March 6, 2016 at 21:26Installing an Android tablet NEXUS 7 2013 instead of the radio in the Mazda MX-5 - part 1/2
Hello to the readers! With this article I will try to describe the whole way of installing a tablet on an android as a radio in a mazda MX5 car. Starting from the purchase of components and ending with the software part - in general, a complete complete set with a bunch of photos, videos and text. I did this work and tried to describe everything so that everyone could repeat it!
And you can have breakfast in traffic jams with YouTube
In this fascinating article, we will touch on ordering electronics from abroad, setting up unusual devices and car compatibility with a tablet, and setting up an android with scripts and a changed interface for living in a car.
Component selection
The basis of the project, of course, is the tablet. I chose the nexus 7 as it is quite reliable, functional and at the same time inexpensive tablet from a good brand. Next, you need to immediately decide where we will purchase a set for creating a multimedia system. As you know, there are a lot of options, but I opted for buying a tablet in Moscow, and accessories in Moscow and on ebay 50/50. In principle, everything can be found simply in Moscow, but some things on ebay are 2-3 times cheaper, and some in Moscow are very difficult to find.
Well, let's go on a specific list. This way I connected the nexus to the car:
Wow wow! It looks ugly, but now we simplify it all)
The video below shows all the components, their connection, as well as the installation and connection in the car!
Or you can read further in text form with pictures.
If you watched the video, you basically learned everything you need, you can scroll to the list of components with links and prices.
So, based on the diagram above, the lines along which power is supplied are marked in red, the devices are marked in gray and the wires and connectors are simply white. The green part is what we already have in the car without us.
In this diagram:
1. The nexus itself. Has a microusb slot for charging and connecting a USB hub as well as Bluetooth for wireless devices and sim for 4G Internet
2. Microusb splitter to USB (data) + microusb (power). It is necessary so that the tablet can be simultaneously charged from 5V power and use the USB OTG connector to connect external devices. Note that you need a special cable that says DATA + POWER and not every tablet can work with it correctly!
3. USB Hub for at least 4 ports with external power. External power is a prerequisite. It is desirable that one should be 5V (this is almost always the case)
4. Joycon EXR The module with which we will make the buttons on the steering wheel work
5. An external USB sound card with a 3.5mm jack output. You can do without it, but the sound quality and the absence of noise makes this thing useful
6. Jack - tulips for the transition from one wire to two pairs (so the wires are located in the car) + Tulips with bare wires on the other end
7. On-board power converter 12V to 5V needed for the tablet to charge. In the converter, the power output is already carefully designed in the form of USB sockets. We take the food again from the radio
8. The multimedia plug itself from Mazda. It is convenient to work with it, while not intruding into the wiring of the car, and in general the system is replaced back with a regular player in 10 minutes!
9. Optional ODBII Bluetooth adapter for receiving information from the vehicle's on-board computer. There is a special software on android that can work with it
10. Just a 128GB flash drive
11. 2DIN frame for tablet installation
12. EasyCap video capture device for receiving signal from the rear view
camera 13. Reversing camera connected to the reversing light
All components assembled
Please note the important point - the focus with the tablet will pass only if you have an audio amplifier in the car. Very often, budget audio systems as well as most ordinary external radio tape recorders contain a built-in amplifier. Thus, removing the radio and amplifier from the car, we will leave only speakers with wires - of course, the tablet is not able to provide them with the necessary power. In this case, you definitely need to buy an external audio amplifier! Its price and configuration will depend on the particular car, but in some simple version you will only need a two-channel amplifier (stereo) to which you connect your speakers.
Let's go through the prices and places of purchase
Again, based on the scheme
! During the preparation of the article, prices became not relevant and some links might not be working. I will try to fix it soon
1. Nexus 7 2013 32gb lte - this is the maximum version of the nexus tablet at the time of writing. It costs 12-13 thousand rubles in Moscow. You can save by taking the version without LTE - it will be 3 thousand cheaper. Or take a second-hand (I did so) for 9-10 thousand rubles.
2. USB-Y-OTG wire - 160 rubles with ebay with delivery. Pay attention to the microusb corner connector - this is very important, there is no place for a direct connector! www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-USB-Host-OTG-Cable-With-USB-Power-For-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-i9220-Brand-new-/261559225174 ?
3. USB HUB - anyone with external power is suitable, for example www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0209249 - 300 rubles
4. Joycon exr - in order to make buttons on the steering wheel. You can’t buy it in Russia, on ebay it’s quite - www.ebay.com/itm/CarPC-JoyCon-Exr-Steering-wheel-controls-USB-interface-/221286412466?pt=Keyboard_Mice_Bundles&hash=item3385b2b0b2 - with delivery 2100 rubles
5. External Sound card Hifimediy Saber. I repeat - this is not a required component. www.ebay.com/itm/131196141440?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - 2100 rubles with delivery
6. Any wires - we need these:
a. Jack 3.5mm - 2xRCA - www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0209397170 rub If you do not buy a sound card, look for a cable with a JACK connector at an angle of 90 degrees!
b. 2xRCA - wires for connecting to the radio connector. It is unlikely that you will find an option directly with bare wires, but you can gut one such as www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0242152 - 130 rubles
c. You may need an adapter to RCA - www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0153396 - 50 rubles per pair
7. Power converter. You can use the usual USB charging from the cigarette lighter, but I recommend taking something more serious and not have problems later. For example www.chipdip.ru/product/sd-25a-5- Mean Well SD-25A-5. This is a serious converter with 5V 5A output and output voltage regulation. This is a useful feature since For a high-quality tablet charge, I had to tighten the output voltage from 5 to 5.7V - 1600 rubles
8. I’m not sure that you can buy it in Moscow. I didn’t even see it on ebay - only Amazon - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030N2XJU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - costs 300 rubles
9. Wireless ODBII scanner. Surprisingly - previously wired cost from 3000 rubles, and now you can buy wireless for 300 rubles - www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-VGate-Scan-ELM327-Bluetooth-OBD2-V1-5-OBDII-Auto-Torque-Scanner- L5RG- / 201125806332? Hash = item2ed40840fc & item = 201125806332 & pt = Motors_Automotive_Tools & vxp = mtr
10. I bought it simply because it came to hand for cheap - www.dx.com/p/kingston-digital-128gb-usb-3-0-datatraveler-mini-emerald-dtm30-128gb-852337126#.VDU8Myl_t4h - 2400 rub
11 . Facia 2DIN - www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-METRA-99-7519B-SINGLE-DOUBLE-DIN-INSTALLATION-DASH-KIT-FOR-2010-MAZDA-MIATA-/181474044303?pt=US_Car_Audio_Video_Dashboard_Installation_Kits&hash=item2a40b2298f - 2000 rubles with delivery. In general, you can find cheaper - for 700 rubles. In Moscow, you can buy for 1500 if you search
12. EasyCap costs about 700-1000 rubles in Moscow, 300 rubles on ebay with delivery www.ebay.com/itm/141320692656?_trksid=p2060778 .m2749.l2649 & ssPageName = STRK% 3AMEBIDX% 3AIT
13. A camera in Moscow 1000-1500 rubles a lot where you can buy, I chose on ebay one of those rather expensive - www.ebay.com/itm/161333210368?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - 800 rubles with delivery
Total we get: about 25 thousand rubles for a full stuffing.
Budget option: nexus 7 2012 3G (6000 rubles), without an external sound card, without a 128GB flash drive, without a reverse camera, the rest is left = 11 thousand rubles. As you can see, there is room to save - you want to choose the very stuffing or just a working base system. Many things can be abandoned at the beginning by buying them later, if desired. The only thing I can’t save on anyway is the tablet - the screen of the 2013 model is brighter and it works faster. And the power converter - 1600 seems a lot, but in fact it is the price of two Chinese cigarette lighter adapters.
Having finished with the purchase, we begin to build. Most of the connection and configuration work can be done right at home.
Due to the fact that we thought everything out in advance, now we don’t need to frantically run around the shops buying unexpectedly very necessary spare parts or soldering everything to the right and left. Everything is connected beautifully and accurately with us, just like a designer for adults.
We neatly solder the connection between the tulips and the auto connector (well, or squeeze a special connector)
We need these four wires:
Everything, from now on we have conditionally working music in the car. Imagine how simple it is)
Now the power, starting from the microusb connector in the tablet
• Angular microusb
• Y Data + power microusb + usb
cable • USB - Microusb cable
• 12V-5V converter with USB at the end
• Auto connector wiring
To get power, we take the wires on which the power appears when the key is turned to the ACC position. We
carefully solder and isolate well (there is 15A yeah, snot from the wires are not recommended)
What is wonderful about these power wires is that they are de-energized when the key is removed from the ignition switch, which gives you two important advantages. Firstly, it’s safe - our entire hand-made system is not energized when we leave the car. Moreover, the shutdown is done at the level of the car’s brains, which means it is reliable and does not depend on our curvature. Secondly, we get two very important events in the life of the tablet “power supply” - “power failure” - based on these events we will create a simple script that will turn off the screen and stop playing music when the key is removed and start everything back when we insert key and start the car. Well, everything is just like an adult tape recorder!
Further, if we want to connect the buttons on the steering wheel directly to the tablet (what progress has made!), We need to plug the CarPC JoyCon EXR into our free USB connector remaining on the Y cable that sticks out of the tablet. It is powered by USB and does not require separate power. But you need to connect the following wires to it, which we take again from the auto connector. About its configuration will be in the next part (in general, there is nothing very complicated).
We will connect the Bluetooth ODBII adapter directly to the car, as my house (most likely like yours) is not equipped with such connectors))
Now that we have tried to connect everything, we need to fix the tablet in a 2din frame. This can be done in many ways, I chose this. The most important thing is that the tablet does not hang in the frame and does not bend at the touch of a finger, otherwise you will get terrible impressions from working with it.
Installation in a car, connecting all components.
So we brought all our good to our favorite car. First you need to remove the standard multimedia system. By the way, if you have favorite disks in it - do not forget to remove it) And then minus 6 disks in the collection ... although who needs them now, we have a super-tablet-mafon!
Removing the system is not very difficult. Remove the side plugs and unscrew the screw on the sides. Gently, but persistently pull the frame towards you. Disconnect the wiring. Pull further taking it out. We rearrange the climate block in a new frame. We connect the wiring chip (how simple it is, if done in advance). Put the frame in place. If everything is done correctly at all stages before that - turning on the car make sure that.
• The tablet is charging
• The sound playing on the tablet is heard on the speakers
That's all, congratulations, this is the basic option, but nevertheless you have a working adnroid tablet instead of the radio! You can listen to the music, make routes with traffic jams, watch movies, play toys and surf the Internet from this wonderful device. It is always charged and ready to go.
In the second and final part:
- Connecting to a tablet and setting all the buttons from the steering wheel
- Connecting the ODBII bluetooth adapter and removing-displaying information from the car computer
- Installing special firmware for the car
- Setting up “smart auto” through the Tasker (this is like a smart home, only a car)
- Installing the rear camera kind (maybe)
And you can have breakfast in traffic jams with YouTube
In this fascinating article, we will touch on ordering electronics from abroad, setting up unusual devices and car compatibility with a tablet, and setting up an android with scripts and a changed interface for living in a car.
Component selection
The basis of the project, of course, is the tablet. I chose the nexus 7 as it is quite reliable, functional and at the same time inexpensive tablet from a good brand. Next, you need to immediately decide where we will purchase a set for creating a multimedia system. As you know, there are a lot of options, but I opted for buying a tablet in Moscow, and accessories in Moscow and on ebay 50/50. In principle, everything can be found simply in Moscow, but some things on ebay are 2-3 times cheaper, and some in Moscow are very difficult to find.
Well, let's go on a specific list. This way I connected the nexus to the car:
Wow wow! It looks ugly, but now we simplify it all)
The video below shows all the components, their connection, as well as the installation and connection in the car!
Or you can read further in text form with pictures.
If you watched the video, you basically learned everything you need, you can scroll to the list of components with links and prices.
So, based on the diagram above, the lines along which power is supplied are marked in red, the devices are marked in gray and the wires and connectors are simply white. The green part is what we already have in the car without us.
In this diagram:
1. The nexus itself. Has a microusb slot for charging and connecting a USB hub as well as Bluetooth for wireless devices and sim for 4G Internet
2. Microusb splitter to USB (data) + microusb (power). It is necessary so that the tablet can be simultaneously charged from 5V power and use the USB OTG connector to connect external devices. Note that you need a special cable that says DATA + POWER and not every tablet can work with it correctly!
3. USB Hub for at least 4 ports with external power. External power is a prerequisite. It is desirable that one should be 5V (this is almost always the case)
4. Joycon EXR The module with which we will make the buttons on the steering wheel work
5. An external USB sound card with a 3.5mm jack output. You can do without it, but the sound quality and the absence of noise makes this thing useful
6. Jack - tulips for the transition from one wire to two pairs (so the wires are located in the car) + Tulips with bare wires on the other end
7. On-board power converter 12V to 5V needed for the tablet to charge. In the converter, the power output is already carefully designed in the form of USB sockets. We take the food again from the radio
8. The multimedia plug itself from Mazda. It is convenient to work with it, while not intruding into the wiring of the car, and in general the system is replaced back with a regular player in 10 minutes!
9. Optional ODBII Bluetooth adapter for receiving information from the vehicle's on-board computer. There is a special software on android that can work with it
10. Just a 128GB flash drive
11. 2DIN frame for tablet installation
12. EasyCap video capture device for receiving signal from the rear view
camera 13. Reversing camera connected to the reversing light
All components assembled
Please note the important point - the focus with the tablet will pass only if you have an audio amplifier in the car. Very often, budget audio systems as well as most ordinary external radio tape recorders contain a built-in amplifier. Thus, removing the radio and amplifier from the car, we will leave only speakers with wires - of course, the tablet is not able to provide them with the necessary power. In this case, you definitely need to buy an external audio amplifier! Its price and configuration will depend on the particular car, but in some simple version you will only need a two-channel amplifier (stereo) to which you connect your speakers.
Let's go through the prices and places of purchase
Again, based on the scheme
! During the preparation of the article, prices became not relevant and some links might not be working. I will try to fix it soon
1. Nexus 7 2013 32gb lte - this is the maximum version of the nexus tablet at the time of writing. It costs 12-13 thousand rubles in Moscow. You can save by taking the version without LTE - it will be 3 thousand cheaper. Or take a second-hand (I did so) for 9-10 thousand rubles.
2. USB-Y-OTG wire - 160 rubles with ebay with delivery. Pay attention to the microusb corner connector - this is very important, there is no place for a direct connector! www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-USB-Host-OTG-Cable-With-USB-Power-For-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-i9220-Brand-new-/261559225174 ?
3. USB HUB - anyone with external power is suitable, for example www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0209249 - 300 rubles
4. Joycon exr - in order to make buttons on the steering wheel. You can’t buy it in Russia, on ebay it’s quite - www.ebay.com/itm/CarPC-JoyCon-Exr-Steering-wheel-controls-USB-interface-/221286412466?pt=Keyboard_Mice_Bundles&hash=item3385b2b0b2 - with delivery 2100 rubles
5. External Sound card Hifimediy Saber. I repeat - this is not a required component. www.ebay.com/itm/131196141440?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - 2100 rubles with delivery
6. Any wires - we need these:
a. Jack 3.5mm - 2xRCA - www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0209397170 rub If you do not buy a sound card, look for a cable with a JACK connector at an angle of 90 degrees!
b. 2xRCA - wires for connecting to the radio connector. It is unlikely that you will find an option directly with bare wires, but you can gut one such as www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0242152 - 130 rubles
c. You may need an adapter to RCA - www.oldi.ru/catalog/element/0153396 - 50 rubles per pair
7. Power converter. You can use the usual USB charging from the cigarette lighter, but I recommend taking something more serious and not have problems later. For example www.chipdip.ru/product/sd-25a-5- Mean Well SD-25A-5. This is a serious converter with 5V 5A output and output voltage regulation. This is a useful feature since For a high-quality tablet charge, I had to tighten the output voltage from 5 to 5.7V - 1600 rubles
8. I’m not sure that you can buy it in Moscow. I didn’t even see it on ebay - only Amazon - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030N2XJU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - costs 300 rubles
9. Wireless ODBII scanner. Surprisingly - previously wired cost from 3000 rubles, and now you can buy wireless for 300 rubles - www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-VGate-Scan-ELM327-Bluetooth-OBD2-V1-5-OBDII-Auto-Torque-Scanner- L5RG- / 201125806332? Hash = item2ed40840fc & item = 201125806332 & pt = Motors_Automotive_Tools & vxp = mtr
10. I bought it simply because it came to hand for cheap - www.dx.com/p/kingston-digital-128gb-usb-3-0-datatraveler-mini-emerald-dtm30-128gb-852337126#.VDU8Myl_t4h - 2400 rub
11 . Facia 2DIN - www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-METRA-99-7519B-SINGLE-DOUBLE-DIN-INSTALLATION-DASH-KIT-FOR-2010-MAZDA-MIATA-/181474044303?pt=US_Car_Audio_Video_Dashboard_Installation_Kits&hash=item2a40b2298f - 2000 rubles with delivery. In general, you can find cheaper - for 700 rubles. In Moscow, you can buy for 1500 if you search
12. EasyCap costs about 700-1000 rubles in Moscow, 300 rubles on ebay with delivery www.ebay.com/itm/141320692656?_trksid=p2060778 .m2749.l2649 & ssPageName = STRK% 3AMEBIDX% 3AIT
13. A camera in Moscow 1000-1500 rubles a lot where you can buy, I chose on ebay one of those rather expensive - www.ebay.com/itm/161333210368?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - 800 rubles with delivery
Total we get: about 25 thousand rubles for a full stuffing.
Budget option: nexus 7 2012 3G (6000 rubles), without an external sound card, without a 128GB flash drive, without a reverse camera, the rest is left = 11 thousand rubles. As you can see, there is room to save - you want to choose the very stuffing or just a working base system. Many things can be abandoned at the beginning by buying them later, if desired. The only thing I can’t save on anyway is the tablet - the screen of the 2013 model is brighter and it works faster. And the power converter - 1600 seems a lot, but in fact it is the price of two Chinese cigarette lighter adapters.
Having finished with the purchase, we begin to build. Most of the connection and configuration work can be done right at home.
Due to the fact that we thought everything out in advance, now we don’t need to frantically run around the shops buying unexpectedly very necessary spare parts or soldering everything to the right and left. Everything is connected beautifully and accurately with us, just like a designer for adults.
We neatly solder the connection between the tulips and the auto connector (well, or squeeze a special connector)
We need these four wires:
Everything, from now on we have conditionally working music in the car. Imagine how simple it is)
Now the power, starting from the microusb connector in the tablet
• Angular microusb
• Y Data + power microusb + usb
cable • USB - Microusb cable
• 12V-5V converter with USB at the end
• Auto connector wiring
To get power, we take the wires on which the power appears when the key is turned to the ACC position. We
carefully solder and isolate well (there is 15A yeah, snot from the wires are not recommended)
What is wonderful about these power wires is that they are de-energized when the key is removed from the ignition switch, which gives you two important advantages. Firstly, it’s safe - our entire hand-made system is not energized when we leave the car. Moreover, the shutdown is done at the level of the car’s brains, which means it is reliable and does not depend on our curvature. Secondly, we get two very important events in the life of the tablet “power supply” - “power failure” - based on these events we will create a simple script that will turn off the screen and stop playing music when the key is removed and start everything back when we insert key and start the car. Well, everything is just like an adult tape recorder!
Further, if we want to connect the buttons on the steering wheel directly to the tablet (what progress has made!), We need to plug the CarPC JoyCon EXR into our free USB connector remaining on the Y cable that sticks out of the tablet. It is powered by USB and does not require separate power. But you need to connect the following wires to it, which we take again from the auto connector. About its configuration will be in the next part (in general, there is nothing very complicated).
We will connect the Bluetooth ODBII adapter directly to the car, as my house (most likely like yours) is not equipped with such connectors))
Now that we have tried to connect everything, we need to fix the tablet in a 2din frame. This can be done in many ways, I chose this. The most important thing is that the tablet does not hang in the frame and does not bend at the touch of a finger, otherwise you will get terrible impressions from working with it.
Installation in a car, connecting all components.
So we brought all our good to our favorite car. First you need to remove the standard multimedia system. By the way, if you have favorite disks in it - do not forget to remove it) And then minus 6 disks in the collection ... although who needs them now, we have a super-tablet-mafon!
Removing the system is not very difficult. Remove the side plugs and unscrew the screw on the sides. Gently, but persistently pull the frame towards you. Disconnect the wiring. Pull further taking it out. We rearrange the climate block in a new frame. We connect the wiring chip (how simple it is, if done in advance). Put the frame in place. If everything is done correctly at all stages before that - turning on the car make sure that.
• The tablet is charging
• The sound playing on the tablet is heard on the speakers
That's all, congratulations, this is the basic option, but nevertheless you have a working adnroid tablet instead of the radio! You can listen to the music, make routes with traffic jams, watch movies, play toys and surf the Internet from this wonderful device. It is always charged and ready to go.
In the second and final part:
- Connecting to a tablet and setting all the buttons from the steering wheel
- Connecting the ODBII bluetooth adapter and removing-displaying information from the car computer
- Installing special firmware for the car
- Setting up “smart auto” through the Tasker (this is like a smart home, only a car)
- Installing the rear camera kind (maybe)