![]() ![]() This closed the software and opened up the command terminal for the Pi. To do this I plugged the Pi into my modem with an Ethernet cable, and, using the arrow buttons of a computer keyboard to control XBian (I connected the keyboard via USB), I highlighted the power icon in the menu screen and selected Exit. Then I had to get the XBian operating system synced with the touchscreen, and that required installing some drivers directly to the Raspberry Pi from the Internet. Here is where things turn into a computer-hacking scene from a mid-nineties movieīoth the Raspberry Pi and touchscreen turned on automatically. The touchscreen didn't come with one, so I plugged it into the wall with a twelve-volt AC/DC adapter I bought separately. I plugged the Pi into an outlet with its included power adapter. Next I linked the touchscreen to my Raspberry Pi through HDMI and USB cables. Tontec does not include instructions, but each wire snaps exclusively into a specific corresponding jack, so I managed to connect everything using trial and error. To work properly, the touchscreen needs to be connected to its three control boards via three cables. For security I used five layers of tape, and I folded any excess neatly onto the back of the LCD screen. I simply aligned the touchscreen atop the LCD screen, then ran tape along the centimeter-thick edges of the two stacked screens. There's a rough guide online to making a touchscreen dashboard in which the author, a mysterious wise man identified only as Zaqq, explains how to do this with masking tape. ![]() ![]() The LCD screen and the glass touchscreen, meanwhile, don't come attached to each other because I guess that would make too much sense, so I had to connect them myself. The touchscreen comes with a primary control board that looks strikingly similar to the Raspberry Pi, plus two smaller control boards, all of which help communicate data to the Pi. ![]() Then I ejected the card, slid it into my Raspberry Pi, and congratulated myself on becoming a genuine programmer.Īssembling the actual touchscreen-a Tontec seven-inch HD screen I found on Amazon for $75-was a bit trickier. I popped an 8-gigabyte SD card into my laptop, and by following the step-by-step directions of the free installer I downloaded from the XBian website, I copied the image directly onto my card. Most conveniently, XBian can be played on any screen with an HDMI input, including the touchscreen I planned to build. It can play music and movies, display pictures, and run other media apps such as Pandora-it can even stream content from Apple devices using AirPlay. When I searched for images that would run a homemade media center, a site called had the most popular version: software for a media hub akin to what you see on an Apple TV. YouTube or a forum should be full of advice related to your specific car, too.There's a bustling online community of Raspberry Pi coders who make pre-programmed images available for download. On the other hand, you should be able to buy adapter kits for most cars, and if you have the height available for a double-DIN unit it should plug straight in without cutting cables or soldering joints. It can be daunting to pull apart your dashboard and start playing around with your precious car’s wiring, and if you have any doubts it’s best to leave the whole thing to a professional. Finally we took into account the units’ price, using the best deals we could find online. We also checked for sound quality and assessed any other features including built-in Bluetooth and the option to add accessories, such as back-up cameras. Which is the smartest choice to go with your phone? How we tested themĪll of the units we compared here are compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so we connected them to a test rig and checked how easy it was to link our phones and use their features. Check online or with a specialist fitter and they’ll be able to suggest adapter plates which could make a new double DIN-sized device fit and it should still work with your steering wheel remote controls.īest of all, it will bring your car bang up to date with access to the very latest in smartphone connectivity. Upgrading your in-car entertainment isn’t as difficult as you might think, even though many cars have built-in units rather than universal fitments. This can leave us looking enviously at the newest models with their DAB radios, voice activation and perfect integration with smartphones.īut there is an alternative to trading in your car or crudely hanging your phone in a mount on the dashboard. We might upgrade our phone every couple of years to keep up with the latest technology, but most of us won’t renew our cars quite as often. ![]()
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