[mm_shen]

Hi everyone!

Had bought a 2018 Suzuki Ignis Delta AMT in the year 2022. The car had run just for 11k and odd and was in pristine condition. Wanted to switch over to AMT due to the notorious Bangalore Traffic.

The car came with steering mounted audio, call buttons, but the music system was the old LED type, like the one shown below:


I used a mobile holder to view google maps while travelling out of town.


The holder had to be mounted on the dashboard. Could not find any other place where I would be comfortable or it would not obstruct my view. When I was travelling to Goa in November 2023, the phone got heated due to the Goa Sun and the phone switched off. The phone would get warm while using navigation. Add the hot goa sun, the phone could not handle it.

I decided to upgrade the old music system to an aftermarket Android Screen. I bought an Tesha 9" Android Screen from Amazon. It set me back by ₹8.5k and also bought a cheap aftermarket rearview parking camera for ₹650. The local garage near my home asked for ₹800 for android frame and another ₹800 for labour.

The android screen came with all the necessary plug and play wires for sound, additional microphone and GPS unit. I could train the system to my steering mounted switches. I listened to my favorite songs using Music app with Android auto on my drive back home. The rear camera view was grainy as expected. But it was an important utility to park in tight spots.




I was happy man until.....

My home minister had an office function somewhere in Koramangala. Orders were issued that I was to drive her and her colleague to the venue. I have not frequented that area, so thought this is an good opportunity to test the new screen and maps on Android Auto.

To my utter dismay, the navigation was not functioning properly. It would either take too long to update my position or there would be a sign stating "Searching for GPS". I was disappointed. Had to resort to the mobile and holder.

I had a doubt on the GPS unit and it's position. The garage fellow installed it inside the dashboard. Doesn't the GPS antennae need to be exposed to get signal?

Came back home and scoured through videos and blogs about these screens. Could not get a proper answer. All videos made by Indian content creators showed the GPS antenna mounted inside the dash. My brother also got the same screen installed on his VW polo and his antenna was also inside the dash. Working perfectly fine. I was contemplating on returning the unit for an exchange. But deep down, I did not want return it. Did not want to go through the process of waiting for the exchange, return etc. Something told me, the GPS antenna was not getting signal. I came across a south Asian content creator's video, which showed that the android screen had a preloaded app, which could showed the GPS signal strength.



App Name: GPS Track Plus

It showed around 4 GPS satellites and no strength bars. I straight away popped open the android screen out of the dash. Removed the antenna and held it outside.The Satellite count increased to 10-12 and had full bar of signal strength when i held it in my hand. But this immediately came down, when i kept the antenna on the dash.



I had a hunch! May be the antennae is weak and needs better conductor to receive signals. Something metallic! I removed the beading on the driver side A pillar. Removed the plastic cover of the A pillar. Stuck the GPS antenna on the A pillar so that it comes in contact with the metal. Routed the GPS antenna wire inside the dash. Took extra care that the wire does not touch any other wire of the Android screen to avoid picking up noise.





With bated breath, opened the GPS signal APP. And Voila! The GPS worked. Full strength. Put back the cover and beading.

A special thanks to my home minister who helped me with my experiment.

After a week, needed to drive down to Trichy on work. Thought of visiting Thanjavur also on the way. The GPS worked flawlessly and was a happy man again.

My mobile did not heat and I did not have to miss my turn due to the lack of navigation. Music and my home minister kept me company during the drive.

By the way, the android screen supports wireless Android Auto and Apple Car play.

An App called "Z-link" connects to your mobile automatically when you switch on the car. I am finding it very useful.





Found a few "Danger-seekers" on the road while travelling to Trichy and had a couple of close calls with one-way rule breakers on highway. Decided to go for a DashCam. Chose 70Mai M300. Got it on Flipkart for 4.1k including a Samsung Evo 128 GB SD card. Fixed the Cam and routed the wire with a helping hand by my home minister. The videos are ok. It is a basic cam installed for emergency use. Will give my 2 cents on it after a few more days of use.





If all the learned member of Team-BHP have any advice, I am all ears.

[audioholic]

The best place for the GPS antenna will be at the base of the A pillar, on the dashboard panel itself, such that the antenna faces the sky, with only the windshield in its path. Sometimes these Chinese GPS antenna also might come with a manufacturing flaw, which is the internal PCB is mounted downward in a way that the antenna faces the bottom of its plastic casing. So when you even stick it to the dashboard, the antenna will face downward which will deteriorate its signals. Hence, I would suggest removing the antenna from the inside of the A pillar trim and instead move it to its base and leave it stuck on the dashboard.

[mm_shen]

Originally Posted by audioholic

The best place for the GPS antenna will be at the base of the A pillar, on the dashboard panel itself, such that the antenna faces the sky, with only the windshield in its path. Sometimes these Chinese GPS antenna also might come with a manufacturing flaw, which is the internal PCB is mounted downward in a way that the antenna faces the bottom of its plastic casing. So when you even stick it to the dashboard, the antenna will face downward which will deteriorate its signals. Hence, I would suggest removing the antenna from the inside of the A pillar trim and instead move it to its base and leave it stuck on the dashboard.

Hi Audioholic. When I kept the antenna on the dash board, it went back to loosing signals. When I held it in my hand the strength was high. Did not try inverting the antenna, but will try that too. Thank you for the input.

[RMN]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

Hi Audioholic. When I kept the antenna on the dash board, it went back to loosing signals. When I held it in my hand the strength was high. Did not try inverting the antenna, but will try that too. Thank you for the input.

If the board is upside down like audioholic said, this seems like an expected behavior. While it's mounted on the A pillar, even with the upside-down board, its facing the metal and hence working!? Just thinking out loud here

Anyway, good job there!

[vivek_k_p]

Thanks for the detailed experience share. I have below queries.

1. Does it require a SIM card for internet or use mobile tethering?
2. Will it fit my 2016 Duster dashboard? I already have front and back cameras, can I integrate them ?

[staraphd]

Originally Posted by vivek_k_p

Thanks for the detailed experience share. I have below queries.

1. Does it require a SIM card for internet or use mobile tethering?
2. Will it fit my 2016 Duster dashboard? I already have front and back cameras, can I integrate them ?

1. This particular one doesn't have a SIM slot, so no SIM support. Internet access is via hotspot from your mobile or other hotspot devices. There are however Android stereos with SIM slots. Trak N Tell (https://www.trakntell.com) for example makes Android stereos with 4G SIM support that includes two years of free data subscription.

2. These are universal Android players. They will fit any car, you just need the particular plastic bracket/frame for your car make & model and they are easily available for any car.

[mm_shen]

Originally Posted by vivek_k_p

Thanks for the detailed experience share. I have below queries.

1. Does it require a SIM card for internet or use mobile tethering?
2. Will it fit my 2016 Duster dashboard? I already have front and back cameras, can I integrate them ?

Hi vivek_k_p, as Staraphd has told, you do not need a sim. You can use mobile hotspot to use internet on the Android screen. I mainly brought this as it has a pre-installed App called Z-link which is an emulator and gives you wireless Android Auto/Apple Car capability. So I do not need to use hotspot for maps. My Wi-Fi gets connected to the Android hotspot and Bluetooth gets connected. So I have handsfree audio and Android auto.

Yes, this can be fitted on your Duster, but you will have to buy a duster specific frame. And yes, if your cameras have required cables, you can connect it to this screen.

There are more expensive screen which can also give your 360° view. If I am not mistaken, apart from front and rear camera, you need to mount two more cameras on your ORVMs. If you do install it, please give us a review.

[mm_shen]

By the way, I have had a couple of problems with these Android Screen.
One specifically with Android Auto. The display is connected to the headlight switch. When parking lights are on, the display gets a little dim. When head lights are on, the display brightness gets a little bit more dim. But maps on Android Auto do not automatically switch over to dark mode, like how they do on phones. I have to manually go to settings on the AA screen and then switch night mode on. If I keep it on Automatic mode, day mode is enabled.

On the phone, if we click on Android Auto setting, and repeatedly click on the version tab of AA, the developer option gets enabled. In that we can set mode to Phone Controlled on Day/Night option. This will temporarily switch between modes. But when we again switch off and start the car, the maps will be in day mode. I searched a lot for a solution to this. Seems to be an defect in AA, be it aftermarket screen or factory fitted. So I have reconciled to switching over to dark mode when the sun sets and visa versa.

One more problem I faced initially was the Audio. While playing some songs, the voice in the song seemed to be muffled. The instrumentals would sound good. But a little fiddling with the DSP setting made me hear the voice more clearly. My ignis has factory fitted speakers. But my brother's Polo had an aftermarket Amp, subwoofer and tweeters apart from the factory fitted speakers. His audio was clear and did not need any changes on the DSP. So not really sure what to make of it.

[staraphd]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

One more problem I faced initially was the Audio. While playing some songs, the voice in the song seemed to be muffled. The instrumentals would sound good. But a little fiddling with the DSP setting made me hear the voice more clearly.

Does the muffling occur with some specific songs or is it a random event?

[mm_shen]

Originally Posted by staraphd

Does the muffling occur with some specific songs or is it a random event?

It would happen to most of the songs.

[staraphd]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

It would happen to most of the songs.

In my previous car, I had this random muffling issue due to loose connection of wires at the back of stereo. Sometimes knocking the stereo few times would resolve it, sometimes playing with the settings/eq would resolve it. One day I took it out and reattached the wires and since then didn't see the issue recur. May not be the same issue as yours, but no harm in trying.

[ManasN95]

Great update! I was also contemplating of installing an Android Head Unit for my Honda City 2012 model, which currently has a Caska Unit, but I want Google Maps on the screen. I hate the look of a mobile holder and the phone getting heated up during hot summer use.

I have added the product in the Amazon cart, it's currently retailing at Rs. 7500, but I guess I will need additional expenses like the bracket and installation etc.

Which one do you suggest? Tesha or Trak N Tell? I couldn't find the cost of Trak N Tell.

The next 2 purchases on my mind are same like yours, an Android Head Unit and a dash cam. A cool 20k expense!

[PreludeSH]

Looks really cool and modern. A sleek tab with Android Auto/Car play is all you need if you already have a blue-tooth enabled stereo. The only problem is the charging wire. Can it be taken from inside the AC vents so that you don't see it ?