Smooth Operation

ARB LINX INTEGRATES SEAMLESSLY WITH YOUR 4X4 TO OFFER TOUCHSCREEN CONTROL OVER A WIDE RANGE OF VEHICLE ACCESSORIES.

- Dean Mellor

THE new ARB LINX offers control over equipment such as driving lights, light bars, air compressors and lockers from a compact dash-mounted touchscreen device. LINX seamlessly integrates with the vehicle and, as well as offering fingertip control over accessories, displays additional information such as battery status and vehicle speed, and it can be personalised by adding third-party apps. It’s also fully customisable, updateable and upgradeable.

By consolidating accessory controls onto one central device, your vehicle’s dash is decluttered and there’s no need to drill holes throughout the cabin to locate various accessory switches.

HOW DOES LINX WORK?

LINX consists of two main components: a touchscreen mobile display that’s mounted on the vehicle dash; and an out-of-sight controller that’s wired to all of the relevant vehicle accessories. On most vehicles the controller is mounted under the dash or behind the seat.

The controller and the mobile display are connected to each other via USB or Bluetooth, and they share sensor data, so the system is aware if the vehicle’s lights are on or off, if the high-beam is on, or if the vehicle’s ignition is in the accessory (ACC) position. The mobile display also has an inbuilt GPS, so it can determine vehicle location and speed, which allows the controller and display to share data back and forth to make decisions about what to do with the vehicle accessories.

“Because it’s communicating with the onboard controller, the display knows when you’ve turned off the vehicle and gone into your house for the night,” said Daniel Bongard, ARB Senior Designer and Engineering Supervisor. “Then, when you put it back on the mount the next morning and start the vehicle, the LINX display will wake up and run.