Car PC 101

[Nd4SpdSe]

Oh ya, almost forgot. Vender told me if I also got the wireless internet feature, all I'd have to do is find a suitable hotel or office complex parking lot and do it from there. Is that possible??? I told you I was a noob....LOL.

Lol, that's just using the internet from unsecured wireless routers (from uneducated users who setup a wireless networking, using the out of the box defaults, so it's open to everyone) or open Wi-Fi "hotspots" from places like truck stops, hotels, restauraunts, etc. I've done it for years.

[jschrauwen]

While waiting for input from my last long post, I've come up with another Q. I'm looking for the name of the feature of a touchscreen display/monitor where, when you look at it from the side (rather than straight on) it doesn't was out or the picture clarity doesn't diminish. My flatscreen on my home PC doesn't wash out and i can't find the feature name that applies to this. Any ideas?? And if someone knows a source for that type of display that's 7" retactable (manual of motorized) - name, product #, and price and possible source. Thanks,

John

[Custommx3]

"Pulls up a chair"

Well, currently CarPCs are still what I would call, "in the development stage". CarPCs originally came out so people could play MP3's in their car, thats why I made mine anyways. But even though lots of people and companies sell them, there are lots of obsticles they need to overcome, and these things you should know about when starting this kind of project.

Displays.
You MUST use a VGA monitor. Anything else.. SVIDEO or Composite will be very distorted. If you get a Touchscreen, dont go cheap. When I started building mine about 5 or so years ago, there was no 7" touchscreen on the market that I could use. My 1st display I bought was composite, worthless. Then I purchased a LILLIPUT 7" VGA Touchreen. I was happy, till 30 days later it died on me. Ended up costing me another $100 to get it repaired. It works great now, but stay away from Lilliput monitors, their production quality isnt that great. Xenarc is a better brand, but before making that decision, read on...

Another issue you may run into is glare and visibility in direct sunlight.

http://www.mp3car.com/video/transflective_demo.wmv

GET this...
http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_inf ... cts_id=245

I know it seems pricey, but you'll thank yourself later!!!!
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=77276 (explains in detail and has some before/after pics)


You had mentioned where would you put the display?
Heres where I put mine.


FM RADIO
This is another issue. Unless its a headunit, you wont get the FM quality, period. USB, FM cards, all suck.
Someone even started to build a PC connected unit based on a headunits chipset, and still hasnt gotten then reception quality to the quality of that of a headunit.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=40612

Since Im not using a headunit at all with my carpc, I may purchase onw of the units, but down the road once they have perfected it.


Choosing a motherboard/Power supply

When choosing a board, it needs to be fast as well as low power consumption. I suggest getting a pentium M based or the EPIA MII 12K you suggested. I myself have an EPIA M9000 that I purchased a few years ago. Its ok, but I wish it was a little faster. Sometimes I get some video studder if they are high quality.

The reason you cant go out and buy a dual core 64 but and throw it in your car is because of power consumption. When you go buy yourself a power supply for this, you need to get a good one. More devices you have, more power draw. ID suggest maybe the same one I have.
http://opussolutions.com/index.php?p=product&id=25
Thats if you choose the EPIA board.

(try and post more later, wife needs me)

[jschrauwen]

These are some of the components I'm considering;

The case to accomodate the use of an extender board for 5.1 Channel card;


Processor EPIA II 1.2, http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info ... cts_id/209


Wondering if I should get this one instead; http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info ... cts_id/545



And the Quanta SDW-082 Slimline CD-RW and 8x +/-DVD Writer; http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info ... cts_id/480



Power Supply - Power Kit 120W for mini-ITX Motherboards - Morex; http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info ... cts_id/597


6 of these - 1-Port 10/100 PCI Network Adapter RJ45; http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info ... cts_id/390

Possible monitor options; http://www.loudfrog.com/itemdetail.aspx?detailID=60256
or;

http://www.avdeals.ca/xenarc/700IDT.htm


http://www.lilliputweb.net/ts701.html



Suggestions/ideas???

[Nd4SpdSe]

These are some of the components I'm considering;6 of these - 1-Port 10/100 PCI Network Adapter RJ45; http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info ... cts_id/390 http://www.logicsupply.com/images/network/LAN1_big.jpg

Why and what do you need 6 PCI network cards for? Those motherboards have each 1 on the board itself.

[Bochek]

there was a car pc on the mp3car forums that fit inside a double din slot. the whole thing. done. used laptop harddrive and other odds and ends parts.
Bochek

Thanks Adam, I think I may have saw that. If it takes up the double DIN slot, where does the Monitor go? I actually had that option too, but I'm hoping for an as stealthfull set-up as possible.With the HD in the glove box or under the seat, I'll only have to access it when changing movies or CD's. But with a 60 GB memory, there's tons of space for tunes. I'll have lots of extra USB ports for IPod or memory stck usage too. The other point is that a cloth covered grill will be made for the bottom cubby space (when it's removed) under the disply to accomodate the centre channel of the 5.1. I still have the option down the road to convert to 6.1 or even 7.1. Although I'm not a gamer at all, I won't have to worry about valuable memory space being eatin up by their programs, which I've heard can be quite healthy.
I had a brief look on Barry's Garage and it appears that there are some familiar names with his car PC and i'm hoping he has the time to elaborate in here.






Hey Adam, what did you guys do after leaving the Solo II place?

the monitor goes in the double din slot, remember its thin, so it leaves lots of room behind for the actual pc.

and after the cancled solo II i went acroos the border down to the states to take alook at some rims im looking at buying.

Bochek

[jschrauwen]

I forgot to mention the propose speaker system that was recommended to me. Basically they're home computer speakers, so there won't be a need for an aux amplifier to drive them since they'll be power through a 120v/12V converter. I could use some feedback on this to; http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... atid=23833#

[Custommx3]

I forgot to mention the propose speaker system that was recommended to me. Basically they're home computer speakers, so there won't be a need for an aux amplifier to drive them since they'll be power through a 120v/12V converter. I could use some feedback on this to; http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... atid=23833#

Dont do that.. thats ghetto!

Just use an amp and a ground loop RCAs.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Dont do that.. thats ghetto!

Lol, I agree!

I actually did that once for a week. As good as my ALtec-Lansings were, they sounded like s--- in the car.

[jschrauwen]

Dont do that.. thats ghetto!
Just use an amp and a ground loop RCAs.

It will? You won't see any of those speakers cause they will be hidden in the usual speaker locations. But I'll take your word for it. OK, I'm stumped and will show my noobness....LOL - I know what an RCA is but what is a ground loop RCA? - external grounding straps attachedto these or something? I didn't really want to remove my Soundstream components up front anyway. I may upgrade the Clarion rears though. After 11 years of service, they've served me well. I'll take recommendations on what amplifier to get. Knowing me, I'll try to hunt down a Class A (high current) amp. I haven't done a search yet, but I wonder if the technology has advanced far enough that I can get a single amp that will carry the 5.1 channels to be processed? I can still retain my Kenwwod amp for the sub too. Trouble is how or where to I control the volume adjust without having to do a lot of touch screen selections?
BTW, thanks Barry for the link to that MP3car site. I only got halfway through that 16 page thread and already I'm getting confused. Is that LCD touchscreen monitor only an upgrade package to your existing 7" display or can I get a complete display unit that's single DIN friendly?

[Custommx3]

Ground loop...
http://cgi.ebay.com/GROUND-LOOP-ISOLATO ... dZViewItem



Thats the full monitor. Just mold it in like I did.
http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_inf ... cts_id=245


digitalww.com has what your looking for, but still, reflection may be a problem.



As far as amps go, get 2 if you have a set of subs.

A 4 channel
A 2 channel bridged down in parallel to a set of subs and you'll be all set thats if you have 2 subs.


Or a single 5.1 will do if you have a single sub.

[jschrauwen]

Ground loop...
http://cgi.ebay.com/GROUND-LOOP-ISOLATO ... dZViewItem
Thats the full monitor. Just mold it in like I did.
http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_inf ... cts_id=245
digitalww.com has what your looking for, but still, reflection may be a problem.
As far as amps go, get 2 if you have a set of subs.
A 4 channel
A 2 channel bridged down in parallel to a set of subs and you'll be all set thats if you have 2 subs.
Or a single 5.1 will do if you have a single sub.

Barry, thanks for ground loop stuff. Somehow I still don't get the inpression that that stuff is a complete monitor. Did you get one already? I got the impressio that it was in their terms an enhancement/upgrade to those monitors that have that daylight wash-out problem. Where they actually take the monitor apart and remove/replace certain film elements so that it prevents the angle viewing distortion and sunlight wash-out. Cause I would pay that $460usd for a monitor that does that but still need to have it retractable into a single DIN for the following reason;
http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/p ... g=en&tab=F
It's single DIN Center Channel for 5.1 surround. I would mount it in the lower DIN and the retractable monitor would obviously go in the top. Don't get me wrong, esthetically, I really like your set-up of the monitor. As a matter of fact, I even stopped at the wreckers today on the way home from work and got a center consol for our car to try some molding/experimentation on based on your set-up. Unless there's a really good alternative to locate a center channel speaker that's geographically situated in an appropriate spot to maximize true 5.1 effects, I'm all ears. As in home theatres and as well as what my home theatre is set up, my Paradigm center channel speaker(s) are situated just under the 42" monitor.
As far as amps go, I've got a single 10" free air sub mouted to a 5'8" particle board rear deck that's supported by a bridged mono Kenwwod amp. So I'm good there. So I guess that I'll have to source a 5.1 channel amp for the center, front and rear speakers since the current Clarion head unit was driving the front's and rears all by itself before.

I think I'm going to have to call you so that you can give me the straight poop and I can cut to the chase much sooner. I'm hoping to have all of this acquired and installed within the next 2 weeks. Although I'm not one for cutting corners when it comes to electronic installs. I guess that's why the system that I installed 11 years ago has been bullet-proof and has yet to ever fail me .... not even one blown fuse. Thanks again Barry. As always, I'll take any electron/PC guru's input/feedback. We're only limited to what we don't know.

John

[jschrauwen]

Whewwwwwww, Barry, that MP3Car.com site rocks. Rocks so much my head is spinning....... input overload. Unfortunately, I really don't want or need to be so educated in the bits and bites department to the point that I'll just confuse myself. If I can keep it in english terms and simplified labelling and identification I'll be further ahead. I guess by stating the intended use of the PC and what I expect out of it is what really matters. Knowing clock speeds and serial ATA's just gets me more confused. If someong like you was to tell me " John, for your intended use and purposes, this, this , this and that and that would best suit your needs. That's good enough for me. As I'm not looking to scrimp and cut corners and would like a near Cadilac type of car PC that will for all intents and purposes, be more than what I need at the present. Cause we all know that when we eventually get into it, we seem to find that it just might not be enough later on. So bascially, go big and go fast and go quality. I hope this is making sense.

[Custommx3]

Lets start with this then...

What are you wanting to use it for?
What features are you looking for?
Is money an issue?


As far as that monitor, they are out of stock for a few weeks anyways.

A quote from that page

This monitor is based off the Lilliput 629 but has been painstakingly enhanced to ensure view ability. It is being sold as an open frame LCD kit (no monitor casing, customer must assemble in their own custom bezel).

Parts included in kit:

7” transflective LCD panel
Toushscreen (only matches included LCD panel)
Controller board (includes: LCD backlight inverter, touchscreen controller, VGA and video controller)
Button panel (remnants of Lilliput 629 front bezel includes: major monitor OSD buttons, and remote IR receiver – panel is one piece and it doesn’t have to be connected for monitor to work)
IR remote (requires that button panel be connected)
Necessary cables (VGA, USB for Toushcreen, and video inputs 2x)

I agree with mp3car being an overload. Its a bunch of guys who are into carPcs, much like we are into mx3s. Lots of options. I truley believe thats the site that got it all started.

Your next objective will be what fronted you wanna use.
I personally use Roadrunner, only because Im an oldschool mediacar interface user that died a few years back and Roadrunner was better written clone.

there are a few others out there. I'd suggest downloading them and trying them out. Now keep in mind, if your not real computer savy, then Id suggest buying a ready built carPC such as streetdeck.

[Andrew_Pakula]

Here are some more mini pc options if anyone is interested, they sell these ones where I work at. They are more powerful then most of the standard ITX stuff but they also cost a lot more.

http://www.stealthcomputer.com/littlepc.htm



There is also DC power options:
http://www.stealthcomputer.com/littlepc_dcinput.htm