foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

I am looking to put together a car PC. I went to www.mp3car.com but they won't send me a registration email, so I can't post. I have a few questions. Idealy, what I want is something fairly basic to keep costs down. I mean it doesn't need to be tiny because it will be taking up the sace behind my seat where the stock sub would go, plenty of room. I want to be able to watch DVDs, NAVI, Mp3s, and I want it to take the place of the head unit. Now I know I don't need state of the art to do these simple tasks, but I want it to run smoothly. I don't want jerky movies or lag. Here is what I have so far, or planning on getting.

http://www.xenarc.com/product/700ts.html

http://www.bzboyz.com/store/product1209.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ATT=Sound+Cards

I need the higher end sound card to run amps from the computer. I want no headunit in the car besides this car PC because I want to put it where the stock headunit is currently. I don't want it hidden behind the nav door and then have a sub par headunit in the stock location.

1. What should I get for a video card? I don't think I need anything major considering the small screen and what little it has to do(no games).

2. How do I get NAVI on here, and suggestions on brands?

3. 256 or 512 ram?

4. Is it possible to completely eliminate the headunit?

5. I need some externally mountable USBs.

6. Any suggestions on which wreless card? I want to be able to put songs to my car from the wireless network at home.

7. What exactly all is needed to install NAVI? What programs/hadwear is needed? I don't want any antennas mounted on the outside of my car.

Any help to these would be greatly appreciated.

rjpaterson

iTrader: (2)

Wow.... Alot of questions. I am a member at MP3car.com and didn't have any issues with registering. Shoot me a PM if you need some help registering, I can see what I can do for you.

I can help a little, if you check out my sight I have some specs on the equipment I've used in my car.

http://www.rippedzone.no-ip.org/Car%20PC.asp
http://www.rippedzone.no-ip.org/Comp...20CAR%20PC.asp

I have it connected through my stock HU and I already have factory NAV in car so I really can't help there.

1. Don't go crazy on video card as Xenarc is best viewed as 800x600 or 800x480

2. Alot of people on MP3Car are using Iguidance.... Here's a link to the thread comparing GPS software (hopefully you can read it without being registered)
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50579

3. If you plan on using XP I would go with 512. You also might want to look into a program called nLite (http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html) it allows you to stream line an XP installation and strip it down to it's barest essentials.

4. I Have No IDEA, but sounds possible

5. Not sure what you're asking for? Do you mean panel mount USB connectors?

6. I went with a Linksys USB Wireless card from CompUsa http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...7455&pfp=srch1

7. See Number 2

Some other things to think about:
I went with the 700TSV from Xenarc so I can have touch screen capability.
Powering the PC - Power inverter or 12v Regulated
Startup/shutdown controller (Opus or Carnetix) if you're gonna use 12V regulated
Cooling, I had some heat issues with my Xenarc PC in the glove box behind passenger seat so I had to use a couple of 120MM fans to solve this issue.

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the help. I will be sure to check it all out.And what I meant about the USBs is I want a USB slot or two that I can mount someone for a thumbdrive or connect my carema to it.

rjpaterson

iTrader: (2)

No problem, you can do a google search for panel mount usb connectors for a couple of different sites or you can take a look at these

http://www.frontx.com/panel_mount.html

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

What about a Mac Mini? I know it's soundcard will not be what I am looking for but would I be able to get somethign external that will do what I want? I basically want RCAs coming form the computer so I can run amps off of it as if it was a deck. The same volts and everything.

rjpaterson

iTrader: (2)

Not familiar with Macs but you can convert from the stereo plug (Speaker Out or Head phone port) to RCA's on all sound cards. You can find them at any radio shack

http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...t%5Fid=15-2473

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

Yeah but what kind of quality would come out of that? I want it to sound as if it is a high end headunit.

rjpaterson

iTrader: (2)

That's a good question. Theoretically it should sound decent, most sound cards now are 24 bit. But then again I've never done it without a head unit.

Kaitain

iTrader: (3)

1. You may not be playing games but you probably will be doing video so you want a decent card. You should be able to get something like an ATI Radeon 9600 for not very much money and it will do great for you.

2. No idea, I'm interested in this too.

3. More memory is always better. Go with as much as you can afford but 256 is not enough and I would say 512MB is the bare minimum. Often times more memory will make a computer faster than increasing the speed of the processor.

4. Sure, I guess. I would leave it in though and simply use it as the pre-amp. In my case I have Sirius so want to use the HU for that. You'll need to have an Aux in of course.

5. Maybe a USB hub will be most appropriate. Look in the laptop section of Best Buy or Circuit City for the really small ones. This would be the easiest to do as well. Make sure you get a USB 2.0 one.

6. Stick with a name brand like Belkin, 3Com, Linksys, etc (I haven't been too happy with Netgear lately though). Most importantly you want to get a 802.11n card. Since 802.11n has not been officially approved yet you'll want to get what's called "pre-N." Make sure you get a pre-N router too. The 802.11n devices have a HUGE range compaired to 802.11g and the speed is MUCH faster. Trust me, when you are transfering 20 gigs worth of music or videos to your car you'll want to have as fast a connection as possible.

Here's something to keep in mind though. Your car is made of metal. Metal is great for blocking radio signals. This is especially important for someone like me that has metal tint (adding metal tint to the front too) so radio waves will really find it hard to penetrate the vehicle.

A better idea might be to use a removable hard drive kit. You'll have to buy two of them so you can have drive receptacles in both the car PC and your home PC. I've even seen one "hot-swappable" IDE kit which would be perfect (IDE devices are not ususally hot-swappable). Hot-swappable means you can take it in and out while the computer is on. Just make sure you don't put your OS on the drive!

7. Don't know anything about it.

Sound card: I've found the newer built in sound cards are fine but maybe you'll want to go with something with better sound output. The major problem you are going to have is that, electronically speaking, computer are VERY noisy and you will have a lot of chatter if you use a cheap sound card.

As far as RCA out, you can just use a converter from mini-stereo to dual RCA. The higher end cards have dongles that have all the outputs you could possible want so that's not an issue.

Since sound is probably the main reason you are using a car PC I wouldn't skimp on the sound card. My personal recommendation would be an E-Mu sound card. They have fantastic sound quality and are relative inexpensive. They are made for professional musicians/recording artists so they know all about the noise issues in computers and are built specifically to shield against it.

Hope that helps.

chromesilverz

1. If you are not doing games, a built in graphics card will work.

2. GPS antenna and software will work.

3. Depends on what you are running. Bigger is always better but bigger also means slower boot times (very little difference though).

4. Are you really sure you want to do that? Depends on what you are going to run. A standard PC setup will take 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes to boot. That's a long time for short trips. You could do a dual boot setup where you can run limited functions instantly and others with a full boot time. I believe its called instant on. A few settop box software have theses features. Have never tried it. Unless you are doing something special like an extra baterry or special software...boot time will frustrate you.

5. Not sure what you are asking. USB plate is doable.

6. Get a USB adapter. May have to be pulled out of the glove box on occasions or with you are limited on range.

7. You will need a GPS antenna and some software. COPilot and Navstar are two examples of software. You can mount the antenna on the strut bar inside the car.

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the help guys. I plan on doing this slowly so that I am sure that I like the way it is before I go and tear apart the car. I want to have a working model before anything. So I am probable jsut going to buy a 512MB Ram. I will probably also not get a video card unless, after I test it, find out I need one. Onboard is basically free and I would hate to blow $75 to find out I never needed it.

As for the navi, does the antenna come with anything other than drivers? I heard good things about iguidence and COPilot.

For the sound card, you were right, this is the main thing I want to have high end because I love nice clean music, video, sound, anything. I think I am going to go with the M-Audio card because I have heard good things about it. Have not heard of the E-mu I will look into that tonight.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...TT=Sound+Cards

As for the boot time. I think I could wait 30 seconds easy. I never move my car unless it is at operating temperature. And that take well more than a minute. The reason that I want to eliminate the cd player is because I don't want some cheap ugly looking subpar thing mounted in my dash. So if I was to buy a deck I would probably get the kenwood 7015. But then what is the point of the car pc, you know? I don't want my screen hidden behind the nav door. That seems distant and just doesn't look as good as a nice flush mount screen where the old deck used to be.

Or, I could even get one of those setups, where you can turn things on with the click of a remote. I could hook something up to a constant power wire. as I am walking to the car, I could click the botton on my remote(could even be accessory wire from a car alarm) and it would run current to the pc. And you can get the pc AND the screen to boot/turn on when it senses current. So as I am walking to the car it's booting, or a couple mins before we leave, hit the "boot button" lol.

All this is a thought right now and it will start to form. The only thing I purchased so far was the screen. All testing is based on the screen so I figured I should get that first. And since it is the most expensive part of the setup, everything else is down hill from here.

I am going to have a hard power button in the ashtrey/coin tray and next to it in there there will be two side by side usb holes(like on the back of a PC) that I will use for transfering pictures and such. Like if I was at a car show and filled up my camera...dump them into the car and clear the card. And then pull the pictures off when I get home through the wireless network. I don't need anything big for the wireless network considering I park right next to the house and I won't be parking by a starbucks anytime soon lol.

Thanks for all the help guys and keep it coming. I am open for ideas. The more I think about it the more I love the idea.

chromesilverz

I think the challenge you will find with going with no HU is how to get the sound to the speakers.

I think it can be done but it won't be easy.

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

I think the biggest thing about no HU would be basic stuff like volume control being a pain. You could run the PC into an amp, but using a touch screen to control the volume would suck to me.

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

I think with the card that I want(m-audio) has two sets of RCA outputs, I could run a small amp off that until I upgrade speakers and then get a different amp depending on which speakers I buy.

I do see your point about the volume. How to HUs do it? Couldn't I mirror that process with the carputer?

HyperSprite

iTrader: (6)

I did a setup in my Z, you can find it here

http://www.hypersprite.com/auto/tech-z-007/

Chris

HyperSprite

iTrader: (6)

Ok, now that I put my icecream down.
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One of the beauty's of the Biostar is that it comes with Gforce card built in, so the video is actually quite good. The biostar also runs mobile chips (without pin modifications).

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I am using MS Streets and Trips, it has great maps and POI but lacks voice command and 3D mapping. I already had it so it's what I got for now. I am making a RoadRunner skin for it that is pretty promising. It should be ready by the end of the week.

It came with a GPS that fits between the metal and glass of the back hatch glass (you need to pull off the plastic that goes along the top there to get to it but the GPS has worked great there, even in my parking garage at work (that surprised me).

On the other side of the GPS I stuck an Airlink 802.11g, $15 and small, so it is also invisible and I have had no problems connecting to the house from the street.

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Belkin makes a 4 port USB2 hub that matches the interior plastic perfectly. There is a flat section under the dash directly under the cup holder, near the knee pad that you can use some 3m sticky stuff and have it close yet unnoticeable.

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If you are using a automotive DC to DC power supply you can actually send 12v to your amps to turn them on. The USB soundblaster is quite popular although I am currently using the built in sound from my MoBo and it sounds great (I do have a head unit though).

On that note, with a something like the M1-ATX I can set it to run for say an hour after I get out of the car so if i need to make a lot of stops on the way home it stays on the whole time with out any extra booting time. Also, it can survive the starting of the car.

Chris

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

I think I have seen some USB based stereo volume *****. Or, perhaps you could destroy a USB based keyboard with volume controls, or even design and build one with a serial port connection. It would just be a pain to use a screen to control things if you didn't find another way.

HyperSprite

iTrader: (6)

For volume you could use the Griffin Powermate **** (about $45) but it is big, I have found no good place for it in the Z. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/ it is about the size of a home audio amp ****, something cool for a home pc. You can also program it to do things like Mute, scroll a web page etc.

Chris

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

These are all kick *** ideas guys. I can't wait to start building this thing lol. Just waiting on the screen.

foochdawg

iTrader: (1)

I think I found a good way to control the volume.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/pro...lick/index.php