My CarPC Thread..

[timmahh]

Ever get dimensions of the opening?

 

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

 

 

Alright I didn't want to cause any damage w/ a tape measurer to the screen but it looks like the width a tad under 7" wide and it's 4" tall.

 

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.

 

Ahh!! I just tossed the package out yesterday! I'm sure i'll be at Fry's in the next day or two, I can get the info for you. I guess I should get a pic of how mine looks installed, some people may not like it..

 

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?

 

AM/FM/CD would be through the factory system, however in my last car it was usually 80% iPod and 20% XM radio, so as soon as I get the XM-USB stuff setup, I don't see myself changing to the radio at all. The only reason I do right now is if I don't want to listen to the songs I have.

 

The voom2pc case has RCA outputs [1 set], so in theory you could get the audio directly from that. I'm not quite sure how you would integrate amps into the factory system [line output converter?], but the stereo gets plenty loud for me, the only thing lacking is a sub. I think I can get away with just hooking a single sub amp to the RCA outputs, and then upgrading the door speakers. My only thought is that there may be some sort of out of sync issue with the speaker output and the RCA outputs, or that connecting the RCA outputs will mute the speaker output.

[amp27]

this is looking better then i ever thought was possible. to bad you couldnt add a fm tuner card to the motherboard. wait. i think i remember seeing a fm tuner that plugs into the usb ports. then you could get fm though CF. i found it on pcconnections.com or something like that maybe just pcconnection or pconection

[timmahh]

this is looking better then i ever thought was possible. to bad you couldnt add a fm tuner card to the motherboard. wait. i think i remember seeing a fm tuner that plugs into the usb ports. then you could get fm though CF. i found it on pcconnections.com or something like that maybe just pcconnection or pconection

 

 

mp3car.com has a USB/PC FM Tuner, but I don't see myself using it enough to buy it - and again I still have factory AM/FM/CD so if I ever have the desire, it's right there.

[BAC5.2]

What acrylic did you use? Where'd you get it?

 

I was thinking about making a plug and mounting an 09 N/A info-center behind it (so temp and MPG and stuff could be displayed there). Then having a few other custom rubber buttons to do things like garage door and source-change on the screen (shouldn't need that one, as it should be able to work via touch-screen only).

 

The CarPC idea is awesome, but I don't want to remove functionality of the OEM headunit, simply add to it. So I'm sticking with NAV/Bluetooth ONLY on my setup, and let the stock HU handle audio duties.

[timmahh]

I ordered a sample pack of tinted acryllic, it came with 5 6x4" sheets for like $5, though I cannot for the life of me think of the name of the company anymore.

 

I baked the acryllic to get it soft, started off at like 150 degrees and I think I ended at 350 before it was finally easy to work with and would take some shape. Probably a little hotter to do some detailed molding. Also the surface tension seems to be pretty high, I think I would have had better results if I traced the opening on to paper, then used a razor to transfer that to the acryllic - so the surface is cut already and will conform to the space more, right now mine just kind of bends into place but doesn't sit flush.

 

For the garage door.. Just get a homelink auto dimming mirror? Less custom fab = easier, the harness is already sitting up by the map lights, just plug it in.

 

Having an 05 HU my system is pretty basic.. AM/FM/CD.. that's it. My stock HU is completely functional, I leave it on an FM channel and use the leptronix to get PC audio into the factory HU for sound control.

 

 

 

WOOT! mp3car.com has the XM USB Adapter on sale - $30 off! Yay

[Blackwrx02]

I hate this thread, its making me want to spend money on the fiance's LGT just because it so damn cool!

 

Whats your total cost so far if you don't mind me asking (round number is fine )

Great work BTW!

[timmahh]

Thanks! I think I may have posted it a page back or so but I want to say around $1200 or so?

[timmahh]

Is anyone a centrafuse genius; cause I cannot get my iTunes videos to play in CF.. even though they play in WMP which means CF should be able to pick them up.. (?)

 

How does one change app permissions in tryouts? I cannot friggin find it..

[timmahh]

Ok.. backup cam should be this one.. but this description is wrong because mine doesn't have night vision:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=SMC-B32&cpc=SCH

 

 

Also.. Now have XM working! I really missed my satellite radio.. and now I've got it so woohoo!

[itsme]

Hopefully I will be able to do mine next month.

[timmahh]

You should! If you plan on getting XM, MP3Car has the XM USB adapter on sale for $20 instead of $50 right now..

http://store.mp3car.com/Mp3Car_USB_adapter_for_XM_Direct_p/sat-007.htm

[itsme]

You should! If you plan on getting XM, MP3Car has the XM USB adapter on sale for $20 instead of $50 right now..

http://store.mp3car.com/Mp3Car_USB_adapter_for_XM_Direct_p/sat-007.htm

I'm going to get ready to make my carPC. How do you like yours so far? If you could do it over what would you change? I'm trying to decide if I want to you type of CarPC or one of those double din in dash.

[NSFW]

The double-din approach kind worries me because there are so few choices, and once you buy one you're pretty well committed to it, and all of its quirks. And being such a niche product, I bet there will be quirks. Drivers, especially. I based my CarPC on a laptop, and for my next car I expect that I will do the same.

 

The biggest thing I'd change is to get a transflective display. When I bought my setup I went with a less-expensive option and figured that I'd upgrade later if I was still happy with the whole CarPC idea and wasn't satisfied with the display. Here I am a couple years later, very happy with everything about my CarPC setup except for the display.

 

I should point out that I use my CarPC differently than most - I'm all about navigation and tuning. I am still using an OEM 6-disc MP3 player/changer for music. That's on my to-do list though.

[itsme]

The other thing that worries me about double din in dash is theft. I don't want someone breaking in my car to steal it. At leatest the carPC may pass for a factory nav. I want to use mine for Nav. , music, and tuning. What software do you like the best so far. I have a extra win7 and I was thinking about installing it. I was thinking about adding wi-fi so I can transfer files from my network when I pull into my driveway.

[NSFW]

The main things I run are:

* iGuidance for navigation (http://www.inavcorp.com/)

* Sawmill & Lumberjack for keeping an eye on the engine (http://www.codeplex.com/ssm)

* Learning View (available at http://www.romraider.com)

* EcuFlash (http://www.openecu.org)

 

I'm not using a CarPC front end, but I wrote a simple utility with big buttons to launch of each of the above, with a floating 'back' button in the upper-left to get back to the main window. It works well enough. When I get the music integration done I'll switch to proper front end.

[itsme]

Also how are you running your audio through you carPC?

[NSFW]

I'm not, yet, but I bought a USB audio adapter that I'll hook up eventually.