Android head units

[Phunk]

Sorry, that should have been 4g ram but still hopefully enough. Pumpkin Android 10.0 Double 2 DIN Car Stereo GPS Bluetooth USB BT DAB+ Head Unit | eBay.
Not much difference in final price if you chose to buy it with the camera but I'd prefer to choose my own. Got a DBO dongle from China for $5 which should make it by Christmas for the gimmick value.

4GB is plenty enough to run Android 10 smooth enough, like I said, the 1gb I had was still fine but a bit sluggish.

Keep in mind, you can chop and splice the wiring to your hearts content if you don't get the harness adaptor, but you'll need to buy the Aerial adaptor. The Nissan one from memory is a rectangle and also sends the power to the module to amp the aerial. Pretty sure Repco and Supercheap keep the adaptor readily.

Check out AGAMA Car Launcher on Google Play, I downloaded this (paid version) and really made the head unit much easier to use and more stock.

I even changed the scheme to match my interior lights etc.

 

[Scott52]

I have a Seicane unit in my Thai build. It was cheap and works reasonably well. It has frozen at times but I've resolved some of the issues by using a timer relay to boot the thing up 10 seconds after I start the car. The internal wifi antenna is not powerful. I have to park the car outside the study window about 5 metres away from the router to get a decent signal to download apps and updates. I got around that by using the mobile hotspot.

The Bluetooth phone connection works quite well but the internal microphone was terrible ... I had to shout into the thing for the person at the other end to have a chance of hearing me.

I solved that problem by fitting an external microphone. There was no jack to plug into so I had to open the thing up, de-solder the tiny PCB mounted item, solder some cable to that point and fit a Jaycar $2.50 10mm diameter microphone onto the cable end. I have the microphone stuck onto the top of the steering wheel shroud and the modified set up works well.

Given it was $120 I was happy to make some improvements. It's served me pretty well for a few years. I have Backcountry Navigator with topography maps installed and that worked well on the Canning Stock Route.

Having said that I'm looking for a better unit. I'll probably step up to about the $300 to $400 range ... something with a larger adjustable screen.

The main problem that bugs me is the angle of the screen which is a Navara problem . It's position is such that it suffers terrible glare and reflection no matter where the sun is. So I'm considering something like this with a large adjustable screen ... make my D40 look like a Tesla.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001876899297.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.196b3c00JMGTSx&mp=1

Get at least 4G + 64G and a head unit that has an external wifi antenna.

 

[Phunk]

I have a Seicane unit in my Thai build. It was cheap and works reasonably well. It has frozen at times but I've resolved some of the issues by using a timer relay to boot the thing up 10 seconds after I start the car. The internal wifi antenna is not powerful. I have to park the car outside the study window about 5 metres away from the router to get a decent signal to download apps and updates. I got around that by using the mobile hotspot.

The Bluetooth phone connection works quite well but the internal microphone was terrible ... I had to shout into the thing for the person at the other end to have a chance of hearing me.

I solved that problem by fitting an external microphone. There was no jack to plug into so I had to open the thing up, de-solder the tiny PCB mounted item, solder some cable to that point and fit a Jaycar $2.50 10mm diameter microphone onto the cable end. I have the microphone stuck onto the top of the steering wheel shroud and the modified set up works well.

Given it was $120 I was happy to make some improvements. It's served me pretty well for a few years. I have Backcountry Navigator with topography maps installed and that worked well on the Canning Stock Route.

Having said that I'm looking for a better unit. I'll probably step up to about the $300 to $400 range ... something with a larger adjustable screen.

The main problem that bugs me is the angle of the screen which is a Navara problem . It's position is such that it suffers terrible glare and reflection no matter where the sun is. So I'm considering something like this with a large adjustable screen ... make my D40 look like a Tesla.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001876899297.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.196b3c00JMGTSx&mp=1
View attachment 35520

Get at least 4G + 64G and a head unit that has an external wifi antenna.

The big problem all of these stereos have is that they use a capacitive touch screen like a phone which makes the glare machines.. On top of that they don't have a bright enough back-light.

My D40 has Bluetooth factory and works well.. Normally I'd junk the stereo ASAP to at least have a reverse camera. This time I might leave the stereo as is and I've bought the reverse camera Mirror instead. Hopefully should have it in this weekend.

 

[GunMentalGrey]

I have a Seicane unit in my Thai build. It was cheap and works reasonably well. It has frozen at times but I've resolved some of the issues by using a timer relay to boot the thing up 10 seconds after I start the car.

I don’t know why they don’t have this from the factory. Given they get most power from the ‘always on’ connection and the ‘acc’ connection is a light duty switch wire surely the always on could keep enough power going during the start procedure, or they could add a single capacitor in there somewhere to hold some power for when the supply is interrupted.

A few cars ago I added a capacitor and probably a diode across the acc wire and it held the unit on for a few seconds. Can’t remember the full details, but it also helped with booting problems.

 

[Scott52]

I don’t know why they don’t have this from the factory. Given they get most power from the ‘always on’ connection and the ‘acc’ connection is a light duty switch wire surely the always on could keep enough power going during the start procedure, or they could add a single capacitor in there somewhere to hold some power for when the supply is interrupted.

A few cars ago I added a capacitor and probably a diode across the acc wire and it held the unit on for a few seconds. Can’t remember the full details, but it also helped with booting problems.

My first iteration was a capacitor, diode and resistor which worked until I installed a wireless steering wheel control for volume etc. The delayed start appears to be the most reliable and effective. Considering the cost of the module at $10 I was happy to add it to the system.

 

[Peza01]

Well I've had the unit installed for about a week now and so far meeting my basic needs. The radio seems to work well enough, the response time is quick enough and isn't doing my head in the only gripe is probably my fault for purchasing the wrong reverse camera as it only gives about 90 degrees vision. Installation was pretty simple with purchasing a harness adaptor and only a slight adjustment to the holes using the factory brackets. I positioned the unit slightly proud as the volume knob is a bit tight on the side with my sausage fingers but again no real issue. Overall I really was chasing a radio with hands-free mobile, GPS and a reverse camera, the rest is just a bonus. The new JBL front speakers seem to be a good combo as well which now makes me want to upgrade the rears.

 

[Phunk]

Well I've had the unit installed for about a week now and so far meeting my basic needs. The radio seems to work well enough, the response time is quick enough and isn't doing my head in the only gripe is probably my fault for purchasing the wrong reverse camera as it only gives about 90 degrees vision. Installation was pretty simple with purchasing a harness adaptor and only a slight adjustment to the holes using the factory brackets. I positioned the unit slightly proud as the volume knob is a bit tight on the side with my sausage fingers but again no real issue. Overall I really was chasing a radio with hands-free mobile, GPS and a reverse camera, the rest is just a bonus. The new JBL front speakers seem to be a good combo as well which now makes me want to upgrade the rears.

Great job mate.

Did you keep the factory steering controls or there was none to begin with?

As for the reverse camera, they are pretty generic, you can change to one with a wider field of view from ebay for about $30

You should also be able to download Android Auto from the playstore on the stereo if you want that car experience.

 

[Peza01]

Thanks Phunk,
No steering wheel controls, basic old RX model.
Not to sure if the eRapta camera is the way to go?
What does Android Auto give you?

 

[Phunk]

Thanks Phunk,
No steering wheel controls, basic old RX model.
Not to sure if the eRapta camera is the way to go?
What does Android Auto give you?

Nothing too special, just makes the screen a bit more car friendly if you don't want to keep the current launcher. You can download it on your phone to try it out

 

[Boogieboots]

Well I've had the unit installed for about a week now and so far meeting my basic needs. The radio seems to work well enough, the response time is quick enough and isn't doing my head in the only gripe is probably my fault for purchasing the wrong reverse camera as it only gives about 90 degrees vision. Installation was pretty simple with purchasing a harness adaptor and only a slight adjustment to the holes using the factory brackets. I positioned the unit slightly proud as the volume knob is a bit tight on the side with my sausage fingers but again no real issue. Overall I really was chasing a radio with hands-free mobile, GPS and a reverse camera, the rest is just a bonus. The new JBL front speakers seem to be a good combo as well which now makes me want to upgrade the rears.

That is one thing that ***** me with these units. The volume knobs on the wrong side...
So it boots up almost instantly? That was what pissed me off with my older Eonon. The Pumpkin I have is very prompt.
I think android auto allows more control of the phone from the head unit

 

[Phunk]

That is one thing that ***** me with these units. The volume knobs on the wrong side...
So it boots up almost instantly? That was what pissed me off with my older Eonon. The Pumpkin I have is very prompt.
I think android auto allows more control of the phone from the head unit

My factory head unit has the volume on the left as well..

With the majority of the Android headunits you can change the settings to when you turn the key off it puts the unit in 'sleep' rather than shut-down.

When you have it in sleep mode it's like just pressing the power button on your phone to turn the screen off rather than shutting it down.

I preferred the full shut down as it got rid of any glitches and you start fresh