Acer a100 tablet as a head unit Options

[rave2n]

Car Charger This is a must as this tablet does not charge via usb

Did you plug that in the front of the 12v socket, or did you cut the connection off and splice it into the lines of the 12v socket behind it? Would be a bit cleaner, and should keep it on fine.

i used the power and ground from where the head unit would have received power right behind the tablet

Derp! Forgot about that, perfect!

[b22ri22an]

This is awesome. But it lacks one thing for me ... I need a CD player or iPod hook up. I have over 1200 CD's that take up over 140 GB on my ipod

I have 830GB of music movies and tv episodes hooked up to it on an external drive, got the cable needed to hook my external today

[b22ri22an]

been lied to micro usb is not a host usb its slave only, after hours today trying to hook up my hard drive i called acer support where the sad truth was handed to me that host support was not included on the a100 even after it was used as a selling point.

[spy00005]

been lied to micro usb is not a host usb its slave only, after hours today trying to hook up my hard drive i called acer support where the sad truth was handed to me that host support was not included on the a100 even after it was used as a selling point.

yea sadly i kinda doubted that it could host i was pretty sure the mirousb were never design for that. only connection option for external data that are usable is network drives, blutooth and card slot i believe. microusb is for transfer only (on most tablets)

[Culpable04]

I'm already looking for parrts for my setup

it will consist of

500 watts amp
Acer A100
16 GB SD card
New phone ( have iphone currently and will jump ship to Droid )
misc cables

and reading about how to take my tablet apart, I want to see if it's possible to remove the rear camera and install it somewhere useful, as well as micro USB and memory card slot so I dont have to remove plastics in the card everytime I want to plug / unplug something from it. some of these stuff may not be possible, but I dont know that yet.

[spy00005]

i can tell you right now most of the internal components of 80-90 % of tablets are soldered directly on the board usually with the exception of the screen. IF your willing and brave enough you could prob de-solderer and run wires but the connections are usually very close to each other making it difficult to accurately solder components and not cross anything. i'd say look around an see if you can find like extenders for like the SD card if they even make that for the cam you might be able to take it out as far as i know most tablets use generic cams with ribbon cables (don't think you'll be able to do much with unless you find a extender for the specific type of ribbon as well) micro usb gonna be soldered on the board its all do able but gonna be dificult and probably a PITA don't know if you've ever took apart a ipod/itouch/ipad before but the cram a lot into those little spaces.

i still stand by what i think get a laptop with bluetooth and connect through that can add remove stuff on table just get a big SD and leave it in or if you can park close enough to get ur tablet in range of your wifi there plenty of programs/apps that will let you manage your tablet and data on it from a computer via the network and sharing which would probably be the easiest and quickest way.

This post has been edited by spy00005: May 2, 2012 - 5:26 PM

[JPATTT]

So how do you run the audio jack to the car stereo? Does the factory amp have rca jacks? Or do you need to install an aftermarket amp?

[b22ri22an]

So how do you run the audio jack to the car stereo? Does the factory amp have rca jacks? Or do you need to install an aftermarket amp?

scoshe makes an input for the factory amp to be connected to the lines out of a headunit, you connect the headphones jack to the lines in on the scoshe connector link for connector you may want a hardwired gain control for volume but I use a software controlled volume myself, in my case the connector from scoshe was already in my car from the cheap ass head unit that was there, oh btw you need to tie together the power wire with the amp remote wire to have the factory amp turn on.

This post has been edited by b22ri22an: May 3, 2012 - 2:33 AM

[b22ri22an]

been lied to micro usb is not a host usb its slave only, after hours today trying to hook up my hard drive i called acer support where the sad truth was handed to me that host support was not included on the a100 even after it was used as a selling point.

yea sadly i kinda doubted that it could host i was pretty sure the mirousb were never design for that. only connection option for external data that are usable is network drives, blutooth and card slot i believe. microusb is for transfer only (on most tablets)

alot of talets these days have usb host, sadly the a100 wasn't one of them. I do believe the Archos tablets have usb host capability, and the a500 Acer does but its 10" and wont fit the double din. will have to do more research into the tablet to buy, at least more then i did. I however am quite happy with what i got, being able to hook up a 1tb drive to it would have been a huge bonus though. that all said just the android user interface and capabilities alone far exceed that of a car stereo even if I cant hook my external drive. Also the sound is extremely good, very clear and no noise I highly recommend using the power and ground from the head unit or picking a suitable ground other then the lighter socket for optimal results

[b22ri22an]

i can tell you right now most of the internal components of 80-90 % of tablets are soldered directly on the board usually with the exception of the screen. IF your willing and brave enough you could prob de-solderer and run wires but the connections are usually very close to each other making it difficult to accurately solder components and not cross anything. i'd say look around an see if you can find like extenders for like the SD card if they even make that for the cam you might be able to take it out as far as i know most tablets use generic cams with ribbon cables (don't think you'll be able to do much with unless you find a extender for the specific type of ribbon as well) micro usb gonna be soldered on the board its all do able but gonna be dificult and probably a PITA don't know if you've ever took apart a ipod/itouch/ipad before but the cram a lot into those little spaces.

i still stand by what i think get a laptop with bluetooth and connect through that can add remove stuff on table just get a big SD and leave it in or if you can park close enough to get ur tablet in range of your wifi there plenty of programs/apps that will let you manage your tablet and data on it from a computer via the network and sharing which would probably be the easiest and quickest way.

there are micro sd extenders available that you can buy, but i don't recommend trying to solder new connections to the board unless you are experienced in micro soldering, from what i have read soldering to these wave soldered boards is a real pita that you probably wont want to attempt as a novice. for the plans I have read in this thread you are far better off buying a netbook and a 7" double din touchscreen with a copy of centrafuse, then you could use all the usb objects that windows offers as far as cameras and expand-ability , for me what android offers was enough and chose that as my option. Read up on mp3car.com before committing any money on a project such as this to weigh everything you want from your installation. For me the android installation met my needs.

[JPATTT]

has anyone found a solution to be able to remove the tablet i agree i wouldnt want to keep the unit in my car when im parked.

[b22ri22an]

has anyone found a solution to be able to remove the tablet i agree i wouldnt want to keep the unit in my car when im parked.

I'm actually working on that idea, having it mounted in front of the radio bezel. there is a dock connector on the tablet that can be used for power and audio on the right side of the tablet, saving up some money now to buy the dock to tear it apart for a dash install. the plan is to have the dock connector on the far right of the bezel and small tabs along the bottom and top of the tablet to hold it in place. using a blank double din fascia to cover the radio hole. being able to still use the tablet as a tablet when not in the car is an idea that i like but it wont look nearly as clean as the way i have it mounted now. i have seen other tablet installs where they have they have the front bezel open like a door and slide it in place but i know i lack the fabrication skills to accomplish that install and the area directly behind the radio bezel is a very tight fit to the opening of the dash.

Acer a500/a100 dock

This post has been edited by b22ri22an: May 3, 2012 - 3:31 PM

[JPATTT]

if there was a way that it could clip into the trim that would be nice, ill prolly pick up a cheap tablet and try it out. Is the 7inch the biggest you can go?

This post has been edited by JPATTT: May 3, 2012 - 10:23 PM

[ricochet1490]

F-ing outstanding!!

Interestingly enough, i wanted something similar, thought about double din screen from indash dvd maybe with macbook mini under the seat going to the screen operated by voice command.... but touch, now that's awesome!

[b22ri22an]

if there was a way that it could clip into the trim that would be nice, ill prolly pick up a cheap tablet and try it out. Is the 7inch the biggest you can go?

yes 7" is as big as you can get, an 8" screen wont fully display in the double din opening and the housing of the 7" is almost too big to fit behind the bezel any bigger and it would reqire fabrication work in the dash

[ricochet1490]

did you get it with 3g? So you can navigate, stream, etc with it as well?

[b22ri22an]

did you get it with 3g? So you can navigate, stream, etc with it as well?

Its a wifi model but I am on T-Mobile business class and have wifi hotspot on my phone, almost all smartphones have some sort of tethering available either wifi or bluetooth or both to get internet in the car.

[Culpable04]

so, after some digging, found pictures of one taken apart, and as expected, the camera is soldered directly onto the board, but no fear, I have a friend who's a master of soldering very tiny electronics, and she saw the pictures and heard my idea, and said she can do the soldering for me and would take no longer than 2 hrs. so with that out of the way, the rest is just basic installation.


I will update the tablet to ICS before install, and will do all of the app download and settings before install, because my phone contract still has a few months to go, so no android based phone for me till then.

for those who care to know this. the Acer tablets come with an empty slot on the mother board where you can install a 3g card holder, it even comes with the holes for the screws and all, so all you need is the 3g card holder and antenna, no fancy fabrication as everything is pre-designed for it.

[spy00005]

link to the pic of it ripped apart just for kicks to see if i would try it.

[rave2n]

for those who care to know this. the Acer tablets come with an empty slot on the mother board where you can install a 3g card holder, it even comes with the holes for the screws and all, so all you need is the 3g card holder and antenna, no fancy fabrication as everything is pre-designed for it.

Why does this solution keep getting better and better....