Pine64 Head Unit

[Banichi]

I got my unit a few weeks ago but I've been traveling out of town a ton so I haven't had any time to play with it. Downloading the android image file from pine64.org is rather slow. I'm maxing out at 60KB/s and it's not my connection.

I only got the main board and the wifi/bt board. But I will test out what I can. I will need to build a power board with that DC-DC converter that is now on the first post. I currently have an android based head unit in my vehicle now but it's not fantastic. It's one of the better ones but it just made me realize how much better it could be. Hence the pine64.

My thoughts:

• Without having an existing head unit for amplification we would need some sort of amp and the MAX13301 looks great for that but I don't see a basic board designed around it....yet, So a board would have to be designed which shouldn't be too difficult.
  
• Finding some other LCD's that are compatible with the pine64 would be amazing since the pine's version looks like it won't be in stock for awhile. There are some capacitive multi-touch MIPI displays out there on places like alibaba. Some testing is in order.
  
• TabletTalk is one way to handle the hands free aspect but I do know that you can enable the HFP (hands free profile) in android but I am not finding that resource at the moment. The biggest problem with this with my current unit is that a good app would need to be made that can work with google contacts instead of pulling in contacts via bluetooth as well as a nice dialer.
  
• That said a good mic input is needed unless your car comes equipped with one that you can wire in.
  
• I also would prefer a GPS unit like what @dalasu mentioned (BU-353-S4 in OP)
  
• I've seen SDR Radio working before so hopefully there won't be any issues with the pine64. This will be one of my first tests.
  
• I've gotten the Headunit app working on my existing unit that I mentioned and it was on 4.4.4 and it's not supposed to work on builds earlier than Lollipop. So we shouldn't have too many problems there. Also the developer is very very active with the project. Assuming you want the android auto interface.
  
• Camera: I personally don't have much interest in a backup camera but if it were desired then 1 of 2 things would be needed: 1) A display that will auto-switch to an analog source when reverse is triggered (12v trigger I would assume) or 2) a power setup that keeps the android system powered but in sleep mode so that when the vehicle is powered and thrown in to reverse within a few seconds you don't have to wait for boot up to trigger the backup camera, (I'm guessing this can be triggered on a gpio pin?)
  
• One of the big issues I have with my existing unit is that while I can stream audio through apps and my hotspot, if I'm connected via bluetooth, bluetooth notifications/system audio won't play unless I'm in the bluetooth interface app. So a way to mux the bluetooth stream with the system audio would be great. Though this could be a limitation of how that hardware is designed.
  
• Steering wheel controls. I believe that this has been addressed around the internet before but I'll try and find some of those resources. I think that it will vary on if you have a resistance ladder or CANbus controls but I think that there are USB adapters for both situations.
  

Uh I think that's it for now. I'm gonna just be using my HDMI display for now and we'll see how that goes but I'll look for another touch display and see what I come up with.

Nathan