Wiring up my carputer

**LJH** · 07-06-2011, 06:55 PM

Well i've bought a cheap Atoz E504X as its tiny and has some drivers and front end installed, the thing is i'm ditching my HU so I need a 4ch amp but the atoz only has a headphone jack with no line outs so can you get a headphone jack to left/right amp RCA port adapter? Will it sound crap?
Also my monitor is a Necvox fd 6569 which has 2 single RCA video ins and a video out, will a VGA output from the atoz plug into a single RCA video input without the picture being rubbish?

**LJH** · 07-07-2011, 08:25 AM

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-Convertor-...item4155c8ad15

Looks like I need one of these.

**soundman98** · 07-07-2011, 09:40 PM

yes, you will need that to convert teh vga signal to rca.

for the audio, most 3.5mm-to-rca adapters are usually fine, and will not hurt the sound quality.

**LJH** · 07-08-2011, 11:32 AM

Good stuff, do you also have to wire the computer to an external PSU or can you just wire it to a 12v source? The one I have bought doesn't have the 230v-12v transformer anymore just the lead coming out.

**DarquePervert** · 07-08-2011, 04:15 PM

You need a source of regulated 12v power. The vehicle doesn't provide regulated 12v power.

I highly recommend looking at the FAQs and doing some reading to get a better understanding for what you're about to undertake.

**LJH** · 07-08-2011, 08:10 PM

Yeah i've read it needs a constant voltage or it can crash, the guy I bought it from says he just used a 12v source and it was fine

Its strange because a lot of computers already have a linear regulator built into the circuit board.

**DarquePervert** · 07-09-2011, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by LJH

Its strange because a lot of computers already have a linear regulator built into the circuit board.

My experience has been the exact opposite.
Show me PC hardware that accepts fluctuating voltage. Such hardware would be a boon for the vehicle computing community.

Now, there are regulators on motherboards to provide the different voltages needed for the various buses and components, specifically 12v, 5v and 3.3v. However, those have nothing to do with regulating the main power source.

**LJH** · 07-09-2011, 07:18 PM

Oh dear, yes thats what I was thinking the internal regulators for the different components, which must be simple transformers technically and not regulators.
So I need an input voltage reg as well are there any cheap and cheerful ones to recommend?

**exabits** · 07-11-2011, 08:09 AM

I recommend you buy a psu designed for car use.....http://store.mp3car.com/M4_ATX_250W_..._p/pwr-031.htm. Just be sure to build an appropriate computer <250watts. Even better would be <200watts, it is never good to max out your power source.

**LJH** · 07-11-2011, 09:24 AM

alright, so you just replace the standard one with this? Need to see if I have a 20/24 pin atx plug...the origional intent was just to shut it down when the car was off but would take too long to startup for short journeys for music, never knew sleep mode didn't use much electricity at all so could leave it on sleep for days