 | console location
The monitor is placed under the stereo, I had a spare ISO slot there,
so I got a no longer used ISO cradle and mounted the monitor and
buttons in it.
The monitor is a 5.6" from
partsexpress.com,
the only part I couldn't get hold of in Sweden,
so I had to order it. Not too bad price, but price increased
by 50% by customs and swedish sales tax before it reached me.
|
 | the PC
This is the PC as mounted on a board, with a suspended HDD.
It's a mini-ITX board, an Epia M 10000, with CPU,
graphics adapter with TV out, audio and LAN onboard.
Very nice.
That HDD is an old 40Gb Seagate I had left over.
The PSU is a Morex/Procase 55W PSU. It's very
suitable for this use, because it has a separate
240->12V adapter, which means I can skip that part
and connect it directly to the car battery.
|
 | the Box
Since I drive a 4wd, and don't have a rear compartment
but an open space inside the car, I needed a box for the
extra battery and the computer. I made it a tool'n'stuff box
while I was on it.
|
 | the Box
As you can see, it's quite practical. Much nicer then to have all
this stuff spread out in the car...
(You can also see I use to have dogs in the car; water bowl
and towel on the floor might be a giveaway...)
|
 | inside the Box
I wish I had more wide angle for the camera... ;-)
It's a bit much stuff in this picture, but you can see the side
of the Epia board on top, the suspended hdd and the powersupply to
the top left, and the secondary battery on the bottom.
The black box next to the red battery contact is a 100A
fuse for possible stupid electrical events.
|
 | GPS
The GPS reciever (yes, that's the whole thing) is placed
on the outside of the car; it's magnetic and sticks very well,
even on autobahn. I can take it inside the car too
if I park at suspicious places.
|
 | Battery Isolator
Since the computer doesn't like voltage much under 12V,
I got a battery isolator and a secondary battery so
the draw from the start engine doesn't kill the computer.
As a side effect, only the start engine is connected
to the primary battery; so I can use up all the power using
the stereo or beamers (or the computer) and still start the car.
This is a common boat equipment, if you want one.
|
 | Fuses and cables
This of course meant I had to draw some more cables for
the secondary battery. I finally used two 16mm˛ cables
to minimize the voltage drop over the cables; I got 0.3-0.5 volt
drop over the previous two 6mm˛ cable, a bit too much.
I also got a fuse box for fuses for the computer
(and to replace the old hang fuse for the extra beamers).
|
 | map mode
My software (written in Pike)
in map mode. The map follows the position but is also
scrollable using the keyboard.
|
 | music mode
It currently has an old 40Gb 80Gb HDD with 35 55Gb of
music on it; the software can select from it and manage play lists.
|
 | Keyboard
I use a wireless (IR, *sigh*) keyboard for controlling
the unit. Quite ok, since I can stuff the keyboard
somewhere when I don't want it around.
You can see the IR reciever in the top left of
this picture.
|
 | October 2004: Gone
Ok, so when I parked the first night ever i Halmstad, someone
thought that the stuff was nice. They took everything in the front,
the screen, the stereo, the keyboard and the three-days-since-I-bought-it
ATI remote wonder. They ripped the video cable and the PS/2 cable
for the keyboard.
As for restoration, I have a new stereo and plans to get a new keyboard
(I saw a nice one in a Finnish shop, I'll link it later), and vague plans
to get
a real in-dash VGA screen via an import shop in sweden.
|
Mirar's Car PC (running Gentoo Linux)
