In car pc update

[Spyda]

In car PC update

I'm getting a new dash panel soonish. So I'll be removing my airvent and boost gauge and mounting my screen in the dash just under the ODOmeter, then moving the aircon controls down into the double DIN place. and making it all tidy again, and fitting the boost gauge back in there somewhere!

The PC part will come out of the boot and is going to be mounted in a funky case in the upper glove box, along with the headunit that's currently in one of the DIN slots.

I have found the display that will probably remain on the PC, although I may remove the "Alpine" branding that's on it, for a little more 'Generic' Supra logo.

I've attatched some screen shots for your viewing pleasure:

Here's the main menu:


Next up is the audio file selection bit:



And the video section, (the menu slides away off the bottom of the screen once the movie is playing):



Hope it inspires some other people to get PCs in their Supras

Take care,

Adam.

[The Hornet]

Looks bloody nice matey.

I have all mine sat on my desk in my office at home as cant be bothered to fit it in this weather

I just got a head unit sized small PC (same height & width, but 4" longer) Its running a 1Ghz processor 512k ram and 80 ghz Hard drive. Has DVD drive so will also play any CD etc. Running windows 98 but might try it with XP soon. Also have sat nav plugged in to it etc.

Using a 7" Touch screen for it and IR keyboard. Have purchased a external sound card with pre-outs for me 3 Amps to run off etc. Got other bits and bobs too but just need to get around to once again stripping the dash out and getting the install re-wired again!

Should take me about a 6-7 hours approx but gonna wait until new year.

Now mine wont look anything as unique as your's but is the easy way of getting everything you could possibly need in there.

I will post the pics once installed.

Got to agree with you that every one should have an In Car PC though The equipment above came to a total cost of approx ?1000 although I got for a bit less due to discounts off a friend.

Hornet.

[Col]

Takes me that long just to fit a headunit. Wouldn't know where to start with that Looks real smart though. Never heard of a in car PC before either Look forward to seeing some pics.

[Cuthbert]

Flash gits !

[The Hornet]

I have my main ICE system installed at the moment with 3 AMPS, SUB 6 component sets etc etc etc. So all I need to do is remove the head unit and disc changer then installed my little PC, ext sound card and re-wire my RCA leads then its done. Thats why I said 6-7 hours

If I had to do the full install that I have I would be looking at 2-3 days.

Only trouble for me is that 2 of my friends have bought the same PC setup as me and no nothing about ICE installs, so it means I'll end up doing it, which in turn its why I ain't gonna start on mine until into the new year

Realistically, the way I looked at it was with 1K spent on a small PC setup like mine, your getting everything, Music in any format and lots of, Films, games, sat nav you name it. Possibly even on the fly ECU mapping when the car is further modded. All for 1K. These days you can pay that for a decent head unit with a screen just to play films

All IMO of course.


Hornet

[John_M]

OK, I'm totally ignorant about these in-car pc's so don't be supprised if I ask some dumb ass questions here..

How do you control the unit? Touch screen?

Where is the actual dvd/cd slot? Dash, boot? ?Multi disc?

Don't you get any problems with vibration or jumping?

Is it a seperate tuner or is that part of it?

Asking as I'm sorting out a complete system for my new Supe.

Thanks ?

[Spyda]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (John_M @ Dec. 22 2004,20:13)]OK, I'm totally ignorant about these in-car pc's so don't be supprised if I ask some dumb ass questions here..

How do you control the unit? Touch screen?

Where is the actual dvd/cd slot? Dash, boot? Multi disc?

Don't you get any problems with vibration or jumping?

Is it a seperate tuner or is that part of it?

Asking as I'm sorting out a complete system for my new Supe.

Thanks

Hey there,

the unit is controlled via touchscreen yep, although I do have a mini keyboard tucked under my seat that I can whip out if needs be.

I don't have a DVD/CD drive in mine, but essentially you can mount it where ever you choose.

I run full size parts, ie not laptop drives, and I've never had a problem with jumping of skipping or anything like that. If you're really worried, you could use laptop drives which are designed with more movement in mind.

My radio tuner is seperate, because I run the audio from the PC through the head unit to be amplified, but my friend runs a USB radio tuner on the pc and has proper amps to run the speakers!

You didn't ask one dunb ass question, they are pretty much the same questions I asked when I was putting mine together.

If you, or anyone else is interested, I'm going to start selling the full unit, including a dash mountable touchscreen. Not sure of the price yet, but it wont be anywhere near the price of a DVD/GPS unit. Perhaps if you're interested in buying a prebuilt system, you could PM me, and when I know the general interest, I can let you know a price.

Thanks,

Adam.

[MLC]

Is it possible to add wireless LAN capability to them? Theres an ever increasing amount of free internet hotspots it would be rude not to take advantage of

[Spyda]

Absolutely.
Mine has Wireless lan on it, which allows me to download (anything) when connected. It also sychronises my mp3 collection with my desktop PC inside the house while the car is on the drive.

You know you want one!

Adam

[Martin F]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Spyda @ Dec. 23 2004,20:50)]It also sychronises my mp3 collection with my desktop PC inside the house while the car is on the drive.

Now that is a neat idea !