Plotting and planning the in-car PC

[Prime Lord]

Okay, so I've wanted to do this for a while.....There are several reasons.

First and foremost...the wow factor. "You have WHAT?!" hehe. Secondly, its a great platform for satnav as well as in car diagnostics/telemetry. My other thought is to get the cell phone based internet hooked up to the PC so I can be on the road (not driving obviously) and get online.

I have the whole system mapped out w/ the exception of the monitor. Most of the touchscreen monitors are huge pedestal mounted units, and as we all know, there's no room in our interiors for such an animal. Then I came across this:

Its made by Thermaltake for direct fitment into one of their PC cases. Unlike all the other 7" motorized PC screens, it has a killer resolution (1280x768) so it'd be GREAT for navigation. Its also roughly the size of a standard DIN stereo. That said, I want to keep my stereo so i still have access to the radio, the sirius, and things like that...plus the head unit is a central hub (much like a reciever in a home theater) that allows for easy connections to front and rear speakers & amps. I already have a really nice Pioneer Premier 790MP head unit that has a standard 1/4" mini jack input on the back.

My thought is to modify the aftermarket mounting bracket so that the radio fits at the bottom right in front of the shifter and the screen fits directly above it. Granted, when the screen is deployed, it'll block my HVAC controls, but meh, its an acceptable loss. The other option I thought of was to mount the screen IN the dash pad next to the vents...the problem there is that I don't know if its possible, and the screen doesn't rotate, so it would be at a horrible viewing angle.

Anybody else contemplate doing this? Anybody have a CarPC?

 

[hsean]

great idea take some pics

 

[grey5.0beast]

My buddy has a laptop that runs Hondata in his S/c RSX scared a bunch of guys when they saw it at a car meet lol

You should look into one of those HVAC/radio relocate things...

 

[Fett]

Does that have USB input? If so, Verizon has a USB modem for high speed internet.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I was JUST talked to my GF about how all cars should have a PC built into them. I don't mean a watered down version of a PC or a beefed up ECU, i mean a real deal upgradable/moddable Windows PC. I'd be all over this if i could afford it but one PC is enough for my wallet.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

I can just see it now...

"EEC IV has caused an illegal operation and needs to be shut down.

Press CTRL + ALT + DEL to restart your computer."

 

[Prime Lord]

Does that have USB input? If so, Verizon has a USB modem for high speed internet.

Oh yeah. We're talking a full fledged mini-ITX machine. The whole computer will be about the size of a small amplifier and it will sit in the trunk.

I was thinking one of these:

in the ashtray. Have a master power switch to keep the machine safe from power spikes during startup, and convert two of the other switch holes to USB ports so I can plug in a keyboard/mouse if need be.

 

[Prime Lord]

Okay, so I ordered this today:

Its roughly 8x10x2.5. Thats how small the base station is for this machine. This will be mounted in the trunk. The idea is that the whole thing will be solid state. Meaning that there will be no moving parts. This means using a flash based HDD like this:

View attachment 320278

The problem is that they are not cheap. A 32GB solid state drive is in the $500 range now. But every month they get cheaper. The hdd will be one of the LAST things that I buy. I'll probably set up the system w/ a regular laptop drive until the price comes down on the solid state stuff.

Next on the list is a motherboard. but that will have to wait a while so I can save some money for it.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

How are the solid state drives for reliability vs. the typical drive? I would think no moving parts would be more reliable.

 

[Prime Lord]

Reliability is the ONLY reason to use a solid state drive. Since there's no moving parts and no magnetic devices, theoretically it'll last forever. Best of all, they're not susceptible to shock like traditional HDD's. So the bouncy jarring motion of being in the back of a sports car doesn't even phase it.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Reliability is the ONLY reason to use a solid state drive. Since there's no moving parts and no magnetic devices, theoretically it'll last forever. Best of all, they're not susceptible to shock like traditional HDD's. So the bouncy jarring motion of being in the back of a sports car doesn't even phase it.

So the other obvious question is how do they stack up as far as performance goes?

 

[Prime Lord]

How does "the speed of light" sound? hehe. Seriously though, solid state memory is all electronic. Because of that, it has the potential to be much faster than a traditional platter based hard drive. Right now the only reason NOT to buy one is because they're so damn expensive. But as we all know, as time goes by technology gets cheaper. That 32GB solid state drive that costs $500 now was up around $2000 about 9 months ago.

 

[urban96]

http://www.mp3car.com/

 

[Prime Lord]

I've been all over Mp3Car.com. My major issue is that most of them are using the PC as a substitute for a stereo, not as an accessory. Good info on the basic premise, but I really want something more tailored to a Mustang. I don't think I've seen a Fox install on that site.

Holy CRAP! I just found this on Mp3car.com the guy made the switch panel I want as a direct drop-in for SN95 stangs...Thats some sick **** right there.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I really like how he does the USB plugs. I would be all for something like this...especially for music and movie playback but i would have to have wireless internet.

The reason i don't think this will ever truly take off in the car industry is because of the way cell phones and PDAs are advancing. In the same timeline it takes auto makers to figure it all out and put real computers in cars, we'll all have them in our pockets. Just like the car phone, who would want a computer confined to their car when they can slip it in their pocket and take it with them?

 

[urban96]

when i was thinking about doing one i also thought about doing what your doing, keeping the radio and just adding on the pc.


my alpine has the option to add on RCA inputs with the Ai network thingy

 

[Prime Lord]

Forward progress.

I ordered the optical drive:

Its a Pioneer slot load DVD+/-RW. THe perfect fit in the amp looking case. As soon as all this stuff comes in I'll take some pictures. I also ordered the necessary adapter to convert it to run regular IDE. I've got a bunch of stuff to list on eBay in the next week, hopefully after that I'll be able to order the screen.

As far as screen mounting goes, I remembered gaugeplates.com. It says on their website that they can do custom mounting plates for that area. So I'm going to get them to cut me a plate that fits both my head unit, and this screen. Of course I can't order this plate until I get the screen, but at least I have a plan for getting it in there.

when i was thinking about doing one i also thought about doing what your doing, keeping the radio and just adding on the pc.


my alpine has the option to add on RCA inputs with the Ai network thingy

There's lots of talk on mp3car.com about an adapter that would allow a direct connection between some alpine screen based units and a PC. I think its still in beta at the moment but should be for public sale w/in the next few months.

 

[MAC'n89Blckstng]

How much time do you spend in your car that you would need a computer in it? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Prime Lord]

I don't think thats the issue. Its not like I live in the car or anything. I'm a bit of a geek. And while I love my Mustang, I also love gadgets. This is simply a combination of the two. Its a fun project. FTW I say....FTW.

 

[nisreo]

I thought about doing this when I had my WRX, but mp3car has a sick drop in flush mount touch screen unit so the planning wasn't to tough. When I got the stang I never thought about doing it.

I have an indash 7" screen now that blocks the hvac when I open it, its a bit annoying but nothing that would cause me to relocate the unit.

good luck and keep us updated