PiCar: Raspberry Pi Car Radio with RTL-SDR, CAN Bus Hacking,

PiCar: Raspberry Pi Car Radio with RTL-SDR, CAN Bus Hacking, and Retro Vibes

Let’s be honest — factory radios are boring. I wanted something smarter, nerdier, and way more fun. So I built PiCar: a full-featured, Raspberry Pi-powered head unit replacement for my Jeep JK.

This isn’t just a media player — it’s a rolling testbed for software-defined radio (SDR), CAN bus hacking, GPS tracking, power management, and a handful of sensors.

🚙 Features

VFD display to match the vintage dashboard vibe

• VFD display to match the vintage dashboard vibe

RTL-SDR for AM/FM and digital radio

• RTL-SDR for AM/FM and digital radio

GPS for position and timekeeping

• GPS for position and timekeeping

CAN bus integration (Jeep + GM networks)

• CAN bus integration (Jeep + GM networks)

iPhone audio over Bluetooth

• iPhone audio over Bluetooth

External temp via 1-wire sensors

• External temp via 1-wire sensors

Two knobs + LED rings for user interface

• Two knobs + LED rings for user interface

Power-safe shutdown + startup system

• Power-safe shutdown + startup system

4-speaker output — no subwoofer, just solid sound

• 4-speaker output — no subwoofer, just solid sound

🔧 Hardware

Raspberry Pi 4

• Raspberry Pi 4

RTL-SDR USB dongle

• RTL-SDR USB dongle

Vacuum fluorescent display (VFD)

• Vacuum fluorescent display (VFD)

MCP2515 CAN interface

• MCP2515 CAN interface

GPS module (u-blox)

• GPS module (u-blox)

Rotary encoders w/ LED rings

• Rotary encoders w/ LED rings

External 1-wire sensors

• External 1-wire sensors

Custom power management circuit

• Custom power management circuit

🧠 Software Stack

Raspberry Pi OS

• Raspberry Pi OS

rtl_fm + other SDR tools

• rtl_fm + other SDR tools

Python for CAN + sensor logic

• Python for CAN + sensor logic

ALSA audio tuning

• ALSA audio tuning

Systemd-managed service daemons

• Systemd-managed service daemons

Bluetooth audio handling

• Bluetooth audio handling

📚 Full Build Series

I’ve documented the whole journey in a multi-part blog, covering everything from CAN bus reverse engineering to building a custom safe shutdown system:

➡️ Read the full PiCar project series