Vader's Fury
Active member
jdc your link to pics doesn't work. Says page not found.
Edit: I found it by searching your user name.
Edit: I found it by searching your user name.
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My trucks PC
- Thread starter Vader's Fury
- Start date
Smokyred
New member
That's a pretty cool idea!
Dave
Dave
Vader's Fury
Active member
Hopefully it will become a pretty cool reality LOL. I have been researching stuff like crazy and believe I have found ways to do everything that I need, just not as streamline as I had hoped. Working one collecting all the parts I will need to build a "proof of concept" system so that i can test everything out. If it works, then I will start investing the money in the components to make it faster and able to fit everything in my truck.
jdc753
New member
Glad you found it. Best of luck on the research, best to look for cheaper low wattage CPU's and no need for killer gaming computer specs either.
Vader's Fury
Active member
I have sourced a few that are a few years old to start laying everything out and to do testing with. Once I get everything laid out the way I want it, I plan to start buying the components I need to get it setup as best as possible for installation in a car.
I just bought an ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity. I'm going to embed it in my dash as my truck PC, sort of.
I'm also going to run a dedicated server in the truck to send audio and video to various devices and to act as a wifi hotspot. I am going to use an ASUS EEBox PC running Linux for that.
Infinities sell for $500 and have a super bright 10.1" LCD touchscreen. ASUS markets them as daylight readable.
I'll be writing some Android software to run a few special things that I need my Truck PC to do. Like be an AM/FM radio, for example.
Sorry if this is a derail to the conversation going on. I just wanted to make people aware without starting a new thread.
I'm also going to run a dedicated server in the truck to send audio and video to various devices and to act as a wifi hotspot. I am going to use an ASUS EEBox PC running Linux for that.
Infinities sell for $500 and have a super bright 10.1" LCD touchscreen. ASUS markets them as daylight readable.
I'll be writing some Android software to run a few special things that I need my Truck PC to do. Like be an AM/FM radio, for example.
Sorry if this is a derail to the conversation going on. I just wanted to make people aware without starting a new thread.
I have a lot of the same goals as you.
I have a Job1 08 King Ranch right now with the factory rear seat DVD player and the wireless headphones.
It works really well, except that my head unit doesn't support Sync, it doesn't have a USB input, the nav sucks and there is no backup camera and its not updateable to do anything more than it does.
I hope to fix all this in the near future, starting with my ASUS Infinity.
I'll stop interrupting your thread now.
Vader's Fury
Active member
No interruption. I didn't see any thread discussing doing this when I started it. Anything done involving PC's in our trucks is welcome information.
Vader's Fury
Active member
I believe mp3car would give you more input and ideas to refine your system then here but I know that I would like to see you post it here as a resource for all of us to use in the future.
jdc753
New member
I would love to see it here too, but if its only posted up on MP3car.com then just post up a link to it so I can hop over there and follow it.
I don't know what I'll do, but I'll post something.
In the mean time I highly recommend getting an ASUS EEE Pad Transformer Infinity.
http://usa.asus.com/Tablet/Transformer_Pad/ASUS_Transformer_Pad_Infinity_TF700T/
I've had my infinity for a couple days and I love it. I'll be writing some apps for it in the near future.
Twice before I've played around with a truck PC and both times I was stopped dead because I couldn't see the image in the monitor very well under certain conditions.
The Infinity has the best display for outdoors that I have ever seen. Yesterday I had it in my truck with full on sunshine on it and it was still readable. And it seems to dim enough not to blind you at night.
Everything else about the Infinity is good too. Quick start up, very stable, lots of apps available, it looks nice, it has gorilla glass, so it shouldn't scratch, etc.
I'll be writing some Andriod apps for it in the near future.
The first thing I need to do is make a mount for it.
In the mean time I highly recommend getting an ASUS EEE Pad Transformer Infinity.
http://usa.asus.com/Tablet/Transformer_Pad/ASUS_Transformer_Pad_Infinity_TF700T/
I've had my infinity for a couple days and I love it. I'll be writing some apps for it in the near future.
Twice before I've played around with a truck PC and both times I was stopped dead because I couldn't see the image in the monitor very well under certain conditions.
The Infinity has the best display for outdoors that I have ever seen. Yesterday I had it in my truck with full on sunshine on it and it was still readable. And it seems to dim enough not to blind you at night.
Everything else about the Infinity is good too. Quick start up, very stable, lots of apps available, it looks nice, it has gorilla glass, so it shouldn't scratch, etc.
I'll be writing some Andriod apps for it in the near future.
The first thing I need to do is make a mount for it.
I bought the display and framework from a 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite van yesterday. Its an ultrawide 16.2 inch LCD. I paid $75 for it on ebay.
Its used 2 different ways in the van. The first way is as a regular (ultrawide) display. The second way is as 2 separate 8" monitors. There is an HDMI input plug in the back seat that is used to feed the second half of the display.
I'm not exactly sure how its going to work, but looking at a Honda parts book the backseat HDMI connector goes straight to the display. I'm hoping that the display has 1 or 2 HDMI inputs built into it and that its plug and play with a PC or laptop.
I'm not exactly sure how I am going to use it yet either, but its a step in the right direction as my wife won't let me remove the stock nav radio in our truck until I get a dvd player working in the back seat. My truck has a the Ford DVD player and I could probably interface to it, but its a clunky, slow unit, although it does work well. I can build something much cheaper and more versatile if I can directly drive the ultrawide display.
I'll probably drive the rear LCD display with the DLNA/ hotspot PC I'm going to mount in the back. But there are other ways to do it as well.
Its used 2 different ways in the van. The first way is as a regular (ultrawide) display. The second way is as 2 separate 8" monitors. There is an HDMI input plug in the back seat that is used to feed the second half of the display.
I'm not exactly sure how its going to work, but looking at a Honda parts book the backseat HDMI connector goes straight to the display. I'm hoping that the display has 1 or 2 HDMI inputs built into it and that its plug and play with a PC or laptop.
I'm not exactly sure how I am going to use it yet either, but its a step in the right direction as my wife won't let me remove the stock nav radio in our truck until I get a dvd player working in the back seat. My truck has a the Ford DVD player and I could probably interface to it, but its a clunky, slow unit, although it does work well. I can build something much cheaper and more versatile if I can directly drive the ultrawide display.
I'll probably drive the rear LCD display with the DLNA/ hotspot PC I'm going to mount in the back. But there are other ways to do it as well.
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jdc753
New member
Wow that sounds like a pretty good deal right there!! Hopefully it plays nice with the PC, which I would imagine it would.
It depends where the LCD driver is located. Is it built into the panel ? Or is it a separate circuit that I have to buy separately.
And is the display 2 x 8 inch panels side by side or 1 16 inch panel ?
I think it will be the former. Which means I need to set up a PC with a dual head video card to drive it. That is easily done, but it takes a different PC than what I was going to use.
At one point this weekend I found myself wondering why I don't buy a Dell U2410 monitor and use that for the DVD display. As a bonus, my wife could also do work on it when she is in the back seat with the kids.
I mention that monitor because its IPS and it has a brightness of 434 cd/cm2. The Infinity has an IPS screen and a brightness of 600 cd/cm2. The U2410 isn't quite as bright, but the back seat is darker due to the tinting on the windows, so it would probably work just fine as a daylight monitor.
I like the idea of the dual 8 inch monitors though because then someone can plug in an external video source, such as a video came while others are watching a movie.
Lots of options here.
jdc753
New member
Bah, yea I had a brain fart and read that it had an HDMI port built in so I assumed it only needed a source connected and it was good. Hopefully that backseat HDMI connection is essentially just an extender for the connection on the monitor itself. The dual panel or single panel could make things interesting though. Post up some pics when you start cracking into it, or when you figure out what you are dealing with.
After 4 years of mine being installed in the truck it finally stopped working, wouldn't POST but would power up. Spent a couple hours trouble shooting and pretty sure it is the motherboard. Ended up pulling the trigger on some new hardware, went Mini ITX this time. Hopefully this will be the kick in the pants I need to finish my dash the way I want it.
After 4 years of mine being installed in the truck it finally stopped working, wouldn't POST but would power up. Spent a couple hours trouble shooting and pretty sure it is the motherboard. Ended up pulling the trigger on some new hardware, went Mini ITX this time. Hopefully this will be the kick in the pants I need to finish my dash the way I want it.
I don't think that is a brain fart. I'm thinking that is the way its set up too.
I will.
Which mini ITX MB ? What case ? I would like something that mounted on the wall behind the rear seat, but I don't see many cases that will fit there.
jdc753
New member
No case, I will either mount it on the back wall like I did the old setup, or under the seat if I change things. It MIGHT, key word MIGHT fit in the dash but I think that will quickly turn into 10lbs in a 5lb bag, plus I already have all the cables setup for the guts to be behind the seat.
This is the mobo, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157273
and this CPU (or I guess APU) to go with it, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106013
slapping a 4GB stick of ram in it too, should be waaay more than enough since the old PC was 2GB and ran 110% for what I asked it to do.
This is the first I have seen of the CPU/GPU combo (I have stayed away from the computer market for a while for fear of spending money) but seems interesting, hoping it works out good. Either way spec wise this little bugger should be 10x the machine my current desktop is.
Only other change I am thinking is making a better wifi setup, I want to get an externally mounted antenna, either going to be through the cowl on the drivers side, or centered on the roof near the 3rd brake light. Something like this, http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0035BGNWU/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
I've always wondered about doing that. I'd be worried about 2 things. Something metal touching it and shorting things out and electromagnetic radiation betting noise into everything, like the AM radio, etc.
How do you get around these issues ? I guess I could build a little box for it to sit in ?
How do you mount things to the back wall ? Do you put up a false wall and bolt to that or just drill the back wall or ????
I wouldn't put it under the dash. Its so accessible behind the seat.
What are you going to use for a power supply ?
No built in WiFi ? Why AMD over Intel ?
Prices have fallen so much and performance is through the roof. I build an i5 based server last fall with an integrated graphics processor. It works well, but I don't even really use the graphics on it because its headless.
[/quote] That thing would rock. Now I know why you weren't worried about not having Wifi built into the mobo.
I also need to mount a 1000 watt inverter and a CB amplifier to my back wall. How am I going to handle electrical noise ?
You are giving me some really good ideas.
So you still run a head unit with your PC system or are you headless ? If you are headless, how are you getting AM/FM and/or satellite radio ?
jdc753
New member
The computer all got installed along with my stereo system, so it takes the entire back wall for the 2 amplifiers, and the computer guts (see pics posted above...
This is how the computer rode for the past 4 years
Just some simple sheet metal from home depot I epoxied to the MDF wall. I drilled it and epoxied in some standoffs for the motherboard and for the power supply (board in the foreground) and its been rock solid, best part, no dust like a home PC collects. Only trick, was mounting the hard drive vertical, I used the cradle from an old case and screwed it into the MDF and mounted the drive. I even tested it out over speed bumps and if I hit them hard with the back tires I could get a VERY slight skip in the audio, but NEVER had an issue with the drive, and it is a 13+ year old Maxtor IDE drive. With my experience I wouldn't spend the extra coin on a SSD drive unless I just straight wanted it.
I have an OPUS solutions 320w DC-DC PSU, they have since discontinued it in favor of their 360w version (essentially the same board just slightly tweaked) http://www.opussolutions.com/product/161/DCX6_360__360W_.html#specifications
It has intelligent start-up and shut down ability built in, however I never ran it as I was worried about frying things when cranking the truck over in the dead of winter, so I just wired up a normal computer front panel (power/reset buttons and LED's)
I already had a wifi dongle to try out and never really dealt with boards that had it built in, plus my biggest requirement was to have an external antenna and I just couldn't get that with the other things I wanted.
AMD vs Intel, I have just always been an AMD person, built my first AMD computer 12 years ago and have built 5 since. They are cheaper price wise than a comparable Intel, and I just don't need the spend the extra money in my mind.
I run a head unit with mine, an Alpine 9887, which I selected for its audio controls, allowing me to run active sound processing and ditch the passive crossovers. I like keeping the PC and the audio system as separate components just per the chance something were to die, plus it makes for easy integration. The PC connects simply through a 3.5mm to RCA adapter cable and plugs into the AUX-in on the back of the HU.
I have thought of adding HD radio or maybe satelite radio but just haven't pulled the trigger yet. There is a guy on MP3car.com that makes a serial cable that plugs into several HD and satelite radio receivers allowing the PC to control the receiver. http://www.rush2112.net/phpBB3/portal.php
I am really hoping that new wifi piece will work good, wifi is really the only place where I have been unhappy with my build, but then again I never tried hard to improve things, just ran a PCI card stuffed behind the seat and never relocated the antenna for better signal.
