Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Here's a quick shot of my screen install in the 33... the paint job on the dash fascia isn't finished yet (still got one more coat of the silver and then a couple of coats of clear), but you get the idea.

post-26444-1255325996_thumb.jpg

Got music/video/pics, FM radio (though I've gotta work out a better antenna... the reception is pretty poor at the moment), GPS (USB GPS dongle - $50 eBay - and FreeDrive software), all running through the FreeICE frontend (for the moment - as a software developer I'm hoping ot oneday get around to building my own from scratch... I've used Centrafuse, RoadRunner, FrodoPlayer, and a couple of others from http://www.mp3car.com/... personally I find FreeICE does the job for me for the moment.

Edited by Samon
  • Replies 95
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Just wondering if anyone has installed a webcam in their car?

I'm planning to install one facing forward (Front windshield) and the other facing backward (rear windshield). Anyone recommend any brands/models?

I require the camersa to be fairly heat proof as they will be exposed to the sun on the dashboard and rear parcel shelf.

I ended up buying a USB GPS unit for my car PC from eBay. I too need to find software, the only one that seems to suit my needs is co-pilot live. http://www.travroute.com.au/index.php?opti...33&Itemid=1

Wondering if anyone out there knows any alternatives to co-pilot.

I checked the site out, so far as i can see the data for maps looks pretty old. 2005? Also looks like it may only have maps for the US which seems to be a consistant problem from the apps i've looked into.

i have a Mini pc i had set up orgionaly to use for a media center at home sitting here, and i have been toying with the idea of making it into a car pc, my only concern is the start up times for the front ends... i think it would annoy me alot to have to sit and wait for the pc to start up all the time....

so i dont think it is really for me, but if someone is interested in the pc i have here... i will happily sell it off.

M330 case

Zotac ionatx-a-u (duel core 1.6ghz, 9400gt video card)

4GB RAM

320GB HDD

board has built in wifi, hdmi optical and spdif auidio outs.... if any one is intersted in it pm me XD (need cash to pay for some wheels hahaha)

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj164/cbruss/IMG_0037.jpg

i had a laptop-based carpc at one stage, for about a year.

i had startup and turnoff times down to under 5 seconds, from suspend (battery in laptop enables this, as long as i turn it on once every few days it would resume with no problems).

running a stripped down XP

and roadrunner frontend

was pretty awesome.

i had a laptop-based carpc at one stage, for about a year.

i had startup and turnoff times down to under 5 seconds, from suspend (battery in laptop enables this, as long as i turn it on once every few days it would resume with no problems).

running a stripped down XP

and roadrunner frontend

was pretty awesome.

not bad at all.... tempted to grab my old laptop and give this a burl :blink:, did you just run it through an inverter?

not bad at all.... tempted to grab my old laptop and give this a burl :D , did you just run it through an inverter?

You don't need to bother with an inverter, as you will be running DC-to-DC. You can buy a universal laptop ciggie lighter adaptor on ebay for under 20 bucks, they work quite well, you can also hard wire into your car if your handy with a soldering iron and know which circuits to tap into :)

hey guys been rading this thread, and the carpc seems like a great alternative to a new headunit. My current cd player is very basic and OLD, doesn't play mp3's so im constantly changing the cd, quite a pain, and its on its way out, always freezing, or skipping tracks.

I've got a laptop that i currently only use for media/tv/dvd/itunes. it all sounds so complicated from what i read. but would there be a way of buying a touchscreen to mount into the dash and then having a cable running to the back seat area where i can have it connect to the laptop and run it that way? so i can disconnect if i need to remove the laptop and bring it home. Or is it more complicated than that. im keen on setting up the GPS too for those summer road trips! would the sound quality be awful since its comming from the laptop? the current set up is just the stock standard from what i can tell.

any ideas would be great, and what sort of price range would i been looking at, if i wanted to use my current laptop?

Personally I'd try to find a docking station/port replicator... that way you can leave all the cabling setup correctly and just unclip the laptop and take it out. The other advantage of this is that you can setup different profiles in windows for 'docked' and 'undocked'...

Maybe check eBay?

And the audio quality from the onboard soundcard is pretty pathetic... an external sound card eliminates a lot of the interference.

I'd expect around $400 for a decent double-DIN screen, about $70 for a good USB GPS receiver, around the $150 mark for a decent USB sound card, allow at least $100 for random cables, etc...

Oh and if you don't already have an amp setup for your speakers you're gonna need (at least) one - the power output of a lappy or even USB sound card is only headphone level, you need to feed that to your amp(s).

Personally I'd try to find a docking station/port replicator... that way you can leave all the cabling setup correctly and just unclip the laptop and take it out. The other advantage of this is that you can setup different profiles in windows for 'docked' and 'undocked'...

Maybe check eBay?

And the audio quality from the onboard soundcard is pretty pathetic... an external sound card eliminates a lot of the interference.

I'd expect around $400 for a decent double-DIN screen, about $70 for a good USB GPS receiver, around the $150 mark for a decent USB sound card, allow at least $100 for random cables, etc...

Oh and if you don't already have an amp setup for your speakers you're gonna need (at least) one - the power output of a lappy or even USB sound card is only headphone level, you need to feed that to your amp(s).

Docking station - Definately a top idea :P

In regards to the sound card it can depend on the laptop. I find many of the HP branded laptops/tablets have pretty clear and low distortion sound - but I must stress not all. Might save you a few bucks and extra connections - just an idea.

In regards to the sound card it can depend on the laptop. I find many of the HP branded laptops/tablets have pretty clear and low distortion sound - but I must stress not all. Might save you a few bucks and extra connections - just an idea.

Maybe... I've got two HPs, a Compaq, an Acer and a Toshiba and while the audio quality from one of the HPs and the Toshiba is actually not that bad, once hooked up to the DC->DC charger with the engine running there is a noticable amount of audio interference... not TERRIBLE like my Compaq, but when I built this system I wasn't going for just 'good enough'... with the external audio system there's NO interference and the audio quality is in a totally different league...

I guess for me, if it couldn't at least MATCH the capabilities/quality of a mid-high end headunit setup, it wasn't worth it... I mean for around the $1000 mark I sepnt setting up my system I could have picked up a fairly decent headunit (probably without GPS, admittedly) which would have had most of the features and a decent audio quality... althought having the PC in there is certainly much cooler and certainly wins plenty of geek points :P

Maybe... I've got two HPs, a Compaq, an Acer and a Toshiba and while the audio quality from one of the HPs and the Toshiba is actually not that bad, once hooked up to the DC->DC charger with the engine running there is a noticable amount of audio interference... not TERRIBLE like my Compaq, but when I built this system I wasn't going for just 'good enough'... with the external audio system there's NO interference and the audio quality is in a totally different league...

I guess for me, if it couldn't at least MATCH the capabilities/quality of a mid-high end headunit setup, it wasn't worth it... I mean for around the $1000 mark I sepnt setting up my system I could have picked up a fairly decent headunit (probably without GPS, admittedly) which would have had most of the features and a decent audio quality... althought having the PC in there is certainly much cooler and certainly wins plenty of geek points :(

Out of curiosity are you using a soundblster Extigy/Audigy external?

Im running a dell c640 latitude $100 laptop in my car

wires up to my ecu and also consult port

not running music thru it, simply for tune checks etc

got a usb/cig.lighter $20 unit that runs and plays my mp3 usb on 90.9fm over the radio

Out of curiosity are you using a soundblster Extigy/Audigy external?

Audigy2 NX... though If I were doing it again, it'd probably try to find one of the older Extigy ones... mainly just because they run on plain 12V (audigy runs on 5V, but unfortunately draws too much to be self powered from the USB port...) which is easy to come by in a car, and don't even need a voltage regulator! A lot of the guys on mp3car.com just wire them straight into the 12V from the car with no problems. of course if you're going for a mini-atx carPC instead of a converted laptop like I did, then you could easily run the 5V line from one of the molex power connectors from the power supply, but for me that wasn't an option.

I checked the site out, so far as i can see the data for maps looks pretty old. 2005? Also looks like it may only have maps for the US which seems to be a consistant problem from the apps i've looked into.

I struggled finding "backups" of the software on the internet - especially for Australia.

I bit the bullet and bought some Garmin laptop software 2010 version from eBay and connected it to my USB GPS dongle.

It was a fiddly setup because the GPS dongle I used was not a Garmin product. But I got it all working eventually.

Personally I think it is money well spent.

Reasons:

- Maps load much faster.

- GPS seems more accurate (could be related to the USB dongle)

- Smoother interface.

- GPS seems to lock on faster (could be related to the USB dongle)

- Zoom in/out function is less fiddly compared to a "conventional" GPS.

- Has handwriting recognition for entering addresses (if you use a stylus).

- When playing music the software automatically reduces the music volume by around 25%, when giving directions (some people may not like this function) - when not giving direction music plays as normal.

- Basically its like a portable GPS on steroids.

Has anyone done a headunit relocation in a 33 for carpc? I've got a lilliput screen in a double din mount ready to go in but also want to keep a normal headunit, I was considering replacing the lighter/ashtray with it but there seems to be a lot of plastic behind there that supports mounts and the frame further up.

Theres a centrafuse 3 edition with nav if anyone is interested in a commercial solution...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Update 3: Hi all It's been a while. Quite a lot of things happened in the meantime, among other things the car is (almost) back together and ready to be started again. Things that I fixed or changed: Full turbo removal, fitting back the OEM turbo oil hardlines. Had to do quite a bit of research and parts shopping to get every last piece that I need and make it work with the GT2860 turbos, but it does work and is not hard to do. Proves that the previous owner(s) just did not want to. While I was there I set the preload for the wastegates to 0,9bar to hopefully make it easier for the tuner to hit the 370hp I need for the legal inspections that will follow later on. Boost can always go up if necessary. Fitted a AN10 line from the catch can to the intake hose to make the catchcan and hopefully the cam covers a slight vacuum to have less restrictive oil returns from the head and not have mud build up as harshly in the lines and catch can. Removed the entire front interior just shy of the dashboard itself to clean up some of the absolutely horrendous wiring, (hopefully) fix the bumpy tacho and put in LED bulbs while I was there. Also put in bulbs where there was none before, like the airbag one. I also used that chance to remove the LED rpm gauge on the steering column, which was also wired in absolute horror show fashion. Moved the 4in1 Prosport gauge from sitting in front of the OEM oil pressure gauge to the center console vents, I used a 3D printed vent piece to hold that gauge there. The HKB steering wheel boss was likely on incorrectly as I sometimes noticed the indicator reset being uneven for left vs. right. In the meantime also installed an airbag delete resistor, as one should. Installed Cube Speed premium short shifter. Feels pretty nice, hope it'll work great too when I actually get to drive. Also put on a fancy Dragon Ball shift knob, cause why not. My buddy was kind enough to weld the rust hole in the back, it was basically rusted through in the lowermost corner of the passenger side trunk area where the wheel arch, trunk panel and rear quarter all meet. Obviously there is still a lot of crustiness in various areas but as long as it's not rusted out I'll just treat and isolate the corrosion and pretend it's not there. Also had to put down a new ground wire for the rear subframe as the original one was BARELY there. Probably a bit controversial depending on who you ask about this... but I ended up just covering the crack in the side of the engine block, the one above the oil feed, with JB Weld. I used a generous amount and roughed up the whole area with a Dremel before, so I hope this will hold the coolant where it should be for the foreseeable future. Did a cam cover gasket job as the half moons were a bit leaky, and there too one could see the people who worked on this car before me were absolute tools. The same half moons were probably used like 3 times without even cleaning the old RTV off. Dremeled out the inside of the flange where the turbine housing mates onto the exhaust manifolds so the diameter matches, as the OEM exhaust manifolds are even narrower than the turbine housings as we all know. Even if this doesn't do much, I had them out anyways, so can't harm. Ideally one would port-match both the turbo and the manifold to the gasket size but I really didn't feel up to disassembling the turbine housings. Wrapped turbo outlet dumps in heat wrap band. Will do the frontpipe again as well as now the oil leak which promted me to tear apart half the engine in the first place is hopefully fixed. Fitted an ATI super damper to get rid of the worn old harmonic balancer. Surely one of the easiest and most worth to do mods. But torquing that ARP bolt to spec was a bitch without being able to lock the flywheel. Did some minor adjustments in the ECU tables to change some things I didn't like, like the launch control that was ALWAYS active. Treated rusty spots and surface corrosion on places I could get to and on many spots under the car, not pretty or ideal but good enough for now. Removed the N1 rear spats and the carbon surrounding for the tailpipe to put them back on with new adhesive as the old one was lifting in many spots, not pretty. Took out the passenger rear lamp housing... what do you know. Amateur work screwed me again here as they were glued in hard and removing it took a lot of force, so I broke one of the housing bolts off. And when removing the adhesive from the chassis the paint came right off too. Thankfully all the damaged area won't be visible later, but whoever did the very limited bodywork on this car needs to have their limbs chopped off piece by piece.   Quite a list if I do say so myself, but a lot of time was spent just discovering new shit that is wrong with the car and finding a solution or parts to fix it. My last problem that I now have the headache of dealing with is that the exhaust studs on the turbo outlets are M10x1.25 threaded, but the previous owner already put on regular M10 nuts so the threads are... weird. I only found this out the hard way. So now I will just try if I can in any way fit the front pipe regardless, if not I'll have to redo the studs with the turbos installed. Lesson learned for the future: Redo ALL studs you put your hands on, especially if they are old and the previous owners were inept maniacs. Thanks for reading if you did, will update when the engine runs again. Hope nothing breaks or leaks and I can do a test drive.
    • No those pads are DBA too  but they have colors too. I look at the and imo the green "street" are the best.
    • I’m not sure what happened I told them about sonic tunes free OTS tune and the next the I know .. I was booted..   To funny 
    • Yea - I mean I've seen my fuel pump which is decades old and uh, while I'm not saying this with real knowledge... but I sure get the ick at using anything in the fuel system that produced the state of that pump. Many years ago I went through multiple pumps (and strainers) before I dropped the tank to clean it out with extreme violence. I'm talking the car would do maybe 50km before coming to a halt, which resulted in me cleaning out the filter with some brake cleaner and going on my way. None of my stuff ever looked like what came out of your fuel tank. I don't think I'd be happy with it unless every single component was replaced (or at least checked/cleaned/confirmed to be clean here).
×
×
  • Create New...