BigD MMCS Replacement

[enigma]

OK I have been a little quiet recently with technical stuff......so here goes!

:-D

You all are in need of a replacement to the expensive and distinctly Japanese MMCS system right? Well I have been working on it and with a little bit of help from the following links I have started to assemble a system! :p

A Vauxhall Carputer (http://www.letscommunicate.co.uk/carputer/)

Some cracking software (http://www.mediaengine.org/index.php)

So here is what I have so far, pretty basic, but cool none the less!

1 small form factor pentium 3 system
1 touchscreen INSERT INTO post VALUES (sexy) 7" widescreen LCD display
some wire

and I have fiddled with the software a bit too.........

screenshots below

[enigma]

Screens

[enigma]

screens 2

[enigma]

screens 3

[enigma]

As you can see it supports MP3 and Radio, but it also supports DVD, AVI, MPG, DIVx, and GPS software........the all in one MMCS replacement! ;)

[SGHOM]

now you really have gone too far Dave !! bl***y robbie williams :) :) Oh the shame !! :lolz:

[enigma]

I did think when I had posted it I ought to have chosen some better music.....it was just a random click......honest!

[SGHOM]

oh yeh !!! sure ! LOL.

[Nick Mann]

Come on, then. How much is this Kieran bashing equipment going to set us back?

INSERT INTO post VALUES (Can you do one in Japanese for him?)

[SGHOM]

INSERT INTO post VALUES (Can you do one in Japanese for him?)

mine is in japanese, he's seen it, & NO.......... he aint having it !! & I've yet still to a UK car with it in. apart from mine. :cool1:

[enigma]

Cost....errr....ummm......this must remain undisclosed at present!! It will allow full Dolby 5.1 in the car though! Additional components required will be a 5 channel amplifier and a subwoofer. Although it would work equally as well with just a 2 channel amp.

Seriously though, the PC I have had kicking around for years and similar stuff can be had for under £50........however a big F/O hard disk would be another £80 or so. A USB GPS receiver can be had for £30, a USB radio for £10, it can even support multiple webcams! The screen is the issue though....................... ;)

Licensed software doesn't come cheaply though :p

[adam_shaw]

What can I say, Cool, very,very cool.

I still have an 'old' cappucino PC that I picked up in Taiwan kicking around, methinks it may be getting a new lease of life. :D :D :D

[Brind]

I've got one of these too... it's called a Laptop computer. :-D

It plays MP3, DVD, records on to CD, connects to the internet by every means possible, large hard drive to store DivX movies and porn.
It has firewire connection, SPDIF output for digital surround sound, printer port, TV output etc etc.
Even has a 15 inch TFT screen. :cool1:

Completely removable for security purposes.
I can connect a mini LCD screen to bung in the dash if the Laptop is too cumbersome.

The only thing it lacks is touch screen and a large Mitsubishi logo. :-D


Seriously though I was also going to build a basic barebones computer to house many of these features but it turns out to be silly money as you always want more.

You seen these portable DVD players? I've seen them for about £400 and that is all they can do! I payed just under £900 for the Laptop and there is no comparison.

[Nick Mann]

But a laptop computer installed in the dash with a touch screen and Mitsy/VR4 logos!

Woweee!

:sick:

Ooops. I think I just wet myself.

[SGHOM]

think I posted this on a previous thread ages ago, the biggest problem is the screen. you can fit any kind of DVD, MP3, YMCA, but when the screen already controls everything including climate, air con, CD, RSPCA, that's when the problems start.

[Brind]

You mentioned GPS receiver, Dave! where have you seen them for that kind of price?

I've got AutoRoute installed on my laptop and it can connect using GPS, would be cool to get one for it.

[enigma]

Seen them kicking about on EBAY for this kind of money.....there is one currently for £47.99 Buy it now.............

[adam_shaw]

Or expansys have a variety of receivers starting at around £60

www.expansys.com

[BraindG]

the only problem i can foresee with this, is the loading time..
if you have this computer as your only source of music, you will have to wait for the damn thing to boot up every time you want to listen to some music, or whatever else your using the thing for..

stopping and starting the car, will kill the OS if you have power to it every time you turn the ignition.. so, would have to be on separate power supply, i mean wired right to the battery, then you have the issue of shutting it down.. you cant just keep cutting the power to the PC, it will die at one stage..

in theory all that is required, is a start up script. which will launch your program once the PC has booted up..
you will require an easy to get to shutdown button, and you will have to remember to use this every time your car is switched off..

now.. how about http://www.litepc.com/ customisable OS, cuts out the crap you don't need.
Windows PE? boots off CD, so there's no issues with it being shut down while writing to disk.. INSERT INTO post VALUES (cant find link just now)

at this time there is nothing i know of that allows windows to be booted from some form of rom, or memory.. however this would be the best option!

[Kieran]

I am watching this thread with interest! I don't know how you guys find all these amazing websites! I wonder.... MMCS + That software... Hmm:D

I still want the MMCS though! Anybody who gets rid of theirs, let me know!

[Kieran]

Come on, then. How much is this Kieran bashing equipment going to set us back?

INSERT INTO post VALUES (Can you do one in Japanese for him?)

:stare:Knickers!

[adam_shaw]

Most compact flash cards support the ATA specification, use one of these in a PCMCIA adaptor, and provided the BIOS supports booting from a PC slot you can pop the OS onto the card, have it boot up and only access the disk once it has booted.

At work we used to have old IBM tablet PCs for filling Site Reports, in the beggining they used PC Card HD, but later on these booted from compact flash cards in PCMCIA adaptors.

Most stereos use the permanent 12v INSERT INTO post VALUES (usually just for memory) and the switched supply.

Some small gubbins to monitor the switched supply could trigger auto shutdown INSERT INTO post VALUES (a la UPS)

[adam_shaw]

Or even booting from a USB stick, most modern BIOS allow this, and with 256Mb on a £60-£70 stick you can fit a good Win98 install on there.

I'll try to look out some links on this, I seem to remember its pretty big in the Unix community.

[enigma]

I have the power thing covered! The PC I have can boot up pretty quickly if I strip out all the crap, as for shutting down well again easy. The PC has a power on button......a momentary switch in fact which as you would expect powers up the PC, press it again and it SHUTS DOWN the machine in a safe manner............not just a power off. With some electrickery I can easily make this function as a normal car stereo would with the ignition key. Failing that I have an Compact Flash IDE adapter that I can stuff a huge flash drive in and put the whole operating system on that.........one way or another this project will be a reality! I am struggling to find a cheap 5 or 6 channel amp at the moment though.......I am thinking £50 while the shops are thinking 5 times that! Pah!

Regards the Cappuchino PC, I looked for one of these, and its smaller sister the Espresso.......no joy for the right money though. Anyone want to sell their Cappuchino for hmmm say £5?! :p

[Nick Mann]

This is all good news!

The race between BigD and Mo is now two-fold - 1/4 mile AND ice!

[enigma]

I am not after a monster install, I just want something that is functional and quite unique! I am sick of not being able to take advantage of the huge advances in audio and video in my car without paying umty four mega pounds INSERT INTO post VALUES (tm Kieran)

[adam_shaw]

Regards the Cappuchino PC, I looked for one of these, and its smaller sister the Espresso.......no joy for the right money though. Anyone want to sell their Cappuchino for hmmm say £5?! :p

Hmmmmm, let me think..... :headsc:

[colVR4]

How about the new Garmin PDA with integrated GPS? Okay, it hasn't got a touch screen and doesn't interface with your in-car entertainment suite, but can't you write some software for the Palm OS5.0 to do that through the port on the bottom?

INSERT INTO post VALUES (If I am talking through my bumhole just tell me so, I don't know much about these things :drunk: )

http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/

[Kieran]

Dave - Any ideas on the Air-Con controls? Otherwise, Owners with MMCSes may still be stuffed INSERT INTO post VALUES (unless it's a simple swapover with CC)...

[colVR4]

If you do think about going down the PDA route INSERT INTO post VALUES (which must be cheaper than a PC install surely!!) then I found this site that could be useful.

http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/palmos/CompanionTOC.html

With this system you could leave the A/C controls as they are. The PDA would simply mount onto the dash somewhere.

Would the PDA be powerful enough to control the radio/amp/dvd player etc. I think I have seen somewhere some software for a PDA with an infra-red port to use it as a multi-function remote control as well. If the PDA has bluetooth, couldn't you make use of that as well? I leave it to you guys who know the geeky stuff to tell me how wrong I am :)

[enigma]

I have a toshiba E740 PDA that I had in mind for an ICE system......its too small, the controls are fiddly and developing your own software is a git! Even though my Toshiba has full USB capability, a 1GB Compact Flash device, Wifi built in, and numerous other features it just isn't up to the job........I would like my PC to boot as fast as it does though! :p

The Tosh is sitting on top of my PC with a thick layer of dust on it as we speak!

[BraindG]

you hsould try that windows lite then...
it can boot up extremely quickly..

[SGHOM]

[QUOTE=BraindG]you hsould try that windows lite then...


typing too quick, or been on the pop again !! :beerbang:

[BraindG]

heheh. not drinking yet.. will be shortly though.. works xmas do tonight = free booze :-b

[enigma]

Windows lite? wasssattt? How does it work? Do you have any experience INSERT INTO post VALUES (of windows lite rather than anything else that may or may not involve
beer or sex or women
or
beer and sex and women
or
beer and sex or women
or
women and sex
or
any combination of the above!)

[zedy1]

it maybe possible to fit the standard aircon system in, but then you left without a screen

[enigma]

If the screen works with traditional old fashioned discrete signals integrating it with a PC would be easy as 1, 2, 3.....if it uses databus signals you would be screwed!

[Kieran]

If the screen works with traditional old fashioned discrete signals integrating it with a PC would be easy as 1, 2, 3...

Yes Dave, that would be dead easy!!!INSERT INTO post VALUES (?!)... :rolleyes5 :huh: :headsc:

[BraindG]

Windows lite? wasssattt? How does it work? Do you have any experience

Widows lite is basically a cut down version of windows 98, without all the crap...

link (http://www.litepc.com/)

more specifically (http://www.litepc.com/98lite.html)


While having a wee looky around their site, i found this link..
Embedding windows (http://www.embeddingwindows.com/)


Lightning FAST bootup INSERT INTO post VALUES (as little as 3 seconds to the desktop!!)
:-b



Run from flash memory as small as 8MB - even removable USB keys!

[Brind]

Surely if you take advantage of a cold engine turbo warm up period before you set off this will allow more than enough time for a mini/laptop pc to boot up, my laptop boots up completely in about 30 seconds and I can't see why that time period would disrupt anyones busy schedule.
When you pull up after driving for a period, don't you allow the turbos to cool down again? well, simply switch off the mini/laptop pc and when it's time to switch engine off.. no harm done.

No need to complicate things. :smoking:

[Spirit]

Agreed Mark - looking at possibility of integrating my laptop into my new ICE setup that I am currently researching.

[enigma]

I have come across a few options that will automatically power up the pc when the ignition is turned on and shut it down when the ignition is turned off........its all very simple when you have the right motherboard. Luckily I seem to! It uses the hibernate feature, the main swith on the fromt of the unit, and a bit of electrickery. Average time is 30 seconds to power up and I dont care about powering down as it will do it automatically when I turn off the ignition.

[Spirit]

Dave seems like you have it sussed mate.

[enigma]

Just need to tidy up the details.......like where and how to mount the pc, buying and mounting of an amp and sub, and then installing the wicked mofo!

[Spirit]

Minor technicalities to a man of your ability

[Brind]

Mate of mine and me were considering building mini barebones computers for cars last year but didn't bother in the end and then completely forgot about it until now.

Like you Pete, think I'll bung in a few leads and connect my brand new toy to my headunit, gotta be fun and keeps passengers quiet while you're secretly pissing down the motorway racing every other car without the evil 'slow down you lunatic' looks.

I'm off tomorrow and plan to use the laptop as a route map INSERT INTO post VALUES (AutoRoute 2002) including routes in Germany too, no more interior lights and map russle. :)

[Spirit]

Have a good one Mark ! Drive safe but/and whip their asses on the Autobahns !

[Brind]

/Thread hi-jack mode on..

Thanks mate!!
Looks like it's gonna piss down with rain all week though which should be nice.. :Cry1:
Got a call from DFDS today saying that sailing might be delayed due to rough weather.. :lipsrseal :lipsrseal :laugh:

Catch you all later..

/Thread hi-jack mode off.. ;) :D

[enigma]

Bring us some video of 160mph madness!!! :p

[Brind]

Dunno if it will reach 70mph with all the bloody luggage.. :stunned:

Certainly see what it can do. :-b

[BraindG]

youd be suprised mark... even with 5 people in the car it will get top speed with ease

[Brind]

Oh... well I've got 4 but enough luggage for 20. :$

Speak to you all later, take care peeps.

[enigma]

OK, as I am now off work until the 5th January......its a hard life! I have been working on the install of the BDA MMCS system. Yesterday I went shopping and bought 2 520W 4 channel amps. The idea here is that the pc has true Dolby 5.1 output so 2 front speakers, 2 rear speaker INSERT INTO post VALUES (thats one amp down) 1 sub which is bridged across 2 channels of the other amp and the other 2 channels will be used to drive 2 centre channel speakers which I will probably put in the footwells.............not decided yet. Anyway attention turned to the back of the car to sort out housing the amps and pc..........£10 worth of 12mm MDF later and.............

[enigma]

OK, thats all very well but what does it look like with the kit installed?

Pretty sweet I think!

[enigma]

As you can tell it has just started raining so I have given up for the moment.......but heres another angle to keep you happy!

[enigma]

Obviously all this kit sits below the carpeted boot liner so its all out of sight. Because of this I had to sink the amps and pc in to the spare wheel well a little bit. I still have access to the spare wheel though as the mdf section has a couple of hinges INSERT INTO post VALUES (OK it will when it stops raining!) so I can just flip it up when I get a flat. :-D

Now before anyone says anything, the amps ARE quite cheap and the quality is unknown, BUT I am not after a mental install just a versitile one. As I am only driving the factory speakers I figure it will be fine......also my car is not an acoustically good environment INSERT INTO post VALUES (unless you like the drone of twin exhausts like me! :p ) so spending mega pounds INSERT INTO post VALUES (tm Kieran) is pointless.

[Spirit]

Looking good Dave mate ! My planned ICE install is currently on hold - Shaz is now talking about a conservatory....NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! INSERT INTO post VALUES (This could see the sale of the VR4 :noshake: )

[zedy1]

Looking good Dave mate ! My planned ICE install is currently on hold - Shaz is now talking about a conservatory....NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! INSERT INTO post VALUES (This could see the sale of the VR4 :noshake: )


you dont wanna do that,and dave me thinks you need to take your legnum on a weigh bridge again cus your getting close to catch up with me :-D

[enigma]

Its all been designed to be very easily removable.......when you know how!!! :p

[zedy1]

im planning to do that too need abit of time to do it, its quite easy gor you cus youve got an estate.

[enigma]

OK, more pictures! First off I have carpetted the install and it looks quite cool. I haven't done the wiring yet, but there is plenty of time! I think I may put a couple of neons down there just for effect. :-b

[enigma]

As I said before I still have easy access to the spare wheel, some cunning hinges take care of that. Just lift and you are away..................

[enigma]

Also I have made it so I can easily stick a DVD in the PC for updating music or playing DVDs.............

[enigma]

And finally, with the boot cover in, no one would suspect a thing! Wicked!

[BraindG]

:bow: "we're not worthy!"

good job dave!.. wonder how many other vr4's have got a pc setup in em? :D

[Nick VR4]

That looks really :-b
Great job done :D

[zedy1]

looks cool dave. when would it be ready

[enigma]

I am hoping that it will all be working by the new year......I dont have to work until the 5th Jan so I have plenty of time! Just depends on how many jobs I get given by Mrs BDA! ;)

[enigma]

Been fiddling with the wiring today........spent a long INSERT INTO post VALUES (and I mean LONG) time running the 4 gauge wiring to the front of the car. I got to just under the dash and got stuck. I tried everything I could and I just cant get the wire through the bulkhead. I will have another go tomorrow when I have finished swearing! :furious3:

So I moved to the back, I wired up the amps with power and speaker wire and connected up the main feed through distribution blocks. I was going to hide all of the wiring but I figured that it looked quite pretty! All I need now is some fancy cable clips and I am away! Well nearly, I still have to run the speaker wires to the centre console to meet up with the factory wiring, run power to the inverter for the PC, sort out a couple of relays to switch on the amps and the PC...............hmmmmmmmmm lots really!

Anyway here is todays pic, it was brought to you by the number 4 INSERT INTO post VALUES (hours) and the letter B INSERT INTO post VALUES (for Bastid)!

[BraindG]

theres a few places you can get wires through dave...
yours is an auto right? well you got the clutch cable hole which i think is in the middle of the engine bay somewhere INSERT INTO post VALUES (at the back obviously before some smart ass says otherwise :) )

then theres two rubber seals either side, just by the bonnet hinge...

[enigma]

Thanks Barry, I will have a look in the morning. I really dont want to go to the middle of the car, I dont have enough wire now! I tried the rubber seal under the ABS relay by the hinge but ended up in the wheelarch :veryangry :furious3: I also tried a big rubber seal but it comes out behind the heater blower and its just to tight for my big wire. I am truly scuppered if I cant get it through :INSERT INTO post VALUES (

[BraindG]

aha! i posted how to get into wheel arch, and then into body didnt i?... /goes in search of post

[BraindG]

hmm, i found it, but its no where near ready.. going to be an article.. but without a bloody car i cant cintinue with the pictures.. so your.. gonna have to figure it out by what i type INSERT INTO post VALUES (god help us i hear you all say)

ok.. to start things off link (http://www.clubvr4.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1524)

now once you have the cover off.. you can see where the cables go to... follow them and you will come to a INSERT INTO post VALUES (this is driver side btw) rubber sealy, holey thingy me bob... might be easier with two people at this stage... get someone to push a cable, a stick, screw driver or something into the hole INSERT INTO post VALUES (and wiggle it... oooh--errrrrr.)

now on the inside of the car, above the fuse box you should be able to see it poking through.. just run the cable through there.. up under the wheel arch, and into the engine bay...

tadaaa.. tis done.. wel.. after you screw everything back together..

hope that helps?

[zedy1]

dave you need to take the dust cover off from the arch INSERT INTO post VALUES (nearside) and also the nearside kick panel and you should get the cable through, im gonna take my 0g through that when ive got time

[enigma]

Thanks guys........got it sorted this morning :)

[enigma]

With ICE you have to have neons.........so I had to have neons!! :p

[enigma]

They look wicked in the dark! This was just a quick 5 min bodge up before Kieran came round tonight, I will sort it properly later.........I think I need maybe one more neon under the amps!

[enigma]

Maybe I need some more rope neon as well.......what do you guys think???

[SGHOM]

Dave ?? just how old are you ?? :lolz:

[enigma]

Dave ?? just how old are you ?? :lolz:


Why thirty twelve of course!

[zedy1]

looks great, but ill hide the neons wires away

[enigma]

Nope, the neon wires are staying! I like them! So there! :p

[Kieran]

Yep, they did look pretty cool.

BLING!!!

[Spirit]

The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys, as me mum used to say ! You keep your neons Dave, go for it mate lol

[enigma]

I am just a boy! Like I said thirty twelve!

I am glad Kieran has expressed some enthusiasm.......when he came round all he was interested in was seeing my dash light up! :)

[Kieran]

I am just a boy! Like I said thirty twelve!

I am glad Kieran has expressed some enthusiasm.......when he came round all he was interested in was seeing my dash light up! :)

LOL!!! :lolz:

Of course I liked them! I'm only Twenty Twelve!!! :D :baby:
:undecided :idea: :lost: "Dear Santa, For christmas, I want a High Contrast dash like all my VR-4 and V6 Sport Chums....." :-D :-D

[landy]

Great job Dave, well done :-b :bow:

I missed this thread until now, but it makes interesting reading. All this is above me, but love to have a go at something like this myself INSERT INTO post VALUES (sometime)

oh yeah, Merry Christmas everyone :-D

[Big Ian]

look's good i'll have to get me butt in gear and rob a bank an get something done in my boot all ive got for now are 2 alpine v-12s 2 rockford 10" sub's wire every wear no neon's amp's are not fixed to anything but it's all old school suff now so when me has the cash i'll put all this old gear in my MK2 granada and blitz the galant's boot space.

[enigma]

Wow! Got it making noises in the car today, I was well impressed! Still got to make the wiring permanent but it wont be long now! I extended the cable for the monitor so now it is long enough to reach the dash from the boot, also extended an ariel cable. Just need to sort out a time delay circuit for switching the power off safely and roberts your mothers brother!

[zedy1]

i could proberly get you a timer for about 12-13 quid dave if sp let me know

[enigma]

OK I am getting quite excited now! Derek INSERT INTO post VALUES (interlec) came round this morning and caught me with the car in bits INSERT INTO post VALUES (lots of bits :D ) I was busy wiring the tv in so the centre console was out the armrest was out the rear seats were out, it was a mess! But I have put it all back together again and it is the sweetest thing!!! :-b

Dont believe me???

Check this out!

[enigma]

Now was the screen made to go in there or what????

Cool as a very cool thing with a particularly good reason to be cool! :cool1:

[SGHOM]

I DONT BELIEVE IT !!! It was only a couple of hours ago I was going to help you sweep your car up , & put it in a bucket !! you should have taken a pic the way I saw it ! unbelievable. ;) TV's working as well !! there's a picture of you on it taking a photo!! :-D :-D on another note, took me longer to get to the other side of sheffield this lunchtime, than it did to get to nottingham & back !! exhaust looks like next week now. :sad3: :sad3:

[enigma]

Its too damn cold to hang around! I had to get it back together to go food shopping otherwise Helen would have had no New Years Eve dinner!!

[Nick Mann]

Looking sweet, Dave! ;)

Sorry to hear about the exhaust delay, Derek. Anticipation often makes it all the more enjoyable, though.

:-D

[Nick VR4]

WOW great work Dave :thumbsup:

[Brind]

Impressive!

How deep is that screen and how much and from where?

[SGHOM]

Sorry to hear about the exhaust delay, Derek. Anticipation often makes it all the more enjoyable, though.

:-D
err..... no !!! I want it, & I want it now !! :D :D

[enigma]

The screen is about 25mm deep and there is some modification to the car required......a bit of cutting here and there, nothing major though :) None of the cutting is visible so its ok to just hack away.

I bought the screen from EBAY, it came from Hong Kong and was £180 inc shipping.

So its all installed now......well sort of! It got dark tonight so I couldn't finalise things, I had a few problems too.......lots of noise on the radio connection that I was trying to find :INSERT INTO post VALUES ( The PC has come out again and still doesn't have an easy switch on/off mechanism, this is minor for the time being though. Tomorrow should see something close to finished, well useable anyway! It will never be finished as I will just keep adding to it! Subwoofer and enclosure is now officially under construction!

Have fun and happy new year :p

[zedy1]

its looking cool dave

[Spirit]

Looking great Dave.......have fun finishing it off later today

[enigma]

Hoorrraaayyyy :hurrah: Its in and its working! Well after a fashion.........it seems to have taken issue with the 200 albums I loaded, but its a minor point. I can get in turn it on and away I go, 200 albums at my disposal, radio and DVD player. All from the comfort of my tan leather interior! :)

A pic of the interface..........I can change the skin INSERT INTO post VALUES (and have done but haven't uploaded it yet) to have the VR4 logo on it :)

[zedy1]

do i see a lilliput screen in there dave? ive got one too there not bad screens for the money, have you played a movie?

[enigma]

Its a lilliput touch screen.....its awesome! It plays movies fine......have you experienced otherwise?

[Kieran]

Now that looks cool!! :cool1:

[adam_shaw]

cool as f*ck....

[Spirit]

Looks stunning Dave, looking forward to seeing it for real

[enigma]

Thanks guys! Kieran popped round today and was impressed - he said it looks like it was factory fitted! Wow a compliment and a half! It still has a few 'features' that I need to iron out but it gets its first long haul trial tomorrow...........cant wait! :)

[enigma]

OK so the sub box is finished and installed INSERT INTO post VALUES (well removed at the moment for security reasons :)) here is a pic:

I was impressed with it until I stopped by at Mos today and saw his huge 18" monster!! ;)

[zedy1]

looks grate daveda of gutted cus ive still not recieved my trimming carpet, going to call my supplier on monday and give em abit of grief

[Spirit]

My install is now postponed to next weekend .....gutted !

[Bal]

children children children, unfortunately us youngsters were doing this years ago. incar pcs rule but there are a few other problems - if you have big subs the magnets interfere with the hdd, vibrations from hardcore driving can cause hdd to get irritated with respect to the power, buy a power inverter that will run straight of the battery.

for screens, alovely touch screen for £170 of ebay (last time i checked) solves the control problem.

i had one in my clio, wired it up to two screens. was hooked up. had windwos running with voice control software and a custom options menu i wrote to get to key apps. also had a remote control so people in the back can change stuff. was awesome but i sold all the stuff with the clio when i bought the galant and havent got round to sorting out a replacement (been concentrating on the sound system - which is nearly ready to be installed).

when i do go for it im going to use a laptop lol. u can remove it and connect it straight to a screen easily.

as for the screen im in two minds - i can either get a 7" touch screeen and use the complete double din space and then relocate the stereo or ... i can just buy a cheapy screen of ebay and live without the touch screen.

the problem i had with the old touch screens was the glare of the screen - oh and using a laptop hdd is better than a normal hdd if you decide to build a pc as it is designed to survive bangs and bumps.

as for the pc i built onen using the mini-itx standard with all in one everything. was hooked up. i think it s had a 13cm x 13cm footprint.

for gps i bought this gps reciever and software for £100 but i cant remember the website.

tried linux - it sucked lol.

starting writing my own app but got bored and the university dissertation took priority.

was really interesting trying to design this for optimum driver user friendlyness.

BDA give me shout if u come across any issues. i may be able to help.

......

as for my current sound install i have now got my hifonics front speakers, the subs for the boot, the box, all i need now is my amps to power everything. watchign about 6 on ebay so hopefully in the next week or so i shall be chavving it with the best of them.

then i can start on this in car video entertainment business.... but i have an added secret .... Big Dave get one of these .... a wireless night vision camera for the front !!

we attached it to my mates celica gt4 wrc and man when caining it around oxford it rocked !! was so much fun being able to see infront of us at night time ... we did try it without lights on (we were careful it was a acar park) and it worked well. admittedly the plan was to use it as a reverse parking camera but now im thinking get another one and have one at the front and one at the back, all i need is a av source selector box.

[Bal]

ok so i didnt realise this thread was 6 pages long and u covered most of it.

the skin looks awesome - wat are you using.

i love the neons - uv gone all chavy

the install is nice becuase you still have access to your spare wheel

as for my install - sh1te i think i have to actually do something proper again. i was holding back on the fibreglass install till the summer but now im thinking allow it ... as for now everythign is in a drab box.

i love the way you done the screen. that is exactly what i was thinking of doing with mine.

niice nice nice. i want a demo at the midlands meet if you there.

[Bal]

hee hee if i have my subs sorted we should have a sound off.

did youu build the box yourself - did you make sure you got the cu ft capacity of the box right?



mo you got an 18 incher that is gonna need a huge box !!!! i had a 12 " that was doing 2kw rms and it needed a 2 cu ft box which too up most of my boot.

[matsondawson]

I have a similar setup to BDA, 'cept with different software.
It rocks.

12V DC-DC Converter from OpusSolutions, NForce 2 Mbd, 7" Lilliput VGA touch screen and an amp I borrowed off LegnumVR4(Rhys).

<img src="http://www.giantfriend.com/pictures/incar1.jpg"><img src="http://www.giantfriend.com/pictures/incar2.jpg">

[enigma]

ok so i didnt realise this thread was 6 pages long and u covered most of it.

the skin looks awesome - wat are you using.

i love the neons - uv gone all chavy

the install is nice becuase you still have access to your spare wheel

as for my install - sh1te i think i have to actually do something proper again. i was holding back on the fibreglass install till the summer but now im thinking allow it ... as for now everythign is in a drab box.

i love the way you done the screen. that is exactly what i was thinking of doing with mine.

niice nice nice. i want a demo at the midlands meet if you there.

I will be at the mini meet so you can have a demo! I need to rebuild the PC though as Windows has screwed up a little! I also have a DAB receiver now and a DC-DC power supply as I kept frying my inverters!

The touch screen is awesome and works really well, the software is media engine and I cant fault it! Well I can, as it doesn't support DAB, so I had to do an externall app link with a skin that looks the same as my media engine one - its almost seamless!

[Bal]

are you guys still running your standard stereo or is everything gone digital of the pc?

[matsondawson]

Just noticed in this thread that people are talking about startup/shutdown times and hibernation. You should actually be sending your computer to sleep, not shutting it down or hibernating. My car takes around 5 secs to come out of sleep. You'll probably need a power supply that automatically tells the computer to go to sleep though, like Opus Solutions power supply.
In sleep mode the computer draws something miniscule like 25ma, so it won't flatten your battery.

If your using a lilliput screen you'll have to make sure you have the new beta drivers as the old ones will keep waking car up every time a butterfly farts in China (flattening your battery), there's also some BIOS settings you have to set up and you have to make sure the USB is either permanently powered, or not permanently powered (jumper on the motherboard), I can't remember which one is correct atm.

[matsondawson]

are you guys still running your standard stereo or is everything gone digital of the pc?

Running standard RCA cables. Would go digital if I had the money, have some small issues with audio intereference if the line in, or microphone is not muted. I also had to setup a relay controlled by the computer to tell the amp when to turn on or off, as other wise when the computer starts the amp pops, and makes awful noises while it wakes up. As by default line in and microphone are not muted at startup. I also had to rewire the car twice, as my first setup had too much screen interference.

[matsondawson]

As a side note I had to modify the motherboard I had to draw less power. It has an athlon 1800XP in it, underclocked from 1.5GHz to 1.1GHz by setting the FSB to 100 instead of 133, and by desoldering the correct pins on the power regulator chip on the motherboard dropped the voltage from 1.75v to 1.35v (some motherboards allow you to set this in BIOS, mine didn't), drawing something like 30watts instead of 70watts. Which allowed me to run my screen off the computer power supply thus dropping some interference from it and also allowing the screen to auto start up when the computer turns on (with some minor pcb modifications again to the screen).

[matsondawson]

Has anyone noticed this thread has over 1100 views... must be one of the most popular on the site.

[bernmc]

Any of you PC-based boys considered something like a VIA EPIA CL-10000 - they're only around 130 quid, includes CPU and on board graphics, mini-ITX, low power consumtion etc etc...

[matsondawson]

I'm waiting for the nano-itx to be released as it will only require a 12v supply (not the extra 5v/-5v etc lines). And it's smaller. I had an MII10000 but it seemed to have driver issues, so that's why I'm waiting for the new nano boards in the hope they've fixed them. Think I'll grab 3 and make a decent entertainment system out of them for everyone.

http://www.mini-itx.com/news/images/story0388-01L.jpg

[enigma]

I think I will be replacing my MB soon as the old one appears to have given up!

I will be going for an EPIA of some description as I quite want to maintain my Dolby 5.1 capability ;)

[Wodjno]

This thread has made some interesting reading and makes me think i would like one ..!! :inquisiti

Just wish i had a bl**dy clue what half of it is all about .. :rolleyes4 :stupid: /wave

[jalford]

hmmmm......I've been saying for a while I should build a new PC for home...hadn't thought of putting it in the car though.

Still running with the original head unit with no frequency expander so was looking to replace the headunit with something that could support an iPod but a PC....drooool....

Been having a bit of a look around since spotting this thread and noticed that there is a meet this weekend if anyone is interested. It is at Billing Aquadrome 2md/3rd April although Sunday sounds like the main event. There is a link here at the digital car website - http://www.digital-car.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=558