36 replies to this topic

[markaboot]

Wouldnt you need a shock proof hard drive?

not really you could use an ssd but yes there very expensive and very slow at reading & writing large portions of data, a standard hdd will do fine if it is moved very suddenly then the head will scratch the traces on the drive so if you hit a speedbump doing 30 it would probably damage it

use a laptop hard drive (they're built to survive knocks a little better) and suspend it in a frame from springs.
so it is free to move around but it wont get jolted. i've seen somewhere on the net, a guy used rubberbands but they will age eventually and could fail.
some relatively weak springs would do the job much better, i'll have a quick hunt but cant promise any pics.

[markaboot]

this might be of use

and the rest of this

http://www.mp3car.com/

from what i jus read i was wrong and so was everyone else lol

Edited by markaboot, 31 December 2008 - 10:29 AM.

[karl & his cooper]

PM sent roofless!

[Gangsta]

The earlier ones I have done before were all based on laptop motherboards - because they handle the power cycling much better than any standard motherboard (u keep the battery connected), that way when you switch on/off you dont get spikes, and turning off the car will not kill the pc due to load dump.

The later ones were based on industrial pc/104 motherboards - these work really well, and have built in DIGITAL I/O, 7.1 surround and disc on chip.

[LankyJames]

I had my carpc in my mini for a while it was fun to use, but horrible to operate selecting songs etc while being bumped about especially with a touchscreen, most of the software is over complicated too, so much i am actually doing my dissertation on such things!

I ahve for sale a 1ghz mini itx board with 512mb ram and a car specific psu that i would let go for £100, all you would need is a case and a harddrive and you're good to go!

Best advice though is to get something tactile, like a joystick such as the 3dconexxion spacenav :

And set the commands to prev track, next track, pause, volume and even navigating menus. They are about £30 now?

Will act in a way similar to the bmw i-drive, you wont have to take your eyes off the road when you get used to it

EDIT:

Also i will be replacing my car computer with a netbook, cost me £160 ( they are £200 new) but its a 1.6ghz atom, 512mb ram and a 120gb hard drive, you get can touchscreen panels for them for £50, so for £250 you get everything, and an ultraportable that you can easily take out the car with you, you could even hook up a usb touchscreen to leave in the car, as i plan on doing.

Just my 2p, ask me any more questions if you have them, i happen to be a geek....

Edited by LankyJames, 16 January 2009 - 12:57 PM.

[rich40]

Hi this mite sound dum but why not use somthing like a ps3 you can store your music and also play games from it just an idea

[Marroon]

yeah i think even a ps2 is a winner for ICE especially with stuff like guitar hero, and most need for speeds being released for it...

also they do them dead thin ones which would fit under the carpet high up in the footwell i bet...
or maybe in the rear seats...

Under rear parcel shelf? wired to a tv in the boot...

..just wish i had then money