Use an iPad mini for your Tacoma A/V System!

Can use it for a universal camera as you can simply move it up front and record when you go wheeling , rock cam etc

 

The OEM backup cam via that streaming module that I linked should be very easy to do. If any local members with an OEM backup can are interested in being a guinea pig for the wiring testing, I can probably incorporate this into the pre-wired harnesses that I often sell with the kits.

And for an update on the current kits in production, a delay has formed as a result of several factors. I had about one day between when I should have received the filament I needed to finish the kits and when I had to start remodeling / moving into my new place. Time lines were tight to begin with but the filament shipment was delayed (thanks FedEx and Lulzbot) which made things impossible to keep on schedule. The kits are one step away from being ready for paint which will happen right when I get settled into my new place. I expect them to be ready to ship at the end of next week. Sorry for the delay, guys. No sense in rushing to compromise quality, though. Thanks for your patience!

 

so after hours of tinkering with this radio I am throwing in the towel and taking it out tomorrow and going to best buy and buying something else. The app doesn't work for me another app does but you can't be wired in for it has to use bluetooth its called song pal and it sucks, I can't get my awsc-1 to pair up to the radio for steering wheel controls. even updated it and no dice. So unless anyone has a suggestion before I start cutting wires tomorrow let me know please. I am at my witts end on something so simple. At this point I don't care about the app I just want to be able to adjust the volume. Our Radio stations here suck and play the same songs over and over again. I would like to have bluetooth and usb and I'd be happy. Obviously the usb is for the ipad.


FYI Ipad mini either 2 or 3, Running IOS 8.3 if it helps

 

Hey Adam,

I'm sorry to hear you are having difficulties. If it makes you feel any better, the system I'm running isn't flawless either, but maybe I can help. For reference, you can use my post about this on my build page HERE.

I've noticed that the Sony App isn't worth the trouble as well. I don't use it. I go directly to iTunes and play my music. The Sony radio treats the iPad like an iPod, and plays the music through the sound system - no app necessary. Of course, to get access to the radio stations, you would have to go through the app. However, I take my iPad in and out of the truck so often (that and the app isn't reliable), I just switch the source on the radio to 'tuner' before putting the iPad into the truck. This isn't ideal, but it works, and it isn't all that frustrating. I listen to iTunes 90% of the time anyways, and that has worked really well so far.

As far as getting your steering wheel controls to work, try manually programming it. My steering wheel control module did not automatically set up as intended, and I had to program it myself. The good news, is that once I followed the steps in the manual (HERE) it has continued to work for me.

Some of the other issues I've noticed:

- The cold / heat affects the proper function of the iPad. The iPad won't work when it gets really cold in the winter. It is slow if it even works, and sometimes the radio won't recognize it's there, so playing music comes out of the iPad speakers, not the truck's sound system. Ironically enough, the mild Alaskan summer (70's F) is enough to overheat the iPad if left in the truck all day while I'm at work. So far, I've received the temperature warning several times, and if the iPad cools down enough to function, I'll get the same result of sound coming only from the iPad, not through the sound system (Sony radio won't read it). To remedie this, I've been cooling it off and restarting the iPad. Sometimes I need to restart the Sony Radio too, but that will ususally get them to talk again.

- Every once in a while, the iPad won't connect to the radio for reasons that can't be readily determined (obvious environmental extremes). It takes restarting the iPad and the Sony radio (sometimes several times) to get them to work together again. Usually, all I'm trying to do is get the songs played with iTunes to get projected through the truck's sound system.

- Related, but not the cause of the iPad or radio; I've had issues with one Garmin GLO so far. It failed to properly acquire satelite signals, and therefore was unable to function properly for the purposes of navigation (Garmin StreetPilot, Gaia GPS, and Topo Maps). I bought another GLO and everything is working fine again. I assume it was the cold winter (-45F) that killed it, but ironically it continued to work until it started warming back up. It could have also just been a manufacturing defect.


Conclusions:

This system has been far from trouble free, or seamless, but I still prefere it to the AVIC Z140-BH that I had previously. The functionality of the iPad still makes all of the small glitches worth working out. I think the ultimate solution is to use a device designed to be used as head unit, and run the iOS on it; I believe this is CarPlay.

 

Thanks hunter. I tried the manual program last night and it was no go. I tried radio co figs 1-15 and its like the awsc doesn't recognize the radio is there.
I believe it is a radio issue more than anything and I will most likely just pull the Sony deck and take it back for a pioneer. I know that the pioneer I had prior to the iPad worked flawlessly with the awsc. I gave up on the app and just in installed it from my iPad and my iPhone all together.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a pioneer is going to fix all this worst case scenario I guess I'll get Shane to hook me up a pre wired module that works.

And as far as accessing the radio. It would be relatively easy for me if I could get steering wheel controls to work. I would just setup my presets to the three stations I can pick up and when I hit mode on my steering wheel i would know whether I was on radio or not my sound. I'd just have know way of knowing which station I am on. Except we have two country and one rap station lol so seems easy enough

 

Lots of great information here, Hunter! Thanks for participating in the thread.

There have been a few people experiencing thermal issues with temperatures at only 70-80 degrees, which I've found to be strange. I'd like to know more about which model iPads you guys are using. I have the mini 2 128gb with retina display and the temp needs to be at least 93 with the truck sitting for a few hours in direct sunlight in order for it to go into thermal protection for me. Also it's worth noting that I have my actual windshield tinted at 70% with some good quality thermal rated 3m tint.

For the lower temp thermal issues, there may be an easy fix for that. You could use some low temp, low voltage heating pads positioned carefully enough to provide the iPad with warmth. If wired up to constant power on a manual switch, you could leave it on all winter. The right parts should barely draw a couple amps, so with a decent battery you shouldn't have to worry about drainage.

 

Ok so....... I got it fixed. The Sony just isn't what it's cut out to be. No offense to anyone that likes Sony but it just isn't there. I picked a pioneer for 75.99 from best buy and it has everything I wanted. Works perfect so easy to setup and less fancy bells and light shows than the Sony.

It took 20 minutes to solder all the wires now that I figured an easier way to solder lol. Then the radio for better than the Sony it is a little shorter. And bada bing bada boom ipad in the truck

Oh and my awsc took about 15 seconds to pair and recognize the radio and I spent another 3 minutes programming multi features into the button such as mute, off, and voice control

 

Yes I know my truck is dirty and needs to be cleaned going to do that in a few.

When it's off,



And here ya go.

 

This is amazing customer service and amazing quailty. I am just about at the point of saying sign me up, but I have a few questions. If I buy your "kit" what else do I have to do besides install it and plug an iPad in? Am I providing the head unit etc, or is this a part of a kit? I skimmed through these 24 pages and can't find a good answer. Thanks guys! Super impressive.

 

I knows Shane's pumping some kits out right now so I'll answer your question.

Yes you will provide your own head unit. But the end result is just absolutely amazing. I've been in my truck the last hour tweaking and setting different things up on the iPad. And all the headache yesterday was well worth it. I took my truck by att to show the guys there and they said it looks like it came standard in the truck. Shane does a hell of a job and customer service is top notch.

There were times it felt like he was waiting for my next email with customer support. And the best thing is.... He didn't have to be. His product is the surround or bezel not the radio or the wiring but he still tried his best to help me out with those. I got my kit yesterday morning and took it straight to the guys to paint it. They had everything done after about 4 hours and I took it home to start install.

I look forward to buying more stuff from Shane like the 6 switch panel if I can get figure out what else I need lol.

 

Thanks a lot Newlife. Would you mind explaining the set up to me? From what I gather, I need a head unit that will act as the brain of my taco for the iPad to run off of, Bluetooth and steering controls will be managed through the actual head unit, and then that runs into some type of lightening connector that's been spliced into what? A modual? thanks for the info. I WILL be purchasing one of these! Just have to get all my info first!

 

You need a head unit and a steering wheel control adapter. That's it for the setup I have. The simplest method would be to buy the whole setup from Shane. He can have it all wired up and everything minus the iPad on the kit when he ships it.

Oh also need a lightning cable but Shane can do that as well

 

Hey guys,

Finally finished the move into the new place at 11pm tonight. We're not fully settled in but after several 14 hour days in a row of remodeling / moving our lives, I'm really glad to have the hard part behind us. I'm gonna get back to work on the kits in production and get those out this week. Big thanks to you guys for your support and patience.

Also, just to clarify, for those of you who are interested in this product and are not as technically savvy with wiring and such, I do offer a plug and play harness for the radio / wiring integration portion. Also, the new kits do require a small amount of cutting in the dash to allow for proper fit ent but it is very easy to do.

 

Anyone had any luck adding a screen protector to the rear loading kit? I went out for lunch and with the finger prints I couldn't watch inglorious bastards until I cleaned the ipad

 

I just keep a clean microfiber cloth handy a wipe off the finger prints every once in a while

 

Luckily I have my oakleys bag in there. I'm gonna look into a thin film anti glare one see what happens worse case I have to put a new one on once a month when I update my iPad

 

I have a screen protector on mine, but I still have to wipe off the fingerprints off.

 

Then micro cloth it is. Hmmm

 

Ok Shane we have a Problem...... I am at home in my garage watching Top Gear in my Truck in surround sound lol. Dude the kit is amazing and all my people at work said it looks factory like it came built in.

 

SO..... As I'm sitting here in my truck syncing the ipad since I haven't done it in forever. I got to thinking..... Shane is there a way to have a splitter so I can store one usb cord in my glove box that I can pull out to sync the ipad with instead of having to take the dash off each time I want to sync. I know I can wifi sync but it takes forever.