Second onboard Comp

[Jiffy]

I was just thinking after building my girlfriends comp from my old comp parts with her comp parts and I had an Idea. Why couldn't I build a simple computer for my car to just run the stereo. I was thinking of removing the stock head unit, and build a rack for One DVD-ROM a Center speakera
(if i get a surroundsound sound card) and a slide-out flip up LCD and power/sleep button.
I would have the hard drive and floppy mainboard and such in a small box in the glovebox. I could add a mini Keyboard(with touchpad) and wala...I even could put a wireless network card in it and dload songs from the driveway off my home comp. I would use Winamp or something. And a AC/dc converter to power it. Is this too wacky of an Idea?
DVD-Rom- $50
Mainboard- $100
AC/DC -$50
Hard Drive-$100
LCD-$100
Misc part and mods -$100(cheap soundcard and Video card)
So $500?
Its the same price of a nice Head unit anyway and a hell of a lot more cool

[ChameleonGreen]

LoL, well, if you really want to, then go for it. I've never heard of that being done before. It can easily be done that's for sure. The only problem might be with the hard-drive. It might not like the road abuse. Research the new Pioneer head unit and see what kind of hard drive that has in it.

[Brian Dieckman]

Laptop harddrives, although expensive, can take a MASSIVE ammount of abuse, as compared to regular desktop-type harddrives.

But why, I ask, should you stop there?

With just a little Visual Basic, a serial cable and a few relays you could control EVERYTHING in your car! Windows, Lights, Trunk, MIRRORS, anything that uses +12V! (Which is nearly everything)

Sound like fun? It does to me! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

-Brian

[Birdie2000]

I've also heard of desktop hard drives that had a built-in shock absorption mechanism in them, but once again probably pricy, although most likely still cheaper than laptop hard drives. Also, I've seen it done where people mount the hard drives with rubber or something to dampen the vibration. I've also heard that if you mount the drive sideways, it won't be nearly as big of a problem since the main damage that is caused through vibration is the disk platter crashing into the head when it is jolted.

[Jiffy]

how would you control other 12volt accessories?

[Justin96Bird]

i am currently in the processes of doing this right now. I have an old laptop that i removed from the case, and after it's all removed from the plastic the whole board has about a 4" X 10" foot print. i'm currently working on extending the cables for the DVDROM and the Hard Drive so that it will take up even less space. I plan on buying AutoTap or an equivalant to hook up to my laptop so that i can have realtime diagnostics while driving. It should be cool. Oh one of the other ideas i had was to use the touch pad from the laptop and mount it where the "2nd gear start" is right now it would fit perfectly. I'm also going to use one of those "virtually indestructable keyboards" have you seen those? they are made of rubber, and you can roll them up. It's pretty cool.

[Jiffy]

Maybe when I find some money...Ill try that, It sounds so cool. College sucks for that reason, not enough time after school to make some good money.

[Brian Dieckman]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Jiffy:
how would you control other 12volt accessories?<hr></blockquote>

Well, You would need some programming knowledge, as well as some electronics knowledge.

I know there are some "relay" modules out there for computers. You might look at partsexpress.com or jameco.com for the relay modules.

The bottome line is: most digital parts are +5v and with a simple transformer/capacitor combination, you can boost that to a low amperage +12v useful for triggering relays. Then it's all digital. (on/off)

If you're really interested in this, I suggest you research it yourself, starting with a simple digital electronics class, or beginners electronics book. You'll get a much better understanding than asking a thousand questions here.

-Brian

[98Wicked6]

Hey Justin96Bird I'm in the process of doing that right now. I'm using a 486 desktop though as my main CPU though. It's going to be mounted in the hatch since I don't have to worry about ttops and the monitor is my Alpine in-dash monitor, the CVA-1003. Hopefully it will be up and running soon.