I know a shitload about computers, but not so much when it comes to car audio/video systems. I'm planning a little (big) project when I get my prelude, but there are a few bumps I know i'm going to encounter:

1) If I mount the computer in the trunk, how can I get the video & usb connections to the front dash?

2) What kind of connections do the video DVD players/ video flatpanels available for cars have? Can you connect a computer's video card to one 'easily'?

I can't think of any other questions right now... if you can think of something that I probably haven't for this install, let me know!!

 

you prolly need inverter to power your desktop 110V style.

 

that was the plan - 400Watt inverter costs $30.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by the_nautilus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know a shitload about computers, but not so much when it comes to car audio/video systems. I'm planning a little (big) project when I get my prelude, but there are a few bumps I know i'm going to encounter:

1) If I mount the computer in the trunk, how can I get the video & usb connections to the front dash?

2) What kind of connections do the video DVD players/ video flatpanels available for cars have? Can you connect a computer's video card to one 'easily'?

I can't think of any other questions right now... if you can think of something that I probably haven't for this install, let me know!!

</TD></TR></TABLE> Most, if not all, car audio/vidio systems will have RCA A/V inputs, [at least one, some have 4] on the "switcher box" there will also be vidio outputs on the "box" for extra screens.

I know a shitload about car A/V. and diddly squat about computers, the one thing I would check about is what kind of power supply I would need, I may be wrong but, a $30 400watt inverter may not be what you need, or maybe it is.

As for getting the A/V and usb up to the dash, the A/V will just need a A/V RCA ext. I don't know if usb ext. are available, but one could always be made 94

 

is this a daily driver? i've heard of vibration issues and desktops in cars?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I may be wrong but, a $30 400watt inverter may not be what you need, or maybe it is.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Don't worry about that -- I've done my homework on this... at least, my EE degree says I have I'm going to be running either a 300 or 350 watt power supply on the computer, and the inverter will run anything from 400 to 800 watts of power.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've heard of vibration issues and desktops in cars?</TD></TR></TABLE>
As have I. I'm hoping to counter this with some creative mounting. The computer is going to be built more like a speaker box than a computer... although I probably won't be using MDF. I'm thinking a good amount of plexiglass will look cool as hell with the proper motherboard

Since the hard drive is the only vibration sensitive item in the computer, I'm probably going to mount it in it's own suspension system. I haven't decided on exactly what, but I've still got 8 months to think about it

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> As for getting the A/V and usb up to the dash, the A/V will just need a A/V RCA ext. I don't know if usb ext. are available, but one could always be made</TD></TR></TABLE>
As for this -- I don't know if there are any computer video cards that output directly to RCA - but I'm hoping to find one (or a converter). There are USB hubs that can get pretty damned far away from the computer itself, which I'm planning on using. The only problem with these is that they also need A/C power (which is funny because they actually run on DC, but they plug into AC... maybe I can just find a properly sized transformer... hrrrmmm....)

Anyways, my main concern was the vid feed - and i think you guys answered that pretty well - Thanks! I'll post pics and how-to's when I actually start doing this (and don't worry, I will!)

Why would I do this, you might ask? Have you noticed that a lot of different places (hotels, fast food, even some gas stations) have started having WiFi hotspots? That means you can connect to the internet if you have a wireless card installed on your laptop (or portable desktop). I just think it would rock *** to be able to pull into Whataburger, check my email, change my fuel maps, boost levels (see my posts on the AEM EMS) Oh yeah - and be able to store MASSIVE amounts of music in my car... and be able to access it all wirelessly when I get home... mmmmm.....fun :D

 

http://www.mp3car.com/

Eat that site up, Read fourms, look at installs, and even buy from the store.. they everything thing you'll ever need on How-To's and products. Enjoy

 

sweet! Thanks

 

well...my inverter used to drain my battery within 6-8 months of use. I have 450watts inverter.

i follow the code...use the inverter while it's running but it was still drained out. i've replaced the batt twice.

 

yikes! I've found a couple of DC-DC power supplies on the mp3car.com site -- they are apparently much more effecient for the application. Perhaps a change is in order, apm?

 

yeah but you'll need 110V-out right? I am not sure about using desktop in the car. prolly it will not fry your battery just like i did. i was running a 110v amp in the car maybe that's why it got fried. the amp is rated about 200watts or so.

 

nah - not your amp. I ran a 600W amp (pushing 2 JL audio 10W3's) in my del sol for 2 years and never had a battery problem (that's _way_ more power than your computer plus your amp was pulling, i'm sure). And NO , you don't need AC 110V to run a computer!! The whole computer runs on DC power! (you know the power supply for the computer? It puts out 12V, 5V, 3V, 0V, -3V, -5V, -12V DC power to the motherboard/hard drive/other stuff in your computer.... see, computers can't (easily) run on the fluctuating power of AC circuits.... so a DC-DC power supply would be ideal for a car. The inverter is converting your car's 10V - 15V power supply to a 110V AC system, which your computer plugs into and converts it right back to DC power! That's why power inverters are sooooo inefficient (i hear about 50% power loss). A DC-DC box is supposed to be 85% or better. read up on it at mp3car.com

-E

 

http://www.travla.com/Products/products.html

I've seen these systems installed in some rides here in Germany. Are supposed to be less tricky concerning vibration and stuff, AND there's total systems and accessories already tested in automotive use. Search for travla and whatever you need to know

 

I would recomend you do some reading on MP3Car.com. There is tons of info there. Here are some pics of my install in my 1999 Prelude Base:

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~k...1.jpg

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~k...2.jpg

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~k...3.jpg

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~k...4.jpg

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~k...5.jpg

Those are the most recent pics, after I wrapped everything in black vinyl. Some quick specs are:

7inch lillyput touchscreen
opus 90 watt DC-DC psu
epia via mini itx board
1 X 512 DDR ram
30 gig HD
delmorme GPS w/ MapPoint
soundblaster MP3 + soundcard
4 channel audiobahn amp, 75 watts X 4 RMS

There is probably more, but I don't remember. Anyways, everything runs very smoothly, with no interference. I got everything booting from hibernation in about 9 seconds.

I would STRONGLY recommend you buy the OPUS power supply. It will prevent interference and noise (inverters are notorious for causing noise), and the OPUS will also take care of shutting down or setting the computer to hibernate.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Dave

 

I almost forgot to add.. get a screen that is not composite, but is VGA instead. You'll get wayyy better picture quality.

 

omgitzdave what i'm curious about is how do you make the awesome dash piece to go around the touchscreen?

 

I used Fiberglassed reinforced Bondo, and then finishing bondo to smooth everything out. Once that was complete, I wrapped everything in black vinyl. If you could get your hands on an ABS plastic filler, that probably would be your best bet.

 

An alternative to a full size or ATX platform would be to use a laptop computer, particularly one with a busted display. Put an ad in the paper or something. The idea here is that a broken LCD usually runs $600 to $1000 and if it's a $1500 (new) laptop, then there isn't much "perceived" value in it.

Here's some advantages to the laptop idea: it probably already has USB, it'll draw far less power and generate less heat, and laptop hard drives are somwhat better able to handle the extra vibration. Yeah, you could set up a killer P4/3GHz machine with a superfast video card... but why? A laptop with a DVD player can handle video just fine, you won't be playing hardcore games (or will you?) and if you'll be displaying the image on a non-VGA (or XGA or whatever) you won't be using the capabilities of a high-end video card anyway.

You can mount a slot-load USB DVD player (if you can find something like this) in the dash, a trackball or trackpad somewhere near the center console for input and a USB or PCMCIA WiFi. You can do a netcam for recording autcross runs or use when backing up and a USB keyboard if you need to reply to a thread on honda-tech.com. Lots of options...

I haven't checked out mp3car.com yet, but I've been thinking about it as well...

 

it's an excellent site - TONS of information in the forums, and some great products in the store. I'm thinking desktop, mostly b/c I can put together a rockin' system for cheap, and if anything goes out, I can replace/fix it easily.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by the_nautilus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Don't worry about that -- I've done my homework on this... at least, my EE degree says I have I'm going to be running either a 300 or 350 watt power supply on the computer, and the inverter will run anything from 400 to 800 watts of power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Bah, make it a little more "fun" for yourself. Design a board that converts the car's 11.2-14.4 give or take into the 12v, "-12v", 5v and whatever else your board needs (possible 3.3).... while holding that voltage steady.

lol ya would be a decent bit of work, but you know what, it would be sweet if you did it, and there wouldn't be any need for the room/heat the power inverter and PS of the board would require

 

I would - but usually parts for such a device will be hard to find and cost more than just buying one that's premanufactured (after all, I've done 80% of my EE degree)...

 

alright guys no degree but i can answer all your questions. first off most tvs i've installed use lil svideo connectors most if decent graphics cards have an out put for svideo. now secondly u could you the 30$ invertor i don't reccomend it. also you can buy the mini cases to house these in which case are relatively cheap. the only thing is is finging a template or software to run these i did a complete install for a touch screen monitor and all the goodies but never could get software to make all the features work. also oen thing you need to keep in ming is ventialtion and vibrations you would ned to somehow creat a stand to house the box so that way it doesn't start vibrating pins loose and that good stuff. the other is in teh summer its really really frickin hot in a car. most soder in extreme weather over time starts to heat up and crack so it's another thing to watch for. all in all its a great idea just takes alot of thought into it if anyone neeeds some advice or help just im me we can work it out i own my computer repair shop

XTREME PCS AND REPAIRS
931-338-5368
for any of you guys lookign for these lil towers let meknwo i can get you guys a good deal on them complete. *not trying to jack thread*

also if you wanted a to use rca cables pinnacle makes a box that can convert any wire system for computers grewat box just like 150 just my .02


Modified by OrangeCiviC251 at 3:48 AM 4/26/2005

 

ok dude this should be an easy install. This should be all you need (fyi, im awesome w/ car audio/video AND computers (software & hardware ))


1. Inverter. $30 should be fine
2. Case: Get one of the old timey flat cases (ones that monitors sit on top of), slide it under seat for best fit.
3. you can get USB Cables
4. Video card with VIVO capabilities (or just an svideo out, and get a converter from svideo to RCA video from radio shack) and Extension cables
5. Ye olde car screen
6. Mouse/keyboard


ok should be fine w/ that crap, or you could just forgo all of that and get a tablet PC. which ever works for ya. Just make sure you're goin w/ a video card that supports video out otherwise you have the problem of a VGA - NTSC Conversoin and a monitor cable to RCA conversion. dont wanna deal w/ that now HAHA