DriveModeDashboard with Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3

[TheStammeringBiker]

So, despite having a Zumo XT, I keep leaning more towards mobile app navigation of late. Not that the Zumo XT is bad of course, except for the U-turn behaviour alot of people have encountered, but on my recent 2 euro trips this years I've had the same routes on both my XT and on the MRA app on my phone on the bars and to be honest MRA in most cases was more faithful to the route (barring my GPX 1.1/1.2 stupidity) so I thought I'd give this DMD2 a go.

Managed to bag myself a fairly cheap Galaxy Tab Active 3 which is in perfect condition, got a powered RAM mount dock coming for it and a way to secure it to the bars so hopefully this will work well. I've seen the Carpe Iter implementation of this on a GSA and it didn't look "too" obnoxious and big. I am aware that DMD2 was created mostly for the offroad community but having the ability to find a location and then "send" it into Waze/Google Maps/MRA is a big bonus for me, especially as I'm a blood biker as well so I need to get from point A to B as quickly as possible most of the time and the traffic service on the XT (for me at least) is hit and miss.

Anyway, will see how it pans out, will I sell the XT? Who knows.

 

[Wapping]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this

Whilst I don’t think it’s one for me, simply as I still like my XT and / or Navigator V devices, I know that phone based navigation is increasingly popular, along with things like Apple Car Play and / or using small tablets as screens.

My only real hesitation in using my phone (even though it is more than capable of being the hub) is breaking the damned thing, leaving me with no navigation and no phone. There is a thread on this, where a bod’s phone flew off its secure mount and smashed. Admittedly, this was in a crash but just dropping the phone as I did, mucking about getting the into the cubbyhole on my new 1600, when it slipped through my fingers, shows how vulnerable you can be. But hey, horses for courses.

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this

Whilst I don’t think it’s one for me, simply as I still like my XT and / or Navigator V devices, I know that phone based navigation is increasingly popular, along with things like Apple Car Play and / or using small tablets as screens.

My only real hesitation in using my phone (even though it is more than capable of being the hub) is breaking the damned thing, leaving me with no navigation and no phone. There is a thread on this, where a bod’s phone flew off its secure mount and smashed. Admittedly, this was in a crash but just dropping the phone as I did, mucking about getting the into the cubbyhole on my new 1600, when it slipped through my fingers, shows how vulnerable you can be. But hey, horses for courses.

I know exactly what you mean! I’m currently using my phone a lot in a QuadLock especially doing blood runs as it guarantees the most up to date route for traffic using Waze, and I’m sure it’s secure but it does always worry me having a circa £1000 device strapped to the bars.

The RAM mount for the Galaxy Tab looks to be as secure as the Zumo XT mount so fingers crossed it should be as good if the worst ever happened and will mean I can keep my phone in my pocket!

EDIT: Now I think about it, a couple of years ago my and my wife were heading out of Chamonix and the bike threw up a low engine oil warning, so I stopped and took my phone out of the cheap Aliexpress phone holder I had clipped into the BMW cradle and it slipped and went face down on the floor shattering the screen protector. Luckily the screen itself was ok but it gave me a proper fright!

 

[Santa-2512]

I have a Tab A2 which i used to run down to Sids,

A small Ram ball mount onto my Givi airflow screen and a stubby Ram arm into the Brodit Tab2 case

No issues whatsoever, the Gendarmes , were impressed with the screen size when i showed them the distance still to go during a traffic stop

I had my Phone & Nav6 as backup JIC

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

Well most of the parts have arrived, all except one crucial element which is the bloody "skin" for the tablet which until I get it I can't use it in the dock





It's never gonna win any awards for being sleek and stylish but it'll work.

 

[siwhite]

Really looking forward to your thoughts when it's all up and running. I'm looking at a similar setup on my F800 GSA. I did read somewhere that the pins on the powered case can be a little sensitive to rain and dust - perhaps worth keeping a charging cable somewhere handy?

Are you going to have rally-style buttons, or just use it with the touch screen?

 

[Wapping]

This is building (literally) into an interesting thread.

In a sense, the new BMW ‘Connected Navigator’ thing is almost like a tablet, though limited (as far as I can make out) to only running routes which come via the BMW Connected app. Similarly, I think you need the whirly wheel thing to make it function fully, I guess. It was though an interesting switch that BMW have made, as I - and I think others, too - had assumed they would be heading down the TFT route.

I knew that Santa had been a long term user of tablets (and some others have taken them up too) but I had never taken too much interest in the devices. That omission was my fault, not theirs. Seeing this one go together has though sparked my curiosity, not least as I like to know how (and even if) the devices work in real life.

The usual chsllenges with ‘bolt-ons’ seem to come from:

A. Is it too large? This seems not to be the case with the OP’s

B. Can it be mounted reliably and not shake around? Again, this seems to be overcome with the OP’s, once he has the missing bit. They can though sometimes be a bit awkward looking, with RAM arms and the like. I became very fussy over this, when mounting my XT to my Himalayan, calling upon the services of a friendly Tosser to fashion me a suitable mounting bar, thank you, Andy.

C. Can it be powered reliably? This is easier to do than it perhaps used to be.

D. Can it be used with gloves on? From the online blurb, the OP’s device will.

E. Will it overheat in the sun? From the blurb, there is something about removing the battery and powering the device directly?

F. The real acid test…… is it completely waterproof and ‘shake proof’ (staying in contact with its power pins / cradle) when powered and running on the bike all day?

 

[Santa-2512]

I can answer some of those questions

A) Never, i have used a 7" Nexus 7 and the 8" Tab active 2, the 8" unit offers way more in terms of OS functionality. - LTE capability being the most obvious

B) A short ram arm 2" on the screen crossbar is perfectly stable for road use 900kms with no movement . For off road, id be looking at mounting direct to the bar without using a ram arm

C) You can hard wire via POGO pins, or use a USB feed from a handy DIN socket - the unit does not draw enough current to trip the circuit breaker

D) Yes, but dont expect qwerty typing - more single button press - Stylus or gloves off for detailed stuff

E) Not so far - 32c to Sids - 12.5hrs one way, it was fine - 10hrs back 30c no issues

F) Nothing is ever completely waterproof, its IP68 rated - 30 mins in 1.5 meters of fresh water - in the rain and snow i had going to Strontian over Christmas it never let me down

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

Tha

Really looking forward to your thoughts when it's all up and running. I'm looking at a similar setup on my F800 GSA. I did read somewhere that the pins on the powered case can be a little sensitive to rain and dust - perhaps worth keeping a charging cable somewhere handy?

Are you going to have rally-style buttons, or just use it with the touch screen?

For now I'm going to use my fingers and/or the Samung S-pen that came with the case, which luckily just arrived!

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

Only time will tell really whether or not it'll be reliable, which is the main reason for buying a "cheap" tablet and not the full on Thork Racing tablet or the Carpe Iter, both of which are pretty eye watering.

I've opted for the SW Motech 10-12mm bar clamp which is rock solid onto the original BMW bar, mated to the RAM mount which is USB powered (or can be hard wired) and it has the pogo pins for charging. It fits very snugly so I don't think rattling around is going to be an issue, or the stiffness/quality of the products.

I think, as you'd expect the weak link is likely to be the tablet itself. I'll be using the bike this week for blood runs so it'll probably give me a chance to test various things I'm personally curious about:

1. Will it charge quickly enough to keep up with the drain on it.
2. Will it be bright enough in the daytime.
3. If it rains, will the screen have "accidental touches" (I believe the DMD2 software can lock/unlock the screen when moving automatically).
4. Will I get pee'd off with trying to operate it with gloves on.
5. Will tethering it to my phone be adequate (for now) or will I need to get myself a SIM only deal to put in it (I probably will eventually anyway)

Likely I won't find out about any overheating issues in the short term due to the declining weather but I"ll report back in due course obviously

From some of the pics it looks like it totally blocks my view of the TFT but it only really obscures the top line, which I generally don't look at that frequently anyway, so the speedo/rev counter etc are all unobstructed.

 

[Wapping]

Thank you, both.

That looks like a very neat and tidy set-up; very better than using a phone alone, in my opinion. That it brings other flexibility, over and above say a Garmin unit, is interesting, too.

It would be great if you could:

a. Tell us how you get on with it all. In particular, if possible, running the very popular, MyRoute app.

b. List out, very simply, all the pieces you collected together, recognising of course that other people’s bikes might well differ.

=====

Apologies, a bit of a cross with the post above.

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

Sure @Wapping no problem at all! I plan to initially use a mixture of Waze and MRA on it, which both seem to run well at least playing with it indoors.

As for parts to get to this point:

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 (with OEM rugged case, can also use the RAM skin) - https://www.samsung.com/uk/tablets/others/galaxy-tab-active3-8-inch-black-64gb-lte-sm-t575nzkaeea/ & https://www.ram-mount.co.uk/ram-r-s...=active3&sort=p.sort_order&order=ASC&limit=20
RAM Mount powered cradle (hard wired versions are available as are locking ones) - https://www.ram-mount.co.uk/powered...=active3&sort=p.sort_order&order=ASC&limit=20
SW Motech GPS mount clamp for 10-12mm bars - https://sw-motech.co.uk/collections/gps-mounts/products/gps-mount-for-crossbar-o-10-12-mm-black

In short, the GPS mount clamps to the OEM bars and has a plate as part of the kit which supports the multi-hole template to fit a variety of satnavs to, and the RAM mount cradle has a supported 4-hole pattern on it which bolts directly onto the SW Motech plate. For now I have run the wiring to the USB socket but may hard wire at a later date.

Cheaper alternatives of the 10-12mm mount are available from AliExpress/Ebay etc. SW Motech also have a variety of GPS mounts for other ages of BMW and models, all ending up with the same multi hole plate for most satnavs so I'd say only the last part is the one that would need to be changed or substituted if someone wanted to mount it to another BMW bike or even another brand.

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

I thought I’d try and do a quick video to illustrate the install process, it might or might not make it clear, I’m not exactly the most interesting narrator

 

[Wapping]

Thank you for the updates and video, appreciated.

 

[Wapping]

One question, please:

What’s the ‘skin’ bit?

….parts have arrived, all except one crucial element which is the bloody "skin" for the tablet

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

One question, please:

What’s the ‘skin’ bit?

Apologies thats my fault for using RAM mounts terminology.

The Tab Active 3 usually comes with a rugged rubber case which also has the S-pen holder built in, but mine didn't have it so I had to order one from Ebay. Without this case it's too loose in the RAM cradle. RAM do their own case which they refer to as a "skin" which is also compatible with their cradle: https://www.ram-mount.co.uk/ram-r-s...=active3&sort=p.sort_order&order=ASC&limit=20

 

[Santa-2512]

When it stops raining, and i get some daylight,

I'll get some video & show my setup for comparison

I've tried quite a few Nav programs, so can give some brief feedback on the ones that for me - Do & don't.

There are a few niggles I've found, and solutions to the niggles

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

I’m probably going to be using mostly Waze and MRA, Waze for simple “get there as quick as possible” stuff and MRA for the more planned type of routes.

Hopefully both will run solidly, but I suspect interacting with the screen with gloves on will be the biggest challenge but I’ve put the S-pen in the cubby hole/box thing on the tank so I can still use it with gloves in, in theory at least.

I might try and get a cheap data only SIM to shove in it.

 

[Santa-2512]

I’m probably going to be using mostly Waze and MRA, Waze for simple “get there as quick as possible” stuff and MRA for the more planned type of routes.

Hopefully both will run solidly, but I suspect interacting with the screen with gloves on will be the biggest challenge but I’ve put the S-pen in the cubby hole/box thing on the tank so I can still use it with gloves in, in theory at least.

I might try and get a cheap data only SIM to shove in it.

I have a cheap sim in mine, i'll do an update later in the week.

 

[TheStammeringBiker]

I've had several people message me on Facebook after posting my setup on a group stating that they have found that the pogo pins on the RAM mounts tend to retain moisture and oxidise and eventually get loose so I've taken the steps of brushing some ACF50 on the contacts but I also notice that the power "box" at the bottom is quite poorly sealed. There are 2 screws underneath which when you remove the plate expose the circuit board and wiring and this plate has no rubber gasket on it so I'm assuming people have found water getting inside and ruining the electrics.

I did spot this video where someone used a special gel to basically seal the entire bottom void which looks like it could be a good move if I plan to ride with it in all weathers -