Related
Wow. It's lush. What a really good-looking phone. Having already owned the Kaiser, Diamond and TouchPro, I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into this over the weekend.
Update:
Cool things:
1. Exchange and push email setup easily and working perfectly.
2. Great battery life.
Problems:
1. When I press the power button momentarily (in the hope of switching the screen off) it gives me power off and profile options. There doesn't seem to be a way of just switching the screen off easily.
2. HTC Today screen doesn't show all-day items and there doesn't appear to be a way of showing more upcoming appointments.
3. it's not easy to play solitaire! Although they have included it (phew) it's more than a little tedious with number presses. And there's no option for cumulative and vegas scoring. What kind of solitaire is THAT?
4. Sometimes it seems I need to press the "call" or "end call" keys extra hard. I have started pressing the "end call" key twice as a matter of course, just to be sure.
5. "Batti" doesn't work.
I too am searching for a quick and easy one key click to lock & turn off the display.....my Palm Treo Pro and Touch had this ability.....quick check email/txt, then hit key and it turns off display & locks for pocket protection....
baliles said:
I too am searching for a quick and easy one key click to lock & turn off the display.....my Palm Treo Pro and Touch had this ability.....quick check email/txt, then hit key and it turns off display & locks for pocket protection....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press and hold the call end key to lock the phone quickly (and dim the screen). This is the same as the S710 and S730.
You can also set this lock to kick in automatically after x minutes in the settings menu as well
rb14 said:
Wow. It's lush. What a really good-looking phone. Having already owned the Kaiser, Diamond and TouchPro, I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into this over the weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must admit, I have had this a couple of days now and am soooo impressed (I have an S710 before). I had decided to go for the Touch Pro but after 3 faulty handsets and the experience of the really buggy software (does ANYBODY really think a daily reboot is acceptable) I decided to wait for this one.
But the one thing that stands out more than anything else on this phone is that with 3G push mail, wifi on full time, bluetooth on, a bit of GPS use loads of calls and general use, I am getting almost 24 hours out of the battery. That alone is worth the upgrade
networkguy said:
Press and hold the call end key to lock the phone quickly (and dim the screen). This is the same as the S710 and S730.
You can also set this lock to kick in automatically after x minutes in the settings menu as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, got there in the end. Nevertheless, I'd prefer a single-touch operation.
networkguy said:
I must admit, I have had this a couple of days now and am soooo impressed (I have an S710 before). I had decided to go for the Touch Pro but after 3 faulty handsets and the experience of the really buggy software (does ANYBODY really think a daily reboot is acceptable) I decided to wait for this one.
But the one thing that stands out more than anything else on this phone is that with 3G push mail, wifi on full time, bluetooth on, a bit of GPS use loads of calls and general use, I am getting almost 24 hours out of the battery. That alone is worth the upgrade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with the TouchPro is certainly not as bad as yours. I love it still. Originally the battery life wasn't better than a day, but it would easily last that. It was totally stable. Always. And once I upgraded the firmware and radio, it became a different animal altogether. I usually get two days out of it with good use. Sometimes three.
The S740 is actually for my less-geeky partner who I think will find it easier. Now though, I have it for a few weeks' "testing" and if I prefer it...
...well, you know. Who's in charge here?
rb14 said:
2. HTC Today screen doesn't show all-day items and there doesn't appear to be a way of showing more upcoming appointments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it does show all-day items. And to show more upcoming appointments just hit right softkey ("Today").
I'm thinking of upgrading from an S730, which suffers really badly from a lack of memory (64Mb). I know the S740 has 256Mb RAM but can anyone tell me how much is actually available after a soft-reset? This is the figure that's displayed as "Available Memory" on the "About" screen under the Settings menu.
Thanks
I'm wondering about battery life...
playerkiller said:
I'm wondering about battery life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the best I have seen on any Windows smart phone EVER.
Today I left the house at 9, took the family on the train to London (a 2 hour trip) for which I spent most of the time with my son watching the progress of the train using the GPS and Google Maps whilst using the free WiFi on the train for data.
Push mail has been running all day and because it was central London, I got a good HSPDA signal for most of the time. I also made a handfull of calls during the day
We then spent the day around London (all that time on the underground with no signal always hammers a phone battery), I took a load of pictures and then we cam home again this evening (again tracking with GPS) and when I got home, the phone connected to the wifi and I synced all the photos back to my home PC. It is now nearly 10.30
So right here right now, my battery level is showing as 61%
boggle said:
I know the S740 has 256Mb RAM but can anyone tell me how much is actually available after a soft-reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently have:
Available Memory: 125.34MB
Total Memory: 187.48MB
Please note that I have a few utilities running in the background, so available memory might be even a little bit higher when you first boot it.
networkguy said:
It's the best I have seen on any Windows smart phone EVER.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience exactly. I don't quite understand how does this phone manages to get so much out of its 1000mAh battery, but it's amazing. It easily kills my previous PDA - TyTN II (which had 1350mAh) in terms of battery life in both standby and heavy usage
rb14 said:
Update:
Cool things:
1. Exchange and push email setup easily and working perfectly.
Problems:
1. When I press the power button momentarily (in the hope of switching the screen off) it gives me power off and profile options. There doesn't seem to be a way of just switching the screen off easily.
2. HTC Today screen doesn't show all-day items and there doesn't appear to be a way of showing more upcoming appointments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 - Of course, this is a smartphone, not a PDA running WM6.1 Standard, it's the OS
I've received it yesterday and it works like a charm. Just wish there was a non-slider version, because the front keypad is good, that I don't need the qwerty keyboard.
networkguy said:
It's the best I have seen on any Windows smart phone EVER.
Today I left the house at 9, took the family on the train to London (a 2 hour trip) for which I spent most of the time with my son watching the progress of the train using the GPS and Google Maps whilst using the free WiFi on the train for data.
Push mail has been running all day and because it was central London, I got a good HSPDA signal for most of the time. I also made a handfull of calls during the day
We then spent the day around London (all that time on the underground with no signal always hammers a phone battery), I took a load of pictures and then we cam home again this evening (again tracking with GPS) and when I got home, the phone connected to the wifi and I synced all the photos back to my home PC. It is now nearly 10.30
So right here right now, my battery level is showing as 61%
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you on this. I was out of London for the weekend, playing, bluetoothing, GPSing, left it on all weekend and used the alarm, and came back with battery life to spare. That's cool.
karhoe said:
1 - Of course, this is a smartphone, not a PDA running WM6.1 Standard, it's the OS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know that. My point was probably poorly made. I was trying to make two points: that push email through Exchange is working perfectly with no issues and that setting it up was easy.
I so want this phone. As soon as I saw it online my jaw dropped, lol. Having owned 3 htc touches, a s710 vox and s621, i can say I do like HTC products, lol. I just got my 3rd touch, but it just doesn't feel right, the touch screen seems bad (my iphone spoiled me i think), and i can find a good reliable keyboard, so I think im gonna sell it and get another s710 until this phones comes down a bit.
Just curious, where did everyone on here get theirs from, and what kind of prices? I am in Canada, so I won't be able to buy it from a retail outlet
I got mine from Clove Technology in the UK and I'm sure they'll ship if you ask them nicely. I've used them for all my HTC phone purchases and plenty of other gear; they're very good to work with.
the 'amazing' 710
Guys
like everyone else I like the phone, however, I am just not getting the amazing battery life you are talking about.
From my phone on a full charge I am getting: -
Standby time - 6.5 hours
Talk Time - 53 minutes
Device usage - 4 hours 11 minutes
this is without Push E mail (polling every 5 mins) moderate use of wifi and GPS (less than 10 mins) and occasional but consistent use of OCS (office communicator mobile with power saving settings activated for those of you that know it)
so I wondered if people could read from their settings and post, I cant really handle another phone that needs 2 or 3 batterys in a day!
Kerry
S74 not S710
kerryburn said:
Guys
like everyone else I like the phone, however, I am just not getting the amazing battery life you are talking about.
From my phone on a full charge I am getting: -
Standby time - 6.5 hours
Talk Time - 53 minutes
Device usage - 4 hours 11 minutes
this is without Push E mail (polling every 5 mins) moderate use of wifi and GPS (less than 10 mins) and occasional but consistent use of OCS (office communicator mobile with power saving settings activated for those of you that know it)
so I wondered if people could read from their settings and post, I cant really handle another phone that needs 2 or 3 batterys in a day!
Kerry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you'll find they were talking about the S740 not the S710.
Apologies guys
Typo on my part, thanks Pete,
I do mean the 740, that is what i am using, I had the 710 before hence my mistake!
I have turned off HSDPA, moved to manual polling on e mail to see if this improves the appalling figures.
Pete now I have corrected this, do you have a 740 and if so what is your performance??
Kerry
I've been using Android phones since the first Droid in November, 2009. My most recent phone (before my Thunderbolt) was a Droid Incredible. I loved the incredible but upgraded to the TB on the last day of unlimited data so I could lock it in for 2 more years.
However, there are some anomalies, aka problems, with the Thunderbolt that I didn't experience on the Incredible. I'm hoping you can help me decide if this is because of a faulty phone or I have to live with these.
1. GPS. I leave the GPS on all the time. I know, it's a battery hit, but I use it enough to just leave it on. However, on the Thunderbolt, after I've picked a destination in Google Maps, I often get a message at the bottom of the map stating: "Waiting for GPS". Yesterday I drove over 20 miles before it locked into GPS. This happens frequently. On the Incredible I never saw "Waiting for GPS" ever. Not once. Do I have to live with this? Is this the nature of the beast? Or do I have a faulty unit?
2. Data connection. Often when I try to do something data-wise such as the browser, etc. I get a message stating there's no data connection. I look at the notification bar and see that there are 3 or 4 bars in my signal strength area but no data information. There's no 3G, 1X or 4G indicator. Nothing. That area has just vanished from the notification bar. I've tried turning data on/off, I've tried going into and out of airplane mode, nothing turns data back on. I eventually have to hold the power button down and tap on "reset." That does the trick and I'll have data once it's reset. Again, is this normal or is there a setting somewhere where I can coax data into coming on. Or is this a faulty unit?
3. Screen dimming oddness. I have the car holder. I like it a lot. When I put it in the car holder I see the little lightning bolt over the battery indicator indicating it's charging. I have set the settings option to keep the screen on when it's plugged in so I can see the maps while driving. However, after a period of time the screen goes dim. It doesn't turn off, just dim. Touching the screen brings it to full brightness. However, that's dangerous while driving.
When this happens I notice that the lightning bolt doesn't appear over the battery any more. It's as if the charger stopped charging and I am running on battery. However, that can't be the case since the battery never drains. Even after 5 hours of driving the battery doesn't go down. It just doesn't have a lighting bolt and the screen will go dim. I can dismount and remount the phone in the car holder and the lightning bolt will reappear. As long as the lightning bolt is there the screen won't dim. But after a while the lightning bolt goes away and the screen will dim again. This is very annoying.
Any help on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Here are details on my phone. Stock Android, not rooted. Android 2.2.1 Build: 1.13.605.7
Thanks in advance
The GPS is sadly a known issue but a fix can be found here. I use OMFGB and have flawless GPS even w/o the fix.
Your issue with data is kinda odd. Perhaps you can try flashing a newer radio. A list of Radio's and ROM's that are compatible with them is here
I am also unsure about your Car Dock issue since I dont use that feature. The above link for radio's and ROMs might fix that issue as well.
I dont recall having any weird issues like that when I had my 1st Thunderbolt, a side from call quality problems and bad battery.
I ended up taking it back and got an Incredible 2. never had any problems with the Inc 2 but did not that the battery was only a little bit better then the Thunderbolt's(during heavy usage) & since I did like the bigger size of the TB I ended up trading with someone on these forums and now I have a T B again. Same battery issues & same call quality issues.
I think once Verizon gives the $400 deposit back after the 1st year im just going to buy somwtjing new.
I had I similar issue with the data connection disappearing all of a sudden. This started to happen after I flushed MR2 OTA radio. I have since tried MR2 leaked and R2 gingerbread radios and both did not have this problem. Good luck!
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Tapatalk
Thanks for the quick responses. Currently, since this is a corporate phone, I don't intend to root or change roms. Any other ideas?
The new gingeritis roms and he new gb radio are both from the new gb base that's supposed to be released for the TB soon. I would try them, you might be on an old radio and kernel that's just not working for your phone, try the new ones and see if that helps. If not, it might be a hardware problem, cuz I have none of those issues on the new radio and gingeritis 3d, or the old radio and stock rom, or any other rom for that matter.
Sent from my TBolt using my f**king thumbs...
Woohoo! The GPS Status program corrected my GPS issue. Thanks a bunch for that tip.
Now, how about the data issue or the dimming issue. Any thoughts on those two items?
TabGuy said:
I've been using Android phones since the first Droid in November, 2009. My most recent phone (before my Thunderbolt) was a Droid Incredible. I loved the incredible but upgraded to the TB on the last day of unlimited data so I could lock it in for 2 more years.
However, there are some anomalies, aka problems, with the Thunderbolt that I didn't experience on the Incredible. I'm hoping you can help me decide if this is because of a faulty phone or I have to live with these.
1. GPS. I leave the GPS on all the time. I know, it's a battery hit, but I use it enough to just leave it on. However, on the Thunderbolt, after I've picked a destination in Google Maps, I often get a message at the bottom of the map stating: "Waiting for GPS". Yesterday I drove over 20 miles before it locked into GPS. This happens frequently. On the Incredible I never saw "Waiting for GPS" ever. Not once. Do I have to live with this? Is this the nature of the beast? Or do I have a faulty unit?
2. Data connection. Often when I try to do something data-wise such as the browser, etc. I get a message stating there's no data connection. I look at the notification bar and see that there are 3 or 4 bars in my signal strength area but no data information. There's no 3G, 1X or 4G indicator. Nothing. That area has just vanished from the notification bar. I've tried turning data on/off, I've tried going into and out of airplane mode, nothing turns data back on. I eventually have to hold the power button down and tap on "reset." That does the trick and I'll have data once it's reset. Again, is this normal or is there a setting somewhere where I can coax data into coming on. Or is this a faulty unit?
3. Screen dimming oddness. I have the car holder. I like it a lot. When I put it in the car holder I see the little lightning bolt over the battery indicator indicating it's charging. I have set the settings option to keep the screen on when it's plugged in so I can see the maps while driving. However, after a period of time the screen goes dim. It doesn't turn off, just dim. Touching the screen brings it to full brightness. However, that's dangerous while driving.
When this happens I notice that the lightning bolt doesn't appear over the battery any more. It's as if the charger stopped charging and I am running on battery. However, that can't be the case since the battery never drains. Even after 5 hours of driving the battery doesn't go down. It just doesn't have a lighting bolt and the screen will go dim. I can dismount and remount the phone in the car holder and the lightning bolt will reappear. As long as the lightning bolt is there the screen won't dim. But after a while the lightning bolt goes away and the screen will dim again. This is very annoying.
Any help on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Here are details on my phone. Stock Android, not rooted. Android 2.2.1 Build: 1.13.605.7
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had these problems on stock, rooted, and custom ROMs, esp the data signal disappearing and also the screen dimming while using google maps. Not sure what the problem is. Make sure you leave wifi on when using gps also, this will help it get locks faster.
nrfitchett4 said:
I have had these problems on stock, rooted, and custom ROMs, esp the data signal disappearing and also the screen dimming while using google maps. Not sure what the problem is. Make sure you leave wifi on when using gps also, this will help it get locks faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually have wifi hotspot turned on when I travel so I can use my Galaxy Tab on the Internet. So, leaving wifi on isn't a real option. However, the tips above seemed to have fixed the GPS lock.
Hey all,
Have had my v10 for a bit over a week now. Concerned that I'm having a few too many problems.
1) The battery appears to be draining at a very fast rate. Relatively light to moderate use is lasting ~8-12 hours. Nothing out of the ordinary app or utilization wise.
2) Even though I turn Location settings to battery saving (network only), every now and then it reverts back to high accuracy (gps and network). Assume some stupid app is doing this?
3) Seems like just after a few minutes of use, I can feel the back of the phone (near the power/volume buttons) getting quite warm.
4) When haptic feedback is enabled (using the home button or just typing on the keyboard), the vibrate feels/sounds ... off. Coming from a Note 3 anyway, this reminds me of a dying motor. Just has a buzzy noise to it.
5) I have a 2.1a 5.2v charger (that I got from my nVidia shield tablet) that I commonly use. When I use this charger on the v10, it makes my phone go berserk. In that, any typing or touch I do, the phone becomes ultra sensitive and double/triple clicks a key and just other random oddities occur. I use this charger on all other phones/tablets without issue.
6) Picasa album sync - Why isn't this working anymore (to see albums in gallery)? I don't even see it as an option under Google account settings.
Any feedback would be most appreciated. only have a few days left to return under the 14 day VZW policy. Thinking at the least to swap for a new V10, but if these are known/common issues. I love this phone, but getting really nervous that there are some QC issues here.
Thanks
adambean said:
Hey all,
Have had my v10 for a bit over a week now. Concerned that I'm having a few too many problems.
1) The battery appears to be draining at a very fast rate. Relatively light to moderate use is lasting ~8-12 hours. Nothing out of the ordinary app or utilization wise.
2) Even though I turn Location settings to battery saving (network only), every now and then it reverts back to high accuracy (gps and network). Assume some stupid app is doing this?
3) Seems like just after a few minutes of use, I can feel the back of the phone (near the power/volume buttons) getting quite warm.
4) When haptic feedback is enabled (using the home button or just typing on the keyboard), the vibrate feels/sounds ... off. Coming from a Note 3 anyway, this reminds me of a dying motor. Just has a buzzy noise to it.
5) I have a 2.1a 5.2v charger (that I got from my nVidia shield tablet) that I commonly use. When I use this charger on the v10, it makes my phone go berserk. In that, any typing or touch I do, the phone becomes ultra sensitive and double/triple clicks a key and just other random oddities occur. I use this charger on all other phones/tablets without issue.
6) Picasa album sync - Why isn't this working anymore (to see albums in gallery)? I don't even see it as an option under Google account settings.
Any feedback would be most appreciated. only have a few days left to return under the 14 day VZW policy. Thinking at the least to swap for a new V10, but if these are known/common issues. I love this phone, but getting really nervous that there are some QC issues here.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i experience the same thing when playing games. about 5 mins into the game, i start to feel the back buttons and camera part start to get really really warm. im really bothered by it.
Its all common in android devices but i believe Sony android is very fast draining battery!!!
adambean said:
Hey all,
Have had my v10 for a bit over a week now. Concerned that I'm having a few too many problems.
1) The battery appears to be draining at a very fast rate. Relatively light to moderate use is lasting ~8-12 hours. Nothing out of the ordinary app or utilization wise.
2) Even though I turn Location settings to battery saving (network only), every now and then it reverts back to high accuracy (gps and network). Assume some stupid app is doing this?
3) Seems like just after a few minutes of use, I can feel the back of the phone (near the power/volume buttons) getting quite warm.
4) When haptic feedback is enabled (using the home button or just typing on the keyboard), the vibrate feels/sounds ... off. Coming from a Note 3 anyway, this reminds me of a dying motor. Just has a buzzy noise to it.
5) I have a 2.1a 5.2v charger (that I got from my nVidia shield tablet) that I commonly use. When I use this charger on the v10, it makes my phone go berserk. In that, any typing or touch I do, the phone becomes ultra sensitive and double/triple clicks a key and just other random oddities occur. I use this charger on all other phones/tablets without issue.
6) Picasa album sync - Why isn't this working anymore (to see albums in gallery)? I don't even see it as an option under Google account settings.
Any feedback would be most appreciated. only have a few days left to return under the 14 day VZW policy. Thinking at the least to swap for a new V10, but if these are known/common issues. I love this phone, but getting really nervous that there are some QC issues here.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1, 2 and 6 I can believe and can be caused by a variety of reasons. 3,4 and 5 point to a defective phone. I am assuming you are using the charger that came with the phone.
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
I've replaced the phone and everything but #6 has been resolved. Would love to figure out how to get Picasa sync working again.
A full factory reset fixed my heating problems.
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
adambean said:
I've replaced the phone and everything but #6 has been resolved. Would love to figure out how to get Picasa sync working again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is picasa sync even a thing anymore? I thought it was all replaced with Google Photos.
Coming off my note 3,i used it all he time for desktop sync and then Mobile access.
adambean said:
Coming off my note 3,i used it all he time for desktop sync and then Mobile access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually talked to a phone tester that works for LG here in San Diego. She's from South Korea, she deals directly with corporate in Seoul and translates for them. She said they know that a certain percentage of the phones are defective with overheating and GPS issues.
My V10 got so hot I thought it was going to catch fire. On night it was plugged into my powerpack charging, I woke up and the phone had shut off and it was hotter than I've ever seen a phone get. Like it shut off and just removed all restriction to the power just dumping into it. Kinda scary.
I did end up sending my V10 back under my 14 day return period. I've got another one coming tomorrow. Hopefully it will have no issues
Hello folks! I wanted to explain the solution I came up with to the problem of the very lengthy startups on my android car radio.
Your typical car radio is wired like you see below:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNRk8tR3VobmxOdUk/view?usp=sharing
With a OEM radio, your startup is just a few seconds for a modern Linux- or android-based car radio. Even some aftermarket radios like the mainline AVH Pioneer series are up and running in seconds.
Not so much with our favorite android aftermarket car radios. Boot up times are something on the order of 20 to 30 seconds. This isn’t too bad in and of itself, but if you’re the sort of individual that likes to “get up and go” this starts getting very annoying after a while. If you’re refueling your car then start up the motor when finished, that cuts the power to the radio and you witness another 30 seconds before everything is up and running, and that’s before the stereo does its media scan and the audio apps get loaded into the RAM. So you’re almost a minute on your drive before the tunes start.
A straightforward solution is what you see below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNcVFYZG1mamhVN00/view?usp=sharing
I’ve wired the ignition trigger line directly onto the positive. This keeps the radio on at all times. This eliminates the annoying boot up delay, however we run the risk of draining the car battery this way. I have seen discussions on this forum where standby power consumption for aftermarket android head units runs somewhere on the order of 25 mA, all the way up to 300 mA or more. I have not tested this out although it would make for an interesting study. The point is this is a potential problem if you plan to leave your vehicle parked somewhere for an extended period of time. You don’t want your car in the long term parking lot at the airport to have a dead battery when you arrive back late at night from your trip, because the android radio was running off your car battery for the days or weeks you were gone.
If you wish to eliminate the lengthy android boot up time and also save your car battery, allow me to propose the following solution:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNV2pUUmNiN3RLMDg/view?usp=sharing
In this example, I have purchased a battery isolator and a very small auxiliary battery just the power the car radio. This involves the addition of some extra electronics in your trunk, and some extra 4-conductor wiring from this new battery and battery isolator up to the car radio. If you know what you are doing you can do this all in one afternoon, which was my experience.
You’ll need a few things in order to get this project rolling:
A 12V 18-amp-hour battery that is typically used in an uninterruptible power supply. $35:
https://www.amazon.com/ExpertPower-EXP12180-Rechargeable-Battery-Bolts/dp/B00A82A3RK/
Battery isolator:
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-IGD140HP-140-Battery-Isolator/dp/B001DKRF2M/
or http://www.westmountainradio.com/product_info.php?products_id=iso_pwr
(There’s plenty of different choices here. Look around and see what you like. I chose the IsoPwr unit because it is solid-state diode-based and has no mechanical relay inside it.)
Four-conductor wire:
https://www.amazon.com/16AWG-4-Conductor-Speaker-White-Mediabridge/dp/B0193RRUBM/
Butt splices, and splicing tool.
Fish tape, for running the wire underneath the carpet in the car.
Toolset for removing the seats, center console, removing the radio, etc.
A stiff drink for when the trolls show up. (Just kidding! )
I also purchased a pair of trailer wire extension cables, which are four conductor wires with plugs.
https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-48145-Wire-Extension-Length/dp/B0002RNSNM/
This works well for keeping the wiring in place in case I need to remove the battery or the radio.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNbGswdW04V010akU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNTDhfY3hLT2Rlc3M/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNVUc5TXJSMzN2STQ/view?usp=sharing
As you can see in the pictures, I fabricated a wooden stand to retain everything, and I had a plastic battery box laying around from an earlier car stereo installation.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNNElSUDUtOGhDNXc/view?usp=sharing
The procedure is simple, you place the battery and isolator in the trunk and run the wire up to the car radio. You cut the power leads on your aftermarket car wire radio harness, and splicing your four conductor wire. This wire runs all the way and hooks up to your isolator in the trunk, which in turn is connected to the auxiliary battery.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNVE9peGZGZF91MXM/view?usp=sharing
Also, an important point: LABEL YOUR WIRES!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X6EY6VJIXNaVhPVWg4OHlGMGs/view?usp=sharing
You really don't want to mis-wire anything and screw up your car.
An optional switch on the positive line running to the radio prevents discharge of the auxiliary battery, in case you’re parked for an exceptionally long amount of time.
If it seems like a lot of running around to get around a technical limitation on the part of the radio manufacturers, it really is. This was an experimental project on my part to expand my technical prowess in to give me the android car audio experience I desired minus the tire some waiting for the radio to boot up every time I got in the vehicle.
I’ve been running this for a few days now and the result is excellent. I can restart the car after filling up at the gas station, and now there is little delay other than the OS scanning the USB and MicroSD drives. And the radio works almost from the start first thing in the morning, before I even pull out of the driveway.
If you know what you are doing it can’t be beat.
Any questions?
Nice, I thought about this a while back. Quick question, when you turn your vehicle off, the radio stays on? You have to manually turn it off right?
ffwd4490 said:
Nice, I thought about this a while back. Quick question, when you turn your vehicle off, the radio stays on? You have to manually turn it off right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct. You turn your radio off manually, with or without the key in the ignition.
The standby current is the question. Some folks that do CanBus monitoring through their radio report large current draw when the radio is in standby mode, but those that don't do canbus seem to see standby current on the order of 80 mA down to about 25mA. It's an ongoing debate.
The separate battery eliminates the worry of draining your main car battery dry.
Make sense?
Yes totally, I've wanted to do this, just not sure if I want always on and manual turn on/off, or the wait... So as usual I do nothing lol. Great write up though! Cheers!!
That seems like a lot of parts and expense for very little gain.
Wouldn't it be easier to just put a switch or a timer on the ign line into the radio?
EDIT:
Like this;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Circuit...-delay-relay-Turn-on-off-switch-/131776109221
So for $3, it will hold the IGN line powered when IGN source is terminated, adjustable for anything between 0.1 seconds and 1 hour. Now when you go and fill up your gas tank, the radio stays on, but if you leave the car parked overnight, it will still do a full bootup the next morning.
EDIT2: This $5 unit is better;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-LED...itch-Relay-ON-OFF-Module-12-24V-/262503313875
1) it will accept a higher voltage range, safe for car 14.5 volt.
2) it accepts a separate power and trigger input, meaning that it is a DIGITAL timer rather than analog timer that is potentially sensitive to temperature.
I didn't think of this for the short term pit stop boot up delay. We already have that solved with the software mod that allows you to keep the Hu powered for 2 hours. For me this would be for the overnight/work shut down.
The problem with the software mod is that only works after the radio has booted.
In my push to start car, I insert the card and the radio starts to boot but when I press the button the power is cut to the radio and it reboots again since the mod wasn't loaded yet.
So one of these mods could solve my problem.
Great,
I have been looking for a long time after this solution.
I want to install this but thinking about the next problem. My power-off function does not work. When pushing the power button, i have a black screen, the leds off the buttons are still active and after pressing the power button the system reboots. Not a perfect sleep or standby modus. If i don't fix this first the extra battery won't be a solution.
I can fix this by adjusting the software?
RK3066 800 x 400 with MALAYSK ROM (12 June)
I think it's absolutely absurd that these head units simply do not have a built in standby power supply keeping them in a sleep state rather than shutting down entirely.
Nine years ago with my atom-based desktop PC installed in the dash, using a dc-dc switching power supply, that desktop computer based infotainment system was able to sleep for weeks on battery power, always instantly resumed to the centrafuse software interface.
doitright said:
That seems like a lot of parts and expense for very little gain.
Wouldn't it be easier to just put a switch or a timer on the ign line into the radio?
EDIT:
Like this;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Circuit...-delay-relay-Turn-on-off-switch-/131776109221
So for $3, it will hold the IGN line powered when IGN source is terminated, adjustable for anything between 0.1 seconds and 1 hour. Now when you go and fill up your gas tank, the radio stays on, but if you leave the car parked overnight, it will still do a full bootup the next morning.
EDIT2: This $5 unit is better;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-LED...itch-Relay-ON-OFF-Module-12-24V-/262503313875
1) it will accept a higher voltage range, safe for car 14.5 volt.
2) it accepts a separate power and trigger input, meaning that it is a DIGITAL timer rather than analog timer that is potentially sensitive to temperature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i were to do something like the second unit that you posted, how long would you think would be the most amount of time to allow the radio to stay on safely (with the screen off) before it negatively affects the car's battery (either the battery dying, or doing longterm damage to the battery). Thanks!
In fact probably radio should go down after 3 days in stand by. Then battery will still more than fine and 3 days is a long time to no impact slow starting.
I think it's absolutely absurd that these head units simply do not have a built in standby power supply keeping them in a sleep state rather than shutting down entirely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen to that, Brother. I’ve seen extremely fast startups with the AVH series from Pioneer, on the order of 2-3 seconds, but those lack the versatility of these android units and the more recent ones tend to be comparatively expensive.
The “big-label” android units like the NEX series are reportedly buggy, expensive and not terribly friendly towards you running anything else other than a handful of their approved apps. They are not truly universal in their approach, so we are stuck working around the limitations of the current crop of android stereos until better, faster technology shows up on the doorstep soon.
Hopefully "soon" really does mean soon.
Below I'll list a few questions and answers about this modification project, as asked by another member:
=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*-=-*--=
What Rom do you have installed? And what kind of radio do you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The radio I have is a Pumpkin Auto KD-C0248. It uses the RK3188 quad core CPU, and it has 800 x 480 resolution on a 7” touchscreen, and it is ultimately manufactured by “Klyde”. You might find here: https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Universal-Navigation-Steering-Mirror-link/dp/B015PZVRXS/
It works okay, I don’t have a lot of complaints about it, except that I would’ve preferred a volume knob rather than the push buttons for volume adjustment. Strangely enough the volume buttons are on the right hand side of the unit, even though I own a left-hand drive vehicle. This means I have to reach across the screen to push buttons for volume up or volume down. Since I have this wired into the volume controls on the steering wheel this isn’t too big of a deal, but if I did not have the steering wheel controls it would become a real pain.
This model comes with a DVD player, and in retrospect, now having the option of loading music from the microSD card or a USB drive, I realize I no longer need the DVD. It’s somewhat superfluous at this juncture in the technology’s development.
Knowing what I now know, I would instead recommend something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Universal-Muti-touch-Navigation-Bluetooth/dp/B0151KNXJ8/ or maybe this: http://xtrons.com/td695ab-6-95-inch...ayer-with-screen-mirroring-function-obd2.html
In other words avoid radios that don’t have a volume knob. It lacks ergonomics to be driving down the road and having to look over to adjust the volume, and in my opinion it is also somewhat dangerous.
I use the Malysk ROM, the latest version, and I must say it is a night and day difference between the stock ROM and this. It’s a hair slower in the loading (if coming up from a cold boot) but the added bells and whistles more than make it worth it.
This ROM comes with built-in ad blocking as a system setting, five different home screen launchers I can choose from, and a handful of aftermarket music players built-in by default, including JetAudio and PowerAmp (demo).
Note that I am using the android 4.4.4 ROM here. I could download the 5.1.1 android lollipop ROM for this radio, but android 5 is slower than android 4. There is more lines of code involved. See here for further information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUZjOGIV7zg
Additionally, this RK3188 processor is about one third slower than a galaxy S4 CPU (snapdragon 600 CPU). For what we are doing with a radio, android 4 is just fine. If this were smart phone, I’d want the latest operating system instead.
Please see attached pictures: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=68082412#post68082412
Can you switch your radio in standby or off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not yet installed a hard switch, so this is on at all times. When I push the power button on the radio, it goes into a standby mode, fed by the auxiliary battery when the car is off. Boot up is just a few seconds. Because my battery isolator unit works a little bit too well, and because I purchased a small, cheap readily available UPS battery, I have to recharge the secondary battery every few days. I already own a battery charger, but the small size of the battery means it requires somewhat frequent maintenance, and this is a hassle. If I had a larger battery, or a regular car battery in the auxiliary battery box, this would be happening nearly as much.
I also think that my amplifier consume a lot of battery when connecting directly from the main battery. So i want to connect this after the ignition key.
I thought you've had installed a rechargeble battery? Does it recharge when driving the car?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have indeed install the rechargeable battery, is a typical led-acid battery, fully sealed, and these are what is frequently used in UPS’s. It does recharge it a little bit when driving, although not as much as I would like.
How many time do you have to recharge the extra battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figure I have to recharge the battery about once or twice a week, depending on how frequently I am driving, and how far. Again, I have a very small capacity battery in here 18 AHr only, this is about 1/6th the capacity of a regular car battery. So I have to recharge it more than I would like.
I had previously done what I will suggest you when I was running in amplifier in my car, namely I had purchased a much larger battery, what is referred to as a deep cycle marine battery. This means it is specifically used in small personal fishing boats the power an electric propeller motor that won’t disturb the fish.
Here is one example: https://www.amazon.com/100Ah-SOLAR-WIND-CYCLE-BATTERY/dp/B00S1RT58C/
This this battery is meant to go a long time between recharges, and to discharge quite a bit between charges. With something like this in the trunk of my old car, and running a 1200-watt amplifier and (2x) 15” subwoofers in a sealed box, I could go one to two weeks between recharges. I would simply park the car in the garage, hook the battery charger up to the auxiliary battery terminals, let it charge all night while I sleep, then put everything back as it should be and hit the road in the morning. I did this for a few years. It worked fine.
Again, it’s a lot of running around to work around what is, in my opinion, a latent fault with these car stereos, but if you’re serious about your music, and you like the insurance of having an extra battery for jump starts in your trunk, then this is the way to go.
Power Consumption Figures
Addendum 9/3/16:
I wanted to relate that the initial battery size was really not adequate for my needs in this affair. The 18 amp-hour battery would discharge in a matter of days, to the point where it was no longer doing its intended job. I would have to recharge the battery about two times per week. This is not acceptable.
So today I went out and purchased a marine deep-cycle battery with about 500 CCA. I’m not quite clear on the amp-hour rating. This was about $80, plus tax.
More importantly, I went on to eBay and for around $10 I purchased a very small, cheap power meter with a simple wiring set up. I wired this into the output circuit from the battery isolator to the radio, so I could see what the actual power draw is for this set up.
My results are as follows:
At start-up we see about 3 Watts being consumed, 0.25 amperes of current, plus or minus a little bit.
When the radio is fully booted up, the screen is on, and music is playing, we see about 10 W of power consumption.
When the radio is in a standby mode, after you’ve hit the power button and the screen is off and the radio is about as “turned off” as it’s going to get, we see around 1 W of power consumption.
Mind you, this is a RockChip 3188 CPU, and the power usage will be similar across all brands that use this CPU.
As I’ve emphasized earlier, the advantage of this set up with the (now larger) battery is you can run a large amplifier and subwoofers off of it, without potentially taxing your electrical system.
Otherwise if you’re going to run a powerful car radio, you have to buy a larger battery and a larger alternator to go with it. This may not be everybody’s cup of tea.
:good:
Hi - been away from the forums for a three months now - been v busy with work, but was following this thread and really like your attempt here.
It's got be thinking on a few things - especially your last post with actual measurement of power usage.
It's raised a couple of interesting points for me.
The first is effect on your standard car battery if left on all the time. My car battery is a 72Ah, 12V, so please correct me if I'm wrong - but does this make it 864Wh. Therefore, at 1W draw, the car battery would support it for 36 days? Now I imagine that a car battery would need to have a reasonable level of juice in it to start a car so it's not like you could leave it for (e.g.) 35 days and still expect it to start but if you were leaving the device on overnight/out of working hours (i.e. not weeks on end), on this basis it shouldn't really kill your battery.
Further thoughts I had was
1) could there be some kind of software mod to make the power off function on the radio even more power efficient and so it really be a minimal drain on apps. I think this is what QuickBoot does on Cyanogen, but possibly it could be done by throttling the CPU, airplane mode and greenifying the apps. If the power usage was halved etc, then it really could be inconsequential relative to the standard car battery.
2) Maybe a rechargeable 'powerbank' could be used instead of the battery you have. Along the lines of say this 12V 23000mAh one which I think could sustain the head unit for almost 300 hours if 0.08A are drawn or 12V 10000mAh one which I think could do 125 hours if 0.08A are drawn - if the discharge side of this could switch on when the car ignition is switched off, but it plugged into a ciggy lighter (which are only on when the car is on in my car), then it would charge when the car is on and discharge when the car is off. Not sure how feasible/tricky that is.. ,also found this which seems to be able to do the switching required...
Ok, so the newer head units (i.e. with Intel) are much more able to deal with the momentary "off" situation that is caused by starting the engine -- essentially, they have a WORKING shutdown delay, that is effective right from initial power blip.
They also start up a lot faster (around 10-15 seconds FULL BOOT).
I recall an interesting feature that was introduced by Parrot into Asteroid Smart; it had an advanced startup. In the case of the Parrot, it was based on a motion sensor in the unit -- when it sensed you opening the door, it would begin its power up.
Now while these chinese units don't have motion sensors, we could actually do something else that would give it an advanced startup -- hook the ignition switch line into the INSIDE LIGHTS of the car -- you open the door, the lights come on, the radio starts booting, you sit down, stick the key in, start the engine, and guess what? Its booted!
This modification will require a couple of DIODES. Run the inside lights circuit through a diode to the IGN input to the car radio. Run also the car IGN source through a diode to the IGN input of the car radio. Without the diodes, the ignition would turn on the lights, and the lights would power on all kinds of things you don't want powered on.
For an older unit, the same kind of thing would work, IF you combine it with the capacitor shutdown delay hack -- software hacks won't work since the unit won't be booted far enough for the software hack to actually run. And while it might not be enough time to fully boot an older unit, it will at least shave a bunch of time off of it.
Parrot Asteroid --> Android™ 2.3 platform :/
and you shouldn't power your HU from the lights circuit not mentioning that when they are off, the HU would be off too.....
It could be done by using a relay and lights circuit as a trigger, but not as a power source itself.
doitright said:
Ok, so the newer head units (i.e. with Intel) are much more able to deal with the momentary "off" situation that is caused by starting the engine -- essentially, they have a WORKING shutdown delay, that is effective right from initial power blip.
They also start up a lot faster (around 10-15 seconds FULL BOOT).
I recall an interesting feature that was introduced by Parrot into Asteroid Smart; it had an advanced startup. In the case of the Parrot, it was based on a motion sensor in the unit -- when it sensed you opening the door, it would begin its power up.
Now while these chinese units don't have motion sensors, we could actually do something else that would give it an advanced startup -- hook the ignition switch line into the INSIDE LIGHTS of the car -- you open the door, the lights come on, the radio starts booting, you sit down, stick the key in, start the engine, and guess what? Its booted!
This modification will require a couple of DIODES. Run the inside lights circuit through a diode to the IGN input to the car radio. Run also the car IGN source through a diode to the IGN input of the car radio. Without the diodes, the ignition would turn on the lights, and the lights would power on all kinds of things you don't want powered on.
For an older unit, the same kind of thing would work, IF you combine it with the capacitor shutdown delay hack -- software hacks won't work since the unit won't be booted far enough for the software hack to actually run. And while it might not be enough time to fully boot an older unit, it will at least shave a bunch of time off of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oscyp said:
Parrot Asteroid --> Android™ 2.3 platform :/
and you shouldn't power your HU from the lights circuit not mentioning that when they are off, the HU would be off too.....
It could be done by using a relay and lights circuit as a trigger, but not as a power source itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like this line of thinking... so could you set it so if the lights are on OR the ign line is on, then the run that output as the new IGN feed to the radio?
And I might be getting confused here, but I thought the HU takes it power directly from the Fuse board, but the ignition feed effectively triggers it on - or is it actually drawing quite a bit of current from the ignition feed?
Or, sticking with doitright suggestion, how about a motion sensor like http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/motion-detector-kit-n27fl located low so it picks up the driver footwell, somehow reset it though.
Or an electrical contact switch on the driver door that can sense it opening when the ignition is off?
Might be some kind of alternate switch idea which would work?
Mr Bigglesworth said:
Or, sticking with doitright suggestion, how about a motion sensor like http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/motion-detector-kit-n27fl located low so it picks up the driver footwell, somehow reset it though.
Or an electrical contact switch on the driver door that can sense it opening when the ignition is off?
Might be some kind of alternate switch idea which would work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any trigger + relay circuit would be good. No big deal.
Mr Bigglesworth said:
I like this line of thinking... so could you set it so if the lights are on OR the ign line is on, then the run that output as the new IGN feed to the radio?
And I might be getting confused here, but I thought the HU takes it power directly from the Fuse board, but the ignition feed effectively triggers it on - or is it actually drawing quite a bit of current from the ignition feed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is NOT drawing ANY (measurable) current from the IGN line. At most, it is just enough current to activate a BJT. If China decided to spend the extra 0.001 cents, then they used an FET, and the current is zero. All of its current is through the radio fuse, which remains powered up full time, as long as the car's battery is installed and has charge.
Yes, that is what I'm talking about. Just OR it with the inside lights and make sure there is no backflow.
---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:51 PM ----------
Mr Bigglesworth said:
Or, sticking with doitright suggestion, how about a motion sensor like http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/motion-detector-kit-n27fl located low so it picks up the driver footwell, somehow reset it though.
Or an electrical contact switch on the driver door that can sense it opening when the ignition is off?
Might be some kind of alternate switch idea which would work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I'm talking about. What do you think causes the inside lights to turn on when you open the door?!!!!
Hello all
I'm thinking on developing an external power source based on lithium cells for my unit. The idea is to avoid the boot delay when the car is not used for some hours. The external power source will power the unit only when the car is not active.
- Does anybody knows what is the average consumption of a MTCD unit with no-music / no-screen active?
- Is there a way to power only the Android Module? Or a way to send a HW signal for he unit to go to "sleep" (but NOT turn off)
Thanks !!!
I also want to do this.
I have some spare cells that can use.
I think it should use less than 500 mAh with the screen off
maxiauer said:
Hello all
I'm thinking on developing an external power source based on lithium cells for my unit. The idea is to avoid the boot delay when the car is not used for some hours. The external power source will power the unit only when the car is not active.
- Does anybody knows what is the average consumption of a MTCD unit with no-music / no-screen active?
- Is there a way to power only the Android Module? Or a way to send a HW signal for he unit to go to "sleep" (but NOT turn off)
Thanks !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessary, with appropriate MTCD MCU and ROM version these units indefinitely sleep, consuming only 5mA, and immediately resume when powered on.
Suggest a search of the forums for all the info you might need.
marchnz said:
Not necessary, with appropriate MTCD MCU and ROM version these units indefinitely sleep, consuming only 5mA, and immediately resume when powered on.
Suggest a search of the forums for all the info you might need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to that, i run a mtcd unit and a dual dash cam system (auto off at 12v) and they run fine over night without issue, when dash-cam shuts down stereo will easily not drain battery even after few days.
My Xtrons branded model came with a loop of wire with a quick disconnect on the main power loom. If I connect them, the unit will remain powered on after the keys are removed from the ignition. If disconnected, the unit will power down after a few seconds. (Still can't work out how to change this length of time though). What I'm thinking of doing is installing an inline switch so I can power the unit down fully if required when I know the car isn't going to be used for a while.
So, if the consumption is so low, in "normal suspended conditions", then the answer to the problem would be to keep the unit powered by the battery, but also keep on sensing the current to make sure it is really suspended and not consuming too much. My concern is that I do like to test new apps and ROMs in beta stage quite frequently, and I don't want to have any nasty surprise one morning because one app/ROM had a bug and kept draining the battery.
Another point to add is a timer, so after N days without starting the engine the unit is killed to protect the battery.
Anybody knows an easy way to get the unit to suspend when the power to the yellow cable gets off, but to not switch off? In the Androit 8 ROMs I use (Malaysk) the maximum timeout allowed before switching-off is 1 hour. Any easy way to modify this? (I'll do some research on my side also).
I'll post the circuit here as soon as I have some time to implement it
Kr
Max
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...iliary-batter-battery-isolator-radio-t3417196
I did exactly what you speak of here. Look over the details I show and the instructions.
I'm willing to sell the battery isolator unit that I bought for this project. With the newer radios I don't need it.
maxiauer said:
So, if the consumption is so low, in "normal suspended conditions", then the answer to the problem would be to keep the unit powered by the battery, but also keep on sensing the current to make sure it is really suspended and not consuming too much. My concern is that I do like to test new apps and ROMs in beta stage quite frequently, and I don't want to have any nasty surprise one morning because one app/ROM had a bug and kept draining the battery.
Another point to add is a timer, so after N days without starting the engine the unit is killed to protect the battery.
Anybody knows an easy way to get the unit to suspend when the power to the yellow cable gets off, but to not switch off? In the Androit 8 ROMs I use (Malaysk) the maximum timeout allowed before switching-off is 1 hour. Any easy way to modify this? (I'll do some research on my side also).
I'll post the circuit here as soon as I have some time to implement it
Kr
Max
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This issue previously discussed in depth and answered.
Consumption, regardless of how many apps installed, is always 5mA in standby. From this it would take months to deplete the average car battery.
Instead of guessing, work it out