Anyone here built a car-pc in there GA?

[djrkd]

im planning on build a PC in my car to use for GPS, and as an MP3 Library. I searched the forums and didnt find anything, and i didnt find anything on the www.mp3car.com forums.

[balludc]

I know someone with a PC in his grand prix. he used an old amp housing to hold the computer internals. pretty sharp.. took him a while to get it done and working though. check out clubgp.com i think theres some talk about it over there maybe

good luck

-derek

[djrkd]

i think i saw it on the mp3car forums, was it a GTP?

[Gator]

I was all set to install one in my car (have most of the parts) but decided against it for several reasons. Primarily system stability and my unfamiliarity with Unix. Unix is the only OS that deals well with the type of environment that an in-car PC would present (system startup/shut-down process) I ended up going with an Ipaq Pocket PC in the car instead. You can see it here:

http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20222&highlight=Gator

This set-up is not currently GPS capable but that function can easily be added with a Dual card PCMCIA sleeve and PCMCIA GPS receiver. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Richard
"Gator"

[djrkd]

i dont think thats true, heres a perfect shutdown http://home.comcast.net/~zootjeff/shutdown/index.html salution for any system. and win2k and XP is very stable.

[dahvaio]

I'm not sure if you want to build your own but have you ever thought about installing a "cappuccino" PC? These are by far the smallest fully capable PC's that I have found to date. Visit:

http://www.cappuccinopc.com/cappuccinotx3.asp

The dimensions are (HxWxD=6" x 5.75" x 2.25")

It would not be that difficult to mount it in the glove compartment and then put a small display into the visor vent (I saw an F150 with an LCD disply in the VISOR).

As for me, I just planning on getting a laptop mount for my car.

Good luck,
David

[djrkd]

I already have a fairly small pc which i will probably mount under the passanger seat.

[Gator]

Originally posted by djrkd
i dont think thats true, heres a perfect shutdown http://home.comcast.net/~zootjeff/shutdown/index.html salution for any system. and win2k and XP is very stable.

That's cool! Thanks for the info. I said that was one of the reasons, there were others as well, you will also need to address heat issues (not too tough with ventilation/fans). The other big stalling point for me was system stability. In other words, the hard drives will need to be laptop drive (somewhat expensive in capacity/$) or shock isolated VERY well, nothing like a sudden pothole to cause a head/platter crash! The other components getting jolted around in the car is also an issue. Desktop components are not made for an environment like a car. I am not saying it won't work, I just felt it would be more frustrating than rewarding for me. I also considered canniblizing a laptop as an in car pc (get one with video outout to screen) but the capacity issue came up again! The box I bought which is now in my living room media center:

http://www.idot.com/TheStore/Desktop/555Spec.asp?Product.id=555&Cate.id=19

Good luck with your project! I hope you are successful. I am not trying to discourage you in any way. I am just offering advice on things you may or may not have considered! I am excited to your finished product!

Richard
"Gator"

[cavingman]

I had one of these in my 94 GT

http://www.epinions.com/pr-Casio_Cassiopeia_Fiva_MPC-501M40E_PC_Notebook/display_~full_specs

Worked very well. I even took the cover off and painted it black to match. held up perfectly. I really only had it playing mp3's. I wrote a small VB program to control playlists so I only had to touch a button on the task bar I made and it would switch playlists.

[bumpn_gt]

I am still tossing the idea around of putting a 17" laptop in my car.......I guy in the car club was a 15" laptop in his del sol....looks awesome!!!


Derek can vouch for that one!

[steve26nyy]

I remember that Cliff(username) has some kind of PC set up in his car.

[djrkd]

Originally posted by Gator
That's cool! Thanks for the info. I said that was one of the reasons, there were others as well, you will also need to address heat issues (not too tough with ventilation/fans). The other big stalling point for me was system stability. In other words, the hard drives will need to be laptop drive (somewhat expensive in capacity/$) or shock isolated VERY well, nothing like a sudden pothole to cause a head/platter crash! The other components getting jolted around in the car is also an issue. Desktop components are not made for an environment like a car. I am not saying it won't work, I just felt it would be more frustrating than rewarding for me. I also considered canniblizing a laptop as an in car pc (get one with video outout to screen) but the capacity issue came up again! The box I bought which is now in my living room media center:

http://www.idot.com/TheStore/Desktop/555Spec.asp?Product.id=555&Cate.id=19

Good luck with your project! I hope you are successful. I am not trying to discourage you in any way. I am just offering advice on things you may or may not have considered! I am excited to your finished product!

Richard
"Gator"


thanks for the tips, theres many ways to protect the harddrive, I've been reading the mp3 car forum and havent heard of any harddrive failures from driving. I was thinking of putting in some of the pointy foam material under the case. that and the soft suspension in my SE will be adequate. some guy on the mp3 car forum said he had the same HD in his truck for 3 years, and hasnt had any problems.

[MattBatt]

Well I have a really old car audio mag with a whole segmet about this company called QPC www.q-pc.com I had to dig through all my old mags to find the issue (thank god it was a cover story) hope that helps.

[djrkd]

im not looking for a computer, theres a few companies out there that sell systems that are already configured, but i have a computer, and the whole point is doing it yourself, ill save alot of money, i already have the computer, so the screen and all the MISC parts should end up costing around 500$.

[mr_eh]

when i get around to this im gonna bust out my wacom tablet and try to integrate it into the lid of the center console... and use that as an interface with an lcd that runs winamp and depending on prices allows me to dial out wirelessly + have a nic card for "wardriving" ((driving around looking for a wireless access point)) ... also going to keep one of those flex keyboards that roll up somewhere easily accessible... and the best place to put the hardware as far as i can tell is in the trunk...

i wanted tojust put my laptop on a car mount but those are very very bulky and was unhappy with how they look... as far as where to put the lcd... thats a secret :)

[djrkd]

anyone have a good idea of where to put this LCD? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2437516301 thats the one im getting.

[djrkd]

for anyone thats interested, http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12269 is probably the most advanced setup. even this guys car alarm is hooked up to the pc.

[gagt13]

about to weeks ago a guy came into the shop i work at, and wanted a computer in his tiberon. it came out real sweet. he had a flip out screen that was touch screen. it came out ral sweet, if i can get pix ill post them but the chances are slim

[MattBatt]

Hey did it come out real sweet gagt13? ;)

[gagt13]

yeh it was. to the untrained eye it still looked like a flip out cup holder

[armith]

I'm designing and building a Car PC.. Found a couple links for some ideas. Wanna swap stories or ideas feel free to IM me.

Unfortunate that we don't really have that friendly of a center console or dash to do a lot with an LCD or anything..

[djrkd]

what kinda screen are u useing? I got a pretty creative way to mount on the LCD, ill be working on it next week.

[armith]

Haven't completely decided yet.. most likely one of the 7in widescreen XGAs... The Xenarc is a pretty solid name but their screen is so damn expensive.. and Lillipod or whatever the Ebay special one is called seems like it would be a nice starter screen.

Though I did find that EarthLCD can make large LCDs with touchscreen availibility.. though they are expensive too.

I'd like to see your ideas on a mount.. I have had a couple ideas too but dont' have the slightest clue where to look for materials.

[djrkd]

im useing the lilliput 7inch VGA Touchscreen and im going to mount it on a tripod head (tripod head for a camera) the lcd has a hole for being atached to a tripod head, and it came with a lil stand which broke, I got a nice solid head for 15$. This way i will have the LCD sticking out of the dash a lil, and move around, i will try to mold the head about the HU. ill post more pics later.

[zerokarma]

Here's another neat small pc to consider.

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

http://www.stealthcomputer.com/images/lpc401_main_small.jpg

http://www.stealthcomputer.com/images/black301_1.jpg