150 replies to this topic

[Jammy]

This is sort of related (An idea for my own system soon);

Does anyone know whern I can get a head up display unit? Either something like a display that projects onto the windscreen or by way of a small headset you wear that has a transparent lens that displays stuff?

I remember a while back seeing an advert in a magazine for a graphics card that had such a headset but can't remember where I saw it or who made it?

[nag1_uk]

That does look good, only I need usb2 and I do not want to sacrifice the one and only pci!
Might have to get a VIA EPIA Nehemiah M10000 LVDS - 1Ghz from http://www.mini-itx....tore/?c=2#p1601 its a bit more cash but if its needed!

actually is that the same board as http://www.itx-wareh...px?ProductID=36 I am not sure !

Mike

Well I spoke to linitx about this board and it sounds like it can handle the stuff I need to do. Just need to buy it now. with 512mb ram!

[ed4ran]

Are you going to get an LVDS screen? and use it in your car

[nag1_uk]

do you mean me?
An earlier post show what screen I have bought.
but here it is again
http://linitx.com/pr...products_id=773

I have it now. It works very well.

Resoultion and touch screen. Turns on when power applied etc. Only prob seems like it will not run with out engine running, Car battery could be a little low tho!

Mike

[Commited]

Just read this whole thread - some good work guys
Why are you all using 3.5" drives though?
I have a 3.5" external drive and you have to be very careful when transporting it. A Mini isnt exactly the smoothest car, so a 3.5" drive is going to end in disaster the first bump/pothole you hit.
I suppose a way around this would be to somehow cushion the mountings, but that isnt really going to be a proper way to do it either.
You can get a 20GB laptop HDD for as little as £20 and 60gb ones are about £60

As for the PSU issue - is £30 the cheapest that you can get a 12v PSU? Are these ATX? What wattage?

Has anyone tried to use their carputer as a GPS system?

My plan was to buy a cheap MicroATX Socket 370 board, a 60gb Laptop drive, small keyboard, touchscreen or monitor&trackball, 12v psu & then build the case.
Those MiniITX boards have got me thinking though and £55 isnt bad!
Anybody know if the onboard sound&video is any good?
Plan is to use the CarPC for mp3s, GPS, DVDs & maybe the odd game of solitare

[minimanshane]

Hey guys check this out i didnt reali read this but is this basicly ready for use or is it just case hardrive and keyboard?
http://cgi.ebay.co.u...1QQcmdZViewItem

[philster]

Just read this whole thread - some good work guys
Why are you all using 3.5" drives though?
I have a 3.5" external drive and you have to be very careful when transporting it. A Mini isnt exactly the smoothest car, so a 3.5" drive is going to end in disaster the first bump/pothole you hit.
I suppose a way around this would be to somehow cushion the mountings, but that isnt really going to be a proper way to do it either.
You can get a 20GB laptop HDD for as little as £20 and 60gb ones are about £60

As for the PSU issue - is £30 the cheapest that you can get a 12v PSU? Are these ATX? What wattage?

Has anyone tried to use their carputer as a GPS system?

My plan was to buy a cheap MicroATX Socket 370 board, a 60gb Laptop drive, small keyboard, touchscreen or monitor&trackball, 12v psu & then build the case.
Those MiniITX boards have got me thinking though and £55 isnt bad!
Anybody know if the onboard sound&video is any good?
Plan is to use the CarPC for mp3s, GPS, DVDs & maybe the odd game of solitare

Most use the 3.5 as they are a fair bit cheaper and have faster transfer, seak and read times, thus improving overall boot times and performance.

The 12psu's are designed for the atx socket of the mini itx boards, i sent a few e;mails and they all said that the psu's were not designed for use with atx boards, but you can get 200w ones so if you keep the processor speed down and don't run a lot of external drives i can't see it being a problem.

If you are starting from scratch get a mini itx board, they have everything you need onboard and have lots of bits designed specifically for them so are well worth the ££.

[narayan]

does any 1 have any experence in roof mounted screens. just an idea i had but didnt have a clue about how to fit 1? is it easy/possible in a mini?

[Commited]

Most use the 3.5 as they are a fair bit cheaper and have faster transfer, seak and read times, thus improving overall boot times and performance.

The 12psu's are designed for the atx socket of the mini itx boards, i sent a few e;mails and they all said that the psu's were not designed for use with atx boards, but you can get 200w ones so if you keep the processor speed down and don't run a lot of external drives i can't see it being a problem.

If you are starting from scratch get a mini itx board, they have everything you need onboard and have lots of bits designed specifically for them so are well worth the ££.

They are cheaper, but bang them and you are looking for trouble - and i dont know about the roads around you but they are pothole central here!

I think I'm going to go with micro ATX, inverter and the PSU I have.
I have quite a few old PCs kicking about in various states of repair so I'm just going to go the cheap route!

[ryan69]

i havnt read all 10 pages because im lazy but how about for those of you with a bigger budget why not go for a tablet pc - not sure if very many are available yet but i think they are pretty cool

[philster]

I've looked at different types, the only porblems are sound quality (okay through headphones) and video output. I've heard that you can buy a small pc which uses no moving parts (solid state) but they are a bit pricey at the moment.

[Podcake]

if you want to go solid state it is possible to use a CF ( compact flash) card as a hdd- this is ok except for the simple fact that cf will be probably 2 gig MAX and rather pricey ( and they have limited read/write cycles)

[Podcake]

at a risk of being accused of bumping my own post
i'm interested in how people that have done something like this have gotten arround the turn the power on/off for the computer ( ive devised- as is usual for me- a nice heath robinson round about way of controling it with electronics )
which looks at the power LED status off the PC and a button in the car etc....

[ed4ran]

I was just gonna run a button to the dash when i got it all installed.
very simple 2 wires. :erm:

[Podcake]

ah you see that is ok BUT then i have to go into the boot and switch on and off my inverter EVERY TIME I want to use the thing ( imagine what a battery would be like after uve parked up over night if u left the inverter in and forgot to un-plug it)

so I need to have a button that (well I dont need but I want) I push once and the thing turns on the inverter and boots and then when I push it again it turns off.

obviously need to play with it a bit but to put it simply:
while the PC is on the inverter stays on, as soon as the pc turns off ( ie: power LED goes off) the inverter turns off, with a button to overide the 'offness' initially if u get it. ( makes sense to me)

also Ive converted a nice latching switch to become momentary, u see a standard switch will slot straight into the little console that my 1989 mini has. where the fog light is ( underneath next to the ignition key slot).