Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Interests > Tilted Technology


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 11-16-2004, 08:47 AM   #1 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Meechigan
Car PC Anyone?

Has anyone here tried building a Car PC? If so, how has it turned out? I am looking at building one whenever the Nano ITX motherboards come out. I am hoping to be able to gut out an old radio, and use that as the case for everything, so I can kinda keep everything in the dashboard. The only thing I want coming out of the dashboard is the LCD screen (preferably touchscreen).

I would like to install linux on it, but the only thing I am worried about is it not being able to play WMA files with it. It really isn't that big of a deal, because I only have a few WMAs here and there, but I would still like to be able to play them.
killeena is offline  
Old 11-16-2004, 09:02 AM   #2 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
I have trouble changing the radio station while dodging every kamakazee sport compact rushing at me at the speed of litigation, let alone control alt deleting my way through Windows going 80 mph to work. I'm sorry to sound negative, but why not just get a laptop? Even if you are trying to set up a stand alone system or some kind of engine monitoring, you still don't need it built in. You can just as easily hook up a laptop to those systems. If it's a laptop, it's cheaper because you don't have to build it in, and you can take it inside the house or to work with you whenever you want.

Just get a laptop that can hook up to a decent deck and/or amp. Then you know it'll play wma, mp3, mov, and jpg!
Willravel is offline  
Old 11-16-2004, 09:06 AM   #3 (permalink)
Professional Loafer
 
bendsley's Avatar
 
Location: texas
Quote:
I would like to install linux on it, but the only thing I am worried about is it not being able to play WMA files with it. It really isn't that big of a deal, because I only have a few WMAs here and there, but I would still like to be able to play them.
Just use XMMS for linux and install the WMA plugin. Very simple.

As for the carpc goes, read on.

My friend John and I put one in his BMW M3. We are about to do the same for my 525i.

For eyecandy, follow the links below.
BMW M3: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=16568 (finished product)

For build photos, goto http://www.blurbco.com/~gork/carpc/

Things you can't see in the photos:

1) The computer is interfaced to the BMW I-Bus so it can send/receive all kinds of events from the car. For instance, the computer can read from the I-Bus what doors/trunk/etc are open, what lights are on (headlamps/interior,etc.), if the car is moving, steering wheel button presses, etc. There is really tons of information available. If you have a CarPC in your BMW and it's not talking to the I-Bus you're missing out on a ton of great things!

2) The GPS receiver is mounted on the rear decklid behind the headrest. The TV antenna adheres to the rear windshield.

3) I removed the factory head unit entirely, but kept the stock amplifiers and speakers from the Harmon/Kardon system. It was really pretty simple to interface to this, and left me a little more flexibility with the PC controlling everything.

4) The XM-PCR receiver is also attached to the back windshield.

Upcoming work includes:

1) USB Audio. There is a lot of noise on the stock setup.

2) Temp.-based fan speed control. It gets hot here so I want to have the fans going in my Mini-ITX case; however, they are really noisy and I can hear them a little bit. If it's cool, I dont' want them to be running. I'm still searching for a SMALL temp.-based fan controller. I have only found these huge pyramid shaped jobbers with tons of LED's in them.. NO GOOD!

3) My own software. I have started working on my own version of in-car software. It will likely be based on the WMP9 or various lower-level directx audio/video components and use Macromedia Flash for the UI. It'll be pretty tailored to my setup initially, but I'll probably attempt to start extending it so that other folks can use it.

4) ODB-II or K-Bus interface for Engine stats/logging/etc. - I'll either build or buy some ODB-II stuff or build another interface to talk to BMW's K-Bus (From which you can read similar engine data) at some point. Is there any ODB-II software that lets you recycle some ActiveX components into your own applicaiton by chance? Or ODBII software with a good API accessible from VB? I could easily crank out some keen looking gauges in Flash...

5) LCD Inverter dimmer based on Illumination wire input and a photocell. This is somewhat on hold since I have figured out how to get headlight status, ambient light readings, and dash dimmer settings over I-Bus and can control the video gamma from this info, but I'd still like to design a PWM auto-dimmer circuit at some point.
__________________
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

Last edited by bendsley; 11-16-2004 at 12:14 PM..
bendsley is offline  
Old 11-16-2004, 09:37 AM   #4 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Will a laptop is a muuuuuch more expensive idea.....I had a m10000 nehemiah motherboard with the works in my old POS Sable.....It was awesome and not too hard to install. If you can install a car stereo and build a computer u can do this easily just read up in the mp3car.com forums
scoobydugan is offline  
Old 11-16-2004, 10:28 AM   #5 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Meechigan
Wow, yea, a laptop would just be big and gumpy. I would like something simple to control, like something I can control with one hand while driving.

Heh, wish I had a BMW to tie it into. I just have a POS 92 Crown Vic. I would guess there is really no way to tie the pc into that, but I'm not too worried about it. It looks really good though. When I care enough about the way it looks in my car (ie. when i get a new one), I hope I can make it look that good.

I didn't know that there was a WMA plugin for xmms. That helps a lot, thanks.
killeena is offline  
Old 11-16-2004, 10:46 AM   #6 (permalink)
Tilted
 
I just bought a car and my boyfriend bought a ford focus a month ago. He's been yammering about building a car PC since he got it. He's looking at putting a lcd in dash, but doesnt know how or where to put the actual computer. He wants to keep the car looking stock, but doesnt know the first thing about power inverters and the like..
Any advice?
Peutetre is offline  
Old 11-16-2004, 11:27 AM   #7 (permalink)
Psycho
 
Wingless's Avatar
 
Location: Metro Detroit, Mich, USA
Peutetre: tell him to check out mp3car.com ... many say that it is the source for carputer stuffs.

I have some computer parts that I found in the garbage which will soon become my Carputer It's only a 500MHz Celeron but if I'm playing just MP3's you don't need much more.
__________________
Tommy
Nibs is a funny word.
So here I am, above palm trees, so straight and tall...
You are, smaller getting smaller, but I still see... you.

Jimmy Eat World - Goodbye Sky Harbor
Wingless is offline  
 

Tags
car

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:52 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360