My Nexus 7 2nd Gen (2013) install

[Monkey]

I have wanted a Nexus tablet in my car since I bought it almost 2 years ago and have posted many comments in other threads, so I'm going to keep it relatively short.

Equipment:

2nd Gen (2013) Asus Nexus 7 wifi tablet - $270
Timur's 2013 kernal - $30
12v --> 5v USB dual charger - $5
USB y-cable - $5
Behringer UCA202 DAC (digital USB soundcard) - $40
[04+ Legacy] Double DIN console Panel (~AU$250 delivered)- http://www.avojdm.com/product_info.php?products_id=108


Software:
Car Dashdroid (launder, GPS speed, etc) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... roid&hl=en
Rocketplayer (music) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ayer&hl=en
TabletTalk (phone to tablet calls, $3.43) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... talk&hl=en
Wifi Transfer Pro (for getting music onto your tablet, $1.33) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... rpro&hl=en
Tethering widget (for quick access to activate 3g hotspot) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... royo&hl=en
TuneIn (for music) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ayer&hl=en
Torque Pro (car temps, speed, boost and all other data, $4.95) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... rque&hl=en

After trying many power combinations, including a US-sourced Scosche Revolt 12w + 12v USB charger, I found that what worked best for me was a $5 Ebay 2.1A + 1A charger. For some reason the Revolt, which has dual 2.4A USB outputs, actually prevented proper shutdown

Apparently the 2013 Nexus has a much more efficient charging process than the 2012 version, so it doesn't require a fancy power source. I've been running mine off the abovementioned charger for about 6 weeks with no issues. It usually sits at 100% charge, the only exception to that being when I forget to shut down Torque or Car Dashdroid which prevents proper hibernation.

OUTSTANDING ISSUES:

If you decide to open up the 2013 version to relocate the charging and 3.5mm stereo jacks, it does not contain ribbon cables, so you can't glue to the back of the tablet case as others have done. The result is that I have a micro USB plug in the side which is preventing proper operation of the centre air vents.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this - you maintain a relatively stock look, have significantly enhanced sound over radio or CD; as well as heaps of music at your fingertips, GPS, maps, diagnostics and ECU data, etc

Any questions, please ask!

IMAG2693.jpg (117.18 KiB) Viewed 8714 times

[T_double_U]

Very clean install there mate, Have put this on my to do list.

[phly]

nice to finally see your install mate, great work.

in regards to the mini usb plug blocking the vents, one of the guys in the other thread suggested removing the thick insulation from the connector. i gave it a go cutting it with a craft knife and it makes it significantly thinner. afterwards i just wrapped the connector with a layer of black plastic tape for insulation. i was kinda worried about damaging the connector and possibly causing short circuits or something but at the moment the plug still works like normal.

with one layer of tape its thin enough to fit between the up-down and side-side vents to allow decent movement of the vent. if its not enough i was going to file down the one up-down vent fin where the connector runs across.

[Jackson1]

Does anybody know if you can do the install using the stock gps facia??

[Monkey]

Nah it's a smaller opening.
And the vents on the modified fascia are narrower by about 1cm on each side.
I bought a used cubby & centre vents and tried to cut it down with a dremel to fit the Nexus (7" tablet) in, but the whole thing fell apart as I needed to cut into the vents and the structural integrity was too compromised.
Of course, if you used a 6" tablet (maybe Galaxy Note?) that might work with the GPS fascia.

[Jackson1]

Bugger! What a pain in the ass!... and the wallet :'( that pretty much doubles the cost for everything :')
how long did it take for your fascia to arrive from japan??

[Monkey]

Pretty quick - it was $250 delivered, and I think took only a week.

EDIT: Ordered 29/12/14, arrived 10/1/15. Pretty good considering this was over Xmas/NY period.

[TwistdInfinity]

This is really cool man, love it!

[stanysurfer]

Looks the goods! Good work!
How hard was the install, how long did it take you, do you need to do much soldering and electrical work?
Does the tablet support iphone 6?
Cheers

[Monkey]

Cheers guys

stanysurfer, the install itself was not hard - no soldering or electrical work. Mine is simply powered by a cig lighter plug to USB charge cable.
The biggest challenge is rooting the Nexus and adding Timur's kernal, then concealing the wires and getting it to sit in the right place correctly. Mine's still not properly affixed to the bracket and has been padded out behind to sit flush against the dash AV panel. Actual install time is probably less than 1hr once you know what you're doing, but I spent hours and hours researching and then more time with trial and error trying to mount it to the included metal bracket (which comes with the AV panel set) using neodynium magnets - the magnets held, but the superglue between the magnets and Nexus casing didn't (magnets were too strong). I had to pad it out from behind by about 1cm as mounting directly to the included bracket would leave the tablet too far recessed and not flush. So technically it's still not finished, but given everything has been holding in place for a few months now, it's fine.

re: iPhone - no idea - never owned an Apple product, and not sure what you mean?
As in, would an iPhone communicate with an Android dash install? The only thing you need your phone for is a wireless hotspot (assuming you have a wifi-only tablet or not using a 3g/4g data sim in the tablet) which I assume Apple can do.
If you mean could you install an iPhone 6 in place of an Android tablet in your dash, I guess you could but given Android devices are cheaper and more flexible in terms of what they can do, this wouldn't make sense.

The genuine brushed aluminium STI badge I added ($40) was a bit pricey for what it is, but I think finishes it off nicely as it matches with other trim.

[stanysurfer]

Cheers guys

stanysurfer, the install itself was not hard - no soldering or electrical work. Mine is simply powered by a cig lighter plug to USB charge cable.
The biggest challenge is rooting the Nexus and adding Timur's kernal, then concealing the wires and getting it to sit in the right place correctly. Mine's still not properly affixed to the bracket and has been padded out behind to sit flush against the dash AV panel. Actual install time is probably less than 1hr once you know what you're doing, but I spent hours and hours researching and then more time with trial and error trying to mount it to the included metal bracket (which comes with the AV panel set) using neodynium magnets - the magnets held, but the superglue between the magnets and Nexus casing didn't (magnets were too strong). I had to pad it out from behind by about 1cm as mounting directly to the included bracket would leave the tablet too far recessed and not flush. So technically it's still not finished, but given everything has been holding in place for a few months now, it's fine.

re: iPhone - no idea - never owned an Apple product, and not sure what you mean?
As in, would an iPhone communicate with an Android dash install? The only thing you need your phone for is a wireless hotspot (assuming you have a wifi-only tablet or not using a 3g/4g data sim in the tablet) which I assume Apple can do.
If you mean could you install an iPhone 6 in place of an Android tablet in your dash, I guess you could but given Android devices are cheaper and more flexible in terms of what they can do, this wouldn't make sense.

The genuine brushed aluminium STI badge I added ($40) was a bit pricey for what it is, but I think finishes it off nicely as it matches with other trim.

Ah no soldering at all, that is a bonus! Sounds abit easier than I originally though! Why is rooting the nexus and adding Timur's kernal hard? Do you need to be IT minded?
Just wanted the iphone to be able to sync with the nexus for doing a hands free kind of thing and sending information to it, but thats no big deal!
Once I work out what car I am going to go for I will def be doing this! Might just keep the specb! Thanks for your help mate!
Cheers

[Monkey]

I consider myself to have high-to-advanced IT skills, and I found rooting it and adding the new kernal to be one of the most complex things I've ever done.
That said, I have very limited programming knowledge and zero Linux knowledge. the problem, I think, is that most guides are written for people with an advanced level of understanding already and much of the terminology is quite foreign to a non-Linux person. It probably takes 1hr if you know what you're doing, and I imagine you should be able to find someone who will do it for you for $50 if you're not confident.

As far as I know, the only way to get handsfree calling on the tablet via your phone is with an app like TabletTalk, which I don't think is a perfect solution anyway unless you use in conjunction with Tasker as it requires a BT/wifi sync each time. And in my experience it's less convenient than dialing from the phone and using the loudspeaker, and you would need to find a way to make it work with a USB mic to work properly (the tablet mic is concealed behind the AV panel and doesn't pick up enough sound to be reliable). Moreover, it's unlikely Tablettalk (or any other Android app) is going to work in conjunction with an iPhone to make calls IMO. However, I'm certainly no expert and stand to be corrected.

If you set up Gmail on your iphone, your calendar and contacts should sync between your phone and tablet.

[stanysurfer]

I consider myself to have high-to-advanced IT skills, and I found rooting it and adding the new kernal to be one of the most complex things I've ever done.
That said, I have very limited programming knowledge and zero Linux knowledge. the problem, I think, is that most guides are written for people with an advanced level of understanding already and much of the terminology is quite foreign to a non-Linux person. It probably takes 1hr if you know what you're doing, and I imagine you should be able to find someone who will do it for you for $50 if you're not confident.

As far as I know, the only way to get handsfree calling on the tablet via your phone is with an app like TabletTalk, which I don't think is a perfect solution anyway unless you use in conjunction with Tasker as it requires a BT/wifi sync each time. And in my experience it's less convenient than dialing from the phone and using the loudspeaker, and you would need to find a way to make it work with a USB mic to work properly (the tablet mic is concealed behind the AV panel and doesn't pick up enough sound to be reliable). Moreover, it's unlikely Tablettalk (or any other Android app) is going to work in conjunction with an iPhone to make calls IMO. However, I'm certainly no expert and stand to be corrected.

If you set up Gmail on your iphone, your calendar and contacts should sync between your phone and tablet.

My IT skills are very limited, but my fiancé is a programmer for IBM, so for some sexual favours I am sure she will do it for me ha
Yeah I might scrap the idea for the hands free for now, like you said its just easier to use your phone on speaker.
Probably a silly question but the stock console panel I have in my 05 spec b (with the sunglass holder and such) can't be used obviously? You need to import one from Japan?
Also, is this (Behringer UCA202 DAC (digital USB soundcard) ) the piece of hardware that allows the nexus 7 to play through the car or do you hook it up via aux cable?
Cheers man!

[Monkey]

Hey sorry for my delayed reply. The stock console panel wont work unfortunately - you do have to buy the Japan fascia.
Even though they look the same, the vents are actually quite a bit narrower on the new fascia to allow for the 7" width in between.
Before buying the new fascia, due to the exorbitant cost, I bought a used centre console (cubby) and tried to cut it down to fit the Nexus in behind. Didn't work at all - by the time I'd created enough space for it to fit, the frame was so flimsy it fell apart as it had only a few mm each side. This might work however if you were using a 5" - 6" phone/phablet, but definitely not a 7" tablet.

The Behringer UCA202 is a digital soundcard of sorts. What it does is, once you have Timur's kernal, allows audio to be sent via USB (digital). This is much better in terms of sound quality, frequency range, and volume than using the headphone out jack (analog), although that still works. Basically you get CD or better quality sound.

Furthermore, with a USB y-cable you can piggyback the connections so that the micro USB becomes both a charging input and a USB audio output. So you have only 1 connection to the Nexus, rather than having a USB cable on one side, and a headphone jack on the other side. Baring in mind the Nexus sits between the two vent pipes, you would have to cut the vent pipes back to fit both connections in. I've left one of my vent pipes off, so technically my install is incomplete - something to fix over the Xmas break.

The Behringer has RCA (red + black standard audio) outputs, so you get a RCA--> 3.5mm (headphone jack) cable and plug in to your AUX in which is located inside the glovebox.
NOTE: This installation requires the AUX IN for it to work - if you have a stock system without the AUX in, you can't do any tablet install.

[TwistdInfinity]

Well, my plan is to add a tablet to existing system, but include a DSP device (most likely the miniDSP C DSP), and have the stock stereo input to it via high level (the speaker outputs of the stock stereo) and the tablet into it into it via spdif coaxial.

That way I can flick between tablet and stock head unit with the preset buttons on the DSP remote unit.

So it can be done, if you want to add a DSP. I'll be running extra amps but you may even be able to route the DSP outputs into the stock amp for the McIntosh systems