iPad Mini installed cheap

[daehawc]

Just finished my project and thought I’d share. My truck is a 2005 250 with factory stereo.

I wanted to do an iPad mini install into my truck since I use mine for most everything; music, reading, navigation, dashboss, etc.

Obviously if I had a ton of money I’d probably take it down to one of the companies you see that do the complete modification of the dash and custom install it. I went a much cheaper and removable way.

I upgraded my stereo to the Sony GS600BT which is a single din unit that supports usb input and control of the head unit from the ipad as well as all the other normal things like Bluetooth cell, music, Pandora control, etc. Retail cost is about $250. From crutchfield I also included the steering wheel control adapter and satellite radio adapter. I routed the Ipad cord to come out next to the stereo.



Since I went from the double din to the single din, crutchfield sent the new bracket that includes the pocket below the stereo. I drilled two holes into the bottom side of this pocket and inserted a couple bolts and nuts to secure them and leave about ¾’ of thread remaining.

Using some scrap 2” wide 1/8” aluminum I cut two sections. The first was about 4.5” and the second about 3”.

I bent the longer one at a 90 degree angle at the last ½”. This gave me a place to attach my spring. Picking up a cheap cabinet spring from lowes, I used this to attach the two pieces of aluminium. Once together I drilled my two holes on the bottom longer piece and the mounting hole for my ipad (ended up modifying it so that’s why there’s now 2 holes on the top part.) Painted black to stand out a little less.







Next I attached a ProClip Ipad mini mount (after removing all the swivel bracket stuff from the back) to the upper bracket. This mount is the most expensive part at about $80. Its nice though as it holds very well and the power cable snaps into it and makes for a powered stand. I did do a little dremeling on the mount to widen the area near the spring. My goal was to keep the ipad as low as possible and retain the ability to bend down completely flat.



This was attached to the two bolts already installed in the bottom tray.



Final version.











Allows use of the ipad for control of the head unit while still having access to it for the occasional thing or loading cd’s. Also is easy to remove with just two wing nuts.

[Moto2four]

Nice mod. I need to do something like this with my ipad

[campbellflage]

That came out great.. Now how to mount my galaxy 10.1 inch tablet...

[TampaSteve]

Everything work out?

Looks good

[daehawc]

So far so good. I definitely appreciate your advice as I was contemplating the build. Maybe down the line I'll get mine fully integrated like yours but I dont know any shops around me that I'd trust for that level of custom work. If I find a cheap replacement dash I may teach myself how to lay fiberglass....

Theres a few quirks with the app remote software. I'm hoping that sony gets around to updating it here soon. I'd really like to be able to answer calls from the iPad, browse all the sirius channels, and modify the radio settings straight through the app.

For those that are not familiar with sony's "app remote," the software allows an IOS device (designed for iphone and upscaled on iPad) or android device to switch through the various modes and interact with certain apps on the device straight from the radio. Unlike others where the radio controls the phone, this allows 2 way where the phone can control the radio.

Android users actually have it better as they can use the app remote over bluetooth whereas IOS has to plug in via usb.

With the setup I have, my phone sends all calls and music if I want via bluetooth to the radio which is displayed on the iPad. The ipad does its thing and will send audio digitally through the cable to the stereo. Nice and clear when using Pandora, my own music, or watching movies.

[Tuscany]

That is AWESOME!!

[redneck6.0]

Very nice...I like the dash boss

[TampaSteve]

Originally Posted by daehawc

So far so good. I definitely appreciate your advice as I was contemplating the build. Maybe down the line I'll get mine fully integrated like yours but I dont know any shops around me that I'd trust for that level of custom work. If I find a cheap replacement dash I may teach myself how to lay fiberglass....

Theres a few quirks with the app remote software. I'm hoping that sony gets around to updating it here soon. I'd really like to be able to answer calls from the iPad, browse all the sirius channels, and modify the radio settings straight through the app.

For those that are not familiar with sony's "app remote," the software allows an IOS device (designed for iphone and upscaled on iPad) or android device to switch through the various modes and interact with certain apps on the device straight from the radio. Unlike others where the radio controls the phone, this allows 2 way where the phone can control the radio.

Android users actually have it better as they can use the app remote over bluetooth whereas IOS has to plug in via usb.

With the setup I have, my phone sends all calls and music if I want via bluetooth to the radio which is displayed on the iPad. The ipad does its thing and will send audio digitally through the cable to the stereo. Nice and clear when using Pandora, my own music, or watching movies.

When we took the setup to CES, we met with Sony and are now working with them on further development of the app. One that does not have to be upscaled, volume control on the iPad, and a few other things.

Side note, no fiberglass used on my dash! 99% wood, and a router, with a little bit of expoxy filler and the magnetic Bezel.

[daehawc]

Thats awesome to hear. I was a little concerned when I downloaded the app and saw it was the first and only version from Nov. I cant wait for the new app to come out.

Also very cool to hear that your setup uses wood. That opens up some new possibilities I hadn't thought about....