Adding an Android "Carputer" to my 08 is250
11-09-18, 03:27 PM
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Adding an Android "Carputer" to my 08 is250
I've been wanting to add Android/Google Maps to my stereo for a time now to make breathe new life into my beloved is250 "Toni". Toni runs beautifully... but her maps are outdated and the lack of connectivity to my phone outside of a bluetooth music adapter is a bit of a downer. Toni needed an upgrade.
Initially, I was interested in getting an Chinese Android head unit off of Ebay, Amazon, or Aliexpress. I liked the idea of having a larger display, a capacitive touchscreen ect. However, I couldn't get over the downsides. According to forum reviews, the build quality, fit and finish was suspect on these units and the fact that there are issues still with the passenger airbag light being constantly lit killed this as an option. Further, the units advertised were only compatible with non-nav vehicles. Adding these would require rewiring the harness from nav to non-nav before installation. This lead me to the Grom Audio Vline2 units that integrated with my oem nav touchscreen. At $599, however, the cost made me hesitant on the Grom unit. Especially after reading the long thread on them in this forum (70+ pages?). What am I to do?
TLDR: Built my own "carputer" and plan to use a GVIF to integrate Android into the OEM nav/touchscreen.
My carputer consists of
The next step is to get the GFIV installed in my glove box to get the hdmi signal from my carputer and attach the resistive touch controller so that its all integrated into the oem nav/touchscreen. My carputer is put together and I have driven it around in Toni with a portable hdmi monitor attached and it is working out pretty great! The GPS works and I was able to navigate with google maps and use my phone as a wifi hot spot for data. The audio coming out of the tinkerboards built in 3.5mm audio sounds better than my blutooth receiver as well.
If any of you have recommendations on where to get the GVIF installed in San Francisco, please suggest!
Initially, I was interested in getting an Chinese Android head unit off of Ebay, Amazon, or Aliexpress. I liked the idea of having a larger display, a capacitive touchscreen ect. However, I couldn't get over the downsides. According to forum reviews, the build quality, fit and finish was suspect on these units and the fact that there are issues still with the passenger airbag light being constantly lit killed this as an option. Further, the units advertised were only compatible with non-nav vehicles. Adding these would require rewiring the harness from nav to non-nav before installation. This lead me to the Grom Audio Vline2 units that integrated with my oem nav touchscreen. At $599, however, the cost made me hesitant on the Grom unit. Especially after reading the long thread on them in this forum (70+ pages?). What am I to do?
TLDR: Built my own "carputer" and plan to use a GVIF to integrate Android into the OEM nav/touchscreen.
My carputer consists of
- An ASUS tinkerboard (Rockchip 3288 + 16gb emmc + 2 gigs of ram) running android 7.1 (built in wifi and bluetooth)
- A desktop case for the tinkerboard
- A USB GPS receiver
- A 4 wire touch to USB controller
- An HDMI to component converter
The next step is to get the GFIV installed in my glove box to get the hdmi signal from my carputer and attach the resistive touch controller so that its all integrated into the oem nav/touchscreen. My carputer is put together and I have driven it around in Toni with a portable hdmi monitor attached and it is working out pretty great! The GPS works and I was able to navigate with google maps and use my phone as a wifi hot spot for data. The audio coming out of the tinkerboards built in 3.5mm audio sounds better than my blutooth receiver as well.
If any of you have recommendations on where to get the GVIF installed in San Francisco, please suggest!
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