Carputer DONE!!!! New Video 4/30/09

[hari-bhari]

New vid, still crappy, sorry. But a few new features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8HwBGvEW3w

Well here it is folks! I spent the whole weekend rewiring stuff and finalizing the mounts for the laptop and cleaning up the wires. I gotta say that I'm very pleased. The only thing that remains is to get the screen molded into the dash, I'll have to do it when I go back to Atlanta, but it still looks pretty good for now and is way better in sunlight than the screen I had before. Here is a listing of the main features:

-IBM Thinkpad R50 Mounted vertically behind back seat
-Auto on/off with ignition with override kill switch, Laptop remains in standby when vehicle is off
-CNX-P2140 Intelligent power regulator to monitor battery voltage and prevent run-downs
-7" LinITX TMR Touchscreen
-Auto switching Rearview Camera
-Fully customized 5 channel audio with independent crossovers and EQs per channel
-GPS navigation with iGuidance
-Google Earth
-Audio and Video Player with iPhone like scrolling and Album Art Viewer
-FM Radio (HD Coming soon)
-WiFi with full web browsing
-Mini keyboard and mouse for extra input
-Running RoadRunner software with LSX Void skin, many many thanks to guino and liquid smoke over at mp3car.com

Here are a couple of videos (These will be replaced soon with a better one hopefully with someone ELSE taking it):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HmVNTxvYaZo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tO1BXnMHUZs


And now for the pics:
I upgraded my screen to a LinITX TMR which is wayyyyy more visible in direct sunlight. The last picture especially highlights how visible even dark images are in direct sunlight. Those pictures were all taken outside, with the windows down, in bright sunlight. The previous Xenarc would be completely washed out and invisible in the same setting. You can compare by scrolling down towards the last few pictures showing the old screen on a bright day, windows up.








Laptop mounted on back of driver's side back seat, so it sits vertically when the seat is up.


Amp mounted similarly on passenger side backseat.


Another shot of laptop mount. The thing up top is a docking station I had to use to be able to tap into the power switch


Left two boxes are the main fuse mounts, the box in the middle is the power supply that controls everything, and the three smaller tubers to the right are smaller fuses for each item (laptop, monitor, and 5V supply for USB)


Shot from the back of the car


Sub Hides everything


Shot with the seats up, showing all the wires running underneath that came from the front of the car


Driver's Side


Passenger Side


Seat bottom in back, hiding everything


This is a closeup of what's behind the screen. Blue thing is a Wifi card, the rest are cables coming in for the monitor


Monitor Seating


GPS sits above the AC vents


Closeup of GPS


USB Devices in glove box. This is where the GPS, TS, and Wifi cards plug in. I also have a mini mouse and keyboard in case I need to do something specific.


Switches that I mounted. Top one acts like a power switch for the laptop, in case I need to manually shut it down or reboot (normally it turns on and off with the car); red switch is to manually switch on the rearview just for kicks while driving (normally it auto switched when I go into reverse gear); bottom switch is a 3 way rocker: position 1 has the computer turn on and off with the car, position 2 has everything off completely (for valet), and position 3 allows me to leave the computer on while the car is off.


*********************************************************
Here are some older pictures from when I had a Xenarc Installed. The Xenarc fit better so I am thinking of taking the LinITX and putting it into a Xenarc Casing.

[woa_its_j3ff]

I notice you got cingular, hook me up with some of your car stuff..
jk.
that stuff looks awesome man.. must've been pretty $$$

[hari-bhari]

haha its actually tmobile, the phone is unlocked

[unbalancedwood]

I like, what computer are you running with it?

[hari-bhari]

p4 1.6ghz laptop custom painted red with solara on it!

[Ruski]

Wow very nice i Want Navi lol

[Akfahad]

very sexy.....good work too, very clean

[hskrsolara]

where did you get all the components? looks real nice!

[hari-bhari]

bout a million different places, if i showed u the full list it would blow your mind. here are the major parts

1. compaq presario 2800 p4 1.6ghz laptop, 80b, 512 ram. had this from before
2. xenarc 700tsv touchscreen - $350
3. AyAy sir titanium gps module $75
4. Linksys wireless usb card -25
5. external casing for slim dvd drive - 15
6. external casin for laptop hard drive -15
7. silabs usb fm radio with external antenna connection soldered on -35
8. bt 2.0 dongle -25
9. iguidance for gps
10. minikey usb thumb keyboard -10
11. audigy zs notebook pcmcia 7.1 channel sound card -75
12. carnetix cnx p1240 power supply with acpi control (for turnin the laptop on and off with the car) -140
13. Infrared license plate mounted rearview cam -70
14. About 150 bucks on miscellaneous usb cables and hubs and wires and distro blocks and junk.


my total cost was 750 cuz i waited arond for good deals, but a typical good setup would be around 1k. a barebones system without radio,wifi, backup cam, and power controller would be around 600

[trdkamuri51o]

good lord.. i might just contract u to do my carputer...

[Ruski]

you got pics of the set up like where lap top is mounted and the slim external parts like HDD and DVD

[hari-bhari]

good lord.. i might just contract u to do my carputer...

come on down to atl this summer and we'll work somethin out

as for the dvd drive, i was going to mount it in the space in between my screen and ac vents but turns out there is no space there. instead itll be goin in the glove box since ill prolly hardly ever use it (how often do you REALLY watch a dvd while driving?). all my music and seinfeld episodes will be stored on the laptop hard drive.

[SolaraGuy22]

Hey nice job on the ride I think it's great when people add the carputer. I've fugged with my ride so much but I don't think I would ever start that project. Hope it turns out great. Woo Hoo Seinfeld!

[michaels artic frost]

Here is what I've been working on. Full carputer system with gps, audio, video, dvd, web, traffic, weather, radio, games and touchscreen
...
many thanks to '00vegas-solara for all the tips!

Nice work hari-bhari! and props to '00vegas-solara for sharing the wealth.

-Michael

[hari-bhari]

i am about 50% of the way to stomaching selling my car off. is anyone interested in the carputer and bezel (assuming you send me back your stock bezel)? you would have to know some wiring basics and need a dremel to cut out the mount for the stock hu, but you could install it all in a day. id rather a fellow solara owner get the full setup.