carputer

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 6:46 am

i am thinking about puting a computer in my car and found this cool site with some pics and software. http://www.mediaengine.org

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:00 am

I helped a guy install one of these in his car once. He bought an LCD touch screen and kept the CPU in the trunk. We used an FM modulator to play the music through the factory radio. It was really cool to have the winamp screens going in the car. He took it out after a short period of time because he said it was too distracting and he had to shut it down before turning off his car all the time.If you do this, make sure to set up a wi-fi network at your house. Then you can pull into your garage and download music and other files off of your home computer.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:58 am

Quote, originally posted by ebslopp Â»If you do this, make sure to set up a wi-fi network at your house. Then you can pull into your garage and download music and other files off of your home computer.or, given the way a lot of people don't secure their wifi, you could download music and other files from your neighbors, or whereever you happend to drive by where there's an unsecure wifi on the air.

Altus · Post by **Altus** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 1:25 pm

Quote, originally posted by ebslopp Â»He took it out after a short period of time because he said it was too distracting and he had to shut it down before turning off his car all the time.You can actually find a couple of "carputer" sites online that have designed a power on / off module to solve this problem.The best one I've seen powered up the system 10 seconds after engine start, and performed a smart power down after you take the key out.Do a search online and I'm sure you can find examples of power control circuits.

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 1:54 pm

http://www.mp3car.com/index.php they have the parts to solve the power down problem

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:35 am

Get a Parallax STAMP chip...programmable. It can control the ACPI on the motherboard and have it hibernate and such...

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 2:48 am

ok i orderd the computer for the project today http://www.aicomputers.com/cus...tID=5 2.8 gig processor1024mb ram120 gig hdsad thing is i will have a better computer in my car then in my house

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 2:59 am

why are you putting such a high end computer in your car? If you're just going to use it for music and GPS, you could get away on a P2 system. Are you going to be gaming in your car?

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 3:16 am

i got a good deal that system for 493 too good to pass up

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 3:47 am

I guess that's a good reason! The size of the case will sure make a nice clean install I'm sure. What kind of monitor did you decide to go with?

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 5:18 am

i think i am gonna go with the liliput 7" vga touchscreen. although i need to do some more research, have any suggestions?also where would you put it i am thinking about removing the glove box and using some mdf to make an enclouser but i dont know i will have to play once it gets here

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:06 am

Quote, originally posted by russ257 Â»where would you put it i am thinking about removing the glove box and using some mdf to make an enclouser but i dont know i will have to play once it gets hereI wouldn't put it in the glove box because then you won't be able to reach it easily while driving. I think I'd either replace the radio with it (way too much work) or I'd mount directly above the cup holders. One other question, are you going to mount like a DVD-ROM in the glove box for watching movies or transferring songs and software? That would be awesome. I have not looked at touch screens for over a year, so your guess is as good as mine in that area.

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:21 am

well i wont need to reach the computer whille driving thats what the touch screen is for but we will see i was thinking about putting the dvd drive somewhere easily accessable i dunno we will see

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:38 am

Right, I meant don't put the touchscreen in the glovebox. As for where to mount the CPU, I would probably try to mount the motherboard in the armrest console. Since that's probably like a microATX motherboard, it would probably fit right in. Add a few fans to the back of the console and you're in business. Plus the power is already run to the console so you can hardwire an inverter to it too. Man the microATX thing really gives you alot of options.

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 9:49 pm

I'd ditch the radio and put it in that cavity. But, your signature seems to say you only have one external amp in your car, so unless you got a seperate amplifier for your door speakers, you couldn't remove the radio. I'd highly reccomend it though, especially if you get a soundcard with analog 5.1 outputs (like a SoundBlaster Audigy, or something like it).Unless you put the monitor on some sort of other stand, that'd be the best way to go, utilize the stock opening in the dash..

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:53 am

I'd rather use an FM modulator to feed the sound into the car radio. They have ones that plug directly into the antenna input for a solid clean signal. That way, if he wants, he can upgrade to an aftermarket head unit down the road sometime. Or if he plans on keeping the stock radio, he could get one of the aux in adapters. But there really isn't any good place to put the screen. Russ, you still plan on using a 7" screen?

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:45 am

There are no aux in adapters for the stock radios, except the Nav system. And how can he not upgrade to an aftermarket headunit if he has two amplifiers?An FM modulator will not sound anywhere NEAR as good as hooking the computer outputs directly to an amplifier. If he added a four channel amp, and kept his sub the way it is, If he ditched the carputer, he could add an aftermarket HU with three sets of RCA Pre-outs and still utilize the amplifiers. Or, depending on how he wired the amplifier, easily remove it and return to stock.

ebslopp · Post by **ebslopp** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 3:31 am

Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa Â»There are no aux in adapters for the stock radios, except the Nav system. And how can he not upgrade to an aftermarket headunit if he has two amplifiers? There must be an aux in on the stock radio, because I have an aux in button. I'm pretty sure there was a thread on it, but I did a search and couldn't find it. The adapter has to emulate a CD changer in order to work. You can hook up an amp to a stock radio by using speaker level inputs or using an adapter to convert speaker level to line level. I don't know if he has stock or not, but he doesn't have a HU listed in his sig.Quote, originally posted by jahntassa Â»An FM modulator will not sound anywhere NEAR as good as hooking the computer outputs directly to an amplifier. True... the sound will be slightly less grade, but alot is determined by the amps that he is using at this point. IMHO, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the FM modulator and the hardwire directly to the amp. Especially while driving. So (this is only my opinion) if it were me I would go with the FM modulator because it's easier to set up. Quote, originally posted by jahntassa Â»If he added a four channel amp, and kept his sub the way it is, If he ditched the carputer, he could add an aftermarket HU with three sets of RCA Pre-outs and still utilize the amplifiers. Or, depending on how he wired the amplifier, easily remove it and return to stock. This might be the best way, minus ditching the carputer of course. Buy an aftermarket head unit with RCA inputs and hook your computer up too those!You've got a lot of options, Russ. I'm sure whatever you decide to do will turn out great.

Jahntassa · Post by **Jahntassa** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 3:42 am

Quote, originally posted by ebslopp Â» There must be an aux in on the stock radio, because I have an aux in button. I'm pretty sure there was a thread on it, but I did a search and couldn't find it. The adapter has to emulate a CD changer in order to work. True that there's a button, but nobody makes such a cable/emulator that's been PROVEN to work with the stock radios, except for the Navigation system.Quote Â»You can hook up an amp to a stock radio by using speaker level inputs or using an adapter to convert speaker level to line level. I don't know if he has stock or not, but he doesn't have a HU listed in his sig.True, but it still doesn't sound as good as direct RCAs. Why keep the stock radio, anyway? What gain comes from it except if he doesn't want to add an amp? If he doesn't add an amplifier. Then yes, FM would be the only way to go in his case, but he wouldn't get good sound quality from it. Converting from speaker-level to line-level also introduces a slight noise factor into the whole mess, as well. Quote Â» True... the sound will be slightly less grade, but alot is determined by the amps that he is using at this point. IMHO, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the FM modulator and the hardwire directly to the amp. Especially while driving. So (this is only my opinion) if it were me I would go with the FM modulator because it's easier to set up. The quality difference between FM mod and the amplifiers is in the FM Mod and the radio itself. Doing any sort of modulation to a signal will degrade the quality, as FM doesn't have the same bandwidth a piece of actual wire does.True that a good portion of people couldn't tell the difference, but it still depends on a lot of factors. True that the FM modulator is his easiest option. I won't deny that. But, I have to assume, if he's going through with putting in a carputer, that he'd be willing to go to such lengths, especially if he wanted to watch DVDs. It'd be better to run Front/Rear to an amplifier than to run it as 2 channel and have it "flattened" by an FM mod.My original reason for doing the straight to an amp was to get rid of the radio so he could mount the screen right in the dash. If he wants radio functions, he can get a $50 tuner card for the PC.. I'm not saying the FM modulator won't work. I'm just saying it's probably not going to be the most satisfactory way to do it in his case. Especially when he could mount the screen the way the Nav system is mounted, directly in the dash.

russ257 · Post by **russ257** » Sat May 01, 2004 1:10 am

ok i have an aftermarket hu and i already have an Fm modulator hooked up because i occasionally hook a playstation up.ok i made a mock up and while it is a small computer for a desktop it doesnt really do what i want sizewise for in a car. also with it being such a powerful computer it will require a lot of power and it s really overkill for mp3/gps/dvd use. i think i will just use this to replace my desktop and start over from scratch with the carputer. when i do get it i will run headunitless. I think this project will go to the back burner for a while cause i am kind of poor.

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