anyone have pc's in there cars ?

leejsmith · 11-19-2003, 01:50 PM

i am currently using a hp jornada with a gps module and pocket streets and it works ok but the screen is a bit small.

does anyone have any experiance puting pc's into cars ?

i am looking at a via itx system and have also seen a opus 12vdc - atx psu specificaly for use in cars. on top of that a very nice 7 inch touch screen display and it would make a very nice in car multimedia / gps system.

cybrsamurai · 11-19-2003, 02:13 PM

Thats a cool idea. I think im going to scrape some cash together and start up a new project

leejsmith · 11-19-2003, 02:28 PM

this is the psu i was talking about

http://www.opussolutions.com

and an example of the touch screens

http://www.i-zone-3.com/components.htm

even better these are very very good prices

http://sales.mini-tech.com/index.php3

7inch touch screen 1027x768 £162.

xerka · 11-19-2003, 04:21 PM

For awhile I played around with having a computer in my car, but gave up after not getting decent sound and my screen sucked. I was using a small fm broadcaster. If I were to get a new stereo I would wire it directly to it. Here are some useful links that i have used:

http://thisstrife.com/carproject/index_chapter_4.asp

http://mini-itx.com

If you want to buy that really nice touchscreen monitor directron sells it:
http://store.yahoo.com/directron/700tsv.html

Caeberos · 11-19-2003, 04:23 PM

www.mp3car.com

Good Luck

imagex · 12-09-2003, 04:33 PM

Hi all,

Its been along time since I've been in here and alot has changed, I am now co founder and CEO of Hybrid Mobile Solutions, Inc. We build in car computers! I've had one in my car for over a year now and about 20,000 miles on it. we are now finishing up our software interface, heres and preveiw, http://hybrid-mobile.com/a.html and we also started a forum on our site: http://hybrid-mobile.com And BTW I'm still water cooled but not in the car "yet" lol

superart · 12-09-2003, 04:38 PM

heres something good.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/VInternet/carpc.jsp

imagex · 12-09-2003, 04:48 PM

The main thing is to use a good XVGA monitor not the cheap composit junk and also a pc thats at least 18v dc or best 12v dc so you wont need a inverter.

superart · 12-09-2003, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by imagex
The main thing is to use a good XVGA monitor not the cheap composit junk and also a pc thats at least 18v dc or best 12v dc so you wont need a inverter.

What do you mean?

imagex · 12-09-2003, 06:29 PM

I was looking at some of the links up in this post and also read someone saying that there screen sucked, so I thought I might let them know that a XVGA screen " has a vga plug on it that hooks to the computer and not a RCA plug" is the only way to go to get a good picture.

Damn, it's been so long since I posted I'm rated a noob again!

superart · 12-09-2003, 06:35 PM

No, i meant, what do you mean by a 12v or 18v PC. Dont all PCs use the same voltage?

imagex · 12-09-2003, 07:16 PM

Oh, no most atx mobos dont run dc at all, very few mini pc's out are 12 or 18 dc. with 18 volt its not to big of a deal to convert from 12 volt a laptop adapter for about $20 will do the trick and if it's 12 volt theres nothing to do but hook it up to you cars 12 volt sysytem. Useing inverters has allways been a draw back to in car computers they cost , take up room, create more heat and only are like 70-80% effective at converting power " power loss".

superart · 12-09-2003, 07:38 PM

so waht do most mini PCs run off of?

imagex · 12-09-2003, 07:57 PM

most pc's and mini pc's are 110 volt ac "house voltage" the power supply converts it down to the voltages the mobo uses +12,-12,+5,-5,and 3.3 volt.

superart · 12-09-2003, 08:02 PM

Yea, but the PCs themselves dont run off of AC, they run DC. The PSU is there to convert from the household AC to DC for computer use.

imagex · 12-10-2003, 09:18 AM

yes thats right, but most of the psu are 110 volt ac, and you would need a inverter to run them in a car. I have done months of searching manufacturers and there are some 12 volt ATX power supplys but they do cost around $100 and there not small.
What I was saying was the easiest smallest way to have a car pc is to use one that is already 18 or 12 volt dc, There are a handfull of models that do. We at this time are using the TX-3 :18 volt, 1.2 gig cpu, 256 meg ram, 20 gig hd and a dvd rom.

Also I have checked into making a 12 volt psu, you would think at first this would be easy but atx mobos run many voltages one is 24 volt that is center tapped so you have 12+ and 12-, then 10 volt thats also center tapped to get 5+ and 5- these mainly run your drives , then the 3.3 for the mobo.

cybrsamurai · 12-10-2003, 12:09 PM

imagex did you see this?

http://www.opussolutions.com/150watt.html

I think after christmas Im going to start my project. The only thing that I wonder about is the LCD screen. I don't know enough about them. Does anyone have a specific model recommendation?

imagex · 12-10-2003, 01:50 PM

nice psu but its bigger than my whole computer that I use, we use 7" touch screens XVGA can handle up to 1600 res but thats only good for video we run mainly 800x 600.

theres some pics and spec's on my site and a few pic's of my install in the forum: http://hybrid-mobile.com

arken420 · 12-11-2003, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cybrsamurai
imagex did you see this?

http://www.opussolutions.com/150watt.html

I think after christmas Im going to start my project. The only thing that I wonder about is the LCD screen. I don't know enough about them. Does anyone have a specific model recommendation?

That PSU is like 200 bucks...

punish3r · 12-21-2003, 08:11 PM

Considering the amp availability on an alternator, you should be able to get away with a series of tight tolerance DC-DC converters for everything except possibly the screen (and maybe that too depending on which screen). Prolly cut your cost in half at the same time as well. my 2 cents.

imagex · 12-22-2003, 03:37 PM

I started to do just that use dc-dc conveters but we ended up makeing a deal with a manufacturer that makes 18 volt dc systems an we use a laptop adaptor that cost about $20 to get the 18 volt up from 12, the screens we use are already 12 volt.

Avelinoribeiro · 05-15-2004, 07:04 PM

Hi,

Go to www.cartft.com an see a lot of cool car computers.
I have a 7" TFT monitor with touch screen VGA, PAL, NTSC and remote control,
Mini-Computer PIII 800 - 256Mb Ram - 20GB running XP Pro. (with CarMedia Interface) Wifi, USB GPS (software are Route 66) and USB FM radio.
I have a Renault Laguna 2.0 Turbo modif. to 220 HP.
I removed the auto radio and insert the monitor with 4 ports USB Hub (for connect a CF card read and a Web Cam (Philips ToUcam Pro).

You can buy from CarTFT and you can pay by Paypal or credit card.

Sorry my English.

Regards

Avelinowww.cartft.com

imagex · 05-15-2004, 08:51 PM

hey guys, I had forgot about this Thread. Have a update for all of you with car computers, we've just released our touch interface, its still alpha and not ready to run in the car yet but we have a new build coming out in a few days that has been reworked down to the core

theres a link on mp3car.com since were having the guys there test for us. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...5&page=1&pp=15

MadHacker · 05-15-2004, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imagex

Also I have checked into making a 12 volt psu, you would think at first this would be easy but atx mobos run many voltages one is 24 volt that is center tapped so you have 12+ and 12-, then 10 volt thats also center tapped to get 5+ and 5- these mainly run your drives , then the 3.3 for the mobo.

ok Just out of curioisty does anything actualy use the -12volts?
or is it just there to support some hardware that isn't used anymore?

jaydee · 05-15-2004, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadHacker

ok Just out of curioisty does anything actualy use the -12volts?
or is it just there to support some hardware that isn't used anymore?

Fans and the 12V also is the source of the the other voltages if I remember correctly. I think the 12V is broken down into the other rails. That makes a smoother current or something. Been a while so I may be wrong.....

11-19-2003, 01:50 PM	#1
leejsmith Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: notts uk Posts: 408	anyone have pc's in there cars ? i am currently using a hp jornada with a gps module and pocket streets and it works ok but the screen is a bit small. does anyone have any experiance puting pc's into cars ? i am looking at a via itx system and have also seen a opus 12vdc - atx psu specificaly for use in cars. on top of that a very nice 7 inch touch screen display and it would make a very nice in car multimedia / gps system. __________________ Folding , Folding , Folding !

11-19-2003, 02:13 PM	#2
cybrsamurai Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Ashland Posts: 296	Thats a cool idea. I think im going to scrape some cash together and start up a new project __________________ Air cooled my ass.

11-19-2003, 02:28 PM	#3
leejsmith Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: notts uk Posts: 408	this is the psu i was talking about http://www.opussolutions.com and an example of the touch screens http://www.i-zone-3.com/components.htm even better these are very very good prices http://sales.mini-tech.com/index.php3 7inch touch screen 1027x768 £162. __________________ Folding , Folding , Folding ! Last edited by leejsmith; 11-19-2003 at 02:39 PM.

11-19-2003, 04:21 PM	#4
xerka Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 107	For awhile I played around with having a computer in my car, but gave up after not getting decent sound and my screen sucked. I was using a small fm broadcaster. If I were to get a new stereo I would wire it directly to it. Here are some useful links that i have used: http://thisstrife.com/carproject/index_chapter_4.asp http://mini-itx.com If you want to buy that really nice touchscreen monitor directron sells it: http://store.yahoo.com/directron/700tsv.html __________________ Folders: I've given up folding

12-09-2003, 04:33 PM	#6
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	Hi all, Its been along time since I've been in here and alot has changed, I am now co founder and CEO of Hybrid Mobile Solutions, Inc. We build in car computers! I've had one in my car for over a year now and about 20,000 miles on it. we are now finishing up our software interface, heres and preveiw, http://hybrid-mobile.com/a.html and we also started a forum on our site: http://hybrid-mobile.com And BTW I'm still water cooled but not in the car "yet" lol __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

11-19-2003, 04:23 PM	#5
Caeberos Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New York Posts: 32	www.mp3car.com Good Luck

12-09-2003, 04:38 PM	#7
superart Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: FL Posts: 787	heres something good. http://www.via.com.tw/en/VInternet/carpc.jsp __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure youv'e done anything at all. Looking to buy/trade for used Deep Fryer and Vacume Pack Sealer.

12-09-2003, 04:48 PM	#8
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	The main thing is to use a good XVGA monitor not the cheap composit junk and also a pc thats at least 18v dc or best 12v dc so you wont need a inverter. __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

12-09-2003, 06:29 PM	#10
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	I was looking at some of the links up in this post and also read someone saying that there screen sucked, so I thought I might let them know that a XVGA screen " has a vga plug on it that hooks to the computer and not a RCA plug" is the only way to go to get a good picture. Damn, it's been so long since I posted I'm rated a noob again! __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

12-09-2003, 06:35 PM	#11
superart Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: FL Posts: 787	No, i meant, what do you mean by a 12v or 18v PC. Dont all PCs use the same voltage? __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure youv'e done anything at all. Looking to buy/trade for used Deep Fryer and Vacume Pack Sealer.

12-09-2003, 07:16 PM	#12
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	Oh, no most atx mobos dont run dc at all, very few mini pc's out are 12 or 18 dc. with 18 volt its not to big of a deal to convert from 12 volt a laptop adapter for about $20 will do the trick and if it's 12 volt theres nothing to do but hook it up to you cars 12 volt sysytem. Useing inverters has allways been a draw back to in car computers they cost , take up room, create more heat and only are like 70-80% effective at converting power " power loss". __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

12-09-2003, 07:38 PM	#13
superart Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: FL Posts: 787	so waht do most mini PCs run off of? __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure youv'e done anything at all. Looking to buy/trade for used Deep Fryer and Vacume Pack Sealer.

12-09-2003, 07:57 PM	#14
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	most pc's and mini pc's are 110 volt ac "house voltage" the power supply converts it down to the voltages the mobo uses +12,-12,+5,-5,and 3.3 volt. __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

12-09-2003, 08:02 PM	#15
superart Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: FL Posts: 787	Yea, but the PCs themselves dont run off of AC, they run DC. The PSU is there to convert from the household AC to DC for computer use. __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure youv'e done anything at all. Looking to buy/trade for used Deep Fryer and Vacume Pack Sealer.

12-10-2003, 09:18 AM	#16
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	yes thats right, but most of the psu are 110 volt ac, and you would need a inverter to run them in a car. I have done months of searching manufacturers and there are some 12 volt ATX power supplys but they do cost around $100 and there not small. What I was saying was the easiest smallest way to have a car pc is to use one that is already 18 or 12 volt dc, There are a handfull of models that do. We at this time are using the TX-3 :18 volt, 1.2 gig cpu, 256 meg ram, 20 gig hd and a dvd rom. Also I have checked into making a 12 volt psu, you would think at first this would be easy but atx mobos run many voltages one is 24 volt that is center tapped so you have 12+ and 12-, then 10 volt thats also center tapped to get 5+ and 5- these mainly run your drives , then the 3.3 for the mobo. __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions Last edited by imagex; 12-10-2003 at 09:25 AM.

12-10-2003, 12:09 PM	#17
cybrsamurai Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Ashland Posts: 296	imagex did you see this? http://www.opussolutions.com/150watt.html I think after christmas Im going to start my project. The only thing that I wonder about is the LCD screen. I don't know enough about them. Does anyone have a specific model recommendation? __________________ Air cooled my ass.

12-10-2003, 01:50 PM	#18
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	nice psu but its bigger than my whole computer that I use, we use 7" touch screens XVGA can handle up to 1600 res but thats only good for video we run mainly 800x 600. theres some pics and spec's on my site and a few pic's of my install in the forum: http://hybrid-mobile.com __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

12-21-2003, 08:11 PM	#20
punish3r Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Colorado Posts: 34	Considering the amp availability on an alternator, you should be able to get away with a series of tight tolerance DC-DC converters for everything except possibly the screen (and maybe that too depending on which screen). Prolly cut your cost in half at the same time as well. my 2 cents. __________________ Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. -Thomas Jefferson

12-22-2003, 03:37 PM	#21
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	I started to do just that use dc-dc conveters but we ended up makeing a deal with a manufacturer that makes 18 volt dc systems an we use a laptop adaptor that cost about $20 to get the 18 volt up from 12, the screens we use are already 12 volt. __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

05-15-2004, 07:04 PM	#22
Avelinoribeiro Cooling Neophyte Join Date: May 2004 Location: EU - PORTUGAL Posts: 1	Computers on Cars Hi, Go to www.cartft.com an see a lot of cool car computers. I have a 7" TFT monitor with touch screen VGA, PAL, NTSC and remote control, Mini-Computer PIII 800 - 256Mb Ram - 20GB running XP Pro. (with CarMedia Interface) Wifi, USB GPS (software are Route 66) and USB FM radio. I have a Renault Laguna 2.0 Turbo modif. to 220 HP. I removed the auto radio and insert the monitor with 4 ports USB Hub (for connect a CF card read and a Web Cam (Philips ToUcam Pro). You can buy from CarTFT and you can pay by Paypal or credit card. Sorry my English. Regards Avelinowww.cartft.com

05-15-2004, 08:51 PM	#23
imagex Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: south FL Posts: 220	hey guys, I had forgot about this Thread. Have a update for all of you with car computers, we've just released our touch interface, its still alpha and not ready to run in the car yet but we have a new build coming out in a few days that has been reworked down to the core theres a link on mp3car.com since were having the guys there test for us. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...5&page=1&pp=15 __________________ Overkill'n Overclock'n Hybrid Mobile Solutions

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