Discuss how to build a Car PC....

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Really !!! this has got me very interested indeed. how much for the power supply then ?

Power supply would be 12 V - (12/5V/3V). You can get such a supply custom made in bangalore using the best components for about 300rs. Wish there was a SJP road in Delhi, Nehru place may be great for PCs but for electronics components, esp like op-amps etc., its very difficult to source anything.

[rishibravo]

Originally Posted by rishibravo

I think Ankut speint close to 20,000$ in getting that CarPC in his car.... I think the most difficult thing would be to get the low power consumtion motherboard. Tried a lot at NehruPlace market but couldnt find it. It will be awesome to get a CarPC but my palio Dash has no space whatsoever to put a touchscreen LCD

sorry guys about the typo...its was $2000 ..but the effort that Ankur had done on it was amazing...

[sys_whiz]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The Mini ITX motherboard inclusive of processor costs about 3500 Rs max in delhi.
All you need to do is add RAM and HDD which takes the entire cost of the hardware, except for touch screen LCD and peripherals to around 9K.
The board is made by Kobian(Mercury) though the chipset is VIA.
Expect high costs if you want a VIA made motherboard.

tsk, I believe you are talking about flex itx board(230 X 190 mm), not mini itx(170 X 170 mm). Mercury has this board which has onboard via c3 processor. These boards are not designed for vehicle install. We can use these as a barebone install.

Mercury-pc.com

[sys_whiz]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Power supply would be 12 V - (12/5V/3V). You can get such a supply custom made in bangalore using the best components for about 300rs. Wish there was a SJP road in Delhi, Nehru place may be great for PCs but for electronics components, esp like op-amps etc., its very difficult to source anything.

wow that's great. If we can get a DC-DC PSU in Rs. 300, its amazing. Do they manage to provide the start-up and shutdown controller too in the PSU?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by sys_whiz

tsk, I believe you are talking about flex itx board(230 X 190 mm), not mini itx(170 X 170 mm). Mercury has this board which has onboard via c3 processor. These boards are not designed for vehicle install. We can use these as a barebone install.

Mercury-pc.com

Nope not this one. The one I talk about is not on mercury site, its been discontinued, and some dealers at Nehru place have an old stock. A friend was trying for one, but after that he settled for a second hand HP/HCL think client, reflashed the motherboard and booted linux on it. Its an ideal low power motherboard with processor which is being used as a routing box now.

As for the link you posted, why can't that be used in-car? Any particular reason. If you have a large sedan, or a SUV, there is ample amount of space.

Originally Posted by sys_whiz

wow that's great. If we can get a DC-DC PSU in Rs. 300, its amazing. Do they manage to provide the start-up and shutdown controller too in the PSU?

No, this is just power supply.
You have to find circuits on the web. Buy parts and those guys charge around 100-200rs for assembling and soldering etc.,
The parts are pretty cheap, all you need is make a regulator circuit.

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by sys_whiz

tsk, I believe you are talking about flex itx board(230 X 190 mm), not mini itx(170 X 170 mm). Mercury has this board which has onboard via c3 processor. These boards are not designed for vehicle install. We can use these as a barebone install.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

As for the link you posted, why can't that be used in-car? Any particular reason. If you have a large sedan, or a SUV, there is ample amount of space.

No, this is just power supply.
You have to find circuits on the web. Buy parts and those guys charge around 100-200rs for assembling and soldering etc.,
The parts are pretty cheap, all you need is make a regulator circuit.

Ya till heat isssue is controlled any board can be installed. I dont think that the mercury board has any issue...........

Ya the power supply can be done if you know some thing call DIY (do-it-yourself)........

[tsk1979]

The good thing about SJP road or SP road BLR is that you don't have to struggle with a soldering iron. You just have to get the circuit from the web, and then ask those guys to assemble it for you. If you buy parts from that shop, it will cost you around 200rs for assembling.

[hydrashok]

I just saw this on Gizmodo. Car PC from Shuttle. Not a DIY thing, but maybe you folks would be interested:

Source: Shuttle Car PC: A Techier Way to Die - Gizmodo

Shuttle just announced their new Car PC—or what looks to be a Mac Mini genetically enhanced with car audio badassness (known to some as a heat sink). Internally, the Car PC will run an Intel Core Duo chipset (not the 2 Duo, apparently) and store information on a standard laptop hard drive. 7.1 sound and graphics are predictably integrated onboard.
But what's so appealing about the Car PC is that it's powered by your car battery and will automatically shut down with no lost data when you turn off the ignition. So that quarterly budget you finished on the way to work will stay safe even after you park your car outside the hospital.

A little more info here; CeBIT 2007 – Shuttle's upcoming Car PC :: TweakTown

[ankur]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Power supply would be 12 V - (12/5V/3V). You can get such a supply custom made in bangalore using the best components for about 300rs. Wish there was a SJP road in Delhi, Nehru place may be great for PCs but for electronics components, esp like op-amps etc., its very difficult to source anything.

I would be very worried about using a PSU like that on my PC. I would rather spend more money and get something that has proven reliability and and a true spec rating. Be careful if you opt for getting a PSU made here. Keep in mind that an incorrectly made PSU can be a fire hazard apart from finishing off your PC components.

cheers.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by ankur

I would be very worried about using a PSU like that on my PC. I would rather spend more money and get something that has proven reliability and and a true spec rating. Be careful if you opt for getting a PSU made here. Keep in mind that an incorrectly made PSU can be a fire hazard apart from finishing off your PC components.

cheers.

Welcome to the real world Ankur.
If you ever opened a factory built PSU that is normally sold in the market here, or connected it to a Oscilloscope, you would shudder every time you switched on your PC.
The kind of PSU you can get made using the best components is not easily available over here. I have blown motherboards due to so called factory made PSUs. Many of them do not even have a filter circuit at the end of the AC-DC converter, so you actually get very dirty DC.
If you are going to do a DIY, better go all the way. After all the argument is the same as assembling your PC yourself or letting Compaq/Dell doing it for you.

[ankur]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Welcome to the real world Ankur.
If you ever opened a factory built PSU that is normally sold in the market here, or connected it to a Oscilloscope, you would shudder every time you switched on your PC.
The kind of PSU you can get made using the best components is not easily available over here. I have blown motherboards due to so called factory made PSUs. Many of them do not even have a filter circuit at the end of the AC-DC converter, so you actually get very dirty DC.
If you are going to do a DIY, better go all the way. After all the argument is the same as assembling your PC yourself or letting Compaq/Dell doing it for you.

In the real world people dont use oscilloscopes every time they are buying a PSU. I bought an Opus PSU simply because of their reputation, they could be making crap but most of their clients are happy with them, including me.

DIY is simply do it yourself there is no degree of it. The best part is that I decide how much i want to do myself someone else can make a fab and do their own CPUs for their own DIY fetish. There is no limit for going all the way in a DIY situation.

If you notice my post you will see that its my opinion about what i would do, i am not telling someone else not to buildt their own PSU.

I dont think the argument is the same as assembling your own PC or buying a ready made. No one really makes their own PC, not even Dell or Compaq. They also assemble from components that you or me can use. You are talking about trying to make each and every component. Why stop at the PSU, why not try making a hard disk next. Taking your DIY all the way, why even get a PSU made ? Make it your self.

cheers.

[tsk1979]

Sometimes DIY is a necessity. I can get a HDD.
But as you must have discovered yourself, availability of rarely used peripherals is very bad over here. So unless you want something which sells in numbers you cannot source it.
So if you can find a 12V DC-DC PSU for a car PC made by a reputed manufacturer, its good, but if you can't then you go DIY.

[ankur]

Thats true. I had the luck of being able to source most of my stuff from the US and get it here .

[devarshi84]

I am researching on this issue at presnt and am really close to a solution. Need 2-3 days to work out on it. My main intent is streaming music in a car with the help of a reliance data card thereby eliminating the need to carry a hard-drive based unit.

will post on all the details such as price, features, availability, wi-fi, music etc.

[rishibravo]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

I am researching on this issue at presnt and am really close to a solution. Need 2-3 days to work out on it. My main intent is streaming music in a car with the help of a reliance data card thereby eliminating the need to carry a hard-drive based unit.

will post on all the details such as price, features, availability, wi-fi, music etc.

The data card gives you really bad bandwidth and it would be difficult to stream good quality music. Why arent we looking at the HDDs which come fitted in the Creative products ( I think they are Toshiba make and available in 30Gig and 60Gig). The advantage is that these hard drives are built to withstand shocks but that also means extra cost. Or we can simply use the laptop HDD with a USB casing. Let the OS boot from the USB Mass storage device. This is possible in the current Desktop motherboards (I am not sure if its possible in Mini ITX motherboard though).