My trucks PC

Vader's Fury

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Anyone that can fill me in on them. I have been working on the design of the audio/video system that I want to install in my excursion project. I think (from what I have read) that this is the way I want to go but looking for some opinions from some of the audio guru's on here.

I am looking to install 2 screens for watching movies/playing a game system that can operate independently or linked together, I am already in the process of converting my DVD library over to digital so I should be able to store movies on-board the truck without having cases or discs all over. I also wanna be able to listen to the radio and play music that I will have stored on the PC.

I have a buddy that is a pretty good IT guy to help me out with installing everything and making sure everything is connected right.

Basically just looking for any info about car PC's in general.
 
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jdc753

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your first stop for any and all research on this will be www.mp3car.com Its a forum community dedicated to exactly what you are wanting to do.

As far as I know the multiple monitor thing with them being linked but also separate will be tricky. I don't really think it will be possible to do 2 separate monitors showing separate audio/video signals without them having 2 separate computers. You could easily run dual monitors cloned off a single PC though.


I have had my computer in the truck for almost 2 years or more now and love it. Great to just pull up a movie or any and all music I want, all at the fingertips and 1 central location.


This is my dash showing windows xp, 10.4" touch screen that I installed with a slot load DVD player/burner below, 4-port USB hub to the right along with the power/reset buttons.

26303_536205418300_5754622_n.jpg


Now same thing, but showing the Roadrunner user interface,

26303_536205423290_7207752_n.jpg



My PC started as a basic budget build since I wasn't 100% dedicated to the idea. It is a 2ghz AMD processor, on board video, a 120GB (old expendable drive) hard drive, and Opus Solutions DC-DC power supply.



Now when building you have lots of options, either laptop based vs conventional desktop parts, hard drive selection (solid state vs 2.5" (aka laptop) vs 3.5" (aka desktop)) power supply selection or inverter (best to stay away from inverters except sometimes when using a laptop) then selecting a screen and finally various software packages to run.


For the UI, I run an older version of Road Runner. This was an open source software package with a good development community and lots of free skins to select from. I believe it is no longer open source and now is available for purchase. For GPS I run iGuidance with a BU353 USB GPS antenna.

For a monitor I have a Shark 10.5" touch screen that I purchased here, http://www.gooddeals18.com/c=E8M1Qq...-TFT-LCD-Monitor-w-Touch-Screen--VGA-POS.html

Now normally I would never buy from such a site, but even being a little leary I can now say the purchase went through without a problem and the monitor has been great. Since then my uncle has even purchased a 10.4" from them as well as two 8" versions and again without any issues. Now depending on what you want you may do a bit more research, this 10.4" monitor is only rated for 640x480 resolution and is not transflective (improved sunlight readability.)

For the audio side of things I went the simple route, I used the onboard sound from the computer and a 3.5mm (headphone jack) to RCA adapter cable and then ran RCA's up to my headunit and connected to the Auxilary input on the HU. Volume and anything audio is still run 100% from the head unit.
 
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Vader's Fury

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Thank you for all the info. I have looked at that site a few times to get some information but wasn't sure if it was a legit site or not. Now that you recommend it, I will be spending some more time over there.

I know this is going to be a massive undertaking as I have an idea in my head and that is my goal. I don't even know if it is actually possible to do what I want to do but I am going to give it a try any way.

I plan to install a touch screen monitor similar to what you have installed jdc. I am not sure on the location yet though as I have plans to build a custom center console for the truck and have not laid it all out yet.

Where did you mount the actual guts of the pc? Behind the dash? I plan to use the area in the rear of the excursion where the spare tire would normally go. I can build a custom enclosure in that area and blend it into the surrounding panels so that it does not look out of place. Also I can easily pipe in cooling ducts in that area to ensure I always have air to cool everything down.

I was told to use solid state hard drive due to the bouncing and such that a driven vehicle is exposed to. What is your opinion on this? I was told it is easy to scratch the 2.5 or 3.5's. Also how much hard drive do you have installed? Are you just using cards or an external hard drive? For what I want to do, I believe an external hard drive will be a must.
 

MadDiesel73

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I love this! Deffinetly on the to do list of future modifications. I mean with a good nav unit kenwood/alpine being 1500$+ this is totally worth it. Id have a top dog sound card for sure.
 

jdc753

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I mounted all the guts behind my back seat with my amplifiers.

DSC01568.jpg


Then covered it all up to make it purty

DSC01512.jpg


I have a standard 3.5" hard drive in my truck, only thing special I did was mount it vertically instead of horizontally. I used an old "expendable" drive since I was unsure how long it would survive. So far it has been in the truck for 100k plus miles with no issues. Now if the truck sits overnight in single digits and below the computer is a little slow to start due to the liquid bearing fluid inside the hard drive, by the 3rd push of the power button it usually fires up. I have gotten the drive to skip a couple times by slamming speed bumps with the rear tires, but normal driving has no issues. Solid state drive will be faster and have no movie parts but for me I can't justify the price difference.

Just wondering but have you ever built a PC before? Price stuff out from www.newegg.com and check foe long vga and usb extension cables if you put the guts soon far away from the people. It does sound like the perfect spot, and can probably fit 2 pc's in there if you wanted.

Here is my complete photobucket for my pc and stereo in the truck, lots of useless pics but I am sure many will help you out, http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m213/bareorn/Stereo-computer instal
 

Dave

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You should be able to show two seperate video sources in the truck without issue.

We do it at work on our PC's up to 5 different screens
 

Vader's Fury

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I have never built a PC before. Like I said this is going to be an adventure for me and hopefully a great learning experience. I have already been checking out stuff on newegg. Prob where I am going to get most of the parts that I will need to put this together.

My IT buddy has built quite a few computers before and I have a few other guys that I know that have as well but never a car PC.

I know I will need alot more cable to locate the computer where I am wanting to put it now, but that location has the easiest access and the largest space. I am almost positive I will have enough space to put 2 PC's if it is necessarily.

The mount you made for everything looks sweet! I hope to have something similar once I get mine done.
 

jdc753

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Awesome! It does sound like you have some good help, and are on the right track. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Different audio channels and video signals as well as input devices I think is going to be tough. I am sure your IT friend can help you out with some software for it but I am just thinking it will be very tricky if even possible. The right sound car might let you do the separate audio channels and it is easy to have multiple screens but I would think the input devices remaining separate might get tricky unless you just controlled the rear displays via the front.
 

Vader's Fury

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Ok I have a lil time so i will try to layout my plans. First let me explain the purpose of this. I am currently working on a project that I have been doing research and planning on for the last 1.5 -2 years. I am planning to build an excursion that will be my ideal road trip vehicle. I commonly take weekend trips and vacations that include a decent size group of people so a large vehicle properly setup would fit perfectly.

Here is my audio/video plan. I will have a 10"-12" touch screen monitor located in the dash or custom center console to control my onboard PC. I will have 2 flip down screens for the rear seats. I also plan to install a port in the rear cargo area so that when going tailgating at a football game or a NASCAR race I will be able to setup a TV in the rear area and watch pre- game shows or whatever. That covers the viewing components.

Now for video sources, I am currently in the process of converting my DVD library over to digital. I plan to have a portion of this or if possible the entire thing onboard so i can watch any of them at any time. I also plan to install some type of game system. (ps3, Xbox 360 etc) I will determine what system when the time comes. For right now I will be using my old xbox for testing and such. I also plan to have on board wifi so that i can watch TV when i desire. (I have that setup with my cable already so that should be easy) as well as browse the internet when i need to.

I also still want the ability to listen to the radio and play CD's. Another thing with the sound portion is I want the ability to use head phones to listen to the 2 rear screens so that I will still be able to listen to the radio while I am driving. I hope to be able to set the headphones up to be wireless, but if not then they will be plug in and i will install jacks for all of them.


That is what i hope to have working from this whole system. Also the real kicker is I want to be able to control all of this from the front seats so i do not have to stop to switch videos for the kids or anything like that. I know my hopes are high and that, with having very little personal experience with this sort of stuff that I am in for a bunch of long nights banging my head against the wall and trying to figure everything out and make it work how I would like it to.

Any questions, idea's, comments and criticism is welcome except the "why waste your time, its not possible" type. It may not be possible to do it exactly how I would like it to work but I already know I can do it by having multiple control screens in the front console. I am trying to minimize that down to just one screen if possible. If not then using the least number required.
 

BullsEye

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Forget the idea of a $ 1500 touch screen I was looking to get. Will be following tp do the same thing with 4 screens
 

BullsEye

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I planned to get a touch screen this week. $1500 to $2000 for a good one. Not anymore after seeing this thread. Will be following this thread to get idea to do the same thing. Thought about the idea of a computer in a vehicle a long time. Would also like it to monitor the engine. Sorry auto correct on my phone messed previous message up.
 

bad12jr

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I'd run the stocker headunit or a nice single din in the dash. Kenwood makes a rear changer port plug for aux input. Route your computer through it when you want to listen to music and will act as a preamp for the system. Saves you from having to run an FM tuner card. It also still leaves you a backup if/ when a component would fail. With the right sound card you could dedicate 2 channel's to just the radio as well giving you the mp3 function of the system through the radio while using two other channels for the video playing on the rear screens.

Sent from my x2 somewhere
 

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