Looking for a head unit that may not exist...

[MrBluGruv]

Pops,

since you're the resident expert on the matter of stereos, I have a question for you:

Are there any double-din head units out there you know of that can read out data from the ECU like via OBD II the ways these guys did:

http://magden-auto.com/


From some of my various google searches I didn't turn up many results, but a few people mentioned Pioneer head units possibly doing so and I believe you are a Pioneer vendor yes?


Thanks.

[Pops]

Some of the early Pioneers did some things but they are long gone. Other than that I have no idea.
Sorry!

[burt ragio]

Wow that Magden is impressive. What a great added feature.

[ctrlraven]

All it's doing is the same thing the ScanGauge II does but feeds it into a video signal to be displayed on a screen.

[MercNasty]

That is nice

[fastblackmerc]

That's nice but one question............


Unless you can log all the data, your navigator will need to look at it all.

[MrBluGruv]

All it's doing is the same thing the ScanGauge II does but feeds it into a video signal to be displayed on a screen.

I was afraid that those features were gone, but I was hoping for a cheaper solution to what I'm looking for.


And yeh ctrlraven, that's true, but I admit I'm looking for readout + eye candy. :P


Unfortunately the Magden is no longer for sale, I'm about 7 or 8 months too late.

[MrBluGruv]

Update:

I've decided to knock out a ton of birds with one stone.

I did some more digging, and actually found a number of decent solutions for what I'm looking for.

-HKS offers an OBD2 reader with A/V output that you can plug into an LCD screen head unit. This was a bit pricey though, cause I'd have to replace my head unit AND buy the monitoring unit AND do all the wiring.

-GReddy offers a nifty device called the Informeter. I wanna say it goes around $400 on ebay, and reads OBDII info on vehicles. Only downsides I saw: mess of running all that cable, plus it had to be plugged in to accesory power slot.


Hit a revelation though: I'm soon planning on upgrading my phone (I have an ANCIENT Motorola V195, the T-Mobile salesman literally laughed at me when I showed it to him at the store), and I'm planning on getting a Samsung Vibrant. Found out that there is a droid app called Torque that, via an OBDII-to-Bluetooth dongle, can read all the information real-time as well. A new smart-phone with essentially free GPS and for about $100 extra for the BT dongle a full-featured free OBDII live scanner? I'm down!

Anyways, just wanted to share my discovery for anyone that may be interested in a similar endeavor. Sorry if this is old news. :P

[guspech750]

Update:

I've decided to knock out a ton of birds with one stone.

I did some more digging, and actually found a number of decent solutions for what I'm looking for.

-HKS offers an OBD2 reader with A/V output that you can plug into an LCD screen head unit. This was a bit pricey though, cause I'd have to replace my head unit AND buy the monitoring unit AND do all the wiring.

-GReddy offers a nifty device called the Informeter. I wanna say it goes around $400 on ebay, and reads OBDII info on vehicles. Only downsides I saw: mess of running all that cable, plus it had to be plugged in to accesory power slot.


Hit a revelation though: I'm soon planning on upgrading my phone (I have an ANCIENT Motorola V195, the T-Mobile salesman literally laughed at me when I showed it to him at the store), and I'm planning on getting a Samsung Vibrant. Found out that there is a droid app called Torque that, via an OBDII-to-Bluetooth dongle, can read all the information real-time as well. A new smart-phone with essentially free GPS and for about $100 extra for the BT dongle a full-featured free OBDII live scanner? I'm down!

Anyways, just wanted to share my discovery for anyone that may be interested in a similar endeavor. Sorry if this is old news. :P

Who makes the app for Torque?

[Fosters]

Who makes the app for Torque?

Torque is an app; you can find it at http://torque-bhp.com. My phone stand worked better in the excursion vents, but the marauder ones are hopeless. Need to find a better mount for it, otherwise it's pretty hard to see things on the phone when I keep it in the cup holder.

To answer the original question in this thread, it is possible to put a whole computer in the doubledin slot; I've pondered doing this in the mustang. If you've put together a computer before, it shouldn't be all that foreign. The only few snags I see are amplification - you will need an external 4ch amp for audio and/or sub if you're going aftermarket (almost have to basically if you're gonna run an aftermarket amp for the mids/highs); and the bootup/shutdown times - though nowadays the cheaper touchscreens seem to take forever also. Also, you pretty much need a keyboard and mouse or at least a touchpad... One more thing to lug around the car. Last but not least, the cpu you pick is gonna have to be something that runs really cool; or figure out how to make the ac blow on it, cooling back there is not all that great.

Doing this, with a bluetooth or even USB dongle hooked up to the obd2 port, it would make it easier to see/monkey with the displays, and definitely easier to read, would just be a lot of work...

http://store.mp3car.com/ would be a good place to shop for non-computer components, like the screen/case and power supply; rest will be your standard newegg mini-itx stuff.

[GreekGod]

I have a book article about installing a Mac Mini in a car.

[N40GL]

Take a look at the DirectUS Prodigy One (http://directusnav.com/?portfolio=prodigy-one-2). There's also a video of it running on a GENTEX mirror (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baCP5XGlr8g). It'll also run on a touch screen.

[Fosters]

I have a book article about installing a Mac Mini in a car.

That's about as useful as the stock cassette player :lol: