My 2015 LX570 Hamilton Install

[OregonLC]

I could be off on this, but for CarPlay to run audio through the vehicle, the truck has to have that mode selected. If on another mode, such as listening to Sirius, then the CarPlay app would be muted without a dedicated speaker.

Or is there a better way that Grom handles this scenario? If audio is from a CarPlay source then I agree it should be seamless.

 

[lx200inAR]

I could be off on this, but for CarPlay to run audio through the vehicle, the truck has to have that mode selected. If on another mode, such as listening to Sirius, then the CarPlay app would be muted without a dedicated speaker.

Or is there a better way that Grom handles this scenario? If audio is from a CarPlay source then I agree it should be seamless.

The Grom won’t allow you to have CarPlay active and also listen to the on board Sirius…so that is how it deals with it.

 

[OregonLC]

Is that how the Hamilton functions as well? I thought I saw in a vid where you could have CarPlay running a map while also listening to the radio? I could be totally misunderstanding on this also.

 

[lx200inAR]

Is that how the Hamilton functions as well? I thought I saw in a vid where you could have CarPlay running a map while also listening to the radio? I could be totally misunderstanding on this also.

I suspect it works the way you think. The launch button for the Grom is the Aux/USB button, and that is how you get the system to switch to the Grom screen. Therefore no way to have the Grom on screen and not be on the AUX input. The Hamilton allows you to switch freely between OEM and CarPlay without changing audio inputs.

 

[prharper]

Got mine installed today and no drama. Also added a Gamiviti dash panel.

Installed the Hamilton unit that came with the speaker (the other one they sent did not come with speaker). I mounted the speaker under the Gamaviit panel near the center OEM speaker, closer to windshield. I also ran a USB cable form the phone mount arm, thru a hole in the dash panel and connected it to the USB female cable supplied by Hamilton that's part of one of the wiring harnesses. I prefer wired audio instead of Bluetooth.

While in their also added an Apple AirTag with one of those cases that hold 2 AA lithium batteries that are supposed to last 10 years. @bloc turned me on to this case. Removed the Airtag speaker before installing in the case.

After getting the screen and radio re-installed, connected the negative cable back to battery and fired it up.
The Hamilton splash screen showed up on the display. Then got a screen asking if I wanted to connect via wireless. I intentionally said no because I wanted to test the USB connection from unit to the phone. It worked. I then went into the Hamilton OS menu and added the phone via Bluetooth, it also worked while not connected to USB.

I was quite surprised how everything just worked considering what OP went thru.

I wanted to test the audio from different sources.
Selected XMradio from the OEM unit. That played thru the OEM speakers. Then switched over to the CarPlay menu and selected Waze. Punched in a trip, Costco gas station. Turn by turn audio was announced on the Hamilton speaker while listening to XM on OEM. Although the Waze audio was faint. There is a setting in the OS of the Hamilton for volume, you can adjust volume for that speaker and OEM speakers. Mine was at 60% for Hamilton speaker so bumped up to 100% and much better.

Went to OEM Audio setting and selected Line input which is what Hamilton uses. Waze announced turn by turn directions over the OEM speakers which is what I expected.

The big test, phone quality. Called my teenage son, his audio was normal and said my voice sounded fine. I'll take that feedback with a grain of salt. The real test will be a few work conference calls and I will see how that goes. I'll report back after using this for a week.

Some photos showing OS version and vendor.

 

[OregonLC]

Selected XMradio from the OEM unit. That played thru the OEM speakers. Then switched over to the CarPlay menu and selected Waze. Punched in a trip, Costco gas station. Turn by turn audio was announced on the Hamilton speaker while listening to XM on OEM. Although the Waze audio was faint. There is a setting in the OS of the Hamilton for volume, you can adjust volume for that speaker and OEM speakers. Mine was at 60% for Hamilton speaker so bumped up to 100% and much better.

Awesome. This sounds like a great solution for those who appreciate old-school DJs on FM/XM and still want modern CarPlay app utility.

 

[ras0ne]

Since the Hamilton unit (without ext speaker) is using the AUX channel, if you're using the radio, you won't hear any notifications even though something like maps is in use.

The only solution I can see this this is hardwiring the Hamilton audio into the OEM lines somehow.

 

[prharper]

Support got back to me and we got to a quick solution.

Instead of using the Hamilton unit Bluetooth connection, we used the oem Bluetooth. Everything else works great after that. If you have this unit and are having trouble, here's how to fix:

Go to the Settings page.
Then go to the advanced settings. It will be password protected. Password is 8868.
Under CarPlay, switch to phone.

That should fix everything. I tested with my wife and call quality was back to original. Meanwhile all the other functionality like CarPlay works as normal. Not sure why this isn't the default.

I’ve had my Hamilton installed for a few weeks now. Was talking to a co-worker on the phone who said that when I talked it sounded like I had my window down, when not talking sounded fine.

I made the above setting. Called my wife and she said it sounded fine, like it always has sounded. Problem solved with phone audio. Thanks @mschop for posting this. Agreed, should have been default setting.

 

[ras0ne]

I’ve had my Hamilton installed for a few weeks now. Was talking to a co-worker on the phone who said that when I talked it sounded like I had my window down, when not talking sounded fine.

I made the above setting. Called my wife and she said it sounded fine, like it always has sounded. Problem solved with phone audio. Thanks @mschop for posting this. Agreed, should have been default setting.

Nice

I don't know why, but I tried it that way and it worked a little better, but there was still some issues for me.

 

[prharper]

I have noticed that when I have Waze running, via Car Play, sometimes the unit will revert back to factory nav on it's own....

 

[Bhebert449]

I ordered the Hamilton unit for my 2015 LX570 yesterday. I plan to install myself using the video from rasOne as well as the Youtube videos Hamiton produces. Other than the phone issue are there any other things I should be aware of when setting up the unit? I want to ensure everything is "plug and play" once I get the unit installed and configured. Also, I am not sure I understand the solution to fix the echo on the phone issue.

 

[ras0ne]

I could be off on this, but for CarPlay to run audio through the vehicle, the truck has to have that mode selected. If on another mode, such as listening to Sirius, then the CarPlay app would be muted without a dedicated speaker.

Or is there a better way that Grom handles this scenario? If audio is from a CarPlay source then I agree it should be seamless.

If you setup the unit per the directions it works like this...

Phone connects to unit via Bluetooth\USB
Unit connects to factory unit via AUX

Sound from the unit would be heard when the factory system is set to AUX

If you want want from the other channels Radio\CD\Sattelite, the you have to set the factory unit to said channel

I kind of cover it in my video

BUT...in some cases, due to microphone issues, Hamilton will direct you to use BT for the connection and I'm not too versed on that

 

[ras0ne]

I ordered the Hamilton unit for my 2015 LX570 yesterday. I plan to install myself using the video from rasOne as well as the Youtube videos Hamiton produces. Other than the phone issue are there any other things I should be aware of when setting up the unit? I want to ensure everything is "plug and play" once I get the unit installed and configured. Also, I am not sure I understand the solution to fix the echo on the phone issue.

Here's s link with timestamp where I cover how I fixed the mic echo issue



Hamilton has a PDF they send you, if you have the mic echo issue, to where they have you use BT instead of the AUX connection, but I didn't find that solution any better.

The unit has it's own OS menu to which Hamilton doesn't have any documentation for and when asked they told me to contact the manufacturer, which leads me to believe these are just run of the mill units from China that companies throw their branding on. With that said though, these units\kits seem to be of good quality and Hamilton does provide good support.

I think the optimal "fix" is to install and external mic, that you can plug into the Hamilton unit, and configure it that way.

I haven't gone that route as the what I did in the video seems to work fine.

 

[ras0ne]

Got mine installed today and no drama. Also added a Gamiviti dash panel.

Installed the Hamilton unit that came with the speaker (the other one they sent did not come with speaker). I mounted the speaker under the Gamaviit panel near the center OEM speaker, closer to windshield. I also ran a USB cable form the phone mount arm, thru a hole in the dash panel and connected it to the USB female cable supplied by Hamilton that's part of one of the wiring harnesses. I prefer wired audio instead of Bluetooth.

While in their also added an Apple AirTag with one of those cases that hold 2 AA lithium batteries that are supposed to last 10 years. @bloc turned me on to this case. Removed the Airtag speaker before installing in the case.

After getting the screen and radio re-installed, connected the negative cable back to battery and fired it up.
The Hamilton splash screen showed up on the display. Then got a screen asking if I wanted to connect via wireless. I intentionally said no because I wanted to test the USB connection from unit to the phone. It worked. I then went into the Hamilton OS menu and added the phone via Bluetooth, it also worked while not connected to USB.

I was quite surprised how everything just worked considering what OP went thru.

I wanted to test the audio from different sources.
Selected XMradio from the OEM unit. That played thru the OEM speakers. Then switched over to the CarPlay menu and selected Waze. Punched in a trip, Costco gas station. Turn by turn audio was announced on the Hamilton speaker while listening to XM on OEM. Although the Waze audio was faint. There is a setting in the OS of the Hamilton for volume, you can adjust volume for that speaker and OEM speakers. Mine was at 60% for Hamilton speaker so bumped up to 100% and much better.

Went to OEM Audio setting and selected Line input which is what Hamilton uses. Waze announced turn by turn directions over the OEM speakers which is what I expected.

The big test, phone quality. Called my teenage son, his audio was normal and said my voice sounded fine. I'll take that feedback with a grain of salt. The real test will be a few work conference calls and I will see how that goes. I'll report back after using this for a week.

Some photos showing OS version and vendor.

View attachment 3856877

View attachment 3856878

View attachment 3856881

Looking at your pictures it seems the unit you have may be a whole different model.

Unit UI looks totally different. I don't have any of those menu options on mine. Maybe yours has a newer firmware?

As for the feed back difference. I would be willing to bet the mic system on the newer 200 series is prob better than what was installed back in 2015.

 

[ras0ne]

I just installed mine but it looks like they gave me a different box with a different ui. Everything seems to work great but I'm also running into the echo problem where people on the other side will hear themselves.

Anyone else figure out a solution for the other interface? Here's what mine looks like and I don't see a "echo cancellation"

View attachment 3850581

View attachment 3850582

Maybe scroll down and look for audio?

 

[Bhebert449]

Is there a way to watch live video on this unit?

 

[ras0ne]

Is there a way to watch live video on this unit?

I don't think so

 

[Barry Dingle]

I installed a hamilton unit a few weeks ago on my 2016. Its nearly seamless, factory mic works, backup cam, etc. WAY BETTER than the hot garbage Grom sells.

 

[Ratchey]

I will be installing a unit fairly soon for testing. This will be for the 2009-2011 models. Looking forward to having a usable map on the screen that isn't 16 years old.