Topic: Who has done a carputer? (Read 6109 times)

Doug · « **on:** July 06, 2009, 09:04:32 PM »

Well with my mucked up climate bezel on my 99 Civic I either have to get a "new" one OR for the price of a replacement + a few bucks I can buy a 7" screen to mold in there. I have doing some research on some carputers and some of the parts are priced retarded high. I.E. 200 watt DC PC power supply for $150+.

Any of you nogs ever made one? Figured it would take the place of my head unit with a lot more functionality.

1) What kind of power options did you use? I see you can either use a DC PC power supply, or buy a DC to AC inverter and just use a conventional PC power supply which would be a bit cheaper. Only issue I see with this is that it wouldn't be ignition controlled. You would have to have a manual switch to cut on power to inverter and PC rather than a DC PSU will just come on with the ignition.

2) Next question is how would the audio work? I have a 4ch amp I can run the audio signal through then to the speakers, so I know that much. My question is say if I'm running a 5.1 ch sound car how would I hook this up to the car audio? I know they have the headphone style adapter that will plug in to the port on the PC then splits to two RCA ports. Now with my "5.1ch" card two of the ports are for mic and line in. So I don't understand how this is considered a 5.1ch system. What does it do convert the signal for front and rear into two separate signals for R and L? Sounds like a simulated surround sound to me, unless I just don't understand how it works.

3) So in this hookup scheme if you ran each sound card port via a 3.5mm to rca cable to a channel on the amp I would have a surround sound type setup and have full control of each speaker independently via the OS? or just control over the front and rear not individual?

j.h.christ · « **Reply #1 on:** July 06, 2009, 09:12:13 PM »

save some money and boost something already for fucks sake

Doug · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2009, 09:21:52 PM »

Well I have to fix this shit. The tabs on top are broken causing the vents to not jet the ac right (just shoots out the side), the bezel is hacked up and won't hold a head unit, and the radio harness was cut. It's hot as hell here so AC is a must and driving without a radio is super shitty. I figured if I could sell my head unit + the $165 I sold the head unit it came with for and build a carputer in that budget then why not? Either way the shit will be fixed and the cost would be the same.

Whenever I get the little shit straight on the car then we will see about engine work. I have already been planning a little something. One of my main concerns is tuning since I have yet to find a tuner around here worth a shit. The only one EVERYONE goes to scammed me on a LS block so I refuse to go back to them.

Anyways back on subject, my positive pressure failure is the subject of another thread.

jagojon3 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2009, 09:24:00 PM »

I'd get the little shit straight first, then boost it, then build a carputer after researching more. The best option is a DC-DC power supply

ryan89crx · « **Reply #4 on:** July 06, 2009, 09:43:22 PM »

page 3 gets interesting
http://d-series.org/forums/audio-electronics/18052-completed-4-27-05-project-my-fingertips.html

btw, bizzar is a member on here and was an OG HMT'er

Doug · « **Reply #5 on:** July 06, 2009, 10:10:26 PM »

Quote from: jagojon3 on July 06, 2009, 09:24:00 PM

I'd get the little shit straight first, then boost it, then build a carputer after researching more. The best option is a DC-DC power supply

Well part of the little shit that needs to be fixed will be completely different with a pc. I can keep the climate bezel as it will need molding anyway.

Fix:

Climate bezel $130 (old one is cut up where someone tried molding a tv in previously)
Radio harness $15
Dash kit for radio $20

Total: $165

PC:
Monitor $150
PSU $80 (found what I was looking for after posting)
Motherboard $free
HDD $free
Video card $free
Sell head unit -$100
Cables

Shoot high say $25
Epoxy for molding

Either way will roughly be around the same price with greater expandability down the line. This is by no means going to be a expensive setup. This will fall in RHMT guidelines. The ONLY reason I am even contemplating this is I have a old PC that I have no use for that is wanting to be molested.

glustic · « **Reply #6 on:** July 06, 2009, 10:59:34 PM »

Doug...

You have it figured out already man. Do the 3rd question on your list. Best option is the ignition controlled power supply. Fuck switching two switches to turn your shit off, that will get annoying the first time you do it...

glustic · « **Reply #7 on:** July 06, 2009, 11:48:41 PM »

No headunit required. Best bet is to go with a touchscreen LCD. Or you can bust out the wireless mouse.

rawr · « **Reply #8 on:** July 07, 2009, 01:53:53 AM »

Quote from: carkrazed on July 06, 2009, 11:53:59 PM

Oh ya. You must be doin a 3.5mm to rca adapter then runnin it to an amp.

yesssssssss.

97Econobox · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2009, 06:27:44 AM »

all you need is here.

www.mp3car.com

They have HD radio adapters, PSU's Screens' GPS anennea, etc.

My boys got one in a kia sorento that looks factory. Its sick, ill see if i cant get pics.

salesmonkey · « **Reply #10 on:** July 07, 2009, 07:28:30 AM »

how many people here have ac currently? i havent had ac in my cars for seveal years. use to be every car had it, you kinda learn to live without it.

Joseph Davis · « **Reply #11 on:** July 07, 2009, 07:40:18 AM »

I have an Innovatek LM-878 7" touchscreen, make offer.

Whatever you do to power any LCD you get, do it right... if the power feeding it varies, it's intensity varies, can be problematic. Also, most of these screens are a native 800X480; does your video card support this? If not then a diff card is cheap, but your budget just went up. Etc.

97Econobox · « **Reply #12 on:** July 07, 2009, 09:13:25 AM »

Quote from: Joseph Davis on July 07, 2009, 07:40:18 AM

I have an Innovatek LM-878 7" touchscreen, make offer.

Whatever you do to power any LCD you get, do it right... if the power feeding it varies, it's intensity varies, can be problematic. Also, most of these screens are a native 800X480; does your video card support this? If not then a diff card is cheap, but your budget just went up. Etc.

mp3car.com has sweet psus that get the ingition signal patiently wait for the car to start and THEN cuts your shit on. no popping, no feedback and no surge in power. Nice and steady. If im not mistaken it even allows teh PC to shut down properly after you kill it too so you're not just shutting it off Hard each time.

might be overpriced on that site but obviously they have everything you need so you can find the part and then of course search other places for said part at a better deal.

Joseph Davis · « **Reply #13 on:** July 07, 2009, 09:24:15 AM »

The price on that shit doesn't vary much. Also, LCDs are typically powered seperately from the computer, sam as with a desktop. So proper power regulation for the LCD isn't controlled by anything but the installer.

Jorsher · « **Reply #14 on:** July 07, 2009, 10:40:59 AM »

Quote from: salesmonkey on July 07, 2009, 07:28:30 AM

how many people here have ac currently? i havent had ac in my cars for seveal years. use to be every car had it, you kinda learn to live without it.

What state are you in? I admit it'd be nice to have on some days, but I haven't had a decently running AC in...years. Current AC is broke and I'm usually fine just rolling down the windows but it sucks when it's 90-100F, raining, and the vent is blowing hot air into your leaky car.

97Econobox · « **Reply #15 on:** July 07, 2009, 11:19:07 AM »

Yeah in VA we get literaly like 80-90 and 80% humity on a regualr during summer. so windows down dont work when its that hot ass wet air hittin you in the face. Feels like you're being steamed like in a cooker. Now a heater? fuck it, i got heated leather seats so im good there.

Hell i might fix teh damn thing if it didnt require pulling half the damn interior out. Fuck a bunch of removing brittle ass german plastic.

Jorsher · « **Reply #16 on:** July 07, 2009, 12:32:41 PM »

Quote from: 97Econobox on July 07, 2009, 11:19:07 AM

Yeah in VA we get literaly like 80-90 and 80% humity on a regualr during summer. so windows down dont work when its that hot ass wet air hittin you in the face. Feels like you're being steamed like in a cooker. Now a heater? fuck it, i got heated leather seats so im good there.

Hell i might fix teh damn thing if it didnt require pulling half the damn interior out. Fuck a bunch of removing brittle ass german plastic.

We know all about humidity

It's been low lately at 40-60%, which is odd for this time of year. 90-100+ and 90+ humidity, sucks, no AC, sucks, raining too? really sucks. Car leaks? in a sweltering rainforest going down the interstate with foggy windshield.

Sucks.

dvst8r · « **Reply #17 on:** July 07, 2009, 12:51:05 PM »

Our hottest day to this point has been 78... And I still use my AC on a regular basis.

Doug · « **Reply #18 on:** July 07, 2009, 05:14:59 PM »

Quote from: 97Econobox on July 07, 2009, 06:27:44 AM

all you need is here.

www.mp3car.com

They have HD radio adapters, PSU's Screens' GPS anennea, etc.

My boys got one in a kia sorento that looks factory. Its sick, ill see if i cant get pics.

Yeah good site. There screens a way overpriced. I screwed around and missed a kick ass deal on a new screen on eBay that went for $$114. Just going to keep looking till I find a good deal, I guess no big rush, but no radio sucks ass.

Quote from: Joseph Davis on July 07, 2009, 07:40:18 AM

I have an Innovatek LM-878 7" touchscreen, make offer.

Whatever you do to power any LCD you get, do it right... if the power feeding it varies, it's intensity varies, can be problematic. Also, most of these screens are a native 800X480; does your video card support this? If not then a diff card is cheap, but your budget just went up. Etc.

Is it a VGA monitor? From what I have read the composite video connections suck balls with a PC and make a GPS almost unreadable.

Jorsher · « **Reply #19 on:** July 07, 2009, 05:19:23 PM »

Composite sucks to begin with. VGA is 640x480. 800x480 I assume would be WVGA.

It shouldn't be so terrible you can't read it, but an LCD with a VGA/DVI/component/hdmi would be best.

Joseph Davis · « **Reply #20 on:** July 07, 2009, 05:22:40 PM »

Yup, it's a VGA interface. Cheap video cards raster the screen, decent cards you have no problem with.

Doug · « **Reply #21 on:** July 07, 2009, 06:06:21 PM »

^Pm'd

BigGameHit · « **Reply #22 on:** July 07, 2009, 09:47:31 PM »

You should just get a mini laptop and a mount sorta like that of an police cruiser computer...
i just picked up an refurbished Acer for 241 dollars and a car mount. ill be using it to data log. You can do all the same stuff as you outlined.

Joseph Davis · « **Reply #23 on:** July 07, 2009, 09:57:34 PM »

Sounds bulky and annoying.

I'm picking up a Thinkpad X61, I guess I could glue it to the center console and use it as a carputer.

BigGameHit · « **Reply #24 on:** July 07, 2009, 10:02:17 PM »

hell yea lol....

or visit home depot and buy some of those big ass L brackets and do some magic with them

Jorsher · « **Reply #25 on:** July 07, 2009, 10:45:07 PM »

Yeah, I wouldn't bother with a laptop. Carputer is nerdy enough but can be cool when done properly. Rigging a laptop is just trashy and will not pull many cool points

If I had a nice enough car I'd go through the trouble.

BigGameHit · « **Reply #26 on:** July 07, 2009, 10:51:32 PM »

my setup will just be the laptop and a power converter lol im a simple man.

Doug · « **Reply #27 on:** July 08, 2009, 02:14:04 AM »

Quote from: BigGameHit on July 07, 2009, 09:47:31 PM

You should just get a mini laptop and a mount sorta like that of an police cruiser computer...
i just picked up an refurbished Acer for 241 dollars and a car mount. ill be using it to data log. You can do all the same stuff as you outlined.

I am on a Asus EEE PC now and they are slow and wouldn't play the audio in the quality a PC with good sound card could, much less stream the GPS (down the line) cleanly. Sure you could use a more expensive laptop, but then why not just go the simple, cheaper, and cleaner method at that point. Not to mention I have a Civic not a big ass truck. A laptop would be annoying and in the way for passengers.

I'm not sure of the wattage needs of the old PC I have laying round. I will have to find out for sure as the PSU I plan on getting is only 120W. I just want something to work decent for now. Updating the computer part later will be easy, the main thing is the monitor.

Any of you nogs that have any mobo, sound card, video card, etc etc laying around you want to donate let me know

Jorsher · « **Reply #28 on:** July 08, 2009, 03:04:16 AM »

120w won't do much. You better look for a weak single or dual core. By weak, I don't mean old and weak. My processor sucks over 300w down alone, but it's an overclocked quad. Old processors may be slower but they're less efficient too... 120w doesn't sound like much at all.

What processor is it?

You need to find a mini-itx motherboard with on-board video. Too bad the nvidia ion boards aren't out yet (I think). They were made for HTPCs and netbooks. Low power but can handle 1080p media and run decently.

For a carputer, you really don't need much processing power.

Doug · « **Reply #29 on:** July 08, 2009, 05:45:18 AM »

Yeah I know 120w isn't much. I found another for 160w I might get. They usually use the mini itx boards, but I just wanted to go cheap and workable for now. The old PC is a single core AMD. I'll have to take it apart to find out more.

I figured it really won't need much computing power. It will only be running Ride Runner which plays music through winamp and gps down the line. Will just run a super stripped Win XP.

News:

Author Topic: Who has done a carputer? (Read 6109 times)

rawr