Android tablet as main head unit/sound system

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Today I finally got around to installing something I’ve wanted to do for a few years.

I now have a 4G/LTE Android tablet as my main sound system.

I have it play audio over bluetooth to a bluetooth enabled receiver and I have it setup so that it charges when the car is turned on (and automatically comes out of sleep mode and resumes my music) and when the car is off, it goes back to sleep in 15 seconds.

I also have it set up so that it connects to my dashcam so that I can view and play recorded files and even have live view (I have two dashcams, one facing forward and one backward so I technically also have a reverse cam now not that I really need one lol).

Plus, the receiver maintains my steering wheel controls and also allows my phone to connect to it so I retain hands free calling through my phone. When I get a call, it automatically pauses the bluetooth music and makes the phone the primary audio.

And of course, with the 4G/LTE, I’m now using Waze as my primary GPS/Nav system.

Next I’ll be getting an OBD2 bluetooth (or wifi) dongle and install torque for VAGCOM access through my tablet.

Pretty psyched!

#2

Very cool.

Any pics? How you liking it? Make sure you grab a Bluetooth dongle that auto-pairs. I found one on Amazon I can send you a link to if you need.

I’ve enjoyed the same feature with the iPad mini. I don’t know about android, but I’m sure there’s a way you can set it to turn on with power and off with power, then you just need to connect it to a switched power source. Or if ground loop is an issue you can do the reverse of that with a relay (but the ground loop shouldn’t be applicable to a Bluetooth connections, only wired connection).

Only down side is glare can sometimes be an issue due to the gloss screen and angle. Polarized glasses make the problem even worse. Thought about trying a matte screen protector but haven’t yet.

Anyhow, let’s see some pics!

#3

I’ll grab some pics at some point. As for the power, I don’t want the device to turn off completely as it would take longer to turn on. The way it’s set up now, the system is playing music within 5 seconds of turning the car on (and resumes from the last moment I turned the car off, just like the RNS-E).

#4

Nice!

I’ve had a Nexus 7 tablet installed in my dash for a little over a year now. Rooted it and loaded a custom ROM on it designed for use in cars called USBROM. It turns on and off with the switched power putting it in “deep sleep” when the car is off, and turns back on instantly where I left off. I just bluetooth the internet signal from my phone to it so I can use pandora/spotify/soundcloud. I also use the tasker app to automatically adjust the brightness to whatever time of day I set it to, and use it to auto start/stop certain features, like automatically turning the GPS on/off whether I have the GPS app open or not.

I didn’t want to hack up my wiring harness so I just route the audio through a cheap head unit in the glovebox and use an IR repeater to adjust the volume and switch sources with the remote.

Also, as far as using the torque pro app , this is what I use Works flawlessly, I use it all the time.

#5

This sounds neat. Do you guys have any pictures. Or more on how this works.

#6

where’s the internet from? Do you pair to your phone, or do you need to have a totally seperate data plan?

#7

Quick and dirty pic I took before going to bed last night. I could make the tablet flush but I would need to shave off a little more plastic behind the tablet and my wife was asleep and was already getting annoyed with all the dremel noise so I put that off until the weekend lol.

http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/Tablet_Head_Unit.jpg

#8

The tablet is LTE/4G enabled so I have a sim card in the tablet and added the tablet to my phone’s cellphone plan.

My old Dynavin would use my phone’s wifi hotspot but I was getting tired of having to enable my phone’s hotspot every time I got in the car. I know, it’s a small thing but now I don’t need to do anything. I turn the car on and drive away. Everything works without having to do a single thing.

#9

Sorry, I meant “sleep”. Not actually powering on and off. So when the power cycle changes due to ignition it will automatically wake up or go to sleep as you power off.

#10

The basic idea of how it works is as follows:

The tablet I’m using is this one: http://technicallywell.com/neutab-g7-7-inch-quad-core-tablet-review

I have a RNS-E Bose quad lock wiring harness (which also fixes the low rear volume inherent with our cars).

http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_SRWH_AUD3_HILO.html

I also have a plug and play harness for the bluetooth receiver from them.

The bluetooth receiver is a single DIN Pioneer DEH-X6800BT (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/CD-Receivers/DEH-X6800BT). It’s hidden behind the tablet.

This receiver can connect 2 bluetooth devices simultaneously and a 3rd “guest” device.

First bluetooth connection is from my tablet to the pioneer.
Second bluetooth connection is from my phone to the pioneer.

Music plays on the tablet to the pioneer and throughout the car.
If a phone call comes in on my phone, the pioneer automatically pauses the music playing and handles the call (hands-free).
I routed the pioneer’s mic to my sunshade (comes with a clip and everything).

I also bought the steering wheel control cable from enfig so that I can change the volume from my steering wheel (right side) and change music tracks (left side).

I also retain radio as the pioneer has FM/AM reception.

I have a USB plugged into the tablet. It’s routed to a socket/usb plug which itself is wired into the fuse box into a fuse that only has power when the car is turned on (something like this: http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/type-s-12v-two-socket-power-adapter-with-usb-0374501p.html#.VnLE8ZQ6_IU)

I switched the tablet to developer mode and turned on the function “never go to sleep when charging”. I then set the display timeout to 15 seconds.

So when I turn the car on, it starts charging the tablet and it automatically turns on. When I turn the car off, 15 seconds later, the tablet goes to sleep.

I have the blackvue dashcam app installed on the tablet and connect to the dashcam from the tablet via wifi and I can browse all the dashcam videos or display the dashcam’s live view.

The tablet has LTE/4G and GPS so I use Waze and/or Google Maps for navigation (Waze shows me where cops are hidden usually from other drivers and its navigation algorithm takes into account traffic and construction from other drivers so I usually use Waze).

The dashkit needed some minor alterations with a dremel to cut some pieces off for it to all fit. Nothing big. I also drilled a side hole to pass the USB cable through.

That’s about it.

#11

Nice Axel, thanks for the details. I want to do something like this so I can get this android application, YaV1, for my V1 working and useful in my car. I was going to rig up something with a spare nexus 5 on my dash, but your setup is a lot more appealing.

I’ll probly go with a nexus 7 since I have one sitting around and I think it will fit the same.

Can you provide the link for the “plug and play harness for the bluetooth receiver” you mentioned?

Also can you provide a link for the dash kit you used?

#12

The dashkit I used is this one: http://www.amazon.ca/Metra-99-9107B-Audi-A4-02/dp/B00325LP6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450366779&sr=8-1&keywords=Metra+99-9107B

As for the plug and play harness, it depends on which receiver you end up using. Their list is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiiVH_tmIUGYdHdVWi0wVUJIbjZCRF9GLVJqVkc3Umc&usp=sharing

Mine (for the pioneer) was: http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_PNP_PIO0233.html

I have to say that the Enfig products are top notch. I mistakenly ordered a generic harness off Amazon (and they sent me the wrong one to boot) and it was complete crap. The Enfig harnesses are strong and sturdy and work flawlessly. I wouldn’t recommend cheaping out on the harnesses.

#13

Nice write up!

edited to ask - how do you access the headunit behind?

#14

Thanks! Added to my cart :slight_smile:

#15

Thanks!

I don’t really need to access the head unit as everything is setup to just work when I start the car but if I ever did want to make some config changes to my audio profile for example, I just quickly pull the tablet out and pull it down a few inches and the single DIN receiver is there as it normally would. Pretty simple really.

#16

How much space do you have between the back of the tablet and the head unit?

I’m thinking the MVH-X380BT is a better choice since I don’t need CD functionality.
I’d like to optimize audio quality so bluetooth is out. I’m thinking I will run a USB-DAC off of a USB-OTG and input to the pioneer aux port. I will have to do something with a USB hub to get charging working. AOA via USB into the head unit might be the simpler option. I’m not sure how that works or if I will be able to just use it as a simple audio output.

#17

There’s very little space and I don’t need the CD option either and I would have liked to go with a device that wasn’t as deep but unfortunately, being in Canada, my options were very limited.

As for audio quality, the tablet I bought has lousy built in audio (both from its speakers as well as from its 3.5mm jack). All the reviews I read about it said that using a bluetooth receiver was the way to go and since that was my plan, I was ok with it. The bluetooth audio quality is surprisingly good. Better than the RNS-E. I didn’t want many cables either. I guess I could potentially have plugged the USB cable into the deck but I don’t think I would have had the room since the USB plug is on the front of the deck, not the back.

Overall, I’m very happy with it and don’t discount the bluetooth quality but yeah, if you can get one without the CD player and gain some room, maybe a USB cable is a good option too. I didn’t bother testing it as I didn’t have the room obviously.

#18

Looks like AOA 2.0 is the way to go for simplicity and maximizing audio quality. It will be one USB cable from the tablet to the head unit and it will charge the tablet.

This is what I have for a list:
pioneer MVH-X380BT - $69.99 from amazon
harness $99.99 http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_SRWH_AUD3_HILO.html
harness $9.99 http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_PNP_PIO0232.html
steering wheel control $9.99 http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_SWCL_PIO.html
mount kit $49.99 http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_RMK8_A4B67.html

Comes in at just over $240, pulling the trigger. Merry krampus to me.

#19

Nice! Let me know if you run into any trouble during the installation.

#20

so you can get a sim card for a device other than your phone? and they both work off the same data plan? Didn’t know that.

i.e. people with Audis with that newq system…they’re just running a duped sim that also uses their Rogers or Bell data plan?