[Modern Day Carputer] 2010 Ford Focus SE 4D

[Valdosa]

Hey everyone,

Some of you suggested I start a build log on my attempt at a modern day carputer. So here it is.

Link to original fourm : http://www.caraudio.com/forums/general-discussion/613898-modern-day-carputer-%5Bneed-suggestions-audio-components%5D.html

LOGS

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3/2/2015

Packages are delayed. 2 Day shipping is now 7 day shipping. Good lord.

2/24/2015

Got the old stereo out and the center console. Tomorrow I've got to turn it into a well vented case. This is going to be good.







2/23/2015

Just got my first batch of parts in today. The drive was a bit crazy with the roads being all iced up. Wasn't even able to leave the house until after 3pm. Going to start work on the custom case tomorrow.

PC Parts List (So Far * = currently have)

Screen

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• SainSmart HDMI/VGA Digital 9" 9 Inch Touch Screen LCD+Driver Board for Raspberry Pi
  $89.99*
  
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  MotherBoard
  
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• Gigabyte GA-F2A58M-HD2 FM2 mATX AMD Motherboard
  $9.99* (Bundled)
  
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  Processer / Graphics
  
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• AMD A6 7400K Black Edition 3.9GHz Dual-Core Socket FM2+ Boxed Processor
  $64.99*
  
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  RAM
  
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• 8GB Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3-1600MHz
  $79.98
  
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  Solid State Drive
  
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• SanDisk Ultra II 240GB SATA III 6Gb/s
  $114.99
  
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  Sound Card
  
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• Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z 5.1 Sound Card (Can operate in 4.1)
  $89.99
  
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  Power Supply
  
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• Solid Gear 200 Watt TFX Power Supply
  $17.99*
  
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  Inverter
  
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  200 Watt Continuous/400 Watt Peak Power Inverter
  
  
  $19.99*
  
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  Bluetooth
  
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• ASUS USB-BT400 USB 2.0 Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter
  $19.99*
  
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  WIFI
  
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• ASUS PCE-N10 Wireless N 150Mbps PCIe Adapter
  $24.99*
  
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  GPS Reciver
  
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• GlobalSat BU-353-S4 USB GPS Receiver (Black)
  $33.50
  
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  Sterring Wheel Control Adapter
  
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• CarPC JoyCon Exr -Steering wheel controls USB interface
  $39.99
  
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  Backup Camera + Digital Rear View replacement.
  
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• Pyle PLCM7200 Backup Camera & Rearview Monitor Parking Reverse System, Waterproof Night Vision Cam, 7'' LCD Display Built-into Mirror Assembly, Distance Scale Lines, Swivel Angle Adjustable Cam
  $60
  
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  Audio Parts List
  
   
  Door Speakers​
  
  
  
• Polk Audio DB571 5-by-7-Inch Coaxial Speakers (Pair, Black) x2
  $120
  
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  Subwoofer
  
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• Lanzar HBP212 1200 Watt Dual 12-Inch Bandpass Subwoofer System
  $124.78*
  
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  AMP for Door Speakers
  
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• Crunch PZX900.4
  900W 4-Channel Powerzone Series Class D Car Amplifier
  $74.95*
  
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  AMP for Subwoofer
  
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• Pyramid PB717X 1,000-Watt 2-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier
  $40.02*
  
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  Speaker Wire
  
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• Metra Electronics Stock/50 ft. 16 gauge speaker wire
  $13.99*
  
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  3.5mm to RCA
  
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• Xscorpion 35R3 3ft x3
  $14.96*
  
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  Power Cables
  
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• Hitron PW420BL
  $21.99
  
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  Fuse Holder
  
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• Belva BMANLH x2
  $5.98*
  
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  Fuses
  
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• Belva BMANL80
  $3.99*
  
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Click to read more...

 

[cas0586]

Why are you running an inverter? Intelligent DC-DC power supply is the way to go. Which frontend? CentraFuse orRide Runner? You will likely need a line driver as well. Sound card outs are very weak.

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

idk tablet ftw

 

[Valdosa]

Why are you running an inverter? Intelligent DC-DC power supply is the way to go. Which frontend? CentraFuse orRide Runner? You will likely need a line driver as well. Sound card outs are very weak.

I'll most likely upgrade to one of those PSU's later, but as for the screen. It's all custom.

 

[cas0586]

idk tablet ftw

Nah. All they have over a carpc is convenience factor and size footprint. I can do way more things with my CarPC than one could dream of with a tablet right now.

I'll most likely upgrade to one of those PSU's later, but as for the screen. It's all custom.

Right. It's not very efficient going about it that way. What do you mean? You are 'making' your own software for a custom front end?

 

[Valdosa]

Nah. All they have over a carpc is convenience factor and size footprint. I can do way more things with my CarPC than one could dream of with a tablet right now.



Right. It's not very efficient going about it that way. What do you mean? You are 'making' your own software for a custom front end?

Oh you ment the actual screen. No I'm using this SainSmart 9 Inch Raspberry Pi Touchscreen LCD Display+Driver Board With HDMI/VGA 3D Printing, Arduino, Robotics | Sainsmart It has windows drivers. I've got Win 8.1 Pro WMC for the computers O.S.

 

[cas0586]

No I am talking about the front end software. Such as centrafuse or ride runner. A nice clean user interface.

 

[Valdosa]

No I am talking about the front end software. Such as centre fuse or ride runner. A nice clean user interface.

I actually had to google that. Lol. Don't know yet. I'll have to wait and see. TBH I'll most likely end up either coding something or using Rainmeter, desktop customization tool. I am a Computer Science/Game Design double major after all :3

EDIT: Do you have a recommendation on a dc - dc PSU? 200-300 watts?

 

[cas0586]

I actually had to google that. Lol. Don't know yet. I'll have to wait and see. TBH I'll most likely end up either coding something or using Rainmeter, desktop customization tool. I am a Computer Science/Game Design double major after all :3

EDIT: Do you have a recommendation on a dc - dc PSU? 200-300 watts?

CentraFuse is nice and it just 'works'. It is worth giving it a shot. You can get a trial version to test for 30 days. I had a minor in CS so all this just fun for me as well haha. As for a DC-DC PSU you may consider this one...

M4-ATX 250w Power Supply PSU Car PC Wide-Input 6-30V Intelligent DC-DC | The mp3Car Store

 

[Valdosa]

I put the project on hold until Saturday. I went ahead and ordered the PSU after reading up on it. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Valdosa]

Ok. For some reason the Edit button on the top post is missing.

3/3/2015.

ALL PARTS ARE HERE. I've made the motherboard tray and am currently setting up the PSU tray.

Will post images tomorrow.