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Originally Posted by Joe
hehe Ben, this isnt really the forum for it... I guess I can make an Automotive PC forum if you would like.
HTPC's = Home Theater PC  |
Yeah, I know it's a bit out there, but I though that if we'd talk about micro ATX PCs, why not this one?
Thanks for the replies guys.
My alternator can put out ~95 to 100 amps.
I've explored adding a second alternator (easier to do on a Studebaker), but not sure if it's necessary; it certainly isn't practical. I can swap out the alternator for a slightly more powerful one (for my Grand Am) with one for the V6 version; a 10% boost. Alternatively, I pulled out the power steering pump on my car, and have room for "something", except the exact same alternator.
Then I thought about adding a second battery, mounted in the trunk. Of course it would be charged by the same alternator (assuming that I'm not overloading anything), but leave it disconnected, as far as turning the engine over is concerned. In other words, isolate it from the rest of the car; I would then have a steady power source, without the drop out from cranking (which solves a lot of issues).
Yeah, the PC would be running all the time; it has to be on to transfer the data logs to the house anyways. I'll be looking for something that has a sleep mode, to reduce power consumption. Yeah I know, these things can take a battery down-and-out in less than 24 hours.
I'm trying to stay away from HDDs; like JoeKamel said, it has specific environmental (temperature, shock) requirements that I don't care to deal with. A flash disk looks promising. It's hot in Texas; it'll be hard enough to cool the motherboard alone.
The cars involved are a 93 Pontiac Grand AM, and an 01 Nissan Sentra, but the application should be pretty much universal.