google voice works like it should, for the most part, once you work through some kinks -- it will play music you ask it to, using your player of choice and it will navigate to a location, although it uses google maps (not waze) to do so. like siri (it looks things up on the internet and will play music for you, but doesn't do advanced things that you are used to it doing on your phone, like telling to navigate to a friend's house). it also doesn't read the results outloud to you (which is a shame, since the whole reason to use the voice feature is to keep your attention on the road.)
4. bluetooth is crippled, so it will connect to your phone and to *some* ELM327 connectors, but not anything that doesn't accept 0000 for a password.
5. lack of physical buttons -- cool looking and seems like a great idea until you try to use it while driving and realize that you can't feel your way to anything, since it's just a flat touch-screen. i'll likely get used to this, but definitely takes your attention off the road (ignore this if you have steering wheel controls).
6. the main screen's two widgets are not removable (for now).
7. it won't read your SMS messages. I am sure that there's a way to forward them (via something like IFTTT) from the phone to the stereo, but that seems to be more trouble than it's worth.
8. you need your phone to act like a hotspot for waze (and anything else that uses the internet) to work, and it appears that android 5.0+ doesn't allow you to automate turning the hotspot on and off anymore, which is not awesome, since you now have to remember to turn it on when you get in the car and off when you get out.
9. poweramp doesn't work right, because it doesn't provide you with a settings button, so there's no way to customize it.
couple of correctable issues (and notes on what i did to correct them):
1. contrast set way too high to be usable out of the box: enter the service menu through car settings > about car > settings icon > 1260 (password) and change contrast to be about 10-15 or so.
2. volume way too loud, usable range of volume slider is about 1/3 of total slider: enter service menu and set the volume for items that your stereo has to -20; this gives a good usable range for the slider and prevents your wife's eardrums from bursting when she accidentally hits max volume (oops).
3. if you find that you can't watch videos (they just won't load), check the setting that decides whether you are allowed to watch videos while moving -- it should warn you that you can't see the video because it's blocked, but it doesn't.
4. boot logo password is 9999, in case you don't want to see the "OWNICE" on boot.
summary:
if you are looking for something cheap that will work with your car, get a name-brand stereo that has bluetooth connectivity to your phone (and perhaps some sort of onboard nav system, if you care about such things) for about the same money as this and call it a day. sure, it won't have android, you won't be able to surf the web, or play spotify, and won't have waze/google maps, but it also won't give you nearly as many headaches as this unit will.
on the other hand, if you want android functionality (or just the ability to use waze as your nav system in-dash), then you don't really have a better choice. one of the key things for me was that this unit will power up in <3seconds for 48 hours from the last time it was powered up. When "cold" booting, it takes just under 20 seconds to boot from 0 to usable. Most things work exactly as you would expect them to, and they work well. For example, if listening to music, and your nav wants to say something, it will mute the music, say it's thing and return the music. Sounds simple, but if you read enough of these forums, you will see that not all of these units handle this properly.
as you can see from the above, my list of issues is longer than my list of praises, but that's because i don't bother praising things that work the way they are supposed to. overall, without knowing how it will handle extended use or how it will hold up to the heat inside the car, etc, etc, the unit seems good, and was the best option for what i wanted to do. my other options were the nex4200 and the jbl that's coming out in a month or two, since both of those are android auto... but android auto doesn't do waze, which is too bad.
if you do buy this one, i would buy from ownice directly (via aliexpress), a 1024x600 version cost me about $200, shipped for free and arrived 1 week from order date (actually less than a week).
do you use streaming music, like google play music or spotify, any issues?
CadillacMike said:
do you use streaming music, like google play music or spotify, any issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
given data caps on mobile data, that's not something that i was terribly interested in, so i haven't had a chance to try it yet (i have 60gb of music hooked up to it via usb stick, which so far has proved to be plenty). as i understand it, most folks cache stuff on these units ahead of long drives, to avoid pulling data the whole way, but like i said, no experience with it myself.
found another con: internal microphone is garbage (when used via bluetooth) -- it works fine for google voice (although without contact sync, it's not terribly useful), but when making calls, it is waaaaaaaay too low in volume, and changing the gain setting in the settings doesn't help (just distorts the voice).
How's the radio ? Static or clear? Anyone try to root it yet?
Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk
kwalsh24 said:
How's the radio ? Static or clear? Anyone try to root it yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
radio is crystal-clear, no complaints in that department (except maybe that they could have used more space for the song/artist name, instead of the tiny space they used which involves tons of scrolling text).
haven't tried to root (no time and not enough experience), but if rooting leads to (a) working google contacts and (b) the ability to use google voice to place calls (it currently errors out saying that there is no dialer, rather than handing off to the bluetooth app) then i'm happy to do whatever i can to help.
octadox said:
radio is crystal-clear, no complaints in that department (except maybe that they could have used more space for the song/artist name, instead of the tiny space they used which involves tons of scrolling text).
haven't tried to root (no time and not enough experience), but if rooting leads to (a) working google contacts and (b) the ability to use google voice to place calls (it currently errors out saying that there is no dialer, rather than handing off to the bluetooth app) then i'm happy to do whatever i can to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can try this app for your radio from [email protected] http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3496422&d=1444056063 it works flawless on the C200
Flemischguy said:
you can try this app for your radio from [email protected] http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3496422&d=1444056063 it works flawless on the C200
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure that this app would work on the c300 -- different hardware in this unit from the c200 -- and not worth trying it (for me), since the stock radio works just fine (except the RDS info, which my old stereo didn't have, so I'm not really missing it).
now, if someone has a bluetooth rewrite that allows interaction between regular android apps and the bluetooth dialer -- i am all ears.
update: tried an external mic to fix the bluetooth mic issue and no dice, bluetooth doesn't seem to even recognize that there is an external mic present. so, can't use the radio to answer phone calls, because people on the other end can't hear you.
so, to recap, the things that don't work:
1. bluetooth phone calls due to issues with microphone
2. google contacts sync
3. OBDII bluetooth connections
things that do work:
1. waze
2. reverse camera
3. radio
4. playing music off USB stick
so, until waze comes out on android auto, i will keep this in the car. as soon as waze comes out on android auto, i will replace this with a mainstream unit that has android auto (like a pioneer NEX series or the new JBL that is coming out soon).
was it worth the $200? Only because i know of no other way to get waze into the car. otherwise, no, not for a second. not due to the cost, but due to having to fight it all the time to work out its issues.
Hello, I buy the C300, but disappointed by this one.
Problem of vehicle integration, I had cut out of the back of the car stereo support (on the vehicle) because the connectors can not pass!
No compatibility (interaction) with Ford convers + !
The SWC (steering wheel control programming) unusable, not a program! only the steering wheel volume + - + and defilement - works!
Can not delete the widget directly to the screen.
GPS works roughly although not change the sound alerts when it works, impossible to put the card day!
impossible to adjust the operating time of touch cutting, the C300 runs about 1 minute without contact.
Really disappointed !!!
CZ68 said:
bonjour, j'ai acheté le C300, mais déçu par celui ci.
Problème d’intégration au véhicule, j'ai du découper l’arrière du support autoradio (sur le véhicule) car les connectiques ne passées pas !
Pas de compatibilité (interaction) avec Ford convers+ !
Le SWC (programmation des commande au volant) inutilisable, impossible a programmer ! seul la commande au volant volume + - et le défilement + - fonctionne !
Impossible de supprimer les widget directement de l’écran.
Vraiment déçu !!![/QUO
Si vous plait, ici écrit Anglaise, merci.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Si vous plait, ici écrit Anglaise, merci.
Hello, sorry no problem
I bought the http://www.ownice.com/Pro_Car dvd player for universal 2 din OL-6666T_360.html Ownice c300 of the week
I 've had yesterday DAB + me inside. Only this does not connected but I can not find an app on the dab + to work . Should I take an extra measure to let him work ?
Problems
I Have brought a c300 ownice Radio it works almost flawless
I Have three problems:
1. Dap+ after a full reset is not clear anymore there are some gabbs in the Sound its like it is buffering or something...
2. Sometimes Random disconect of bleuthoot
3. Still Running on Android 4
Someone knows any solutions?
Greetings,
Mike
Thanks and icon deleting?
HI .
Im, new to this list and a owner of a Ownice C300 for my touareg.
I made my mind up on buying the Ownice after reading quite a few threds on this developers site. The only mystery was the specifications on the AM and FM receiver and how it performs in the real world. The Chinese specs are very vague.
I have been bench testing by Ownice for the past week and getting familiar with its operation.
The receiver on AM is quite good and I can receive stations easily up to 300km aways during the day. This was my biggest concern as I do long country drives. FM is good as well, not sure how its strong signal performance will do.
First thanks for your passwords you gave in the description below, like you said the screen was unusable if web browsing or mapping. :good:
My question is, may be a stupid one.
When you drag a icon or widget onto the home screen, how do you delete it? I cant find any mention of this in the C300 manual.
Is there a script that determines the frequency range of the AM FM receiver? Mine is set to Australia eg 9kHz steps. coverage is up to 1602kHz. I would like to get up to 1710kHz for the expanded band here down under.
The other feature that the OEM VW radio has and this C300 doesn't is being able to switch the radio on with the keys not in the ignition. The OEM radio times out after 1 hr.
I amuse the power on acc would be hardware?
Im toying in writing a bit of simple code on a external timer to enable me to have a press button on the dash to fire up the Acc line on the radio with 12volt for an hour so the key is not need like the original radio. Some isolation diodes would be need to isolate the voltage not to back feed into the car.
Regards Adrian.
octadox said:
quick review of the universal c300 i just installed:
best described as a tinkerer's wetdream/nightmare, with some engrish subtitles. in other words, it's far from perfect, but in some ways it is the best solution available, if you don't mind messing about with it.
some immediate issues:
1. it's 178mm x 100mm. your double-din opening is 173x98. this means you will have to enlarge the opening or shrink the stereo (i suggest enlarging the opening) -- in either case, the installation is not as easy as it would be if this were a standard size.
2. google contacts do not sync (ownice has promised to look into it and fix in the next firmware release, but i wouldn't hold my breath). this means you cannot push the voice button and go: "call wife," since the unit doesn't know who your wife is.
3. google voice works like it should, for the most part, once you work through some kinks -- it will play music you ask it to, using your player of choice and it will navigate to a location, although it uses google maps (not waze) to do so. like siri (it looks things up on the internet and will play music for you, but doesn't do advanced things that you are used to it doing on your phone, like telling to navigate to a friend's house). it also doesn't read the results outloud to you (which is a shame, since the whole reason to use the voice feature is to keep your attention on the road.)
4. bluetooth is crippled, so it will connect to your phone and to *some* ELM327 connectors, but not anything that doesn't accept 0000 for a password.
5. lack of physical buttons -- cool looking and seems like a great idea until you try to use it while driving and realize that you can't feel your way to anything, since it's just a flat touch-screen. i'll likely get used to this, but definitely takes your attention off the road (ignore this if you have steering wheel controls).
6. the main screen's two widgets are not removable (for now).
7. it won't read your SMS messages. I am sure that there's a way to forward them (via something like IFTTT) from the phone to the stereo, but that seems to be more trouble than it's worth.
8. you need your phone to act like a hotspot for waze (and anything else that uses the internet) to work, and it appears that android 5.0+ doesn't allow you to automate turning the hotspot on and off anymore, which is not awesome, since you now have to remember to turn it on when you get in the car and off when you get out.
9. poweramp doesn't work right, because it doesn't provide you with a settings button, so there's no way to customize it.
couple of correctable issues (and notes on what i did to correct them):
1. contrast set way too high to be usable out of the box: enter the service menu through car settings > about car > settings icon > 1260 (password) and change contrast to be about 10-15 or so.
2. volume way too loud, usable range of volume slider is about 1/3 of total slider: enter service menu and set the volume for items that your stereo has to -20; this gives a good usable range for the slider and prevents your wife's eardrums from bursting when she accidentally hits max volume (oops).
3. if you find that you can't watch videos (they just won't load), check the setting that decides whether you are allowed to watch videos while moving -- it should warn you that you can't see the video because it's blocked, but it doesn't.
4. boot logo password is 9999, in case you don't want to see the "OWNICE" on boot.
summary:
if you are looking for something cheap that will work with your car, get a name-brand stereo that has bluetooth connectivity to your phone (and perhaps some sort of onboard nav system, if you care about such things) for about the same money as this and call it a day. sure, it won't have android, you won't be able to surf the web, or play spotify, and won't have waze/google maps, but it also won't give you nearly as many headaches as this unit will.
on the other hand, if you want android functionality (or just the ability to use waze as your nav system in-dash), then you don't really have a better choice. one of the key things for me was that this unit will power up in <3seconds for 48 hours from the last time it was powered up. When "cold" booting, it takes just under 20 seconds to boot from 0 to usable. Most things work exactly as you would expect them to, and they work well. For example, if listening to music, and your nav wants to say something, it will mute the music, say it's thing and return the music. Sounds simple, but if you read enough of these forums, you will see that not all of these units handle this properly.
as you can see from the above, my list of issues is longer than my list of praises, but that's because i don't bother praising things that work the way they are supposed to. overall, without knowing how it will handle extended use or how it will hold up to the heat inside the car, etc, etc, the unit seems good, and was the best option for what i wanted to do. my other options were the nex4200 and the jbl that's coming out in a month or two, since both of those are android auto... but android auto doesn't do waze, which is too bad.
if you do buy this one, i would buy from ownice directly (via aliexpress), a 1024x600 version cost me about $200, shipped for free and arrived 1 week from order date (actually less than a week).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..
FYI, Ownice C300 firmware and SystemOnChip files exactly the same as AC83XX units. Only difference is MainUI.apk and you can just install that file from another device, it will work (TESTED).
And root guide is here, rooting password is same -in the sbin/forfan file- almost same.

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