Car PC

[f1anatic]

F1: I was at bestbuy today looking at some of the mini laptops they have out there. They are a bit more pricey than an e-box but they seem more practical when you think about having to make adjustments to the system with ease.

 

What do you think about these compared to the eeebox?

 

Linkie Pleazkie. Are we talking about which brands ? Incidentally I was at Best Buy just the other day looking for something different but I did look at PCs. there is the HP and the Acer - the same size and price range as the EeEPC. What laptops you have in mind though ?

 

My current 15.4inch Toshiba Tecra laptop sits in a hacked aluminium suitcase in the trunk. As I stated earlier, if I were to do it now, I would get an EEEPC - likely with a solid state memory (for XP, Centrafuse and iGuidance and the 1-2 programs that I need such as engine monitoring) and 1-2 USB sticks with music. I would custom make a case for it for heavy duty thick plexiglass: simple stuff though - a few holes here and there for cooling where it needs cooling - maybe even add my own fan - then some padding and then sandwich the EEEPC between the plexiglass plates and run 4 screws with spacers of adequate length.

 

Now you can get all ingenious and find an old drawer or raid ikea for some "storage" solution which you can canibalize for parts - such as creating a bracket that is attached to the back side of the passenger seat and you can pull it out and this way you pull out the car pC. Or you hack an aluminium suitcase or some other heavy duty enclosure.

 

As I stated: I am a fan of laptop PCs - with the special mention that you have the hardship of powering it up and down to overcome - for the simple reason that it is a tiny package already tried and tested and built to perform. And you will get it at a cheaper price than a custom built carpc. It doesn't matter what laptop you ultimately buy - but i do think laptops are the way to go especially for our cars where space is limited.

 

Back to the party.

[eggy]

Sorry, I meant a "netbook"

 

These types of laptops:

 

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-9?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

[f1anatic]

Sorry, I meant a "netbook"

 

These types of laptops:

 

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-9?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

It will work just as well. My only advice: study how you can mod the power button before purchasing a new laptop.

 

BTW this is almost too pretty to become a carpc.

[salvi]

Most CarPC cases fit easily under a seat, but it all depends on the car. I know that on the Legacy it won't fit. I was really thinking of using an ebox, but you then have to figure out how to power it in the car without a lot of hacking or even doing it successfully.

[Jerboa113]

are you sure? I mean.. the factory subwoofer is about the size of a carpc. It might be possible to install it under the driver seat, but you'd have to take the seat out to have access to it.

 

I know for the most part its very tight under there tho and wont just slide in.

[TNPaparazzi]

I didn't feel one on the driver side on mine... There is a dip in the floor too on that side

[NSFW]

I'm happy with the way mine turned out... minus some wiring tidying, but I'll get to that.

 

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z151/Legacy_NSFW/Rack1.jpg

[el5y]

I'm happy with the way mine turned out... minus some wiring tidying, but I'll get to that.

 

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z151/Legacy_NSFW/Rack1.jpg

 

No Spare? I'm gonna be putting in a full sized spare so this isn't an option for me I'll figure something out though.

[NSFW]

There's a factory (small) spare under that shelf.

[f1anatic]

nice and tidy but the lack of a full size spare is a no-no for me. I have mine mounted on the side, in the trunk; as I have a full size spare.

[Jerboa113]

I have a full size spare in my garage but I need to have it mounted. I've just been too cheap/lazy to do it. Its gonna bite me if I dont do it soon. I dont wanna deal with that "full height" spare.

[salvi]

there is no space under the seats, the voompc case will not fit in the legacy, i had to place it in the trunk.

 

the ebox is really small, so i'm sure that it will fit, but the power issues though.

[el5y]

nice and tidy but the lack of a full size spare is a no-no for me. I have mine mounted on the side, in the trunk; as I have a full size spare.

 

 

f1 - I couldn't find any pics of your setup in the trunk, can you post some up? I really like how you did the install using other cat-5 cable and audio jacks. Makes the wire running SO MUCH easier!

 

Eric

[2dar3]

couldnt you put the voom pc under the dash? by your feet ?

[Backlash]

Questions about Carpc's.

I'm seriously headed in this direction, but as some had said about the power button.

 

Do you have to manualy start up the CarPC everytime you get in the car? and same thing about when you shut car off, need to power it down, or just let the power be cut? set PC to hibernate when it loses AC power?

 

beyond that, i'm pretty sold on the idea.

 

now to figure out if i want to buy a EeePC or variant, or use my old Averatec 3250. has everything i'd need... except the power button is inside and may be an issue.

[TNPaparazzi]

I have a startup controller so when I start my car, the pc starts and when I shut off my car, it goes into shut down mode and turns off... All it is is one extra wire connected to your ignition switch ( I used the cigarette lighter seeing it loses power when you turn the car off)

[NSFW]

If you have a laptop, this device (click here) will basically simulate a press of the power button. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if your laptop's power button wires are accessible is to pop it open and try it. I tried and failed with an IBM T41, but on the HP 530 it was very easy.

 

Anyhow, that widget will turn the laptop on when you turn the car on. The laptop's own power settings can be used to have the laptop shut down after you cut power to it. Basically, it thinks you've unplugged it. Mine will run for 15 minutes, then sleep for 15 more, then hibernate.

[Backlash]

does anyone know if the main "netbooks" out there *will* work with the above switch?

Asus, Acer, MSI? I see many people use the Asus EeePC, so i assume that works fine.

The above is exactly what i want the PC to do. i'll pop the cover on the Averatec and see if i can access the power button, but i'll bet i can't easily.

 

Sorry for asking the questions here.

[NSFW]

I have yet to see a report from anyone who has even tried with a netbook yet.

[Backlash]

I have yet to see a report from anyone who has even tried with a netbook yet.

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/worklogs/114477-scion-xb-06-eeepc-901-dash-details-pictures-links.html

 

first result from search

 

netbook may be a new term, i first seen it the other day when i started really thinking about doing this.

[NSFW]

Random thing I found in that thread: replace shift knob with a joystick that has buttons and hat-switches on it. It acts like a shift lever, not a joystick, but you can assign the buttons and hat-switches to keystrokes. This is nerdy beyond belief, and therefore awesome.

 

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/1279925-post325.html

 

I am tempted.

[Backlash]

you ain't the only one lol

[f1anatic]

Get a controller like the Space Navigator

[Jerboa113]

if you build it, they will come.

 

[NSFW]

Get a controller like the Space Navigator

 

Would not look nearly as geeky/cool on my shift lever though.