Carputers
 

If anyone is interested in making a carputer I have 2+ Via C3 imbedded CPU motherboards of them here that are in need of a good home.
They have VGA, AV out, 5.1 audio,
http://www.via.com.tw/en/images/prod...a_m/epia_m.jpg

They are already in small cases like the black one

http://www.ewayco.com/22-low-cost-em...-ITX-large.jpg
and have 12 volt power supplies,
One of the 12V DC to ATX PSU's cost me over $200 and has adjustable auto shutdown and monitors voltage etc,
I have a few spare parts and if anyones interested I can help them hook it up.
I got them a few years ago to make a carputers but it never happened.
I ordered a $900 7" touch screen for the car and it never arrived never arrived and I never got a refund so I kind of gave up on it.
I got the parts to make 3 of them and only ever completed one of them and that ended up on a boat.
It would make a really cool project for some one that had the time/effort
Im open for offers and if anyones interested I can take pics provide advice answer questions etc.

lol, you must be reading not only my mind, but darryl's :p

In a couple months I am considering getting one, so that I could hook up to my dvd players screen, and add GPS, wireless internet & hook my hard drive for endless music :D

SO with that, I have a couple questions:

1.what would be the GPS dongle and hardware would be best, and what antenna?
2. What OS would be best for running the unit? As stated above, only minimal usage, so just XP?


Cheers
Marc

windows ce (6.3?) should be good for this use.
marc. the gps software i gave you for your phone will work with this as well providing you get a antena ofcourse ;) just have to make the serial file and such.

I have a spare netbook that I was thinking of turning into a carputer but I need the touchscreen monitor for the car. Also you can get TomTom software for the PC but just need a compatible GPS device.

Can you PM me how I would do this? :confused:

I wonder if this will work?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/USB-GPS-Rec-C...#ht_3315wt_754

You can get a usb gps receiver (I have one of these as well) quite easily, for around $50 or less.
There are a lot of apps that let you use the gps on your phone thru your pc.
Data connection would be thru your phone as well.
Personally i would go linux or xp for this board, there are a few decent software packages and some with software that monitors for your damned obd-II connector as well.
It was the main reason I gave up on my car puter.
I could never find it.. LOL now I know why.


(PS Marc Im the manager of a PC store so I know where to get all the bits from too)

Rusty I can get you a cheap 7" lcd VGA touch screen.
The problem with using an eee pc is no AV out only VGA out.

But I can get a all in one touchscreen 7 Inch Car DVD Player with GPS and DVB-T tuners for under $600 I think

Yes it will I have something very similar all ready.

Hmm. Very tempting will see if it is compatible with tomtom or navigon. How much for the touchscreen Phil and any specs on it?

I want to use a wireless broadband dongle so that the phone is free for taking calls etc ;) I could prolly buy a .5m-1m long usb extension cord and have the dongle velcro'd to the window, so that it can be easily taken off for security reasons..

Im just trying to think how I would connect this to the dvd screen, well here are the connections specs on my dvd player:

Hehe Im not overly worried about monitoring gauges, thats what the scangauge does :p

Then comes how to actually control stuff, was thinking a wireless keyboard (smallish) with inbuilt mouse ;)

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-USB-2-4G...#ht_2639wt_882

I was wanting to go the touchscreen route with a hard mounted usb port beside it if you need to plug in a keyboard or mouse.

legality of this...? used gps through phone works ok without antenna.

this is 100% legal if you switch it to GPS when u get pulled over as this is the only type of screen that can be visible to driver while car is on..
as for vga to rca probles NEVER FEAR EBAY IS HERE :p
and im fairly certain you can knockup something in visual basics as a basic interface. i would suggest lynux as i know it will load faster, BUT i dont know how to use it haha

i posted meedios further up which is a lightweight media centre that runs over the top of a basic operating system.

however i agree linux is definately the better way to go
building your own linux kernel is simple and many tutorials are available.

EDIT:
actually now that i've said the words "media centre"
you could just run Windows Media Centre XP. its reasonably light as far as i know

didnt think about that, but wouldnt that **** with the interface needed for the gps?
i suggested win ce simply cus its so damn light

Marc,
This is the mini wireless keyboard you want:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LOGITECH-DINO...item4cef29afa9
;)

Phil,
Do you have a link to the touchscreens you mentioned?

Cheers.

http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/x...ore/1front.jpg
My mini motherboard has a RCA AV out so thats you sorted there
Nah I would buy this.
Its perfect for the job
Its a bit more expensive though.
I have one and I love it.
Along with my Full size dinovo edge and MX air mouse.

http://www.logitech.com/assets/14495/14495.png

did you read the fine part about that cable.
It only works on certain computers and I have never seen one before that does!!!
I would go linux for speed my self I have just started using the latest release of Ubuntu and its really fast.
And Im sure there is carputer software available.

haha no i didnt read the fine print ay... damn

I have changed my mind now.
Think I might go for a car puter again..
But I do have like 5 motherboards,
Check this out!!
I feel a group buy might be coming up.

http://www.mo-co-so.com/v/~photos/Do...ors/DD-701.jpg

and this!!
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/94-05-Mazda-M...3#ht_560wt_939

I might be interested in a carputer, but it is going to depend on a couple of things:
- general features included in the setup
- what kind of A/V setup it has
- how easy GPS would be to add to it, and how good that GPS is
- size of the components included (double DIN is not much good to me :()

I will definitely keep an eye out on this thread. Cheers.