PC car questions... please help.

**euclide** · 05-11-2004, 09:12 AM

I’m in the process of conceiving a PC for my VW Passat 2000 GLS. I see that building one is not longer an issue nowadays with the explosion of new and miniaturized mobo/cpu running cooler without trading off power.

I have only two issues which I need some help with:

1. I’m an avid listener of AM radio shows. So far I don’t know of any PC radio interface which would allow AM radio reception. I thought of getting satellite radio. Has anyone install such a thing with a car PC? Also, is there a PC radio interface which allows AM radio reception? I found something but it was an ISA card and this is no longer supported by newer mobo’s. Something in a 32-bit (PCI) would really be helpful.

2. Heat… Even with the cooler run cpu’s I’m still a little worried that on a 90+
degree summer day everything will fry. Where do you usually install this PC in your car? Trunk? Cabin? How do you solve the heat problem?

Thanks!

**lgbr** · 05-11-2004, 10:02 AM

1. You might be out of luck there. Best option is to buy a walk-man or some cheap radio and connect it to the Line In port on your PC.

2. Computers work in your room in the summer time, working in your car is no different. You can pick up some case fans and mount those around the computer.

**euclide** · 05-14-2004, 05:43 AM

I never let the temp. in my house go over 75 (the most) degrees. I was thinking of a very hot summer day where you can actually fry eggs on the top of your car. Inside the car (the trunk) the heat would melt almost anything.

**lgbr** · 05-14-2004, 12:31 PM

Well, for those of us who don't have the luxury of air conditioning, it'll work when its 90 degrees out, even hotter. Just get a couple case fans. You can also look at the post in the show of your project forum about the Mustang, it's got 2 stinger fans which seem to work.

**Man** · 05-14-2004, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by lgbr

1. You might be out of luck there. Best option is to buy a walk-man or some cheap radio and connect it to the Line In port on your PC.

2. Computers work in your room in the summer time, working in your car is no different. You can pick up some case fans and mount those around the computer.

The car is a totally different environment than inside your home. You have to alot of attention to cooling the thing (expecially if you are NOT going with an EPIA mobo). On normal summer days (here in Australia) cars get to temperatures hotter than any home (I do not have a/c at home, and I do notice during hot days the computers do get quite hot, but in a car it is ALOT hotter.

If you do not have a/c in your car, try and put the computer in a place where it will not come into direct contact with heat (like under a chair, in the glovebox etc. Also try and leave the car in the shade. If you have a/c, on a hot day you might not want to turn the computer on until the car is bearable (it shouldn't take too long).

**tokhss** · 05-14-2004, 09:55 PM

well, why not just create a case with an intake / exhaust fan? if no case
is made and you place in a area where there will be a "tunnel" type situation, you can still add an intake/exhuast fan...

i will place my minipc in either my old cd change holder or in my spare tire wheel well and add fans there..

im sure if you tak the time to survey your car, you can come up with something nice..

goodluck..

**gospeed.racer** · 05-14-2004, 10:06 PM

One thing that a lot of people dont think about is that even if the airflow is hot...it is still cooler than the heatsink and will still cool it off. Lots of airflow is the key IMO.

**C4M** · 05-25-2004, 04:51 AM

Out of direct sunlight is a must. From there - what type of mobo are you running?

Example: I live in Sydney, Australia. My last installation had the PC under the drivers seat, with no cooling other than the fan on the processor. After a 2.5 hour drive to Newcastle - heatsink on the northbridge and the CPU still grab-able. No burnies to the fingers.

Example 2: Car parked in the sun all day at Windsor - 42 degrees C (that's about 110 degrees for our American friends) - no problem at all. Naturally we started the car and cranked the a/c for a while to bring the interior to reasonable human temps, so the computer got the benefit of that as well.

I can't think of a time when the computer is subjected to 40+ temps and is required to run. For those of you without a/c in the car, YMMV.

C!