Ipad mini in-dash installation - Page 4 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

The Radium King · 10-31-2013, 08:07 AM

have you thought about deleting the radio altogether? you can send the L/R stereo out from the iPad, and switched power, to the amp in the frunk and control it all from the iPad - volume, phone, music, etc.

Nine8Six · 10-31-2013, 08:12 AM

And please change that cliché Porsche cartoon looking emblem BG for something a bit more personalized and funky :/

How old are you, 50+?

Shehadehd · 10-31-2013, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

And please change that cliché Porsche cartoon looking emblem BG for something a bit more personalized and funky :/

How old are you, 50+?

Haha. I kinda like that photo. But I suppose I can put together a nice wallpaper photo of my emblem... When I finally put on the rear PORSCHE logo I was thinking of using that. Especially since it'll work perfect in landscape mode

For the radio delete. I considered it and wired it up to make it work, but I decided that I don't want to need to use my data plan to listen to music. Unfortunately, Apple has yet to add a radio receiver in their products so the only way to listen to radio is through the headunit. Also, it's nice to have quick access to the volume nob rather than having to do it through the mini. Just my preference though.

BruceH · 10-31-2013, 08:31 AM

That looks great! I really need to do this. I see you are keeping the stock head unit which is what I have been leaning towards. I currently have my iPhone hooked up to my stock unit which is basically the same thing only much smaller of course. I am amazed at how functional the set up is. I can play music, have the GPS map running, and my Escort Live app running. The ipad install is just so much cleaner. Great job!

Nine8Six · 10-31-2013, 08:43 AM

well well well. Excuse me but where on earth did you get that emblem??? I want/need the same. It's beautiful just like that.... without the gangsta-style fake gold color

Shehadehd · 10-31-2013, 07:37 PM

The emblem was on the car when I bought it

I think suncoast sells them for a pretty penny though.

epapp · 11-01-2013, 04:27 AM

So did you remove the polarizing film in the head unit yet becauseeeeeeeee I have a feeling you couldn't see the screen of the radio all the way to and from work today

Shehadehd · 11-01-2013, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epapp

So did you remove the polarizing film in the head unit yet becauseeeeeeeee I have a feeling you couldn't see the screen of the radio all the way to and from work today

Wow, it's like someone told you :O
I,ll be doing that, among other things, when I get home from work today.... It's like you're waiting for me to work out all the kinks before you attempt it? Hmmmm, copyright/ trademarked/ registered. Sorry, can't do it anymore epapp

Shehadehd · 11-01-2013, 08:21 AM

Soooo, I just came up with a crazy idea for the ipad. I'm not sure if this will work at all butttt... here it is.

While sitting in traffic on the way home from work yesterday, I though to myself, it sucks that the rear facing camera of the mini is useless now that it's in the dash. Then it hit me, the rear facing camera is a separate module that is clipped onto the motherboard of the mini. So if I unclip the camera and extend the wiring to sayyy.... the license plate, I can make myself a back up cam for the ipad mini.

Now, that being said, I know this will by no means be straight conversion. The impedance in a wire that will extend the length of the car is probably no longer negligible and a potential voltage sag or noise issue will develop. Also, depending on the data-rate of the camera communication, the length of the data wire, especially if a clock is included, will almost inevitably cause a transmission line scenario with the possibility of reflections on either end. I'm not sure if this will actually be an issue, just trying to make use of my college classes lol.

Two possible 'solutions' for these potential issues are: properly terminating and shielding the data and clock signals as to avoid reflections and using some sort of active circuit to counteract voltage sag. I'm sure this is more complicated that I think and that epapp will offer some 'real engineering' to help me out

In any case, I think it's worth trying out because, at the very least, it sound like it could be a challenging engineering problem that will be very satisfying if solved. Open to input or suggestions. BTW, copyright/ trademarked/ registered.. lol

The Radium King · 11-01-2013, 08:56 AM

relocate the onboard camera to face forward instead (shorter distance); put a wifi cam in the back. or, look at some of the aftermarket back-up camera kits available. hell, you can even get an aftermarket review mirror that has a built-in android.

Shehadehd · 11-01-2013, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Radium King

relocate the onboard camera to face forward instead (shorter distance); put a wifi cam in the back. or, look at some of the aftermarket back-up camera kits available. hell, you can even get an aftermarket review mirror that has a built-in android.

I thought for a wifi camera, I need to connect to the wifi network that the camera broadcasts? If I understand it right, that means I have to go to my settings and connect to the wifi whenever I want to use the camera and disconnect whenever I'm done so that the ipad defaults to cellular data? I may just be lazy, but I prefer just pressing the camera button and having it come up over needing to go through a process every time I want to access it.

Nine8Six · 11-01-2013, 10:21 AM

Thanks for tip on the emblem! Asked around today and I'm getting myself one done custom by those guys in the emblems/medallion manufacturing - I can see their manufacture on a sunny day from where I am based. They told me they have the mold already so we are good to go on that hehehe

RE backup cam; now why on earth would you need one of those exactly?

How old are you, 50+?

Less weight = more horses remember

Shehadehd · 11-01-2013, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Thanks for tip on the emblem! Asked around today and I'm getting myself one done custom by those guys in the emblems/medallion manufacturing - I can see their manufacture on a sunny day from where I am based. They told me they have the mold already so we are good to go on that hehehe

RE backup cam; now why on earth would you need one of those exactly?

How old are you, 50+?

Less weight = more horses remember

You have way to many connections lol.

I really want to do the backup camera just to make use of the wasted camera. I figure that a rear facing camera is just a natural choice... that way I can see epapp when we're racing

A front facing cam would be kind of cool if positioned right on the grill, and I already have the front facing cam as an interior cam... Time for some TopGear inspired videos haha.

RandallNeighbour · 11-01-2013, 10:42 AM

Having to launch the camera app and then tap the rear-camera prior to putting the car in reverse makes it a rather ackward feature to use for anything other than novelty, don't you think?

Shehadehd · 11-01-2013, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Having to launch the camera app and then tap the rear-camera prior to putting the car in reverse makes it a rather ackward feature to use for anything other than novelty, don't you think?

It does somewhat. For me, its use comes more during merging during traffic. My daily commute involves some time in bumper-to-bumper traffic with aggravated California drivers. With the soft-top up, I feel like I'm taking a risk every time I switch lanes. The rear facing camera, I think, will provide some reassurance before I merge. I'd probably keep the camera on while driving through the heavy traffic stretches and glance at it before switching lanes.

Nine8Six · 11-01-2013, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shehadehd

that way i can see epapp when we're racing

lolllllllllllll

epapp · 11-01-2013, 02:09 PM

Do you even play engineering bro? Transmission lines? High speed LVDS? Who knows.

Something tells me there is no clock to the camera...it's just a CMOS sensor. I'm sure all the real time magic is done on the board. You're probably fine extending the thin wires at least a few feet. I'll let you try that one first as well, BEFORE I make the same hillbilly mistakes

You could just wire the rear cam to another angle of the interior and simplify your job. What would a cam in the front or back of the car really add anyways? You would probably just splice the wires with vampire taps and have it come loose mid flight when you really need it...like when the leaves are flying into your bumper.

Well us underprivileged graduate students got paid today so ipad in dash it is!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shehadehd · 11-02-2013, 06:58 PM

Just did my first revision to the mini install. Just wanted to document it here for anyone who does the install and comes up with the same problem.

When cutting the console trim to initially get the iPad to fit, I had to trim into the heater/AC duct. Shown below:

At first, I didn't think much of it, but yesterday I was driving with the heat on high heat and full blast and it caused the iPad to overheat. Turns out the air was leaking into the rear of the iPad. So today, I bought some insulating foam tape and sealed the cut into the air duct with the tape (I'll try to take a picture of it tomorrow). The foam tape was actually perfect for two reasons. It of course fixed the over heating problem (full blast AC or heater yields no leak) but it also snugged the iPad around the edges and made it much more solid of an install.

To test the quality of the install I had the front camera recording and went out for a drive over some bumpy roads. When I looked at the recording, the iPad was perfectly still and the camera didn't show any signs of movement in the car.
Summary: use some adhesive foam around the back edge of the install to eliminate any creaks or wiggling resulting from cutting or sanding a bit too much during the fitting process.

The second thing I fixed was alternator/ road noise coming from the iPad. When the mini is charging (whenever the car is on) and the audio source is set to aux, there is a nasty whine that comes through the speakers. I've tested all my grounds and I couldn't pinpoint the problem. The issue came up even when I charged the mini through the cigerette lighter and connected it to the aux. To solve the problem; or more accurately, to patch it, I bought a ground-noise filter on amazon.

PAC Ground Loop Isolator for 3.5 MM Applications
http://amzn.com/B001EAQTRI

I've always been so skeptical of these things, it just doesn't feel like a solution to the cause of the problem. But after installing it, ALL of the noise disappeared and I didn't notice any drop in audio quality or loss in low or high frequencies. It worked so well I think I'm just going to live with it.

Lastly, I installed a matte screen protector on the iPad in hopes of reducing glare in sunny weather. Here is a picture during the middle of the day with the top down. I'm satisfied.

Picture with the sun shining right onto it

Picture in the shade

Quick side note, when making the charger for the iPad, make sure you buy at least a 10W 2.1A car charger or it will not have the juice to charge the mini.

epapp · 11-02-2013, 11:35 PM

I thought you ordered the bluetooth module? You won't need the ground loop filter with the bluetooth module, because theres no ground loop to introduce noise! But I suppose you will stick with your silly passive filters ripping miley cyrus' and katy perry's prime vocal range apart. In fact, Im pretty sure the song 'what does the fox say' will be lacking of all of its animal noises. how could you do such a thing!

BruceH · 11-09-2013, 11:02 AM

I picked up a 64gb mini last night from CL and I also got a used horseshoe off of eBay. My plan is to use the stock CDR-220 for now since I already have a 30 pin adapter for my iPhone. The 30 pin to lightening adapter is on its way, another eBay purchase.

Shehadedh, My first question (I will probably have more) is, did you have to grind away on the side wings at all? Looking at the 996 install thread, the guy who had the 2001 996 ground quite a bit but it looks like you didn't.

Here are some of his pics: