Cheap Android Head Unit Review!
03-13-2023, 01:57 PM
#736
Nordschleife Master
Correct, all the other ones are the wholesale/private units (cheaper parts - from the internals right to the casing, construction, lack of standardization, scalability, and ultimately expected reliability). I apologize that they use my faceplate (with features that wont work... ie SD card wont work on the cheaper units) - it was something I never expected to happen and it is beyond my control.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...andl_shipto=US
coupon code MYWOCM2
Thank you @Graufuchs
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...andl_shipto=US
coupon code MYWOCM2
Thank you @Graufuchs
Last edited by myw; 03-13-2023 at 03:18 PM.
The following users liked this post:
Graufuchs (03-13-2023)
03-13-2023, 03:59 PM
#738
Rennlist Member
let bob@owTowsin know you want the Michael wong camera -there will be no mistakes this way.
If anything pm me directly and I will go over ur order to make sure no mistakes re options + specs and bob will get back you directly.
re camera - I used this cam front AND back
There is a new low profile rear backup cam that goes into the bulb light that won’t require drilling but is more of a pain in the butt to install as drilling is fast and easy.
Of course the drilled cam will look better as it’s still in the middle.
For the drill cam in the front bumper - make sure to lemme know b4 you drill - you don’t want to drill into one of the attachment brackets in the front bumper retrainer frame - I was able to figure out the measurements of where the bracket points WOULDNT be …. without removing the bumper.
If anything pm me directly and I will go over ur order to make sure no mistakes re options + specs and bob will get back you directly.
re camera - I used this cam front AND back
There is a new low profile rear backup cam that goes into the bulb light that won’t require drilling but is more of a pain in the butt to install as drilling is fast and easy.
Of course the drilled cam will look better as it’s still in the middle.
For the drill cam in the front bumper - make sure to lemme know b4 you drill - you don’t want to drill into one of the attachment brackets in the front bumper retrainer frame - I was able to figure out the measurements of where the bracket points WOULDNT be …. without removing the bumper.
Going to read through the rest of this thread before I bite the bullet on this AliExpress unit.
03-13-2023, 05:15 PM
#739
Nordschleife Master
Glad to hear this head unit supports a front camera. I have retrofitted a front and rear camera to work on my PCM 2.0 via a video interface and do not want to lose that functionality. How do you trigger the front camera to turn on? Mine turns on manually by a toggle switch.
The front camera turns on in 2 ways - via the Fcam app (i have this rom/bios app mapped to my steering wheel as well as to the CAR button on the unit itself).
This app will also turn on the rear camera as well - giving you access to both cameras at the touch of a button. When pulling up to a curb, I just press a button on my steering wheel and the front camera turns on.
The other way the front camera turns on when it comes on automatically after the car comes out of reverse gear (for up to 10 seconds), this feature of course can be turned off. But it is very easy to see why a front parking camera turning on automatically when the car comes out of reverse gear is super useful when doing 3-point (or multi Point) turns.
There are no physical external toggle switches - everything is controlled via the pcm deck itself, or the mappable oem steering wheel buttons. It is fully intended to look and function as factory - with everything integrated into the main android radio. This also goes for all android car accessories such as the smart dash cam, the DAB+ unit, the tpms unit, the 360 degree cam unit, etc.
With that said, the power + GND from the cameras is to be routed directly to be controlled by ONLY the android head unit itself. This ensures that the cameras are only on when the deck says so (extending the life of the cams) - as well as ensuring no manual splices into the cars various harnesses (ie. reverse light) causes any video interference problems (which i have seen in some installs). The android head unit still of course is sent a reverse trigger signal (either from the reverse light or the main kick panel beside the fusebox), so that the reverse camera flips on via the android units internal relay (as expected).
On a final note - in addition to potentially rewiring the cameras, you will definitely want to install the new front + rear AHD cameras. The quality is similar to high quality oem cameras from today - i was shocked the signal was passed thru via the good old analog RCA video cables
Last edited by myw; 03-13-2023 at 05:19 PM.
03-13-2023, 07:10 PM
#740
Rennlist Member
Not all units support a front camera, several of the lower end units do not in order to save cost, this also includes having all the SD card slot being fully removed as well (from the rear). With that said, both the cheap + higher quality units both use my faceplate.
The front camera turns on in 2 ways - via the Fcam app (i have this rom/bios app mapped to my steering wheel as well as to the CAR button on the unit itself).
This app will also turn on the rear camera as well - giving you access to both cameras at the touch of a button. When pulling up to a curb, I just press a button on my steering wheel and the front camera turns on.
The other way the front camera turns on when it comes on automatically after the car comes out of reverse gear (for up to 10 seconds), this feature of course can be turned off. But it is very easy to see why a front parking camera turning on automatically when the car comes out of reverse gear is super useful when doing 3-point (or multi Point) turns.
There are no physical external toggle switches - everything is controlled via the pcm deck itself, or the mappable oem steering wheel buttons. It is fully intended to look and function as factory - with everything integrated into the main android radio. This also goes for all android car accessories such as the smart dash cam, the DAB+ unit, the tpms unit, the 360 degree cam unit, etc.
With that said, the power + GND from the cameras is to be routed directly to be controlled by ONLY the android head unit itself. This ensures that the cameras are only on when the deck says so (extending the life of the cams) - as well as ensuring no manual splices into the cars various harnesses (ie. reverse light) causes any video interference problems (which i have seen in some installs). The android head unit still of course is sent a reverse trigger signal (either from the reverse light or the main kick panel beside the fusebox), so that the reverse camera flips on via the android units internal relay (as expected).
On a final note - in addition to potentially rewiring the cameras, you will definitely want to install the new front + rear AHD cameras. The quality is similar to high quality oem cameras from today - i was shocked the signal was passed thru via the good old analog RCA video cables
The front camera turns on in 2 ways - via the Fcam app (i have this rom/bios app mapped to my steering wheel as well as to the CAR button on the unit itself).
This app will also turn on the rear camera as well - giving you access to both cameras at the touch of a button. When pulling up to a curb, I just press a button on my steering wheel and the front camera turns on.
The other way the front camera turns on when it comes on automatically after the car comes out of reverse gear (for up to 10 seconds), this feature of course can be turned off. But it is very easy to see why a front parking camera turning on automatically when the car comes out of reverse gear is super useful when doing 3-point (or multi Point) turns.
There are no physical external toggle switches - everything is controlled via the pcm deck itself, or the mappable oem steering wheel buttons. It is fully intended to look and function as factory - with everything integrated into the main android radio. This also goes for all android car accessories such as the smart dash cam, the DAB+ unit, the tpms unit, the 360 degree cam unit, etc.
With that said, the power + GND from the cameras is to be routed directly to be controlled by ONLY the android head unit itself. This ensures that the cameras are only on when the deck says so (extending the life of the cams) - as well as ensuring no manual splices into the cars various harnesses (ie. reverse light) causes any video interference problems (which i have seen in some installs). The android head unit still of course is sent a reverse trigger signal (either from the reverse light or the main kick panel beside the fusebox), so that the reverse camera flips on via the android units internal relay (as expected).
On a final note - in addition to potentially rewiring the cameras, you will definitely want to install the new front + rear AHD cameras. The quality is similar to high quality oem cameras from today - i was shocked the signal was passed thru via the good old analog RCA video cables
I also already have AHD cameras installed
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myw (03-16-2023)
03-13-2023, 07:17 PM
#741
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Last edited by eclou; 03-13-2023 at 07:19 PM.
03-14-2023, 01:53 PM
#742
Rennlist Member
@myw reading through the thread and FB group it sounds like the Qualcomm (QCM) CPU model is the one designed by you.
Aside from the different RAM/ROM configurations of the QCM units are there any other differences?
My specific needs are BOSE and the ability to plug in a front/rear camera. I do not need the configurations that come with the camera unit or steering wheel control. Can you confirm that I will need either the QCM 4/64 or 6/128 with optical fiber power amplifier configuration only?
Aside from the different RAM/ROM configurations of the QCM units are there any other differences?
- ie. Do the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM models have any other differences than the 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM models aside from the CPU?
My specific needs are BOSE and the ability to plug in a front/rear camera. I do not need the configurations that come with the camera unit or steering wheel control. Can you confirm that I will need either the QCM 4/64 or 6/128 with optical fiber power amplifier configuration only?
The following 2 users liked this post by 997_flo:
Bomba (03-14-2023),
YarraMates (03-16-2023)
03-16-2023, 12:57 AM
#743
@myw reading through the thread and FB group it sounds like the Qualcomm (QCM) CPU model is the one designed by you.
Aside from the different RAM/ROM configurations of the QCM units are there any other differences?
My specific needs are BOSE and the ability to plug in a front/rear camera. I do not need the configurations that come with the camera unit or steering wheel control. Can you confirm that I will need either the QCM 4/64 or 6/128 with optical fiber power amplifier configuration only?
Aside from the different RAM/ROM configurations of the QCM units are there any other differences?
- ie. Do the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM models have any other differences than the 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM models aside from the CPU?
My specific needs are BOSE and the ability to plug in a front/rear camera. I do not need the configurations that come with the camera unit or steering wheel control. Can you confirm that I will need either the QCM 4/64 or 6/128 with optical fiber power amplifier configuration only?
03-16-2023, 10:53 AM
#744
Nordschleife Master
The RockChip PX5/PX6 CPU models support up to 5 usb inputs despite being slower + older.
The QuallComm CPU supports only 3 usb inputs as it needed one of the harnesses for the SimCard internet connection.
For my car when I had the PX6.... I used usb1 - phone charging 5v+, usb 2 - mediaInput, usb 3 - TPMS module (my car is 2005), usb 4 - smartDashCam ADAS module (one of the coolest add ons for the android decks).
Since I lost 2 USB inputs with the QCM - I added a separate phone charging USB port in dependent of android radio.
SD card slot works for both - there is a possibility that the RockChip CPU doesnt come with the adjustable function dials and come with a diff android OS (based on the testing units I had played with).
For certain the QCM comes with the Canbus module, hardware DSP chip, and IPS screen in the price, I am not sure about the rockChip CPU units (as when they were released these were paid options).
The Canbus module is needed, not just for steering wheel controls. As an example, I cant see anyone wanting to go into the menu to manually dim + brighten the screen every time you turn the headlamps on/off, you want it all tied and working together, working as close to factory as possible. There are other things the canbus does to connect with other oem functions of the car.
For sure the PX6 (2020 cpu) and newer (QCM) will support the front camera, I am not sure about the PX5 as I never tested those units. PX5 is a 2019 cpu.
People ask if the newer cpu / memory is better, the answer is yes always - i mean an iphone8 can still technically do the same stuff that an iphone14 does.
The QuallComm CPU supports only 3 usb inputs as it needed one of the harnesses for the SimCard internet connection.
For my car when I had the PX6.... I used usb1 - phone charging 5v+, usb 2 - mediaInput, usb 3 - TPMS module (my car is 2005), usb 4 - smartDashCam ADAS module (one of the coolest add ons for the android decks).
Since I lost 2 USB inputs with the QCM - I added a separate phone charging USB port in dependent of android radio.
SD card slot works for both - there is a possibility that the RockChip CPU doesnt come with the adjustable function dials and come with a diff android OS (based on the testing units I had played with).
For certain the QCM comes with the Canbus module, hardware DSP chip, and IPS screen in the price, I am not sure about the rockChip CPU units (as when they were released these were paid options).
The Canbus module is needed, not just for steering wheel controls. As an example, I cant see anyone wanting to go into the menu to manually dim + brighten the screen every time you turn the headlamps on/off, you want it all tied and working together, working as close to factory as possible. There are other things the canbus does to connect with other oem functions of the car.
For sure the PX6 (2020 cpu) and newer (QCM) will support the front camera, I am not sure about the PX5 as I never tested those units. PX5 is a 2019 cpu.
People ask if the newer cpu / memory is better, the answer is yes always - i mean an iphone8 can still technically do the same stuff that an iphone14 does.
@myw reading through the thread and FB group it sounds like the Qualcomm (QCM) CPU model is the one designed by you.
Aside from the different RAM/ROM configurations of the QCM units are there any other differences?
My specific needs are BOSE and the ability to plug in a front/rear camera. I do not need the configurations that come with the camera unit or steering wheel control. Can you confirm that I will need either the QCM 4/64 or 6/128 with optical fiber power amplifier configuration only?
Aside from the different RAM/ROM configurations of the QCM units are there any other differences?
- ie. Do the 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM models have any other differences than the 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM models aside from the CPU?
My specific needs are BOSE and the ability to plug in a front/rear camera. I do not need the configurations that come with the camera unit or steering wheel control. Can you confirm that I will need either the QCM 4/64 or 6/128 with optical fiber power amplifier configuration only?
Last edited by myw; 03-16-2023 at 11:06 AM.
03-16-2023, 11:11 AM
#745
Nordschleife Master
Was about to order the PX6 4/64 version but will await the answer to @997_flo 's question. Also, this thing is going to be over $600 from Owtosin Offical store. Is that the going price now?
But will have a faceplate + dials (fully light up) - that will have an even better color match + a design that will look practically oem. Alongside install manual/video + mounting hardware to ensure perfect fitment. It will be approx a year before this happens.
03-16-2023, 03:24 PM
#746
Rennlist Member
The RockChip PX5/PX6 CPU models support up to 5 usb inputs despite being slower + older.
The QuallComm CPU supports only 3 usb inputs as it needed one of the harnesses for the SimCard internet connection.
For my car when I had the PX6.... I used usb1 - phone charging 5v+, usb 2 - mediaInput, usb 3 - TPMS module (my car is 2005), usb 4 - smartDashCam ADAS module (one of the coolest add ons for the android decks).
Since I lost 2 USB inputs with the QCM - I added a separate phone charging USB port in dependent of android radio.
SD card slot works for both - there is a possibility that the RockChip CPU doesnt come with the adjustable function dials and come with a diff android OS (based on the testing units I had played with).
For certain the QCM comes with the Canbus module, hardware DSP chip, and IPS screen in the price, I am not sure about the rockChip CPU units (as when they were released these were paid options).
The Canbus module is needed, not just for steering wheel controls. As an example, I cant see anyone wanting to go into the menu to manually dim + brighten the screen every time you turn the headlamps on/off, you want it all tied and working together, working as close to factory as possible. There are other things the canbus does to connect with other oem functions of the car.
For sure the PX6 (2020 cpu) and newer (QCM) will support the front camera, I am not sure about the PX5 as I never tested those units. PX5 is a 2019 cpu.
People ask if the newer cpu / memory is better, the answer is yes always - i mean an iphone8 can still technically do the same stuff that an iphone14 does.
The QuallComm CPU supports only 3 usb inputs as it needed one of the harnesses for the SimCard internet connection.
For my car when I had the PX6.... I used usb1 - phone charging 5v+, usb 2 - mediaInput, usb 3 - TPMS module (my car is 2005), usb 4 - smartDashCam ADAS module (one of the coolest add ons for the android decks).
Since I lost 2 USB inputs with the QCM - I added a separate phone charging USB port in dependent of android radio.
SD card slot works for both - there is a possibility that the RockChip CPU doesnt come with the adjustable function dials and come with a diff android OS (based on the testing units I had played with).
For certain the QCM comes with the Canbus module, hardware DSP chip, and IPS screen in the price, I am not sure about the rockChip CPU units (as when they were released these were paid options).
The Canbus module is needed, not just for steering wheel controls. As an example, I cant see anyone wanting to go into the menu to manually dim + brighten the screen every time you turn the headlamps on/off, you want it all tied and working together, working as close to factory as possible. There are other things the canbus does to connect with other oem functions of the car.
For sure the PX6 (2020 cpu) and newer (QCM) will support the front camera, I am not sure about the PX5 as I never tested those units. PX5 is a 2019 cpu.
People ask if the newer cpu / memory is better, the answer is yes always - i mean an iphone8 can still technically do the same stuff that an iphone14 does.
03-18-2023, 01:03 PM
#748
Received mine a few weeks ago and just got around to installing in my .2 non-Bose. It was fairly plug and play, once I had installed the dab aerial and new gps. I do need to sort out the support bracket though. I got the Qualcomm 6+128. Kudos Michael for the design! Saves me buying a newer car :-)
I have a couple of issues, it is too loud on Volume Setting 1 and has a noticeable hiss, managed to drop it a bit in the Amp app using the Fader but could do with reducing more. Some people say this can be done in factory settings but I don’t seem to be able to access that with the version number trick, any ideas? I did reinstall the PCM and drop the volume all the way down, then reconnect the new unit, but it made no difference.
Also not able to scan any DAB stations so will need to spend some time debugging that.
I have a couple of issues, it is too loud on Volume Setting 1 and has a noticeable hiss, managed to drop it a bit in the Amp app using the Fader but could do with reducing more. Some people say this can be done in factory settings but I don’t seem to be able to access that with the version number trick, any ideas? I did reinstall the PCM and drop the volume all the way down, then reconnect the new unit, but it made no difference.
Also not able to scan any DAB stations so will need to spend some time debugging that.
03-18-2023, 02:53 PM
#749
Received mine a few weeks ago and just got around to installing in my .2 non-Bose. It was fairly plug and play, once I had installed the dab aerial and new gps. I do need to sort out the support bracket though. I got the Qualcomm 6+128. Kudos Michael for the design! Saves me buying a newer car :-)
I have a couple of issues, it is too loud on Volume Setting 1 and has a noticeable hiss, managed to drop it a bit in the Amp app using the Fader but could do with reducing more. Some people say this can be done in factory settings but I don’t seem to be able to access that with the version number trick, any ideas? I did reinstall the PCM and drop the volume all the way down, then reconnect the new unit, but it made no difference.
Also not able to scan any DAB stations so will need to spend some time debugging that.
I have a couple of issues, it is too loud on Volume Setting 1 and has a noticeable hiss, managed to drop it a bit in the Amp app using the Fader but could do with reducing more. Some people say this can be done in factory settings but I don’t seem to be able to access that with the version number trick, any ideas? I did reinstall the PCM and drop the volume all the way down, then reconnect the new unit, but it made no difference.
Also not able to scan any DAB stations so will need to spend some time debugging that.
03-21-2023, 12:33 AM
#750
@myw For the Fakra to DIN connection I see you recommended the dual connector? Why is that if the GPS has its own seperate antenna? Additionally how did you wire the blue cable? Were does it go as I am confused also about powering some whiote wire to the a switched fuse to enable the antenna amplifier?