Hey @ElectricAnt54 how are you? Can you guys help me to understand what additional functionality the modem provides.
Thanks
Thanks
Last edited:
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
CarPlay solution for Tesla by Michal Gapinski using Raspberry Pi with Android
- Thread starter timeshifter
- Start date
-
- Tags
- android auto carplay
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
this modem only works with the GSM based networks so you need to use a carrier such as t-mobile, AT&T. I forget who else in USA uses gsm. Ever Heard of GSM When Talking About Phones? Here's What It Means for info on gsm carriers.
I use Tello which uses t-mobile network. It was cheaper than mint for data only. I have t-mobile accounts but didn’t see an easy way to add a data plan, probably because my family plan is very good & old. T-Mobile wants me to update maybe
. Tello allowed me to make my own custom plan for data only And no voice. I started with the 1GB plan for $6 which I think is enough if you use tesla voice commands, Tesla nav occasionally & CarPlay (uses iPhone data connection) for everything else. that’s what I use tesla-android for. 2GB plan is $10. I use CarPlay mostly so I do not need much data. You can increase data and decrease monthly too. Someone mentioned to me that unused data gets applied to next month too. I started with a 1GB plan. NOTE: if you run out of data Tello throttles to 2G speeds. The modem only supports 3&4 G speeds. running out of data will make it seem like modem is not connected, flashing red / magenta light. if You really need the cellular connectivity, you can go to Tello and change data plan. within A few moments, modem will reconnect. This happened to me once because I demoed playing YouTube from android is web browser to people earlier in the month. I then switched back to 1GB plan just before monthly renewal and the extra data remained in my data allowance.
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
sure, I’ll grab a coffee and write a blog post about that this morning. I’ll post link here in a few hours.
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
@jerome8283 @Daekwan , here are my thoughts about adding a USB LTE modem to Tesla-android. Hope it helps. Feel free to leave comments on the blog page and I'll update the page etc. I'm not a Wordpress guru, so if comments are not allowed, let me know and I'll look in to it.
@ElectricAnt54
Your blog post on the Modem was extremely helpful. Thanks for that.
On another note. I see you all put this RPi contraption exposed in your center consoles. It seems like it could easily get damaged with all these exposed parts, (circuits, fans, etc). Why are you all not putting this in an enclosed case for protection? I specifically found this auction (link below) I was considering bidding on. It has a really neat enclosure for the RPi.
Raspberry Pi package kit
Is there a disadvantage to using something like this?
Your blog post on the Modem was extremely helpful. Thanks for that.
On another note. I see you all put this RPi contraption exposed in your center consoles. It seems like it could easily get damaged with all these exposed parts, (circuits, fans, etc). Why are you all not putting this in an enclosed case for protection? I specifically found this auction (link below) I was considering bidding on. It has a really neat enclosure for the RPi.
Raspberry Pi package kit
Is there a disadvantage to using something like this?
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
Mine doesn’t have too much exposed. The fan is but in 3 months nothing has caused an issue. I chose my design because long ago overclocking (making cpu run faster than intended) was recommended & makes more heat plus I live in Southern California (hot). When pi gets hot, it slows the cpu so many of us were being cautious.
These days, overclocking is not needed so using smaller fans and more traditional cases are ok. One project I am planning soon is to put my second pi in a more traditional case like you allude to and see how well tesla-android performs. I want to use the low profile ice cooler fan /heat sync. I will blog that setup & experience. For now, Checkout the project’s Reddit area, there is a whole thread where people show their cases/setups.
My current setup which I plan to redo now that overclocking is not needed. Modem & carlinkit dongle not in image.
Since overclocking is no longer recommended or a must, you can opt for the standard plastic or acrylic enclosure instead of a metal one. The metal case will definitely interfere with the Pi's wifi and knowing Tesla's wifi card is not that great, it would most likely affect your performance.
Thanks for the heads up. Are you aware of any plastic case that fits the Ice low profile fan?
This looks like a good one but using its own fan. Now since we no longer need to overclock, I have not tested if we still need to use the heavy-duty ICE cooling fan tower.
Clear Acrylic Case or
C4Labs Zebra Ice Cube Case Kit looks like it has an opening to fit the regular ICE tower fan.
Edit: I found this for the low-profile fan C4Labs Zebra Case kit for The Low-Profile ICE Tower
I personally use this cluster case for my Pi4 and the low-profile ICE fan.
Last edited:
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
ohhhh I like that red case which fits low profile ice tower cooler fan a lot!
This search on thingy verse brings up some nice printable designs many say they work with low profile ICE tower.
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
I'm also tempted by this case, fan, heat sync combo for my second pie. I'm sure it would be fine in winter, spring. probably ok in summer since we no longer overclock and I keep my car cabin cool with AC.
Right. I’m thinking returning the ultra low ICE fan I got and replace both the fan and the cluster case with low profile ICE tower and this case. Looks better aesthetically
I have this one too. I recently moved the Pi under the passenger seat instead of placing it in the center console so it probably work
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
A while ago I said I'd write up my parts list that I used in my first setup. Here is a blog post about the parts I used and thoughts on what I might try next not that there is anything wrong with my current setup. I have Two PI's so I figured I'd try a different setup for the second PI...it is an artistic curse. I want to try many designs 
.
.
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
Where has Tesla-android, the topic of this thread, taken you lately? Recently, there was a meet-up of listeners of the "ride the lightening" podcast at the Peterson Automotive museum in Los Angeles to see the new Tesla exhibit. I used Tesla-android to navigate rather than Tesla nav. Pictured, Tesla semi, original prototype model 3 offered to general public for rides at conventions, model y with 4680 batteries (4680 cells were on the wall near the car)
A while ago I said I'd write up my parts list that I used in my first setup. Here is a blog post about the parts I used and thoughts on what I might try next not that there is anything wrong with my current setup. I have Two PI's so I figured I'd try a different setup for the second PI...it is an artistic curse. I want to try many designs
Thank you for this post. It is helpful.
Does the Pi allow for a graceful shutdown or do you simply use the power off switch only?
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
You can gracefully shutdown the raspberry pi gracefully by going to main screen, drag finger/mouse downwards. A menu will appear. One button is the shutdown button.
however, the developer mentions you can just turn off the power via a switch or unplugging the power chord.
when I am in a rush, I turn off via the power switch.
I've just used the power switch from day one. Sometimes I'll use the menu for a restart. The only risk IMHO of using the power switch is that you might corrupt the file system or a file or two. If you do (and it hasn't happened to me) it's pretty simple to load a new image to the SD card.
Similar threads
