CarPC Installation NB8A

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:37 pm

sixthsense wrote:Agreed, i am considering any simple head unit with aux capacity $96 and Saw a simple car charger dock at big w $70, $160 job done!

What are your thoughts Brian?

I think we should speak to NitroDann to see if we can arrange a group buy!

Repco had a basic JVC HU for $74, but I've seen Alpines at JB in the mid $100s, so package in some speakers...job done!

slimx · Postby **slimx** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:48 pm

I already open thos android idea in several forums issue is.

Ignition turnin off on.
Mounting it.

otherwise its perfect. buy a pocket wifi mount it in the car that way u dnt hav to rip out the tablet to change simcard etc.for internet or agps use.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk

Bizi · Postby **Bizi** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:02 pm

On the idea of an Android version, I can at least tell you a bit about the cheapie Optus MyTab / ZTE V9 tablet.

The back case of the tablet simply pops on/off, so you might be able to either screw or glue the backplate onto a console and then click on or off the tablet. It's just a cheap tablet, so no need to get too precious about it.

Another option (Palm's WebOS) perhaps could be that cheap HP tablet (sold out in <30mins at HN!) since it had that proximity charger technology. Get the charger stone into the console and then you just rest the tablet on the charging stone (no plug-in required). If you can work with that larger tablet.
I'd guess a lot of these will end up being sold cheap when their novelty wears off.

TBH I don't think it's worth bothering with on a MX5 unless you have a really good reason e.g. lap timer.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:32 pm

Well, that was part of the whole idea of a Car PC. It would have had the capability to do a lot of things.

slimx · Postby **slimx** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:23 am

im willing to spend time on it.. if someone can help out with the "mounting" lol

sixthsense · Postby **sixthsense** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:08 am

Unfortunately apple dominate the market simply through the ease and intuitiveness of it's applications and navigation of iOS so as a front end medium I'm sticking with a dock for my iPhone (agreed that a 10 inch ipad sticking out the side of my console will appear overwhelming).

Brian on the topic of speakers, agreed that my tinny stock versions are due for an upgrade, however I'm no audiophile and with our convertible roadster environment getting high end output spending badbong sums of money might be bit far fetched for me! Great system by the way Vic.

I'm happy to settle for what I've read are very responsive Jaycar speakers for $34!

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 3:55 pm

Yup I've used ajaycar stuff before and they are very good value for money. I saw a slimline active sub that will fit behind the seat there too. Waiting for when I get around to upgrading the sound system.

sixthsense · Postby **sixthsense** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 2:40 pm

What timeline you thinking Brian?

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 3:05 pm

sixthsense wrote:Unfortunately apple dominate the market simply through the ease and intuitiveness of it's applications and navigation of iOS so as a front end medium I'm sticking with a dock for my iPhone (agreed that a 10 inch ipad sticking out the side of my console will appear overwhelming).

Brian on the topic of speakers, agreed that my tinny stock versions are due for an upgrade, however I'm no audiophile and with our convertible roadster environment getting high end output spending badbong sums of money might be bit far fetched for me! Great system by the way Vic.

I'm happy to settle for what I've read are very responsive Jaycar speakers for $34!

LOL... no offence taken mate but I agree it's not the best bang-for-the-buck idea to upgrade our mx5 with good quality sound equipment.

I'm also very keen to develop this idea and I think that there's 2 viable solutions here:

1) Tablet PC based + custom build a mounting bracket to the double-din position with power supplied through the dock + amp

PROs:
- Portability (can take the tablet with you)
- Built in internet connectivity
- Cheaper solution

CONs:
- Functionality restricted by software available on the tablet and the processing power of the tablet (i.e. can't do sound tuning)
- Hardware not upgradeable
- Don't know whether there's already a software made for a tablet to be used as a Head Unit or we'll need to code it ourselves

2) Proper computer with a seperate screen, motherboard, SSD for booting and sound card for processing + amp

POSSIBILITIES:
- Built in high-end sound processing power using a dedicated sound card (this will make a high end sound system worthwhile!)
- Can run full-OS allowing you to have full laptop-like capabilities
- Can run real-time in-car diagnostics like Adaptronic (just imagine!)
- Much higher capacity for songs and videos using external HDDs

Just to give you guys an idea on cost... a normal double-din head unit would cost over $2k RRP and a dedicated sound processer would be another $1k on top of that.

If option 2 can be done under $1.5k and it can do things that a standard head unit cant (like web surfing or tuning our cars real time) then it's definitely a feasible product.

Happy to discuss this in person as well if you guys are up for it. I'm always up for a good business idea.

Just imagine... All-in-one Double-din Car-PC solution for $2000-$2500 installed by us to the MX5 community...

Shambler · Postby **Shambler** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 3:41 pm

Thought I should pop back up again (although I really should be working! :twisted:

)
Putting the whole PC in the Double DIN space is completely possible, I was evaluating a few ideas like this before I decided to put the PC in the boot space
I did this because I already had the PC, and at the time it seemed like the cheaper option, seeing as I wanted the PC to be as powerful as possible.
After having used mine, it's not completely necessary to have the power that I have in there and still be happy with the speed.
Using a Micro or Pico ITX motherboard it is possible to put the PC behind the screen, only limitations here is everything is very fiddly. However, this has some advantages as the harness is right there (the whole thing can be wired in like a standard head unit) and you save boot space (depends on the install).
Main disadvantage to this of course is it will cost more, like I said earlier, smaller = more expensive. Also for the BadBong's among us the smaller motherboards don't always have the space needed for a dedicated sound card ;) One possibility around this (that I never did) is the motherboard I used actually has Optical Audio out, so you could always pipe that straight to a decent DAC if you wanted the best sound quality.

For the tablet PC idea I've done a little more research.
There is dedicated software designed for android tablets for use in cars. I don't know if it's any good, I don't have an android tablet ;)
The tablet won't do anything special when you turn the car on, so you need to make sure you stop playing music on it before you hop out of the car or it'll go flat. Advantage to this is with a simple 12v to 5v power supply you can charge it simply, and just kill the power straight, rather than doing it safely like you do a PC.

It looks like some of you are really just looking for a cheap head unit, almost anything out there will be better than a cheap CarPC, if you want a good one, you do need to invest a fair bit of money, however it's not as expensive as a high end head unit.

Sorry if that post was a little bit of a ramble, my minds still half focused on work ;)

Sam

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 6:42 pm

Gee...we should organise an evening drinks session just to shoot the breeze on this one!

Sam - I think the way you've mounted it in the boot is great. The reality is, that's not going to eat into "boot space"...anyone that uses that space is...probably transporting goods illegally.

Phil - the money is not burning a hole in my pocket...I'm ready to go but I want it to be simple, practical, idiot proof and good value for money (my acceptance of Jaycar products should indicate that!).

Group buy? If we come up with the specs (and I'll defer to Sam for that!) we can order stuff from Singapore and get it shipped here pretty cheaply. To give you an idea, I just had my 4 wheels flown in from Singapore for less than $150. That said...flying my intake in cost me $100 :evil:

Shambler · Postby **Shambler** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:43 pm

Hmmm, I'm not too sure if we can actually get all the parts from Singapore, might send you a PM with the parts list and we can see if things are actually available.

There's two ways to do this I think.
The cheap way - going to each supplier of each part and finding the cheapest price for each part.
The lazy way - going to one store and buying it all. That's likely to be easiest as some stores stock pretty much every part we need. Cost will be higher than if we went looking, but I think it'd still be possible to slip under $1000 (possible lower, haven't costed it)

I'd love to meet up about this, though I'd want mine to work happily before then! I'm just waiting on a GPS to arrive and I'll work on integrating that soon