2nd gen Joying Head Unit Thread

Thanks guys!!! I was hoping someone here knew solutions to these annoyances. I've currently got my fuse panel disassembled, and no battery, but I can't wait to try this out when (or if lol) I put it back together. I will be delighted if I can dim the display and seek the radio after all.

I saw the 64 GB limit for the SD slot and USB flash drive, and can confirm it worked fine with my old 64GB SD card from my prior android. But they also specify that it supports up to a 500 GB USB HDD, and that's what I'm using now. It's actually an SSD, but it behaves like any other USB HDD as far as the controller is concerned. It's a much higher-level interface than an SD card or a flash drive, which in principle, makes it easier for the host (head unit) to handle larger filesystems. The SSD part is nice because it's fast, there's no spinup delay, and no mechanical concerns from driving on washboards. Plus it requires very little power, and can be powered from USB directly (I did test this, I can confirm that power draw isn't my problem).

I actually bench-tested the head unit with a 1TB drive to see if it worked, before I started the install, and it seemed to function. But the drive was filled with a handful of large files, none of them relevant for an android device, so all I did was verify that the drive showed up, and I don't remember how long it took; I may have let it idle for hours before actually checking it.

My install was a multi-day endeavor, and at some point I cleared this SSD and filled it with all the files I actually wanted in the truck, then mounted it in the dash connected directly to the rear of the head unit. The file count on the drive had exploded, I didn't actually look, but I wouldn't be surprised if there 10s if not 100s of thousands of files now. Anyway, this caused it to totally choke. In fact it was quite alarming when I first booted it up in the car, it would hang and reboot itself every few minutes and I was beginning to lose hope that this stupid thing would ever work at all. But eventually I disconnected the drive and the head unit started to function. Phew!

I assumed my problem was caused by using a larger drive than spec'ed, so I bought a 500GB SSD and loaded it with my favorite half of the 1TB file set. That reduced the "braindead" time at startup to only a couple minutes, which for now, is a reasonable compromise for me. My main use of the truck is for exploring the back country where no data signal can reach (well other than satellites--but I'm still waiting for all that new sky litter to give me affordable remote internet!) Having all the maps, references, and entertainment I need on-hand is quite useful. My driving times are quite long with few stops, so waiting a few minutes at bootup isn't so bad. It hasn't factory-reset itself since I figured out to leave it alone until the drive is initialized. Perhaps someday I'll go through and zip up some of the things that push the file count so high... many of my reference books and audio books are split into hundreds of files each. I could probably halve the file count for this minor inconvenience. But I'm okay for now. And at the end of the day, I think it's the software on Joying's end that is to blame here, not my desire to have a large but reasonable number of files on hand. There is essentially zero delay to mount the drive on a linux or windows system, for example. Perhaps this is just how Android deals with filesystems by default, I don't know, but it could definitely be improved. And perhaps someday it will! Overall still quite pleased with this thing, especially if the methods to dim the display and seek the radio work out for my unit.


Oh and finally, for those of you irritated by the glare from the bezel, pull it off and rattle-can it flat black. It's a pretty small area so you can get away with a totally mediocre paint job. Or at least I'm pleased with mine, and I'm pretty bad at painting things.

 

What is the best backup cam to use with this? I have a softopper that is tinted and pretty much guessing at what's behind me at night

 

I just ordered the 10.1" unit today, it's the one that had a 'new' banner on top of it. I read all 29 pages here and the 30 plus of the Tesla thread. I chose this one because I hated the look of the 'buttons' in the bezel of the Au (Tesla) unit. I have (will have?) a 2013 TRD Sport when it arrives next Wed from shipping.

 

Just gonna throw this out there... as someone who frequently has a softopper installed, and has also tried a multitude of "regular" backup cameras attached to my Joying unit.

This is what I recommend -- a totally stand-alone solution, not connected to the Joying unit:

NikoMaku Mirror Dash Cam Front and Rear Backup Camera 12" Screen for Cars GPS 2K Resolution Full Touch Screen Rear View Mirror Camera 170° Wide Angle Dual Lenses Waterproof AS-3 Pro Max

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081ZVH35J

Linked above is the one I actually have. It's no longer made of course, but you can find others like it, perhaps better.

This replaces the rear view mirror, and integrates a 4k front-facing camera in the display assembly, plus a 2.5k rear dash cam you can install wherever you want. I installed mine beneath the rear bumper, which keeps it from getting directly rained on, but where it's protected from getting smashed on rocks by the trailer hitch bar behind it. So this is a full-time rearview mirror replacement that works with a softopper or anything else in the bed.

Installation: You have to run an ignition-switched USB power cable up to your rear view mount, pulling it from within the dash (or another suitable location), routing through an A-pillar and the roof liner. It comes with a cigarette-lighter-style adapter, but I chose to install a hard-wire USB power supply in the dash which also powers some rapid charge ports elsewhere. I also bought my own USB cable for the power run, which has a 90-degree "mini" connector at the correct orientation for a clean install. Then, you have to install the remote rear-view camera wherever you want, and route that cable to the display assembly as well. I believe it terminates at a micro HDMI on the display, but the camera-side connector is a very compact circular multipin connector that I don't recognize, but which is easy to route through a drain plug in the floor. You'll also need a good SD card for it.

The metal part that attaches to the windshield anchor thing, for my unit, was a little bit loose. So I had to tap a few more holes for clamping screws to keep it from wobbling and vibrating wildly while I drove. Other than that, 18 months or so since installation and it's working well.

Use: By default it displays both front and rear cams in a split screen view, which is a bit obnoxious, because I don't need to see an a tiny image of the road in front of me covering half the LCD while I drive. But a couple swipes on the screen and it displays the backup cam only, which is super useful for driving around with a topper or piled-high-stuff in the bed. This is really my only gripe, if it booted up to rear-camera-only display, it would be essentially perfect. I use it about 90% of the time to display the rear view image on the LCD, but there's a big button on the bottom of the unit, where you'd normally find the dim mechanism, which blanks the screen. So maybe 10% of the time, I just use it as a conventional mirror. Its glass surface can still function as a mirror, when you don't have stuff in the bed. It's about as reflective as "night" mode on a regular toggle-type mirror, but is still useful at daytime because there's not a brighter image superimposed by conventional rearview mirror prism. Even without the topper installed, I often prefer the LCD, because the camera has a very wide field of view which covers my merge blind spots pretty well. It also has an easy manual dim mechanism (screen drag on right side) which produces adequate brightness levels day or night (although it'd prefer it got dimmer and brighter).

Image quality: This is why I'm recommending this setup vs. a regular backup cam connected to the Joying unit. The Joying backup camera input takes an analog "standard definition" NTSC/PAL camera signal. Which itself isn't terrible, but all the analog backup cameras I've ever tried have terrible dynamic range, making them useless for rearview use (and sometimes even for reversing or spotting large obstacles, depending on lighting). This rear-channel dashcam camera is more sensitive, higher resolution, and has much wider dynamic range than anything you can connect to the Joying's backup signal port. My only complaint is that the rear camera is prone to accumulating dust when installed outside, so must be periodically wiped off. But once you start remember to wipe it off from time to time, you get very reasonable image quality by day, and okay at night.

Also: It's a pretty functional dashcam, contains a battery so it can do "parking mode" which detects when the vehicle is disturbed (by vibration) to trigger a brief recording, and has a GPS receiver for location or speed embedding in the videos. Come to think of it, I think there's a separate GPS antenna, you'll want to put that down in the dash for a good sky view. So, three cables to route total.

It's the most I've ever spent on a dashcam, but also, definitely the best dash cam I've had yet. You can read above what I've done to connect a bunch of other analog cameras to the Joying's "backup" input. They are sometimes useful for spotting in tricky terrain. But not for replacing the lost rearward visibility of having a topper or a loaded bed.

 

Is that the 1080p definitely screen?

 

https://www.joyingauto.com/newest-1...05-2015-head-unit-supports-apple-carplay.html

Resolution 1920*1200

Should I be nervous? This is my first attempt at a non 'big name' brand head unit.

 

It really depends on what your expectations are. Don't expect it to be a Kenwood or an Alpine. But it doesn't cost what they do either. And you don't have to throw another $250 at it for a fascia, a canbus adapter, wiring harnesses, and a steering wheel control module. (Yeah its a real bit#$ to spend $900 to $1700 for a Kenwood only to find out you have to shell out another $250 to make things fit and work.)

So, known issues are that for a 2015, it may only recognize the left side steering wheel controls. If you are replacing the JBL system, then your harness will come with a canbus adapter and more or all of your SW buttons may work (anyone with a 2015 want to weight in on that?). Radio tuner isn't great but it is at least as good as the stock unit or maybe a little better, but the radio app controls aren't as obvious as what they should be. The brightness will probably need to be tweaked (See above on this page and the previous page for a recent discussion on that.)

It is basically a glorified Android tablet with a car stereo interface and apps thrown onto it. The equalizer is actually fairly decent. The particular model you referenced appears to have better widgets than the older models, making the UI a bit more customizable. It supports wired and wireless Apple Carplay and Wired (USB) Android Auto, and you don't have to buy a $40 dongle to do it. It has built-in GPS so you can use your favorite offline navigation app, or you can set your phone up as a wireless hotspot and connect to it using the HU's built in wireless connection and use ANY GPS app (or streaming app for that matter).

I got the 8" model with the knobs. If I were going to skip the knobs, I'd have gone with one of the 10" models like the one you referenced.

 

On the back of the unit are four wires coming out of the upper right corner of the box (looking at the rear of the box). They are labeled CAN IN, CAN OUT, KEY and IR. If you get the harness without the canbus adapter (non-JBL models), then you connect KEY to CAN OUT to get it to recognize the steering wheel controls. If you get the harness with the canbus adapter (JBL models), then you connect CAN IN to CAN OUT for SWC. But what is that IR cable for? One would think that there is an option for an infrared remote. However that is not the case. Joying makes two "metal boxes" (one single DIN and one double DIB) for all the different screen sizes and shapes, and so those metal boxes need to be compatible with all makes and models of cars. IF you are installing the unit in a Ford Focus, Jeep, or certain BMWs, the IR is connected to CAN OUT because those cars use a different CANBUS adapter. Sorry no Infrared remote.

 

That last sentence confused me. Are you also awaiting a 2013 TRD Sport to arrive next Wednesday?

 

Well, son of a b!tch! I see they have a new 9" model with a single knob. https://www.joyingauto.com/joying-9...or-toyota-tacoma-2005-2015-apple-carplay.html I like that aesthetic better than the 8" two-knob model I got after Christmas.
If only I had waited a couple months. Anyone want to buy a slightly used 8" two knob Joying head unit?

 

Lol yeah the new 10.1" 1920*1200 version seems to have a better display than the 10.5" I just installed, which is only 1280*720. I guess I can't win, everything I buy has a better version on the market within a month or two.

Waitaminute... I guess they removed the SD slot from the 10.1" model though, and that's kind of a deal breaker for me. I once bought a smartphone with no SD card slot, I fucking hated that phone within a few weeks. Usually takes a few years for me to properly hate my phone.

Anyway, it looks like their entire tacoma-specific product lineup uses basically the same single-din box behind the dash, with the exception of the 10.1" which differs only in that it lacks the SD card slot. Other than that, you are just picking which display module you want. Same processor specs, same radio/MCU/amp chips, same RAM/ROM... They appear to differ in their software interfaces, but my launcher and app experience didn't look much like the images on their site anyway, so it's hard to say. Kind of a moot point though: The only stock app you can't swap out is the radio tuner, which appears to be the same for all.

Here's a summary of today's lineup according to their website images and specs:



I was really tempted by the 11.6" model, but it sure looks goofy blocking the air vents like that, so I went with 10.5". Except for the smallest model, they are all basically a tablet form-factor displays clipped to the dashboard. I really wish they would add physical buttons at the perimeter of their displays, like you see on any phone or tablet today. (And for that matter, why can't they put the SD card slot there too? And how about a USB-C?) The 9" model has a knob, which would be great, but it looks like all its other buttons are just part of the glass touch panel, so they'd be no easier to use while driving... seems like a waste of potential display area.

Touchscreens are the worst computer interface since punch cards. It takes a huge amount of focus to operate a touchscreen, especially one mounted in a moving car. By far the biggest problem is that sustained visual attention is required for all interactions, both to bring your hand into position to operate the control, and to monitor the screen to determine the position of your finger(s) and the effectiveness of your inputs. This completely interrupts visual processing of the roadway and often corrupts spatial awareness. On the other hand, a physical button or knob requires at most a quick glance to locate its approximate position, which we can do with little interruption to visual processing of the roadway, and without purging spatial awareness from our working memory. Our hands can perform complex tactile interactions with physical buttons and knobs almost subconsciously.

So my plan is to eventually replace my hazard switch/clock/airbag bar with a custom panel which will include the same buttons and indicators, but also adds physical knobs for volume and tuning, and physical buttons for home/back/app-switching, perhaps a scroll wheel. I plan to replace the clock with an amoled display so I can also display things like... maybe altimeter, inclinometer, and ECT/trans temp readouts? My truck, being relatively old, uses the resistive interface for SWC rather than a CAN bus, so it is easy to add whatever extra buttons I want to the dash. I started this project years ago for my last Android unit, but gave up after breadboarding it, because that head unit would only accept button commands at like 1 or 2 presses per second. So my microcontroller had to buffer the volume up/down commands from the knobs, and it would wind up taking like 10 seconds to catch up with spinning the knob... it was so infuriating that I gave up. The Joying unit accepts button commands as fast as I can mash the buttons on my steering wheel, so I'm confident I'll be able to make a nice panel with physical knobs. It'll probably still take me another year though. Wish they would sell knobs or buttons as an add-on.

 

Yes. I understand the confusion. I was going to purchase a 2010, but that fell through. I found and purchased a 2013 TRD Sport on Tuesday. It's being shipped from the dealer in Texas to my house in California. It should arrive Wednesday.

About the SD slot - according to the image on the site, it's still there. As you stated, they appear to use the same chassis for each radio. That said, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it were missing since there is no mention of it other than the image.

 

I don't think any of them have an SD card slot. I have the discontinued 8" two-knob one and there is no SD slot. If there is an SD slot, someone please tell me where it is. It does have 3 USB ports, so you could dedicate one to a USB thumb drive.

And while the new 9" model doesn't "support" the factory reverse camera, I suspect that means their wiring harness does not support it. It does support 3rd party backup cameras, so you can probably still wire it yourself and get a voltage regulator for those with 6v cameras.

 

I was going by that image. As illustrated, they put it in the chassis behind the screen.

 

Just came from the joying website where I wanted to purchase the 9 inch with no buttons. However it seems that the only 9 inch now has buttons. Anyone else able to find one without buttons?

 

This is the unit I want.

 

Dang. I'm gonna have to take mine apart and see if it is there. On mine, there is a reset hole on the screen next to the built in mic.

 

I guess they updated the model. I just got my buttonless 9" in Dec. Not sure if I like mine or the buttons better. Having dedicated buttons is nice, but kinda looks like the actual screen size is now smaller?

 

Yeah that's kind of how I feel. Both have pros and cons but I had decided on the buttonless because I thought it would be cleaner.

Overall I guess it isn't that big a deal. I'll just get it with buttons.

Did you upgrade to 8gb memory?

 

The memory upgrade option was not available when I purchased, else I would have. I download thousands of songs from Spotify and large audiobooks and that 64gb can fill up quicker than you think