Carputer 101

he just asked me in another thread ,answering here so i dont go off topic there

hey Megalomaniac, I know some people experience some issues with their Ipods when dealing with the AUX input (i.e. loss of quality). Is their any issues when dealing with the carputer?

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I never have expiernced any problems. If you keep you computer volume at about 95% (as i have it) it should and will stay clear through out,you can than use your volume control on your HU to control the volume easily. And be sure you have a nice rca to headphone cable if you go cheap you will get a whining noise sometimes

i am one of the very few who has mine behind the dash. basically you can do 2 things. have a whole computer like your house one and hook it up an inverter(which i dont recomend). or buy small parts. let me give u a part list of what i have

M2atx 160watt power supply with a built in startup shutdown controller(startupshutdowncontroller maintains the voltage when engine cranks and will automatically start the computer when key is inserted and turned) $80

7in widescreen Lilliput vga touchscreen $250

Via M10000 miniItx motherboard $184(its darn small,there is a new smaller one called an Nano itx but its way too expensive.

GPS usb reciver $80

iGuidance(gps software/maps) $100

Slot loaded dvd rom/burner $85(cheapest at zip zoom fly .com mp3 car charges 184 for it )

Laptop harddrive $80(use a laptop HDD because it can withstand heat and shock much better than a 3.5)

converter for laptoHDD to IDE $3

converter for laptop dvd drive to ide $3

512 stick of ram $ 50

200 watt wiring kit(car stereo wiring kit $20 (used my friends discount at bestbuy)

and then a Hu with an AUX i used my Alpine 9847.

the rca to headphone cable.

and if you got the cash get a usb soundcard($30 at amazon)

you are lookin around $935 just for what i have without the soundcard(i did not add the HU price either) so $935is a lot cheaper than paying like $1000-$3000 for the kenwoods,pioneers, and eclipses dvd screen units.

I can watch movies while i drive(if i wanted too) gps works well,the fact that all my music is on a hard disc thats great. I even wired my startup to my remote start so when i remote start ,i come to my car and windows is booted already. But if you install tiny xp your computer will boot in 5seconds flat9tiny xp is windows xp,except cut down to like i think 240mb,uses 64mb of ram. add a usb wireless card for $10 also go surf the web.

edit check out miy pictures

Before



after



After night



Inside ,Note the inside pic is before i had the laptop hard drive..



If you want to see how the dash piece was fabricated check it out here, me and my friend DOHCrazy(he gets most of the credit) did this. turned out nicely. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68510&highlight=dohcrazy

thats pretty cool... ever heard of anyone using one of these? http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/0.RSLID?mco=37CDA12F&nclm=Macmini
$600 all ready to go, even includes a remote... you could mount it under the seat or even make a place in the dash or w/e.. i would not use windows but thats just me lol

do you know of any portable keypads or anything that you could use if you wanted to do e-mails and waht not? or would you just have to use a regular wireless keyboard?

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problem with that is,hard to find apple software for it,a lot of these programmers dont mess with unix. Plus you can do a little more on a pc,not dissing apple shoot i love apple for my editing.

But some people like to be able to choose there equipment. plus of the startup shutdown controls apple is very difficult to deal with, especially if something in your apple fries not as easy to replace parts. all of the extra stuff like a gps dongle and such will make the cost go up. apple compatible = $$ there arent really any front ends for it,gps software not compatible..you will encounter little problems which you dont want. in the end for a car pc a windows pc should do the trick for Custombility.

small keyboard, there is a small keyboard i have the size of your palm,i spent 20 for it well worth it than using an on screen keyboard. the keyboard orginally meant for the ps2 but uses usb so works fine plug and play

http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=104

Ive always wondered what software that is that your running in your avatar. Looks really cool, I had once thought about doing a car puter but just havnt got a vehicle yet worth putting the effort and time into. lol

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frontend is Centrafuse 1.5(the most stableist for me)

happen to know how to wire a soundcard to an optical output processor ala the alpine h701?
and can you get wireless connection?

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to answer the wirless connection yea via usb port = usb wireless reciever,as far soundprocessors, hmm,well since you are using the aux of the headunit just equilize it to your computer sound. i would love to get in depth but i must leave for a party, i'll get in more depth tomarro morning. thank you and sorry