Tablet Power... help?!

[cfox10 10+ year member]

So I'm installing a tablet into my car...or rather, I already have. Next thing to do is relocate my heat/ac controls and mount my pioneer hu where those go. That shouldn't be too hard.

My question is... should I have the power be with the ignition switch or use my own switch?

I'm only asking because if I have to let it charge while the car is off, in case I haven't driven in a while or something..I could leave the switch on and let it charge for a while.

Other option is to get a nice AGM and use a voltage regulator and wire that directly into the tablet using it as the tablets battery. Have an isolator from my main battery and when the car is running the alternator should help keep the voltage up. I'd have to charge the battery every so often though I imagine.

Any thoughts or ideas? The tablet I'm using is a Galaxy tab 3, only reason I decided to put it in the ride is because of the crazy deal I got on it.

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[cfox10 10+ year member]

bump...

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

Someone? anyone out there? lol... I need to get this done. I'm slowly piecing my build together and this is kinda important.

 

[bbeljefe]

Mine is connected to a constant power source and if I didn't have a battery bank, it would still be connected to a constant power source. Tablet's draw a negligible amount of current when they're charged and in sleep mode that you'd probably have to leave the car unstarted for a couple of weeks before you'd see any appreciable drain on the battery.

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

Mine is connected to a constant power source and if I didn't have a battery bank, it would still be connected to a constant power source. Tablet's draw a negligible amount of current when they're charged and in sleep mode that you'd probably have to leave the car unstarted for a couple of weeks before you'd see any appreciable drain on the battery.

So you don't think I'd need a battery isolator? Constant power? Hmm... Just don't want to be stranded somewhere lol. How would I put it to sleep (no access to power button) when I get out of the car? Can you explain your setup a bit more?

I was going to set mine to come on and go off with the ignition but it could possibly die if left off too long. But that solves the wake/sleep issue.

 

[bbeljefe]

So you don't think I'd need a battery isolator? Constant power? Hmm... Just don't want to be stranded somewhere lol. How would I put it to sleep (no access to power button) when I get out of the car? Can you explain your setup a bit more?
I was going to set mine to come on and go off with the ignition but it could possibly die if left off too long. But that solves the wake/sleep issue.

Originally I had a 7" Galaxy tablet mounted in the console of my truck. It was picture framed in the console and I fabricated a button through the frame that allowed me to turn it on/wake it up. That truck was stolen and stripped so now I have a 10" Galaxy and I plan to flush mount it. I did a console for this tablet in my wife's van and when I use the tablet in it, I put a small piece of tape on the tablet that allows me to lift it out of the cradle to push the button. I don't really like that but I do like the looks of the tablet being flush mounted and as yet I have not figured out how to accomplish a button in a flush mount. Currently, I've not rebuilt the cradle in my truck so the tablet just sits on the console, held in place by some screws at the bottom and sides.

As for current draw and running down batteries... a tablet just doesn't draw that much current. And no, I don't recommend battery isolators unless you plan to do a lot of listening to the audio system with the vehicle not running. Which I strongly advise against if you're running an appreciable amount of power in your system.

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

Originally I had a 7" Galaxy tablet mounted in the console of my truck. It was picture framed in the console and I fabricated a button through the frame that allowed me to turn it on/wake it up. That truck was stolen and stripped so now I have a 10" Galaxy and I plan to flush mount it. I did a console for this tablet in my wife's van and when I use the tablet in it, I put a small piece of tape on the tablet that allows me to lift it out of the cradle to push the button. I don't really like that but I do like the looks of the tablet being flush mounted and as yet I have not figured out how to accomplish a button in a flush mount. Currently, I've not rebuilt the cradle in my truck so the tablet just sits on the console, held in place by some screws at the bottom and sides.
As for current draw and running down batteries... a tablet just doesn't draw that much current. And no, I don't recommend battery isolators unless you plan to do a lot of listening to the audio system with the vehicle not running. Which I strongly advise against if you're running an appreciable amount of power in your system.

So I flush mounted the tablet. I'm using the always on widget with a 10 sec timeout. So when I activate it by the widget, the screen stays on until I turn it off, screen times out. I thought about using tasker but for me this works better. I can then use the home button to wake the screen whenever I want. It's on constant power with a switch in case I ever want to or need to cut it off.

It's running to my headunit which is relocated to where my heat and a/c controls were. Those are now in my center console. I like the look better and the adjustments my hu has vs a simple line out to my amps.

Running a lanzar opti 4k to an 18" zcon and a coustic dr 400w to my doors.

 

[bbeljefe]

So I flush mounted the tablet. I'm using the always on widget with a 10 sec timeout. So when I activate it by the widget, the screen stays on until I turn it off, screen times out. I thought about using tasker but for me this works better. I can then use the home button to wake the screen whenever I want. It's on constant power with a switch in case I ever want to or need to cut it off.
It's running to my headunit which is relocated to where my heat and a/c controls were. Those are now in my center console. I like the look better and the adjustments my hu has vs a simple line out to my amps.

Running a lanzar opti 4k to an 18" zcon and a coustic dr 400w to my doors.

So where's the pics?

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

So where's the pics?

Waiting until my box is done and everything is finished.

 

[WestonWW]

I'm in the middle of a tablet build also and I'll add that if you use power switched from the ignition you can use the app "Tasker" to put the tablet into sleep and wake it automatically. I have a simple task in the app that wakes the tablet, turns off airplane mode, resets all the volumes and says "Hello" when I turn the ignition on. The tasks you can assign are almost endless.