CarPC finished! MP3s, voice navigation, 56k, go make a sandwich Options

[Cutrara]

Me and some friends are going to Virginia Beach in June and I thought it would be a cool idea to take my laptop in the car, get a GPS receiver and a power inverter along with some cables for playing my MP3s, and just have my passenger take care of the laptop. I remembered I had a Dell Inspiron 1100 sitting around. A few months back, the power plug pins got bent and I thought if I couldn't fix it myself I'd buy a new laptop because it was time to upgrade anyway. I bought a new Inspiron B130 and the 1100 sat, in pieces,
in my closet. A few months ago I decided I was going to fix it and build a CarPC. I ditched the old plug and just soldered some wires to the board and connected it to a power supply, and it worked. And so it began…

The computer:
Dell Inspiron 1100
2.00 GHZ
265 MB of RAM
30 GB HD
DVD/CD-R Drive

The Case:





The computer is a recycled laptop, housed in a custom case I built. This case allows for sufficient airflow to the vents, as well as spots for all of the wiring to exit without being seen from the outside. The case is mounted on the back of the rear passenger seat. This takes up very, very, little trunk space, and protects the computer from shifting around and knocking into objects in the trunk. The case is made out of ½" "Special Project" plywood that has a smooth finish. It has dowel rods inside, around the perimeter of the computer to hold it in place and create an air pocket around the machine. The box has no bottom, so cool air may enter, and hot air may exit. The lid has a cut out in the middle that displays the Dell logo, adding aesthetics to an otherwise, boring black box.

Power:
I ordered a 200w/400w max DC/AC power inverter to power the computer. Wiring this properly was a nightmare. I have extensive knowledge in auto electronics, but I couldn't seem to get rid of electrical noise that plagued my computer by disabling USB devices and creating noise on the touchscreen (Oddly enough, there was no audible noise). I bought a 12v-20v 4.51A DC-DC power supply, which was junk. I ended up burning it up, and reverted back to the inverter. This time around, I grounded everything. The motherboard and inverter case were first on my list, but I still had noise. It was only until I grounded the power supply that all the noise disappeared.

Start-up/Shutdown:
I scoured MP3car.com and the internet for instructions on how to allow my BIOS to boot on power, with little luck, I decided to try a more direct method. I discovered that if you remove the Power/Info button's circuit board above the keyboard and bridge the second and third terminal, it simulates a power button press. I later realized that this won't work if the laptop's lid is closed, so I took off the screen, removed the bezel, and removed the magnetic switch. This fools the laptop into thinking the lid is always open. (Although this also kept the LCD running, which drained the laptop battery. I disconnected the screen.) I hooked the second and third terminals up to a SPDT automotive relay, activated whenever my car is turned to "START" simulating an 'on' button press. The power supply is activated when the car is in "ACC". The power button circuit will only turn the computer on. The other functions (Off, Hibernate, Stand-by, Ask me what I want to do) were disabled, so If I wanted to, say, get gas and leave the computer on, restarting the car would not turn off the computer. You can however hold down the power button for 5 seconds and force a power cut, in case the computer ever became frozen and I could not restart it properly. I wired these leads to a momentary push button, hidden in the center console, along with a kill switch for the entire system.



For shutdown, was planning on using XP's built in power management to stand-by or hibernate the laptop after 30 minutes, giving me time to go in my house and send some songs or videos to it via Wi-Fi. However, windows could not send the machine into hibernate with Winamp running. In XP's power management there is setting to run a program on low and/or critical battery alarm. I wrote a program that closes Winamp when it is executed. I'm currently looking into software that will automatically sync the music folder on my CarPC with the music folder on my primary computer.

Monitor:


The monitor is a 7" Motorized flip-up Single Din sized VGA LCD touchscreen. It's native resolution is 800x480, but my video card is running at 800x600 and everything looks fine.



Navigation:
The Antenna is a no-name UT-41, reviews were great across the web and it can be had on eBay for under $40. The antenna is mounted on the roof, towards the rear.


For GPS Navigation software I'm running iGuidance embedded into RoadRunner.

Sound:
The On-board sound was unusable. The pins had broken in the output jack. I bought a no-name USB soundcard which, surprisingly, sounds great. From there it goes through a 3.5mm to RCA adapter and runs through high-quality shielded RCA audio cables, to the head unit.

I had a Sony Xplod head-unit that did not have an AUX input. I bought a Fahrenheit head-unit (A division of Power Acoustik). It plays CDs, CD-Rs,
CD-RWs, MP3 CDs, as well as DVDs with an RCA video output which is connected to one of two RCA inputs on my touch screen.


Wi-Fi:
Currently, I'm using a generic Wi-Fi PCMCIA card that I bought on eBay. Being in a rush, I didn't notice it was only an 802.11b and not g. Signal is pretty much hit or miss. Down the road I'd like to buy a 802.11g PCMCIA card with an external antenna port on it. I will buy a 7dBi antenna, but I'd rather not mount it on the outside of the car, I don't my car to look like a cell phone tower. I'd like to mount it behind the c-pillar plastics. The signal will not be as good, but definitely a lot better than it is now.

Extras:
I ran a USB extension from my hub in the trunk, to a port cleverly flush-mounted in the shifter surround. I can plug in my flash drive, my digital camera, friends can plug in their iPods. It also give a more integrated feel to the CarPC as well.


I plan on buying a USB keyboard, plugging the dongle into my USB hub and keeping the keyboard under the seat.

I also would like to buy a wireless mouse, and keep it in the center console. I will plug it into the dash USB port only when I am ready to use it, because it will undoubtedly slide around and click things in the center console while driving.








This is back when it was still a laptop... I'm transfering over software and music... When I took this pic I made it a point to show off my John Belushi poster.



All of the wiring tucks away into this compartment


Here you can see the kill switch and the power/reset button for the PC. Also, notice my built in cellphone charger

Comments, Questions let me know... I'm still ironing out some software problems but so far everything works great!

-Alex Cutrara

[devilsden97]

wow man, HUGE props...looks REAL nice, and SUPER clean. thats some REALLY high quality work right there.

[LewFX]

awesome work

[mikeismad0408]

i like what you have done here, and im pretty computer savvy as i have built about 4 PCs in the last year, and im looking to incorporate something similar to this into my car, can you give me a rough price list on parts and supplies including that nice screen your using?

[MaskedMan]

Nice setup! I have the exact same laptop haha, but im using my 1100 as my full time computer so i can't afford to take it apart to build a carputer with it haha. But nice job man, how much was your touch screen?

[Cutrara]

Thanks guys, I had the computer I just had to buy the touchscreen, a new stereo, some wiring and accesories (GPS antenna, USB soundcard, inverter.
The screen was $325, I probably spent a bit north of $600 on everything, and countless hours of time.

[Batman722]

glad to see you around Alex, nice set up

[azian_advanced]

that's awesome man..
but is the laptop's harddrive gonna be ok to withstand shock?

one of these days, i gotta make myself a carPCtoo. it'd be sweet since i have unlimited data on my phone (from my work) and set it up with DUN through bluetooth and browse 6gc anywhere! ;P

[Cutrara]

Thanks, Dustin. Yeah, I'm not on 6GC as much as I used to, between work and school its hard to be online all the time.

The hard drive should be fine. First, it's on the back of the seat, so it doesn't get much shock. Second, it's a laptop drive and it runs on fluid dynamic bearings instead of ball bearings.

The software I'm running can also control a bluetooth phone, so I'll go with something bluetooth in June when my contract is up.

[malpaso]

that's cool...

[celi_gt_racer]

three days grace on tha screen... nice - i'm goin 2 see them april 19th in tha big TN

[Slick]

I plan on buying a USB keyboard, plugging the dongle into my USB hub and keeping the keyboard under the seat.

I also would like to buy a wireless mouse, and keep it in the center console. I will plug it into the dash USB port only when I am ready to use it, because it will undoubtedly slide around and click things in the center console while driving.

Nice setup! It's way out of my league but some day i'd like to get something like this put together. BTW, you may have already thought of it but instead of a mouse, couldn't you get one of those USB roller pads? Like what they used to have in the old arcade centipede game.

[Cutrara]

three days grace on tha screen... nice - i'm goin 2 see them april 19th in tha big TN

Nice... they're coming to scranton PA on June 2. I wanted to go but the judge is making me take a class to reduce a speeding ticket that day. It would be sweet cause it's the day after graduation. But oh well, enjoy the show!

I plan on buying a USB keyboard, plugging the dongle into my USB hub and keeping the keyboard under the seat.

I also would like to buy a wireless mouse, and keep it in the center console. I will plug it into the dash USB port only when I am ready to use it, because it will undoubtedly slide around and click things in the center console while driving.

Nice setup! It's way out of my league but some day i'd like to get something like this put together. BTW, you may have already thought of it but instead of a mouse, couldn't you get one of those USB roller pads? Like what they used to have in the old arcade centipede game.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a USB touchpad/trackpad and mounting it in the ash tray area, but that will give me something to do later... right now I'm just enjoying the whole setup.

[NapTown94]

hey how did you run the cell phone charger? I need one really bad in my car, and I love the idea of having it built in. sweet work man, keep it up!

[trdproven]

Love the Toyota emblem on the player.

[Cutrara]

hey how did you run the cell phone charger? I need one really bad in my car, and I love the idea of having it built in. sweet work man, keep it up!

I got one of those cigarette lighters from AutoZone and wired it to a 12+ switched. I ran all the wiring under the console and from there it was just strategic meausing, drilling and gluing.

Love the Toyota emblem on the player.

Thanks, there's lots of skins for that program, and the interface was perfect... And I didn't have to change the logo in the middle. I just realized I forgot to take pics of the GPS Nav program.

[Cutrara]

I also relocated the power and status lights for the inverter. Its located above the USB port in the shifter surround. I'll post some pics tomorrow

[Symbiote5S-FE]

this is awesome, i have to use my psp so that i could control my music I have a lcd screen but its not a touch screen, nice work!

[95st-celica]

thats some intagrative shizz man...very nice...wouldnt mind havin a set up like thins in my car at all...does it drain on the battery a lot though?

[jason]

that is awesome!!! i was looking to do something similar, but i dont know how well you can control stuff through a touch screen, i asume they have some sort of software thats pretty straight forward? also about your cell phone charger deal, just glueing it there hold the phone from sliding around n knocking hte plug loose? i wanted to do something similar but backed out because i thought it would eventually turn into a mess with a loose hook up there, mad props for it all though!

[Cutrara]

thats some intagrative shizz man...very nice...wouldnt mind havin a set up like thins in my car at all...does it drain on the battery a lot though?

No, the laptop runs on its own battery after the car is shut off, then it goes into hibernate when there is 75% laptop battery left.

that is awesome!!! i was looking to do something similar, but i dont know how well you can control stuff through a touch screen, i asume they have some sort of software thats pretty straight forward? also about your cell phone charger deal, just glueing it there hold the phone from sliding around n knocking hte plug loose? i wanted to do something similar but backed out because i thought it would eventually turn into a mess with a loose hook up there, mad props for it all though!

The touchscreen is different, you can't just feel for the button like you would with a regular stereo. I think I'm going to make some kind of hard buttons for the WinAmp's prev track, next track and play/pause buttons and mount them between the shifter and the ash tray, or maybe on the steering wheel...

Yeah, it's just superglued there, and I measured the distance from the input on the phone to the edge of the phone and drilled that distance from the side wall of the center console thing so I slide it against there and it mates up perfectly...

I've been having some minor problems with when I crank the engine. First the screen folds in, which is nice when you turn off the car, but lame when you start it. Second, and possibly the biggest problem: When the computer and inverter are on and the car is off and you start it, it resets the inverter and kicks some weird noise into the computer and ****s with my external sound card, and only a reboot will cure it. I tried putting ferrite beads on every power lead in the system and I still have the problem.

I redesigned my auto turn-on circuit to sustain power to the screen and inverter while cranking. I will implement this new circuit sometime this week. Lets just hope keeping the screen and inverter powered will leave enough juice to start the car!

This post has been edited by Cutrara: Apr 15, 2007 - 8:39 PM

[cnelson]

can't wait till i build mine this summer, altought mine will be with a ITXmini mother board, insted of converting a laptop. now i have a great idea of how to do all this. congratz man. looks awesome!