I am looking for some help please.
We have a 2012, 76 series Landcruiser that came with a no name brand double din radio fitted. We use it for both the radio/music as
well as GPS mapping. The radio & GPS functions work fine but the screen on the unit is near impossible to see when driving towards the sun due to reflected glare. We have tried every thing available but have not ben able to combat the glare as the dash / radio screen angle cant be altered. In our old 100 series TLC we had a radio with a screen that tilted to insert CD's and you could adjust it to reduce/stop the glare but those radios no longer exist. We also use a Codan
HF radio for communications when out of phone range and use a Sony MP3 player to stream music via Bluetooth when out of radio range or there is nothing of interest on the radio.
We tried a unit which was very nice but it still had bad reflected glare and it also generated lots of interference on the
HF radio to the extent that the
HF radio became unusable with the radio switched on. The
HF radio tech advised that the issue was the double din radio which is basically an Android tablet computer that is not shielded and it emits RF that interferes with the
HF radio.
We've been reading on this ExploreOz site about the CarPlay/Android Auto adaptors that can be used with ordinary radios (eg factory, Sony, Pioneer etc) that emulates the Android OS and you can download Android programs onto it and run them on the ordinary radio. I have contacted both the companies listed but have not been able to get a reply regarding the units and what RF suppression they have - are they C-Tick certified? Trying to find one local to see/try has not been successful and I'm not keen to spend lots of $ only to find it doesn’t work. While some
places accept returns it must be unused and they want a 25% restocking fee.
We would love to hear from anyone who can give some feedback on the following:
1/ What brand radio unit have you fitted in your 76 series TLC that does not suffer from reflected glare to the extent that you cant see the GPS mapping on the screen?
2/ for those with
HF radio in their vehicle, what radio unit do you have that does not generate interference on
HF radio - in particular the VKS, BushTelegraph & Austravel frequencies?
3/ for those using the CarPlay/Android Auto adaptor -
a/ Can you stream music via Bluetooth to it via a MP3? (one android OS unit using Android 10 we tried could not receive BT from a MP3 player at all, it only accepted BT via an iPhone or Android phone. I should note that the MP3 player happily streams music to every other BT device I have tried in the past)
b/ Can you play music from the radio or streamed music via BT at the same time as the GPS/Mapping is being used? (again, an Android OS unit we tried could not do both at once. Driving with a choice of only one of GPS/Mapping or music is not an option)
Sorry, lots of questions and thanks in advance for any feedback on these items.