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VE Calais Series 2 - new Head Unit - Android Auto

losh1971

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impactoz

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And Voilla - I just got a reply from his website info page - where he claims - the units work well, his manufacturer no longer could provide the main processor because of the world wide chip shortage... they will be back,,, but only when he can get the modules......

Yes its true there are chip shortages - but if its just an android module I would be doing a redesign and using something else or seeking alternative components. I have been on his wait list for nearly 2 years - which is well prior to the chip shortage....

Does not appear any other manufacturer making something similar - so alas... its a lost cause, and not liking the idea of waiting another 2 years for it to magically appear
 

impactoz

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Fantastic Lead - been to their website previously - did not see it... Been to their facebook page and they had stock to sell on special a few weeks ago for Black Friday - message sent, fingers crossed.... Happy to drive there anytime (60 mins for me) to get it if i can - LOL
 

Fu Manchu

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all you have to do is retro fit series 1 trims for the radio and vents etc and install what ever you want in regard to Android Auto or CarPlay. Easy as.
 

impactoz

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ALC did my upgrade today... I love that it looks standard - no idea from the outside anything is not stock.. (I have had a bad experience of a car years ago where I got broken into to steal an alpine unit - and they destroyed the whole interior)....

First impressions after 3 hours is good... I still need some config to do I think - I have turned off speed alerts / railway crossings / red lights from the calais standard navigation - as each of those popped up a msg on the screen which would take control away from the android unit - and it was too annoying have to hit a few buttons to get it returned.....

Love wireless android and its fairly quick - thats great !

When i turn the ignition on, I get a thump really loud on all the speakers - which I dont like... so need to investigate that...

And of course being a screen - stock standard on the calais - resolution is not that great - so maps is just a little blurry compared to anything new - certainly readable

Overall - excited!
 

F1Aussie

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ALC did my upgrade today... I love that it looks standard - no idea from the outside anything is not stock.. (I have had a bad experience of a car years ago where I got broken into to steal an alpine unit - and they destroyed the whole interior)....

First impressions after 3 hours is good... I still need some config to do I think - I have turned off speed alerts / railway crossings / red lights from the calais standard navigation - as each of those popped up a msg on the screen which would take control away from the android unit - and it was too annoying have to hit a few buttons to get it returned.....

Love wireless android and its fairly quick - thats great !

When i turn the ignition on, I get a thump really loud on all the speakers - which I dont like... so need to investigate that...

And of course being a screen - stock standard on the calais - resolution is not that great - so maps is just a little blurry compared to anything new - certainly readable

Overall - excited!
Hey, is all the little gremlins sorted? I am thinking of doing the exact same thing! Is the resolution better than the standard IQ unit? Does all the original functionality still work like reversing camera etc.
 

impactoz

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Hey, is all the little gremlins sorted? I am thinking of doing the exact same thing! Is the resolution better than the standard IQ unit? Does all the original functionality still work like reversing camera etc.
Tell me what gremlins your referring to and I shall report back.

So everything works as it did before - reverse camera - same resolution / color / detail - its identical.... everything is the same.

Until you press Aux - and then the android comes alive... Even in this mode the reverse camera will come in... any alert that would overide things... like i used to have the alerts for railway crossings etc - turned them off... front / rear proximity sensors still work on Aux - which is somewhat annoying - as any alert to the screen, means it has taken it out of aux mode and you need to press the aux button again...

Running android maps is fine - but I am guessing as it is using aux for the input - the video signal is downgraded to composiite or similar - so it is a little blurry - not as nice as your phone... You notice it immediately but you get used to it....

The only other things I have noticed - wireless connectivity via bluetooth is fantastic 0 but it chews your battery considerably... plugging your phone into usb keeps the charge live on the phone while you use maps - but now I am wireless I could use half my battery in not much more than an hour or two...

Lastly phone... Got caught out a couple of times now... where I could not bother starting up the android, and the phone was not connected to the unit at all - so could not do a hands free call - it has its own bluetooth connection seperate to the normal one... even has its own microphone.

Is it perfect - No - Is it handy - Yes. but everything still works - including single / double zone air con
 

F1Aussie

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Tell me what gremlins your referring to and I shall report back.

So everything works as it did before - reverse camera - same resolution / color / detail - its identical.... everything is the same.

Until you press Aux - and then the android comes alive... Even in this mode the reverse camera will come in... any alert that would overide things... like i used to have the alerts for railway crossings etc - turned them off... front / rear proximity sensors still work on Aux - which is somewhat annoying - as any alert to the screen, means it has taken it out of aux mode and you need to press the aux button again...

Running android maps is fine - but I am guessing as it is using aux for the input - the video signal is downgraded to composiite or similar - so it is a little blurry - not as nice as your phone... You notice it immediately but you get used to it....

The only other things I have noticed - wireless connectivity via bluetooth is fantastic 0 but it chews your battery considerably... plugging your phone into usb keeps the charge live on the phone while you use maps - but now I am wireless I could use half my battery in not much more than an hour or two...

Lastly phone... Got caught out a couple of times now... where I could not bother starting up the android, and the phone was not connected to the unit at all - so could not do a hands free call - it has its own bluetooth connection seperate to the normal one... even has its own microphone.

Is it perfect - No - Is it handy - Yes. but everything still works - including single / double zone air con
I guess the thump when you turn the car on was a little gremlin I was referring to. I am tossing up between this and one from ASL that is purely GPS that is integrated into the original position. Not sure I like the idea of data usage and connection stability with the android auto. I live regional and at times do trips where there is no reception. All the extra functions sound good but I guess it comes down to what I really want it for. I believe there can be issues once mobiles are updated to android 12, lots of threads and posts about this, are you on android 12 and if so does it work okay? I believe android auto on mobiles does not work with that update and there is a new Google app to use on your phone.
 
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