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Finally! A modern stereo for single-DIN Roadsters

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After searching for a long time, I finally found a single-DIN Android car stereo with a screen that doesn't collide with the windshield wiper control stalk or block the HVAC controls or registers. The unit has a 6.2" floating screen, runs Android, has two rear USB ports, and accepts a SIM card so it can operate independently of a smartphone. Looks like you can use it with an iPhone with Z-Link. I was planning on using it with Android Auto, but since it has its own SIM card and runs Android, I don't really need to, I just run everything on the stereo directly.

Javier @ExecMotorwerkz installed it for me. He mounted the new microphone where the original one was, and found discreet placements for the unit's GPS and cellular antennas.

I really like how the screen fits inside and flush with the console above it.

Joying 6.2 Inch Single Din Android 8.1.0 Car Radio Replacement with Built-in 4G Module

Amazon has it for a little cheaper:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RGP2QH1/


2019-08-16.jpg IMG_20190816_173629.jpg IMG_20190816_173925.jpg
 
Anything special mount/wiring needed to make it fit? Did you do the backup camera?

I think Javier had to do some splicing of the harness because the 2.0 Roadster doesn't use a standard ISO harness connector, which is what the unit ships with. I don't think it required anything special to get it to fit physically, although as you can see in one of the pictures, he did remove the dash to route the wires for the antennas and to get the SIM card holder and USB connector into the glove compartment.

The floating screen can be mounted in one of various elevations with respect to the chassis. He had to put it on one of the lower elevations so it wouldn't collide with the console above the DIN opening. I've seen pictures of a custom-made screen bracket for this unit which would let you mount the screen more forward and thus higher, but I like the flush look of how mine is, and it's not so low that it blocks the HVAC control knobs.

I didn't get the backup camera. I'm not convinced that I need one on a car that low and small.

The documentation is in questionably translated English, but everything seems to work well. You can either run all the apps you use (Maps, Spotify, etc) directly on the unit, or you can use the unit's Zlink app which makes the unit an Android Auto and Apple Car Play compatible device, which I think is pretty neat.
 
Nice! Do you Think a liiiiitle bit larger screen would fit?

Same company have a 7" (that is 1/6" wider and 9/16" higher) Thougt that 7" might be more common than 6,2"??

Edit: Went out and checked on my car (2.0) A wider would probably fit BUT then the climatecontrols would be out of sight for me. I´m 6 feet and with your choosen radio 6,2" I could still see the knobs. If it would be a 7" I wouldn´t be able to see the knobs! So you probably made the perfect choice.

I have found they also ship from Germany. (Joyingauto.eu) So also possible to order over here in EU.

PLEASE come back with feedback when you start using it! I´m really interested of having something like this AND with a rear view camera that they have as an option.
 
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Nice! Do you Think a liiiiitle bit larger screen would fit?

Same company have a 7" (that is 1/6" wider and 9/16" higher) Thougt that 7" might be more common than 6,2"??

Edit: Went out and checked on my car (2.0) A wider would probably fit BUT then the climatecontrols would be out of sight for me. I´m 6 feet and with your choosen radio 6,2" I could still see the knobs. If it would be a 7" I wouldn´t be able to see the knobs! So you probably made the perfect choice.

I have found they also ship from Germany. (Joyingauto.eu) So also possible to order over here in EU.

PLEASE come back with feedback when you start using it! I´m really interested of having something like this AND with a rear view camera that they have as an option.

If you want a larger screen, you could make a custom mounting bracket. The screen is connected with a ribbon cable. If you mount it more forward, you could then mount it higher, just below the air vents. If you look at my pictures, you'll see that there is a lot of vertical clearance between the top of the screen and the bottom of the air vents. I have the same problem, I'm 187cm and have a long torso, so I couldn't see the top of the HVAC controls or the speedometer anyway. I wouldn't want the screen to be any lower than this one is.

The front of the stereo chassis is plain gray metal, which isn't very attractive. Mounting the screen further from it might make more of that surface visible. I guess you could easily paint it black if it bothered you.

So far, I'm really happy with the stereo. Last night I was using it in Android Auto mode (with it connected to my cellphone in the glove compartment).

Var i Sverige är du?
 
Ok, so this one looks like it might work! Does it provide a WiFi hotspot, by any chance?

The SIM card is so that the unit can grab maps and such from the Internet, but I'm wondering if there isn't perhaps another (more sinister) use? Does one need to create an account or similar, like common IOT devices? That could be a problem. Similarly, if this thing is on the Internet, what is their policy on providing security updates?

Just being careful...
 
Have been Reading up on it and looking at some films. Should be possible to paint plack if tooo visible.

How come Swedish?! 40km söder om Stockholm. (Men ursprungligen från Norrland/Umeå.)

Jag är från Los Angeles men min far var från Mellansverige. Jag är medborgare i Kungariket. I usually spend Midsommar and/or Jul with friends and family in Skåne.

Ok, so this one looks like it might work! Does it provide a WiFi hotspot, by any chance?

The SIM card is so that the unit can grab maps and such from the Internet, but I'm wondering if there isn't perhaps another (more sinister) use? Does one need to create an account or similar, like common IOT devices? That could be a problem. Similarly, if this thing is on the Internet, what is their policy on providing security updates?

Just being careful...

It does appear to support WiFi Hotspot, but I have not yet tested it. The unit doesn't require you to log in to a Joying account (there is no option to do so). Since it's an Android device, I did log in to my Google account on it, so that my passwords, map locations, bookmarks, etc, were all available. You could create a new Google account, or not log in at all, especially if you plan to use it only with Android Auto so everything will be running on your phone and not on the stereo itself. In that case, you wouldn't have to provide the stereo with any Internet connection at all --WiFi or SIM card.

IMG_20190818_230140.jpg
 
Looks great! Have you tried using OVMS on it? Can you install the app?

You can install the OVMS app on it, but only one OVMS app can be registered to a given car at a time, and my phone is registered to the car so I couldn't register it.

You can, however, access the OVMS web page while driving if you configure the OVMS module to use the stereo's WiFi hotspot. In the photo I have the OVMS "Dashboard" page displayed.

IMG_20190820_111200.jpg
 
You can install the OVMS app on it, but only one OVMS app can be registered to a given car at a time, and my phone is registered to the car so I couldn't register it.

You can, however, access the OVMS web page while driving if you configure the OVMS module to use the stereo's WiFi hotspot. In the photo I have the OVMS "Dashboard" page displayed.
That's neat!

Registration only matters for using SMS, and SMS is one of the parts of OVMS v2 functionality that has not been completed in OVMS v3 yet. The app and web server access use the cellular data connection, so you can run them on as many devices as you wish.
 
You can install the OVMS app on it, but only one OVMS app can be registered to a given car at a time, and my phone is registered to the car so I couldn't register it.

That shouldn't be the case. There is no limit on the Apps that can connect to one car (the server handles the interactions, and multiplexes all the Apps into one single connection to the car).
 
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That shouldn't be the case. There is no limit on the Apps that can connect to one car (the server handles the interactions, and multiplexes all the Apps into one single connection to the car).

Ah, indeed. Initially, I was trying to modify the DEMO vehicle rather than add a new vehicle, which doesn't work. I think that tripped me up the first time I set up OVMS. Honestly, I think the DEMO car is more of a liability than it's worth. It would be more intuitive for me if it just started out with an undefined vehicle, waiting for you to fill in the blank config boxes.

That's neat!

Registration only matters for using SMS, and SMS is one of the parts of OVMS v2 functionality that has not been completed in OVMS v3 yet. The app and web server access use the cellular data connection, so you can run them on as many devices as you wish.

I'm using a Google Fi data-only SIM card, which supports neither phone calls nor SMS. The nice thing about being a Google Fi user is you can get data-only SIM cards without paying any monthly fee, you pay only for the data (one dollar per 100MB --OVMS uses pennies worth per month).

I have another Fi data-only SIM card in the stereo itself, which, for whatever reason, doesn't support phone calls directly (you can do them over bluetooth on your cellphone of course). But I just use Hangouts Dialer or a SIP client if I want to make a phone call from the stereo without using my phone.

The car now has two GPS receivers and three SIM cards (one of which is the deceased one that came with the car).
 
looks nice!

i was wondering about these Android only devices and how folks liked them.

So far, I still like it. It makes the HVAC knobs slightly less visible, but I'm 6'2" and have a long torso so I wasn't seeing those knobs anyway. I use them by feel, which is a lot easier to do since I switched them to those wedge-top knobs instead of the round OEM ones.
 
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I have installed this unit and am happy with the result. For sure the radio receipt is much better than with my old Blaupunkt. There is some lag in finding GPS when using a routeplanner
Visibility is somewhat blocked by the steering wheel, heating and ventilation controls easy reachable.
I found this, a new one, on eBay for 265 euro.
 
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D
Jag är från Los Angeles men min far var från Mellansverige. Jag är medborgare i Kungariket. I usually spend Midsommar and/or Jul with friends and family in Skåne.



It does appear to support WiFi Hotspot, but I have not yet tested it. The unit doesn't require you to log in to a Joying account (there is no option to do so). Since it's an Android device, I did log in to my Google account on it, so that my passwords, map locations, bookmarks, etc, were all available. You could create a new Google account, or not log in at all, especially if you plan to use it only with Android Auto so everything will be running on your phone and not on the stereo itself. In that case, you wouldn't have to provide the stereo with any Internet connection at all --WiFi or SIM card.

View attachment 443677

Does Android Auto via the Z-Link implementation just mirror the Phone UI or does it bring up the updated Car UI?

Same question for if you run it natively on the head-unit. Is it a bigger Phone UI? Or the car screen implementation?
Android Auto's 2019 update makes me love it all over again
 
I have installed this unit and am happy with the result. For sure the radio receipt is much better than with my old Blaupunkt. There is some lag in finding GPS when using a routeplanner
Visibility is somewhat blocked by the steering wheel, heating and ventilation controls easy reachable.
I found this, a new one, on eBay for 265 euro.

I got that Joying unit also over the Holidays and started the replacement while trying to avoid taking the dash apart.
I won't use the SIM Card so that's one less 'relocation' to worry about and a pair of antenna I won't need to worry about either.

So far so good, the wiring harness was long enough and easy to pull the old JVC out.
Created an 'adapter' harness that's now working, the radio booted and everything seems to run (except GPS, see below).
All I've left to do, is choosing to replace the radio holder (or not) AND figuring out where to route the GPS antenna.

Did you take the dash apart to position the antennas (pretty sure Xavier did for Rudholm) or did you manage to position them while keep the car 'whole'?
I'm trying to sneak my hand around inside the radio opening but can't feel any gaps to run the wire down to either of the sides.
I was hoping to exit the wires down below the dash on either side and run the wire along the seats into the back, the way I did for OVMS.