Car pc for Safari

[nc1bad]

Hi guys, thought I pen down my experience with DIY Car pc. First of all thanks to Sheldon from iRide for all the critical components and support and my friend sid for all DIYs we had to do.
My project started as a budget car pc, taking excess desktop pc components and assembling them in a custom made wooden cabinet. But after few weeks of trying and testing I figured out that it wasn’t feasible to have desktop components in a car. Especially the power supply was a hindrance, I used a old UPS to power the pc ,it just wasn’t taking the load. So I decided to invest bit by bit and build a proper car pc in terms of functionality and form factor. My total expenditure is as follows (all in rupees):

1.Cabinet :2500
2.DC SMPS : 3300
3.7” Touch Screen : 11,800
4.Atom 945GLCF MB : 3300
5.1 GB Ram Transcend DDR2 : 1200
6.160 GB SATA HDD : 3400
7.PS 2302 GPS : 3500
8.Centrafuse : 5600
9.Active USB Cable : 550
10.USB Hub : 200
11.Video Extension Cable : 750
12.Installation : 1000
13.Tata Indicom USB dialer (had it from first so no additional expenditure)

Total: Rs 37,100

Functionality with centrafuse:

1.Total car entertainment system ( Music , Videos , Movies )
2.Email with voice
3.Phone control, shows call data on the screen with auto audio transfer to car speakers, make and receive calls with main display screen, auto media audio mute when receiving and making calls, phone book.
4.GPS Navigation using Destinator
5.Digital Compass, Longitude latitude reading ,elevation ,speed and distance averages with GPS data
6.Web browser
7.Games ( flash based incl)
8.Dial up control for Tata Indicom internet
9.OBD II will be added as soon as I get my OBD scanner
+ all functionality of a regular PC

Problems:

The couple of major problems I faced were the following:
1.5 m long Display cable that I had , was defective .the problem was in one of the 15 pin connector , so we decided to replace and re solder the same. Soldering and color code was the easy part, the problem arised when the main RGB wires were getting cut at the soldered point. We had to get it done 5 times actually burning the midnight oil lol.
2.Second problem I faced was extending USB cable to for than 5 meters. Pen drives etc don’t work more that 2 meters away from the system. Locating an active usb cable and installing it was a big head ache, but we got it working in the end.

For the audio set up i decided to keep my existing ICE and get some line in modification done. we modified the cd changer cable to enable us to connect the speaker out port from the pc to main deck. Right now the ICE flows this way : PC -> Changer Cable-> Deck in AUX mode -> DSP->2 AMPs. The sound quality is actually far better that plain cd

I have posted a few pics, shall add some more later.

[jobinjv]

Neat. I see there is a unit beneath the HU, why didn't u try for a in-dash motorized or non-motorized display

[smokin]

lovely install i would suggest you one thing that get the screen in dash one where your HU's are and move one of the HU to glovebox as you are not in need of that from now onwards think of it

By d way the system is good and lovely

why you paid for centrafuse (is it 2.0) you can get a road runner which is free and the themes are excellent ones

[rohan_fonseca]

nc1bad awesome stuff. Guessing the jobs not done yet. Don't forget to post some pics of those guages as well. Drool!
Just noticed your gym shoes are gathering dust

[jkdas]

Where does the CPU sit? And on what OS?

[dinar]

patrato, system class aha....when do we meet for the demo. how about this weekend ?

[nc1bad]

hi,the reason i did not go for a in-dash unit basicaly because of the cost involved and second, the screen will sit really low which will be a problem if i need to see and use the screen (for nav, phone functions) while driving. My fabrication work is still pending, the screen will be going into a fibre glass mould that will sit on the dash board.

Originally Posted by jobinjv

Neat. I see there is a unit beneath the HU, why didn't u try for a in-dash motorized or non-motorized display

Thanks, I did think of removing the entire ICE i had earlier, but then decided against it because the screen will sit really low and the gear lever also comes right in front of the screen,plus if at all my pc goes down i can still use the pioneer system.

I tried almost all the front ends mentioned at mp3car.com , the class and ease of use centrafuse has i did not find it other front ends ( RR,Mobile Impact,media engine,auto touch etc). I had a cracked 1.20 version of CF,used it for a month then decided to upgrade to v2.0,and although it costed me more than windows vista license , i say its worth it.

Originally Posted by smokin

lovely install i would suggest you one thing that get the screen in dash one where your HU's are and move one of the HU to glovebox as you are not in need of that from now onwards think of it

By d way the system is good and lovely

why you paid for centrafuse (is it 2.0) you can get a road runner which is free and the themes are excellent ones

Thanks bro,the day you saw the pc , i had the display problem mentioned earlier , and also my gps wasn't working properly. In terms of set-up everything is up and running and the pc is fully functional,only work left is the fabricated enclosure for the screen, still trying to find a person who can do a proper fibre glass job.

Originally Posted by rohan_fonseca

nc1bad awesome stuff. Guessing the jobs not done yet. Don't forget to post some pics of those guages as well. Drool!
Just noticed your gym shoes are gathering dust

CPU sits behind the 6th seat,and it runs on windows XP modded to load lighter.

Originally Posted by jkdas

Where does the CPU sit? And on what OS?

sure thing lemme know when

Originally Posted by dinar

patrato, system class aha....when do we meet for the demo. how about this weekend ?

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[speedzak]

The BADman does it!
Good components gone in to make this a worthy competitor to a desktop/laptop. How'bout adding a GPU and more ram to let your passenger enjoy doom while you drive the hell out of your truck?

Put some nice pictures once all work is over and as asked by Rohan, don't forget to show off your meters.

[nc1bad]

hi guys good morning, have posted more pics showing the cpu install , the keyboard cum trackball unit i took from a reliance kiosk and also a pic of the dash board showing why it is not feasible to install the screen where the HU is located :

(@ speedzak) dont think gpu can be added to this unit, as it uses a ITX motherboard and i am running it on a 100 watt smps.

Anyways the processor is Intel Atom ( dual core) with 1 gb DDR2 PC 667 ram, it plays games like GTA SA without any problems.

Next list of addons are :
1. Custom made IR to serial port receiver , so that i can use the pioneer remote control to change songs etc

2. OBD II scanner device.

3. Head rest displays , or just one additional display for rear passengers

[spadival]

Very good install. As you have said, a fibre glass shroud for the LCD screen should complete the setup. Just make sure the screen is recessed so that fibre glass shroud acts as a sun shade for the screen.

[smokin]

great man !! no doubt CS2.0 is one of the best interface ..

The place to choose for the cpu is best one as it will not get heated and doesn't look odd .good choice

I am coming too in your category with in few days got 50% of the things 50% is on way

How you attaching the phone with PC?

I think OBD2 doesn't work with the SUZUKI ,TAT as i had a word with SHELDON ..rest he can confirm you on it that's' why i dropped getting obd 2 scanner

[nc1bad]

thats cool, welcome to the club, which parts are you waiting for ?
I am using bluetooth to connect the phone, CF has good support to get your phone configured , as well as they give bluetooth software license along with their CF license.

About OBD, sheldon told me that it wouldn't show all the parameters, he sent me a screen shot of OBD in a Tata Indigo, it was satisfactory. He also said they would refund if at all the OBD does not work satisfactory.

Originally Posted by smokin

great man !! no doubt CS2.0 is one of the best interface ..

The place to choose for the cpu is best one as it will not get heated and doesn't look odd .good choice

I am coming too in your category with in few days got 50% of the things 50% is on way

How you attaching the phone with PC?

I think OBD2 doesn't work with the SUZUKI ,TAT as i had a word with SHELDON ..rest he can confirm you on it that's' why i dropped getting obd 2 scanner

[Bass&Trouble]

Nice setup. Just one small observation: I notice you are using the prehistoric Pioneer DSP. It is useless in a setup like this. With software power at your fingertips now, you can do much more.

[jobinjv]

Originally Posted by nc1bad

My fabrication work is still pending, the screen will be going into a fibre glass mould that will sit on the dash board.

I will work a gem with you dash but i think the present safari has beige dash and might be a bit gross.

Originally Posted by nc1bad

CPU sits behind the 6th seat,and it runs on windows XP modded to load lighter.

Dude, Can the same place be used on the new safari's too?

Originally Posted by nc1bad

Anyways the processor is Intel Atom ( dual core).

I read a lot about this, Is it the one with the fan or the one without it. And can u provide a review on its performance. And does it get heated. What are the temperature readings.

[spadival]

Originally Posted by nc1bad

About OBD, sheldon told me that it wouldn't show all the parameters, he sent me a screen shot of OBD in a Tata Indigo, it was satisfactory. He also said they would refund if at all the OBD does not work satisfactory.

Definetly worth a try, since you can return it. I think Centrafuse has an OBD II plugin as well, which you can use to display the data.