Help for a newcomer LFAQ

[BigRadCR-X]

The internet is pointing here to HUDIY for my needs in my project and I want to proceed with this great product but I'm not quite skilled enough to proceed to completion and I don't want my efforts to stall and leave this incomplete or delayed so I'm here to ask the LFAQ(Less Frequently Asked Questions)

I hope this thread can serve as a resource for any others at my skill level that started to stall on project completion as I did when starting this HUDIY install. As a secondary purpose, I want to document and display my specific car which should also help the observers and contributors of my LFAQ to understand the context. I'm happy to return here and edit in the best usable responses as a living document.

The car has no head unit but does have amps to power the speakers so I'm driving around no audio and wanting this system to exists as quick as can be thoroughly designed and installed(a starting point that I'm sure not alone in). Here are some questions I have in my haste to provide music/entertainment and safe navigation to mine and my passengers drives around the city:

The official youtube videos show dual screens with youtube music and other apps loading from the internet on one screen while Android Auto displayed on the second.

LFAQ: How does the RasPi5 get internet service if it is broadcasting its own AP with the radio? If it never does, then how does the phone stream those apps to the Pi?

LFAQ: With the default configuration and my android phone connected via bluetooth, the navigation and the music player do not have an effect. Please point me in the direction for setting this up. *edit: noticed that once Android Auto is connected these widgets populate.

LFAQ: Once I am into the .json config file and making changes, what is the best practice to allow the changes to take effect? I am rebooting the entire Pi and hoping for a faster method.

LFAQ: How does the configuration need to change from default to support the dual screen setups? I tried adjusting the "splitwithprojections" to TRUE and when that didn't work, tried adjusting the "windowwidth" to have the entire pixel count of both screens, I also tried "width" to have pixel count of both screens

LFAQ: Do I need android auto at all if I'm going to fully use the HUDIY UI?

LFAQ: Where can I find community and other example configs that I can learn from or utilize for my build?

LFAQ: If I want to deal with safe shutdown another time, how can I add a RasPi power down command to a single button press on the main bar?

LFAQ: Ideally this will operate without needing a phone connected(with USB GPS, local music files, etc) but then become enhanced with more features once a phone is connected(even just with hotspot from the phone for internet access). Is it possible to setup with spotify app with downloads for offline use? Or google maps with offline use? Android Auto is kind of the opposite, useless without the phone connection.

A quick summary of my application:
I have many parts that this project needs already available in my personal stock so the new expense is low to accomplish this project.
-The vehicle is an 88 Honda CR-X with no on board infotainment, it is simply a single din design originally.
-The audio system is designed with good quality drivers, to avoid additional expenditures at beginning there will be pi5>cheap usb to 3.5mm>RCA>a sub amp>a 4 channel amp for the door speakers
-The HUDIY device is a Ras Pi 5 with NVMe boot
-The display system is a dual screen with separate resolutions: 10" 2560x1600 in center console(right hand side of driver) and a 7" 1920x1080 on the other side of the steering wheel/gauge cluster(left). These connect via HDMI and USB, both with capacitive touch. Initial setup I am using the 10" alone due to challenges but the 2560x1600 resolution seems to be causing some difficulties in itself with the software so far.
-The ECU tuning and monitoring device is a NUC running windows 10(offline) that is switched with a KVM(USB and HDMI) on the 10" display only but considering trading in the kvm if I can find the right way to setup remote control in the pi5
-The vision system is controlled by a separate hidden cm4 with ups that will be a NVR for all car cameras

Pictures will be uploaded soon once this setup makes it off the bench and into the car.

Behavior right now as I'm setting up starts HUDIY in the 1920x1080 screen on the left in windowed mode with the window bar at the top. With android auto set as 1080p, it will start and fill the screen covering the HUDIY UI completely and I can't get back to the HUDIY UI without restarting. When resizing the HUDIY window to stretch across both screens, the bottom bar will move clock and phone status icons to the righthand screen and I can't drag the Android Auto screen. If I adjust x position starting at 1921, it will cover the HUDIY bottom bar clock and phone status info.

Ideal behavior would be to have the Android Auto on the left screen only with the HUDIY fully customized and sharing navigation data, music data, and offering the custom options(like camera viewing, later party LED control, equalizer etc) for the main view(and for passengers observation as well) or using the profiles, be able to switch AA between screens.

[hudiy]

LFAQ: How does the RasPi5 get internet service if it is broadcasting its own AP with the radio? If it never does, then how does the phone stream those apps to the Pi?

During Android Auto/CarPlay projection, everything happens on your phone. It can be compared to a 'Remote Desktop' setup. The head unit (e.g., a Raspberry Pi) simply displays the image from the phone (as a video stream), plays the audio, and sends back information regarding touch inputs or button presses. All the apps you launch, such as Waze or Spotify (including Android Auto itself, which is also an app), are actually running on your phone.

With the default configuration and my android phone connected via bluetooth, the navigation and the music player do not have an effect. Please point me in the direction for setting this up. *edit: noticed that once Android Auto is connected these widgets populate.

The navigation widget displays information from Android Auto or CarPlay. If you set a route in the navigation (e. g. in Waze) while Android Auto/CarPlay is active, the phone or the CarlinKit dongle transmits data about the current maneuver to the head unit.

The 'Now Playing' widget displays information about the currently playing track from various sources, including Android Auto, CarPlay, storage music player, FM radio, Bluetooth, or the web (e.g., YouTube Music integrated as an HTML/JavaScript app within Hudiy).

Once I am into the .json config file and making changes, what is the best practice to allow the changes to take effect? I am rebooting the entire Pi and hoping for a faster method.

The simplest way is to restart Hudiy itself. You can exit Hudiy by using the Quit button in the Main Menu (under the Hudiy category), and then start Hudiy again by running the following command in the terminal: $HOME/.hudiy/share/hudiy_run.sh

How does the configuration need to change from default to support the dual screen setups? I tried adjusting the "splitwithprojections" to TRUE and when that didn't work, tried adjusting the "windowwidth" to have the entire pixel count of both screens, I also tried "width" to have pixel count of both screens

Hudiy is simply a windowed application that runs on Raspberry Pi OS. The default window manager in Raspberry Pi OS is labwc. To run Hudiy on multiple screens, you must also configure labwc. You can find topics on our forum with instructions on how to run Hudiy on multiple screens and how to configure labwc.

viewtopic.php?t=21
viewforum.php?f=9
viewtopic.php?p=447

Do I need android auto at all if I'm going to fully use the HUDIY UI?

It all depends on whether you need the functionalities provided by Android Auto (mainly access to navigation apps). Hudiy itself is a standalone head unit application and does not require Android Auto or CarPlay to function.

Where can I find community and other example configs that I can learn from or utilize for my build?

You can find examples prepared by our team on our GitHub: https://github.com/wiboma/hudiy/tree/main/examples

There is also a projects section on our forum, where other users share their own setups:
viewforum.php?f=5
viewforum.php?f=15

If I want to deal with safe shutdown another time, how can I add a RasPi power down command to a single button press on the main bar?

You can add an icon to the shortcuts or the main menu that triggers an action you have registered. Actions can be registered via the API, for example, within your own Python script. Once the action is triggered (by pressing the button), your script can then execute a command, such as a reboot.

You can check out this thread on our forum for more details:

viewtopic.php?t=8
viewtopic.php?p=1242

Ideally this will operate without needing a phone connected(with USB GPS, local music files, etc) but then become enhanced with more features once a phone is connected(even just with hotspot from the phone for internet access). Is it possible to setup with spotify app with downloads for offline use? Or google maps with offline use? Android Auto is kind of the opposite, useless without the phone connection.

Spotify, Google Maps, and other apps running under Android Auto do not have native versions for Raspberry Pi OS. To use them, you must have a phone connected that is running Android Auto.