Thread: 2006 Nissan Altima SE R CarP... errr CarTab!

Hexx,
I'm definitely going with the Tab. I already pulled out my carputer and am getting ready to sell all of it. I was looking into that app you referred to on my GT 10.1 (before I got the GT 2 7.0) and the graphics looked distorted at that resolution so I haven't downloaded it yet to the 7.0. I'll try it out and see how it goes as an interim. I also wanted to create the front-end app as a motivation to teach myself how to code for Android. Thanks for the suggestion

(sorry Diablo for temporarily hi-jacking your thread)

Nice! That's awesome to see someone else who's interested in the same concept... definitely can come in handy for bouncing idea's off each other and stuff. As for the Motorized tablet, the only thing I'm worried about there is that due to the extra weight of the Tablet compared to your normal CD tray + CD, how long is the motor going to last before it burns out? :-\ Minus that, good to know that you were able to test that and see that it DOES support the weight! Thanks for the info, I'm still trying to get my tablet %100 with it's permanent in-dash mounting, once that's settled then I'll figure out making it removable. So that'll be part of the next phase.

That would be amazing if you could make an even better front end App than what's currently available. Currently I have CarHomeUltra (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....carhome&hl=en) installed and I like it, but I'm not crazy about it. It just 'works'. Recently, which is my daily drive to/from work and home, I don't really need Navigation or anything fancy, just music, so I've just been opening Mixzing from my home screen when getting in my car and using it's default Now Playing screen while driving. I use my Clarion EQ for volume, so I don't mind that there isn't a Volume slider on the screen of Mixzing. Just something for you to check out, as I also looked into the road of building my own app, then realized all the programming I'd need to learn (I work in IT professionally, but I stay away from programming, not my cup of tea) and ruled that out pretty quickly, lol. If you do plan to learn Java, XML, etc. and make your own home screen, all the power to you! And please keep me update, I'd definitely be interested in purchasing that app for my project.

Thanks for all the positive comments, and definitely create a work log of your build! I'd love to watch it and it progresses! Good luck on your project as well!



As for an update to the project itself, I will def. post some pictures this weekend/early next week of the power inverter installation, as well as (hopefully) the bezel, which is a whole new project in itself! lol

Originally Posted by Diablo2424

…As for an update to the project itself, I will def. post some pictures this weekend/early next week of the power inverter installation, as well as (hopefully) the bezel, which is a whole new project in itself! lol

Speaking of the bezel,
I've been doing a lot of research (here on MP3Car) and have a pretty good idea how I want to make the bezel. I think I'm going to follow Scott Carver's lead here in regards to dismantling the dock using just the connector/base (not using the bezel that came with it). The reason being is the GT doesn't sit flush in the bezel (see pics below). I'll just have to figure out how to glass my bezel with the dock as one piece.

Picture of dock with bezel...you can see the big gap that would cause the GT to not be flush.


Picture of dock without bezel

I think the motor should be ok only because it will be under minimal load for a very short period. I’ve hacked the CD-ROM so I pretty much just have the motor and tray. The tray is too large so I’ll have to cut that down a little as well or take it out completely and use an aluminum bar or something. The problem I’m facing is how I want to wire it. The motor opens & closes by swapping the voltage on the leads (+5VDC to open & -5VDC to close). I could easily do this by installing a double poll/double throw (DP/DT) rocker switch that will reserve the polarity but I want to have a momentary switch just like what’s on the CD-ROM so when I push the button it opens. I push the button again and it closes. I know I’ll have to have a normally closed circuit w/ open contacts so when I push the momentary switch (acting as a control circuit), the circuit will close and run the motor. I’ll need limit switches to open the circuit up again. I just have to figure out how to automatically reverse the circuit once it is opened by the limit switches. I’ve been researching this extensively, but so far have found very little info. I've also been looking into power supplies to get the 5VDC. I'm looking at two options. 1) Use an old Carputer power supply I have lying around from my first carPC or 2) get one of these for $6.00. I'm leaning towards the Carputer power supply because I already have it available and it gives me a host of other options like timed delay power off when ignition is off (not sure if I'll even need that with Tasker app) and remote pwr for amp.

I downloaded and played with CarHome last night. It was ok, but I don’t think it will work for me. I wasn’t impressed with the graphics as it seems like the app uses the other app’s icons so it gets pretty distorted when blown up on a tablet. I imagine it looks great on a phone. I guess I’m just finicky but I like crisp clean graphics. I also use CoPilot Premium (Europe) because I need a GPS app that has local map info. Being new in Belgium (Europe) I rely on Navigation. When I used CarHome to launch CoPilot, I couldn’t get back into CarHome without closing CoPilot so that was a deal breaker for me. Right now I’ll have to settle for widgets for volume control, etc. How do you like Mixzing? Is it tablet worthy? Right now I use PlayerPro which is pretty good. The only downfall is it’s not really made for a car environment when in landscape mode (buttons are small)...although it does have good swipe features for track fwd etc.

I definitely need to start my worklog. I just wanted to get a little ahead (already hacked up my center console) so I have something to post when it comes time (I’ve been taking pictures along the way). I don’t have a bezel as of yet, but hopefully I’ll start that this weekend. I’ll start a worklog then!
I’m looking forward to seeing your progress and eagerly watch all the tablet installs that are being logged on this site.

Take care,

Griz

OK, I did some more research and found on a "All About Circuits" forum that I will need an impulse relay to automatically reverse the polarity of the circuit. Basically the same type of relay that is used on garage door openers; Click the button and it opens. Once the door has fully opened (hitting the limit switch) the circuit stops and switches the polarity in the relay automatically. Hit the button again and now it closes (until it hits the closing limit switch). I found one here for $32.21 and got it on order. So now the question is, do I still want to use the CD-ROM ejection tray motor? I've been thinking about using a full automatic power antenna instead. The pros would be, it has it's own limit switches (or mechanism to shut off power) and it's 12VDC so I wouldn't need to step the voltage down to 5VDC. The cons are, I would need to cut the antenna so it would only travel a max distance of 4in. But if I cut the antenna, will I lose the limit switches that are built in (or whatever is used to power off to the antenna motor)? I'll have to research the anatomy of the antenna to see what is possible.

Wow, nice! Looks like you learned a ton, as did I just reading your posts, lol. Good luck with that, I've pretty much decided that I'm %99 sure I'm just going to leave mine as a permanent mount. No need to make it removable as I don't have much use for the tablet outside of the car. I use my Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket or my Netbook/Desktop PC for everything...

P.S. Updated first post with new pics and info... I found this new app called Car Tunes and I LOVE the interface while driving.

Originally Posted by Diablo2424

Wow, nice! Looks like you learned a ton, as did I just reading your posts, lol. Good luck with that, I've pretty much decided that I'm %99 sure I'm just going to leave mine as a permanent mount. No need to make it removable as I don't have much use for the tablet outside of the car. I use my Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket or my Netbook/Desktop PC for everything..

That's the same thing that I found and why I decided on a permanent mount. I can do all the same stuff and have the same apps on my Droid Bionic. Even though I purchased my tab with intentions for exclusive car use.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

Great install Diablo2424. Keep up the good work!

Originally Posted by papinist

Great install Diablo2424. Keep up the good work!

Thanks, I posted a quick question over on your thread, love your install as well! (P.S. Nice car! We don't even have Alfo Romeo's over here in the US!)

I've been slacking on this project as some other things have taken priority lately, but I do need to still get my Samsung HS3000 BT Adapter and modify/install it... I have recently (last weekend) installed my anti-fingerprint/anti-glare screen protector as well as changed the ROM on my tablet to CM9 and I am not using PowerAMP instead of CarTunes and LOVE IT! Thanks for the suggestions!