Shout out to JPM Coachworks (Nexus7)

[scottyj]

Quick shout out to JPM Coachworks for their great job with my Nexus 7 mount for my car. Looks great and this project is FINALLY finished. I have one of the older wifi only units that won't take a sim card. Unit is plugged into the car audio by an older and very simple Pioneer system (been working great). From the Nexus its plugged into a 4 port USB tree with a DAC and 32gb flash drive. Simple setup, no problems thus far. I just wanted it to look clean and I'm super happy with the results.

[radroach]

Looks AWESOME!

[scottyj]

there were a couple unanticipated hiccups in the process. First was the fact that I NEEDED to get my windows tinted. (not ALL that bad...) The glare on the screen is pretty significant sometimes. Also, since digital touchscreen devices like this have a polarization filter built in, if you wear polarized sunglasses with this tablet in the horizontal position, the display is blacked out.

Second, during the final install, the top center guide for the center bezel stuck too far out and the nexus wouldn't fit. That was solved with a good swipe of the Dremel.

Third, not having a knob to control volume takes some getting used to. I've decided that I'm going to learn some java and figure out how to write a program that allows me to use the multi-touch capability with the Nexus 7 to manipulate volume. Theoretically, if I do this right, I can program the tablet to recognize when I put two fingers against the tablet and swipe up or down to increase or decrease the volume, respectively, with respect to about 2/3 the height of the screen so I have some wiggle room and I can touch anywhere.

[LittleMonster]

I believe and application exists that will essentially do what you're describing. Search for GMD gesture, you will have to be rooted however. Also keep an eye out for Timur's FI kernel, it will allow you to only lose about 1 percent of battery over night and charge rapidly when the car is on. Was this dash panel custom? Is it something I can order?

[l0aded]

Looks nice. Just ordered the door and center knee pads from them. Hope my experience is as good as everyone else's on the forum.

[scottyj]

Originally Posted by LittleMonster

I believe and application exists that will essentially do what you're describing. Search for GMD gesture, you will have to be rooted however. Also keep an eye out for Timur's FI kernel, it will allow you to only lose about 1 percent of battery over night and charge rapidly when the car is on. Was this dash panel custom? Is it something I can order?

So GMD Gesture allows you to program custom gestures into the tablet to the extent of "Swipe two fingers down and it enables the sound slider" I'm looking for a persistent (and invisible) replacement to the slider. The onscreen power up/down buttons are only single push. Meaning you can't hold them down and get a continuous "volume up" or "volume down" execution. I want to proportionally scale where my fingers are, relative to where they began on a vertical orientation, in order to change my volume. Nothing exists, as far as I know, that would allow for such an application.

As for the Timur's Mod... I am using Timur's USB Kernel which allows 1800 rapid charging. On my 30ish minute commute to work, I gain 3% battery life in the tablet and I show a 1% drop in power overnight. BUT, when I am running Torque, I show a 2% DROP in power during my commute. I am shopping around for less power intensive OBDII interface applications.

The dash panel was custom. I sent in both of my bezel units and my programmed Nexus7 to JPM Coachworks, and they returned to me this beautiful setup. Prior to sending my tablet, I had all the programming done, I moved the micro-usb port to the back of the tablet, and I cut off the audio jack from the micro-usb ribbon (no need since I use a DAC). I opened up the back, pulled off the battery, unscrewed the assembly holding the usb/audio plugs down, bent them back to the outside of the tablet, used a dremel to make a little bit of space on the case, and just taped it down to the back of the case. I glued a nickel to the back of the case, and then the micro-usb plug to the top of the nickel to account for the size of the plug. I'll pull it out in the next day or so to post some good quality pictures.

[LittleMonster]

After playing around with GMD, it seems the closest I could get to what your are looking for is a gesture (such as two finger swipe down) that will pull up the on screen volume slider. What is sounds like to me is that you're looking for an app that enables adjustment of media volume as you perform a gesture as to avoid keeping your eyes on the tablet in order to change the volume, let me know if you find an app that can do this as it would come in handy.

I'm still waiting for a public release of Timur's Kernel, hope it comes soon. I believe Android supports USB OBDII readers, you can possibly run a hub off the OTG USB port and have that and your DAC (and other peripherals) connected to the N7 to solve the battery issue with Torque. I had a problem with my Bluetooth OBDII reader where I had to manually pair the two devices every time, did you run into this and have a solution? Any experience with Dash Command? I found the layouts a lot more pleasing to the eye.
Can I ask how much the custom dash cost you? Thanks for the reply

[scottyj]

I rooted my N7 to use Timur's Kernel, it works very well. I have constant charging via OTG plug, but while using torque it shows more usage than charge.

What you said though is exactly what I'm looking for. Something to replace the ease of using a knob for volume control without taking my eyes off the road. I DON'T have my phone paired to the tablet, only my OBDII port. I don't have to manually connect. Also, I never turn off the Nexus. With Timur's Mod, it goes into standby mode whenever it senses the drop in power, then comes back as I turn the car on. I paid $325 for the custom work.