Hey guys im looking to do a carputer, me and my friend have sourced alot of the parts. We just javent ordered anything yet. I wanted to know what was your hardest and biggest issues on it. Anything i really need to know? Also, how would i go about using an extra battery as the power source? And how would i get rid of some of the vibration? Do you mind sending pics of your setup, or posting them. Thanks guys.

ps - by carptuer i dont mean just a laptop in your car, im talking about everything hardwired into the car.

trizzy - i don't any info to answer your question, but am interested in the idea. are you planning on a laptop HDD based system with a touch screen of some sort? TIA, and keep us updated.

the power supply is the biggest deal. once you pick that all your other parts are easy to pick b/c that is what holds you back. take a look at the www.mp3car.com forums. it all depends on how much money you want to spend there, then going from there. I run my setup w/ a 90 watt opus, and i dont have any problems, but i dont have much extras either. Tell me al ittle more about what you are wanting and your questions will be easiar to answer. the one mistake i made the first time was not going w/ a vga screen. defineitely go w/ teh vga, preferably the xenarc over the lilliput

exrage - what was the total cost of your system (if you don't mind saying)? thanks.

exrage - what was the total cost of your system (if you don't mind saying)? thanks.

No I don't mind you asking. I am assuming you just mean the cpu components so I won't add the stereo... Anything I bought used I'll put an * next to, and list the price I bought for and the price it lists at.

Mobo - Via Epia M10000 - *135.00 - 175.00

hdd - 120 gig 3.5" (desktop) - 45.00

PSU - dc-dc opus 90 watt - *145.00 - 160.00

monitor - Xenarc 700tsv (7" touch screen) - ebay 360.00

I bought a mx4000 nvidia video card for 50 bucks at cc, but it wasnt necessary, just easiar to achieve the 800x400 native resolution of the xenarc

dvd/cdrom - thin slot load panasonic w/ ide adapter - 80 bucks

case - 10x10x4 junction box modified to work - 20 bucks

ps2 keyboard and mouse for back up - 25 bucks

Then you have to basically have an amp wiring kit to get the power to the opus which was another 25 bucks or so. Now that is what i spent, roughly 750, it can be done for cheaper or for more... There were some more cable expenses in there that probably were about another 15 bucks or so for extension cables and what not.

exrage - great info. thanks!

btw - id have no problem building one for someone for 50 bucks over parts. I really like doing it (especially w/ someone elses money), and if you are close enough id help install...

exrage - i checked out mp3car.com and my head is spinning (although i'm intrigued!). if you could answer a couple of questions for me that would be great:

current setup in my 2003 WRX wagon: Sony HU w/ CD changer, four channel amp powering door speakers, 2 channel (bridged) amp powering sub.

goal: install a source unit that will hold at least 40 GB of mp3’s. I’d like to eliminate the need for a second source unit (e.g. my Sony HU) and run it purely off a touch screen.

Question #1: can you give me a list of the essential components that I’ll need? so far I’ve narrowed it down to:

1. motherboard w/ integrated video/sound cards
2. HDD
3. PSU
4. touchscreen
5. case

I’m not interested in GPS, video games, or DVD’s. just want to have my entire library of mp3’s in my car.

Question #2: Is it possible to keep the cost below $500? It sounds like the most expensive component will be the screen…

Thanks for all of the help!

Thanks for the info exrage. Right now, ive got my computer friend helping me out (hes awsome).

Well heres waht my plans are. I want to run a visiable computer. Boxed in a plexiglass case behind the rear seats. Its mainly for show. But i want the computer to run navigation system and mainly MP3s. I can care less about games. Ive got the MattJK setup now, and i plan on running a converter from RCA to VGA. Hopefully that wont be too much trouble. Tell me what you think. And do you have pics of ur setup? Thanks

my lcd is optimized for ntsc video standard (DVD's). if you are going to run a computer, you should really get an SVGA LCD. Conversely, an SVGA LCD will not look that good playing a regular dvd player.

current setup in my 2003 WRX wagon: Sony HU w/ CD changer, four channel amp powering door speakers, 2 channel (bridged) amp powering sub.

goal: install a source unit that will hold at least 40 GB of mp3’s. I’d like to eliminate the need for a second source unit (e.g. my Sony HU) and run it purely off a touch screen.

Question #1: can you give me a list of the essential components that I’ll need? so far I’ve narrowed it down to:

1. motherboard w/ integrated video/sound cards
2. HDD
3. PSU
4. touchscreen
5. case


Question #2: Is it possible to keep the cost below $500? It sounds like the most expensive component will be the screen…

Thanks for all of the help!

chewie - Your list is about right. with the right motherboard, such as the via m10k or the mII12k you can run six channel audio from the mother board right into your amp, so you'd be able to eliminate your head unit.

If you went with a lilliput touchscreen and buy used parts you could possibly keep it under 500. There is a part that I forgot to list in my original setup, and that was 512 of ram. If you really are not interested in doing movies, you could easily go w/ less ram.

Even though 40 gigs seems like enough now I would definitely go larger for future additions. To compare the lilliput to the xenarc, the lilli is cheaper b/c its not as bright and has a real history of the touchscreen not staying accurate. Also it has horrible customer service. If you read the lcd forum at mp3car then you should be able to get all the info you need to make that decision.

any other questions just ask...

Well heres waht my plans are. I want to run a visiable computer. Boxed in a plexiglass case behind the rear seats. Its mainly for show. But i want the computer to run navigation system and mainly MP3s. I can care less about games. Ive got the MattJK setup now, and i plan on running a converter from RCA to VGA. Hopefully that wont be too much trouble. Tell me what you think. And do you have pics of ur setup? Thanks

Trizzy-

I am not familiar w/ the mattjk set up, but from what he posted just north of here it is just a composite or svideo screen. The vga converter will convert teh signal, but it will not convert the quality. If you are wanting to run navigation or mp3s you are going to need to be able to read the text on the screen. You will not be able to read text on a screen that small if it is not a true vga screen. If you are going to be running a lot of extras and neons and such you better buy a beefy psu. The psu is a key to this whole carpc setup.

As for pics, I am planning on taking them after I get the rest of my system in. The cpu is set up and installed, but I have to fiber glass add a couple amps and my quarts front end. After I get it all done, I'll take lots of pics to show off and do a write up. I have no problem answering any questions I can along the way for the rest of you.

Thanks for the info...I can't wait to see the pics!!

I'm sure others will come up, but here's a fairly dumb one. The moniter (which I'd like to see how yours is mounted) has a few buttons on it, how do you use them if they're hidden (mainly the power button).

Mike~~

Well I am using the xenarc, and it has auto power on. I think the lilli also has auto on when it detects a signal, but i am not too sure. It has been a while since I decided I was going w/ the xenarc instead of the lilli, so don't quite remember. I set teh screen up for auto everything, brightness, resolution detect and such before teh install so i shouldnt have to mess w/ it again at all...(knock on wood)

We are looking to get our unit in a few cars, we wanted local, but anything would help us right now.

I posted a thread here, check it out...

-Matt

Ok thanks for the inof on the Mattjk Screen. how much extra would it be for you to convert it over for me Matt? Like if i send you mine, could you make me another. Oh and to compensate, ill also send you my old bezel.

Thanks everyone else for the input.

I plan on running the carputer off of an extra battery in the trunk. Any thoughts on that? Thanks

that wont work, it will die... you have to run it off an altenator unless you are going to run a line from your main battery to your aux. battery in the trunk...

if you run the opus, it draws less power than most amps at 90 or 150 watts... let me reiterate and emphasize the PSU is very important...

Ok thanks for the info, ill relay that to my ugh...mechanic, lol.

look like most of these guys have answered your questions, but I'll add a little.

Power supply is the most important, you want something that can be connected to your accesory wire and will make the computer hibernate. You should not need another battery.

www.mini-itx.com (http://www.mini-itx.com) have a new car case with power supply that would fit nicely under the seat.

Also check out:

http://www.thisstrife.com/carproject/

These are some of the resources I used to build mine. Its really easy if you have ever installed a HU you should be able to do this.

I've done a few car PC's over the past 5 years and I can certainly give you some of the insight I've gained.

1. Everyone is correct, power is the most important part. I finally switched to a laptop based design because, a.) it has a battery backup for when you're doing things like cranking the engine, no need to worry about a dip in voltage killing the PC. b.) It's easy to just feed it in in DC 16V or whatever the laptop takes and not have to deal with wiring things up, dc to ac to dc or any other garbage.

2. The screen makes the system work or not for navigation. If on the other hand all you care about is MP3 files, you may not even need a screen. I've used just a 40 character LCD run off the parallel port as well as no screen at all, just playlists that I use a number pad to skip back and forth on. (For the easiest MP3 only system, today I'd recommend you skip the PC altogether and for under 500 you can have a IPod in the car with 40GB of songs and you can take it with you.)

3. For navigation and whatnot, only a VGA screen will do and in the car and only the touch screen is safe. I've used trackpoint and touchpad based control and you have to look at the screen for too long as you move the cursor along. A touch screen is fast, you look at it, touch the control, done. Trust me, I almost rear ended a car while trying to select a waypoint for navigation.

4. ONLY a laptop HD will last. I tried everything for shock resistance and killed to 3.5" hard drives. The laptop drives are the only thing that will survive the heat/cold/vibration in a car.

My current setup, an 8" Lilliput touchscreen at 1024x768 resolution. An old IBM thinkpad laptop mounted hidden away with 292 MB of ram and a 20 GB hard drive. An 802.11g wireless card to transfer songs from the house to the car and back. It's also setup with a USB connection to my cell phone, T-Mobile so I have unlimited internet anywhere I get cell phone reception. (For free I might add.) A Holux usb gps receiver that sits on the rear deck of the car and is virtually invisible. (Great reception, fantastic aquire times, it has the satellites before the system manages to boot.) I'm working on a cable to allow me to put the DVD drive in the dash, for now I pull the laptop out to put in a DVD. Divx so most of the time I just load the movie to the laptop and play it from there. I have a USB hub in the center console for when I want to hookup the external hard drive to bring in BIG stuff like movies for a trip. The only things I still want are an OBDII scan connector to let me do digital gauges of boost, egt. etc. Then you can also log data a do HP in realtime as well as datalogging. I'd like to mount the screen eventually in the dash, but I need to get it to have an AM/FM tuner first so I can pull the stereo. The things I'm still working on are a quicker boot, currently it's 45 seconds and I don't thin I can do it faster without different hardware or a different OS. (Windows XP currently because I couldn't get all the linux drivers.)

My boot is 23-25 seconds, depending on when the opus gets a good feed. I am and have been using a 3.5 hdd and have had no problems. if you mount it vertically it should be ok. depends on the brand of drive i guess. i think my is a western digital, and it survived a head on collision. its rated at 2 gs when spinning and 17 when not.

btw, for your dvd drive, why dont you get a usb casing/sleeve or firewire casing to slap another laptop dvd drive into... little slower on data transfer but if all you want to do is run movies and such off of it, that would work great

one more thing ardinos, the best interface and one that i am going to be using soon is delta dash... look it up at ecutek.com, its better than obdII for the subarus...

and i also am running xp home

Thanks for the info again... Right now im gonna rethink my plan of action on it all, thanks to the info you guys gave me. So i just need to collect as much info as i can. Would the rest of you guys recomend the Laptop DC16v over anything else? because that sounds easy enough. Thanks
-mike

it probably would be the easiest, but not the most efficient or coolest...

To give some more thoughts about the car PC.

An in car computer based on PC not laptop, it allows you to have PCI cards for stereo and is a bit more flexible in terms of what ports are available.

A laptop easiest to remove, (think detachable faceplate on a stereo), and easiest to work on if you want to upgrade things and don't want to sit in the car. I've used remote desktop and that works too, but I had to leave the car running or set things to not shut off for a long time, making me worry about my battery. Power is easiest for a laptop, I've done both and found the laptop to be the easier of the two solutions.

That being said a car PC is the only solution that will truly let you replace the car stereo, since i haven't found a USB radio tuner for the laptop to let it do the AM/FM stereo part of the car stereo.

I've seen delta dash and it rocks, but seems a bit pricey. I've been waiting to see what Cobb comes out with, if their tuner program is good and I can get logs going to the PC, I can write something to do gauges off the logs.

My boot time is slow, I think because of the old hardware and lack of time I've spent optimizing it. I had the same system boot in sub 30 seconds with Linux, where 10 seconds was the BIOS, but drivers were such a pain I abandoned it.

As to drives, I had mine die I think from the cold/heat cycling, it may not have been vibration. It was usually in the winter they died, the laptop drives are rated for extremes of heat and cold while 3.5" drives aren't. I figured the cold combined with the vibration was just too much. Interestingly I never had a drive die in the summer.

Power is the biggest concern and something you really have to be safe about. I almost caught the car on fire when a PSU shorted and caught some foam I had around the PC for vibration resistance on fire. It turned out a corner of the mother board was touching something it shouldn't have and apparently was arcing and got hot enough to make the foam smoulder. I smelt something, popped the trunk and out came a bunch of smoke. Laptops don't have that problem:)

Wow...thats interesting. Now you guys have been leaning me towards just a laptop parts mounted in the car!

I will agree again that laptops are the easiest route, just not the cheapest as far as bang for buck, and if you want to change something hardware wise you almost have to start over again...

it all depends on what your plans are, long term/short term... just mp3s/navigaion/movies... all has to be taken into consideration...

Agreed, Laptops are the easiest, just not necessarily the cheapest.

Except in my case where because of my job, I get to figure out what to do with the old laptops:)

I had 3 identical IBM laptops to work with and that made it very cheap. A screen, (you'd need that for any car computer project,) a usb gps mouse and I was in business.

Flexibility, no it doesn't provide all the flexibility of a built in in terms of hardware, but I had to balance ease of maintenance and installation versus flexibility. In the end, the ease of using a laptop won out.

My favorite solution is a touch screen running off the VGA port of a laptop stuffed somewhere. Small ones, (12") fit in the glove compartment nicely. Big ones require more creativity.

No one solution is right, each has its pros and cons. For me it was the ease of a laptop solution that won me over.

As to mounting a laptop in the car, some companies make laptop stands or you can build one. It works, but the touch screen makes it so much more usable, I highly recommend you consider using one. That way the computer doesn't get in the way and you don't have so much clutter in the cabin. You can buy an 8" 1024x768 real resolution touchscreen for sub $300, it really is worth it if you have the cash. (It only took me 4 years to finally break down and buy one.)

does anyone know if the liliput is large enough to fit flush in the bezel if the shroud is removed, kinda mattjk style?

w/ a little plastic bondo modification, yes...

the 7" lilli, not the 8"

8" is larger and requires more work

I don't know if anyone already mentioned this, but get a wireless nic for a few bucks so you can transfer MP3's to your car from your desktop inside easily.... or check your email at hotspots. :)

Mac Mini. Now that looks litke it would be a great car'puter. 6.5" square and 2 " high. It just needs a larger HDD if possible.

There was another thread started about the Mac Mini. Agreed, it's a nice little package, and Mac makes pretty reliable stuff. The downside with the Mac, IMO, is the power supply issue. I believe it has an internal power supply, which means you need an inverter (which provides sloppy power in some cases and is very inefficient). Mini-itx computers and laptops, on the other hand, run off of 12 V, which means they simply need a voltage regulator (or a smart automotive power supply for cranking).

Personally, I like the laptop idea. I think it's a lot easier to justify a carputer if you can take it out and use it at your leisure. With a universal port replicator and a touchscreen LCD monitor, you can achieve a pretty sweet setup.

How practical is a carputer to live with everyday, like to switch tracks quickly and turn up and down the volume, also wouldn't you need a pretty nice sound card if you have an amped aftermarket system?

I run mine through my cd changer controls, and just use the head unit for volume and equalizing. i have all my speakers running off of amps and no problems. make sure everything is grounded correctly and in the right place and it shouldnt be a problem...

as for the power supply, mini-itx doesnt run off of dc power unless you have a dc power supply. a mini-itx board connector is exactly the same as a atx or micro-atx power connector.

I don't know how many times I'll say this, It's all about the PSU (Power Supply) people...

as for switching tracks and what not, it all depends on your setup. I just run winamp on my touchscreen, double tap w/ the finger and i have about 210 full cds at my fingertips w/out any problems whatsoever. Avi and dvd's the same way...

It's pretty practical for everyday use in my book. I find it to be easy with the touch screen. Without it. . .

can you hook up a opus 12V 90W power supply and run an old busted screen laptop and use a lilliput? think it'll work the same as the mp3car type carputer, because busted laptops can be had on ebay for around 300

laptops cant run off of the opus i dont think b/c i dont believe they use the same atx connection... with modification maybe... if you were going to use a laptop why dont you just get the dc/dc egg that are offered w/ most laptops and hardwire that into the car, and also power the lilli, get a xenarc, the same way. an opus is not necessary w/ a laptop...

Has anyone thought of the new Windows Media Center Laptops? Almost all of them have a 5 second boot switch that just starts up the Media functions and drivers needed for playing DVD's and MP3/WMA files without booting the entire XP OS, it also works in reverse for immediate shutdowns without wasting power in hibernate or standby. It has been touted as working much like a standard DVD/CD Player on the go.


By the way, I've been looking into this for a while, but I still havent found any info on what kind of wattage the alternator puts out (I have a 98 Impreza RS), thats really the only thing holding me back (besides the obvious issue of cash).

you wouldnt want to run anything straight off the altenator, you would want some kind of psu to clean up and steady the power...

whats a psu?

whats a psu?

Power
Supply
Unit

:banana:

oh i see, thx! ;D

so if I used a laptop, can you run a external dvd drive? without an inverter? i was thining about mounting that in the center gauge pod area (where the clock is)
can laptops have remote turn on and car-safe shutoff ?

depending on the laptops mobo and os I am sure just about any would have this capability. for my instance if my laptop is closed and there isnt a power source connected it goes into hibernation. you can run an external via usb port...

I am wondering how much power a laptop would draw in hibernation, my guess is if its wired to the accessory, it would shut power off and the laptop would run on its batteries until it dies, which is like 100+ hours in hibernation....
or does the dc/dc egg have an auto shut off? would it be as efficient as a power supply?
would a laptop be able to get the resolution needed for the lilliput?

Hmm. I'm still a little confused as to what is being discussed now but it's coming around.

Can you further explain how to control the volume w/o a head unit? Do you just control it with winamp or what ever audio/visual device you are using. Does this mean the speakers are maxed out at all times. I ask this because I don't plan on doing any audio upgrades for the time being, so the stock speakers are what I plan to use (I still am not sure as to how to hook them up).

Also, this might be far out, but it's coming from a newbie to these things so bear with me. In the future, what about hooking up a nice computer audio system. I have heard some great sounding ones, and they can be had at the fraction of the price of a decent car set-up. Would you run into problems with two spearate volume controls?

Also, what about cooling. I would like to mount the carpc behind the glove box. Will it run to hot, should I take some fire/safety precautions? On the same note, I live in NY, so the climate changes a lot. Would condensation be an issue?

Lastly, other than the mounting, which to me is not difficult to make a few custom brackets, would this be largely difficult to set up. How exactly does it get power, I've heard of using an amp wiring kit (maybe it was posted in this thread, I forgot :p). Is it hard to connect to the carputer? Is there a lot of wiring involved?

Lastly, will you run into problems if you start the car after the carputer has powered up? For instance you are parked and just have the car in the 'on' position to listen to music. You go to leave and start the car up, will you have to shut down the comp first?

Thanks for the help!!

Bumpp.

I control the volume using Winamp and the volume controls for Windows.

With a laptop cooling isn't so much of an issue, they're designed to run in extremes of temperatures. With a PC you need to do some work, run the core at a low voltage or get a setup that is extremely heat tolerant. Preferably one that is self monitoring and shuts down if it gets too hot. You won't be running the latest greatest CPU overclocked in your car.

Condensation, vibration, again not as much of an issue with a laptop, for a PC, run a laptop hard drive and you should be fine.

Power is always the issue, it's possible to get a controler to setup the PC to use the car battery as a UPS and shutdown only after x minutes. You need a very accurate power supply because if the voltage dips too much the computer dies.

My solution again was a laptop. I have mine set to shutdown not hibernate because I have issues with it waking up and finding all the hardware. (If you can get it to work I can hibernate for 3+ days, it is an attractive option since it's instant on.) Once the battery dips to 20% it shuts down automatically, since it has its own battery, no issues with starting the car resulting in a power dip that shuts down the computer. As to shutting the lid without power causing it to hibernate, that is a setting, (unless you're using a mac which I'm looking into.)

You can run external DVD's via a USB drive I believe. I haven't looked into it yet, I just keep some DivX movies on the drive and I swap them via wireless at the house:)

As to setting the laptop to self power on car start, it depends on the laptop. I'm looking into it for my laptop which uses a momentary switch. The problem is getting at the damn thing and figuring out how to add an external jack to plug the switch for the car into. You'd use a relay so that when the accesory line is powered, it trips the switch. Not a very hard circut but I haven't done it yet so. . .

heat is not an issue if you use an itx board, also there are ir remotes, via usb, that you can use through most mp3 and video programs, winamp, windowsmedia, windvd, that let you control volume and track change through the pc if you want to eliminate the head unit...

if mount vertically and dont offroad too much you can use a 3.5" hdd and should be ok. also, the price of 3 or 4 3.5" hdd is about the same as a laptops, so just depends how you want to look at it...

Ya, the hdd is not a problem. I planned on using a lap top drive anyway. I'm glad I don't have to be to concerned about heat. Do any of you guys have install pictures, I understand how the carputer gets power, just not where you source it from and how to connect it to the source.

Thanks again for all the help guys.

Mike~~

Exrage brings up a good point I forgot about, for just music, an IR remote is a great option for control. It's easy to do and means you don't need to have a screen at all if you don't want to.

As to power, you have a few options.

1. If you buy a controller circut to shutdown the PC after x amount of time once the engine is off, you can wire a DC powersupply directly to the battery. Then your car batter is used basically like a UPS for a normal PC.

2. If you don't buy a controller circut to shutdown the PC, you can still wire the power supply to the battery, but I'd use a relay switched off the accessory line to only power the PC when the accessory power is on.

3. If you use a laptop, simply wire a DC converter for a car directly to the accessory circut and be done with it. You set the laptop to start/stop in your OS.

One last consideration, if you're just playing movies and music, I recommend if you're technically savy enough, setting up a linux box set to start in read only mode. That way powering it off hard doesn't risk damaging files at all. Journaling FS's make it less of a worry but still for safetys sake. . . You'll get the fastest boot time, (some people get sub 15 seconds after the BIOS, I've heard of 7 seconds from start to run.)

I should be getting my opus back this week (fingers crossed) and then I will have to rerun power since i have added my amps recently. Ill try to picture journal it and put up a thread. If you are running an opus power supply like me, you basically feed the power into the opus the same way you would into an amp. like i said, hopefully ill be reinstalling that and fixing up my screen mount this weekend and i can show you some stuff...

btw, i have an ir remote i'll sell for 15 plus shipping that i had bought before i went touch screen...

exrage,
That all sounds cool, I can't wait for the pics. I haven't been to this thread for a while, but when I said that mini-itx computers run off of 12V, I didn't mean that the motherboards run on 12V. Of course, mini-itx systems work the same way as atx systems, meaning they need several different voltage sources. What I meant was that the mini-itx COMPUTERS can run on 12V. Meaning they don't have an unnecessary transformer in the power supply to deal with AC voltage. Since 3V, 5V, 9V and 12V can all be derived from 12V via simple DC-DC converters and voltage regulators, the power supply takes up less space in the computer case.

For these reasons, a mini-itx system is more power efficient than a MAC system, only in that its power supply requires a regulated 12V source, rather than a 110 VAC source. Without modification, using a MinMac requires converting DC to AC to DC, which doesn't make any sense.

Sorry to be long-winded, but this is my explaination for why mini-itx systems are more vehicle-friendly (for now).

Ardinos,
I wasn't aware that read-only mode was an option in linux. I've never used linux much, but that is definitely a valuable feature. That's one of the reasons I'm hesitant about a carpc system, because you'd have to start it up and shut it down every time you wanted to use it. Read-only mode sounds as if you could basically use it the same way as a car stereo. Something to think about at least.

I just wish I could afford this stuff!

Yep, the read only mode is nice, but it doesn't work if you're doing Navigation and saving waypoints. (Or really speed traps which is what I do. It even reads off when I'm within 600 yards then 200 yards of a trap, it's an amazing way to avoid known speed traps.)

As to affording this stuff, I know what you mean, trust me, it's expensive to experiment with over time.

That sounds pretty crazy. How do you know of these speed traps/what GPS do you use?

if you run the lilliput with a laptop, how would you run the power for the screen? It

the lilli runs off any 12v source you can find, if it has an egg a regulator should not be needed... but get a xenarc

is the xenarc that much better?

yes...

has anyone flush mounted a xenarc in the facotry double din spot?

They are to big to fit double din unless you the the screen apart...

They just released a Flip out single DIN 7" screen,

mine is not a total flush mount b/c i didnt want to mess w/ the bondo and such, but it is mounted in the double din, i promise to take pics on friday b/c i should be just about done done w/ the set up then... you do have to hack up the screen and remount the buttons somewhere if you desire to accomplish this...

the flip out is nice and expensive

I know of the speed traps because either my brother or I drive by them. We mark them then share speedtraps. I'd like to setup a system so that anyone who drives by one marks it and they can all be exchanged by a website of some sort. That's the ultimate goal.

The Xenarc is supposed to be the better of the two, I got a lilliput because it was cheap, make your choice based on what you have available resource wise.

Xenarc > Lilliput > No Touch Screen

Oh, and as to what GPS I use, I use a USB Holux GPS, you can order it pretty cheap from e-bay. It's small, gray and unobtrusive. I mounted it under the rear window, you can't even notice it's there.

About the Xenarc,
I checked out the description on the website, but I couldn't find the price for it, or how to order it. Not that I'm going to order it, but I'd like to know the cost.

Any help?

usually go for about 330 on ebay, also check out mp3car.com store...

I should've clarified. I meant to ask specifically about the Xenarc flip-out touchscreen monitor. I know it's a new product, but is it being sold yet, or just advertised? I can't seem to find it anywhere. :confused:

all i have seen is advertised as well. they have been saying that it was coming out for the past 6 months, so the images should hold everyone over for another 2 months. check out digitalww.com they have a vga flip out, but its not a xenarc. just a guess, the flip out will go for about 600 to 650

Just a question but for your operating system you all are talking about linux....is there a reason that this performs well over others..Im not to computer savy but know some stuff and was just wanting to know why its better to run linux...Thanks!

i run xp, but im guessing a lot of other run linux b/c its not microsoft...

has anyone tried xp embedded?

People run linux because it can be highly tuned and optomized for what you're running. If windows is a generic sedan, linux is an i incar pc that lets you tweak fuel, boost, etc. It lets you optomize for performance, boot time, you name it. The weakness is it's not as easy to configure, as with all things, there are tradeoffs. I had my linux os on the same hardware I'm using now, boot 30+ seconds faster into the GPS software. The downside was getting all the !@#%$!@# drivers to work properly.

You don't run linux just because it's not microsoft, ok well, some people do, but to me, you run linux because the speed of booting and configurability of the OS give it major advantages. That and it's rock solid stable once you get it set. It behaves the exact same way everytime, whereas I still have windows occasionally refuse to see a device or insist on installing hardware over, even though it's in the exact same configuration as the last time I ran it.

Oh, and if you're looking for a fold out screen, you can do a lilliput that is in dash for about 310, or about 290 less than a xenarc. Look on MP3car, someone has a link from there to the guy that sells them. Just an option if your budget is limited.

I still understand the Xenarc to be the better quality screen, but $600 is a lot of money.

I'm working on a project, will have pics uplaoded to website soon.

Mini ITX, Nemhia M1000 mounted in custom aluminum enclosure that fits into the double DIN slot. The stock Subaru sliders off the stock stereo bolts onto it's side.

Laptop hard disk, Morex 60W DC to DC PSU and ITPS 12v car power power sequencer / regulator from http://www.logicsupply.com/ It wakes from hibernation after pause on ignition and puts system into hibernate after ignition off. Takes around 20 seconds to boot.

256Mb RAM, XP, Lighttek.com skin for car PC but big touch screen buttons to replace explorer shell. Using this skin which has day and night modes (wicked) http://www.digital-car.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=282 customised for 16x9 and is SUPER EASY to add and remove buttons / functions....

Also, a custom made 7" 16x9 touch screen and TFT screen fitting into the stock Subaru silver DIN surround, with infra red remote. I ordered the touch screen and screen seperate from Korean companies. I will upgrade the TFT to higher resolution once funds allow!

Wireless USB to get MP3's synchronized from house and war driving :devil:

Also, it's running all of my cool UTEC software, for data logging, map uploading, and cool dashboard screens http://www.wrxhackers.com/OldSite/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=getit&lid=35

Wicked!!!!



I'll keep you guys posted.

sounds like a good setup

I took picks of my install last night, once i get the usb cable to hook up the camera home from work i'll post some pics and such. all i have left to do now is finish the cargo area and clean up some wires for the amps...

Can't wait for those pics!! :D

If you need to someone to host them....i can so pm me

Anyone interested in plexi carputer designed for WRX/STi under seat:

Clicky (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=716338)

Im gonna hijack the and ask the inevitible question, are carputers rice?

a.k.a.

WANRNING DANGER TO MANIFOLD!

trunk monkey, that was stupid.....don't post if you have nothing to say
I am goin to host the pics so hopefully they will be up by thursday

my manifold seems ok... been running the pc since new years or so...

my manifold seems ok... been running the pc since new years or so...

Haha yeah, just can’t get that stupid movie out of my head and I think it ruined carputers for me. :(

trunk monkey, that was stupid.....don't post if you have nothing to say
Take it easy it was a legitimate question, are they generally considered rice? Just because you have +555 posts doesn’t let you talk like you own the place.:p Don't be a hippocrit, how about this for useless... ;)
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=717550
that is just funny
Lets keep out bitchin to PM's now.

------
Another "real question" :rolleyes: Does anyone use this as their theme for their carputer? If so, can you change the buttons other apps and how do you get to its winamp's media library? What other apps do you guys recommend to run in a carputer?
http://images.customize.org/category/talisman/CarPC1-0_full.gif

what front end is that??

a lot of people use mediacar or frodoplayer, I myself just use regular winamp and windvd and media player... i dont want to take the time to set up all of that stuff and i havent had any problems using those apps w/ my touchscreen...

btw, i should be getting the pics hosted w/in the next few days, and ill be starting a new thread w/ the pics and descriptions w/ more pics to come this weekend since i hope to get my cargo area done...

Here is some more info on the pic http://www.customize.org/details/35026

From the link:

Talisman 2.8 interface for Car PC.
800x600 pixels, but will work on bigger screens too.
If you need 640x480 please contact the author.

- 2 Color Schemes: Day and Night with switching by one click.
- 8 big buttons for main apps.
- Music screen with Song Title, Position, Mediaplayer controls, Volume Control
- Taskbar with big icons
- Calendar and Events Planner

I think its just a skin to something called Talisman http://www.lighttek.com/talisman.htm

woa, I need a carputer

Yeah, I tried it out and you have to buy tillisman for 25 bucks then the skin is free. You can download a 30 day trial of it and see how you like it first.

has anyone attempted to hack a laptop to utilize the power supply out of that and then just use a car adapter for that laptop power supply?

of course, I imagine I would have to get one that will support the proper wattage and all that, it just seems that it might be easier, and a smaller footprint than a car specific PSU etc.

Car power supplies are small http://www.mp3car.com/store/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=4be48f5ae8305f8fee7465fab1f80af0

Just a quick update. I have installed everything and it runs like a charm. I just need a new head unit to be installed in the stock clock location to get some sound!

I will take some pics in the next few days, very busy schedule for the next 2 weeks or so but i'll try to get them uploaded.

The skin above is the one I am using, and it's EXCELLENT. Looks great at 16x9 and i'm running 800x600 (sounds wonky but it works - The VIA chipset does not allow fine tweaking of resolutions, even with Powerstrip). It's a lighttek skin and the best thing about it that it's super easy to change the buttons to do what u want with them, with the bonus of having a day and night skin. I have the following functions running to test:-

UTEC Dashboard
UTEC Data logging - map modifying
OBD-2 diagnostics
Internet via WiFi (suncing music, movies etc with house PC)
Winamp for music
BSPlayer for DivX, XVID

There are 2 serial ports, one for OBD-2 via Andy Whittakers interface, and the other goes to my UTEC, The UTEC pumps live data to the Dashboard program, a bit like the Nissan Skylines screen! Cool.

For now I dont have a CD-RW but am planning to install a slotloader into the glove compartment. The PSU will take it no problem. I only have a laptop hard disk so power draw is minimal, it's only 6Gb until I get a bigger one.

The dremel slipped once when I was cutting a slot for the screen so I have a nice mark on the silver plastic which i've touched up, but I will replace it once I have tested everything.

The whole system fits into the double DIN slot. So no wires running to a PC somewhere else. The VIA M1000 fits perfectly in there, snug as a bug. I had used the standard Morex 70W PSU with the addition of the ITPS adapter, so I turn the ignition on, start the car, then 5 seconds later the carputer fires up into Windows (20 second boot as it's hibernating) then when I turn off the ignition, it waits for 10 seconds for the hibernation routene to end then powers off. Sweet. The ITPS adapter uses less power than a alarm system while "sleeping".

I have removed the crappy stock cupholder and fabricated a aluminum panel to hold 2 Firewire and 2 USB2 ports for copying movies, USB keys etc etc

The PC enclosure was easy to make, using thin aluminum bent into a box shape. Then standard PC motherboard risers drilled into place, with nylon bolts on the other side.

Only crappy thing is the quality of the screen I am using. I need a nice high resolution SVGA screen in there as soon as funds permit. I am trying to source one as I am typing this, I can get a decent one direct from Japan for $170 one off eval price. The existing touch panel will fit any screen, and is held on with caulking.

The possibilities of this setup are endless. GPS mapping, GPRS Internet, WiFi wardriving etc etc etc....just a matter of funds! Once the PC is in there it's a great platform to build on.

are you sure you dont have the m12k, b/c the m10k doesnt have the wifi last i knew... sounds pretty sweet, i toyed w/ the idea of putting mine in the double din totally, but decided itd be too muchof a pain to work on if i needed to pull it out. the idea of running that firewire/usb snake to the cup holder is a great one, im sure it fits great. i would highly recommend the xenarc but of course you wont get that for 170, but spending the extra now will save you in the long run.

did you look at deltadash adn the ecutek programs? that is what i am looking into on running once my funds permit. and if you did look into them, what made you go w/ the utec??

i should have pics up soon, i sent them away to be hosted...

Yeah it's the M10K but i'm using a USB-WiFi adapter. It's quite easy to work with, I just made the cables long enough so it just pops out after removing 4 screws (the ones that hold the stock stereo 2 plates in place). I'll have to make up a quick AVI of the installation / removal process so u can see how neat it is.

I went with UTEC because i've seen one in action before, a local rally nut can help me if I wish (Patrick Richard the Rally champ based just down the road) and I got it for a steal $600 Canadian. I just love the fact that I can switch between 5 maps and the UTEC has a ton of software and support. Also, as it's a piggyback, OBD2 emission scans and Subaru diagnostic equipment will not see it.........making my life easier with Air Care.

There are a ton of USB GPS pucks on EBay for $40 I might have to pick one up!

While on this subject, i'm looking for a nice head unit, which can take the output from the VIA board, from the 3.5" jacks, not necessarily 5.1 but 4 channels and a sub upgrade possibly in the future would be nice........any ideas? Or even a concealed unit. Even SP-DIF via the coax would even be better! ;) I guess digital decoders would be mega bucks!

any update on pics? :)

sorry, I was really busy yesterday...
http://images2.fotopic.net/?iid=y72pus&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images3.fotopic.net/?iid=y72pu7&outx=980&quality=80

http://images4.fotopic.net/?iid=y72pu8&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images5.fotopic.net/?iid=y72puc&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images1.fotopic.net/?iid=y72pua&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images2.fotopic.net/?iid=y72pub&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images3.fotopic.net/?iid=y72pu9&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

i dunno why its not letting me insert them this time....

Ok, this post has to do w/ the pics just north of here. Thanks dub for hosting them, this is the first forum i havent been able to up load on... either way ill give a quick description of each one, and here we go...

pic 1 - This is just a display of my head unit move w/ the xenarc 7" ts installed into the double din... The head unit is a kenwood-mp919 that is masked, that is why it looks like a black filler piece and not a head unit right now

pic 2 - this is a picture of how i ran my ide sound and power into my center console for hooking up the cd-rw/dvd... i was planning on going from the bottom, but the metal brace kept from doing it easily, so since my cables were long enough i ran them in from the front of the console

pic 3 - pic of my slim line slot load dvd and my usb/firewire snake so it is easily accessible. i wish that the firewire/usb snake was a little less just shoved in there, but the snake is not that long. i secured the rom w/ velcro

pic 4 - this is the case, a 10x10x4 junction box. everything fits easily, it securely sits under the seat, and w/ taking out the whole side of it, i can feed wires in and out fairly easily. i thought i had more pics of this but they must have been wiped before i uploaded the pics onto my pc, I am planning on taking more this weekend after i finish my cargo area.

pic 5 - this is my simple amp rack in the back. i bolted it into the back seats for security. I know my wires are a mess but i wasn't quite sure what i was goign to do w/ them, they will be all fixed up this weekend. from left to right on the rack is my excelon x-521 amp powering my pce-216 quarts in the front, next is the crossovers for the pce's and to the far right is my rf bd1000 amp, which will soon be powering my momo mm2124's once it gets warm enough to fiberglass. the grate looking thing on top is just a rubbermaid vinyl covered metal shelf. it is being covered in speaker cloth so the amps can breathe. then the rest of the cargo area is goign to be built up around it. I will have all of my space available to me once i am done w/ the project and ill take more pics.

pic 6 - kind of back tracking, but you can see when i slide my seat back into driving position you cannot see anything to suggest the pc is there.

pic 7 - this is the pc in action you could say. playing an avi of the big lebowski w/ the head unit powered on above.

anyone has any questions, or wants more pics of something let me know before sat. when i plan on working on stuff again...

thanks again dub...

What OBDII scan software are you using? I'd love deltadash but it's so much $$. My next addition for the carputer is something to do logging and stuff, but my understanding is the OBDII port is a bit slow for useful datalogging. I had a program on my old WRX, back when the carputer was running linux, that tapped the coil trigger from the ECU and used that to do estimated wheel HP and torque. I want to do that again but I don't want to have to tap anything off the ECU.

The techs at the subaru dealer I go to seem to love to find things like that and blame them for any problem in the car, even when they're clearly not related. I don't need the headache. If I can just run the software off the existing OBDII port, the problem goes away.

Nice setup BTW. You'd laugh at how easy it is to take the laptop out. Slide it out from under the front seat, unplug the cables, take it in. I hid the screen where the clock goes on top of the dash, I wanted an install that wouldn't give you a clue the PC was in the car. All the switches are where the ashtray goes, I just put a small plate with the switches installed in it in the place of the ashtray. It was a pain to make the laptop turn on via a remote switch but now that it does I'm happy.

Nice job and good craftsmanship. BTW, remote desktop with a wireless card is the way to go. I have a blade antenna I intend to wire up to my PCMCIA wireless card. I can put the antenna wherever, probably on the back shelf of the car, then run kismet and go war driving. For now I just use the wireless card to get stuff from my house. Go inside, leisurely log in and transfer music. I have a USB hub in the center storage bin, for big files,(read movies), I just take the USB drive out and plug it in then swap them over that way. Wireless is too slow and I've had the power shutoff partway through, I only get about 1.5 hours out of my tired old laptop battery.

im not running any obdII at the present time. once summer hits and Ill be making a few more bucks umping im picking up delta dash. I was thinking about messing around w/ something till i get it, but Im not doing anything driving wise that would need it, so i am just going to wait.

more pics tomorrow i hope...

hey ardinos, what exactly did you have to do for remote turn on/off
think its possible to turn on when the car starts?

Well, in my case I opened up the laptop case, tested the momentary switch to figure out what connections opened and closed when it was pushed, then figured out I only needed to jump two of the four pins to make the laptop turn on. I simply wired in a small audio plug, ran a cable to a button I mounted where the ashtray was, and I push that to turn on the laptop. I could make it turn on with the car, what I'd do is put in a relay that closes the switch when the key is turned to start the car, but that was too much extra work. I don't always use the PC so turning it on manually was fine with me. I couldn't do a switch that closed itself with the accessory line or something because holding the power button closed shuts down the PC. I could do some sort of capacitative switch but again, too much work for too little benefit.