MSDROID runs on Android car Stereo?

[hotrodhendrix]

Any updates on this?

~James

[arran]

Hi, As mentioned above I got MSDroid working with Bluetooth on the stereo. I used the download ROM installed on a micro SD card. None of the usb hubs I tried, 3 of them, would operate both the Bluetooth adapter and the wifi dongle. I setup a powered hub and this worked however it back feeds the 5 volts back into the stereo which makes the lights sort of illuminate and IIRC seemed to make refuse to power on at times.

Also the image started to reboot itself randomly, frequently. So I gave up.

[hotrodhendrix]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully some new products come out in the near future to make this far easier.

~James

[arran]

I note that MSDroid now offers a WiFi connectivity option.
How are people going with use of that?
What WiFi serial dongle are people using?

[arran]

This looks good, can be powered from pin 9 like my existing bluetooth adapter, and supports peer connections

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RS232-RS-232 ... 1381886021

If one of these works with MS Droid on a phone it should work on the stereo with the stock firmware

Will it work???

[arran]

Well, no, it didn't. First problem was that the device was not built to advertised specification. It will not power from pin 9. I returned it for a replacement, but it was broken as well.

This can be worked around to test the Wifi connectivity by powering the dongle externally.

But then MSDroid wouldn't complete the initialisation process after it read the ECU signature - so it almost worked. I put up a post for help but no dice:
http://www.msextra.com/forums/viewtopic ... 36&t=59662

The story does however have a happy ending. The firmware that I referred to earlier that was causing frequent restarts received an updated version from the developer.
I installed this version and tested it for a couple of weeks on the work bench and I have now installed the stereo in the car!!!!!

It isn't perfect. I still can't get WiFi and Blue tooth working simultaneously. But I can swap quite fast. It is quite a cool setup. The stereo offers:
1) AM/FM radio
2) Reads DVDs, plays back music or most video formats, including xvid, mp4 inside avi files
3) Built in digital TV, it might be better with a better antenna but it is fairly useless unless the car is stopped.
4) Android 4.0.4
5) Bluetooth hands free
6) GPS receiver
7) SD card for WinCE, which can play music or videos, I'm not sure of the max capacity
Reverse camera which I am not using yet
9) IPod connection which I'm not using, and don't plan to use

There is a trend now for "pure Android" rather than the WinCE with Android as an application. I've not used a Pure android radio so don't have first hand info, but the WinCE idea is actually pretty good because Android can be doing whatever weird stuff it likes but the radio/dvd/etc just keeps playing like it should.

I've also installed an offline navigation application which works very well, the receiver gets a quick satellite fix even with the antenna in the glove box. It displays GPS speed which is handy to have an accurate speed available.

But the point of the exercise is to get MSDroid, or ahem,..... Shadow Dash running and connecting to the ecu via bluetooth. It sdoes this quite well. I've got both apps working, and auto connecting so start up is very straight forward.

I might post up a video demonstrating the functions. It is a non-intrusive addition to an old car that adds a lot of functionality available in modern cars, for less than AUD$400

Arran