I finally got around to finishing up some of the software details today and I think the system is pretty much complete. I don't see the need to mess with it until my media software supports the Destinator GPS plugins.

The screen is a 7" Lilliput LCD I grabbed from mp3car.com (excellent retailer) and runs 1024x768 nativly from a VGA input and is very sharp for a screen of it's size. It also includes an integrated touchscreen that works quite well and the screen sits at the perfect level to rest your hand on the shifter and go to town queuing tunes up.

Here's the current mounting setup:


I mounted it using a custom fabbed metal bracket that slides into the rear of the screen so it is removable, and have a nice faux moleskin cover that's insulated to protect it during the winter. The climate controls are still easily manipulated, and I didn't have to sacrifice my vents.

Here's a good night-shot, the screen automatically dims at specified times so it's not a nuisence:


Here's the system as it sits in the passenger side storage bin:


I laid wax paper down, covered that with two layers of fiberglass to create a mold, and made some custom mounting brackets to secure the motherboard and it's all very sturdy. I've had the system for 4 months now and the only thing to shake loose was the invertor, which I added some hot glue on the surround and it has held solid since. The fiberglass and mounts were also covered with undercoating tar to keep noise down and prevent some exhaust heat from coming through.

Here's a good night-shot with the only vanity the system itself includes, a 120mm blue LED fan (ohhhh... ahh......). Excuse the cords, I use them to connect it to the garage network and don't like to run it off the battery when I'm messing with the software.


Here's the software shots. I just finished cleaning up some skin elements, adding the little rotor and CD icons, and a few other small things. The clock and temperatures are displayed using Serious Samurize.






System specs:
1.1ghz Athlon
Generic HP motherboard
256mb RAM
60gb Western Digital SE HDD
TNT2 64mb Video (I have a GeForce Ti400 that needs a new fan that's replacing it later)

Running:
Windows XP Pro (SP2)
MediaEngine 2.1 (http://www.mediaengine.org/)
Serious Samurize (http://www.samurize.com/modules/news/)

Now I just have to wait for the GPS functions to be added, and get my sub installed and I'll have a decent car entertainment system.

I was pretty happy with how the whole thing panned out as well. I could've probably cleaned the bin area more, but you never see it from the outside, and it serves it's purpose well. I don't want to make it fancy so I can avoid theft.

 

sweet man nice job

 

wow....how much was the monitor

 

$289 for the monitor, and it came with a ton of cables and a remote control as well.

Overall the whole system was cheap though, so I felt I could splooge on the display. All the computer components were scrapped together from what I had laying around, and the invertor was only ~$25 with my Best Buy discount.

 

dude thats sweeT!!! so what does it actually do???

 

um... why do you need an inverter? just get a power supply that you can wire directly from your car. plus if you cant find one, their easy to make. just need a lil bit of 12 volts, and 5 volts. thats about it. ive done many of these installs, and using an inverter is redundant.

 

"666 the number of the beast!"

 

Also need 3.3v for the motherboard. I've played with running direct 12v and such at work, and it just doesn't work too well. The system is very unstable. The best thing to do is get a DC-DC power supply so you get good voltage regulation and a bit of protection for your components. The units also control power via an accessory line, so you can set your carputer to be on only while your accessory switch is, or your deck. They are very low draw, and can survive starting the vehicle, which teh invertor doesn't. Only draw back... A good DC-DC PSU runs ~$150-200, the invertor was $25.

 

That is awsome! I would love to have that in my car, but I know one way or another it would get jacked I wonder how the HDD stands up to road abuse.

 

I've never had a problem with the HDD yet, and it hasn't kicked a check disk at startup yet, so I don't think it has freaked out yet. I haven't even heard it whine when I hit a big bump.

I think it has something to do with the way I mounted it. There's 3 rubber washers sitting between it and the lid, and I didn't crank the hell out of the screws, so it kinda "floats" on the lid.

If it dies, meh, I've got a few other drives here. The current collection is breaking 20gb, so as long as it's at least a 30gb I'll be fine. I have one more IBM Desk Star 30gb here that's just waiting for it's chance to be destroyed, hehe.

 

looks great! touch screen?

 

wow that's super awesome. now get a haltech and you can tune it through that computer too!

 

Says it has integrated touch screen in his post ;P

Awesome setup... I have a lot of questions... but then again I'll never do that anyway 'cause it'd get jacked down here so fast I'd never get to use it lol. ;D Awesome job though.

--Gary

 

Holy crap, I didn't even think of that yet.... Too bad I don't have a TII yet.... someday....

Bob_The_Normal, ask away. There's lots of ways to keep it from getting jacked. I'm actually thinking of pulling the current connectors off, and using something like an ATX power connector mounted in the dash behind teh screen so the connection is tougher so I can take the unit off and on and bring it in with me to work and when it's parked.

I'm getting scared that the cold is going to slaughter the poor thing.

 

i've thought about doing that myself....what about when the car is moving....wouldnt all the vibration damage the HDD and other delicate computer components?

 

Computers aren't as fragile as you'd think. I've put some of my machines through alot of ****, and they keep going. My garage computer has had oil spilled on it, clogged with bondo and fiberglass dust, knocked over countless times, etc, and it still keeps trucking.

This system is no exception. The worst thing I've had happen is have the video card jump out of the AGP slot when I hit the same pothole that ripped half my y-pipe off. I just reseated it, and it powered right up again.

The HDD's lifespan will probably be reduced by the shock, but I don't think it'll be anything to really worry about. Alot of people have been doing car computers for longer then I have and don't have many problems with component failure.

 

Very nice. That's actually the same screen I'll be putting in my Insight.

I've run a computer in my RX-7 since 1999, for playing MP3s. Details can be found here: http://www.aaroncake.net/projects/mp3player.htm

Your inverter bothers me though. Once you go DC-DC, you'll never go back. I didn't even bother with an inverter and went straight to DC-DC. No noise, dead batteries, etc.

As for the HD, no one needs to worry about the hard drives. They do fine in cars. My player has seen the track many times, and probably has a total of 300,000 KM on it (it was also used in my '78 1st gen winter beater, and I am now running it in my Insight temporarily) with only one bad sector (which I caused when I dropped it).

One thing I can suggest though is to make some kind of case. It would finish the whole project off, and give it a less "thrown together" look.

BTW, I used to mod and admin over at the MP3CAR.COM forum.

 

Thats the same lilliput screen I'm using in my gauge cluster, here she is in primer just a bit more finishing to do before painting:



What kind of performance are you getting with that screen in direct sunlight?

 

No way.... lol. Are you running an external ECU so that you'll have digital guages?

It does wash out in bright sunlight, but not to the point were you can't see anything. Mine is also sitting right in the middle of the car though, and doesn't have anything shielding it like your setup would. You can also get that diamond coated reflecting stuff like the newer laptop screens and Sony Xbrites use. I saw it once in an industrial supply catalog, and it wasn't too expensive. It was supposed to cut reflections be quite a bit, although I've never tried the stuff before.

BTW, how did you mold that? It looks very clean and professional.

I like your little cube Aaron, it's so cute. I might build a nice case for it when I get my TII and transplant everything, but that's not happening until the summer. It's kinda hard to tear everything apart on my DD, I hate rushing things because I need the car to get to work.

 

Children of Bodom w00t!

 

Haltech e6k, techedge wbo2, and picotech adc11 providing all the data to a pc, custom software running it all written by myself.

It's a modified stock cluster, the lilliput case was cannibalized to provide the frame which was epoxied into the cluster after filling in the holes where the stock gauges came through also with epoxy using a flat sheet of pva coated aluminum as a mold.

 

 

so, what about operating systems, etc? I spose you connected the audio out on the mobo to some sort of head unit? I understand how you could put a comp in a car... but i wanna know how you managed to configure it...
seems like the easiest way would be install a linux distro and tweak the UI to get what you wanted... and have it automatically log you in a root...
is there software out there?