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f1anatic

By f1anatic
in Interior/Audio

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Car PC Survey  

258 members have voted

  1. 1. Car PC Survey

    • I have a Car PC and I love it
      34
    • I want a Car PC but I lack the know-how or the money for it
      122
    • I gave up on Car PC: too much time/money/effort
      20
    • Interesting concept but I chose a brand name aftermarket infotainment unit
      15
    • A windshield mount GPS navi and an I-POd will serve me just as fine
      40
    • FTMW: This thread delivers !
      27

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rc0032 Grand Master

rc0032

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Well I know my carnetix power supply (which is broken and was sent back to the manufacturer) (i bought it broken apparently) has a feature that if the voltage drops below 12 V or it has been more than 3 days since you last turned on the car; it will shut off automatically. Yeah - they're called smart cause it monitors stuff !

 

With regards to my project; I am building up the case for the laptop to cover it in the trunk.

 

BMC, I have reached the conclusion that I should NOT power my setup from the cigarette lighter. Search on my issue with the Carnetix pwr supply in the POwer Supply section on MP3car.com. I will take it from the battery (thank you Weasel for running the wire for me).

 

I bought a 15 AMP fuse holder to wire it in at the battery for my power supply. however bad weather in CHicago has prevented me from doing meaningful work on the car. Attention is on the case in the trunk for now. Last major fabrication effort.

Ok when can I see this? Now im thinking about building one again :( I have just run out of things to do with the car :lol:

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BMac1203 Proficient

BMac1203

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So, where did you guys mount your GPS Sensors?

 

Mine is mounted near the 3rd brake light, but I'm not sure how happy I am with it there. I'm running iGuidance 3, and it's real slow/very far behind reality. I know that this is normal with iG3, but I was wondering if it would be any more responsive it were mounted near the front windshield on the dash instead.

 

It seems that OEM setups are 100% on the dot, why is aftermarket CarPC so off? Are you guys having any luck?

 

My Mom's Audi is dead on, and updates quickly. Mine's slow as hell. Any ideas?

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BMac1203 Proficient

BMac1203

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My GPS receiver is actually in my trunk mounted right beneath the rear deck.

 

Beneath? Isn't GPS line-of-sight? I thought it had to be mounted where it was literally in line of sight of the satellites (theoretically speaking).

 

Also, please post what software you are using for GPS as well, and your experiences with it.

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Kargurra Rising Star

Kargurra

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Has anyone in colder climates had problems buring out hard drives? I don't know if it's old skool or not, but we used to warn against condensation build up on the hard drive platters which would crash the disk (when the disk goes from below freezing to over 100 deg. F.) I'm probably going to wait a little while for the new "flash hard drive" that Sandisk is working on.
When Chuck Norris was born, the only person who cried was the doctor. Never slap Chuck Norris. - E.J.S.
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f1anatic Grand Master

f1anatic

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When I was running the aftermarket i-way 500c; I had the external antenna mounted behind the 3rd brake light and it was dead on.

 

OEM stuff may incorporate distance measurements and speed sensor inputs from the car to make it more accurate

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Kargurra Rising Star

Kargurra

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So, where did you guys mount your GPS Sensors?

 

Mine is mounted near the 3rd brake light, but I'm not sure how happy I am with it there. I'm running iGuidance 3, and it's real slow/very far behind reality. I know that this is normal with iG3, but I was wondering if it would be any more responsive it were mounted near the front windshield on the dash instead.

 

It seems that OEM setups are 100% on the dot, why is aftermarket CarPC so off? Are you guys having any luck?

 

My Mom's Audi is dead on, and updates quickly. Mine's slow as hell. Any ideas?

 

It usually has more to do with the software you're using. I know from different programs (MS Streets and Trips, DeLorme, Garmin N-Route, etc. ) there's usually some delay. My Garmin software seems the best for screen updates. Older Microsoft software used to update every 15 seconds! I think the new versions have either 1 second updates, or are possibly programmable.

 

It usually doesn't have anything to do with antenna location, unless you frequently lose your satellite lock.

When Chuck Norris was born, the only person who cried was the doctor. Never slap Chuck Norris. - E.J.S.
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BMac1203 Proficient

BMac1203

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Gotcha, well I appreciate that. What Garmin software are you using? I'm looking for something that is CLOSE to OEM speed. I'm using iGuidance 3 (which most people say is the "best" GPS Software for CarPC's) and its slooooooow in updating, and is ALWAYS about 500 feet off. The turn by turn directions are too behind to be useful, I have to use the map and my eyes instead.
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f1anatic Grand Master

f1anatic

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I'm using iGuidance 3 (which most people say is the "best" GPS Software for CarPC's) and its slooooooow in updating, and is ALWAYS about 500 feet off. The turn by turn directions are too behind to be useful, I have to use the map and my eyes instead.

 

BMAC, I am using iG3 myself - both for the CarPC and on a standalone laptop unit - for when i am using the minivan.

 

While I cannot speak for your setup - I do not have trouble with iGuidance being 500 ft behind. On the minivan I have a Sirf Star II unit mounted (usb) and I plug it in the laptop. That one stays on top of the car and it is almost dead on.

 

In the car - well I have a Sirf Star 3 (the BU353) that most of us have. But I have not used that yet, My feeling is that somewhere somehow you do not have the WAAS enabled and/or are not getting a strong enough satellite reception. Are you sporting any tinting on the rear window ? The brand of tints may affect reception. While I admit I have not played with it that much, there must be a way to setup your refresh rate.

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BMac1203 Proficient

BMac1203

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Hmm. Yeah, I know about the OEM stuff, I guess I just didnt think it would be this behind. It's jsut SLOOOOW. Like I come to a intersection, and on my map, I get there about 10 secs later. Or I turn at a stop sign and get on a road, and on my screen Im still sitting at the stop sign. That kind of thing
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f1anatic Grand Master

f1anatic

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BMAC

 

Plug in the USB GPS wherever you plug it usually.

Go to my computer - right click - properties - hardware - device manager - ports - select port (gps) (it will be a serial port, even if you connect it via USB) and let's assume it is port#1 - right click - properties - port setting - and now you can

1) change the bits per second

2) under advanced settings you hould put the receive; transmit buffers to max

3) flow control: none vs hardware

 

 

see if that makes a difference

 

I do not have the gps on my laptop right now but my port bit rate is 9600 and the buffers maxed out with no flow control

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Kargurra Rising Star

Kargurra

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What Garmin software are you using?

 

I've used both the Garmin N-Route software, and the Mobile XT (formerly Que) software on my notebook and Windows Mobile (Dell Axim) respectively. Unfortunately, they only work with Garmin units (verify to the device serial number.)

When Chuck Norris was born, the only person who cried was the doctor. Never slap Chuck Norris. - E.J.S.
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Jerboa113 Grand Master

Jerboa113

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a little late on the draw here but:

 

http://www.darkfox1.com/gpsantenna.jpg

 

microsoft usb gps antenna, updates fairly quickly no problems through the window defroster, it was a pita to get in there tho :p

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato
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BMac1203 Proficient

BMac1203

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a little late on the draw here but:

 

http://www.darkfox1.com/gpsantenna.jpg

 

microsoft usb gps antenna, updates fairly quickly no problems through the window defroster, it was a pita to get in there tho :p

 

Yeah, Ive seen that picture of yours before. I'll probably be doing the same or similar. I tried mounting it below the rear deck in the trunk, and it gets horrible signal.

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