vee35

I dont think I have mentioned my rear view camera. Its a $29 CCD unit off of eBay, meant foir a Honda Civic. I have yet to find it "fail" me. The reverse lights are enough to make all situations apear like daylight on the screen. Its wired up to automatically overide anything on the screen, when you put it in reverse. About $20 of relays from JayCar. I have it installed just above my rear number plate. I plan to install it a little "deeper" into the recess and maybe pait the black pastic silver, but its fairly innocuous where it currently is. for this situation (which is about a meter clearance): It looks like this on the screen. The lines on the screen are brillant for lining up the car down a long narrow driveway in reverse.

Found what looks like it may be it for an overlay. It has 91% optical clarity compared to about 85% that I have seen for others, and is made by 3M. see http://www.skylinesa...screen-overlay/

Hi, some of you may know I have installed a CarPC in my skyline. I have always been planning to put a touch screen overlay onto the screen to really enable the UI. I posted this as a new thread, as its more than just about my install. Today, I found that 3M actually make a Capacitance touch screen, while all the others are resistive (think of the difference between the iPhone screen and those that came before). Also, I saw a picture (lost it now) that compared the visibility between a resistive overlay, and this 3M product, and it was like comparing glass to looking through a stocking (ie the 3M product looked crystal clear). This one is about 91% clarity, and the others I have seen are 85%. I have roughly measured my screen, and it looks like this one would fit, but maybe a little big, but workable. 3M™ MicroTouch™ System SCT3250EX 7.29" Surface Capacitive USB Touch System, Standard aspect ratio http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/TouchSystems/TouchScreen/Solutions/ProductCatalog/?PC_7_RJH9U52308F8102RKCHBJT2831_nid=KW9L809SQ5gsVH30Q8PS7XglM91M8VVF1Fbl http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/TouchSystems/TouchScreen/Solutions/TouchScreens/MicroTouchSCT3250EX/ http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=SSSSSu7zK1fslxtUmY_Gm8meev7qe17zHvTSevTSeSSSSSS--&fn=SCT3250EX.pdf These are the details of the Australian contact 3M Touch Systems 540 Springvale Road Glen Waverley, VIC, 3150 Australia Tel: +61 1800 632 136 From what I have found so far, I saw a 15" one for sale at $169, but have yet to find the 6" one anywhere. I will call them Monday myself. Maybe someone like Chris may be able to get a bulk trade buy or something. http://www.geminicom...7-8031-227.html

I am happy with the BOSE. I use a Computer as my "Headunit" and have a 31 band digital / software equalizer to tailor the sound for the car. Being able to finely control the Eq has really made a difference. For the highs (ie >15khz), I think most of these are lost due to the fact I am actually playing MP3's, I dont know if the BOSE would actually handle them. But with the eq, its enough for me. The weekness I would have to say is actually in the true sub-woofer range. The bass can be pushed pretty hard, but to me the crisp kick of bass is not as good as I hoped for, but still much better than your average sound system. I do like to feel my bass; no, not "doof doof", but the "kick". But to give you an idea, when a good song comes on, and I turn up the volume just a little, it doesnt take much to get the rearvision mirror bouncing along to the tune.

You would think, but the ones I saw, the people who sold them said that it would need to be set every time. My video card (and some of the convereters also) have an "overscan" mode which does not have to be repositioned for my card, but it means some of the screen is past the edge of the screen, which bugged me. My card also has a "theatre" mode which is a much sharper image, gut I think it has even more extend past the edge of the screen. The 12v PSU (linked above) is "intelligent". It sends the computer into hibernation (not suspend or sleep), which means all the ram is written to disk before the final power is cut off after a preset delay (DIP switch selectable). Under hibernation, you can cut the power off completely, take the computer to bits, re-assemble it, then resume it, and it thinks nothing has really happened. If you go into "suspend", you need to keep the ram powered. I hibernate, so its completely powered off. Laptops can do the same, but I have the PSU wired to the motherboard to enable all this (see the above link on the PSU)

Yes, you could do a "similar" set up with a laptop. The problems I see are:1. You have to find a laptop with a composite TV-Out in NTSC, or get a VGA to TV-Out adaptor for NTSC. The problem with these adaptors, is that every time you turn them off and on, you may have to reposition the picture on the screen. I do not know what the quality of these are either, I have tried my computer (which has a TV out) into a TV before. 2. If you use a laptop, you have to control the turning on and off of the computer. Using the 12v PSU specifically built for this purpose, means when I turn the car on, the computer starts up and when I turn the car off, the computer turns off; actually it hibernates for a faster startup and ready to go. Also, if something goes wrong, and the computer does not turn off, the PSU will shut the power off before the car battery is completely drained. 3. Although most laptops have a sturdier hard drive than desktops, its preferable to get one with a solid state disk. ie no moving parts. I think the DOM I got says its rated at 2000G for 2sec. As for the sound card, I too could of gone with a USB sound card, but I had a good quality PCI card lying around. The only reason I did not stick with the on-board sound on the motherboard was that there was a small amount of noise coming through the line, which could of been either the alternator or the CPU itself. On another motherboard / computer or a laptop, you may find that it is dead quiet already. As I did, only buy the extra sound interface IF you have a problem.

the boot

OS is Windows XP prof (personally "cut back") Media-Centre is "MediaPortal 1.3" with a customised skin I made for it (opensource/freeware) The Eq is freeware 31 band VST plug-in called "KarmaFX Equalizer" (a single DLL KarmaFX Equalizer.dll) I use freeware MS sofware that gives me multiple "virtual desktops" ie like switching between multiple screens / computers (1 for nav, 1 for media, 1 for OBDII etc etc, future mod is to take over the buttons already on the dash) I use freeware software called "MyMobiler" to put my phone on my screen The phone has a GPS with TomTom for Navigation, with all "safety camera's", school zones, public toilets, post-office's etc etc I also use MS RoboCopy to create a "Ghost" of my Carputer, so if it starts playing up or dies, I reformat the drive and image it back. Already tested this process, and it didnt skip a beat. ie bye bye any BSOD's I also have Nissan Datascan installed, but my cable is faulty, and I forgot to take photos of it running a demo file. Now thats a sight.

12v DC-DC adaptor. http://www.mini-box....w%20output.htmlThe power unit has three connections. 1. Constant +12v, 2. +12v on ignition 3. -ve / Ground For 1, I have a 20A wire running from the battery to the boot, with a 20A fuse a few centimetres from the battery. For 2 I have a wire from the TV, fused with the smallest fuse I could find (0.1A or something I think). Didnt want it pulling power from the TV box For 3, I simply used a wire to the car body in the boot itself. I have hooked up these three into a single plug, so I can unplug the computer, and take it upstairs for any work.

Thanks for the heads up. I never really thought of the sunlight readability in particular, the one I am looking at currently had an optics clarity of 85% which concerned me as being pretty high. I do have 35% tint on all glass except for windscreen, and most of my driving is probably at night, and the touch interface is hard to resist. So far, in short (i will edit this as I remember)The motherboard $30 (eBay second hand) 2Gb memory (ebay) $60 (I think 1Gb would be better for faster start up, but its OK now) $50 for the videocard with NTSC Composite, TV-Out The soundcard I salvaged from another computer (prob $20-$50 on ebay, the onboard sound had a little interference, this card is dead quiet) A case fan $12 (much cheaper on eBay, but easier from local computer shop) 16GB Solid state disk (DOM) $80 from eBay Monster composite cable $80 (I had some interference in video that the cable cleared up some, but that wasn't cheap, and there is still some interference in the video) Wires, fuses plugs etc etc from Jaycar probably $50 would cover that easily) 250w DC-DC power supply, I think it was $110 (I originally bought an 80 buck one from ebay, but it was crap and died, this one is seriously better quality, and sold in WA Australia) The keyboard, about $80 from computer store, but you can get one for half that from the web Couple of 5m shielded USB cables (not really used yet) about $10 off ebay A short 1M usb cable for phone I already had (Microsofts active sync does not appear to work on anything longer....) Video converter cable from Chris (ask him for price) Hey, thats adding up... XP operating system is hard to find now, but its about 100-150 ("with hardware purchase") OK, now I am scared to add it up.... It would of bean cheaper if I had a spare computer with soundcard, OS and video board lying around, but thats my home computer, and its seriously over speced for a "sound system". I am located in Sydney, so I think it may be a looooong drive for you (QLD?). I will post more pics and maybe do a video later.

I can only type so-fast... The screen is the standard Nav screen in the V35. I am currently using the bluetooth keyboard which has a mouse pad on it as well. One of these, about $90 My next step is to get a USB Touchscreen overlay to convert the screen to touchscreen (about $60, uninstalled) . Its pretty bad right now in that I am soo tempted to simply lean over and touch the screen to do something (especially in Nav). But of course I have to pull over and use the mini keyboard, or set everything up before I go; which is what I normally do.

Some other things. I have a Blazt cable, but its not working, so I need to send it back and get a new one (they are more than happy to sort this out). This means I will also have the multi dials of all the engine details on my nav screen. I have an app on my phone (which can be displayed on the nav screen as I have for TomTom), that plots and records the G-Forces. This will be interesting to have with the Blatz stuff, when I finally get around to the plenum spacer and Z-tube (before & after) The Audio has a digital 31 band Eq (this is a screen shot from my desktop PC, so is not the actual filter settings used in the car). Things to note are that it goes from 20Hz to 20KHz, you can have up to 24dB gain/cut and because its digital, there is no added hiss. Although I always suspend it (a 12v DC to DC , 250w power supply unit. ie no inverter, automatically turns it on and off), I have also replaced the standard windows boot screen to a Nissan emblem (its also my windows wallpaper as in the next shot, ie the grey line on the bottom is not visible on boot) My next step is to have an overlay installed to make the standard screen a touch screen. This step will really lift the usability of it. I have found one actually sold here ion australia (a little bit big) for around $55

oooo.. couldnt edit the first post. The actual video card is a HIS Radeon 9250 AGP Some (blurry) photos. One of the standard screen (for comparison): The basic "Front End" starting point (Video, Pictures, Weather, Music, TV): The front end starting page, while playing back music: : The front end when selecting songs / albums (similar for videos): THe front ends weather page: My default entry point for the Web (using my phones internet connection) TomTom on standard nav screen: Playing a video back (in this case a looney tunes from YouTube):

I have had this running for a while, so I thought i should put some PICs up. And now I know I need to get a steadier hand... Sorry about the blur caused by a shaky hand. You can see how much is due to my technique, by looking at the blur on items not on the screen (eg the clock). (I will update these first couple of post with more as I remember to) Specs: 2.8Ghz P4, 2GB RAM 16GB Solid State drive (DOM) Soundblaster Live value 24/96 Audio Card ATI Radeon 9500 Video Board with S-Video TV Out, and S-Video to Composite plug, running 640x480 NTSC, 16mil Colours O/S Windows XP Profetional, 32bit, SP3 Media Centre interface MediaPortal (Freeware / opensource) with personally customised skin (I couldn't believe there was no Car PC specific skins!) Audio BOSE Audio from premium pack Using Audio / Video cable plugged into TV, from Chris Reversing Camera NTSC, CCD Auto switched when placed in reverse; using 2 relays, one for video signal, the other for grounding "Cont1" Screen Standard Navigation screen Controller Bluetooth mini Keyboard; has mouse and keyboard, which fits in the front mini compartment of the centre console (with the drink holder moulding removed) Navigation "Remote desktop" (using freeware app My Mobiler) onto smartphone (windows mobile 6.1), which has Tom Tom and GPS

Yep its very useable, but not perfect. There seems to be some interference coming through, which was worse before I replaced a cable with one of those expensive monster cables. I have been meaning to post some pics/vids, hopefully this weekend. The video card I am using has an S-Video out, and a small converted plug to composite. This may be the cause for some of the fuzzyness I am seeing. I need to find anpother video card that has composite out, but this is considered "old technology" as most cards now only have digital outs (HDMI or DVI)

I am using the AUX in lead for a reverse camera, and also for a Car PC. Occasionaly (say one every 20 starts) the video single from the AUX in appears very dark, almost black? If I switch to the inbuilt computer (eg the fuel economy) the picture seems fine. To get it working properly, I simply have to turn the car off then on again, and its all good. Has anyone else experienced this effect? anyone know the reason? is my TV unit starting to die?

I have purchased "cable 2", what does "cable 1" do?And on the side, do you know if the video signal from the TV unit to the video screen is composite, component or propriety?

The dodgy guys I eventually bought from, actually advertise on CarSales to appear as a private sale.

I plan to manually switch it for now. Long term plan will be to put a timer and relayed breaker on the grounding wire for cont1; but letting the reverse camera bypass the breaker. I think the delay only needs to be a few seconds, but havent timed it yet. I can leave it for now, as I will set up my car pc to automatically start playing music on resume from hibernation, so I shouldn't need to see the screen of the PC. And by the way, when I say it wont go to Audio AUX, i mean you cant even select it using the mode button on the stearing wheel, until after you leave it ungrounded for a few seconds.

Learnt a new thing about this grounding of Cont1. If you leave Cont1 grounded while the car is starting, it wont go to Audio - AUX. It appears that you haver to let the cars computer/TV module boot up, before grounding Cont1 works as expected.

Is it possible to recallibrate the std spedo? they are usually wrong out of the factory, and mine is worse due to the low profile tyres.

Hi, I have basically finished my PC (built and Installed software) and its ready to plug into and mount in my car this weekend; finally!.One of the peripherals is the Blazt cable. My PC will be mounted in the boot, with USB cables running into the cabin connecting things like my OBD. My concern is that the USB cable run may be a bit long for the Blazt cable. Even though USB2 is defined as having a 5m maximum length, I think the blatzt cable is said have a recommendation of being no greater than 2m from the USB port; It comes with a 2m cable. My question, how long is your distance between the Blazt cable and the PC? and have you had any problems with this length?

Are you shorting Cont1 or Cont2? I went for Cont2 as it was considerable easier to get to. I think my answer will be to put a delay (say 0.5 seconds) on the relay shorting Cont2.I did try moving the gear lever fairly briskly, and it still flipped over. I am using a very small 12v reed relay for shorting Cont2.

I installed the reversing camera (CCD from eBay $29), and set up a relay to short Cont2 when in reverse. It works well, however I have noticed that thye shorting of Cont2 actually puts the car screen automatically into TV mode, so I have to switch back manually if I was in another screen. This shoudlnt be a pro9blem when I install the computer, but is kind of less than perfect for now. Does anyone know if shorting Cont1 does the same thing? It gets highlighted by the fact that every time you move from park to drive, you have to pass Reverse, so it shorts Cont2 for a split second (enough to put it in TV mode). Sorry for the blurry image, but it was a quick snap.

Thanks guys, hopefully by the end of today the actual install of the Computer will be done; I think I have software 90% there. With the reversing camera and OBDII integration being next; software alreadey up and runnong. I bought a CCD NTSC reversing camera off eBay, and will need to create a relay box to switch over the video, when in reverse.