V36 Nav And Language Swap - Faq

[Pete_Repeat]

So in reply to all my questions (see list above) they vaguely answered one question.. Which at least was the most important one. Doesn't really give great confidence.

Hi Peter Brown,
 

Will this work with a jap RHD model?

not sure, we didnt get any feedback form jap RHD model.

Thank you.

Ticket: https://phoenixautomotivellc.freshdesk.com/helpdesk/tickets/33589

 

Best regards,

[Pete_Repeat]

On 3/19/2019 at 6:39 PM, DashyyPC said:

hey @LesF

I have had confirmation these work with Nissans.
Only downside is that for some reason some of the units cause the loss of the middle LCD (in the cluster) 
I'd Steer away from aliexpress and get one direct from the supplier.

Here's a link for you.

 

https://phoenixautomotiveinc.com/products/12-1-android-navigation-radio-receiver-for-infiniti-g37?variant=17644852052025

@DashyyPC While Phoenix didn't give an answer distilling confidence in the purchase.. I am still a little curious about the compatibility. When you say Nissan, do you mean other types of Nissan's or v36 specific? Was all this through word, or is there somewhere online that has discussed this? I can't seem to find anyway in google that returns any info for "v36 phoenix radio"

Edited March 20, 2019 by Pete_Repeat
Added user tag

[DashyyPC]

28 minutes ago, Pete_Repeat said:

While Phoenix didn't give an answer distilling confidence in the purchase.. I am still a little curious about the compatibility. When you say Nissan, do you mean other types of Nissan's or v36 specific? Was all this through word, or is there somewhere online that has discussed this? I can't seem to find anyway in google that returns any info for "v36 phoenix radio"

I spoke to phoenix on Facebook, Supplied pics, part numbers etc. told them no Bose system etc, They just said yes itll still work but some people with nissans lose the middle screen (he exampled a maxima losing its middle LCD) 
 

[Pete_Repeat]

8 minutes ago, DashyyPC said:

I spoke to phoenix on Facebook, Supplied pics, part numbers etc. told them no Bose system etc, They just said yes itll still work but some people with nissans lose the middle screen (he exampled a maxima losing its middle LCD) 
 

OK thanks. I have asked them if they will give a money back guarantee including shipping if the system does not work as advertised. Also mentioned there are others that may be interested... I have a feeling that their response will still not give me great confidence but I am really hoping so.

[Pete_Repeat]

15 minutes ago, DashyyPC said:

I spoke to phoenix on Facebook, Supplied pics, part numbers etc. told them no Bose system etc, They just said yes itll still work but some people with nissans lose the middle screen (he exampled a maxima losing its middle LCD) 
 

Losing the middle screen would lose the trip meter and outside temp I guess wouldn't it? Other info on that can be shown on the middle screen eg distance to empty and fuel economy.. Actually, maybe it's only fuel economy on the middle screen as well.

While I am happy losing the trip meter it won't go through rego without that so I would be interested how hard it is to get the screen back if it proves to have this problem on a v36. 

 

Still, I need some confidence they'll stand behind their product for a v36 as I have also read some concerning customer service reports for phoenix since searching reasonably extensively.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Pete_Repeat

[DashyyPC]

1 minute ago, Pete_Repeat said:

Losing the middle screen would lose the trip meter and outside temp I guess wouldn't it? Other info on that can be shown on the middle screen eg distance to empty and fuel economy.. Actually, maybe it's only fuel economy on the middle screen as well.

While I am happy losing the trip meter it won't go through rego without that so I would be interested how hard it is to get the screen back if it proves to have this problem on a v36. 

 

Still, I need some confidence they'll stand behind their product for a v36 as I have also read some concerning customer service reports for phoenix since searching reasonably extensively.

Their responses are awful. 
upon first asking all i got was "yes" "ok" 
took ages to get a proper response. 

Yeah (although you could obviously see the outside temp on the weather app in android)
But you'd also potentially lose all the other details there aswell.
 

[V35_Paul]

this sounds like a bust guys.  

[The Max]

Pardon me for being a wet blanket but I knew it was going to end in disappointment.

Today's cars have the infotainment system so deeply and intricately embedded. Unless someone is serious about analysing each and every packet of data entering and leaving the OEM systems, they will always be piles of absolute shit.

The reason why the OEM systems are faster and more reliable than aftermarket is because they use operating systems designed for embedded use. Android is not that type of system. Never will be a replacement for embedded systems such as QNX, among a few others.

And with all the variances between one car model to the next, good luck finding a manufacturer who is prepared to produce software modules to cater to them all.

They're designed and produced by people with only a small amount of knowledge, a desire for fast cash and with compromises, from the tablet lacking in computing horsepower, to the limited functionality of their software.

I'm not saying my solution is the ultimate but with the compromises I've taken, I'm not going to run low on computing power for the GPS and I'm not losing any of my car's functionality, with the exception of taking over the touch panel of my screen, not that I ever used my touchscreen to dial my phone numbers anyway. I'll be happy to divulge the details once I've integrated it into the vehicle but I need time, which I don't have right now because I'm working overseas. No, I'm not selling anything. I'll be freely handing out all the information and you can do with it as you please if you decide to make it a project for yourself as well.

[LesF]

Being targeted at the Infiniti, in the litigation-happy US, they would have to deliver a reasonable level of usability, I expect.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the CPU power, if I could load in the maps I need for GPS it would be cool, but I wouldn't push the boundaries with Android apps other than using a music player, tho right now I just run spotify on my phone thru bluetooth.

Thanks for making the effort to get more information on this thing anyway.  I just wish there were more technical specs available, to know if it was possible to make a patch were parts of the interface are missing or whatever.  It could be a fun hardware and software challenge.

 

[Pete_Repeat]

I'm asking them if they will either offer a guarantee it will function fully, especially the cluster for the mileage, or offer all expenses returned to me including postage/shipping if it does not fully work. I'm still hesitant however unless they give more confidence. 

I'm an android user at home (my home automation is through android ie tasker and a little ifttt where required, and the raspberry pie tends to do minimal as I prefer android.) so with Android in my car I would likely automate plant if things based on time of day and location eg when getting car after 12pm and not near home, automatically direct google maps to navigate to home or put the live streaming radio on a certain channel when I start driving and it's before 9am etc). Thus why I find this solution so tempting if I can reduce the risk of wasting 750 dollars. The risk of wasting installation efforts will always be there.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Pete_Repeat

[Pete_Repeat]

2 hours ago, The Max said:

Pardon me for being a wet blanket but I knew it was going to end in disappointment.

Today's cars have the infotainment system so deeply and intricately embedded. Unless someone is serious about analysing each and every packet of data entering and leaving the OEM systems, they will always be piles of absolute shit.

The reason why the OEM systems are faster and more reliable than aftermarket is because they use operating systems designed for embedded use. Android is not that type of system. Never will be a replacement for embedded systems such as QNX, among a few others.

And with all the variances between one car model to the next, good luck finding a manufacturer who is prepared to produce software modules to cater to them all.

They're designed and produced by people with only a small amount of knowledge, a desire for fast cash and with compromises, from the tablet lacking in computing horsepower, to the limited functionality of their software.

I'm not saying my solution is the ultimate but with the compromises I've taken, I'm not going to run low on computing power for the GPS and I'm not losing any of my car's functionality, with the exception of taking over the touch panel of my screen, not that I ever used my touchscreen to dial my phone numbers anyway. I'll be happy to divulge the details once I've integrated it into the vehicle but I need time, which I don't have right now because I'm working overseas. No, I'm not selling anything. I'll be freely handing out all the information and you can do with it as you please if you decide to make it a project for yourself as well.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be keen to here the details once you're willing to share more. 

[The Max]

What my plan entails at the moment is based on an Intel i7 NUC, Windows 7, Foobar 2000 for audio with a mediocre skin for touchscreen control and Mapfactor Navigator (free software with open source maps, Google coordinate searches for POIs, addresses, etc) and a Garmin 18x GPS antenna.

 

I've gone the additional step of using a JDS Labs USB DAC for decent analogue audio output and an HDMI to composite converter that's way more expensive than a bok-choi eBay job but it's still composite, so let's see how good it'll look on our little screens.

 

All powered with custom designed power supplies and the NUC power is intelligently managed to allow for an elegant shutdown of Windows after stopping the car, before cutting the power off from the power supplies to prevent unnecessary draining of the battery.

 

I would've preferred a Linux OS but Mapfactor don't do a Linux version and I have not found anyone who does a GPS application as comprehensive as theirs.

 

[AsM]

From the pic on alibaba the wiring is all generic like rca’s and power wires, how does one plan to incorporate the Bose audio that has its own amplifiers with this generic wiring? Or do they provide any oem specific harness that’s not shown in the pics or mentioned in the description 

[Pete_Repeat]

2 hours ago, The Max said:

What my plan entails at the moment is based on an Intel i7 NUC, Windows 7, Foobar 2000 for audio with a mediocre skin for touchscreen control and Mapfactor Navigator (free software with open source maps, Google coordinate searches for POIs, addresses, etc) and a Garmin 18x GPS antenna.

 

I've gone the additional step of using a JDS Labs USB DAC for decent analogue audio output and an HDMI to composite converter that's way more expensive than a bok-choi eBay job but it's still composite, so let's see how good it'll look on our little screens.

 

All powered with custom designed power supplies and the NUC power is intelligently managed to allow for an elegant shutdown of Windows after stopping the car, before cutting the power off from the power supplies to prevent unnecessary draining of the battery.

 

I would've preferred a Linux OS but Mapfactor don't do a Linux version and I have not found anyone who does a GPS application as comprehensive as theirs.

 

Sounds interesting.

So how you dealing with the standard oem.info display? Is it just a touch overlay and your using the oem screen for the nuc and a switch to go between the oem info and the nuc? Or just not worrying about the oem info? Or managing to read it and display it on the nuc? 

[Pete_Repeat]

47 minutes ago, AsM said:

From the pic on alibaba the wiring is all generic like rca’s and power wires, how does one plan to incorporate the Bose audio that has its own amplifiers with this generic wiring? Or do they provide any oem specific harness that’s not shown in the pics or mentioned in the description 

I believe you specify if you have the Bose, no bossy, nav, no nav combos and they supply the right harnesses. The q50/q60 videos show oem harnesses and adapters 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Pete_Repeat

[The Max]

Sounds interesting.
So how you dealing with the standard oem.info display? Is it just a touch overlay and your using the oem screen for the nuc and a switch to go between the oem info and the nuc? Or just not worrying about the oem info? Or managing to read it and display it on the nuc? 

Much easier than that. As the NUC output is converted to composite, it'll feed the auxiliary input of the infotainment system, as per your first sentence.

As for the touch overlay, I've decided not to bother with a switch. I'm just going to permanently connect it to the USB converter for the NUC (based on Microchip's discontinued AR1100 IC).

[Pete_Repeat]

11 minutes ago, The Max said:

Much easier than that. As the NUC output is converted to composite, it'll feed the auxiliary input of the infotainment system, as per your first sentence.

As for the touch overlay, I've decided not to bother with a switch. I'm just going to permanently connect it to the USB converter for the NUC (based on Microchip's discontinued AR1100 IC).

Ah ok makes sense, thus the comments about not caring about the dialler which I agree isn't overly useful. The touch isn't needed for much else in the v36 anyway except maybe the aspect ratio for aux which is set and forget. Or maybe even that can be carried out by the direction arrows as well.

This is a far less intrusive thing to do. Just a little more work to get it right I guess. I like the sound of it.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Pete_Repeat

[DashyyPC]

On 3/20/2019 at 4:30 PM, Pete_Repeat said:

I can find links of similar devices if you are still haven't challenges finding them.

PM'd

[Pete_Repeat]

On 3/27/2019 at 5:14 PM, DashyyPC said:

PM'd

Here's one like I had. This is Amazon America though. The miracast and composite out (rca) is the important part. Then just find one with good reviews. 

https://www.amazon.com/Mirabox-Mirrorlink-Wireless-Miracast-Mirroring/dp/B019ME7GA6/ref=pd_aw_sbs_0_2/132-5904877-1811039?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B019ME7GA6&pd_rd_r=64373b2f-5069-11e9-998d-a9ae91c951bf&pd_rd_w=Vxvf5&pd_rd_wg=DjxtV&pf_rd_p=aae79475-6dc9-4a12-80e8-27b63108fa72&pf_rd_r=DP1RVY4FWP1WJK8NB6HE&psc=1&refRID=DP1RVY4FWP1WJK8NB6HE

Because I already had one of these below I changed to this when I suspected the mirabox was playing up (although maybe it wasn't a problem after all and was my phone causing the drop-outs after  more than a year of usage. 

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/networking/microsoft/microsoft-p3q-00016-wireless-display-adapter-v2/981657/

And then convert its hdmi with one of these

 

https://www.amazon.com.au/GANA-Composite-Converter-Adapter-Supporting/dp/B01KXI8LZE

 

If you get video interference then you may need a filter for the video. These can be found at jaycar if need be.

[Pete_Repeat]

On 3/21/2019 at 2:19 PM, Pete_Repeat said:

I'm asking them if they will either offer a guarantee it will function fully, especially the cluster for the mileage, or offer all expenses returned to me including postage/shipping if it does not fully work. I'm still hesitant however unless they give more confidence. 

I'm an android user at home (my home automation is through android ie tasker and a little ifttt where required, and the raspberry pie tends to do minimal as I prefer android.) so with Android in my car I would likely automate plant if things based on time of day and location eg when getting car after 12pm and not near home, automatically direct google maps to navigate to home or put the live streaming radio on a certain channel when I start driving and it's before 9am etc). Thus why I find this solution so tempting if I can reduce the risk of wasting 750 dollars. The risk of wasting installation efforts will always be there.

So no reply from Phoenix for a number of days. They seemed to ignore my request/question for a full refund if it didn't work on the v36 like it does for a g37. So unless they reply which is looking quite unlikely that they will, then this is the end of the road for me on that option.