Samsung Galaxy 4 7" Tablet install

[Shinare]

So I gave up on installing my Nexus 7 as it was just physically too big to fix in the Yaris' space available without breaking things. So I decided to get the smallest width tablet I could find. The Galaxy Tab 4 7". It ended up fitting pretty nicely with some coaxing.

So first things first, I will forego the how to remove your car stereo (search here its easy) with one small exception. Once you expose the brackets, I know from experience that I need to write L and R on the brackets so I can quickly tell which one is which and which way is up. Heh. So I put the L and R on the top bolt:


So I attached the Metra Double Din kit sides to the brackets like so:


I then put the dash fascia back in so I can mark on the fascia how far up into the fascia the metra kit extends:


I need to CUT the fascia top and bottom of the stereo hole because the tablet is ever so slightly bigger then the opening and I want the tablet to sit flush with the metra kit's ends. So I cut using a dremel:


I know its hard to tell from this pic but this is dry fit after cutting fascia to make sure that the opening in the fascia is even with the metra kit ends:


I forgot to take a picture of it, but I then cut JUST THE FACE of the metra kit back a bit because the tablet is a bit longer than the opening left when the metra kit is in. Cutting just the face back leaves the back of the metra kit there so the tablet can be pressed against it, sandwiched between it and the fascia panel for a tight fit. Once I did that, I dry fit the tablet in the opening with the fascia installed:


I then realized that I was going to need some holes in the metra kit ends for the power and headphones jack:

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Here it is plugged in with fascia off. I tried to get a pic of the headphone jack and power but it was dark:


Again, forgot to take a pick, but I had to notch back the sides of the fascia opening to allow the power and headphones cables to extend behind it.

Here is is installed and off:


Here it is turned on. I use "Tasker" app to turn on and off the tablet when it gets (switched) power from the car:


Ok, now that its all installed I'm a little dissapointed. When I turn on the ignition, there is a terrible whine and noises (almost the way the old modems sounded back in the day) coming from the speakers. This is with or without the engine running. I just assume its CAN bus sounds or something. When I did this in my other car it was also there but very faint, so imperceptible that I just ignored it. But in the Yar, its terrible. Unlistenable.

So, I did some research and found that if I use a bluetooth receiver to go in to my amp rather than the headphones out on the tablet this will fix it. So I've ordered one from Amazon, it will be here Sunday. Cant wait to see if it fixes it.

[Shinare]

PS> The Galaxy Tab 7 was not my first choice, its not that great of a tablet, and development for it is nonexistent. Unfortunately its the only one that would fit easily so that won out over everything else. The Nexus 7 (even the older model) is a way better tablet.

[CTScott]

It is amazing as to how hard it is to figure out the radio brackets, if you don't have a picture of them installed in front of you.

If you disconnect the charger, does the whine go away? If so, you just need either a better quality charger or simple filter built with two capacitors and one inductor to eliminate it.

[Shinare]

The wine DOES go away when I disconnect the charger. I bought a "ground loop isolator" for the 12v+ to the charger and put it between the 12v switched power and the charger.it didn't do anything. Not really skilled enough to make what you are saying.does that go in between the charger and the tablet?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Shinare

The wine DOES go away when I disconnect the charger. I bought a "ground loop isolator" for the 12v+ to the charger and put it between the 12v switched power and the charger.it didn't do anything. Not really skilled enough to make what you are saying.does that go in between the charger and the tablet?

The ground loop isolators typically don't help. For the filter you would connect the inductor between the car's power feed and the input to the power adapter. It installs in line with the positive wire. One capacitor would get connected between the positive and ground wires as they enter the power adapter. A 2000 uF capacitor would then get connected between the positive and ground wires to the tablet. The capacitors can be purchased from radioshack and should be 25V or 50V rated caps. When they are installed, make sure that the polarity is connected correctly (the caps will have a strip indicating the positive or negative lead of the cap. Make sure that it is connected to the respective power wire). Radio shack does not carry inductors, so I would try it initially with just the caps.



+ -------Inductor------Power adapter+--------Tablet+
...........................|...................... ........ |............
...................1000 uF Cap................ 2000uF Cap....
...........................|...................... ........ |............
- -------------------------------------------------------Tablet-

[Shinare]

Wow awesome detail on that and I would like to not have to use the Bluetooth receiver... I would need some balls to try something like that though.hehe

[Shinare]

Scott I just want to say you are a freaking genius! I woke up early this morning with this on my mind and decided to try a different charger. I put the new charger that was much heavier and seemed better built in place of the cheap one I had behind the dash, and there is ZERO noise now! I never would have thought of changing out the charger. Thanks so much for your help. I wish I would have tried this before buying the $20 Bluetooth receiver. But oh well. Thanks again!

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[mitchell12]

I really like this idea, why do you say you'd rather a different tablet though? My galaxy tab is my first tablet but not my first Android device and I am super pleased with it. What are you looking to do with it that requires more development? Different OS possibly? Is there a piece of software that would make it more useful? I personally just see this being awesome to use with the Torque app and being able to wireless grab music of my network at home.

[Shinare]

The main thing I need is OTG capability. I Have an OTG + charging cable that I can hook a USB hub into plus a charger , ad then hook up a USB dash cam and rear view cam, that way have reverse camera and a dash cam. Also having custom ROMs to get rid of some of the bloat on the tablet would be nice. The screen resolution is ok but the Nexus 7 is much better, and the speed of the processor takes a little getting used to after moving from a nexus 7 its not bad but a little sluggish. I will say after using this tablet in my dash for a little bit, but there is a great yet unforeseen bonus to having the Samsung tablet. A button on the front that can wake up the tablet if for some reason it accidentally goes to sleep is a great bonus! Every once in a long while I would need to take the fascia off of mine old car to get out the button on the tablet to turn it back on. It seems having a front facing button that can do that makes things a little easier.

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[Shinare]

PS, with an OTG cable, I can add a USB memory stick I have a lot more memory space to put music or record dash video with. The Nexus tab 4 - 8 and 10 inch models both allow for OTG, but the 7 inch model does not. That's kind of an odd thing for Samsung to do and it irritates me. :-)

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[mitchell12]

Yea that makes a whole lot of sense now. Is there any kind of work around that you are looking into?

[Shinare]

I'm just going to be happy with it as is for now and keep my eye on xda. Currently all they have is root and an iffy custom boot loader. The only custom Rom is a deodexed and zip aligned stock Rom. Not worth rooting it just yet and getting flagged by Samsung.

The pRoblem with the 7" model is that it is completely different hardware than the 8 and 10 inch variety. And it's hardware that is harder to develop for. It was the same with the tab 3 series and development eventually took off. I'm optimistically hopeful it will for the tab 4.

[ezhacker1]

Its good that you are able to keep full control of the center vents. But its a necessary sacrifice and im okay with it to have my N7 2013 in.

[Shinare]

Yeah,I appreciate that. It was a major goal of mine to have it look as close as stock as possible. Not really stock is the right word..more integrated maybe.

[ezhacker1]

i remove the N7 after every trip, cuz its also my daily tablet. I keep it in its flip cover case, so that also gets "installed" into the car each time.

[Shinare]

Lol system update in my car.

[Shinare]

Shot of amp under passenger seat:


Inline rca volume control for easy volume adjustments:


Thinking about mounting the volume knob next to tablet in silver area if I ever get to it.

[ezhacker1]

Yeah i need a volume knob...so far i reach into where the center vent shades were and press the volume/power button (thank goodness they are located there on the 2nd version)