Car PC setup, install and some fabrication

[ankur]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Ok Ankur I'm gonna disturb your thread a bit but for your benefit only. I just discovered during a friend's birthday celebration last night that speedonline is actually one of my close friends. I would seriously advise you to be wary of this character since he's a GEEK/NERD of the highest order!!! And he's gonna seriously confuse you at some point of time or the other!!!

And Pranav you ... read the damn rules first & post an introduction .....

Hi Raghava,
Thanks for the warning, though i too am a geek/nerd of what order though i dont know . I have been active on the internet long enough to know what advice to take with a pinch of salt and what as is so i am not worried.
cheers.

[navin]

Originally Posted by iraghava

... I would seriously advise you to be wary of this character since he's a GEEK/NERD of the highest order!!!

Ankur, if you even 50% the nerd Rags says you are you are welcome here anytime! I love your work.

[ankur]

Originally Posted by navin

Ankur, if you even 50% the nerd Rags says you are you are welcome here anytime! I love your work.

Thanks . So the painting got delayed because of the bandh, paint shops were closed even though the painter was ready. I needed some matt black paint and clear that he didnt have in stock so i am hoping i can buy them today since the shops are open and take the dash to be painted.

In the meantime i was able to finish the USB ports and switch that will go into the dash. Now i have to figure out a way to make the airbag opening into a easy to use door of some sort. I have some magnets that i think might work in holding the door shut.

cheers.

[navin]

Originally Posted by ankur

. I have some magnets that i think might work in holding the door shut..

I have seen some NdFeB magnets about 5-6mm dia that will work great for such an application. too bad I did not stock up on them. they are imported from china so shops that sell this sort of stuff in delhi might be where to look.

[ankur]

I got a couple of these :




cheers.

[speedonline]

Hi ankur, How is the setup comming along?

[ankur]

Setup on hold. I am in Chandigarh to watch the Pine Forest Rally. should be back tomorrow and will resume my setup .

[theEnd]

Very nice work Ankur.. I cant wait to see the pics of the final setup.

Slightly off topic, but there was a version of the iMac that matched perfectly with the DIN slot in a car's dashboard. Might be something to look into for future efforts that anyone may make.

[Steeroid]

I am terribly ignorant about these things, but your expenses so far seem to work out to $2,000. Would it not have cost the same to buy one of those ultra-portable notebooks that Sony and Fujitsu are famous for (1.3 kg, 1.2 ghz, 1 GB RAM, 10.6 in screen, 12 hours battery life, etc) and had a retractible sort of mounting made for one of those in the car? I think Acer has a Tablet PC of the same sort in the same range, if a touch-screen was a must. WiFi, Bluetooth, et al are all built in, too.

Of course that would NEVER give you the kick of building something on your own and customizing it. But am I missing something here?

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by theEnd

but there was a version of the iMac that matched perfectly with the DIN slot in a car's dashboard. Might be something to look into for future efforts that anyone may make.

This is something I wondered about too. A Mac Mini would have done the job at less than half what you've just spent. If you're not ok with OS X, Win XP on Bootcamp would have done the trick. But then, like Steeroid said, nothing gives you the kick of DIY huh? Hats off to you, man. You're doing great work.

[khanak]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I am terribly ignorant about these things, but your expenses so far seem to work out to $2,000. Would it not have cost the same to buy one of those ultra-portable notebooks that Sony and Fujitsu are famous for (1.3 kg, 1.2 ghz, 1 GB RAM, 10.6 in screen, 12 hours battery life, etc) and had a retractible sort of mounting made for one of those in the car? I think Acer has a Tablet PC of the same sort in the same range, if a touch-screen was a must. WiFi, Bluetooth, et al are all built in, too.

Of course that would NEVER give you the kick of building something on your own and customizing it. But am I missing something here?

yupp. maybe as an alternative but i was thinking of the same thing.

get a laptop nd stick it on a cooling mat in the boot. run a power adaptor into your boot and have the laptop running on power all the time. run the video through the svideo out and connect it to your HU which is connected to a screen or connect it directly to the screen if possible. run the audio through either an external soundcard (for better sound) or through an SPDIF connector to your HU. Use a bluetooth mouse and keyboard which can be stored under your seat or in the glove compartment.or use touchscreen any get rid of the mouse nd keyboard though using the virtual keyboard will be a pain

this way you can just unplug the laptop and use it elsewhere as well.

[ankur]

Hi guys,
I will try and summarize my thoughts on most of your points raised. Using a laptop ofcourse takes away the fun of building something but it has its issues. Firstly the laptop power system obviously runs on different voltage so an invertor would be needed to connect its power adapter to it. The power consumption is higher on a laptop/macmini as compared to the low voltage motherboard i am using, this would impact the drain on the battery when you are switched off. Ideally you want to leave your car system in a standby mode so it can be in a usable mode quickly as you start driving, not wait for the system to boot up everytime.The laptop has its limits on upgradability and installation of a laptop in an automotive environment is not that easy. However some people have cannibalised their existing older laptops for such a system. The input methods are most key, the keyboard and mouse is really not practical for a car computer in its primary function. For instance if i need to change a song or start navigating to a point of interest or something like that. I would need to park on the side of the road in the interst of safety if i intend to do it through a keyboard/mouse. I am using a touch screen as my main input device and also a software front end specific for car use. If it was just for the sake of putting a computer in the car certainly a mac or a latop would have made a substitute but my intention was to make a car pc that feels like is a car pc and not a pc put in a car (if you know what i mean). The car functions like the ECU and reverse camera/sensors etc are all going to be integrated into this and i would strive to make it seem like a factory option.

If you are just looking at the cost of the whole system against the cost of the laptop or mac mini then its really not a fair comparison. I would need to buy most of the addons for the other as well and you need to add those to the cost of the laptop too, like the OBD scanner, the touch screen, the gps receiver, the FM radio, the reverse camera etc.

About putting a tablet PC or laptop on a mount near your dash, come one guys would anyone want to leave it visible like that ? If not would you keep removing it and putting it back everytime you want it ?

cheers.

[ankur]

Majorly off topic, since i mentioned i was away to watch the Pine Forest rally, if anyone is interested i am posting some pictures (phone camera) :

Here is Gaurav Gill on the Super Special stage in Chandigarh


Here again is Gaurav in the hills taking a bend with a sideways slide, amazing driving



cheers.

[navin]

ankur we have a forum for these pics and travelougue.

[ankur]

Sorry about posting them here, i did see the other thread and put one pic up there. Didnt really have much to write or show and since i had mentioned i was there, thought i would just stick those pics up here.

cheers.