Does anyone have the width of the console where the radio and such mount, mounting tab to mounting tab under the bezel? I'm curious as I figure I should start looking for a good deal on a LCD+touchscreen of the proper size for use after I have a garage to store the car in. The cheap 8.9" LCD's that do 1024x600 are 7.7" wide for the lcd/8.4" wide with the frame, and 1/5" thick with backlight.
Also, is the system sentry just a pcb that directs the current to the bulbs? Does any current feed back out towards anything else?
Behind the facia, it's about 8.5" between the mounting holes, maybe 9" between the sides. Not sure what exactly what you're wanting to do with it. There are plenty of single din flip-out units to replace standard-sized receivers. There are double dins as well, if you're planning on hacking up the facia.
I'm curious how much width I can get without hacking up the dash itself in any way, including the mounting holes. I assume it's be just slightly wider than the width of a stereo (if I can find one yo measure). I know there is only about a 7" opening in the bezel itself but unsure how much room there is other than that.
I'm looking to install an 8" 4:3 XGA touchscreen but I have yet to find one that is transflective. If I can figure this one step out, the rest of a decent carpc is simple, including writing custom software to interface with everything like I want. It'd be nice if the climate controls were electronic but I may add things such as automatic window control, memory power seats, etc to the software using a microcontroller, along with finally adding four security/driving cameras to the vehicle. Of course, decent gps, radio/music control, etc would be a must, along with bringing up monitoring of the EEC, TCS, and other car parameters using a DataQ for input.
It's all easy, I just can't do the majority of the install until the vehicle may be garaged. I'd like to find decent parts in the mean time while starting some software development to get the GUI going, along with work with some spare car parts for the integration.
I may just customize the dash completely but want a spare one to work on first. There is so much that can be improved on, without looking like a nightmare pulled out of a car show. Once you're done with everything else, one must move onto another project. If you don't, you'll just want more from the current hardware like a stroked 351 with twin turbos that can spin to 8k.
Ain't that the truth.
Okay, the measurement I gave you earlier is good to start. Of course, there are a couple of other options. You can always pull the facia (remove the shifter then the instrument panel facia) and see what's what. Or you could go to a car stereo place and look at (or buy) the radio install kit for the car.
If you're looking for a touchscreen monitors, you might try looking at retail displays. They might have what you need. Two drawbacks: they're more expensive than the automotive apps, and they're not typically 12V. For automotive apps, check Pyle, or search 'flip out video' on evilbay.
Have you considered getting the harness from a Mk8? I read somewhere there's a common bus for the whole harness, could make things easier (after installing the harness, of course).
I thought long and hard about a touchscreen and decided to go with a separate wireless input device.
I've got a umpc right now but it's annoying with the power cable, usb hub, and so on. There's transflective screens but not 1024x600/768, except ones without a controller which is over my head to program, along with most people. There's always the 8.9" from Fujitsu netbooks that do 1280×768 and are LVDS capable but the width is a bit much and the transflective capabilities aren't perfect but decent.
Okay, I am going with a Xenarc 700TSV for now until better screens come out (got it for cheaper than anything else). Specs here: http://xenarc.com/product/700tsv.html. It has a great contrast ratio and brightness for screens this size, along with decent 1024x600 scaling. I will be purchasing an ITX Core2 setup here soon to power it. I'm undecided on whether I want to mount the pc in dash or further back in the car. USB is the limiting factor, especially the noise on my EEC tuner's cable which only goes from the kick panel to the passenger seat.
I have a for-now system decided based on parts/software I currently have and what is the best price/performance. SSD will improve everything greatly when it isn't $2+/GB for a decent drive.
Likely specs:
Xenarc 700TSV 7" widescreen touchscreen LCD
Zotac GF9300-D-E motherboard using onboard video/sound
Core2Duo E7200 processor
4GB DDR2
WD Scorpio Black 320GB 7200RPM hdd
8x Slot-load DVDRW drive
160w DC-DC power supply
Bluetooth dongle with keyboard for external input source
Undecided GPS using both iNAV iGuidance and MS Streets & Trips
Windows 7 with custom application GUI and system settings
Circuit to force computer off if it does not hibernate fast enough with ignition off
Your going to the m2-atx motherboard right? If it were me, I would look at a dvd player, cd burner combo. You used to be able to get them for less then $50 back in the day. Alot of full sized hard drives use water based berring lubricants. In the winter, your hard drive can freeze up. Laptops for what ever reason, do not usually use this, which is why there read time is slower. Laptop hard drives are also more durable and built to withstand shock. Full sized ones aren't. I have a 3.5 to 2.5" adapter if your interested in going that way. And if you are going SD later on, there is no reason to buy a new 320 gig. I would get a used 100 gig or so. Crazy how big hard drives are now.
Power has already changed to an OPUS 180w. The Scorpio series is 2.5", not 3.5, and 7200 rpm so decent access times. $50 so it's better than people wanting $40 for a used 80GB. DVDRW drives can play/burn both dvd's and cd's.
I have had three of the 1.5TB drives in my PC for over a year. Lots of storage (RAID1 a pair) with great file transfer speeds but poorer access times than most drives.
I am still undecided on indash pc or trunk mounted pc to a plate that will pull up and lock under the rear deck. Both installs have their pros and cons, mainly ease of access/install for wireless parts such as gps/radio vs cable lengths.
So, just how much room do you HAVE behind that dash of yours? Mine is pretty packed, and if was going to do it, unless there was a problem getting the feed wire to the screen, I would mount it in the trunk, unless you wanted access to the rom drive, in which case you might consider mounting it under the Pass seat?(My pass seat is manual, so there might be enough room.)
The screen will replace the stock EQ/Radio location (currently cubby/radio). I will be getting rid of the slider climate controls and the system sentry is think (I may remove or modify/move it all). I don't remember exact depths but there is a lot of room back there once the climate controls are out of the way. The M-ITX setup is only 6.7"/170mm squared so it can be packed in to just about anywhere. With heatsink and using onboard video, it is a couple inches tall. USB drives take care of optical media access, front or trunk. I will not be using a headunit.
Besides the upper ducting, our center console can basically fit 5-DIN of equipment (DIN is 7" x 2", double din is 7" x 4"). There is no standard on depth.
I just saw this and it made me think of this thread. I WILL NOT be installing it like this ;)
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l274/camarossguy2/for%20sale/DSC_3782Large.jpg
I would hack up a standard radio plate(the right name escapes me), Modify it for a double din setup in the top two spaces, and the little bit of slot that may be left over above the HVAC would make a good spot for a cd rom drive. You could also make a bracket easily to mount the motherboard/power supply and all wires.
That's the initial plan. I would still prefer to have in-dash as everything wired up will be new and easily removable (no spliced wires everywhere or excess wire runs).
Small changes - choice of sound output and tuning control has been decided upon (mostly). The motherboard does not have firewire output so I am deciding on what to do about that. 6 Channels can get me a 3-way system but I may prefer to go 3 way up front with the subs making it 4 way total. I cannot find this answer - does anyone know is ASIO drivers function independently of the device they're running on? Can I run two or more USB audio devices and work with them similarly in a VST environment, at the same time? I assume so...
Xenarc 700TSV 7" widescreen touchscreen LCD (own)
Zotac GF9300-D-E motherboard using onboard video (own)
Core2Duo E8400 processor (own)
M-Audio Firewire 410 audio interface (own)
4GB DDR2-800 RAM (own)
OCZ Agility 60GB SSD (looking)
8x Slot-load DVDRW drive (own)
180w OPUS DC-DC power supply (own)
Bluetooth dongle with keyboard for external input source (own)
Undecided GPS hardware (on hold)
Windows 7 with custom application GUI (own)
AudioMulch VST audio tuning environment (own)
I did some rough measurements earlier and I'm not sure an mini itx board would even fit up front without ditching the slider climate controls - the hvac ducting is really a pain for us. There appears to be 12" of depth just below the top two DIN slots but it quickly decreases to 8" up in the stock radio location, down to 4" at the very top of the EQ/holder spot.
Have some more parts coming - now I am just looking for an SSD drive. I may just install the climate controls up high and place the pc within the middle two spots in the center dash. This would basically give me as much room up front for anything, plus with more customizations, I can have more options on how to mount the screen. It is a hard choice as our dashes already put things down very low so that may not work out too well.
Wow how things change after having a look again - I basically NEED to have the screen up top because our floor shifters are so far forward, and tall. Below are some shots taken for my planning purposes. Mini ITX motherboards are 6.7x6.7" in dimensions, and it needs about 2.5" in height for the components/medium height heatsink.
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/CarPC/View.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/CarPC/Screen1.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/CarPC/Screen2.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/CarPC/TopMinimum.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/CarPC/TopMaximum.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/CarPC/StereoDepth.jpg)
The size of the motherboard - it is tiny compared to a standard video card. Even a CD makes the motherboard look tiny. Only the motherboard, its built-in hardware, and the cpu/heatsink/memory are to be used in-car. The power supply is its own tiny pcb board that needs to be mounted near the system.
(http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/itx_2.jpg)
You need a fanless setup with a riser card.
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:wb6WPGCpTQp7IM:http://www2.multithread.co.uk/mtcshop/images/linitx.com/products/PCI_Express_X16_Flexi_Riser_Card_-_7cm_Cable_main.jpg)
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:GPWKiN2uQVcPhM:http://atechfabrication.com/images/htpc/products/riser%2520card%2520001-1024.jpg)
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QoWSusjC3qLHXM:http://starlinepc.ca/StarlinePC//catalog/images/EPIA-ML-45.jpg)
The 120mm there wa for size comparisons - I WILL be using a fan on the heatsink though. The videocard is in the system now but won't be used come car-install time (the motherboard is the Ion platform - a GeForce 9300).
I forget how far along these things have come. Almost everyone used fanless because there wasn't a need for a fan back in the day. Killer video card compared to what I was expecting.
Yeah, the initial Via chips were decent at their time but even they are half the speed of a comparable Atom, which in itself is AWFUL. An Atom, even dual core, can't handle real-time DSP tasks of any decent level. I'm not quite sure how to setup the ASIO drivers to keep the original bitrate and sampling rate...it'll save cpu time though, while increasing sound quality.
What is the distance from the center console, down the driveline tunnel, to the trunk? I assume a 10ft firewire cable may be pushing it a little? 15ft seems a little excessive for that run though.
Forget it - having the pc up front and other stuff in the back is too complicated. I will be running an antenna extension up front for now, running a 12v dc regulator up front for a usb hub and the monitor, and just installing it all up under the rear deck. The stock premium amp tray would work perfect for a carpc if I still had a way to mount it. I need to come up with some ingenious mount for under the rear deck that is dampened to prevent all the car's vibrations from rattling the pc to death. This will also allow me to use more room and larger motherboards than mini itx so that I may keep this board for the htpc instead. Keeping all the audio in the rear of the vehicle should make audio noise a thing of the past, while also making it all much easier to wire up.
I still only have the hard drive to go. HD receiver has arrived and works great with no antenna but the extension cable hooked up.
Xenarc 700TSV 7" widescreen touchscreen LCD (own)
Zotac GF9300-D-E motherboard using onboard video (own)
Core2Duo E8400 processor (own)
M-Audio Firewire 410 audio interface (own)
4GB DDR2-800 RAM (own)
OCZ Agility 60GB SSD (looking)
8x Slot-load DVDRW drive (own)
180w OPUS DC-DC power supply (own)
Visteon HDZ300 HD Radio tuner (own)
Bluetooth dongle with keyboard for external input source (own)
Undecided GPS hardware (on hold)
Windows 7 with custom application GUI (own)
AudioMulch VST audio tuning environment (own)
Does anyone have some pictures from under the rear deck on these cars? I thought I did but I cannot find any from my current camera. I think I took them with my Fujifilm many years ago and those are all archived in a safe place that I can't find...
So some changed were made to make the system easier to mount and use. I have used an M350 case with a Pico 125w dc-dc converter designed for car environment use (6-30v input). Specs are below:
Xenarc 700TSV 7" widescreen touchscreen LCD (own)
M350 Mini-ITX enclosure (own)
Zotac GF9300-D-E motherboard using onboard video (own)
Core2Duo E7200 processor (own)
M-Audio Fast Track Ultra audio interface (looking)
4GB DDR2-800 RAM (own)
Kingston 40GB SSD (own)
WD Scorpio Blue 640GB HDD (own)
8x Slot-load DVDRW drive (own)
125w M3-ATX DC-DC power supply (own)
Visteon HDZ300 HD Radio tuner (own)
Bluetooth dongle with keyboard for external input source (own)
Globalsat BU-353 GPS receiver (own)
Windows 7 with custom application GUI (own)
AudioMulch VST audio tuning environment (own)
An E7200 at 3.13Ghz uses less power than an E8400 at 3.0GHz so I decided to use the E7200. Stress tested on both the CPU and GPU, the system consumes 52W INPUT at stock speed and 45W INPUT at 1.9Ghz. It consumes 58W at 3.13Ghz while the E8400 consumes 61W at stock speed. The E7200 idles at 21W and the E8400 at 25W.
I can still use either CPU but I want to play it safe with the power supply that can only put out 4A on the 12v rail when ran at extreme high/low input voltages. Typical 11-16v sits at 6A at 12v though. I have no idea how much the system is actually using but taking the INPUT amperage, removing the inefficiencies, and assume no 3.3 or 5v was being used, the system would consume 3.5A at 12v using the E7200 at 1.9Ghz
Due to the lack of enclosures, I have ditched the low profile Firewire card idea and am looking for a Fast Track Ultra model instead - 6 channel USB instead of 8 channel Firewire.
Once past POST, Windows loads in 9 seconds and shuts down in 3-4 seconds. Overall it takes about 25 seconds to boot up due to the SLOW POST speed...
Wow, really?!?! Now if I only understood any of what you were talking about! :D
Merry Christmas!
Bill
POST (power on self test) = black screen that comes up when you first hit the power button. It takes 16 seconds or so from turning on the ignition to the point that it gets to the "loading windows" screen, then another 9 seconds to be done loading.
Cool... now I understand that.... of course, I still don't understand the rest of your post. I think this means I'm now officially old. :mad:
Merry Christmas!
Bill
Perhaps :p
It's really just power draw tests I've done on the PC - a fully loaded PC that is faster than everything at my work, besides a couple servers. It all fits into about 7.5x8x2 inches though and will be used to connect to the car's ECU and TCS while also providing entertainment, GPS, and such but with full digital processing for the audio signals. Certain power supplies only offer a limited amount of amperage so I found power draws that fit my needs while also using a TINY power supply (2x1x0.5") in dimensions. The other one I was about to use was much larger at 4x5x1" and would be much more difficult to mount and run wires with the limited space I will have for mounting it all (pc, power supply, HD radio receiver, sound DAC, etc).
Cool stuff seek!
I am putting together my own rig based on a P4 T30 Ibm lappy I already own. I have Riderunner on it now and play music through it when I'm in a hotel. I have a docking station I'll hardwire in the trunk so I can still use the lappy, and remove it for updates and such.
For now I plan on a Chinese 7" 1-din mechanical flip out monitor, and when it dies go with a bonded/transflective Lilliput 7" in the Chinese flip-out.
Like you, I have a HD radio for it.
What do you think about mounting a trackball mouse next to the seat control in the console? Seems like the hand would rest there naturally. I also plan for a small rf keyboard under the front seat for Megasquirting and such. Voice command software with a GOOD mic might be a cool interface also.
Still thinking about this since the car isn't together yet.