Touchscreen android based head units

[beardman]

I came across a thread on here with details about an android based touchscreen head unit. I am pretty sure there was a link to the site to purchase it. I remember that it was specifically made for the a6 and looked as oem as could be expected (no trim kit needed). I can't seem to find it now though. I am not talking about the thread with the app radio install. The one I am talking about has some notes from someone who had been emailing back and forth with the developer.

Thanks in advance for anyone who has the link


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[rollerton]

The best touch-screen clones I have seen are made by DYNAVIN (http://www.dynavin.com/#) . Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

I'm not sure I have seen one from them that is specific for a C5 A6...but they make a bunch, might be worth an email?


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IefM0AccJd8/hqdefault.jpg

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

Trust me this is a rabbit hole discussion and has been touched on many times. From my extensive researching experience I once found one unit on alibaba that was for an a6 c5 for $600 and had androdi. The equivalent model for the a4 was only $350. I contacted them and there was no budging on the price so I did not buy it.

I have yet to ever find an android head unit that is designed for the c5 not to mention the same soft touch black color as a stock 2002+ symphony or rnse

I have however found several replica rns-e units without android that fit the c5.

My .02, I eventually just went with an rns-e for oem. If you ever find a c5 android unit post it up!

[beardman]

Trust me this is a rabbit hole discussion and has been touched on many times. From my extensive researching experience I once found one unit on alibaba that was for an a6 c5 for $600 and had androdi. The equivalent model for the a4 was only $350. I contacted them and there was no budging on the price so I did not buy it.

I have yet to ever find an android head unit that is designed for the c5 not to mention the same soft touch black color as a stock 2002+ symphony or rnse

I have however found several replica rns-e units without android that fit the c5.

My .02, I eventually just went with an rns-e for oem. If you ever find a c5 android unit post it up!

Yeah, I know. That is why I bookmarked the page (so I thought). If I remember correctly it was specifically for the c5 and was right around $400.


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[ChicagosPhantom]

Screw that... Only way to go is OEM+!
Beauty!! http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161208/26642f729f10922bbed3cea15975d005.jpg

[chris86vw]

If you ever find a c5 android unit post it up!

sure..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371774682213?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


Have that one on the way for the allroad I just picked up, if I like it ordering the A3 one.

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

sure..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371774682213?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


Have that one on the way for the allroad I just picked up, if I like it ordering the A3 one.

Well there you go. That was not available 6 months ago when I looked extensively. It was weird, it seemed that when I was researching these on alibaba the price kept increasing everytime I searched for them. maybe some weird cookies thing...

Yea post up a review of that thing once you get it up and running. Interested to see how it performs.

I paid $500 for a 1st gen RNSE, 2nd gens are still in the $1k + range, this could be an awesome alternative.

[chris86vw]

Just tracked it and allegedly will be here tomorrow even though it hasn't hit the ground at Reagan yet. I'll get some pics and post impressions once I have it.

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

I once talked to a guy who bought that very same unit a few years ago and he had mixed reviews about it. Here is what he said in his email:

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________

ME: So in general how do you like the unit for the price?


Its definitely an improvement on the aging OEM RNS unit. I use it mainly for navigation and music (and TPMS) - and for these, its pretty good. The gps speed is accurate to about 0.5%, which means i can sit exactly on the posted limits (necessary in Oz to avoid speeding fines).

But the manufacturer is disappointing; what you get is what you get - no warranty/after sales support (and the reseller can't do much for you, since they manufacturer doesn't support them either)

I think with our C5 allroads, they just shipped and hoped for the best. They judge the car too old to be worth fixing the issues.

In my case:

- no steering wheel controls or other car integration (i can live with this)

- i hooked up a reversing camera, which works OK (but there is a loud clunk sound over the speakers when you move the gear from park through reverse to drive). If you want one of these, you may have trouble finding one which fits on ebay...

- high pitched whizzing sound, audible at low speed. (my driving is highway driving, and i can't hear it at speed)

- no AM/FM reception; I'd need to remove the unit to connect suitable aerials, but its such a tight fit to get in in the first place that i'm a bit reluctant to take it out again!

- i love the fact that it can run many Android apps, but its a pity they partitioned the device too small to install more than a few (i posted a reference to some software which can work around this, but i haven't tried it)

- can't see the screen in bright daylight

- occasionally it stops responding to touch. stopping the car and moving into Park and back to Drive seems to fix it.

- the built in music app crashes regularly

I paid about $500 for it (well $1K, since the first one broke and they never returned it). I like it for either price. But if I was doing this all again, I'd be seriously considering www.icar-tech.de/shop for German quality control / support. By the time I found them before, i was committed to the Chinese route. But in my limited email dealings with icar-tech.de, they were very thorough and professional.


ME: Does it look nice in your allroad? I as well will be putting it in my 2002 allroad.


Sure, its fine.



ME: Since your allroad is a 2001, you have the "non-soft touch" buttons?


Not sure what you mean by "non-soft touch" buttons? But i use the touch screen for most things (except volume adjustment and next/previous song)


Does this unit come in soft or hard touch finish.


.. or this :-)


ME: Would love to see some installed pics, I cant find any online anywhere showing it installed in a c5 a6 platform.


I'll dig up a photo over the next day or so.

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y487/theguilfoyle/android%20rnse_zpstzsbokup.png (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/theguilfoyle/media/android%20rnse_zpstzsbokup.png.html)

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _________________________

[chris86vw]

looks like slightly different version so fingers crossed that it is working a little better.

They have a unit/vehicle specific can adapter that allegedly makes it work properly with the BOSE amp and steering wheel controls. I'm willing to abandon the amp if needed really only bought it in hopes that I could keep volume control on my steering wheels. I got very used to that on my two TDI wagons, I try to use it all the time on my A3 even though it's been disabled for years with the headunit in that car.

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

Yea hopefully it is an updated model. I do know for sure that the front door speakers are powered from the deck unit and the rear speakers and sub are powered off the rear amp. You would have to rewire if you wanted all 4 to run off the deck

[chris86vw]

I have Bose so should have all 4 door speaker sets running from the amp, need to double check the wiring but the pin outs for the amp indicate fronts come from there. Still may be some work to do with line level vs speaker level out.

[toms73novass]

Post up with your install progress and results, very interested!

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

Oh Tom's 73 ... You know I tried contacting you a few years regarding your progress on your supercharged 4.2 on some Euro forums to get no response. What ever happened?

[chris86vw]

Radio showed up, very impressed with the quality from initial handling of it and clicking buttons.

The harness is very well made so much that it is direct plug and play no loose power wires so I can't bench test it easily at my house. Car is at my shop so I'll try to plug it in this weekend and get some photos and compare to the texture of the soft touch.

It came with two factory connectors, the can module plugs right into either of those. It seems to have speaker wiring in that main harness but also rcas, I don't know if the normal output is speaker level or line level but I did tell them I had bose so they were supposed to send what worked directly with that no modifications.

ETA: ok something had me confused and it just hit me a minute ago, in the direct to Audi harness conversion thing there were male RCAs which at first made no sense. What I think they want you to do is hook up the male RCAs on that harness to the female on the line out harness. So you are feeding from the headunit line out into the audi vehicle harness to get line level to the bose amp. I apparently don't have a DMM here so I can't confirm the pins just yet.

[toms73novass]

Oh Tom's 73 ... You know I tried contacting you a few years regarding your progress on your supercharged 4.2 on some Euro forums to get no response. What ever happened?

I think you might have me confused with another? I have a 2.7t allroad.

[chris86vw]

Ok did some testing today, didn't actually compare them out of the car so I don't have an opinion on the finish compared to the soft touch yet.

As I thought they want you to use the preamp outputs to feed into the male RCAs on the vehicle specific harness, and like usual with this stuff they were labeled wrong which I guessed before I started and just connected one at a time until RR was lined up to RR etc.

Steering wheel controls did work! Also seems to get the proper signal over can for the lights turning on which illuminates the red accent lights and if you have a night mode setup for the brightness that activates.

Bluetooth streaming worked, I didn't try to make a phone call through it since my shop has little cell signal. podcasts were a little dull sounding but pandora was not terrible, this could just be eq settings needing some adjustment for times it is just talking and there is actually a voice preset in the eq.

FM and AM not working at all, it came with a powered ant adapter from the long pin aftermarket style to the factory connection and it did not work even when powered. I have another I pulled from a different car that I'll try later. Not sure if this is a tuner issue or antenna issue right now.

My shop has no internet, I couldn't get a GPS signal locked on even with it stretched as close to the door as I could, and really no cell signal so I could not get attempt to tether to it or get wifi to pick up. I am going to setup a router that isn't online to at least see if the wifi will connect or if it needs an external antenna.


Ok now the not good. I plugged in the can module and like I said this made the steering wheel controls work and also it seems to be the trigger for the bose amp. BUT when you first plug it in and turn the key on nothing happens. Turn the key off and suddenly it turns on. For some reason the can module is not triggering the acc wire on the radio until the key is first cycled on and then off. but then it never turns off ever. The radio is always just on or in sleep mode it doesn't fully power off. I tested and there is power on that wire all the time once that initial key cycle has been done. Contacted the seller with the problem. I can easily bypass the module function to turn on the bose amp and the radio itself but I'd still like the steering and light functions from it.


Will update when i hear about a fixed can module or test other functions.

Despite the power issue, which is clearly a big thing, I'm impressed and like the unit overall

[beardman]

FYI, haven't found the thread, but I did find the link to the head unit I originally saw.

http://www.roadnavi.com/product/m102-audi-a6-media-satnav-1997-04/


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[rollerton]

Despite the power issue, which is clearly a big thing, I'm impressed and like the unit overall

Sounds like a decent unit considering the price vs. fit and functions etc. I personally can't stand when things looks out of place, like every single decent head unit off the shelf. This looks like a decent alternative to the usuals. There's a lot of crappy reviews for these chinese clone things, but I think people expect too much. They fit pretty decent, look pretty damn good and have a whole bunch of functions.
If you're trying to duplicate the OEM power up/down there's a tiny RED wire at the back of the cluster in the blue connector that is keyed 12V until the key is removed. I have tapped that wire directly for head-unit 'signal' power. Usually the head unit will only use the 12V ign/acc wire as a 'switch' so it doesn't draw more than a few mA so it's perfectly safe. You could use a relay with it if you wanted to actually power something.
Update this when you get a better feel for how the thing works, I'm tempted to grab one...

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/zer0b0y/P1020361.jpg

[chris86vw]

The issue right now with bypassing the can module is that it is also what provides stuff like parking brake for video, back up signal for rear camera, and I think VSS for GPS in tunnel, plus the steering wheel. So the wiring bypass on power is easy the rest gets a little more complicated

Finding a key'd or like in that case key in power (my column is apart so may just jump right to the ignition) is the easiest part of the whole thing. But still thanks for the tip on that wire.

What I may do is just change the constant on 12v to the can module to a switched, bypass the switched/acc out from the module and go right to the radio and see if that maintains all my features and switches it on and off right. That is if they are not going to easily swap out the can module or it takes too long. I may turn in both TDIs before the holidays so need to get the allroad on the road.

IT actually came with two factory harnesses for the different connectors depending on the year. so I might just get a metra or similar harness, like the one you'd' use on a sony/pioneer etc and splice that into the other one that has the older style factory connector. That would let me test without butchering the harness I Want to keep, get something going for now and wait for replacement module.


And yes I agree I think that this fit and finish is more than acceptable especially for hte price, it looks better than any normal aftermarket radio and offers features that you won't see for twice the price on a factory nav upgrade. Probably order the one for my A3 in january once I work the bugs out of this one.

[julex]

[Awesome stuff]

Thanks for this. My grip with the unit was exactly what you described in here. Today it powers off when I shut down the car by moving the key out of ignition position but I would like it to remain on instead until I take the key out of the hole.

[julex]

The issue right now with bypassing the can module is that it is also what provides stuff like parking brake for video, back up signal for rear camera, and I think VSS for GPS in tunnel, plus the steering wheel. So the wiring bypass on power is easy the rest gets a little more complicated

Finding a key'd or like in that case key in power (my column is apart so may just jump right to the ignition) is the easiest part of the whole thing. But still thanks for the tip on that wire.

What I may do is just change the constant on 12v to the can module to a switched, bypass the switched/acc out from the module and go right to the radio and see if that maintains all my features and switches it on and off right. That is if they are not going to easily swap out the can module or it takes too long. I may turn in both TDIs before the holidays so need to get the allroad on the road.

IT actually came with two factory harnesses for the different connectors depending on the year. so I might just get a metra or similar harness, like the one you'd' use on a sony/pioneer etc and splice that into the other one that has the older style factory connector. That would let me test without butchering the harness I Want to keep, get something going for now and wait for replacement module.


And yes I agree I think that this fit and finish is more than acceptable especially for hte price, it looks better than any normal aftermarket radio and offers features that you won't see for twice the price on a factory nav upgrade. Probably order the one for my A3 in january once I work the bugs out of this one.

What exact car you have? Is that updated CAN/K-line or pre-2002 "dedicated wire" steering wheel controls?

[chris86vw]

What exact car you have? Is that updated CAN/K-line or pre-2002 "dedicated wire" steering wheel controls?

It is a 2003 Allroad so it should have the later CAN and the radio does not have any specific steering wheel control wires on the diagram only CAN.

They kept asking me to send a video to them and I simply kept replying that the Radio does not shut off that is all a video would show them and I'm not wasting my time.

This morning I received a reply that said disconnect the ACC output from the can module and supply my own. Not the answer I wanted but since I'm more than capable of wiring this up how it needs to be I'll be testing that in a few hours.

[chris86vw]

Pulled acc output pin from the can module and was jumping it to the constant hot to simulate using the cycling of the key. Unit works and powers down into a standby mode, says off but boots up instantly if you power it right back up. If you let it sit a few minutes it goes through the full start up which takes probably 15-20 seconds (no worse than factory nav in my 2015 GSW).

So that seems to work BUT since the Bose amp is still powered up when you kill the power there is a quick pop sound, like if using a headphone jack on a phone to some external speakers that type of noise. It is not the end of the world but annoying. I planned to ditch the bose eventually anyway so it just needs to get me going to make sure I have at least one sane vehicle ready to go when VW takes the TDIs back, then I'll worry about the new speakers/amps. I may see if there is an easy way for me to trigger the bose amp from the same acc wire and test if that kills the pop. Right now I can hear it click off about 1 second after I kill the acc power.


Didn't test steering wheel controls while bypassing the acc from the can module since there was no steering wheel installed.

Stripping my parts car for the 6spd/heated black leather swap over the next few days so likely won't touch radio again until next week.

[Terry.Reese]

I am trying to get an aftermarket head unit installed on my 05. Have the unit, just trying to figure out harness and trim, i have steering controls. Any suggestions? Going single DIN for now.

[rollerton]

So that seems to work BUT since the Bose amp is still powered up when you kill the power there is a quick pop sound, like if using a headphone jack on a phone to some external speakers that type of noise. It is not the end of the world but annoying.

In the old days I put one of these Chinese units in my old MK4 GTI I had the same problem. I can't remember what they call the but there's a tiny..what is it- filter of capacitor ?- that you can install in the AMP signal line or something that prevents the *POP*during power cycle. IT's been a few years, but I think I got it off ebay or something for like $8.
It leaves a little charge in the circuit or creates some tiny delay so that when the H/U is turned off the speakers power down before the AMP so that sound doesn't come through the speakers. I think.
I don't know..but there IS a fix! [:/]

[chris86vw]

In the old days I put one of these Chinese units in my old MK4 GTI I had the same problem. I can't remember what they call the but there's a tiny..what is it- filter of capacitor ?- that you can install in the AMP signal line or something that prevents the *POP*during power cycle. IT's been a few years, but I think I got it off ebay or something for like $8.
It leaves a little charge in the circuit or creates some tiny delay so that when the H/U is turned off the speakers power down before the AMP so that sound doesn't come through the speakers. I think.
I don't know..but there IS a fix! [:/]

Thanks I'll do a search, if it is 8 bucks that will work until I have time to change it all up.

[chris86vw]

I am trying to get an aftermarket head unit installed on my 05. Have the unit, just trying to figure out harness and trim, i have steering controls. Any suggestions? Going single DIN for now.

For the basic wiring you can just get the proper metra or similar harness from Amazon, you'll need the later one.

If you have bose you'll need the adapter harness that has male RCAs on it to plug into the line level outs on the back of the head unit. If you can't find that harness you can modify some cheap RCAs, think I did that on my A3.

For steering wheel controls to work you will need some sort of can adapter, that is the part I'm having all the trouble with. There are generic ones and vehicle specific ones I think I found one on ebay the other day but it was 75 bucks coming from Germany meant to plug right into a C5 with the later can stuff.

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

I am trying to get an aftermarket head unit installed on my 05. Have the unit, just trying to figure out harness and trim, i have steering controls. Any suggestions? Going single DIN for now.

You are seriously going to replace a Symphony II with a single din sony, etc ?!!!

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

When I switched from Syn II to RNS-e and recoded to standard " A6 speakers " sound quality went from 5/10 to almost 8/10 w/ non-bose speaks. Just really needs a woof and stock door speaks.

If you have a bose system and are trying to retrofit an aftermarket head unit there is a lot more than just pluggin in the new din. Wires need to me run to switch back from a bose car to a normal setup. Re-coding has to be done to adjust sound profiles or it will just sound like crap. Impediances and driver capabilities of the new din unit must match the speakers you have in the doors or you may need to put filters on all speakers. Story goes on.

Dont mark my works, I have seen one successful double din install in a bose c5 and the sound quality was equivalent to my stock setup...

[chris86vw]

If you have a bose system and are trying to retrofit an aftermarket head unit there is a lot more than just pluggin in the new din. Wires need to me run to switch back from a bose car to a normal setup. Re-coding has to be done to adjust sound profiles or it will just sound like crap. Impediances and driver capabilities of the new din unit must match the speakers you have in the doors or you may need to put filters on all speakers. Story goes on.




I've been running more than one aftermarket unit on my A3 since 2007 with the stock bose amp and speakers with the exception of running a DVC aftermarket sub but still using bose amp(it was off the road for a bit in the middle.. but not the point).

Sound is fine and no rewiring is needed, there is also no impedance issue since the amp is still what is powering the speakers. All you are doing is using the line level outputs to feed the amp inputs, just like stock.

In testing this unit in my Allroad sound quality is also fine, I had it playing for a few hours the other day. That was with the basic eq setting in this android unit just set to flat. I'm not saying that it is good but it wasn't worse or even different from stock.

It is a matter of just plugging it in, with the correct harness.

While a single din is not pretty in everyone's opinion the Symphony II is nothing special and now VERY dated. You can get a lot of features on even the most basic aftermarket radio that you can't without some serious retrofits on the stock headunit. Changing out a headunit is not always about sound quality.

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

You are talking about a 2007 a3. Much different monster with c5 a6 or so I am told. This is just info I have heard and read only. No personal exp.

The issue is that you will have a different sound parameter coming out of the front speakers vs the rear speakers because the rear speakers and sub are going thru all the bose EQ where as the fronts are not and being driven off an entirely different speaker driver than the bose speaker driver for the rear speakers.

[julex]

NEVER ditch bose amp UNLESS you're going all out with this. Bose has a shit load of EQ and delays on each speaker to make the sound palatable. When I removed BOSE and run the speakers off aftermarket amps, I was greeted with plethora of combing of frequencies which made listening to music a torture. The interior of car is amplifying several frequency bands in 1k-3k range so much that even on equivalent of factory sound level of 1/2 max I could not listen to music on this new set up. My ears werre bascially shutting down on that modest volume level due to ear acoustic reflex. I ma highly sensitive to mid-frequencies, I guess this is why I can hear my wife even from mile away...

I had to modify the set up to add 2 x DSP processors (MiniDSP 2x4) and go through a quest of learning sound engineering and how to set up filters etc etc. During the measurements, it became apparent that non-EQ/DSP sound gets some frequencies amplified 3-4x fold!

Just to give you an idea what you'll need:
- 8 channel + 1 channel of amplification, 8 for component speakers and 1 (or more) channel for subwoofer if you're getting one. I got DVC sub and two 4+1 amps so I drive sub from both amps.
- as many channels of DSP processing
- get components speakers and wire them separately to each amp channel (no, factory is not the right set up since each door's speakers are fed from one wire, you want to drive each speaker separately)
- google "RoomEQ Wizard"
- get quality calibrated microphone with calibration file for it.
- laptop, install RoomEQ Wizard and spend hours in the car taking measurement alienating neighbors with sine wave sweeps :)
- trial and error - generate filters in the software and spend hours refining them, then installing into DSP, re-measuring and figuring what went wrong

But at least, in the end, I have now sound that sounds pure, spacious, can play at 100% volume (and what volume at that!) with no distortions or rattling and I love it!

[chris86vw]

You are talking about a 2007 a3. Much different monster with c5 a6 or so I am told. This is just info I have heard and read only. No personal exp.

So you have rumors and I have first hand knowledge.. got it.

You are right the A3 actually had a more advanced BOSE system than the C5s have.. still works. And so does my C5.



The issue is that you will have a different sound parameter coming out of the front speakers vs the rear speakers because the rear speakers and sub are going thru all the bose EQ where as the fronts are not and being driven off an entirely different speaker driver than the bose speaker driver for the rear speakers.

This was already covered in this very thread and also explained by me just before in the wiring information.

The headunit DOES NOT power the front speakers, doesn't matter how many times you say it doesn't suddenly become true.

The BOSE amp 100% powers the front and rear speakers in my application there is not a single wire in the factory harness going from the radio directly to the speakers.

[Terry.Reese]

You are seriously going to replace a Symphony II with a single din sony, etc ?!!!

never a Sony... JVC, has all the bells and whistles, bluetooth, pandora, spotify, sd card, MP3, phone.. etc.. wife could care less about the OEM look, the Symphony doesn't even work on hers.

[LakeTahoeQuattr]

So you have rumors and I have first hand knowledge.. got it.

You are right the A3 actually had a more advanced BOSE system than the C5s have.. still works. And so does my C5.



This was already covered in this very thread and also explained by me just before in the wiring information.

The headunit DOES NOT power the front speakers, doesn't matter how many times you say it doesn't suddenly become true.

The BOSE amp 100% powers the front and rear speakers in my application there is not a single wire in the factory harness going from the radio directly to the speakers.

ok your the expert

[chris86vw]

ok your the expert

No one is claiming to be an expert, although I am a former Audi tech....

But you repeatedly have posted incorrect information based on something that you even admit you have no experience with and are telling people who have actually done something that they are wrong about what they did and what worked. That only hurts the users of this site and anyone else who is trying to search for information.