In Dash Lcd With Vga/usb Input For Car Pc

[Stagea_Neo]

Hi All,

Have held off on buying a 7inch in dash lcd with touch screen with vga/usb for a car pc for 2-3 years cause

haven't seen (in my view) a reputable brand.

Im interested in suggestions, what people have used, no issues, good build quality etc...

Seen reviews of lilliput/xenarc which have put me off.

None of the 'known' manufacturers (clarion, pioneer etc..) make something like this, who's build quality I trust.

Hence at this point i will not buy anything i come across.

Jaycar have something (i trust their product) to suit the requirement, minus 1 specification, it's not in dash, spewin.

Cheers,

Pete

[BundyBear]

Pete

If ya don't mind the Jaycar screen you could put the guts of the screen guts in something like This, and house the PC aswell

I got a cheap $80 screen of ebay bout 5 months ago droped in the touch screen USB inlay($30 ebay), run of a hackedup desktop PC 4 now (next step is the Double DIN case above, & proper carPC)

The screen sits in the sun a fair bit and in a black car

Pros: handles the heat

Good clear picture

CHEAP

Get VGA, 2 Video in, and built in TV tuner

Cons: Gota use a screwdriver

Reflections can be an bit of an issue on real bright days

Buttons/Case feel a little cheap but I'll ditch all that when swap the guts to the Double Din job

TV tuner, like most, is fairly useless on the move

Cheers

Bundy

[Chris Rogers]

I have a couple of xanavi navi DIN units that have a dvd rom drive in the base of it and a 7" lcd that pops out. I'm going to rework one of them into a carpc/embedded solution.

also look up fit pc. the compulabs people have drop in boards if you have the ability to do base boards for them. look at the CM boards as a start. they are atom based and preloaded with an operation system

http://www.fit-pc.com/web/

http://www.compulab.co.il/

http://www.compulab....ml/products.htm

this is what I'm looking at:

http://www.compulab....m-datasheet.htm

http://www.compulab....m-datasheet.htm

http://www.compulab....m-datasheet.htm

you can spec them to drive a LCD directly. there is a rep company in mona vale (sydney) that can do them.

[Chris Rogers]

bundy,

like the idea. only reason I'm reworking teh xanavi one is that it is a DIN unit.

( I cannot find a image of it..)

[Stagea_Neo]

Pete

If ya don't mind the Jaycar screen you could put the guts of the screen guts in something like This, and house the PC aswell

I got a cheap $80 screen of ebay bout 5 months ago droped in the touch screen USB inlay($30 ebay), run of a hackedup desktop PC 4 now (next step is the Double DIN case above, & proper carPC)

The screen sits in the sun a fair bit and in a black car

Pros: handles the heat

Good clear picture

CHEAP

Get VGA, 2 Video in, and built in TV tuner

Cons: Gota use a screwdriver

Reflections can be an bit of an issue on real bright days

Buttons/Case feel a little cheap but I'll ditch all that when swap the guts to the Double Din job

TV tuner, like most, is fairly useless on the move

Cheers

Bundy

Thanks Bundy,

Yeah I was thinking of something like/exactly that as one of my options if i decided to rip out my existing clarion head

unit, leaving the single din factory aircon & 2din space to play with.

However came across some clarion items on the auctions recently that allow me to integrate new stuff with my existing

head unit / setup on the audio in/out and vid in/out. my head unit controls it all via ce-net.

So only single din space with the path im taking to play with and car pc will a hideaway unit.

Just need to find a decent lcd single din with vga/usb pc connectivity then the build will begin.

Cheers,

Pete

[Stagea_Neo]

I have a couple of xanavi navi DIN units that have a dvd rom drive in the base of it and a 7" lcd that pops out. I'm going to rework one of them into a carpc/embedded solution.

also look up fit pc. the compulabs people have drop in boards if you have the ability to do base boards for them. look at the CM boards as a start. they are atom based and preloaded with an operation system

http://www.fit-pc.com/web/

http://www.compulab.co.il/

http://www.compulab....ml/products.htm

this is what I'm looking at:

http://www.compulab....m-datasheet.htm

http://www.compulab....m-datasheet.htm

http://www.compulab....m-datasheet.htm

you can spec them to drive a LCD directly. there is a rep company in mona vale (sydney) that can do them.

Hi Chris,

I'd like to use the Stagea xanavi unit as another option, control the aircon and keep it all stock looking, then have my clarion single din below it. Unfortunately i dont think there is a way to get the xanavi touch screen to control a car pc via usb or rs232.

(Unless u know different? That be great!)

I know a vga signal can be in-putted to the Xanavi with some know-how/handy work, which would be part of a solution.

Would just rely on wireless mini kb/trackball control pc and go with out pc touch screen control.

If i were to look at the jaycar screen, the double din shell as per Bundy suggestion or retrofit xanavi shell with new touch screen lcd, do some tinkering, ad a pc, then also buy one of these from jaycar:

(http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KV3590&CATID=25&form=CAT&SUBCATID=432)

If I could possibly control the aircon via a car pc, design my own interface for aircon control and the rest, that would be awsome!

I like all those small foot print boards, make it very convenient and expand the installation options.

Cheers,

Pete

[BundyBear]

bundy,

like the idea. only reason I'm reworking teh xanavi one is that it is a DIN unit.

( I cannot find a image of it..)

Chris

Nice, I like the idea of a stock unit reworked, time factors a bit limiting personally

.......

If I could possibly control the aircon via a car pc, design my own interface for aircon control and the rest, that would be awsome!

.......

Pete

Sounds like you after a console adaptor, it allows communication between the PC the the cars ECU, Aircon, ABS, AutoBox's data bus , they are available on eBay, 30-40 bucks (I mad my own loosly based on PLMS's) Circuit, other good consult info aswell.

not sure how available software is for the Stagea (I think there OBDII, I'm used to OBDI). Sounds like you can tap out you own anyway.

try HERE for info, Peter is pretty clued into such things, if Chris doesn't know any Stag Software

Cheers

Bundy

Edited February 2, 2011 by BundyBear

[nicr4wks]

I'm currently waiting to see what happens with Pixel QI screens, I've had Lilliput mounted in a bybyte frame and an ebay screen, they've both been shit. Lilliput resistive isn't nearly sensitive enough and resistive touch panels reflect too much light.

http://www.mp3car.co...lay-option.html

"tft_lcd_org" is currently working on putting together a pixelqi screen with capacitive multitouch, which IMO would be a great combo for a carpc, good daylight visibility and sensitive touch. (check that thread if you don't know what pixelqi is)

Something to note with these mini atom pc's, depending what front end you use, I found Centrafuse on a dual core 1.8ghz atom a bit laggy.

[nicr4wks]

If i were to look at the jaycar screen, the double din shell as per Bundy suggestion or retrofit xanavi shell with new touch screen lcd, do some tinkering, ad a pc, then also buy one of these from jaycar:

(http://www.jaycar.co...AT&SUBCATID=432)

You would need to check the dimensions of the actual LCD panel, the bybyte cases are generally built to fit specific screens (eg. lilliput 629)

Instead of getting a generic parallel relay board, you might want to have a look into the Fusion Brain

Details

Smaller than an iPod or laptop hard drive, the Fusion Brain is in a league of its own. Measuring at 3” x 3”, it is fully equipped with 12 digital outputs, 4 digital inputs and 10 analog inputs; it is geared towards sensing and controlling many devices. The Fusion Brain is fitted with headers to allow for connection of modular relay boards, expanding the range of applications while maintaining ease of installation and use.

Typical applications include hydraulic/suspension control, HVAC/climate control and interior/exterior lighting control. Additionally, the Fusion Brain can be configured with several sensors to monitor engine temperatures, mass air flow, throttle position, vacuum pressure, ambient light, ambient temperature and triple axis acceleration.

[Stagea_Neo]

Thanks for all the replies guys and the links.

Bundy, nah not looking to take control of the car entire system via pc.

Just aircon control if anything, and interface the original loom with that jaycar relay board, or some other variation.

I already got Nistune & the software, so will just plug that into the car pc i build.

My current clarion setup with ce-net (tvtuner/ipod/cdstackers) allows me to input the audio/video i need,

which is great so i dont have to rip the guts out of my car and replace.

I can output audio from a car pc into existing system, hopefully find (quality) single din 7inch with vga for

pc/nistune display.

[Chris Rogers]

most of the controls on the car side of things are stepper based. if you can write an app to control that via a serial port then you are laughing.

from memory there are 4 stepper motors , two analog temp sensors (A->D these in the board you make and address accordingly) and the fan relay. most of that can be done with a PIC or AVR and some light hardware to get control of it.

dependng on the clarion you have it does spit out all of the touch data in a xx yy format on the CEbus lines. if you can translate that into something useable by a PC then there is your touchscreen display.

food for thought.

[NewKleer]

not sure what u can do with consult in terms of aircon control - anyone ever looked at a car with aircon with consult2? can you actually control it like you can with the controls on the unit itself?

[Stagea_Neo]

Cheers Chris.

I'm going to investigate this path further and what I can do via rs232.

Haven't worked with PIC's as such, even though have read up on it, havent had the need to apply in practice.

I more so flash/update eproms like any other pc tech ...or a end user if they take the time to read instructions .

May have to do some more reading on PIC's, as to take control of the temperature knob, but might be beyond my scope

First thought to keep it simple and controlled by rs232 (regarding temperature knob) is a small stepper motor side

by side with a turn pot with small gears.. bulky, yes but simple. Then rest of relay board takes care of the of the buttons.

re:Clarion, had to think about what you said with 'CEbus'. I got CENet and I know there's also Cbus with Clarion.

Nah wont be investigating that, my head unit was b4 the touch screen panels, can do most other stuff but not touch

screen.

......

Hey Peter.

i didnt see any options in Nistune (just had another look then) to adjust aircon via consult. looks like you can only monitor off/on status.

personally i wasn't looking to do that via consult.

The aircon/heater is solely controlled by the din mounted controls/xanavi, which link to stepper motors as advised by Chris.

......

Thanks Again.

Pete

[NewKleer]

was talking about consult2 machine, not nistune or any other pc software - if its a function available when connected to the aircon control unit via proper consult machine, then may be possible in software.

also check obd scantech as from memory it might have aircon stuff. can download it from ecutalk consult cable page

[Chris Rogers]

Cheers Chris.

I'm going to investigate this path further and what I can do via rs232.

Haven't worked with PIC's as such, even though have read up on it, havent had the need to apply in practice.

I more so flash/update eproms like any other pc tech ...or a end user if they take the time to read instructions .

May have to do some more reading on PIC's, as to take control of the temperature knob, but might be beyond my scope

First thought to keep it simple and controlled by rs232 (regarding temperature knob) is a small stepper motor side

by side with a turn pot with small gears.. bulky, yes but simple. Then rest of relay board takes care of the of the buttons.

re:Clarion, had to think about what you said with 'CEbus'. I got CENet and I know there's also Cbus with Clarion.

Nah wont be investigating that, my head unit was b4 the touch screen panels, can do most other stuff but not touch

screen.

......

up to you

I would pull the lot my self and write two apps for it. one for the PIC to run everything hardware based and the second to do the display, PC interface to the 'new' controller.

getting the cals on the thermistors may be a bit interesting but the rest shouldn't be that bad.

[jrm]

Could potentially use an arduino or fusion brain to make things easier ..

There are plenty of devices, etc out there to help you do this sort of stuff. Have you hopped onto the mp3car forums yet?

As for screens, I personally currently use a Xenarc MDT-X7000 - it's one of those devices that looks neat, but I recommend everyone steer clear of... (It's a single din, automatic slide out 7" touch-screen). My next iteration of carpc, I suspect I'll be moving towards a double-din 7" optically bonded screen. After comparing my R34 MFD display (which is sunlight readable) to the carpc display - it's really apparent how much better it would be to have a sunlight readable screen. That said, it's done me well for a number of years now.

A quick poke on mp3car forums finds arduino to control car hvac..blog/code/reference?. Though, personsally, I'm a bit confused why you'd bother over-complicating your air-con controls - keep things simple. Aircon is one of those things you want to be able to feel physical controls, and guarantee it just works.

[nicr4wks]

i didnt see any options in Nistune (just had another look then) to adjust aircon via consult. looks like you can only monitor off/on status.

personally i wasn't looking to do that via consult.

The ecu has a sensor wire hooked up so it can monitor on/off status to adjust idle, to actually control the a/c over consult you need to be speaking to a totally different computer.

also check obd scantech as from memory it might have aircon stuff. can download it from ecutalk consult cable page

From memory it doesn't work on Skylines.

[NewKleer]

yeah i have a feeling that most (aside from GTR) skylines have very few control units available via consult. Z32 and GTR have lots by comparison

[BundyBear]

The ecu has a sensor wire hooked up so it can monitor on/off status to adjust idle, to actually control the a/c over consult you need to be speaking to a totally different computer.

From memory it doesn't work on Skylines.

Basically not, you can control most of the A/C but not all (can move all the doors but limited temp and fan functions)

HOWEVER ( there is a single 8Bit register in the A/Cs Active tests, that is undocumented, and has the potental to be able to control the fan and temp),

Info Source:

Google ==> "Generic_Nissan_ECU_Sensor_or_Data_register_table_Ver_2.pdf" published by the 'Nissan Tech Group'

Last page, Reg 0x44 says 'see Table' but the table is not included. Susing out this reg is on my todo list, but its a long list

[NewKleer]

"basically not", are you saying that you can communicate with the AC control unit (at least on your R33 GTS/whatever real model it is), i.e. it exists on the consult bus?