Nicely put. I use Apple CarPlay, the phone does all the work but with the bigger touch screen and display of the head unit. Also has voice control. Great arrangement. I think separate navigators will become history like VHS and Compact Casettes.
New 2 Din radio system - £30 or £300??
- Thread starter TeamBandS
- Start date
And the software on your phone is going to get far more software updates than your average satnav. Android Auto recently got a complete visual overhaul. It's being improved all the time.
Not as long as they only allow their own inferior navigation apps to use the system
They don't have size and weight on their apps. But they do have continuously updating mapping and far better traffic routing information. I think these are more important... Admittedly I have a smaller van and I might think differently if it was an RV.
I tried CoPilot Caravan and it was a complete and expensive disappointment. It still sent me down silly narrow roads and only avoided ones with official weight or width limits but basically little better than Google Maps. It also had the worst ever traffic, twice tried to send me down the M3 when it was closed for the whole weekend. When I complained they did the sloping shoulders and blamed a supplier but said they would pass on my complaint. The next time the motorway was closed it still routed me down it but this time it showed the journey length as about 20 hours, it expected me to sit on a closed motorway until Monday morning. The only saving grace was the road profiling which they have dropped from the latest version.
Give me the free Google or Apple maps please, at least they are written properly. If I am being directed down a road that looks a bit silly I ignore it and am rapidly rerouted, which is more than CoPilot usually managed. I don’t see any evidence that these apps are inferior but I would welcome and even pay for some extra features.
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Cheshirecat57
Free Member
Any suggestions? £50 ish?
I know this is a bit of an old thread but looking at installing something similar in the Hymer, what brand is this one?
Jake
Think it’s Xtron but unsure now will try and have a look tomorrow all you need to do is make sure it’s android 10 now. I buy and fit lots all differing makes just what ever fits the vehicle they are much the same.
cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
I have XTron stuff before and it has been better than the average Chinese stuff. However, there is a big difference between Android Auto and a head unit with an ancient Android 8.1 tablet sellotaped to the front. Be sure you know which you're getting.
Thanks for that, I have been looking at those but the reviews are so hit and miss I might muse over it. You had any problems with them?
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cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
If you go for a proper Android Auto system, the cheapest I could find was the Sony XAV-3005DB. It was good enough for me to buy two of them (one for M/H, one for a car). Good points are excellent DAB reception, pretty rapid startup, simple UI, reversing camera input and good sounding amplifiers. Bad points are resistive touchscreen, low screen brightness (partly because the dash points it away from the driver), fussiness over USB cables and lack of wired audio input (I would have used that for the TV).
It claims that there is no IR remote control facility, even as an option. However, that is a lie. You could see the IR sensor lens, so I risked buying a Sony remote for the next model up and it works fine!
It claims that there is no IR remote control facility, even as an option. However, that is a lie. You could see the IR sensor lens, so I risked buying a Sony remote for the next model up and it works fine!
cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
Gives me something to think about, unfortunately my merc hymer gives me no option for a double din so my choices are limited and expensive!
Cheers
Is there absolutely no physical room? There are often single to double DIN conversion panels available for vans, which is exactly what I used for my Movano, which would have originally had a single DIN before the police butchered the general area to install their radios.
Got the biggest tablet I could (Samsung) , paired it to the phone . Nice and high on the dashboard for view plus I can use it away from the drivers seat to plan trips browse , Netflix etc etc etc
Well the problem i have is the radio is already installed at the highest point on the dash, there is a separate slot below but I think it would be too low and difficult to glance at whilst driving
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cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
Well the problem i have is the radio is already installed at the highest point on the dash, there is a separate slot below but I think it would be too low and difficult to glance at whilst driving
A double din conversion here would cover both slots. I'd say it looks pretty possible, especially if that is a standard Merc panel, rather than a specific Hymer one, and someone has already made them. However, it is unlikely that they will have replicated the wood effect. I'd guess any panel you found would be grey plastic.
cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
Even if you couldn't find a panel, you'd probably be able to remove the lower blanking plate, relocate that switch, cut out the horizontal divider, contrive a way to mount the cage and install a universal fasica trim over the top!
cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
True! If I can get a facia that doesn't look too out of place and fits then I suppose it makes sense!
Cheers for your help
Depends how much you like DIY and get scared about hacksawing dashboards!
I suspect the top half of the double DIN cage will mount relatively securely to the single DIN top half. You don't want to see the contrivances I needed to get mine fitted, as the muppets who fitted the police radios removed all the mounting points in the general vicinity.
Perfectly happy with DIY and hacking away at things, its just I have an ever growing list to get on with the longer I poke around in the hymer! Engine and chassis are spot on, just turns out the previous owners were heavy handed, had no common sense and believed a glue gun and insulating tape were the answer to everything!
Be interesting to see whats behind the radio when I remove it!
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cmcardle75
LIFE MEMBER
Perfectly happy with DIY and hacking away at things, its just I have an ever growing list to get on with the longer I poke around in the hymer! Engine and chassis are spot on, just turns out the previous owners were heavy handed, had no common sense and believed a glue gun and insulating tape were the answer to everything!
Be interesting to see whats behind the radio when I remove it!
Bear in mind that modern stereos, even double DIN ones are often much smaller than what you're replacing. For example, the Sony XAV-3005DB that I installed isn't very long and is actually single DIN (top half only) except for the screen extension downwards, which is only 1-2cm thick. The cage is actually much more intrusive, but you could cut the bottom half off with tin snips if there is no room on the bottom half for it.
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