Carputer (pc In My R33)

[Samon]

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.

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 October 12, 2009 by Samon

[HairyMerkin]

I've almost got my carputer setup ready.

I just don't know what GPS maps+software to go with?

I like in rural NSW, and I'd like to be able to use it where I live.

[iseekool]

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.

[r33skylinegtst]

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.

[cbruss]

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

[turael]

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.

[cbruss]

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 , did you just run it through an inverter?

[iseekool]

not bad at all.... tempted to grab my old laptop and give this a burl , 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

[Samon]

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).

[iseekool]

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

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.

[Samon]

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

[iseekool]

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?

[Tangles]

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

[Samon]

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.

[iseekool]

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.

[nicr4wks]

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...