car computer

[statik]

Im building a computer for my car, its a low budget build using parts I had lying around, except for the LCD which I got pretty cheap on eBay. It's mainly gonna be used for MP3's, movies, GPS Nav, and wi-fi where available =], im writing custom software to handle playing mp3's using sound recognition but thats still in development, right now im using WMP. here are a few pics, lemme know what you guys think

Lexan Case:
http://www.teamhpi.org/car_computer/DSCN1023.JPG
http://www.teamhpi.org/car_computer/DSCN1183.JPG

Testing in the car:

http://www.teamhpi.org/car_computer/DSCN1184.JPG
http://www.teamhpi.org/car_computer/DSCN1185.JPG
http://www.teamhpi.org/car_computer/DSCN1188.JPG

...im a nerd, don't hate

[M.Piedlourde]

Specs on the system? And where are you planning on mounting it?

[statik]

its an AMD XP 1600+, 512sdram, 20gb hd, ATI Rage 128(old school =]) w/ S-Video Out

I plan on mounting it on the top level in the trunk but I have a feeling it might over heat, only testing will tell.

[Phoen_x_s14]

dam.....you should use a micro atx form factor computer or something, casing and that power supply is going to be bulky unless you make a custom encloser near the left side of the passenger foot rest (if vertical) or if you can stretch the connections mount it somewhere near the rear. It won't overheat as much as you think in the rear, I think you would be more worried about have it secure. I'd make something with some springs to react so it can take some abuse.

its not that bad an idea having a comp in the car, I like using my lap top instead of buying a mobile tv screen. because for one no way am I going to be able to get a 17" monitor near the radio console lol, and if I was able to, who knows how much that would cost. And besides a computer is always upgradeable almost to the infintite ways, its all about how much $ you wanna spend. .....know all I need is some free time to find a way to make a mount, but not as highs as the cops do in their patrol vehicles. hmm....

[matt0941]

You crazy... props for it. Wish I had the knowledge!

[statik]

dam.....you should use a micro atx form factor computer or something, casing and that power supply is going to be bulky unless you make a custom encloser near the left side of the passenger foot rest (if vertical) or if you can stretch the connections mount it somewhere near the rear.

well like i said, budget computer, i tried not to spend anymoney, along the way it will get upgradded to something small enough to go in the glove box most likely, as of now, this will suffice, the biggest part will be the custom UI and sound recognition software

[zero.counter]

Go with:
Mini-Itx form factor
Laptop hard drive with fluid dynamic bearings for the road bumps
over a gig of ddr memory so you can create a ram drive and load progs more quickly
wireless kb & mouse combo (trackball)
custom air ducting in the trunk for cooling and mount either in the wheel well or under the rear deck

the mini-itx mobos come with processors not as powerful as the AMD or Intel bunch, but require way less cooling (just heatsinks in most cases), have onboard video, sound, firewire, usb 2.0, s video output, etc. and are about the size of 2 coke cans side by side.

Nice work BTW...

[statik]

Yeah ive seen extremely small ITX at speeds equiv to p3 700 without fans, just heat sinks, that seems like the way to go, i like the idea of a ram drive tho, but first thing is to get this puppy mounted haha

[oojpeeoo]

dats prety nice... ask a cop how theirs is setup if u duno ^^

[focused]

goodbye harddrive... like its been said, a laptop drive might be a better way to go. but with a regular IDE its likely to fail after all that abuse from the bumps

[statik]

i know plenty of people who use standard ide's, its not as bad as you think, also i mounted it vertically so the head wont hit the platter on bumps

[iknowyoulike]

All you'd need now is a way to hook it up to the net :yum: ...24 hour surfin'!! Prop for that mad crazy hook up! :rawk:

[statik]

if only sprint still allowed me to connect my phone to a computer and jump on their network, ill figure something out

[kay_arsen]

yo thats sick good job

[Hawd]

get a small shuttle case for that shit and bolt it down in the truck. It would be more space efficient since it's only going to be used for basic things heh.

[link240]

That looks really cool. Kinda reminds me of this ZPC i saw, check it out. http://www.ashleypowers.com/

[sr240mike]

This guy is the man when it comes to carputers. He's helped a lot in the nissan ecu tuning community too. http://ashleypowers.com/

[240meowth]

pretty amazing, I had the idea a while back, since i have a pentium 233 MMX motherboard w/ onboard every freaking thing you can imagen, but i have no skills to do it. about the voice recongnation thing, how u plan to do about that? i'll buy the software or something =b

[Blues13]

:w00t: what a noob,.. where's the water-cooling system that feeds off the windshield pump motor? :w00t: gj.

[dori2 s13coupe]

if you were here in cerritos... you could sign up for this wireless internet server... pretty crazy stuff... http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/9445

[kcolyer27]

That sooo sick. Speaking of computers in cars did anyone see that computer in the car on mtv pimp my ride it was in the Scion. (yes im guilty of watching the show :duh: )

[Hawd]

It's cool to watch them fuck up cars and rice them out. They did have a few good cars though such as that mustang that they restored. Alot of the people that did go onthe show did deserve the cars imo. Fun to watch and make fun of at the same time heh. And yes all the electronic shit the put in ths scion was pretty nice. The computer system was awesome. THey fucking killed it with the flames and wing though :(

[DMC]

you should hook up a wireless modem to it and a wirless hub in the garage so when you pull in you can set it to download songs while its parked, and hok up your cell phone so you can access internet while on the road

[the head]

the old auto pc system had a voice activated system and i think some of the new auto specific systems also have voice systems i dont think they are propritary so you may be able to find out what they use IIRC some of it is open source their programs might help you out a little

[Ricer240sx]

thats pretty cool! my buddies gunna do that and i was thinking of doing the same! hehe

ill have it hooked up to the eManage too and my buddy said he could easly make a turbo timer program thingy lol, idk i dont no shit aobut computers, but he knows A LOT!!! hehehe

[statik]

im currently writing a program(which i hope to merge with media engine (http://mediaengine.org)), the whole system would be voice activated, "play linkin park", "play faint", "search yadda yadda" almost everything in it, the code will be free, you wont need to buy it. Again i would love to make this more space friendly but i didnt wanna spend the cash, after i see how this prototype works out i will invest in something small enough for the glove compartment

[jetbill]

Looks Awesome Dude!

[rcviper]

In my S13 I was rocking a 10" touchscreen hooked up to a mini-itx mobo. It worked really well and I really enjoyed the endless amounts of music with the touch of the screen. I'm transferring everything except the screen in my S14 now. I had navi and wireless internet everywhere I went. It is fun being able to log onto Zilvia by hooking the comp up to my Sprint PCS cell phone while I wait for my gas to be pumped ;)
http://img44.photobucket.com/albums/v136/rcviper/33.jpg

[statik]

nice, i didnt wanna have mine sticking out for people to see(note: see == steal). I got everything in this weekend and running, software isnt complete yet but ill post up some screen shots soon.

[statik]

btw, can ANY sprint phone use that sprint pcs software you have? where did you get it? i have a sprint phone but i cant find the software

[240silvia]

In my S13 I was rocking a 10" touchscreen hooked up to a mini-itx mobo.
http://img44.photobucket.com/albums/v136/rcviper/33.jpg

Nice work both of you, really nice ideas. But please tell me that's not an S2000 shift knob :eek: . My boy has an S2K, knob looks just like it. I think I remember R being another notch over on the right because it has 6 gears, but design looks the same. Honda???

[rcviper]

Yeah it is a Honda Type-R knob. The car came with it and I never got around to changing it, I never really cared. And I got plenty of flames for it but it is a shift knob, I'd just ask them to race if they wanted to give me shit for it. :coold:

Any Sprint PCS phone with vision enabled can do the internet. I have the Sprint Employee plan because I sell cell phones so I get unlimited Vision free anyways. But the software you use is futuredial software.

www.futuredial.com

All you need is the USB driver, they try and sell you a ton of other bullshit you don't need. The USB driver is free to download, and you just set it up for a normal dialup networking connection after you install the software. Then have your cell phone dial #777 and no id and no password, it will just log on. I have a Sanyo 4500 and I have a code you put into the cell phone to bump your speed up to 233kb instead of the normal 144kb speeds. Hit me up on AIM RCellViper if you got any ?s

[gogeeta13]

Use a 1U rackmount case or a Shuttle Cube PC...much more sleek