Dual Din Head Unit - Low Profile Solution

[Salvagedcircuit]

I was looking high and low for replacement radios for the comanche. Physical media-less head units have been shrinking over the years due to further semiconductor integration and a wider range of multimedia system-on-chip parts. The good news is It looks like the days of hacking into the dash air tubing are behind us. I ran into this post on reddit and one somewhere on facebook that uses an alpine ~3in thick dual-din head unit. 

 

This is the same format sold today under a few part numbers. All support wireless carplay / android auto.
Alpine iLX-W770
Kenwood DMX809S
Kenwood DMX8709S
JVC KW-M875BW
Kenwood DMX958XR
Pioneer DMH-W4660NEX

 

 

These radios are truly tiny. I made a cardboard cutout to check fitment. I made a 178*100*70mm hot-glued cardboard box to serve as a template. Fits like a glove!

 

The original poster definitely exaggerated a bit that no modification was needed though. 

It looks like the bottom 1/16in plastic lip needs to be trimmed and one of the plastic ribs on the bottom of the HVAC controls needs to be trimmed as well. Once this is done, the HVAC controls should be able to sit flush with the bottom air vent and allow the top space to be consumed by the dual din unit.

 

I like the idea of one simple large display, but I need knobs. So I would wire in an external multi-function knob in the switch area near the steering wheel. The orange switches are there for show at the moment. There is an external control port on all these radio for basic steering wheel control on early 2000s cars so I should be able to tap into that or make a simple circuit board for a mechanical rotary encoder.

 

 

Otherwise, the 8in joying radio is an interesting choice that I was unfamiliar with until now. I know @ghetdjc320 likes his smaller joying unit. The 8in doesn't look too shabby, but from what I've read, this one requires extensive modifications to fit. Moving the controls down does not seem so bad, but I'm 100% not on board with cutting into the rear air duct work. More decisions

 

 

 

[ghetdjc320]

The 6.7 joying is a drop in replacement in stock location but I can’t seem to find any more of them available. 
I also installed a double din Sony unit on my last MJ as it only uses a shallow single din chasis. It does require airbox mods though. 

[Tex06]

This came across my Google News feed. Very much hoping for a US version.

 

https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-cassette-deck-on-pioneers-new-retro-head-unit-is-actually-a-usb-port

Edited May 23 by Tex06
Cleaner link & pictures

[Salvagedcircuit]

14 minutes ago, Tex06 said:

This came across my Google News feed. Very much hoping for a US version.

 

https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-cassette-deck-on-pioneers-new-retro-head-unit-is-actually-a-usb-port

Yeah! I saw this, its looking good. Hopefully we get some actual reviews and crutchfield caries it.