Tablet PC as Carputer?

Well this is mine. Until I can get a tiny screwdriver to get the 3.5mm jack and the usb relocated on the Nexus, this is how it'll look. It's not pretty but for the time being it will have to do

I've been using AutomateIt. But I did test settings profiles, and I believe it was working correctly. They can be finicky, and do take some trial and error to get things right. With AutomateIt, the only thing it cannot do is kill and app and pause music.

I use AutomateIT Pro and have no problem killing apps. It's also set to screen off timeout to 5-seconds if not in a charging state.

What app do you guys use to turn the nexus off when the power is killed? I'm using settings profiles and can't figure out how to pause the music and turn the screen off when I turn the car off. I also would like to keep the screen on at all times when power is plugged in

I have it triggering an app called Standby Pro or something like that - which immediately puts it to sleep. I mentioned it in a previous post.

Ha! I love the Moga. Many hours wasted with it + Vice City / N64 Emulators:lol: Nice work.

Hah! I got it for free with their Secret-Santa promo code. super nifty!

I bought AutomateIt and it's working beautifully. Thanks for the tips, everyone

I got my usb and audio jack relocated to the bottom (when the tablet is in its mounted position) so the wires will run inside the dash and out of sight. I just have to reinstall the vents and I should be good to go

I bought AutomateIt and it's working beautifully. Thanks for the tips, everyone

 

I got my usb and audio jack relocated to the bottom (when the tablet is in its mounted position) so the wires will run inside the dash and out of sight. I just have to reinstall the vents and I should be good to go

Sweet!! You'll probably want to get some right-angle cables for clearance. I also had to angle my connectors up a bit so the cables didnt get snagged when I was pushing the assembly into place.

As for keeping the screen on indefinitely on power - it's located in the developer settings. If you're on 4.2.2 you have to actually enable the developer settings as they hid it from the average user. As I recall you have to go to 'about device' and click on the build number 7 times and it unlocks it.

Sweet!! You'll probably want to get some right-angle cables for clearance. I also had to angle my connectors up a bit so the cables didnt get snagged when I was pushing the assembly into place.

 

As for keeping the screen on indefinitely on power - it's located in the developer settings. If you're on 4.2.2 you have to actually enable the developer settings as they hid it from the average user. As I recall you have to go to 'about device' and click on the build number 7 times and it unlocks it.

You mean 4.2.1? Or 4.1.2? I haven't seen a 4.2.2 update yet. I'm not saying that I couldn' t have possibly missed, but I don't see anything online about 4.2.2 either.

I use AutomateIT Pro and have no problem killing apps. It's also set to screen off timeout to 5-seconds if not in a charging state.

I have AutomateIt Pro as well. Do you have it with ICS? My understanding is that with ICS, it doesn't work anymore. I could test it again, but it's never worked for me.

I got my nexus installed yesterday but I'm still having trouble with the screen timeout, even with AutomateIt Pro. Sometimes it will timeout, sometimes it won't.

I'm also going to try and tackle this with the nav bezel instead of the cubby bezel- with the cubby bezel I ended up having to cut into the vents a little bit and now they won't adjust. With the nav bezel at least the screen will be recessed a little bit and hopefully I can avoid the vents. As you can see it's a mess

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/01/ba6y3yza.jpg

You mean 4.2.1? Or 4.1.2? I haven't seen a 4.2.2 update yet. I'm not saying that I couldn' t have possibly missed, but I don't see anything online about 4.2.2 either.

I think you're right. I lost track of versions long time ago - I'm on the latest (which I guess is 4.2.1). The setting to keep the screen on indefinitely while powered is definitely in the developer options. Also - along with your timeout issue - have your automation app trigger the Standby Touch Advanced application. I couldn't get any of my apps to reliably put the screen to sleep - so I just have this app triggered when the device loses power. Conversely - the screen wakes up when power is established (as is the behavior of android, no settings needed) and stays on because of the indefinite screen timeout in the developer options I have flagged. Also - I use this app for my settings. Does everything I need and more.

Charging the Nexus 7 - The Android Drama Queen

I've been learning a lot about how the Nexus 7 charges - what requirements it needs to get better results.

When we're talking about chargers we're talking about volts and amps. Think of the number of volts as the type of current - and amps as the amount of that current it can supply.

If you were to put it into automotive terms, think of volts as the type of gasoline - and the amperage as the reservoir you're pumping out of. The gas stations reservoir (amps) needs to be big enough to accommodate your car - but it needs to be the right type of fuel (volts). The device will never draw more than it needs to - so having a higher amperage charger (within reason) is fine - it will ensure that the charger can provide the hungry device with as much power as it needs to draw. But you need to make sure you're feeding the device the proper voltage for it to operate properly.

Back to the story.

As it stands my monoprice car charger is awful, and only charges slightly faster than the tablet drains in regular use... which is easily 5-6x slower than the charger it comes with.

This is because of a few things.

1. The quality of charger makes a huge difference. Just because it advertises 2.1A doesn't mean that's what you're going to get. Even if you do get that amperage, the filtering of the power is very important for a car. The voltage within a car's electrical system will spike and dip wildly as you engage and disengage high draw electronics. Turning on/off headlights with cause spikes and dips - and having a car charger that can protect your device from these harmful fluctuations is important. I was getting all sorts of audio interference when my device was plugged into a cheap charger. The moment I disconnected the tablet from my Monoprice car charger, the interference immediately disappears.

2. The impedence of the cable (Ohms law) will determine the rate at which you charge. Your average usb cable is 28AWG, which is to say that it uses 28 gauge wire through the length of the cable. The higher (thicker) the gauge (lower the number) of wire, the less impedance on the line - a better connection is made. USB cables are best when kept under 6 feet for impedance reasons. The tablet can detect the impedance on the cable and will severely throttle the amperage it's drawing to preserve the voltage it's receiving. In this case, I'm using a 9ft 28AWG cable, and I'm willing to bet that I'm charging less than 500mA because of it's length and gauge. My charger says it can do 2.1A - but the cable is the bottleneck. Ever wonder why the Nexus 7 only comes with a 3ft cable? Now you know why. I just ordered a 6ft 24AWG (I didn't need 9ft anyway, six should do the trick) - and my dad says he has some 16AWG cable laying around that we could fab a custom cable together.

3. The tablet will display that it's charging on AC power regardless of the amperage it's receiving. Many people (myself included) have been trained to look at the charging status in the Battery Settings for the "(AC)" after the charging indicator. This use to indicate to the user that it was charging at the full speed of the charger, and not the slow USB 500mA spec. With the new Jelly Bean update, the tablet will now show "Charging (AC)" regardless if the data pins are shorted. But more to that fact - it will show this even if the charger is a piece of crap, or you're running it off a 20ft cable and only getting 300mA out of the charger. The speed of charging can only be seen by the rate at which your battery recharges (unless you have the hacked android kernel which exposes the charging rate). "Charging (AC)" could indicate that it's charging at 400mA, 800mA, or even 1600mA - it's not indicative of how fast the device is really charging, or whether you're really taking advantage of your charger.

There has been lots of study on the Nexus 7 recharging, and the general consensus is that you need to provide it with a [ame=http://www.amazon.com/PowerGen-Dual-3-1A-Output-Charger/dp/B0088U4YAG]quality charger[/ame] and a cable with low impedance (short as possible, high gauge wire). The fastest I've seen a Nexus 7 actually charge was 1.6A - with 20AWG (super fat) cable on the OEM charger. Many tests show the Nexus 7 charging as low as 300-400mA when using USB extension cables and low quality charger.

Newegg sells a 6ft 22AWG USB cable but it's been out of stock recently. I simply cannot find it anywhere else. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189234

Simply put: Quality charger + Fatter/Shorter Cables = better connection and faster charging.

I got my nexus installed yesterday but I'm still having trouble with the screen timeout, even with AutomateIt Pro. Sometimes it will timeout, sometimes it won't.

 

I'm also going to try and tackle this with the nav bezel instead of the cubby bezel- with the cubby bezel I ended up having to cut into the vents a little bit and now they won't adjust. With the nav bezel at least the screen will be recessed a little bit and hopefully I can avoid the vents. As you can see it's a mess

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/01/ba6y3yza.jpg

So this pic above is with the cubby bezel then? If yes, where did you relocate the mpg gauge?

Just do a google search, and you'll see what car chargers are compatible with the Nexus. It's a very well known and documented problem that originates from the way the tablet does things instead of the actual charger.

It's not a matter of compatibility - if you read my post you'd see that there are several factors to getting a high output from any charger. You could have a 300W power inverter and the OEM charger and still not charge the tablet if you use a 10-15 foot USB cable. The voltage drop will be too severe, and the amperage inadequate for charging the nexus.

The point I was making was to be aware of all the different factors - the charger is only one piece of the puzzle, mate.

If you had a small power inverter you could just use the Nexus charger. Not the best but it would work.

I am assuming here you'd also use the provided USB cable. Forgot to mention it.

I am assuming here you'd also use the provided USB cable. Forgot to mention it.

The provided USB cable is 3 feet - which obviously doesn't work too well in a car install (at least my version - I want the power supply in my center armrest). Most people won't have issues with a crappy charger or thin cable because the tablet doesn't live in their cars. When it's a carputer - you need to be considering that the charger/cabling must not only power the nexus 7 while it runs - but charge fast enough to make up for the drain occurring while the car is off. Like I said earlier - the tablet will report that its charging - but it could be anywhere from 200mA to 1.6A - all depending on the wiring, etc.

Additionally - most people wouldn't notice the difference between a 4 hour and 8 hour charging time because they let it charge overnight in their house. But in a car installation, every minute your car is running is precious time to get the battery back to 100% - making it crucial you have the optimal wiring and charger. If you don't, the battery will inevitably drain out and you have to charge it up from an outlet.

You don't need anything terribly fancy - but it still is something to consider when doing the install.

That's right, the provided OEM cable is short. So I was just picturing a regular AC extension cord for the Nexus charger which would run behind the deck, going under the center console and maybe to a small power inverter tucked in underneath your seat or something.

Like I said, not the prettiest and most efficient in my opinion but it would work and meet the issues you have mentioned regarding charging that device.

So this pic above is with the cubby bezel then? If yes, where did you relocate the mpg gauge?

I actually had the oem nav come in my car. I got the cubby bezel from a local member for free when I bought a set of tires from him. I have the mpg gauge that goes with the cubby, but Subaru used a different connector to plug into the back of the nav unit, so I can't even get the mpg gauge to work with the connector anyway without making a new harness. I have a ScanGauge that I use for mileage anyway, and that is suction-cup-mounted to my windshield above the vent nearest to the door.

I actually had the oem nav come in my car. I got the cubby bezel from a local member for free when I bought a set of tires from him. I have the mpg gauge that goes with the cubby, but Subaru used a different connector to plug into the back of the nav unit, so I can't even get the mpg gauge to work with the connector anyway without making a new harness. I have a ScanGauge that I use for mileage anyway, and that is suction-cup-mounted to my windshield above the vent nearest to the door.

I see. But the bezel shown in your pic above, which one is it? I am assuming cubby?

On another note, you could install the Torque app on your Nexus to give you the instant/average mpg gauges, boost, etc (plus read/clear CEL codes as well). This way, you would not have to have anything mounted on your windshield. Anyways, that's subjective.

Yes, I'm using the cubby bezel above, but I think I'm going to redo it with the nav bezel since the screen will be flush with the sides of the opening, and I won't have to completely chop up my vents.

I know I could use the Torque app, but I actually prefer to have the ScanGauge as another set of gauges to look. Like you said, that's subjective.

Well only a few days into the install, I've noticed that my Nexus is down to 38% battery which means it's not charging fast enough to make up for the drain like CrazyGoat mentioned. I'll rip my setup out, get working on the nav bezel, and wait for a thicker cable to arrive so I can make something long enough (also running my usb cable back to the armrest) that will still provide ample current to charge.