Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi!

I'm toying with the idea of installing a mini PC in-car.. I think it's got a fair bit of promise..in theory anyway. Looking at a mini-pc, boxed and mounted in the boot (near the battery compartment), and then running cables to a 7" widescreen TFT LCD in-dash.

With that sort of steup, I'd be able to possibly do the following:

- mp3 / movie playback

- gps navigation

- fm tuner

- software & games

- connectivity to amps / speakers / sub

- lcd I'm looking at has two video inputs, so I could possibly run the 2nd one to a camera for either rear view vision or one in-cabin)

I guess it's kinda similar in principle to the Xbox mod thread. Dunno if it's actually worth going through, but I'm definitely looking at that as an option for my system.

The main constraint for me at the moment is scraping together enough cash. In the meantime, anyone got any thoughts on the plans? Am I crazy or just a geek with too much spare time on his hands? Actually, don't answer that last one :(

Potentially this could be very cool, depending on how much effort you want to put in. There are some nice 7in touchscreens available cheap from Xenarc, and windows software designed for this purpose is available. If you want to use another OS, it's a bit more work. Have you checked out www.mp3car.com for ideas? There are some awesome setups there, and lots of advice and tips. I was considering doing it in my previous car, but the present one doesn't really have enough room :-(

theres a 7.2inch lcd going around for $180ish on ebay.com.au , guys in melb so u can pick up.

its slimline, but u need to mount it and make an enclosure urself cos its got chips hanging off it at the back.

the idea doesnt sound bad, dont see why it wouldnt work. they had some issues about the hard drive vibrations from the road...mp3car.com should cover it.. good luck!

i've got a 9.5" screen (diagonal, just fits inside double DIN) with some custom wiring (LCD is off a IBM Thinkpad with ultra bright backlight) to an XBOX (best PC you'll ever get for 200 bucks) which has the power module taken out and a DC-DC power converter/stabiliser circuit added.

That way when I start the car the xbox boots but when i turn the ignition on the power dosen't cut out or spike, the xbox keeps working. A lot of people fit mini PC's n Xboxen n PS2's in their cars with power inverters and kill the gear that way in the long run, coz computer circuits are sensitive to little fluctuations.

One of my amtes is running a MicroAT mobo + 6-13.8V DC PSU, 250GB HDD, slimline Kb + trackball mouse on doortrim. Cost him in excess of 1800 bucks, but its got motion detection power on + video capture using a ccd camera, GPS trackin using a GPS module and some other funky stuff. Plus the bastardo's got winamp :P I have to use XBox Media Player. Mine hasn't been mounted yet, but it works fine in the dry mount (outside the car but powered by the battery.)

You could get a mini pc under 400 minus the screen. Most micro mobos u can buy are 200, u just need to add ram and psu. They are ideal for cars as they are small, can be cooled easier and dont have heaps of components as its all onboard.

A DC - DC inverter/converter is ideal but u can run DC - AC inverter as this only produces a sine wave output cause your psu to make a low hum, decent psu should fully negate any surges from the inverter as long as it isnt on when the car is started.

I have ran a incar puter with a old monitor not a lcd either and it ran fine apart from the noise. Just make sure when you choose computer parts (if you dont make a mini box) watch your wattage, ie done run a 300w psu on a 250w inverter. yeah you prolly already ko this.

I was also toying with the ideal of a UPS for my larger box, although not much research yet.

PS if your gonna run all this stuff get a really good alternator and battery (deep cycle) for proper / long term use.

Yeh I've been checking out mp3car.com for some ideas, and they don't sound too tricky.

For the HDD vibration, I was thinking of possibly using memory cards / flash memory instead.

Hey guys, I just happen to have a mini-ITX complete system that im trying to sell. It has a mini power supply, 180 Mb of RAM and a hard drive and is currently installed in an old VCR case (with room to spare) and hooked upto my TV to watch DIVX. The board pictured below is smaller than a magazine so you can fit it in car somewhere easy. Its exactly what you need and Im only asking $450 for the lot.

epia_mini_itx.jpg

All you would need is the power converter for the car a little screen and your away.

Specs:

VIA EPIA Mainboard Specification

Standardized Embedded Solutions for Total Mainboard Connectivity

Form Factor - Mini-ITX

- 170mm x 170mm

- Micro ATX Chassis Compliant

Processor - VIA Eden™ ESP 5000 processor

- 100/133MHz Front Side Bus

- low power consumption

- Optional Fanless

- VIA C3™ E-Series processor (EBGA package)

- 100/133MHz Front Side Bus

- 128K L1 and 64K L2 cache

Chipset - VIA Apollo PLE133

- VT8601A North Bridge

- Featuring integrated AGP 4X graphics

- VIA VT8231 South Bridge

TV-Out - High quality scaling and filtering

- S-Video or Composite video output

- Supports NTSC/PAL TV formats

Main Memory - Two 168-pin DIMM memory sockets

- PC100/133 SDRAM support

LAN - VIA 10/100 Ethernet LAN onboard

Graphics - Integrated AGP4X with 2D/3D Graphics Acceleration

- Motion Compensation for DVD playback

Audio - VIA VT1612A AC'97 onboard

- 3 Audio Jacks - Line-Out, Line-In and Microphone-In

- Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro Compatible

- Digital I/O compatible with consumer mode S/PDIF

Expansion Slots - 1 PCI slot

Onboard IDE - ATA/100/66

I/O Ports - 3 Audio Jacks - Line-out, Mic-in and Line-in

- Four USB ports (two USB ports located at rear side)

- 1 EPP/ECP parallel port

- 1 16C550 compatible serial port

- 2 External PS/2 Compatible Keyboard /Mouse ports

- 2 TV output ports (S-Video or optional RCA TV out)

- 1 S/PDIF out (optional and multiplex with RCA TV out)

- 1 RJ-45 LAN port

- 1 PCI slot (Note: support for two PCI devices)

Interested?

grommets are wonderful for absorbing shocks... just mount everything inside the case with grommets, that's what I did for the xbox.

Another alternative is to fully submerge the hardware in a non conducting fluid. May sound stupid, but tis been done before. Its conducts heat like crazy and absorbs a lot of shock.

  • 1 month later...

Found this thread... Weird...

I have a question, I want to run a Full size PC in my car.. 'Enough room'...

a 15" TFT run off an AMD 2200 system, with decent card, 80 gb hard drive etc...

Good computer, but I need to know, can you buy a 500w inverter with a stabilizer so that there are no power surges or fluxuations?

I want to keep my PC safe....And I'll be running the computer into a Car Amplifier.. with a 15" sub, and another Amp for the front speakers...

i reckon moten management with a connection to a laptop under the passenger seat and then its video out to a tv on the dash for real time engine management and diagnositics would look shit hot

  • 2 weeks later...

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

    • Seat of the pants assessment of the new intake: The car is way less "doughy" when hitting the loud pedal, especially off idle when stopped or in traffic, I did use a cheapo lazer thermal thingo to measure the temp around where the pod filter got its air, it was between 55 - 60°C, in saying this the car was shut off and not moving, so the OEM intake pipe was not supplying any fresh air to where the pod was when the car was at least moving A weird bonus was induction noise on the throttle in the cabin increased a bit,  I was worried that I was actually going to lose some of that induction noise I love so much, outside though, when I got the daughter to do a WOT drive by pass for me, the induction noise has increased alot when on the throttle, not quite ITB doort, but well up there I'm extremely happy with the results and have been exploring the country roads in the region  As for house mods: 1.New front fence is up and is awesome, it really upgraded how the joint looks from the street, and the added security is nice 2. Electricians have replace some interior lights, and with more lighting in the garage, a few new motion detecting lights out the front above the garage, front room, and at the front door, which I have already found heaps helpful coming and going, also now has fancy pants CCTV all round the house The only hold point for power though is the solar and batteries due to supply issues, although this will happen over the next few weeks 3. I have done a heap of landscaping out the front and I'm almost ready to do a new small retaining wall with some nice blocks to replace the brick and cemented in rocks around the raised garden beds cemented in river stone "was the fashion at the time" the house was built. I currently have a pallet of retaining wall blocks and 2 bulka bags of 20mm blue metal to replace the wood chip that is in the raised garden beds around the house 4. I now have 3 big raised garden beds for out the back to grow some vegetables, about 70cm high, 200cm long and 100cm wide 5. My 2 compost bins are already pretty full with brown, green and kitchen waste from the landscaping I'vedone so far, but they will probably take a few months to break down, so anything else that gets chopped, trimmed, and kitchen waste will just start filling the base of the raised garden beds to about 30cm before I start throwing 40cm of good compost, and stuff, for the vegetables to grow in, I'll need a few ton of compost and soil, but the local supplier can sent me bulka bags of the stuff Basically the logs, wood chips and a few strategically placed rocks for drainage, will give the beds some good organic materials down low to break down over time, and they will hold moisture during the warmer months to save the water in my big arse water tank if we don't get alot of rain So, all in all, the car and house mods are going well, and I'm really enjoying being retired, I sleep in too 0700 and slowly plod around inside until I feel like actually doing anything, and only work in the yard for as long as want, which has actually been alot over the last few weeks,  although when you look at it, it seems that not a huge amount of work has been done,  until I look at the before I started the work pics Happy days and good times indeed 
    • hahaha yeah. Plan is to get side skirts and probably just rear pods. But going to do them one-by-one. I've got a set that I really like from RHDJapen, but that one isn't shipped to AU. So need to find someone who can get it for me
    • Here's an idea, answer the questions I asked you as they are trying to work out WHY the LSD will be binding up in a straight line.
    • You haven't driven many modern cars then have you? Most of them have sfa steering feel with their stupid electric bullshit steering systems.
×
×
  • Create New...