Car Computer / CarPC - Upcoming Build and Journal

jayl

This is pretty cool, I used to have a carputer in my old car (2004 corolla)... Ran it for about 4-5 years...

Check out mp3car.com they have awesome resources for a cap pc.

It looks like you already have the screen but check this out...

Direct Fit Double Din LCD Touch Screen for 2009-2011 Nissan 370Z

When I did my carputer the main challenge was screen fabrication. I still have the DC-DC OPUS PS left and the screen from the corolla....

WIth the OPUS power supply I did a over ride switch, so the PC would not power on everytime I started the car for eg. if in a parking lot etc...

an old pic..
first shot at the screen - Page 2


I had mounted the mother board on a piece of wood covered with trunk carpet like material to make it more part of the car... in the trunk..

Good luck on the project

__________________
-Jay

Alstann

Thanks!

Yep, mp3car is where I got my ideas! I had no idea they made a prefit dash kit for the screen! Damn, haha. Ah well. Since I have the base with no bose, I figure the screen will fit flush nonetheless in my dash without the need of a dash kit (or do I still need a dash kit?)

That custom install looked tough. I was thinking of the navi cubby and trying to make it factory fit looking, but my bravery for trying all sorts of fiberglass/putty is low, so I'll revisit that another day. If I set up two screens, I believe centrafuse can split the displays to let usage of two "apps" at the same time, which would be amazing. OBD info on one, and music on the other or something like that.

As for the power supply, I have an M2-ATX which hopefully will behave the way I want it to, seeing that others have had issues with slow response times and non-latching on ignition. I actually haven't tested it yet, but I might pick up an AC-DC bench power supply from my college's lab to test it out. I'm planning on having the computer sit on hibernate for fast boot times, and when I'm away from my car for more than a day, I'll just shut it down.