gregthomas07gt

New to the forums, not new to Mustangs! I wanted to share my project in case it might help someone else.

So I just bought a 2007 Mustang GT a few months ago, and traded in my 06 which had a nice Kenwood head unit with navigation. I liked the Shaker that was in my 07 but I really missed the navigation.

Navigation head units are not cheap!!! This got me thinking... what if I could install an Android tablet? I'd have music, navigation, voice commands, and full access to any app on the Google Play Store. So after doing some research I decided this was the route I wanted to go.

I had a few caveats in mind... it had to fit in the double din hole in the dash, and I wanted to be able to put the Shaker back in if the project didn't work out or if I decided to sell the car.

So here are the items I went with and the steps I followed.

Nexus 7 - has bluetooth, gps and is fairly close to the size of the double din hole in the dash.

Custom ROM - Timur's USBROM http://mehrvarz.github.io/nexus-7-usbrom/ This is the only way to go for a fixed car install. It enables USB host options allowing you to connect a hub, a flash drive, wireless remote, etc. It also allows for fast charging from the same micro usb port and has a standby feature when the power is turned off.

OTG Y Cable - http://www.ebay.com/itm/251343009305...84.m1497.l2649 Allows for fast charging and powering a hub connected at the same time

USB Hub - http://www.ebay.com/itm/280964488313...84.m1439.l2649

Power Inverter - http://www.ebay.com/itm/171136813489...84.m1439.l2649 Needs to supply 2 amps for the tablet and at least 1/2 amp per hub output. This may end up being to small for my setup.

USB DAC - http://www.ebay.com/itm/290996438101...84.m1439.l2649 Most tablets have built in DACs to provide audio to the headphone out port but they do not provide a clean enough audio stream for anything other than headphones.

External USB port - http://www.ebay.com/itm/190926565796...84.m1439.l2649 for charging or attaching other devices.

Since I removed the Shaker and my USB DAC only provided line level audio the only amplification I had were the stock amps for the door subs so I also purchased a couple of amps and a Kicker 12" sub in a box designed for the Mustang trunk. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=131021868195
So this is how this works, the OTG Y cable plugs into the Nexus and it has a standard female usb port and a female micro usb port. The power inverter provides 5 volts to a female usb port. The original Nexus charging cable plugs into it, and into the female micro usb end on the OTG cable. This provides charging for the Nexus and power for the hub and devices plugged into it. The hub plugs into the OTG female usb port and the DAC, external usb port and a flash drive plug into the hub. The inverter is wired into an ignition switched 12v source and provides power and charging when the ignition is on. When the ignition is turned off, the tablet goes into standby. The Nexus usually discharges about 2% over night, so it is completely recharged minutes after I start my car. I also tether to my phone for data. I'm still working on an external microphone for hands free calling and voice commands.

Here are a few pics of the install.

My Pony


Testing everything


Test fit... not perfect, I've got more plans for this.


Wiring the inverter and mounting the DAC


The only modification I had to make. Had to have room for the cable.


Booting up


Installed


Standby when key is off

I'm still working out a few bugs so if anyone is interested I'll post more. Thanks for looking!!!
Greg

Matt's 95 Stang

I did the same thing in my '11 but with a Samsung Galaxy 7.0. I will end up taking mine out and putting the OEM radio back in as the tablet left me with a dead battery twice and I have nothing but issues trying to get it to connect to SYNC. I wish you the best luck friend!

Matthew

gregthomas07gt

I've heard of this happening but since the power inverter which charges the tablet shuts completely off when the ignition is off there's no chance of this happening with mine.

Matt's 95 Stang

Good job. I wish I could get my '11 to sit flush like you did but the bezel design just wouldnt let me do it. I really wish I could get it to work as its great to have all your music at your finger tips, and have navigation at a fraction of the cost.

Matthew

gregthomas07gt

How is the charger hooked up on your Galaxy? If it doesn't turn off with your ignition then thats where you should start. I use an app called Tasker to do a lot of automatic stuff such as automatically starting BT tethering with my Galaxy S3. If your charger turned off when the key is off you could have Tasker turn the screen off and start Airplane mode when the charger stops, that way your Tablet battery wouldn't run down. It could reconnect and turn the screen on when the charger starts back up.

Can't help you with SYNC though, never used it before.

Tang_and_Stang

Seriously considering doing this. Do you have any regrets? What would you recommend for me?

AJ06GT

Hey, just saw this posted. I actually have been working on and test fitting and doing a lot of bench testing of a very similar setup. Your Tasker setup sounds like mine as well. How much battery life did you tune out of it? I got my N7 to last 3 weeks! That is assuming you don't touch it, of course, but awesome none the less. That plus a switched power source like you mention is the key to not killing your car, but keeping your tablet charged. I highly suggest running your own power line and switch it with a relay rather than piggybacking on a lower amperage existing ignition line.

I'll read over the whole thread more when I'm not at work, but if I can make a quick suggestion off the bat, if you pop the back cover off (easy to do with even a fingernail, start at the USB port), the USB/audio board is separate from the rest of the board and can be relocated as to not require you to run your USB cable out the side. I plan on cutting a hole in the back casing and accessing the USB port from there.

Also, a generic Metra mounting kit can be modified with the help of a dremel to build a great surround for the tablet to clean up the installed appearance. Let me see if I can find the pic I posted of a test fit.

Edit: Hmm... don't think I posted one yet and I don't see one on this computer (or phone). I'll try to remember later when I'm home.

Do you have wiring experience for some of the custom wiring you'll need? Do you have good Android experience for installing a custom ROM, optimizing and configuring the tablet for car use? Do you have a good engineering mind to help you figure out exactly how to piece it all together and mount it all up and make it work?

It doesn't seem that terribly hard to me, but compared to popping out the old head unit and sliding in a new one, it takes quite a bit more work. I may suggest that if you don't already know you're capable of building something like this, then you may not be. Not to discourage anyone at all, and there are certainly more simple ways to do it, but to do it right will take some work. On the other hand, if you do it right, it'll blow away every single head unit on the market by a long shot, and for the same or less cost. Just depends on your skill level at this kind of thing.

jimkaray

This will be great if you can work out all the issues.
One small suggestion is to use a http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-Type-A-Male-To-Female-Angle-90-Degree-Extension-Adapter-Converter-Cable-/120998059596?pt=US_USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item1c2c0bde4c to route the cable with out the mod to the center console.

gregthomas07gt

Absolutely no regrets! I love it! A couple of things I would recommend...

Use a larger power supply than what you think you'll need. I went with a 3amp supply which should have been enough but I ended up with a few problems remounting my flash drive on start up. Ive since switched to a 5amp supply and it's allot better.

Also, and I will be changing this on my setup... don't use the stereo wiring harness for any power supply connections. I've ended up with a some noise that I think is coming from the harness. I'm going to run some larger wires from the fuse box to help this out.

gregthomas07gt

This will work but it will have to be modified. It doesn't have a y-cable so you'll have to cut the cable into and add wires for the power supply. I could not find a y-cable with an angled plug. I also put this in my wife's Escape and used the method someone posted above... moving the charging port/ribbon cable to the outside.