How to use tablet for head unit?

[ShaneSauce 2]

The only dash kits for my car are ugly as hell and are known for malfunctioning. I would like to use a tablet as a "head unit".

Is there any way I could use a 3.5mm audio jack to a split RCA to get a signal to a sub amplifier and a 2 channel amplifier?

 

My stock system sucks and doesn't feature usb and I don't feel like tapping into my speakers with a line output converter.

 

 

 

 

[///M5 2,833]

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

[basshead7890 128]

I have a Clarion EQS746 and it has an aux input. So I just use a 3.5mm to rca from my tablet  to it, then from the Clarion to the amps.

[nadcicle 77]

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

 

I could only dream of my Kenwood 9990 being that fast. I have been looking in to turning my hp touchpad into a headunit running through minidsp's as there is a OTG hack out for it and I don't use the thing enough to not think about hacking it apart. 10 seconds is extremely fast and something I envy especially since after a double tie in db drag I had recently where i found myself fumbling and just about lost because my headunit took forever to come back up. 

[///M5 2,833]

Playing music off internal memory it restores in 3 seconds. Just takes a bit to re-initialize the external drive.

[///M5 2,833]

I am using a 2012 (not new) Nexus 7 as I don't think the new one has been hacked yet.

Here is as far as I've gotten. Just my home screen. The Icons will change. Words bring you to the common use for the action and the icon to a sub-folder with the rest. - and + on the bottom are volume control that stay on the Navigation bar of the tablet no matter what screen you are on.

Playing with integration to the steering wheel controls this week.

[nadcicle 77]

Impressive. I never find the time for myself anymore, but this is definitely motivating. Thanks for sharing that. 

[BigGuy 22]

I'm assuming the same principals would work for an iPad?

[lithium 358]

I'm assuming the same principals would work for an iPad?

not necessarily. I dont think m5 could do what he's planning with an ipad. software stuff. but if you just want to use gps and play music than an ipad would be fine. 

[ShaneSauce 2]

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

 

What is OTG? My goal is to play music and use the tablet as a GPS and maybe tether it to my phone for internet radio etc.

 

I have seen the dash docks with the charger/usb built in and I am assuming they are using USB for signal to the amplifiers? Will I need a line driver?

 

edit: If I want to run 3 rca outputs to a 4 channel and a subwoofer channel what would be the best route without degrading sound quality a ton? Some type of rca crossover? I would think a device with 1 rca in and 3 or 4 rca out would be perfect.

Edited October 1, 2013 by ShaneSauce

[///M5 2,833]

I'm assuming the same principals would work for an iPad?

nope. IPad is a proprietary locked piece of shit, absolutely useless.

[///M5 2,833]

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

 

What is OTG? My goal is to play music and use the tablet as a GPS and maybe tether it to my phone for internet radio etc.

 

I have seen the dash docks with the charger/usb built in and I am assuming they are using USB for signal to the amplifiers? Will I need a line driver?

 

edit: If I want to run 3 rca outputs to a 4 channel and a subwoofer channel what would be the best route without degrading sound quality a ton? Some type of rca crossover? I would think a device with 1 rca in and 3 or 4 rca out would be perfect.

on the go. If you want to do what you are doing you will either need to root and use a custom Rom or deal with battery power. Plugging in a yen source and charging is not part of android. Of course the isuck products don't even have a port so they really won't work.

[ShaneSauce 2]

 

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

 

What is OTG? My goal is to play music and use the tablet as a GPS and maybe tether it to my phone for internet radio etc.

 

I have seen the dash docks with the charger/usb built in and I am assuming they are using USB for signal to the amplifiers? Will I need a line driver?

 

edit: If I want to run 3 rca outputs to a 4 channel and a subwoofer channel what would be the best route without degrading sound quality a ton? Some type of rca crossover? I would think a device with 1 rca in and 3 or 4 rca out would be perfect.

on the go. If you want to do what you are doing you will either need to root and use a custom Rom or deal with battery power. Plugging in a yen source and charging is not part of android. Of course the isuck products don't even have a port so they really won't work.

 

Alright, so lets say I decide to use the audio jack and when I am charging the device it won't play music as well?

 

I don't have any problems rooting a device I just don't quite understand why I would need to,

[lithium 358]

 

 

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

 

What is OTG? My goal is to play music and use the tablet as a GPS and maybe tether it to my phone for internet radio etc.

 

I have seen the dash docks with the charger/usb built in and I am assuming they are using USB for signal to the amplifiers? Will I need a line driver?

 

edit: If I want to run 3 rca outputs to a 4 channel and a subwoofer channel what would be the best route without degrading sound quality a ton? Some type of rca crossover? I would think a device with 1 rca in and 3 or 4 rca out would be perfect.

on the go. If you want to do what you are doing you will either need to root and use a custom Rom or deal with battery power. Plugging in a yen source and charging is not part of android. Of course the isuck products don't even have a port so they really won't work.

 

Alright, so lets say I decide to use the audio jack and when I am charging the device it won't play music as well?

 

I don't have any problems rooting a device I just don't quite understand why I would need to,

it depends what you're trying to do with it.

[///M5 2,833]

You can. It is also possible to hack a Nexus 7 such that it charges and runs a USB hub. This would allow you to use a USB D/A converter to drive the amplifiers. That gets a bit involved. I'll post a write up on how probably sometime in January though.

If you choose to use another tablet you will NOT be able to charge and use OTG. As far as I know there are no other options on the market. I didn't look into doing the same with the Raspberry PI which is most likely not an issue, but in that case the resume from sleep may be the slow portion. The Nexus 7 I am playing with resumes in about 3 seconds and has the drives playing music within 10.

 

What is OTG? My goal is to play music and use the tablet as a GPS and maybe tether it to my phone for internet radio etc.

 

I have seen the dash docks with the charger/usb built in and I am assuming they are using USB for signal to the amplifiers? Will I need a line driver?

 

edit: If I want to run 3 rca outputs to a 4 channel and a subwoofer channel what would be the best route without degrading sound quality a ton? Some type of rca crossover? I would think a device with 1 rca in and 3 or 4 rca out would be perfect.

on the go. If you want to do what you are doing you will either need to root and use a custom Rom or deal with battery power. Plugging in a yen source and charging is not part of android. Of course the isuck products don't even have a port so they really won't work.

 

Alright, so lets say I decide to use the audio jack and when I am charging the device it won't play music as well?

 

I don't have any problems rooting a device I just don't quite understand why I would need to,

Depending on the tablet the audio jack may not make you very happy. You will definitely need a line driver as well.

Then yes, it could charge and play at the same time. You may run into charging problems though as the screen, gps and audio output may pull more voltage than you can take in on a charge meaning you are constantly discharging as you drive.

You should really take a step back and decide what you want it to do. GPS, tether, music, internet....as the list grows the needs for integration become more cloudy and necessary at the same time.

Do you already have a tablet? If so, what is it?

[ShaneSauce 2]

Sorry, I didn't mean to make this confusing. As a daily driver the main thing I would be draining the tablet battery from would be music. I wouldn't need a gps daily and maybe use the internet when I pull up to work a few minutes early.

 

I was looking at the new galaxy tabs and of course the google tablet. I just need something to source my music that I can leave in the car and is always hooked up, getting in the car and then finding the aux cable for my phone is a pain, and then hooking it up and selecting music all while I am expecting calls and then I have to disconnect the phone and it is just a pain in the neck.

[///M5 2,833]

No worries, I was typing from a tab as well. Sorry for the short response.

You "can" just use a normal tab in a docking station. Then use the car power to hopefully keep it charged. I say hopefully as my Gal Tab is easily overwhelmed by activity causing the power to go down even when plugged in.

You are also going to be balancing some rather long boot times. To me that isn't acceptable. If my backup camera doesn't work as I leave the garage then I'm bummed. So much so I am probably going to relay mine such that it fires the relay to turn things on when I get close to the car (via RFID). Most tabs take a minute or two to turn on, custom ROMS can get that down into seconds but I am still impatient.

The more you write down really what it MUST do the better you will be prepared. Being aware of the limitations will save a lot of hassle. My first h/u was just a Samsung Tab 2. It was for my boat, which for that is "okay" but I have some frustrations regarding battery, internet syncing, interacting with my hard drive and such. The audio output from the jack is also not stellar.

If you buy the wrong the tab then you can't ever get around some of those concerns.