My Car Computer installation

manujkansal · 26th January 2009, 13:03

I see how everyone on here puts together computers for their car.... but why not just buy a used laptop? The case would be even smaller, and fit very easily underneath a car seat or in the boot. Then just get one of those 7" screens to put in your dash and you are set.
Well I really don't know much about electronics so pardon me if it is a stupid question !

sdh · 28th January 2009, 06:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigy

sdh,look at option of upgrading the motherboard for dual display support than finding pci graphics support.

This weekend I looked PCI VGA card. Bought one but it is slightly higher. So the real dual screen option now is to have motherboard that supports extended desktop. Any suggestions on what is available in India. I have seen that intel atom mini itx boards are easily available in local market (SP Road). I checked about other mini itx boards and got a blank look.

DerAlte · 28th January 2009, 12:21

The dealers haven't woken up to other possibilities, or the other companies in Taiwan haven't woken up to the market size in India. Intel is an early mover and flooding the market with boards, realizing nowhere else in the world (apart from China) would there be a demand for miniITX boards in volume for NetPC needs.

Of course there are a few other miniITX boards available in India, but only through specific dealers - not in the general market. VIA sells VB-7001G board which costs 10K or so (Board , Power Supply module & 512 MB memory). Advantech is still behaving hoity-toity, all because they associate themselves with Industrial Controls. The simplest of their miniITX boards is priced 24K!!!

Isn't the Extended Desktop mode only a function of RAM organization on the display card, and not the rest of the MB?

sdh · 28th January 2009, 13:10

Well, my dell latitude which is now a few years old already does extended desktop with VGA and S-Video connectors. I am sure it is intel driver issue, which they should resolve and not stick to stand that it is not designed to do so. What is the use of S-Video connector. The main reason I bought this board compared to D945GCLF was thinking that extended desktop will be feasible (similar to my dell).

I dont want to jackup the whole cost by going for a 10k mobo. So will still try and explore what can be done with the constraints that I have now.

amitk26 · 4th February 2009, 23:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdh

This weekend I looked PCI VGA card. Bought one but it is slightly higher. So the real dual screen option now is to have motherboard that supports extended desktop. Any suggestions on what is available in India. I have seen that intel atom mini itx boards are easily available in local market (SP Road). I checked about other mini itx boards and got a blank look.

Zotach 8200 is available I heard heavnt checked personally

sdh · 9th February 2009, 13:09

Thanks Amit. not gettign time to go to SP road and check out. Still buying a 3-4K graphics card nullifies the whole low cost option given by Atom motherboard. It is really stupid of intel not to support extended desktop on s-video. The board would have been a killer if they did that.

Has anyone any idea if PCI raiser cards are avialbel in India.

amitk26 · 9th February 2009, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdh

Thanks Amit. not gettign time to go to SP road and check out. Still buying a 3-4K graphics card nullifies the whole low cost option given by Atom motherboard. It is really stupid of intel not to support extended desktop on s-video. The board would have been a killer if they did that.

Has anyone any idea if PCI raiser cards are avialbel in India.

SDH best option for you under these circumstances is to look for a
ATI Raedon HD2400 Pro based card it is 9 W idle / 15 W peak and cheap.
This is the lowest power rating card and available in India.

Actually I was doubtful about the dual display capability of Atom based baord as the MM capability listed for board are fairly limited.
So was waiting till now on Atom board. Funny part is that in Bangalore only D945GCLF is available I asked many dealers for D945GCLF2 but they try to pass D945GCLF instead so I delayed the whole project untill I find a suitable alternative.

sdh · 19th February 2009, 09:38

Has anyone used USB to VGA dongle (if I may call it). Any hints on additional CPU load and quality of video playback.

reveal_da_zeal · 22nd February 2009, 00:00

Nice work really must say Dream works here... ;-)

monty9991 · 22nd February 2009, 19:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdh

Has anyone any idea if PCI raiser cards are avialbel in India.

i teried finidng it but no luck . so i ordered it off ebay from tiawan. it will be shipped on monday at costed me around Rs.1200

sdh · 24th February 2009, 10:00

Guys, one more observation. yesterday night, while waiting at a red light, the computer went into hibernation (power settings are set for hibernation on pressing power button) with the engine still running and head lights ON. The PSU is configured to shut down the computer if battery voltage (input voltage) falls below 11v. What I also see is that if I just turn the key half (ignition on, engine still not cranked), the computer comes on and then after a minute or so, goes to hibernate again.

Now my question is, is there enough juice in the swift alternator to run all the additional systems and charge the battery too.

I know what additional wattage is consumed by some of the components.
LCD: 10W
Computer: 35W (approx)
Amp (JBLGT5-A604): ??

Has anyone experienced this.

monty9991 · 24th February 2009, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdh

Guys, one more observation. yesterday night, while waiting at a red light, the computer went into hibernation (power settings are set for hibernation on pressing power button) with the engine still running and head lights ..............

well i think you have a lose connection at where you give power from ignition to the PSU. PSU shouldn't give command to the computer to hibernate. try checking you connections.

sdh · 24th February 2009, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by monty9991

well i think you have a lose connection at where you give power from ignition to the PSU. PSU shouldn't give command to the computer to hibernate. try checking you connections.

Well, PSU has 2 pins connecting to power on/off switch on mobo. PSU will use this output to power on and off the CPU. What action has to be done on the mothor board is configured in power options and I have configured it to hibernate and not switch off.

This is the first time I have seen this issue. I will try and check again, but I am pretty sure the PSU instructed the system to go to standby (hibernate in my case). I will measure voltage of my alternator today under different situations.

monty9991 · 24th February 2009, 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdh

Well, PSU has 2 pins connecting to power on/off switch on mobo. PSU will use this output to power on and off the CPU. What action has to be done on the mothor board is configured in power options and I have configured it to hibernate and not switch off.

This is the first time I have seen this issue. I will try and check again, but I am pretty sure the PSU instructed the system to go to standby (hibernate in my case). I will measure voltage of my alternator today under different situations.

i dont think the voltage is that much dropped to power up the PSU.
i remember once i was setting my carputer my battery died as i forgot starting the to charge it a little. the self did not work at all while the computer was working and the screen was shutting down again and again. so this mean the PSU can hold to much longer than 11 or 10 volts on battery.

sdh · 3rd March 2009, 05:45

I measured voltages at the battery termnal:
With engine running: 14V
With engine off and ign key mid position: 12.5 volts

Still without engine runninig, the computer shuts down after about 30 seconds. Why?

26th January 2009, 13:03	#46
manujkansal BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Delhi Posts: 147 Thanked: 12 Times	why not just a laptop ?? I see how everyone on here puts together computers for their car.... but why not just buy a used laptop? The case would be even smaller, and fit very easily underneath a car seat or in the boot. Then just get one of those 7" screens to put in your dash and you are set. Well I really don't know much about electronics so pardon me if it is a stupid question !
	() Thanks

28th January 2009, 12:21	#48
DerAlte Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 8,069 Thanked: 2,919 Times	The dealers haven't woken up to other possibilities, or the other companies in Taiwan haven't woken up to the market size in India. Intel is an early mover and flooding the market with boards, realizing nowhere else in the world (apart from China) would there be a demand for miniITX boards in volume for NetPC needs. Of course there are a few other miniITX boards available in India, but only through specific dealers - not in the general market. VIA sells VB-7001G board which costs 10K or so (Board , Power Supply module & 512 MB memory). Advantech is still behaving hoity-toity, all because they associate themselves with Industrial Controls. The simplest of their miniITX boards is priced 24K!!! Isn't the Extended Desktop mode only a function of RAM organization on the display card, and not the rest of the MB?
	() Thanks

28th January 2009, 13:10	#49
sdh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 143 Thanked: 4 Times	Well, my dell latitude which is now a few years old already does extended desktop with VGA and S-Video connectors. I am sure it is intel driver issue, which they should resolve and not stick to stand that it is not designed to do so. What is the use of S-Video connector. The main reason I bought this board compared to D945GCLF was thinking that extended desktop will be feasible (similar to my dell). I dont want to jackup the whole cost by going for a 10k mobo. So will still try and explore what can be done with the constraints that I have now.
	() Thanks

9th February 2009, 13:09	#51
sdh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 143 Thanked: 4 Times	Thanks Amit. not gettign time to go to SP road and check out. Still buying a 3-4K graphics card nullifies the whole low cost option given by Atom motherboard. It is really stupid of intel not to support extended desktop on s-video. The board would have been a killer if they did that. Has anyone any idea if PCI raiser cards are avialbel in India.
	() Thanks

19th February 2009, 09:38	#53
sdh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 143 Thanked: 4 Times	Has anyone used USB to VGA dongle (if I may call it). Any hints on additional CPU load and quality of video playback.
	() Thanks

22nd February 2009, 00:00	#54
reveal_da_zeal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 82 Thanked: Once	Nice work really must say Dream works here... ;-)
	() Thanks

24th February 2009, 10:00	#56
sdh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 143 Thanked: 4 Times	Guys, one more observation. yesterday night, while waiting at a red light, the computer went into hibernation (power settings are set for hibernation on pressing power button) with the engine still running and head lights ON. The PSU is configured to shut down the computer if battery voltage (input voltage) falls below 11v. What I also see is that if I just turn the key half (ignition on, engine still not cranked), the computer comes on and then after a minute or so, goes to hibernate again. Now my question is, is there enough juice in the swift alternator to run all the additional systems and charge the battery too. I know what additional wattage is consumed by some of the components. LCD: 10W Computer: 35W (approx) Amp (JBLGT5-A604): ?? Has anyone experienced this.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2009, 05:45	#60
sdh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 143 Thanked: 4 Times	I measured voltages at the battery termnal: With engine running: 14V With engine off and ign key mid position: 12.5 volts Still without engine runninig, the computer shuts down after about 30 seconds. Why?
	() Thanks