My in-car PC project
01-30-2003, 10:12 AM
#1
1991 Prelude Si 4WS
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My in-car PC project
Since I used to upgrade my regular PC several times each year, I've collected a ton of extra parts, and WiLL sold me that little 20x4 lcd screen, I decided to go ahead and put something together for my car. When I'm done, it'll play mp3 and DVD's 
What I already had:
Pioneer Head Unit
P3 450MHz Slot 1 CPU and ATX motherboard
128MB PC100 RAM
ATX mid tower case w/250W power supply
ATI Rage AGP Video card
Linksys PCI 10Mb Ethernet
6.8GB IDE Harddrive
SB Live! sound card
Creative PC-DVD Encore 2x package (includes 2x DVD drive and PCI Decoder card)
140w DC-AC invertor
10 foot Parallel extension cable (for the LCD screen)
Things I had to buy for this project:
20x4 LCD Screen $5 (used from WiLL, but a new one is about $20)
Pioneer CD-RB10 (RCA to IP-Bus Adapter) $35
Monster Audio Cable 10' sheilded $14
What I still need to buy is a 3.5mm Mini Stereo to RCA adapter that is short (like 3") and shielded
Optional stuff I'd like to buy later:
DC-DC ATX Power Supply (like this one that can put the PC into stand-by mode when I turn my ignition off, and will power it down safely if the car battery voltage drops too low)
LCD Flat Panel VGA Screen (I'll need this to watch the DVD's, but for now, I'll just play mp3's)
Mini Keyboard (there's some keyboards that are sized like a laptop keyboard and will fit into my glove box)
For mounting the PC in the car, I'm going to chop up the case and mount the mobo on to the back of the rear seat, and it'll fold up to fit into the access hole for the trunk, and the rear seat is easily removed if I need to take it out. The power supply will be in the trunk, near the shock mount, and the drives will mount under the rear deck. the LCD screen will mount where my ashtray was under the radio, and I'll cut the plastic from the face of the computer case to fit.
Instructions and software for the LCD can be found here: http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/a_diy_lcd/. I have the computer setup with windows XP and Winamp 2.8 (3.0 doesn't work with the software I have for the screen, but there may be other software that does) and the lcd software automaticly start up when the pc boots
Right now I have everything just thrown in the car and it all works, but I just need to get it all mounted, and the adapter for the sound card to RCA (I have a cheapo cable but there's a lot noise from interference from the invertor, but should be fine once I route the invertor wiring away from the audio cable and get the shielded wiring in).
Once I get it all finished, I'll get some pictures :thumbup:
What I already had:
Pioneer Head Unit
P3 450MHz Slot 1 CPU and ATX motherboard
128MB PC100 RAM
ATX mid tower case w/250W power supply
ATI Rage AGP Video card
Linksys PCI 10Mb Ethernet
6.8GB IDE Harddrive
SB Live! sound card
Creative PC-DVD Encore 2x package (includes 2x DVD drive and PCI Decoder card)
140w DC-AC invertor
10 foot Parallel extension cable (for the LCD screen)
Things I had to buy for this project:
20x4 LCD Screen $5 (used from WiLL, but a new one is about $20)
Pioneer CD-RB10 (RCA to IP-Bus Adapter) $35
Monster Audio Cable 10' sheilded $14
What I still need to buy is a 3.5mm Mini Stereo to RCA adapter that is short (like 3") and shielded
Optional stuff I'd like to buy later:
DC-DC ATX Power Supply (like this one that can put the PC into stand-by mode when I turn my ignition off, and will power it down safely if the car battery voltage drops too low)
LCD Flat Panel VGA Screen (I'll need this to watch the DVD's, but for now, I'll just play mp3's)
Mini Keyboard (there's some keyboards that are sized like a laptop keyboard and will fit into my glove box)
For mounting the PC in the car, I'm going to chop up the case and mount the mobo on to the back of the rear seat, and it'll fold up to fit into the access hole for the trunk, and the rear seat is easily removed if I need to take it out. The power supply will be in the trunk, near the shock mount, and the drives will mount under the rear deck. the LCD screen will mount where my ashtray was under the radio, and I'll cut the plastic from the face of the computer case to fit.
Instructions and software for the LCD can be found here: http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/a_diy_lcd/. I have the computer setup with windows XP and Winamp 2.8 (3.0 doesn't work with the software I have for the screen, but there may be other software that does) and the lcd software automaticly start up when the pc boots
Right now I have everything just thrown in the car and it all works, but I just need to get it all mounted, and the adapter for the sound card to RCA (I have a cheapo cable but there's a lot noise from interference from the invertor, but should be fine once I route the invertor wiring away from the audio cable and get the shielded wiring in).
Once I get it all finished, I'll get some pictures :thumbup:
01-30-2003, 11:17 AM
#2
Older Honda Fanatic
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sounds like fun... I know someone else that put a PC in his car with a small LCD screen for titles and song info... he used it strictly for MP3's.
I'd like something like that, but I dont have the $$ now... plus I only have a dial-up connection at home, so dling songs is a pain. In the future when we upgrade to cable or something i'll probably do a car-puter, and run a wireless network to my house, so when my car is parked outside I can DL songs straight to the car-puter, or easily transfer from home pc to car.
good luck with the project! I'd really like to see some pics when its done!
I'd like something like that, but I dont have the $$ now... plus I only have a dial-up connection at home, so dling songs is a pain. In the future when we upgrade to cable or something i'll probably do a car-puter, and run a wireless network to my house, so when my car is parked outside I can DL songs straight to the car-puter, or easily transfer from home pc to car.
good luck with the project! I'd really like to see some pics when its done!
01-30-2003, 08:41 PM
#4
1991 Prelude Si 4WS
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turning off the ignition, will kill the invertor, so it won't even have power to go through shutting down.
I'm just going leave it like this for now, and get the DC-DC ATX power supply later, which will handle standby and shutting down properly.
I'm just going leave it like this for now, and get the DC-DC ATX power supply later, which will handle standby and shutting down properly.
01-30-2003, 10:12 PM
#5
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check out mp3car.com if you havent already, they have a buncha installs of pcs in cars and you can even search by your model of car to see if anyone else has already done one
good luck, let us know what happens
good luck, let us know what happens
01-31-2003, 10:33 PM
#7
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pull it out and look at the back of it, or if your lazy flip through the menus and see if it has anything about auxilaury input on/off.
or just give us the name/model # and we could tell ya
or just give us the name/model # and we could tell ya
02-01-2003, 08:01 AM
#10
1991 Prelude Si 4WS
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I don't need a mouse... Right now, winamp automatically starts playing on random mode when the pc starts up. When I get a keyboard, then I can use that for the control functions.
