oldManTan

Tablet install!!!!
Materials: these are my costs, these may vary for you.
Tablet $30 (from my brother, 150 new)
AUX splitters 3x$1.50
AUX/RCA Adapters 3x$2.00
3D Printed case $3.20
Potentiometer 20k 2 channel $2.98
25ft AUX cable $4.18
4 channel amp, FREE
2 Channel sub amp FREE
AGU In line Fuse 60A $6.98
Ground loop isolator $6.99
Dual USB 4.6A Car charger $7.99

to start off i built a bracket for the amps, used the old amp bracket and a piece of the false floor from the rear seat. DIY madness

test fit

as you can see I used the original speaker harness to wire all my speakers, there's no point in running new wiring. also on another harness is a gray thin wire that has 12v when the key is turned one click, which was perfect for me to use as a remote wire for the amps

here's the 6 pin Pot, you need this for stereo sound

crazy modification of the **** housing, wanted everything to fit in there

did this to most of the AUX cables to save space, gotta be really careful not to ruin everything because these are so fragile when they're stripped

another view of the ****, i shaved the original **** shaft down to fit inside the new shaft of the pot


so that's it for all the preliminary stuff, meanwhile i was waiting for the tablet case to print which i modified in Autodesk Maya

once it it printed and i picked it up!
test fit, i will probably print another case, if not i'll just mold this one with some fiberglass and bondo. i want it to be a seamless transition between the center console and the tablet.




cut the back of the cup holder housing off, gonna run USB and AUX through there for my phone in case i wanna play something else off of it, or if a friend has some tunes.
also, mounted the case just by drilling some holes


duct tape, duct tape everywhere, you're not gonna see it so who cares


perfect fit, except the tiny gaps at the top where the case is beveled, that's why i might print another one with the edges not beveled



had a problem with the original AUX not fitting between the 2 center console pieces, so i snaked it inside the **** housing



also added a bracket to the tablet to make it sit more flush with the case and not move when i'm pressing on it




all installed



next up will be my switch board and filling in all the gaps, then painting it. will probably do Piano black like the wood trim.

jwynn

This is great man Ive been thinking about doing the same thing How difficult was this on a scale 1-10? Also what are the dimensions on this tablet Id rather have an apple iPad because it'll link with all my stuff.

oldManTan

it's not difficult at all, if you have all your stuff ready and can fab stuff on the spot easily then it's a 2. the hardest part is either installing all the software to get the tablet doing the stuff you want like turning on only when power is connected and just setting up a bunch of stuff. everything else is just simple wiring, soldering and taping really. overall it's like a 3 to me.

DrAtomica

oldManTan does it again, definitely will try this out.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I like it, looks good. will look perfect with the non beveled mount piece.
how hard is it to get real radio on one of those, or are you just doing mp3's and streaming radio/audio.

oldManTan

If a tablet has radio receiver built in then it's not hard at all, it gets the radio signal through the aux cable. However I'm not sure if this one does so it might take a little finaggling which I don't care for because I only listen to mp3s on the micro sd inside the tablet. If I wish to add music I just park next to my house connect to the wifi and download the music off my Google Drive which I add music to if needed.

jimmymac30

iTrader: (8)

I did something very similar in my 97 with an iPad mini. Let me see if I can find pics. The regular iPad is way too large for the radio opening. My iPad was a cellular version from att so I was able to listen to pandora, Spotify, slacker, use the maps... Etc. let me see if I can find the pictures. It was about 2 years ago

oldManTan

yea i wish this was a mobile version as well, those tablet plans are really cheap now if you just add it on to an existing plan. however i can make a mobile hotspot with my phone and tether it to the tablet through either bluetooth or wifi so it's all there still. on google maps you can also download maps to work offline, you just select the area you wish to download and done. of course you don't get traffic notifications and so on, but maps still works without internet.

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

Nice, I'm doing an iPad mini 4 in mine right now. We'll I'm working on it here and there...lol

Maximo018

I had this same tablet. Gave it to lady friend. Let's see if we can interest her in doing this.

oldManTan

YES! MOAR TABLET INSTALLS!!! i honestly think this is infinitely better than a headunit. it's cheaper, better quality, you can install any type of equalizer for the audiophiles, you can run all sorts of apps, and have tons of features. there's absolutely no reason for a headunit IMO.

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Lmao, you're buggin!!! Plenty of reason for a dedicated head unit. AUDIO being the main reason, dedicated GPS second, and bluetooth third. What can a tablet do that makes it so special in your car? Unless your paying monthly for internet access on it... nothing. Without internet you cannot use GPS, Chrome, or pretty much anything that makes a tablet worth owning. Even when "tethering" it's just a big phone... and then when you consider all the connections to make it work it just seems like a mess.

Take in consideration the awkward position it is in for a tablet, and reaching for it to use any app's etc... I just don't see the point.

I have some ideas though. I would build the bevel out of wood, and paint the wood black to match. Have a back plate with 3M Velcro that holds the tablet in place, and have it hardwired, with a retractable power cable so you can pull it out of the radio position, and more or less put it in your lap, or let the girlfriend use it etc... Until you can do that, it's just a nice looking clock.

It's like those multi-tool's. Tons of features, but good for nothing.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I appreciate the ingenuity but am in the same boat as Biddles of thinking it's a huge inconvenience. I want instant-on and physical buttons. My tablet drives me crazy with how slow it gets at times, having to hit the right spot on the screen that doesn't always correspond perfectly to the tiny button, etc. The extra features a tablet provides are of so little interest to me, they don't outweigh the negatives.

I'm also curious about the legality and where it fits into the spectrum of phones and hands-free devices.

Maximo018

Both of y'all crack me up. I've almost b!+ch slapped mine before but calm myself down. I know for sure there's no way I'm paying for internet service to it. Mine & her phones are enough.

oldManTan

i'm about to tear your booty up.

audio, like i said, tons of free equalizers out there to make it sound exactly how you want. i don't see any headunits with curve equalizers where you can control every single frequency of the sound and as long as you have a decent amp it's gonna sound awesome

dedicated GPS, google maps has offline maps, you can download entire states and the maps will work without any internet.

bluetooth? you mean like connecting your phone to talk hands free? yea you can do that, and with a tablet you can connect multiple bluetooth devices. so i have my bluetooth OBDI reader connected to my tablet, my phone which i have an app that lets me use the tablet as a microphone and outputs the audio through the car, oh and i can connect a back up camera which i haven't done yet.

internet, tether through my phone, have 4G LTE on my tablet, speedtested it on the tablet, getting 25mbps.

so here's what i have that you don't on your headunit.

calendar with appointment reminders, live traffic updates, WAZE APP!!! movies, youtube, chrome, facebook (not that i use it, but it keeps track of any upcoming events i may have), OBDI logger, motion sensor (accelerometer, tons of apps to use with that) awesome audio that i can customize however i want, and lots and lots of stuff i can hook up through the multiport with a power USB hub.

if your fingers are too fat to press the screen then i understand your troubles and you need some big old buttons. oh by the way, need bigger buttons? there's screen modifiers when you root any android device.