My CarPC Thread..

[timmahh]

^^ will do thank you

[timmahh]

Alright.. final-ish product... ... uh ignore my weirdo heavy breathing.. im out of shape.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jilfhhel4qA]YouTube- 2005 Subaru Legacy CarPC[/ame]

 

Let me know what you all think

[itsme]

Alright.. final-ish product... ... uh ignore my weirdo heavy breathing.. im out of shape.

 

 

Let me know what you all think

I'm so going to copy you. I'll be done with this FMIC in about a week then I will have time to do this. I'm going to run rom raiders on mine so I can log anytime I like. Where you able to control the volume of your music with your stock HU?

[timmahh]

^^ Yup, using the leptronix aux-in I have volume control via the carpc or the stock HU; I actually prefer using the stock HU - that and you want to keep the output from the carPC down a little bit as too much output over the stereo line will cause noise/audio quality

 

I need to modify my centrafuse settings because the nav is too quiet.. should just be a couple of clicks

[nemo]

damn that thing booted quick. i really have to re-do my system it's slow as balls.

 

time for the questions:

 

- what are you using for a backup cam? where do you have it mounted?

- have you had any problems with windows 7 and CF?

- how do you like Garmin? did you ever use iGuidance?

 

everything looks aewsome!

[timmahh]

I'm using a generic backup cam from Fry's electronics.. the maker is Sumas Media I believe, has built in guidelines - $50. I boug the EBY-701 auto switching that changes to vid 2 when put in reverse

 

No problems w/ CF & 7 yet, but I do have windows running in classic mode because CF2 isn't aero compatible, so when it launches it changes to classic and adds a couple of seconds to CF launch time.

 

I've never used iGuidance, i'm pretty fond of the garmin software - we have a kenwood nav system in the other car which is pretty much kenwoods HU with garmin thrown in there [you hit the 'nav' button on the screen and suddenly it's an entirely different system with XM.. not the best integration]

 

 

I'm pretty happy with the boot time, note that I am putting the system into hibernate when the car turns off, not shutting it down. I copied my entire iTunes library to the carpc and authorized it, rather than dealing with my ipod via usb that disconnects when I roll the window down [voltage drop... weird.. ?].

[nemo]

nice. is this the backup cam?

 

http://www.geeks.com/imageshare/S/300x300/SMC-B32-unit.jpg

 

My PC is slow as balls to boot. It's not very powerful so I'm not sure if going to 7 will be the best idea, but I figure I'm gonna pull everything out and mess with it so might as well try, right?

[timmahh]

give 'er a go!

 

What proc/mem are you running?

[nemo]

I'm running an Artigo kit.

 

VIA C7 1GHZ w/ 1gb RAM.

[timmahh]

Sorry didn't see that pic earlier yeah that is the cam its pretty small, mine is mounted to the plastic piece that our plate lights are on

[nemo]

nice. did you have trouble routing the the cable?

 

would you mind taking a pic of how it looks? i've been wanting to do this but haven't because I want it to be as sleek as possible :/

[BAC5.2]

Can you measure the NAV opening? I'd really like dimensions of that!

[BAC5.2]

The CarPC would be perfect for me, if only I listened to more MP3 stuff.

 

I just listen to the radio and occasionally CD's. Or I plug my phone into the AUX port and listen to Pandora.

[timmahh]

nice. did you have trouble routing the the cable?

 

would you mind taking a pic of how it looks? i've been wanting to do this but haven't because I want it to be as sleek as possible :/

 

 

It wasn't much fun routing the cable.. I took most of the trunk liner off [on the underside] to route the cable and ran it down the factory hinge cover, just make sure you leave enough wire free [i ended up not tie wrapping it at all] for when the trunk opens/closes. I grounded the cam to the bolt holding the tail light on, and the power comes from a T-Tap off the reverse light.

 

Do you want a pic of the camera itself ?

 

I originally planned on getting a 45' mount camera but the only place I could find it online wanted like $250 which is ridiculous.. It did look nice and clean, but I think the one I have now isn't so bad.. and I can't argue with the price.

 

The CarPC would be perfect for me, if only I listened to more MP3 stuff.

 

I just listen to the radio and occasionally CD's. Or I plug my phone into the AUX port and listen to Pandora.

 

That's why I need to get the XM adapter; I really miss my satellite radio. I enjoy having all of my music on there, but I usually load up the ipod to listen or a song or two, I kind of get into the "i know what's on my ipod im bored" mode and like XM because it's not up to me, and then when they play john mayor for the 50th time I change back to some Gaga on my iPod/PC.

 

Can you measure the NAV opening? I'd really like dimensions of that!

 

I'll see if I can grab some basic measurements tonight, it's the factory subaru nav bezel, with a 7" EBY-701 behind it. Note that the touch screen is bigger than the nav system, so my start menu is not completely visible, nor is the titlebar completely visible when a window is maximized, but 99.99% of the time i'll be in centrafuse which seems to fit perfectly. Because the screen is bigger you have to space it back a tiny bit otherwise the factory nav opening will come into contact with the screen, causing it to think you're touching it in that area which eventually will burn it out.

 

I have yet to successfully play an iTunes music video, but I am able to play iTunes content, so I don't even have my ipod in the car anymore.

[CatInTheDryer]

http://www.fuzi0n.com/imgz/cars/subaru/carpc/carpc6.jpg

 

timmahh,

 

Great work on the car PC...I'm seriously looking at getting the pieces together for this mod. I'm wondering if the slot where the controls go in the nav panel is large enough to mount a slot loading USB DVD drive...how much room is under the screen? Do you think this would fit?

 

http://mo-co-so.com/cart/images/products/preview/mcs-cmbo.jpg

[flander]

Could you put links to all the items you have for the carputer? I'm planning on doing one soon but will use a MacMini a the computer. It's perfect size to fit where the optional subwoofer goes and it can run windows. It fills half of your hardware specs with just one item and the build quality if very good.

[timmahh]

timmahh,

 

Great work on the car PC...I'm seriously looking at getting the pieces together for this mod. I'm wondering if the slot where the controls go in the nav panel is large enough to mount a slot loading USB DVD drive...how much room is under the screen? Do you think this would fit?

 

 

 

First.... Your kitty makes me happy.

 

Second... The opening is probably big enough, it's definately tall enough but i'm not sure about the width. The biggest issue is the supports behind the dash - there's a lot of plastic back there so you'd probably have to do some cutting.

 

Could you put links to all the items you have for the carputer? I'm planning on doing one soon but will use a MacMini a the computer. It's perfect size to fit where the optional subwoofer goes and it can run windows. It fills half of your hardware specs with just one item and the build quality if very good.

 

 

From www.mini-box.com :

- Voom2PC Case

- M2-ATX Powersupply (I tried a Pico PSU and had to send it back)

- ZOTAC ION Dual Core Atom Processor (I believe I got the A-D); built-in Wireless-N / Dual Core

 

From http://www.mo-co-so.com :

- Lilliput EBY-701 auto switching [reverse cam] touch screen

- Mo-Co-So Black Double Din Frame for EBY-701 (Requires modification)

- SiRF III USB GPS Receiver

- Bluetooth USB adapter

 

From a local computer store :

- Laptop HDD of your choice

- External Slim SATA CD/DVD/Blu-Ray of your choice**

- Memory for your motherboard

- USB Extension Cable, VGA Cable, etc.. as needed

 

From Leptronix :

- AUX-In Mod

 

From Subaru :

- Factory NAV Bezel (dealer)

- Info Panel Relocate kit (through AVOJDM)

 

From Garmin.com :

- Garmin Mobile PC 2010 Software

(I bought the standalone software for $69, it's probably easier to buy it bundled w/ the GPS receiver for $99)

 

From Centrafuse :

- Centrafuse v2.0 Std. (non nav because of the reviews i've heard about the Destinator nav system)

 

A word of advice.. don't bother with the info panel. Just move it with the relocate kit. I broke mine and have a new one on order ($120); seriously.. just buy the AVO relocate panel. Note that the relocate kit requires some modification to the back of your shifter surround, it's not difficult, the fit is pretty good I think, you WILL HAVE TO PUT TWO ADDITIONAL WIRES IN THE HARNESS EXTENSION!! Failure to do so will result in your airbag light coming on and the airbags being disabled. (I have quite a few old harnesses from other radio installs on previous cars, I used solid wire for the male side of the pin, and grabbed two female connectors from an old harness.. seems to work pretty good, just have to be careful with the male side where you use the solid wire - get them lined up nicely so you don't bend and cross wires)

 

 

Regarding my ** on the CD-Rom; the drive I bought was SATA, as are most cd-rom drives now.. You would think no problem, the motherboard has SATA, the M2-ATX power supply has one std. molex connector, and one SATA power connector. The problem is with the slim line CD-Rom; it uses the combo-sata and mini-sata power, and the SATA Cables themselves that come with the motherboard are really long for the case, so I ended up ordering the following:

 

http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Slimline-SATA-Cable-SlimSATA-Cable-RoHS-Compliant.html

 

http://estore.circuitassembly.com/product_images/f/u709089_0.2_1___69674.jpg

 

I also bought a 6" SATA cable for the HDD from them but you might want to get an 8" one because it was a little bit of a bitch to get everything together.

[tdoggydog]

timmahh - you're in NorCal? Can I come up and pay you to do this for me in a day?

[timmahh]

timmahh - you're in NorCal? Can I come up and pay you to do this for me in a day?

 

 

Hah! =p

 

Honestly it could be done in one day if you had everything you need, but remember you have to setup a computer - which can be done in about 2 hours, but I prefer setting up the computer in a test scenario first, making sure everything works fine, then moving forward with the install. No one wants to sit in the driveway with the engine running while you're installing windows updates!

[flander]

When you switched to backup camera, there were alignment lines on the screen. Is that part of the camera or the LCD or something else? Do you have a direct link for the camera?

[timmahh]

When you switched to backup camera, there were alignment lines on the screen. Is that part of the camera or the LCD or something else? Do you have a direct link for the camera?

 

 

That's part of the camera, they had two at fry's.. one had night vision, and this one had backup guidelines... I like the guidelines better, visibility isn't bad w/ the stock backup lights

 

I believe the website is www.sumasmedia.com which just has a 404 not found error..

[BAC5.2]

Ever get dimensions of the opening?

 

I want to see how this Alpine screen will fit before I spend the coin on buying one.

[timmahh]

ill try and get it for you tonight sorry

 

How big is the alpine screen? The one I used is 7" and exceeds the factory opening, but not by much, and centrafuse is perfectly framed so I have no issues with the loss of screen area

[flander]

timmahh, do you remember what the model # is for the camera. I'm thinking of ordering one from Frys.com but I can't seem to locate the model you have. I would drive to frys if only there was one close to me. the closest one is over 200 miles away and I'm not going to drive there for just a camera.

[RedDawg]

for AM/FM do you use the carpc or the oem HU for tuning? does the freq on the oem HU change accordingly if you use the carpc to change radio stations?

 

if you wanted to add amplifiers later on, how would that be integrated in are there RCA ports on the carpc?