Hi Zaos,

Thanks. Minics is an interesting system. I briefly looked into MinicsX2 before but decided against it because I wanted a standalone smart system that is robust.

My design goal is to replace the original head unit function completely except to change temperature or other system functions. The new unit has to be on automatically and ready to be used without having to pair with an external phone.

Linking your phone to head unit brings instability created by plugging and unplugging the phone. It'll also be hard to customize your main phone to perform car only functions such as having large icon launchers and external GPS receiver. Most built in GPS sensor has reception problem with the thickness of Bentley glass.

 

I apologize for the long wait. I finally have the unit ready and back in the car.

Here is the demo video:

Features:
1. Capacitive touch screen
2. IPS LCD. I updated the DPI in android so everything is large and nice for car use.
3. Voice command (3.5mm microphone into Android)
4. Steering wheel clip music control button (Satechi Media Button). This is used to skip sound tracks because steering wheel buttons will not work. I think it is possible to integrate the steering wheel buttons to perform this function but I won't do it now as the steering wheel control is connected to the airbag unit...
5. Flic button to activate voice control. This will allow you to operate your unit hands-free. i.e. "navigate to XYZ" will launch navition, "play mozart violin concerto" will play the song in Spotify. It is standard Google voice command.
6. Button to switch from factory display to Android. The button will be mounted in the ashtray.
7. Audio via GromAudio (similar to DICE)


Most of the complications I had were due to installing 360 cameras. If you just want to add Android to your system, then it will be a fairly simple job.

I will begin to write the guide now and will post back when ready.

 

Absolutely amazing!!!....this is the most impressive mod done to a Bentley to date. I look forward to reading the write up.


My biggest gripe (living in London) is that the sat nav on my gt is next to useless, google maps is always my preferred option but the signal keeps dropping out on my phone (due to the windscreen?)

Would having this android set up, improve this at all?

 

Thanks. I haven't done a real signal test yet but I'll be using Garmin Glo as the GPS receiver for Android: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/shop...rod109827.html

This unit should have more power and accuracy than most phone built-in GPS and should theoretically solve the reception issue.

 

OMG, you are THE MAN!!!!!!

 

I hadn't heard of the Garmin glo...I will get one this week and try it out, will let you know if it improves the reception on Google Maps directly from my phone.

 

I'll try again as my first post seems to have got lost...

Seems like you boys in the Bentley community are a bit behind the curve when it comes to upgrading the VW Infotainment unit! This kind of screen 'video source' hack/trick has been going on for many years in the Phaeton community (which uses essentially the same exact unit running slightly modified software).

A few points for people to understand / clarify about what's going on here, as its easy to get lost with all of the wiring gubbins you see .

All this hack/mod involves taking display cable to the screen, i.e. the 'final output signals' destined to hit the very old, low resolution LCD non-touchscreen panel and modifying them (conversion, upscaling, etc.) so they work on a higher resolution newer (previously incompatible) display panel which works with all modern hdmi sources and can be switched to use a different input source.

Said differently the biggest hassle in all of this was that the original unit wasn't designed to accept user integration multi-source input to the display ( a bit like your big screen tv can have multiple HDMI inputs) and ofcourse the old 7" display was ancient, a bit like the old arcade machines from yesteryear. So the whole hassle of this mod is replacing the screen with something modern and touch enabled then hacking the infotainments output so you can integrate the old signal to display on the new display properly, among other sources you may wish to display.

This does absolutely nothing for the original unit's output quality (actually if your not careful you can degrade the quality a bit depending on the approach taken) but... and this is the main point, once you have a proper later generation, higher resolution screen (greater number of dots per inch) of same as original physical size (7" inches) you can start to display other things and this is where things get rather interesting to add new technologies to the car. Just like pressing HDMI source on your TV remote does.

> Any device which has a HDMI input source can be connected;
. In car PC's
. Tablets running all number of things from Andriod to Windows 10
> giving you access to latest apps, bluetooth integration,
music streaming, and if you use a device with 4G sim integration
live internet connected services and apps too (so bang up to date).
. Set Top Boxes decoding digital Terrestrial TV with appropriate ariel's
. Gaming Consoles like Playstations or Xbox's.
. DVD/Blue Ray player (old tech now and most likely not appropriate)
. Raspberry Pi's with CAN Bus controller shields (*)

> Plus you can also look at other stuff out on the market like the latest multi-camera Reversing technologies where you can see a 360 degree view
. Most of these either plug in using anaolgue video sources but you can always use wifi cameras to an installed tablet for example.

So really being able to innovate just requires you to be able to co-exist with the old unit (For access to settings like aircon, tpms, suspension settings) etc. and then swap to an alternative source (touch screen enabled) for access to things like modern sat nav and the like.

I also mention raspberry pi here because of something called 'CAN BUS' this is highly relevant to our cars because all the different car systems talk on this automotive standard. Its like a poor mans ethernet cable standard but cheaper and not as flexible. If you start to play around with a custom app on Raspberry Pi you could indeed junk the entire Infotainment unit and connect its CAN-Bus inputs directly to the CAN-Bus of the Raspberry Pi, the result is you can send messages to control all the stuff the Infotainment system currently does like the Aircon, suspension, etc. You just need to use a CAN bus sniffer to capture all the old messages and replay them. This would allow you to completely re-develop and remove the old tired User Interface and usher in a whole new next generation system, you could either re-skin Andriod (quite time consuming) or develop something in OpenGL/WebGL or similar and get a better solution than the current 2016 Bentley Infotainment has...

Ofcourse all of this requires time and development skills, its not a 5 minute jobbie but your imagination (and programming skills) become your limit then! Hey get a local wizzkid teenager who's used to hacking Raspberry Pi's to teach you

 

Gifted. You are gifted lilo1980. Well done.

 

Wow, just WOW and job well done!

 

Thanks for the explanation 360trev! The Phaeton forum and Jaguar forum was really helpful when I was doing my research.


I will have an Arduino to control some function of my car (control LED headlight such as syncing the LED to turn signal, control power shutoff delay of the LCD, and switch 360 camera input source). I also purchased a CANBUS shield but I don't think I'll be pursuing the CANBUS hack as I had too much on my plate now.


I'm currently stuck on trying to fix my power window and hopefully can get back the guide once I'm done.

 

Just to share that the Garmin Glo works very well in my Bentley - I used to have almost zero GPS reception before this. I would recommend it.

 

Please I need help!!!! Infotainment question
Hello all. I really enjoyed reading Lilo 1980 and his replacement adventure. The possibility of replacing the Infotainment to a touch screen appears to be toooo complex for this old man. It appears to be a much needed and a fantastic replacement. I have a question while everyone is into the Info center. My 2008 GT Speed has a condition when driving the display screen will go blank, however the radio will play during this condition. Also if I turn off the engine while the scree is blank the radio will not turn off until I reset the Infotainment. I need to reset it several times while driving. I then can drive it for several days without the issue and then it will fail needing to be reset. I have replaced both batteries about 4 months ago and check for codes. The system is code free. I keep the battery charger on the vehicle while it is parked in the garage. The batteries maintain a full charge of 12 plus volts. The charging system is working properly. I do not drive it very often. Could this possibly be a ground issue at the Infotainment head assembly? Should I entertain replacing the infotainment head assembly? I would appreciate any and all advice.

 

As i recall, there was a 'firmware' update due to screen blackout. Not sure if this concerns your car, yet i recall there was an update to solve the blank screen problem many years ago. You may want to call your local service center and see if it has been done.

 

Not an electronic wiz, But how difficult would it be to adapt the newer Center consul with info screen etc to the older non touch screen Bentley-I have a 2005. Physically the space looks the same. What about the plug ins at the back?

 

Thank you for your response. I called Bentley of San Francisco. They advised there is no Firmware for my 2008 vehicle and they did not know of any such program. They knew of other such blanking problems and advised the Infotainment head replacement. I think I will wait until total failure. There are several early 2004 - 2007 units for sale on eBay, but no 2008 - 12s at this time. They are about a third the price of a new unit. I appreciate your trying to help.