So, a bit more of an update on my Braniac setup... This truly is a project for people who like tinkering. Some FYI on things that i solved or am in the process of solving on this kit
For the braniac kit, you dont need to root your device, unless you have some custom hacker-ish ideas for the tablet itself.
MacroDroid app works great to sleep the tablet and wake it up. You just have to set up a few macros on the free version and off you go. Android App.
you definitely also want to set up macros that airplane mode your tab in no power state (and off that mode for back on of course) for power conservation. you also want it to pause whatever music you have on or to kill all open apps. Goal is to power conserve the tab when you turn off the car completely. My Tab lasts over a week in the car sitting pretty w no charge.
For the back up cam
, if you have the nav version of the car, then you have an existing cam feed to tap into. if not, you have to rig a cam and wiring to the radio stack. The easycap usb device works well. To activate the cam in reverse, you have a pre existing wire in the harness that emits voltage when you throw it in reverse. ( look in the FSM for that wire) alternately, you can tap the reverse light. you are powering the camera with this voltage. This will USB into a USB Hub
Braniac app works well for gestures. bottom right to wake up volume control.. then swipe 2 fingers up or down for volume adjustment right and left peak out gestures back you out like the left arrow on a web page, or open cascade mode so you can quick change to another app.
For the steering wheel controls... RcJoyCon.com - check out the CPJexc for resistive controls board. This will USB into a USB Hub. You need to download the software on your PC and setup the board by connecting to the PC via usb wire. There is also a downloadable manual, that walks you through the setup proccess. you will want the FSM handy to mate wires from the joycon to your harness.
Grounding...
So, i used a combination of things. First, i used an axxess ( brand) 12 volt emi isolator... still got some feedback. I found a better ground point,, sanded and soldered it in.. that improved but not perfect.. then i swapped out to gold plated RCA male leads to 3.5mm male > cheap ground loop isolator with good amazon reviews > male to 90 degree male low profile 3.5 mm wire. The jury is out as to whether the ground loop on the 3.5mm is good, or if the wire upgrade was the trick.
Sound leveling...
I used PAC ROEMINS-2 .. Since the rear pulls more juice than the front (bose), you need an inline leveler ( its called fade on a radio unit) to add more to the rear and balance out the system. I bought it, and use it.. works perfect. Its going to go between the braniac electronics ( or 100 watt amp ) and your bose system..
Note about Bose: think of the head unit as having a 100watt pre-amp 'amplifier' that preamped signal is going to the bose amp, and off to the speakers.
Tablet Charging and OTG hub...
This one is sticky since its a pita for the makers of these kits. They did solve some tech in the beginning stages of development and I did some research of my own..
Tablet charge and Sync:
So - how to charge the tablet full blast and also fully power the USB devices you are OTG'ing in . This is what i came up with ( partly based on what workshop 12 came up with):
lavalink Lava TL-002 - This is a 1 port true charge and otg interface... 3 ports. 1 is micro usb otg to tablet, 5v micro usb ( that I ran under the center console to the cubby and jack into a high end oc 3.0 charger the other is a usb port ( to a hub..
*NOTE: there is a youtube about severing a connector on the lavalink tl-002 board itself to block any tablet power draw when the power is turned off. (battery savings)
Pluggable 4 port powered hub - So i tested it for power back feeding (if i plug the tablet in is it going to send 5v to the host tablet? ) Answer is no, just sync, which is the goal....
(The TL-002 does try to feed current, but when i tested with both devices, it seems that the chip on the hub switches to its own 5v, and blocks out the incoming. So, no overvolting the usb devices. (so far so good)
So- 4 port hub with its own power, lavalink otg interface with its own power to tablet. between them just the sync portion of the usb.. - perfect...
I found this hub, by searching for powered hubs approved for use w older rasberryPi.. The rPis were having trouble with voltage back feeds burning out the boards, so the users made a master list... this hub was 1 of them.,
A/C
On the Workshop 12 site there are some great tutorials on how to convert from nav hvac to non nav ( 3 dials). At first i thought i screwed up or bought defective crap on ebay... turns out, i had a swapped tx and rx line. At the moment, i have it all up and running except the rear defrost.. i need to double check my wiring , but im sure its a simple fix. Someone made some boards for easier plug and play, but i wired mine in old school and, like i said, up and running for the most part until i get unlazy and search out the defrost problem
At first, I was pissed that i bought this unrefined aftermarket crap. it took a break on it to do other things. But, after getting my hands dirty and playing this like a fun research project, ( along with help from the forums) slowly i started solving problems. At the moment, its 90% done.. i have a couple of little bits. to sort out, but for the most part, it functions as if it was OEM. And it looks fking cool!
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AAM tt'ed // Soon: Moving back to the East Coast
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