Archive for April 29th, 2013
TH8581GA Hardware Specs
by balleman on Apr.29, 2013, under Computers, Linux
The generic double-DIN Android head unit I purchased is a TH8581GA. Sometimes branded as an Ouku, the unit appears to be a close cousin to the Ca-Fi 621000.
Specs
| Platform | Freescale MX53 |
| CPU | ARM Cortex-A8 (ARMv7 rev5); 1GHz |
| RAM | 512MB; 334 MB available to Linux |
| Storage | Onboard 7.39 GiB (per Linux; mmcblk0) Front Panel MicroSD slot (mmc1) |
| Display and Input | WVGA (800×480) 6.2″ display Resistive touch screen |
| USB | Rear panel, USB Type A receptacle, corded, host port. Front panel, USB Mini-B receptacle, OTG port. |
| Rear A/V | 3x RCA – AUX In (Left, Right, Composite Video) 2x RCA – Rear Monitors (Composite Video) 1x RCA – Rear Camera (Composite Video) 5x RCA – Line Out (FR, FL, RR, RL, Sub) DIN – IPod connector |
| Power, Signal, and Speaker (wire) |
2x CanBus (Tx/Rx) 8x Speaker (Front R/L +/-, Rear R/L +/-) 1x Parking break 1x Reverse 1x Ground 1x Battery + 1x Accessory Power 1x Illumination 1x Amplifier Signal input 1x Auto radio Antenna 2x Steering Wheel Control |
| Antenna | 1x Motorola antenna (for AM/FM radio) 1x DVB antenna (for TV tuner) 1x SMA? antenna (for GPS receiver) |
Notes and observations
Bluetooth: The radio does have built-in Bluetooth, but it is not managed by Android. Pairing with the radio allows for interacting with the Phone application on the radio (handsfree), as well as passing through A2DP audio. However, it is not possible to use the built-in Bluetooth for pairing with other devices through Android, such as a OBDII bridge.
Booting: The radio takes about 40 seconds from power-on to Android, another 10 seconds before the internal and external storage is mounted, and in my case, about 10 more seconds for the on-boot apps to finish loading. The radio does not appear to have much of a concept of sleep – when power is removed, the radio is off and requires a reboot. I have noticed in my install that if I power off the vehicle and immediately put it into accessory mode, the radio display will go dark, and come back in several seconds without a reboot. I’m not sure of the exact scenario, but I suspect this is more of my vehicle maintaining accessory power for a short while, as opposed to the radio sleeping.
Sensors: I’m used to android devices (e.g., phones) being loaded with an excessive number of awesome sensors, such as compasses, accelerometers, orientation, etc. Unfortunately, this device does not have any of that. So much for having an artificial horizon in my car. It does, however, have an integrated GPS receiver with external antenna (provided).
Other Info: Internal Pictures
Coming up soon… Installation.
