ipad install underway
Hey.
Just thought I'd share my discovery with all of you.
I live in London so getting hold of stuff for my Tahoe isn't that easy. So when I decided to swap out my factory stereo I had a brain fart. Why not have no head unit at all and use the massive hole it leaves for something else? Maybe an iPad??
It just so happens an iPad fits the gap from the instrument panel to the edge of the bezel beautifully (almost made for it), so I'm going to work out some sort of housing for it (more on this when I master it).
There are tonnes of people out there (one amazing attempt on here) who have installed iPad's in their cars (it was by no means a pioneering idea on my part). They all have guides on how to achieve it, problem is all of them give you a list of costly bits and bobs you need to make it possible. It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated.
The way I achieved it was to simply use a bluetooth handsfree kit ($70). Most of these have their own amplifier and so pretty much make the head unit redundant. The one I opted for was the iO Play (
http://www.ioplay.co.uk/).
The next mission was the wiring. I searched long and hard for a SOT lead but none were available so I butchered the harness that came with my bluetooth kit and went in with a wiring diagram and some snap connectors and spliced it to the vehicles existing setup.
I couldn't get the rear door speakers to work at first and it really bugged me. Don't worry it's a simple fix! There is a pink wire which is the remote for the amp under the drivers seat. This powers a relay under the steering wheel which in turn drives the amp. I just spliced it to the same feed as the remote wire for the bluetooth kit. Problem solved!
The beauty of my approach is that's pretty much all the wiring taken care of (except the power for the iPad charger which is very simple). My phone and iPad will connect to my system wirelessly! Plus I have space for another 3 devices in the kits memory.
So that's where I am up to. It's weird driving round without a head unit but my bluetooth kit allows me to control the volume and skip tracks as well as obviously pausing/fading out music to answer calls.
Once I have the iPad in I will have iTunes, Video, SatNav, Internet Radio, etc, etc. Now what other system out there offers you that for the same money as an iPad, some fibreglass and some fun in the workshop??
Any questions from anyone looking to do a similar thing, just give me a shout.
