My beloved DIN-dash Honda Accord got rear-ended last week, and I predict that it will likely get totaled.

I've got some cash that could go towards a brand new 2017 Accord or CR-V, so I'm expecting things will go in that direction very soon. The new cars (at least the ones I want) are all touchy screeny bluetoothy cellphoney these days, no DIN slot.

Anyone have any tips on getting an empeg to work in this situation these days, someone who's been through it?

What I'm thinking is:
- Find a spot for the empeg somewhere in the car (maybe vertically in the center armrest console? Even the trunk will do if necessary).
- I have one of the remote display extenders from awhile back, still new-in-box, haven't used it. Maybe find a spot for the extended display somewhere up front where I can get to. Not sure where yet. Visor? Dashboard somewhere? Gotta poke around to decide.
- I don't think anyone makes a direct Aux-in adapter for the 2017 Hondas, can't find one, does anyone know if one exists?
- If not, I could get a A2DP bluetooth transmitter. Can't tell which ones are good though. Would be a little twitchy about the bluetooth audio data compression being applied to already-mp3-data-compression of the audio on the player, but I might not have any choice.
- Don't see an easy way to integrate the steering wheel controls in this situation. Would likely have to rely on the remote display for control.
- Maybe 3D-print a fresh face trim for the remote display, since it would look weird without a pullout handle.
- Maybe upgrade the player to an SSD so that I don't worry about thermal issues and bumpy rides any more.

Anyone else have experience to share about the remote display? For instance, if I pull the player out of the car to update its song library, how easy is it to detach the display, and will it work headless (ie will it boot without a display plugged in) in a home dock?

Any other ideas or things to talk about with this?

I buried mine inside a hollow in/under the dash, and use a display extender stuck (velcro) in the front of the in-dash storage compartment.

Sounds about like what I'm going for. From the pictures, it looks like that'll be more likely to work on the '17 Accord than on the '17 CR-V. They didn't really give much space to work with on the CR-V, everything is smooshed together in the dash with no pockets up front. That'll be a factor in my purchasing decision.

Mmm.. depending upon the width of the storage compartment, the empeg could fit in there with need for the extender. I think the compartment in my Impreza was about 1/2" too narrow.

Correction: I didn't actually use the display extender -- the cable only had to reach about 12" or less, so I just replaced the regular display ribbon cable with a longer one. One can go up to perhaps 18" or so before the active electronics of the PCATS extender are required.

Cheers

Cool! Thanks! I think I'd do it with the extender anyway, just to be sure. Part of it is that the extender layers on and protects one of the fragile components on the back of the display board.

Any recommendations on which IDE SSD model I should get to replace my current hard disk in the 'peg? Ideally I'd want to directly copy the old hard disk onto the new one.

Anyone have a 3D model of the current faceplate that I could drop into an editor, modify so that it looks better without a handle, and then 3D print?

Anyone have any opinion on brands of A2DP transmitters for this application?

This one: Kingspec 128GB SSD

Awesome, I have pressed the "Buy It Now" button.

My install post

The display extenders actually need quite a bit of depth - a good 50mm.

They need a solid mount - my install was in the headlining and
I routed my ribbon cable back to the boot via the headlining too.



You can use it headless for sure - the web ui works just fine (trying it now - fine in Chrome - not so well in my Firefox)

Cough

Wow, I had actually asked that question before?! LOL.

I had bought the display extender a long time ago in anticipation of one day needing one. I had forgotten I'd already asked the question. :-)

Nice install pics. Is the display extender still installed and are you still using it in the same car? How have things held up over time? Has the display board tolerated being up there in the headliner where it tends to get hot?

I also notice that my new car (picked up last night) has a web browser in its touchscreen dashboard apps. I haven't gotten it to work yet (my car refuses to connect to my home wifi) but now I'm wondering if I can use the web interface to control the player if I plug it into 12v wifi bridge of some kind. :-)

So, did you choose the Accord or the CR-V? Pictures?

tanstaafl.

I went with the Accord, in the EX-L trim level (so I could get the slightly upgraded stereo with the so-called "subwoofer" which seems to be just an 8-inch speaker mounted in the center of the rear deck). I went with the Accord partly because the pics of the CRV make it look like there'd be problems finding a spot on the dash for an empeg remote display. I still might run into problems with it anyway, but I think with the Accord I at least have a fighting chance. Perhaps I'll be able to do it by replacing the little flip-door cubby in front of the gearshift, something that strangely doesn't exist at all in the CRV pics I saw.

I don't have any pics of my own, since other photographers have done much better jobs than I.

Speaking of working on that center cubby, I'm stick these here for future ref:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAsHkEYnYCA
http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/138-audio-electronics-lighting/79380-hacking-imid-3.html

I now consider this problem solved.

http://empegbbs.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/370560/1

Since I don't have a display extender, I think I'll have to go this route.

I do not have a browser built into the touchscreen dash apps, but I do have an old cast-off Android phone (that we don't use as a phone). So, empeg into a mini travel WiFi router + phone's browser to control empeg via web interface. Since the phone also has bluetooth, I (or anyone who beats me to the punch) could write an empeg control app that converts bluetooth AVRCP signals into player control signals.

There is actually a rather excellent Empeg remote control app for Android out there. I have it on my phone and use it regularly around the house.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chasinglemons.empeg

Oh, hey, well then... all that's missing is some bluetooth integration.

Tony's existing bluetooth solution should work just fine in conjunction with that app.

Longer (LONGER) term, it would be nice to have tighter empeg integration with bluetooth, such that the car head unit could browse/enqueue playlists etc. That's how I would like to make it work, but such things do require some time to implement, and that's just not happening for me right now.

Unless I misread, though, doesn't Tony's bluetooth thing require modding the player? I'd like to avoid that, if possible. And if I can't mount the empeg where that the screen is visible, there doesn't seem to be much point -- I have to have a (bluetooth-enabled) phone/tablet anyway.

It's a shame that the Forester doesn't have Android Auto. Oh, well.

Understandable. I made that choice in the design so that the audio could be a pure digital stream from the empeg, giving the best quality. I could make it work with analog audio only, and thus require no player mods, but the audio would then be susceptible to noise. Some small mods to the BlueGigaEmpeg box (instead of mods to the player) could allow that. Cut three traces, run a 1/8" headphone adapter cord into the box, change one line of code, and it'd work analog with no player mods.



Good point. If your needs are already met by having your music on a bluetooth phone or tablet, and the empeg's features aren't enough of an improvement over that, then it makes sense just to use the phone in that case.

Still, that Android empeg controller is pretty cool. For some folks, that would allow them to mount the empeg in the trunk and use an off-the-shelf bluetooth adapter like one of these for the audio. You wouldn't get track titles on your car stereo screen, but you'd get audio and you'd be able to control the empeg from your dash.

I for one would love to have the Empeg's features back in my car, but I don't see this happening with the Empeg itself, though I still own two. I have followed your Bluetooth project in awe, but that would not be an option for me because I could never tuck the remote display so cleverly away as you did and my (current) car also does not support Bluetooth audio profiles, only Bluetooth voice (so I can only use it for phoning, not streaming audio).

So now I've bought a Kinivo BTC450 and now use my Android phone.

I noticed pretty quickly there are still no excellent Android apps that are made for in-car use. I currently use Car Tunes, but it has its quirks, the biggest being when skipping tracks it always skips two tracks instead of one for some strange reason. I've mailed the developer about this, but never received a reply. Looking at the last update date, it seems this is abandoneware. A pity, because even with its flaws, it's still the best in-car app I was able to find. (so I bought it)

My biggest wish would be that somebody could code an in-car smartphone app which has the Empeg's features built in. Especially the "insert a different random track from the now playing artist" feature, the clever search feature and the Wendy filters. I'd do it myself, but I cannot code to save my life. I had high hopes when that Empeg on Raspberry Pi project was presented here some years ago, but unfortunately that seemed to have died before it was even released.

Come to think of it, it's really sad that more than 20 years after the release of the Empeg, nothing has been released since with features that even come close.

So again, I still really hope for such an app. I would pay good money for it too, it would be worth it to me.

The existing Android app does all of that and more, except it uses a real empeg as the backend. No need for physical access to the empeg or its display/controls, as those are all faithfully replicated by the App.

Just need a tiny Wifi bridge in the car to connect the two together.

My own wish would be for that Android app to be adapted for use on Android Auto, which would then place it onto the in-dash touchscreen!

I’m wondering something about android auto.

With iPhone auto, your car stereo can only do that one thing, whatever app is up on the screen with iPhone auto. For example if I am running the iPhone maps application with iPhone auto then I can’t play music from another source such as Bluetooth. Either I’m on the car’s Bluetooth audio screen, or I’m on the Apple screen. I can’t do both. I can’t have the screen of one and the audio of the other.

If android auto was the same way, then that would negate the usefulness of having the app run on android auto.

Nice! I've just bought the app and I'll have a look at it tomorrow, I'm not home at the moment.

I wonder if it would be very hard to adapt such an app to use the music files of the phone instead of an Empeg in the background.

This may be very do-able. I could mount the Empeg in the trunk where the spare tire also resides. I have a cigarette lighter connector there, so power wouldn't be a problem. Hmmm... Are there WiFi bridges meant for in-car use out there? I think I'll look into that tomorrow.

Thanks!

The Harman head unit my Subaru can play audio natively from the Radio/USB/CD at the same as Android Auto is using the screen for Google Maps. [EDIT] The Apple CarPlay stuff on the same unit is also supposed to work this way[/EDIT].

I haven't tried it with BT audio at the same time yet, but that should work the same.

Note that one will still need to run an audio connection from the empeg to the head unit. A simple Analog-to-BT dongle would do it, as would running audio cables to the head-unit's AUX-IN port.

Oh, I understand what you meant now. Yeah, having an empeg app for Android Auto would indeed then force me to choose between that, or Google Maps at any one time.

Or would it? There are selector buttons onscreen for quickly switching between Android Auto apps. So presumably touching the Music button would take me to the Empeg app, and then hitting Maps would take me back there, as music continues to play.

Thanks Mark!
I know about the audio cable, and indeed, that could be a bigger problem. But I guess running an audio cable back to front wouldn't be *that* problematic (I hope?).

The harder part is probably finding a suitable WiFi bridge at a decent price, it seems. So-called MiFi adapters are found easily, but they all lack a hardware port necessary to connect the Empeg to. I've found one in-car Wi-Fi router, but it seemed pretty costly.

Edit : Would this thingie be any good?

Edit 2 : Mark, I also noticed in the beginning of this thread, you linked to an 128 GB IDE SSD drive. I was wondering if a 256 GB model would also work with the Empeg. It's been a long time, but I seem to remember something about the 16MB of RAM being a limiting factor when it came to increasing the disk size - I just don't know what the maximum disk size the Empeg will work with is.

Pretty much any Tomato/DD-WRT compatible discarded Wifi G or N router will work, especially if it uses a 12V power supply. Others on this BBS have used the venerable Linksys WRT-54G for such purposes.

The nifty travel router you linked to looks like it ought to work, but you won't know until you try it.

I don't know about the 256GB SSD; perhaps others can comment on that one.

-ml

I had actually meant the first thing you responded to: being unable to play audio from the Bluetooth input while running the empeg screen controller app in Android Auto or in Apple Car Play.

But it’s possible that I’m remembering wrongly how it works. I abandoned Apple Car Play fairly quickly because it had a certain concurrency issue (can’t run Waze on my phone while controlling iTunes music on the car screen, I have to choose one or the other). I’m now no longer sure whether my car ALSO prevents concurrent audio from a different input source.

I am pretty sure that Paul Grzelak (pgrzelak on the bbs) was running at least 256GB in some of his players.

tanstaafl.

Thanks Doug. I'll see if I can get in touch with him. It seems Paul has left these forums years ago, but I think I still have his email somewhere.
Or I could also leave a PM to Hugo, Peter or Roger.
I'm pretty sure there was a harddisk size limitation because of the limited RAM of the player. My players are MK2a's, so those got 16MB of RAM, but there's a limitation somewhere nonetheless. Just can't remember what it was. I'd hate to invest in this harddisk, only to find out I can't use it because the player can't handle 256GB drives.

Well there's no question there is a RAM limitation for holding key filesystem data structures. I think Paul got around it with memory upgrades to 32MB/64MB in his players which had huge drives, as well as by ensuring swap was always enabled and mounted (it otherwise is normally mounted only during "sync" operations).

Really, for a mostly trouble free existence, keep it at 128GB or less.

Cheers

I saw that, as well -- but right now, this one is at the top of my list. It's cheaper, has an additional USB port, so an external drive can be connected, and best of all, comes with OpenWRT pre-installed.

Oooo! Very nice! Thanks for the tip!!

Click, ordered. I'll let you know how it works.

I just received that GL.iNet little router and immediately installed it. In short: it works beautifully! I can connect the Empeg to its LAN port and my Android phone will connect to its WiFi. I can then load up the Empeg remote app which indeed works very good.

Now I'll just have to find a way to run an RCA cable to Aux-in of the headunit. Or maybe use a Bluetooth transmitter.

Great! I am going to take another look at that little router thing now too!

Out of curiosity, can you get it to instead act as a wifi client which connects to the Android hotspot on your phone, and then still access the empeg from the phone? Probably tricky to "know" the IP address it gets assigned by the phone.

Using it in that mode would still permit internet access from the phone over mobile data.

I'll have a look for you Mark, but I'm not home atm. I'll let you know the moment I'm able to.