My CarPuter and Car audio build thread (Lots of pics)

[crazyman03]

So, I decided i wanted to do a little something something on my lego and I thought I'd share.

 

The System:

Dell SX260 (I kow, i know, its a dell, but its tiny! and fits perfect!)

P4 2Ghz

1GB Ram

30GB HDD (I'm mostly pulling stuff from a USB drive anyway)

7" Liliput LCD/Touch

4PT USB Hub

WiBee USB 802.11G Card

Bluetooth

 

The Install:

 

I have a thing for back to the future: (Yes, i know the dates are wrong but i like the bg lol)

 

 

Put a PWR switch to the Inverter, and one to the Auto ON/OFF for the computer (so i can have the inverter on but decide to keep the computer off) and a switch to the Extra lights up front.

Tucking and hiding the wires:

 

 

All nice and tucked..

 

Its all working right now.. I'm working on getting another deck that i can plug an AUX into. I like the stock one but i'm going to put the screen right where it is.. i'm thinking of putting a 1U deck right under it..

 

-Justin

Edited June 30, 2010 by crazyman03

[crazyman03]

I also got some shots of the alarm. Nothing special but still.

 

Getting the remote starter installed:

 

Almost done:

 

Wait, there's an alarm in there? where'd it go?

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

I. AM. SO. JEALOUS!!!

 

I wanted to do the same thing you're doing with your computer, but I just never

had the time nor the money, nor the components.

 

Twitch

[crazyman03]

I. AM. SO. JEALOUS!!!

 

I wanted to do the same thing you're doing with your computer, but I just never

had the time nor the money, nor the components.

 

Twitch

 

ya know.. i do got a spare dell compy.

 

 

-Justin

[crazyman03]

At the moment I'm at a stand still.. I dont have a deck to put in just yet to make it complete but, i managed to "temporarily" put the LCD in for now.

 

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

ya know.. i do got a spare dell compy.

 

 

-Justin

 

Lol, its not the pc that I need, its the touch monitor.

My boss has one he'll let go for like $250 but its like a 15" in something like that,

plus I'll have to find a serial cable for the touch screen functionality.

 

Anyway, how do the HDD and cd drive like the bumpy roads?

 

Twitch

[crazyman03]

well, the Hard drive isnt much of a care for me. I have a bunch of "small" drives laying around. eventually i'd like to put a Solid State drive in it.

 

I dont really use the Cd-rom. Eventually i'm going to want to put a USB DVD one in probably the glove box so that i dont have to reach under the seat LOL.

 

I picked up my liliput screen for ~150 a year ago. They aren't cheap unfortunately! It came with just the screen and no mounts at all.

 

on MP3Car.com they still sell for about 200 bucks for my exact model :-\. you can get a really nice one for like 700. I wish i had the $$ to get an all-in-wonder where the deck is a 2U MP3/CD/DVD/FM/AM and PC built in with all the niftyness like bluetooth, wifi, 200gb hdd, 2 or 3 gb ram and such.. of coarse they are like 1,500$$!!

 

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

Wow, that's spendy.

I'm considering just taking a standard PC, but building it into the car itself.

So no case, just components mounted where they fit/are convenient.

 

Twitch

 

PS: I would probably run a form of linux for my OS, off of a flash drive.

[crazyman03]

Wow, that's spendy.

I'm considering just taking a standard PC, but building it into the car itself.

So no case, just components mounted where they fit/are convenient.

 

Twitch

 

PS: I would probably run a form of linux for my OS, off of a flash drive.

 

Lol yea, they can be depending on how you do it. linky to the system

 

I did a simple little setup like that.. it was a 1ghz amd box. worked nice when i had it in my jeep.

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

That in-dash setup is sick.

but 1600 bones for that, ouch...

Not to mention its running an outdated processor and smallish HDD.

But otherwise, that's pretty sweet to just plug and play in your car.

 

Nice homebuilt man.

I will definitely refer to your system for tips and tricks

Now, did you have issues with static build up under all that carpet?

Or moisture issues?

 

Twitch

 

PS: I'll be the only guy that can play DiRT in his car

[crazyman03]

Now, did you have issues with static build up under all that carpet?

Or moisture issues?

 

Twitch

 

 

Actually not as much as i thought. I did have to disable the floor vents on that side of the car because i didn't want the heater getting the compy too hot.

 

I used the tower stand that comes with the computer. It raises it up about an inch or two and it also acts as a somewhat shock absorber since the computer itself isn't touching the carpet.

Pic:

 

 

The Next thing i'm working on is getting a automatic on/Off setup. At the moment, I have the BIOS setup to "Power On after Power Loss" so when i shut down the comptuer i simply cut the power to the power inverter when i'm done. Mainly because the computer still has i guess what you could call standby power where the peripherals still have power, the Fans still go for a second or two. so I wanted to make sure i didnt walk out to a dead battery. (you cant exactly "pop the clutch" on an automatic:rolleyes:)

 

So far its a tossup between a multi-relay system thats on the cheap side (like 3 bucks.. Linky ) that i found on mp3car where it will power on/off the system by the button when there is/isn't power. I like the simplicity and the price but, i also dont want a dead battery.

 

I had a thread earlier talking to "987687" (linky) where he talked about a 555 timer and hooking it up where it kills the inverter when not necessary. that sounds a little more what i'm looking for.

 

 

but we will see.. $$ is a big deal for me. I'm broke, married and have a kid. projects only go as far as how well i can barter. (i'm running out of things to trade though :-\)

 

 

Lol sorry for the Novel!

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

Sweet.

I think what would be good is a "soft" Hibernate button on your monitor.

If you could find a way to put that in, or just remember to hit the hibernate option under the start button, you would be fine.

 

IIRC there are some keyboards out there with a hibernate button.

I would just use a keyboard that has one, or hack it apart until you get just the

button off.

 

Twitch

 

PS: Hibernate is the option that powers off the computer and saves the image from the RAM to the HDD, then boots from that image, right?

[eulogious]

Nice dude! You got a good start!

 

First thing I would do is figure out how to use the PC/touch screen as a HU. Something like this:

 

http://store.mp3car.com/Mp3Car_BoomzBox_HD_Radio_USB_Controlled_AM_FM_Tune_p/com-109.htm

 

That way you don't need a new HU, you get HD radio and normal radio, and you just use that sweet rump roast touchscreen! Then, all you need is a big HD to throw into your carputer, install iTunes, add a usb dvd unit to the glove box, and then you have a wicked HU! Everything you could want. Wait, another idea. Usb GPS, with GPS software as well! Then you have everything, for a fraction of the price of the unit you linked to. Don't forget to get a good Audio Card with RCA out, then you can just hook your amps directly up to the computer. Something like this (it's a review):

 

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/review-palace/91730-hardware-review-audiotrak-prodigy-7-1-hifi.html

 

Once you have that installed to give you good audio (and it does 7.1 so you can configure that up to watch movies ), as well as some line in for ipods and what not, just get 1 or 2 of these (depending on how many channels you want to run) to up your line voltage (it's really needed with this):

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Phoenix-Gold-TLD22-Car-Audio-8-Volt-Line-Driver-Pre-Amp-/300440388494?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f3a4838e

 

And you will have a kickass HU, just using the computer and the touch screen! You of course would have to have some amps to install and use with some decent xovers, but that is much better and needed anyways. Only downside is that you have to have the computer on at all times for this to work, and that might be a bummer, depending on how long it takes to boot... Of course if you are installing keyless entry/remote start, you could hook the power inverter/carputer to turn on using one of the aux buttons on the keyless entry remote. That way you could turn it on and have it booting before you get in/start the car...

 

Then, grab some MDF and make a custom surround to make the touch screen fit all nice and neat Here's a nice tutorial on how to do it:

 

http://phoenixphorum.com/make-a-face-plate-for-a-non-standard-radio-opening-vt884.html

 

What are your stereo plans? Do you already have amps you are going to use? You gonna throw a sub in there as well?

 

You got the beginnings of a sweet install man! Keep it up!

[eulogious]

I posted in your other thread this info, but thought I would post it, since this is where you are actually going to use this info This is just a copy paste from the other thread...

 

I make such circuits every now and again for electrical projects I work on. I just make my own. A 555 timer and the right supporting circuitry can get the job done. Just run it off a constant 12v. But if I was only using it to "push" the power button for a few seconds I'd just get a small cap and transistor. It would only take a very small cap to have a transistor connect a circuit for a few seconds. You aren't powering anything, just connecting something, so it's pretty easy.

 

I had a computer system in my car for a little while, and this is how I had it set up.

I had constant 12v going to the system always. I made my own 12v power supply for it (pretty easy if you can build electronics).

I had it hibernate when the car was shut off, and this is how I made it all tick.

 

When the car turned on I had it give the computer "power button" and the computer PSU (more on that later) a pulse to wake up the computer. It would then come out of hibernate. I used a 555 timer for that.

Putting the computer back into hibernate was the more difficult part.

I used the serial port and a custom input board to tell the computer to go into hibernate. Basically when the key was off it would open a relay and tell the computer to go into hibernate asap. Then it would just turn itself off.

 

Now, when I said more on that later. I also had a relay to give the computer constant 12v, powered by the LED that indicates power to the computer. So when it got the ON pulse the LED would come on and close the relay. Then the ON pulse would go off, but the system would have power. When it shut off the LED would go off removing power to the system to prevent it sucking the battery dry.

 

I took the system out because someone gave me some broken iPods. Pretty much all I used the system for was music and I got one of the mp3 players working. So due to simplicity I ripped the system out.

 

This is good! I like this. Here's a schematic for the above and a explantion:

 

Source

 

carPC Turn On / Shutdown Controller

 

Material needed

 

2x SPDT standard automotive relays - automotive store or electronic store

2x Diode - Radio shack or electronic store

1x Serial port connector - Old serial device (mouse, joystick etc...) or radioshack or electronic store

1x Fuse holder + fuse <- VERY IMPORTANT !!!!! (if power source already fused then you're ok)

10g or 12g wire for providing power to the inverter (bigger is better)

16g to 18g wire for your relay triggers, grounds and 5V connection

Misc. connectors

 

 

In the BIOS set your motherboard to turn on after powerloss so the second you feed power to the power supply it will turn on.

 

Get an old serial port device, rip the connector off of it, take the cover off and solder a wire on PIN 8. If you look very closly the pins will be numbered on the connector. When PIN 8 is not getting 5v, it will initiate the windows shutdown. (credit to Laidback) Refer to the diagram for wiring.

 

Go into your control panel -> Power Options - Create a generic UPS with these settings (picture bellow this one)

 

note: some versions of windows xp does not have the UPS tab (ie: windows xp home) - xGROMx

 

 

 

 

More details and hints:

-The numbers you see on the diagram (87,88,85,30) are the pinout of a standard 12v SPDT relay

-The >| symbol are diodes, they are crucial to making this work.

-You can use your amp's turn on wire to make this work instead of ACC, however some amps may "thump" when the carPC turns on. The real ACC can be found in the head unit harness.

-Some cars turn off the ACC while being started, this may trigger the hibernation. The diagram below will solve this problem

 

Updated diagram - will only work on ignitions that have a key switch (most cars do). To know if your car has a key switch, leave your door open and put the key in the ignition w/o turning, if you hear a door chime, you have a key switch. It can be found right on the ignition plug itself. This may be a little more advanced for some users, testing with a multimeter is the only way to find the right wire.

 

 

 

This will only trigger hibernation when the key is removed from the ignition

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates - July 2006

 

Alternative to the key switch method, to avoid hibernation being triggered when starting and the ACC turns off during cranking. -Important to follow the diode connections as shown below

 

 

Enjoy

 

So ya I would combine the methods together like so:

 

Wire in a relays with the caps like here:

 

Bummer.. I did find this though on MP3car.com

 

how it supposed work :

 

12V apllyed to to coil of the first relay (between 86 and 85)

This activates connection between 87 and 30 so current can flow to the coil of the second relay with will load the capacitor.

Moment capacitor if full, potential level between 86 and 85 will become 0 volts and coil 2th relay falls off.

Puls generated.

 

By take off the 12 volts :

Coil 2th relay (pin 86) connects to ground.

Capacitor discharges via coil

Coil active (87 connected to 30)

Capacitor discharged

Coil falls off.

Puls generated.

 

This will create the "on pulse". Then wire up your power inverter relay off the LED like 987687 did, this will keep the power inverter on until the computer shuts off. Then wire in a relay to the ACC on the ignition for the shutdown circuit, so that when you turn off the car, it sends a signal to the carputer to hibernate, and when it does that and the LED turns off, the power inverter turns off.

 

I think that is what you are looking for Turns the carputer on, and then cleanly shuts it down without draining you battery, or your wallet...

 

You might get a second pulse from what I have read, but just set the carputer/windows so that it does nothing when the power button is pushed. You are using the UPS funtion to control the power now, so no need for the power button to do anything, once the carputer is on. At least I think you can do this... (I just verified that this is true...)

Edited July 2, 2010 by eulogious
Added info on 2nd pulse

[eulogious]

Great read on carputers if you haven't read it yet. Pretty recent too.

 

http://www.techenclave.com/guides-and-tutorials/wd-the-czars-guide-to-carputers-132101.html

 

[crazyman03]

I had actually thought of doing a single screen and no Head Unit at all but i still kinda like the functionality of one.

 

I found a Deck that was pretty nifty. It was a Video player but had no screen. it required an external screen. (Linky) I realize it was very simple and not all that technical but it did everything i wanted. Had an aux input in the back and an aux input+video in the front. So that i could run a dvd/mp3/cd and radio completely external from the computer.

 

I wouldn't mind running an amp to my speakers strait from an amp. I would actually prefer it. But i have no monies to do anything like that so i have to keep it simple for now.

 

I had looked into cutting an MDF insert for the dash for the screen and deck. Its going to be a little interesting bonding the wood to the plastic screen trim.

 

 

At the moment, the computer is setup to "power on after a power loss". At the moment when i hibernate the computer, i just kill the power to the inverter. (little switch on the dash now). I'm going to try making something that will auto on/off the computer. At the moment, I need to get a bigger battery. The battery doesn't have enough juice to start the car and keep the computer live once the relay switches on with ACC power.

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

Holy Cow Eulogious!

That's a lot of info!

 

I was kind of thinking along your idea for having it all computer run, such as

just plugging in a set of pc speakers or a pc surround sound setup.

There are so many options for a pc setup that's its not even funny.

 

And the info linked to by eulogious is exactly what you need for the automatic

on/off setup you've been looking for.

 

Twitch

[crazyman03]

By the way.

 

My stereo plans are going to take some time since i've not much money. and I'm not removing anything out of my jeep. (it has 1x Dub 12" 1k watts 2ch bridged, 400w RMS 4ch Infinity Component speakers up front and 5x's in the back, 100watts RMS to each door) mainly, because the wife would kill me.. she drives the jeep now.

 

My Plan is..

Infinity Components up front, Tweats on the dash, Components in the rear doors (yes, the doors), and 5x's in the rear. 1 JL or Alpine type-R 10" or 12".

 

6ch Amp preferred for the mid's and a 1/2 ch for the sub.

 

Now, this is what the plan is lol. actuality is probably going to be way off.

 

its probably going to take quite a while to build. $$ and all..

 

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

Awesome setup, as soon as you can afford to put it together.

I don't know how good you are at McGuyvering, but you may be able to

scrounge some old home theater speakers and put those in the back for

temporary speakers.

 

I know a lot of people who chuck those without care, so if you have

some friends that are upgrading their home theater...

 

Twitch

[crazyman03]

lol, nooooooo i'm not going to do that.

 

I do have speakers in the car at the moment. I took the speakers out of my GL before they took it. and they sound a little decent.

 

 

-Justin

[eulogious]

The more I read about this carputer thing, the more I think I am going to do it. Granted I will use the carputer along with a new HU, but the carputer is cool. A netbook will work perfect for this. Has a battery, lots less to charge the battery (60-100w compared to the 400w of a normal computer), and it can run with the inverter off. Since the screens have come down, and netbooks are so cheap now days, I will have to look into this. With my iphone having the ability to create a wifi hotspot, I could also have internet access all the time from my car. Live traffic updates, GPS, movies, tv shows. It would be sweet.

 

Here's the HU I want to get. Allows bluetooth pairing with my iPhone to not only make calls, but stream my music and show wirelessly from my iPhone using bluetooth. Here's a copy/paste from my car audio forums I made about it:

 

Here's the HU I want to upgrade to so I can use the BT module, my current HU doesn't support BT.

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9iZktA9x4PG/p_113KIV700/Kenwood-KIV-700.html

 

And here's the module:

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113BT300/Kenwood-KCA-BT300.html?tp=158

 

The main reason I am considering upgrading is because they just passed a law saying that you cannot talk on your phone and drive at the same time, or you can get a ticket. And yes the new law is that they can give you a ticket JUST for talking on your phone while driving, and it's a moving violation. This is in WA state. So I now have an interest in BT HU's. I don't want a BT ear piece, I gave my wife my super nice one because I didn't like it in my ear, and the speaker phone part of my phone doesn't cut while driving with all the road noise.

 

Now I could get the bigger brother to the KIV-700, the KIV-900 with built in BT, but the KIV-900 doesn't support the A2DP profile for music streaming, while the BT300 module does. So that's why I want the module instead of having it built in. I have an iPhone and I want to be able to stream my music wirelessly AND be able to answer my phone using my HU, and this seems to be the best way to go.

 

The reason why I chose Kenwood is because I have had nothing but awesome luck with my Kenwood units. I have pioneer and clarion HU's in the past, but nothing compares to my Kenwood for the price.

 

It's good stuff and has tons of features, even a video out so you can watch stuff on another screen, not just the HU screen. It's a sweet unit.

 

So having a carputer with that HU would be an awesome combo. But that all costs money :-\

 

As for stereo gear, have you looked into phoenix gold stuff? You can pick up good used gear for really cheap. I have spent next to nothing on my system, seriously. A $60 investment in an amp has got me over $400 worth of stuff via trades.. It's sweet Even stuff brand new is really cheap. A set of components that will blow alot of stuff out of the water for about $70. A fantastic sub for $120. These prices are shipped too. This stuff is not entry level stuff. It's top of the line gear. Competes head to head with JL. In fact, I would take the 12" RSdc over a JLw6 or w7, because of the price. For a fraction of the price, you get a sub that sounds so close to as good as them it's not even funny

 

Amps you want, I can get you good amps for cheap. A PG ryval 150x4 @4ohms $140 shipped, model V754. Use that in this config. Wire the front normal, 150x2, wire the back 2 sets of speakers in a series for an 8ohm load, and you will get about 75x4 out of it. This is a good amp that will make that power just fine. For your subs, a ryval 1502, 1000x1 RMS @4ohms, more than enough for one sub, great for 2. $145 shipped. These amps are great. They don't look the best, but if you are going to hide them, they won't overheat, and will just power the crap out of your system for as long as you need. This is about as cheap as you are going to get for good gear The amps are entry level stuff, but better than most entry level stuff. And it won't break So you could get a whole system for under $500 or so. Just throwing it out there.

[crazyman03]

Yea, there are many options that you can do with a carputer. depending on the phone you have, you can do the Bluetooh call through your carputer. (depending on the software you run on the carputer too) with Centrafuse, you simply plug an external mic into the computer like normal, and just tether your phone to the computer like you normally would for like file transfers and such. Just as long as you have the "hands free gateway" option for your phone, it will use the computer's mic and speakers for your phone.

 

cash is pretty much the problem so i cant really spend cash on it. the carputer, LCD cables and such is pretty much what i had around the house. (i have an extra tower, if anyone wants it. also VGA cables and such.)

 

I have a Pioneer deck probably 3 or so years old but i don't have the metal cage that it slides into anymore.

 

the way i want to build it, now, is try a MDF mod to the dash, cut out a spot for the LCD and an area for the deck (countersink the cutout for the deck so that its not protruding out very far).

 

question, what would be a good method for making the LCD trim and the MDF trim look as one? would bondo work well in this case? I've used it for plastic on plastic applications but never plastic+wood. Is it pretty much the same way? the reason i ask is i dont want it to look like crap when i'm done. nor do i want the bondo chiping through the paint because the wood isn't adhering to it well.

 

I want the wood ( or whatever i use for the trim) to just be a smooth transition to the LCD screen itself. no crease, no cracks.. ya know?

 

 

-Justin

[eulogious]

The MDF should work. Did you take a look at the tutorial I linked to? He's got some pics of what it looks like if you use the right paint. I was really impressed. Couldn't really tell it was wood when he was done. Blended right into the lexus dash. Might take a couple tries to get it right, but it's only cheap wood and some paint, so it doesn't cost a whole lot if you have to start over. I am on my second one already So that's where I would start, especially if funds are low.

[crazyman03]

The MDF should work. Did you take a look at the tutorial I linked to? He's got some pics of what it looks like if you use the right paint. I was really impressed. Couldn't really tell it was wood when he was done. Blended right into the lexus dash. Might take a couple tries to get it right, but it's only cheap wood and some paint, so it doesn't cost a whole lot if you have to start over. I am on my second one already So that's where I would start, especially if funds are low.

 

Yea, it looks pretty slick!

 

I have a sheet of probably 4'x3' probably 1/2" MDF sitting outside I could probably use. I used it for a couple speaker boxes i built for the jeep. I might have to sand it down to a manageable thickness but should work.

 

Still waiting to figure out what I'm going to do about a deck. I wouldn't mind using my little pioneer one but i wouldn't be able to mount it like i want to. Still trying to find a deck cage that i can use.

 

but in all due time. I'm also looking to barter for a double din dvd. If i found a decent one i'd probably ditch the carputer. lol. Unless it had a VGA Input and touch output lol

 

 

-Justin

[Twitch de la Brat]

Wow, this thread has made a lot of progress...

 

I think the setup you've got now will do you better than a dvd player

But if you do ditch the carputer, I'd love your touch screen

 

So what graphics card are you running?

Like enough to run an early 2000's game?

 

Twitch