Case Mod - In Progress Project: Car pc.

Okay, here goes... Was asked to do a worklog of this so..
I decided that I was tired of the normal Dvd/tft sollution for the car, so I decided to take it a step further!
Why not put a complete pc in the car? Ofcourse it's been done before, but that doesn't make it any less cool in my mind!
I actually started to find stuff on ebay about a year ago, as I've already stated in my "Angel Inside" log, I have too many projects running simultaniously, so things happen to each project when I feel like it... This project however, came to a halt since I could not find a special cable which connects the PSU to the pc... It was actually non-existant... But through a lot of hard work, I've found it! I'm getting a mail about it next week, and get it home from the states... And then I just need to order the last cables in Germany, and then I'm up and running!

The project:
Xenarc case
2 Ghz P4 Cpu
512 Mb low-profile memory (19mm high...) And I might order another 512 mb when I buy the cable, since the shipment itself for the cable is about $40....
80 Gig harddrive
DVD rw drive from a laptop
Bluetooth dongle (Which takes over my cellphone, when I start the car! )
Wireless internet (My new internet provider actually includes hotspots around Copenhagen! )
SIFR III gps receiver
7" fully motorized touch widescreen
Also I might fit the OBD2 cable I have from the car to my computer, so you can monitor the engine and such!

A lot of software to make life easier on a touchscreen!

The stereo itself consists of:

A Kenwood amp, 2 x 95 watts, bridged to handle my new Earthquake Shallow 12" Subwoofer
A noname amp to power 2 pcs of 6x9" Kenwood rear speakers, and a complete set of 4 speakers in front...
Pyle 7 channel equalizer for taking care of the sound!

But pics... Sry about the quality, it was taken with cellphone...

The first pieces arrived form the States:



WIthout the case:



Assembled: Can you belive this is a complete pc?



The Touchscreen:



Notice the battery on the floor... This weighs.. I dunno, but it's crazy heavy! I don't know what it's called in english, but it's actually a battery you can have inside the car... The direct translation from Danish would be a "Dry Battery"?

More pics will follow asap!

 

Very cool indeed Looking forward to seeing the pc installed in the car. What head unit are you using there?

 

thank you for posting i just love car pc projects
which car do you have?
which motherboard do you use?
what is so special with your PSU that you ned a certain cable?

 

Nice. Roads here are so rough I wouldn't even think to try this.

 

can't wait to see more pics..

Looks interesting..

 

Hmm PC in a car... Planning to run plates? lol jk. Interesting ill keep my eye on this.

 

how much power does the battery provide?

 

are you using a Opus power supply? cuz, y'r gonna need some protection during crancking. and normally the battery gives 13.4-9 Volts (if i'm not mistaken)

 

The battery on start up can give much more than that. Some extreme batteries will do 18+ volts on ignition. There is a lot of surging going on in cars which is why it is best to either run the pc through a power adapter or have an inline fuse. I'd choose inline fuse since it's cheaper, smaller, and easily replaceable if you put it in a accessible location. Of course fuses rarely catch the voltage before it's blown up the hardware ; P

 

MVAgusta<<-- The headunit is actually a cheap one from Ebay (Around 350$ if memory serves...) Can't remember the name though..

widmod<<-- My car is a '00 Volvo S40 1.8 , And before anyone starts to laugh, pls remember that cars in Denmark are; American prices + 180%...

I have NO idea what the motherboard is, other than it's an intel 915 chipset...

The thing about the cable is not caused by the PSU, but actually by the Xenarc itself. There is a "normal" input for 12 V, as on a laptop,
but also a remote start cable, in the form of a mini-jack, and I have no idea what is ground/ + In that one...

Cable:



PSU is a Carnetix P1290:



Actually...
1. The carnetix is made to survive engine cranks... It will keep the computer running as low as 7 volts during crank, while fully loaded (90 Watts)
2. When you crank the engine, it draws all the power... Doesn't throw it back at you... (This is also why your stereo will die, and start up again when you start the engine... The starter engine will draw an enormous amount of amps from the battery, up to over 500....

 

yup good to know. It's too bad you spent 40 bux on that cable. If you would have cracked open the PSU, 9 times out of ten Black or Brown will be ground and green/Red is hot or +. Also the remote start line generates an EXTREMELY small amount of power. So you had no risk really anyways. Why are cars so expensive there?

 

Actually... I didn't get around to buy the cable yet... Brought the carpc home from work today, (Making a bracket for it, got the measurements, so I don't need it for that anymore) and I'm gonna open it up again to see if I can figure out the ground and + of the remote... The original 12V line input I can meassure from my 230 -> 12v PSU!

Cars are that expensive because... Uhm.. Mostly it's because the taxes we pay for cars, are going into many other things... We don't have to pay for insurance to go to the hospital and such.. If you get sick, need an operation or other things like that, it's all free! Dentists, and breast enlargements are not free though! *LOL*

This thread didn't go much further. I put the pc in the car and had it in there for about 4 years. Then I decided to watercool it, and go a completely different way.

The thread for the WaterCooled CarPC:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=207889