my car-computer setup

[traitorhound]

well the touchscreen on the xenarc's should be good enough for a mouse. . . . i paid 100 extra for that overlay in the 400usd so i might as well use it. . . .windows has a nice little on screen keybaoard that you could also you since typing really won't be used in a carputer all that much besides typintg in gps cordinates. . . .i also have a wifi enable ipaq that i can use as a remote to control the carputer either via VNC or windows terminal services. . .both are pretty slow but they can do the job if you just want to punch in some stuff quickly. . . . .when i get my screen in the mail this week ill try to find someone with winxp tablet to try my luck with that OS (hard for me though since im left handed as i am mounting my screen like ELEmental59437 is)

my case is going to be in the same wood box probably as my amps in the trunk. . im trying to go for a pretty stealthy install. . . . .one wouldn't want all their Sh!T jacked after all this money and work put into it. . . .so right now all i got to do is build my Shutdown controller, build and amp rack and box to hold all this stuff. . .and get my screen. . .lol. . . .pretty much everything. . .

sucks that i have all the stuff but not put together yet..

(on another note i think i will be making some kind of external enclosure for my pioneer slot load dvd to go in the glove box with a usb 2.0 card so ill have easy access to that. . ..

EDIT:: oh yea i forgot about that i will also be using one of those gravis gampad pro's (looks like a ps1 controller) for input also using keyboard and mouse emulation software. just something else to clutter up in my car

 

[ELEmental59437]

I choose to go with a mouse in addition to the touchscreen because if a back seat passenger wants to control an mp3 or dvd they can easier (eventually I will have monitors on the headrests), and the touchscreen is easily messed up as I have proven by damaging the left side of the overlay. :mad:

More pics to come soon if I ever get a day off work that I dont have to spend with my girlfriend (not that I dont love to).

traitorhound, I might be modding the xenarc screen in such a way that I would not need the bezel I was working on or the harness I made. If I decide I dont need them then you can have them if you want. (slight assembly needed)

 

[traitorhound]

awesome. .. . let me know. . . .. .i just got my email today and i feel kinda dumb now not to spend the extra 10 bux for 2 day shipping cause it shipped out yesterday but wont be here till 23 june

 

[Micah]

I've got a bootable Windows XP 5 in 1 disk

Windows XP Home (with SP1)
Windows XP Professional (with SP1)
Windows XP Professional VLK (with SP1)
Windows XP Media Center Edition (with SP1)
Windows XP Tablet Edition (with SP1)

Bunch of tools on the disk too. PM me if you are interested.

 

[ELEmental59437]

awesome. .. . let me know. . . .. .i just got my email today and i feel kinda dumb now not to spend the extra 10 bux for 2 day shipping cause it shipped out yesterday but wont be here till 23 june

Thats weird. I got my screen within 2-4 days from when I ordered it. I might get a chance on thursday to work on my car

I've got a bootable Windows XP 5 in 1 disk

Windows XP Home (with SP1)
Windows XP Professional (with SP1)
Windows XP Professional VLK (with SP1)
Windows XP Media Center Edition (with SP1)
Windows XP Tablet Edition (with SP1)

Bunch of tools on the disk too. PM me if you are interested.

I dont think that includes XPembedded... or does it? I know you can get a trial online that only works for 120 days but I need something permanent. If you find it does include it, let me know.

 

[traitorhound]

well i ordered my screen last friday and while reading posts on the other forum i populate dave said that they would ship out on monday. . . i took fedex ground and i live in FL which is on the other side of the country. . . .oh well hopefully ill get my hks exhaust by friday so i have somethign to do over the weekend

 

[Micah]

Thats weird. I got my screen within 2-4 days from when I ordered it. I might get a chance on thursday to work on my car



I dont think that includes XPembedded... or does it? I know you can get a trial online that only works for 120 days but I need something permanent. If you find it does include it, let me know.

I have XP embedded too, but not on that disk. I haven't played around with it at all. I thought it was designed for standalone devices more than actual computer hardware.

I don't know if it would be suitable for your intended application. Look into it and post what you find. If the bootup time is really that fast, and it is still able to support applications (DVD, GPS, Emulators, etc.). Then we might have found a solution to quite a few problems.

 

[traitorhound]

well. .. if you drive your car every couple days you could just leave your comp on STR (suspend to ram) and then when the comp shuts off it's using minimal power and when you turn it on boot time is like less than 10 sec

 

[Micah]

well. .. if you drive your car every couple days you could just leave your comp on STR (suspend to ram) and then when the comp shuts off it's using minimal power and when you turn it on boot time is like less than 10 sec

Do you own stock in a battery company?

Try leaving one of your maplights on all the time, that is horrible for your battery.

There are timing products available to take care of the problem. Do a search on www.mini-itx.com. Besides, suspend to ram is such a bad idea anyway. Either use windows and reboot, or use linux.

You might want to look into Win98SE Lite. You can pull some rediculously fast boot/shutdown times with it on modern hardware.

I really think the best option is to just get a laptop. You could wire a laptop's docking station into a car, then connect it to your Xenarc screen/keyboard/pointing device/etc.

I'm pretty much a huge geek, I've got over 700GB of storage in use at my apartment. I literally check out the ISP options in an area before I will move there. I even have a G3 - 266mhz Imac running Yellowdoglinux in my kitchen next to the refrigerator.

And of course I have most of the pre-requisites:

PVR machine in the living room.
Livejournal.
PalmPhone.
Dual Monitor setup on main machine.
Creative Nomad Jukebox.
Large Cardboard Box full of Manuals,#2600,old software.
Large Cardboard Box full of cables, wires, terminators, etc.
etc.

and my newest toy
ADS Firewire/USB 2.0 combo drive kit

-for hotswapping in any IDE device I need on any machine. Not to mention being able to just bring the damn thing to a friends house instead of letting them suck up my bandwidth, or needing to burn CD's.


Think about it, do you really want to put a pc in your car? Think about:

how hot your car gets left in the sun in the summertime.
the effect of vibrations on electrical components.
the constant variation in current found in a cars electrical system ( put a multimeter on your cars Cigg Lighter and rev your engine )

Anyway, those are my reasons for not doing it.

 

[ELEmental59437]

I have XP embedded too, but not on that disk. I haven't played around with it at all. I thought it was designed for standalone devices more than actual computer hardware.

I don't know if it would be suitable for your intended application. Look into it and post what you find. If the bootup time is really that fast, and it is still able to support applications (DVD, GPS, Emulators, etc.). Then we might have found a solution to quite a few problems.

If you check out this thread here

Check and see if you have a trial version or the real deal. If you have the full thing and have access to a copy you would like to sell or hook me up with.. I would much appreciate it.

 

[Micah]

It's the full thing - PM me for info. And yeah - it's gonna cost you. Cuz it cost me.

If you check out this thread here

Check and see if you have a trial version or the real deal. If you have the full thing and have access to a copy you would like to sell or hook me up with.. I would much appreciate it.

 

[ELEmental59437]

I'm pretty much a huge geek, I've got over 700GB of storage in use at my apartment. I literally check out the ISP options in an area before I will move there. I even have a G3 - 266mhz Imac running Yellowdoglinux in my kitchen next to the refrigerator.

And of course I have most of the pre-requisites:

PVR machine in the living room.
Livejournal.
PalmPhone.
Dual Monitor setup on main machine.
Creative Nomad Jukebox.
Large Cardboard Box full of Manuals,#2600,old software.
Large Cardboard Box full of cables, wires, terminators, etc.
etc.






Think about it, do you really want to put a pc in your car? Think about:

how hot your car gets left in the sun in the summertime.
the effect of vibrations on electrical components.
the constant variation in current found in a cars electrical system ( put a multimeter on your cars Cigg Lighter and rev your engine )

Anyway, those are my reasons for not doing it.

2600! badass.... I got the car-computer idea from there initially.

I have the dual monitor setup on my main computer too, it helps with workingh with photoshop and other programs with floating toolbars. As for the computer in the car, the only damage from vibrations I can see is to the HD, but that shouldnt be too bad and I wuld mount it with a little bit of shock protection.

As for heat, I dont see it being a problem as the EPIA boards are designed to be low heat producing MOBO and CPU combos. If you need a boost of cold air just turn on the floor vents (if mounted under the seat).

 

[Micah]

http://www.casetronic.com/Product/Barebone/Mini-Checkercube/c136.html

Hey, I just found that on Pricewatch for $236.00 - Smallest Mini-ITX I have ever seen. You could put that anywhere, even in the door pocket. Just need to add RAM, 2.5" HD(laptop drive), and a slim cd or dvd. The PSU is only 60W also, so that shouldn't eat up too much from the electrical system.

I still think putting a pc in the car isn't worth it, but I thought some people here might appreciate seeing that one.

 

[ELEmental59437]

Nice find. That wouldnt work for me because I need at least 1 PCI card. My case has a 60 watt PS but its all I need to power a reg hard drive, slim dvd player and one PCI card..

Did you ever find that XPe cd? I havent heard back from you on that.

I see what your saying on a PC in the car not being worth it, but I still see more good then bad. Plus in 10 years all cars might come with them from the factory, you never know. I am off to bondo and sand and all that good stuff now (my day off).

 

[Micah]

nah, can't find the CD - I'm giving up. What do you need the PCI slot for???

 

[ELEmental59437]

TV and radio tuner for now. I might go USB or firewire for that later, but its nice to have at least one slot to add something instead of having everything external.

Can you find at least the product key?

 

[Micah]

I'll look from home later, leave me a PM to remind me, or hit me on AIM - "DamnMicah".

Yeah, on the FM/TV Tuner angle, you could totally get away with a USB version. Think about the size of the LCD you will be using as a screen. The quality is pretty much a non issue.

 

[ELEmental59437]

I am using a 7 inch.. but its a 7 inch VGA.. so the picture is pretty much crystal clear. Even in resolutions higher than 800x600 you can read even the smallest text. DVD and TV are both clearer than any other in car LCD setup with composite screens. The card I bought also has a remote so that makes things easier to control, I could have easily stuck in my spare ATI All-In-Wonder, but I will use that for some other project.

UPDATE: The screen bondo job is comeing along nicely, look for pictures soon.

 

[traitorhound]

i want my screen already. . . .ive been waiting a week. . .lol just a quick rant

 

[ELEmental59437]

Hey traitorhound, that harness and bezel is yours I think. I decided to go for it and hacked the LCD sides off and I am in the process of bondoing it to the radio trim. I think it will look better this way, and I can still access the buttons on the front. I am going ot paint the whole thing silver and the buttons red and change the LED to red.

Hope your screen comes in soon.

I love working on my car, but I usually end up scratching something or ruining something. This time I ruined a wire that goes to one of the exhaust sensors and I have to either replace the harness to the cars computer or get it fixed. The wire is a pain to get out so I am taking it to Mazda on monday.:mad: