Car Pc Pics Work In Progress

Brettster · February 17, 2004

Here are some pics of my Car PC install.

its a work in progress and not really much to see.

and here is the DVD ROM Drive attached under the Heated Seat Buttons

all the PC parts are stuffed into the glove box and at the moment Im using a Tape adapter for the sound output. It actually sounds better than I expected.

More updates later when I do some more work on the project.

Fargo · February 17, 2004

looking good, shame about the tape adaptor wire.

whitie · February 17, 2004

Would there be a way of getting rid of the two cables? cut into the existing dashboard wiring?

Fargo · February 17, 2004

you could route the cable inside the stereo unit and out the back,, personally i dont use the tape deck and cant see that i ever will..

Brettster · February 17, 2004

I really need to get one of those AUX adapters from Steve for the sound.

The wire in the cig lighter is just my phone charger, and the wires behind the screen will be hidden when I figure a way to build in the screen somehow.

I was thinking of maybe building the screen into a pod where it is now.

Im tempted to rip out the stock head unit and rewire the speakers and amps etc and replace the head unit with the touch screen.

but I like the screen where it is as it makes it very easy to change songs and glance at the screen for satnav etc.

all things to think about I guess

rajesh · February 17, 2004

Nice little set up. how's the TFT been set up on the dash?

i love the DVD under the heated seat buttons - whats the make and modle

of the DVD?

i take it the power of the DVD is powered by the cig-lighter

what about the TFT?

Brettster · February 17, 2004

the DVD is a Laptop DVD ROM drive, the TFT is on its only little stand that came supplied with the Screen it's screwed to the top of the Dash . I removed the felt part. and its all powered from the car Battery, via a voltage regulator, which also shuts down the PC first before disconnecting the power to it when you turn off the ignition.

still lots to do

I need to find some better Sat Nav software. and I also need to get better range on the built in wireless lan to make it more reliable to upload new MP3's to the hard drive.

it's getting there...

Fargo · February 17, 2004

how bout posting up a parts list of the pc, i may be interested i toying with this.

as for a pod or screen mount i would say contact steve as he is damn good with pods and/or may be able to sort out a top screen mount thing..

djanderso · February 17, 2004

Looks good - I must admit I'm tempted to try something similar - although not sure if it's worth it given I'm only keeping the car for another few months.

Brettster · February 17, 2004

I say go for it :)

the only holes Ive made are either not going to be seen, such as the screw holes in the Glove box and under the heated seat buttons. or can be hidden when taking the kit out again.

here'a a list of the parts ive used for mine.

VIA 1Ghz Mini ITX mother board

256 MB PC2100 Ram

7" TFT Touchscreen VGA Monitor 12 volt, cuts out the need for a mouse and keyboard.

2.5" 40Gig hard drive, I used a 2.5" one because the power requirements are lower and laptop drives are more protected from bumps etc.

Toshiba Laptop DVD rom drive. again only needs 5Volts to power it

60 watt morex 12V power supply that powers the motherboard and the drives.

ITPS shut down controller, this regulates the 12 volts going into the power supply and also starts up the PC 5 seconds after the ignition has been switched on to allow for car voltages to level off and when you turn the ignition off again it shuts down the computer in the correct way. then after 5 mins it cuts all power to the PC so as not to run your car Battery out should the PC crash while shutting down.

USB Gps very cheap.

windows XP

Media Engine software for playing all the music and dvd's etc using a nice custom made touch screen interface, this is freeware software :)

and thats really about all there is to it

TonyGoose · February 17, 2004

Oh - a complete doddle then :duh:

Brettster · February 18, 2004

Oh - a complete doddle then :duh:

hehe if you have ever setup a TV, Video, Sat dish and DVD player up onto the same TV im pretty sure you could fit all this together too, very easy

Monster-Mat · December 19, 2004

any updates, or pictures

Brettster · December 19, 2004

the only update really is the Opus Power supply instead of the combo I was using in the post above, solved all the power problems i was having.

the PC has been running and going to sleep and waking up without crashing for about 8 months, which is the most amazing PC / Windows combernation Ive ever known. trully amazing and stable.

Are you all set for going the PC route then Mat?