I won't bother with any of the in-process stuff. Dr Bonz and all_bark have covered that pretty well already. I'll just show what I did different:

I installed a second glovebox behind the drivers seat. I fabed a wodden stand and screwed it into the access panel on the bottom of the glove box. Makes for easy removal when necessary:



You can see the 802.11 adaptor in the mail slot above the glovebox.

Here is a closer shot showing the computer pulled out. You can see the access panel and the mount I made. I probably don't need the strap, the velcro works well. Just wanted to be extra secure:



I mounted the USB hub and the Alpine FM modulator remote control in the center console:


Software:
I wrote a "dashboard" type control app for easy access to the common programs:



I wanted a real simple MP3 player that didn't require me to hassle with playlists. I had to write my own. It is file directory driven. Once you click on a directory with MP3s in it, it automatically loads them up and starts playing.

Directory select mode:


Once it starts playing, it just shows a visualization. You can pick any visualisation you want. I liked this one cuz its real close to the interior lighting color:


The buttons at the bottom are Previous, Next, Pause/play and Stop/Exit.

Once the Nav software gets here, I'll get that installed and really start having some fun.

 

nice

 

Really cool!

 

nice job alang!

so what does the fm mod remote do?

 

I use it to turn the FM mod on and off (avoiding the toggle switch you had to install). It also has a XM radio plug if I ever want to go that route, and will control a cd changer. I think if you hook up a CD changer (Alpine of course) and you play MP3 CDs on it, the remote will display track info, ect. If I ever go that route, I will have to find a more visible place to mount the display. It also has a wireless remote, but since I only use the on off switch, I kept that in the box.

 

Very nice Alang!

I like the installation of the second glove box. I had looked into that myself, but discarded the idea too quickly. I was caught up on getting the door with the glovebox, and when I found the door is only sold new with the whole faceplate (and was quite expensive) I passed on it. I think I may end up going with the box as you did.

Is it fairly easy to write these 'dashboard' programs I see people using? Is it code, or is there an application that writes the code for you?

Having the shortcuts to the manuals is a very nice touch.

What power supply did you go with?

I might try and make the Palomar run so we can compare notes and stuff.

 

Nice job. The only disadvantage I see to having it behind you is that you have to get out of the car to get to the computer. Odds are that this will be infrequent though. I will probably go the wireless route one of these days too. It gets tedious copying onto CD's and taking them down to the car and installing stuff.

I found that when I run the visualizaitons in WMP while I'm playing MP3's the audio skips on occasion. Not enough RAM? I wouldn't think so at 512 though?

Finally, nice touch on the CA vehicle code link. What is that for? In case you get pulled over, you have instant access?

 

how much was it?

 

I don't recall exactly. I think for everything that I needed it was going to run a couple hundred dollars. I called Courtesy Nissan to get the pricing.

 

I don't plan on needing to get to the computer very much, so I'm not too concerned about the door. Besides, the access panel comes off easy enough.

The MP3 software is an app I wrote, so it probably uses a lot less resources than WMP. I have not had a single skip while playing.

The CA vech code was a lark. Someone posted about being hassled about an aftermarket exhaust, so I figured I should have the vech code handy if there was ever a question. I doubt that the officer would allow me to look it up while he waits around, but it might make a good bluff. I found it on the DMV website in a bunch of PDA files, so it was easy to do. Besides I have 10 "slots" for applications on the dashboard, so I've got to put something there.

 

Alang,

Nice install.

Do you mind listing all of your equipment?

NissanCar