Add a PC in your car. (wifi,bluetooth,dvd)

[jaywat]

then what r u waiting for?? can start already la..haha

Post pic after u finish okay?? :D

 

[icecube]

A bit mafan lo, but if successfully install a PC into car..the level of satisfacion should be high hahaha...just make the LCD removable.

Ya, very troublesome actually. Especially on the mounting side.
Hopefully will turn out nicely.

 

[cyclonite]

The problem with using inverters is that most inverters in the market are quasi-sine wave, step sine wave or simulated sine wave inverters. These inverters are very bad when used to power other electromagnetic wave dependant device such as transformers, motors, etc.etc. They will shorten the life of such devices in the long run.

Pure sine wave output inverters are the best because the power output is just like our AC power supply, ie: a complete sine wave. However these types of inverters are expensive.

 

[cyclonite]

1. I decided a detachable 14" and remove it when i park.
2. Power inverter should be cheap. Soure out that my pc need 146watts only and the lcd consume 36w only.
3. Shockproof should not be a problem, custom made case with superlon wrap on the harddisk to absorb shock. Case would be sealed with sillicone , so the bottom layer should be water proof.

You don't need an inverter to power the LCD display, that is very inefficient. LCD displays are always powered by low DC voltage so you can power it directly from your car's DC power. Just build your own circuit to regulate the voltage.

 

[icecube]

You don't need an inverter to power the LCD display, that is very inefficient. LCD displays are always powered by low DC voltage so you can power it directly from your car's DC power. Just build your own circuit to regulate the voltage.

Ya, i was thinking the same too. Coz on the adapter itself it stated "Output voltage = 12V 3.0A" ...... but i wouldnt want to cut the exiting wire and void the warranty.... so will try to hook it up together on together with the pc. i have a feeling i would blow it up or the inverter will just overheat.

The total of power consume is around 140- 150w (pc only) and 30w (LCD only).
The inverter was rated max 400w..... lets see if it can handle 180w. :P

 

[LilKeV84]

yea...17"...where can u put it? :p

15" oso to mount on the center console will be very cramp...
try this...on ur house monitor...try adjusting the size of the stuff u wanna see to the size of the desired screen(example: if u wanna watch videos in the car, adjust the size of the media player to exactly maybe 7"...then sit away from the monitor the same distance as u would in ur car. if u can see clearly and no strainess...then good...then find for the brightest lcd u can find. Sunlight is the bane of lcds :p )

for inverters, as i mentioned earlier, look at efficiency oso. Although it can provide 150W of power, if the efficiency is like >90%, u will be wasting a lot of power into heat. if u wanna save on power,

use a low end gfx card,
dun put more memory modules than u need( better 1 256mb than 2 128mb),
maybe use heat pipe or sumthing to remove the cpu fan, can remove noise oso =P
use 5400rpm harddrive...hd eats a lot of constant power,

:)

 

[LilKeV84]

oh, din notice my previous reply was for a much older post :p

anyway, in terms of shock protection, there are 2 types of shock in my opinion.
1 is when u knock something on the table
2 is when u do a sudden acceleration on the object(suddenly swing it fast)

for the 1st, ur method can eliminate it, but not the 2nd. The sudden movement of the car like hitting a pot hole may cause the hd head to crash on the disk. Notebook harddisk are more resilient to this problem, but not desktop. U can try 1st wif ur old hd, if it dies, i suggest u get a desktop IDE to notebook hd cable.

Anyway, good luck on the project! :) I'll try to post any suggestions or solutions if i find any

P.S. Anyone knows whether here got sell the notebook slim dvd-rom that is slot-based(not tray-based...as in the way u put in ur cd)?

 

[icecube]

Thats okie lilkev84, i read thru some article at mp3car.com forum and tons of them running desktop harddisk without any problem. be it 80gb or 120gb. so i think shock issnt much of a problem (maybe differennt in our country due to potholes).

Anyway i tested the 150w inverter on the 14" lcd , works! :D Havent have time to boot the pc in my car yet, if worst come to worst, i'll just buy a dvd play that have VGA out and install that. :P wakkaka

 

[differ]

1. I decided a detachable 14" and remove it when i park.

2. Power inverter should be cheap. Soure out that my pc need 146watts only and the lcd consume 36w only.
3. Shockproof should not be a problem, custom made case with superlon wrap on the harddisk to absorb shock. Case would be sealed with sillicone , so the bottom layer should be water proof.

1. so everytime you gonna carry around your 14" once you park your car? TGV, shopping, bla bla bla...

2. like cyclonite explained, fork out extra for a true-sinewave inverter.

3. err... your HDD generates buttloads of heat as well you know. wrapping it in Superlon, bad idea. sealing the case with silicone, even worse idea. HDDs need to be ventilated to an extent.

 

[icecube]

1. so everytime you gonna carry around your 14" once you park your car? TGV, shopping, bla bla bla...

2. like cyclonite explained, fork out extra for a true-sinewave inverter.

3. err... your HDD generates buttloads of heat as well you know. wrapping it in Superlon, bad idea. sealing the case with silicone, even worse idea. HDDs need to be ventilated to an extent.

1. Parked mean when i reach home. I remove it. When i reach TGV i lock it. It do have a hole to fit those notebook lock. So its much more secure then the normal 7" indash monitor. :D

2. Sinewave or not, this is just a low cost DIY. Utilies what i have (empty wallet) and put it to use.

3. I meant wrap the bottom of the harddisk with superlon (it was sitting on top of the pci & isa slot. So heat should be okie ,i guess. And the case wasnt 100% sealed with sillicone, just the bottom base coz sometimes flood happen and u know... :D

Very good facts. :D This morning i tried with a DVD player that i bought off at Giant for RM139 (with VGA output) and plug in together with the LCD and into the 150W inverter and it works like a charm. Just wire the audio to my electronic crossover and... huiyooo .... TGV-Bergerak!!

 

[simply|complexed]

my radio's not working since a few days ago. so i'd put my laptop on the passenger seat and strap it with the seatbelt around it if i feel like driving hard. oh, not forgetting the small speakers i connect it too.. LOL. i feel so stupid.

 

[4AGTE]

so have u done it yet??
i think it will work..
gud luck

 

[differ]

1. notebook lock cable => wire-cutter.
2. any inverter will work but your setup may not last long.
3. dunno what to say, hope you are right.

but must congratulate you on your gungho-ness. *thumbs*

 

[4AGTE]

well try check this out.the media car software.
maybe u can try this software..
http://www.media-car.fr.st/

 

[icecube]

1. notebook lock cable => wire-cutter.
2. any inverter will work but your setup may not last long.
3. dunno what to say, hope you are right.

but must congratulate you on your gungho-ness. *thumbs*

1. Wire cutter also no use. Coz the lock head will still attach on the lcd itself, except if they broke the whole thing inorder to sell the lcd to another buyer.
2. True. But its an old pc, i intent to throw it away or build it for kids use.
3. Probably adding another fan on top of the harddisk ? :D

 

[differ]

1. yeah, but you'd be surprised how thieves operate on a steal-first check-later concept.
2. oh, ok... if it's for a short term use.
3. go to a PC shop and get those dedicated HDD tray fans. maybe about rm40 or so.

 

[jaywat]

Just DIY lar, u cannot scare too much already if u really really want a pc in ur car..

 

[LilKeV84]

the notebook lock thingy actually only protects from those snatch thieves that just grabs the laptop from the shop table and run away.
and u could be surprise how far these car thieves would go. Even if u just put a few coins visible in ur car they would break in to get it. Repairing it would cost u a bomb depending whether they will break anything in the process of getting what they want(in ur case...maybe the dashboard? coz ur lcd is mounted to it?)
so my advice? take it out and hide it whenever u leave the car, every bit of evidence of a pc in ur car :)

glad the inverter works...but if connecting a pc...pc eats much more power than a dvd player. u should try the pc(when u add it) on idle and full load, just to be on the safe side.
P.S. Still no one knows about the notebook slot-based dvd-rom? =P

 

[icecube]

Ya, about the break-in thingy... abit worried but of coz will hide it when parked.
anyway, tested again this morning (only have time in early morning before i go to work) plugged in my PC and monitor together to the inverter. booted up nicely... (glad!!) and run windows xp nicely..... wireless mouse works.... after 15min it shut down. touch the inverter ... abit hot , probably heat problem or not enough power.

i have a digital voltage reader in my car ,so i can view the voltage drop when runnning the pc on idle or load. so running idle wasnt much load but when load windows media player u can feel the load.

i restarted the pc when the inverter cool down, and in 10 min it restarted due to my aircond compress kicks in...... sigh ...

 

[icecube]

lilkkev84,
sorry no idea about the slot in slim dvd rom, is there such thing? never seen one before.

Come to think of it, better put a dvd player rather then a pc as i dont have much time to play around with it while i am driving. beside, this mobo have sound problem, too much noise from the soundcard. so adding another soundcard will mean more power comsumption and more headache. argh.
have to look around for a smaller dvd player with vga out maybe...
(a low cost DIY had just turn into a high cost DIY...wakkaka)