Laptop in Car Audio System

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 1:43 am

good idea but 2 probs with a laptop
a) not easy to use while driving
b) boot times

I was looking at a similar system however maybe with an xbox and xbox media center http://xboxmediacenter.de
I use it at home and is very good for organising all media, it boots in 2 seconds, and you can use the xbox remote. Oh yeah plus its scriptable (python) I have already written a few scripts for it.

The Other option is if you wanna stick with a laptop, is use a touch screen, you can get a power system that sends a signal to the laptop to hibernate when the key is removed, that way it resumes much quicker then re booting the operating system.
You would also need a head unit with aux input

paladin · Post by **paladin** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 9:04 am

Laptop boot times = sleep mode my friend, you clolse hte glove box and it goes to sleept you open it, wait 5 secands and its loaded again *tryed and tested* it sits on stand by on its own battery while the car isnt running (lasts upto 48 hours standby ie so you dont have to drive it every day)

aceessing it using the track ball mouse in the center console, you dont need a keybored to open movies and music, you use pre made play lists etc

i also forgot to mention a usb tv reciver

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 1:58 pm

there are few programs made for ice.i saw a good one on sourceforge.com cant remember the name, but it came with guides to hook up acceries of the car to the computer and control the from the computer.
Ill see if i can dig up a few programs i have seen for in the car to look after media and tv. here are a couple I found, which are not designed for use i nthe car but look good anyways.
http://smartmouse.altervista.org/mytheatre/ My Theatre
http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/ Media Portal (free)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/medi ... fault.mspx Microsoft Windows XP MCE (if you can get your hands on a copy) nice effects
http://www.mythtv.org/ Myth TV If you a Linux user

Where you going to mount the laptop ?I would be worried about legal issues too, Im not completly sure but i think in car tvs which are visable to the driver must have a cut switch when the car is moving.

As you can see i have been looking at doing this for along time (I would like to listen to my huge collection of [legal] mp3s , but when i do it, i want to do it right.

paladin · Post by **paladin** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 8:06 pm

Already got all this covered.

software ill just use WMP as bad as it is, it runs everything and can be operated via a mouse only, the audio will be sorted by the head unit in the car (laptop digital out to digital in on head unit).

this means
ease of use
quality sound

as for the placing
i was going to remove the screen, place it in the glove box (cut the glove box a bit) so it sits near vertical, more slanted to the pasangers head rest. so you close hte box, no screen, open box screen. this means its not directly visable by the driver as well due to the placing of the glove box
the rest i will place under the stero (plent of room) with the dvd drive cut into a slit on the center consol next to the mouse (filled in cup holder with track ball)

this shoul;d be legal, accessable and fun!

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 8:30 pm

sounds good, i didnt realise head units have digital inputs. what sort of head unit is it ?

paladin · Post by **paladin** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 9:10 pm

cant remember atm/ in syd
umm its about 1 year old JVC MP3 headunit cost me a bit over 500$ at the time 4x55w and cd/md changer abilities

Post by **Supplanter** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:22 am

The UK FTO types already have a couple of "Carputers" set up:

http://www.ftooc.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=13626

USB GPS recievers open up the option of Satelite navigation too

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 11:08 am

I was looking into getting a GPS system for the laptop, from ebay you could get a USB GPS reciever, a good one < 300AUD all then you need is the software, which can be either bough or downloaded.

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 2:31 pm

Sounds like a good low cost gps system, but would you need maps of your major city, or special software for australia. which is also compatible with the usb gps reciver. has anyone bought one of these yet ??

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 3:11 pm

That's where i got stuck on... cos there are a number of programs... but without paying it is difficult to get Australian cities & especially Canberra.. I tried looking for warez, but they are all US or Europe...

These are the main ones for Australia:

>> Navman SmartST Pro GPS Navigation Software - $479AUD
>> http://www.expansys.com.au/product.asp?code=108813

>> CoPilot Software - from $599AUD
>> http://www.ja-gps.com.au/gps-travroute_laptop1.html

>> Destinator â„¢ Software and Maps - confusing
>> http://www.destinator.com.au/products/product_range.htm

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 6:44 pm

ooo that desinator software is for windows ce by the looks of it, and i found a build of windowsce for the xbox too. im liking this idea of a modified xbox

paladin · Post by **paladin** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 8:34 pm

mmm best option on the GPS, goto a specilist, pick his brains then buy it all off ebay!

cant say i looked into this much as i live in caberra which is about as hard to navagate as a paper bag

frayli · Post by **frayli** » Sun Nov 14, 2004 5:28 pm

mgellan also have a good navigation system (i think thats how its spelt) it has turn by turn navigation and about 700million different locations in its database kfc,maccas etc. ive recenently just bought a usb gps as well it cost 100bucks off ebay, its 12 channel and so far hasnt let me down. also im using a p3 750 (dell mini atx) with 40gb hdd and 256 ram. cost me bout 180 the touch screen is being mailed as we speak and ill give updates as the installation takes place.

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sun Nov 14, 2004 8:14 pm

I started putting together mine this weekend, my car is an absolute mess with wires everywhere ! i also got a 10.4" touch screen, i didnt realise how big it is till i got it ! anyways I got the whole thing mounted and working, then i started the car while it was running and i think i might of blown the hdd controller which sux, cause this motherboard does not support usb2 booting, and the touchscreen uses lvds to wire in to the motherboard, not vga or dvi. ill have to play with it more after my uni exams this week

frayli · Post by **frayli** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 7:47 pm

haha 10.5 inch is huge my 7 inch only just fits in the double din with the plastic frame taken off! let us know when you get it working

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 7:52 pm

I got it all working but the 2.5" laptop cable going to my hdd is broken, so i cant boot into an os atm. I think i might get a new epia 1ghz motherboard though, cause i have emailed 100 of places for a new hdd cable and i cant find one similar !! oh and also i wouldnt mind the extra speed

ANBU_fto · Post by **ANBU_fto** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:06 pm

you guys are confusing....

sorry, but ive red this trend like hundreds of times and i still don get you guys....

can you put it in like a small sentence of you are trying to do

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:47 pm

Ok a Touchscreen Display hooked up to a low power small pc.
The pc would then be used for the following things
Mp3 Playback (Thousands of Mp3 albums at your finger tip, including custom playlists)
GPS Navigation (I managed to get a copy of deginator for pc with australian maps, and found a database of all Redlight, fixed speed camera,s bus zones, school zones,etc in australia, so i get verbal warnings when i come across these) As well as a 3d instruction to get to my destination
Movies and Videos for the passengeerof course, eventually ill get a 2nd lcd so that i can still use the main screen for navigation and the 2nd screen can show movies.
Hands free and cable freen integration of my mobile phones status and make and recive calls wirelessly (through blue tooth)
Send and Recive email when Im away from home (on vacation some where remote) Wireless internet connection will be provided through bluetooth on my 3g phone.
I also want to work on a serial pcb to interface with the fto's ecu, and get diagnostics and real time data.
I also will install a wireless car so that I can d files to my car from my study, and when i get to work, i can retrieve them all wirelessly
Really its just a replacement head unit for a lot more features (and a toy project to entertain me thhis summer hols).
crazy thing is i had my computer running for hours each day in my car, without starting the engine once (and i only have a tiny battery) and the car still turned over fine a few days later. a Mini ITX board is the key to low power usage. The other thing is i ctirisised above the startup time in windows. but it will boot back up from hibernation in 20 seconds, and also if you use standby (which i estimate will standby for approx 4-5 days without draining the battery completly) it will boot up in 2-3 seconds
I only spent $300 on a 400mhz kiosk machine with 10.4 touch screen, i then spent a day customizing it to fit in the 2din dash and wiring it all up with a dc-dc convertor and amp. only problem i got was the hardisk is no longer detected. but I found that this screen is compatible with the epia lvds modules (for those who havent seen these mainboards they are amazingly tiny) so ill will order one of them from the states and get back to work on this (but wont be for a couple of weeks till i get my new motherboard and finish uni exams)
If anyone is having any troubles with installing a computer in their car ask here, and im sure ill be able to help i have done soo much research on this, also there is a good forum at mp3car.com

ANBU_fto · Post by **ANBU_fto** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:55 pm

wow, thanks for that... thats a really good idea, i alwys wanted to put my laptop in my comp, but my idea was slightly different i thought of cutting out a mold, on top off the glove box thing, where there is this huge space and actually placing a whole laptop there.... but yea thats just me... and also i have done no research on this at all... so yea good luck with the project

G_A_V · Post by **G_A_V** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 5:03 pm

i thought about putting the screen there but there a few problems with that
*You will not be able to read it from the drivers seat
*glare will also make it impossible to read when in daylight
*Defectable by the police because you cannot have pointy objects on the dash
you are better getting a 7-8" screen and molding it in to the stereo area of the dash (double din area)
Im gunna have a hell of a time moulding this 10.4" screen it (its 1" wider then the area) but I have it mounted for the moment on top of the dash. ill take pics when im finished.