ipad mini in car dash and hooked to powered usb hub, and sony mex-gs600bt

[japjrthib]

I'm new to the forum, and came with a few questions that I can't seem to find detailed info on... My plans are to incorporate the mini into the dash of my truck using a mounting kit from a company called fifieldfab. The kit is called the (mini-u), and is pretty nifty. So my plan is to mount the Sony MEX-GS600BT in the radio cavity of my dash board, then install the mini-u mounting kit directly in front of the head unit. This head unit has a USB port that works with the ipad and has an app that controls all radio functions from the iPad, hence i won't have to use the radio controls and can use the dash mounted mini to control my system instead, yet still leaving access to the head unit for playing cd's, using bluetooth functios, as well as the radio and other on board functions on the Sony. I have a powered USB hub in the truck that powers up with my ignition. I want to hook up my seagate 1TB external hard drive containing all of my media to the powered hub, and then from the hub to the mini. I believe there is an app that supports this on Cydia called iFile....?

My question is, will I be able to hook the lightning adapter to the iPad, and then use a USB Y-cable to split at the other end of the lightning adapter to plug one USB wire to the USB input on the Sony head unit, and the other USB wire to the powered USB hub which my external hard drive will be powered from? Will this setup work correctly, or is there another way to wire it, or is it just not possible? If there are any questions on the hardware I plan on using, or curiosity of where I got these ideas from, I can post links of the videos, pictures and sites here (if that's allowed).

Thanks in advance for any help, feedback, or suggestions.


This is what I plan on mimicking, only difference is I want to add my powered USB hub, and my 1TB external hard drive ....

 

[japjrthib]

Wow, 285 views and not a single piece of advice.................... Thanks! Smh

 

[Gtatler]

Wow, 285 views and not a single piece of advice.................... Thanks! Smh

Probably because nobody else has even thought of doing what you intend.

I really wish you luck.

Do let us know how you get on.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[dhewson777]

Whilst I understand the desire to build or create a media center in a vehicle (particularly for music on those long drives), I'm always concerned when people start mounting iPads to their dash purely for the safety aspect.

If it is set-up for a passenger to operate, fair enough, but as soon as driver input is required, this becomes a driver safety issue. Distracting your eyes from the road to tap the iPad screen to change tracks or open an app is as dangerous as drink driving. In some jurisdictions, a rig like that could be deemed illegal for that very reason. Some jurisdictions also require these screens to operate like a GPS in that screen functions are locked whilst the vehicle is in motion.

My point in the end is to check your local traffic laws and those of where you intend on going to make sure your set-up is not going to get you in trouble with the law. But more than that, make sure you set it up in a way that will not distract you from the road. As they say safety first!

 

[col.bris]

Use a 1tb seagate wifi drive not USB and I agree this is a risky installation if you are the one driving and using it at the same time. Just for the record most likely the views were from guests whom cannot respond

 

[intillzah]

I'll post my setup later on, I have a mini in my Escape..

It may be crude by some standards, but it works great for me...

 

[Somerled]

Views =/= People. 99% of those numbers are just the indexing bots for sites like Google.

As for the rest, sorry, no clue. I have my iPhone hooked up via Bluetooth in my car for music.

 

[japjrthib]

Ok, thanks guys for the replies..... I like the idea of the wifi hard drive. Anyone know how it works exactly tho? Like if I'm hooked to the wifi hard drive is my iPad still able to use the "4G data signal", and how does it access the files exactly? Will all of my media still be put into my "music" folder on the iPad, or will I have to search the files independently and play them directly from the external hard drive? I'll be ordering the mini-u kit an the Sony head unit next week so I can start fabricating it into my dash. The iPad mini will come in a coue months after all the leg work is done, and after I figure out these little gray areas I have still... Anyone know if the hard drive in the iPad mini is upgradable? I remember searching for a hard drive for my old original iPod video, and saw that the had a 250gb zif drive for them. Does the iPad mini have the same zif drive? I need plenty storage for my media, and the wifi hard drive might work, but im hoping it's all fluid like a regular internal hard drive would be. Thanks for the input

 

[dhewson777]

With the wifi drive, I'd say would preclude using 4G at the same time, unless you set up some sort of Mifi device to access 4G and the wifi drive at the same time. The other consideration of a wifi drive is charging. Some may not charge and operate at the same time, would need to check out their capabilities before purchase.

In regards to music. ,any e the better route would be to go with the largest capacity iPad as possible and store your music locally. The stock music app won't work well with any external drive, although using a third party player will open up options for streaming music from a wifi drive.

 

[pureadrenaline]

I've been going through some of the same ideas as you, putting my mini in the dash of my new silverado with the stock HU behind it to maintain my steering wheel controls and so I can still have a radio when the mini is out. Like you I was hoping to use an external hd (my 160gb do classic), but its not looking very promising.

I would suggest checking out YouTube for some videos on using an external hd on the mini. That might be the answer your looking for.

Let me know how it goes and if your planning on doing an install write up send me the link.

Picture of my truck

 

[pureadrenaline]

After checking out the HU I wonder if I can split the USB cable and connect both my iPod and iPad. Then use the HU app to play what's on my iPod.

Thanks for the video and ideas!

 

[japjrthib]

Pureadrenalin, that's actually kind of what my original post was asking.... Im not sure if splitting the USB would work that way with the head unit or with the iPad mini. I'll just have to wait till next week when I had it all in my hands to start testing different theories. Ill keep u up to date with how it's going. I have an 04' avalanche so we could help eachother with this if u have the same body style.

About the internal hard drive. The 164gb iPad mini (if that's even available, I believe they have an iPad in that size) is ridiculously priced. Also, I have about 960gb worth of just music files. Yes u read that right. Lol and that's not including all of the music videos and movies I have. I would really like to have at least a 500gb storage option to have my favorites at least with me at all times in the truck.

 

[pureadrenaline]

I asked someone at crutchfield and they said it wouldn't work.

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