MP3Car.com - Linux

new linux front end

zedicus — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:04:39 GMT

i have been building linux HTPC centered systems since before xbmc was even in development. and i have noticed that there is a severe lack of really any in car entertainment systems but almost nothing fully usefull for what i am doing especially on linux.

my goal is to have a full htpc that is easily customize-able for adding software, (i will have dsmlink on mine but most people will not need that) and easily usable.

my plan is a custom themed debian-fluxbox system with large icons and a hardware based back/home button in double din form (hardware generic, i will probably build the themes on my laptop) with built in GPS software and stored maps, using generic GPS hardware.

most of this stuff i have found, i am planning on rolling the distro soon. my real question is would any one be interested in something like this? should i make the distro download and installable from CD?

i have a pic of the chassis and a i will try to do a mock-up photo here soon. i was trying to get it all posted before i had to leave tonight but i am already late so more to come...

Automapa ((Europe) GPS Navigation) running with Wine

BennY- — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:36:57 GMT

Hi,

just want to let you know that automapa runs fine with wine.
(see http://www.automapa.pl/?PEI=13252&lng=EN for more information about the software)

you can configure a keyboard shortcut for each action, so you can control it by sending keystrokes with xdotool

Attached Images

Support for MJSGadgets in Linux

GAJettaTDI — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:17:51 GMT

Made to work with Linux with some input from Mitch. Includes a class, MJSGadgets. All that is supported right now is the UAS4. As I get more of Mitch's toys, I'll add support for the other devices. The .zip includes a simple program demonstrating how to use it.

http://azbsd.org/~marco/python/mjsgadgets_python.zip

KW1281 OBD Diagnostic Tool / FUSE Driver

BennY- — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:09:56 GMT

Hi,

last days i've played around with VAG Diagnostic, and created some fuse interface.

features:
* read controler info
* read dataGroups
* read controler errorstorage
* reset controler errorstorage
* read (some) dataWords

It's not finished yet, but working with the 2000' audi tt cluster on my table

what you need:
* amd64 linux with fuse support (ask for x86 version, if you want to test it before source release)
* obd diagnostic cable which supports kw1281 and is supported by linux, most cheap cables comes with ftdi rs232 converter and work fine (search amazon.com for B007PACPYW, costs about 10$)

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
it is possible to modify data by the kw1281 protocol, functions are not implented, but bugs can come to features... (i don't think so, but be warned)

Quote:

installation, do this as root!

Code:

# cd /tmp

# wget http://www.royal-society.us/carosOBD.tgz

# tar xzvf carosOBD.tgz

# mv carosOBD/carosOBD /usr/bin

# mkdir /usr/share/caros

# mv carosOBD/obd_dtc* /usr/share/caros

# mv carosOBD/caros.obd /etc

# rmdir carosOBD

edit /etc/fstab and add some line like this:

Code:

carosOBD#/dev/ttyUSB0 /tmp/obd fuse user,noauto,noatime 0 0

ttyUSB0 change this to your serial device
/tmp/obd change this to your prefered mount path (keep sure the directory exists)

now you can test it:
# mkdir /tmp/obd
# mount /tmp/obd
# cat /tmp/obd
should return:

Code:

airbags brakes climatronic cluster comfort ecu synced_with_id

Quote:

now you can test, try to get controler info with:

Code:

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/info

result:

Code:

part-id: 8N1919880E  

component: KOMBI+WEGFAHRS. M73 D30

read errorcodes from the controlers:

Code:

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/errors

# cat /tmp/obd/ecu/errors

result:

Code:

(00771-030) Kraftstoffanzeige-sensor -G - Stromkreisunterbrechung/Kurzschluss gegen Plus

(00779-030) Au�enlufttemperaturgeber -G17 - Stromkreisunterbrechung/Kurzschluss gegen Plus

(01128-035) Lesespule Wegfahrsperre - 

(01176-007) Schl�ssel - Signal zu schwach.

(01176-193) Schl�ssel - Nicht befugt

remove errors from controler

Code:

# echo true > /tmp/obd/cluster/errors_reset

result:

Code:

returns nothing if success

returns something like "write error: Permission denied" if reset fails

or read dataGroups:

Code:

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/dataGroups/1

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/dataGroups/2

....

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/dataGroups/256

result:

Code:

0x07 0x64 0x00

0x01 0xc8 0x00

0x25 0x00 0x1e

0x2c 0x0c 0x0d

known dataWords for controllers will be added soon
(you can for now read some cluster datawords)

Code:

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/dataWords/*

should return something like this:

Code:

duty_cycleA: 4%

duty_cycleB: 0%

mileage: 53240km

mileage_trip: 0km

oilpressure: 0

resistor: 300ohm

rpm: 0rpm

speed: 0km/h

tank: 0l

temp_cooling: 0

temp_out: -99

you have to read the related dataGroups first, this will be automated later, for cluster do this before you read the dataWords:

Code:

# cat /tmp/obd/cluster/dataGroups/1 && cat /tmp/obd/cluster/dataGroups/2

Quote:

q&a
problem:
"error while loading shared libraries: libfuse.so.2"

solution:
try carosOBDx86-binary instead of carosOBD-binary

problem:
it hangs

solution:
kill it with:
# killall -9 carosOBD

problem:
controller xy isn't in the filesystem

solution:
edit caros.obd and add controller
adress id is decimal, so if cluster adress is 0x17, you have to add 23 to your configuration.

problem:
# carosOBD /dev/ttyUSB0 /tmp/obd
fuse: device not found, try 'modprobe fuse' first

solution:
as id says, try
# modprobe fuse
or/and check if fuse module is loaded
# lsmod | grep fuse

if it's not working you need a kernel with fuse support, if you know how to build your own, you can find fuse @file system support

suggestions for the tool are welcome :)

would be nice if someone can support me with language files of the error-/statuscodes

Silverwolf 3 is rising from the dead ... again

intuitionsys — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:46:15 GMT

Okay four years is long enough. I pretty much just dropped Silverwolf development about four years ago and thought I might pick it up again back in 2009 but I got busy with other things and it just fizzled without a line of code ever getting written. Well now I have a project vehicle again that is prime for a new Silverwolf and I'm looking forward to building a new system.

I've just started research on the hardware and right now it's more like nailing jello to the wall but I do know that version 3 will include a graphical skin editor and that I'm not ruling out dedicated interface hardware. It's going to be several months before anything is released but I can say definitively that active Silverwolf 3 development has at least begun.

It's good to be back :)

ArchLinux CarPC with XBMC-Frontend

onny — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:45:57 GMT

Hello,
a friend and me started a carpc-project some time ago which is still up&running :) We tried a new approach using a medie-center as software frontend and customized an existing theme to also serve touchscreen gestures. XBMC (http://www.xbmc.org) already has strong media playback capabilities, so our focus is now on extending it with several different features such as hands-free software, navigation system and advanced interface features for configuring WiFi- and Bluetooth-devices.
The main advantage in using this kind of Linux-setup is, that free software is extremely configurable and extendable. Furthermore our software is really fast and good documented, have a look ;)

Link: http://www.project-insanity.org/2011...xbmc-frontend/ Unfortunately the documentation is in German but it might be useful (even with Google Translate?!).

Any kind of feedback appreciated :)
Greets
- oNNy

Android programming

Mailman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:09:59 GMT

Not sure if it's the right place to ask this, but is anyone engaged in creating "carputer" apps for tablets based on this OS?

They seem a very promising platform for car use.:eyebrows:

Directed HD radio support in Linux ?

elmerfud — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:35:51 GMT

I'd like to buy a Directed HD radio for use with a Linux car pc.

Does anyone know where to find the protocol for communicating with the radio ?

Is there a Linux app somewhere for communicating with it ?

I guess worst case I could snoop on the rs232 line(s) and see what goes back and forth between the head and the backend unit ????

Thanks !

Linux front ends

BoyRacer0013 — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:16:42 GMT

I have poking around for sometime now and am having difficulties figuring out which front ends are Linux compatible. Can I have some help here, please.

just another thought.....

boelle — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:26:35 GMT

just got this thought... sure not the first time....

Would it be hard to port Ride Runner to Linux if there is access to the source code?

i guess demands would be that the skins made for a win version should also work on linux... Of course those skins that have their own DLL in win would be more tricky...

and of course the plugins have to be ported too....

and to make it worse i'm not a programmer, just a guy with crazy ideas :crazy:

:happy::happy:

Automotive Linux Summit 2011

Penzance — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:24:03 GMT

The Linux Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the Automotive Linux Summit (ALS). ALS is an event specifically for the automotive industry and the growing cross-industry ecosystem for future mobility solutions.

November 28, 2011 in Yokohama, Japan

For more information:

The linux foundation

Liliput 669GL Debian Wheezy Kernel 2.6.39, X 1.10.2.902

David Greene — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:32:43 GMT

I've got a Liliput 669GL and I can't get the touchscreen to work. It registers touches ut needs calibration. tslib reports "selected device is not a touchscreen I understand." I've searched countless forums, Google, etc. but unfortunately all of the driver information posted is quite old. Nothing covers X 1.10.*.

dmesg and XOrg.0.log both report finding an eGalax touchscreen and it's assigned to /dev/input/event0. ts_calibrate reports "selected device is not a touchscreen I understand" and promptly crashes.

Has anyone get a Liliput working with the latest kernel and X?

Thanks!

[linux] How To: Pipe audio from an input to an output, even across sound cards

PaulF — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:03:18 GMT

Since I'm going all-linux for this build, I needed to figure out how to mix in the audio from the line in with the computer's audio so that I could have my radar detector play through the car speakers with its volume controlled by the computer's master volume.

Solution is in this article I found: http://s8dragon.wordpress.com/2010/1...ng-pulseaudio/

In case it ever goes down,

To enable it, you run this command:

Code:

pactl load-module module-loopback latency_msec=1

To disable it, you first run this:

Code:

pactl unload-module 27

Find the index number for the module ex:

Code:

    index: 22

        name: 

        argument: <>

        used: -1

        load once: no

        properties:

                module.author = "Lennart Poettering"

                module.description = "Command line interface protocol (UNIX sockets)"

                module.version = "0.9.21-63-gd3efa-dirty"

22 would be the index.

Now run:

Code:

pactl unload-module 22

Where 22 is your index.

To enable this permanently, add this line to the end of the file: /etc/pulse/default.pa

Code:

load-module module-loopback

RevLin OS

SapporoGuy — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:07:17 GMT

Not sure how relevant this anymore now that meego is sort of "going" but I thought I still drop this on the community.

http://revlin.org/

It's built on Haiku (BeOS derivative) and BSD components. Interesting thing is that the dev is talking about how the main UI is based on extJs. This is interesting since it opens up the doors to to html and CSS meaning extreme FE interface development :) This also opens up the app world to heap loads of programmers :)

And I was thinking that node.js would probably just drop right in providing for what Bug was trying to do with an internet based system. For those who have never heard of node.js it's javasccript that runs 24/7 365 meaning while you're tapping on your keyboard I could see each word being typed if this were a "live" forum. Which for us here that means you could literally have thousands of cars on the road and a map showing where each one is at the very moment (please count in a lag for net data transfer). This also removes the pseudo "Live" ability of flash out of the picture.

Only problem at the moment is that the dev is on his own and progress has slowed.

I also did hear that the current startup is at 8 seconds on a crappy solo atom board with zero optimization. hmmmmm ...

Anyway cheers!

Open Source support forum on Displaylink drivers website

OpenFasciata — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:19:41 GMT

Displaylink added Open Source on their support/feedback forum.
DisplayLink drivers Open Source

Car PC Linux Ideas

smp4488 — Thu, 12 May 2011 16:50:11 GMT

So the other day i was at work and i saw one of those plasma displays that shows time, weather, and other things. I got to thinking about building one using a Beagleboard XM that i have. My initial idea was to setup a webserver either on the beagleboard or remotely. When the system boots up it would just open a full screen browser window linking to my display page coded to refresh on set intervals. I had a base Ubuntu install with no GUI.

This is where i ran into trouble. I had to pick a window manager or desktop manager such as gnome or kde. I didn't want or need all the bloat that comes with window managers and desktop managers. All i wanted to do was load a browser window. I finally got Xorg to load firefox, but i couldn't specify a url, window dimensions, or a full screen option. Frustration was setting in.

I have been working on my different car pc versions over the years now. I purchased a beagleboard xm with the intention to make it my new car pc. Hardware was in and it was time to pick a front end to use. I ran windows for a long time on different hardware and became accustomed to RideRunner. Ive ran Ubuntu on different setups with Linux Ice and OpenMobile. Both which have great developers, but didn't seem to work with all the things i wanted.

This brings me back to my initial rant on the time and weather display system. Do we really need to load an entire OS then a front end on top of it? In windows it is probably possible to eliminate much of the UI elements and just load your application, but i would think that it would be easier on linux.

Ive looked into running GUI applications on linux without a window or desktop manager. It looks like Xorg programming is near impossible. GTK and other GUI programming libraries began to surface as i was doing research. It still seems very difficult to run a stand alone application.

If you think about what a lot of front ends are doing, they begin to resemble an OS in itself. I know that Linux Ice took this approach of making the OS the front end, but it still uses lots of outside sources. I would imagine that a front end built as its own entity would run faster and have less hardware requirements.

I may be completely off base with what i am presenting here, but i would like to hear your all thoughts. I know this forum is filled with intelligent people who love their car pc's. I feel that there are a lot of people kind of doing there own thing when we should be working together. Im thinking that a custom linux distro that runs just a front end would be awesome.

Thanks for listening,

Stephen

Linux carpc software - text & LCD panels

Shugs81 — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:19:32 GMT

Hi chaps...

Is there any linux prebult software out there that does the following: (withough building myself!!)

Runs Flac/Wav files
Will output to 1 or 2 old school style lcd panels with track names and eq type dancing bars
boot quickly from a laptop (stripped of course)
associate all music from a removeable hd (gonna use a sata hot swap thing)

That is pretty much my requirements for the moment... maybe possibly digital radio / fm with info on display... but that isn't a necessary requirement!

I'm a bit slow with linux but will be willing to try it out... not planning a full colour display either..

thanks!

Problems with the linux kernel

bambi — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:13:46 GMT

Hello
i am building a desktop operating system with a partially rewritten version of the linux kernel and was wondering what in your view are the biggest issues with the linux kernel,
If you wish to know more about the OS contact me here an i will get back to you as soon as i can
Regards

Please...a simple answer to a simple problem...thanks!!

locs4dayz — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:55:01 GMT

I am trying to boot a VHD from the grub boot menu. I have been googling and trying all kinds of stuff, but none seem to work. Do any of you "Linux" users know how to accomplish this?

My Ubuntu installation is located at (hd0,2).
The VHD is located at \boot\VHD on my Ubuntu partition.

What should the menu.1st entry be?

Hope someone here knows how to do this. For some reason tasks like this are so much easier to accomplish in Windows. The instructions are almost always precise, and usually work the first time out(can you say "regedit"), because there is usually only one way to do it in Windows. With Linux there are so many ways to do one thing that you almost always spend weeks to get one thing done(that's just my experience with Linux). Instructions are usually vague(Linux users assume you know what they are talking about instead of explaining it to you like you are clueless, which is usually the case).

I usually get the "babyfied" answers from Kev(trip000). Wouldn't even mess with Linux anymore if it were not for his help and a few other like him.

So please, could you post a solution simple enough for a baby to understand...Thanks in advance!!!

Linux and graphics boot in under a second with swiftBoot

Blues — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:51:05 GMT

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Art...r-a-second.htm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElectronicsWeekly

Linux and graphics boot in under a second

Steve Bush
Monday 22 November 2010 16:13

Renesas and MPC Data have demonstrated a Linux kernel and graphical application booting in less than one second.

The hardware is Renesas' 32bit SH7724, the firm's latest SuperH processor, which is based on its SH4A core, operating at 500MHz where it delivers 900Dmips and 3.5Gflops.

"Slow boot times are often unacceptable, particularly in consumer and automotive products where users expect almost immediate access to functionality," said MPC business manager Jonathan Short.

MPC offers a range of 'swiftBoot' services aimed at cutting Linux boot times on a variety of processors.

The Renesas processor has hardware video processing and graphics acceleration allowing up to 720p video at 30fps, and an integrated LCD control unit.

http://www.swiftboot.com/swiftBoot/Home.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftBoot

MPC Data are leading experts in embedded system boot time enhancement. With our range of swiftBoot engineering services we have the solution for your device.

Supporting Linux� and uClinux on ARM�, SuperHTM, MIPS� & Blackfin� based silicon MPC Data offers a range of services that will be able to dramatically decrease the boot time of your embedded Linux device.

Slow boot times are often unacceptable, particularly in consumer products where users expect almost immediate access to functionality.

The extended functionality that we have come to expect from embedded devices often calls for fully functional operating systems such as Linux. Unfortunately, such operating systems come with an additional boot time overhead.

With our advanced analysis techniques and experience in Linux tuning, boot times can be reduced in some cases to less than a second.

Renesas MS7724 Ecovec
SoC: Renesas SH7724
Core: sh4a
Freq: 500Mhz
Demo: QT application with integrated camera monitor
Boot Time: ~1 seconds

TI OMAP3530EVM
SoC: TI OMAP3530
Core: Cortex a-8
Freq: 500Mhz
Demo: Camera application with integrated camera monitor and photo browsing mode.
Boot Time: 0.97 seconds

More here: http://www.mpc-data.co.uk/about-us-p...eases/#news291

Hardware recommendations for Linux CarPC

timbo66 — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:49:30 GMT

I am looking to build a CarPC that can run Windows or Linux. Given the sometimes spotty driver support for certain hardware under Linux, I want to make sure what I buy will work with Linux should I choose to go that route.

My requirements are for a modest system (Atom 330 or 510 based), high-quality video playback not a big deal, Music Player, GPS mapping, HD radio, WiFi (sync music library with home computers), Bluetooth (for Internet access via Smartphone), BMW iBus interface (steering wheel controls)

Can any of you Linux guys recommend hardware known to work well under Linux? Here's the hardware list:

Motherboard (looking at Intel DM510, Zotac NM10, Zotac ION)
GPS (USB)
Sound card (USB or possibly PCI/PCI-E)
Visteon HD Radio (via serial port and Mitch's cable)
WiFi (Mini PCI-E card on Mobo w/ext antenna)
Bluetooth (USB)
iBus (Serial)
Microphone (USB or Mic-In??)

Also, do you use suspend/hibernation under Linux, or just shutdown/startup? Any issues with USB devices coming back after waking up, like there is under Windows?

Thanks in advance

Simultaneous Windows and Linux with VMware

timbo66 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:42:10 GMT

OK maybe this is a pipe dream... but work a lot with VMware and I've been wondering if there is a place for this in the CarPC?

Imagine if you will, a minimal bare-bones Linux (read: fast) host O/S, running (free!) VMware workstation with two guest O/S' loaded: Say WinXP and Ubuntu or a different car-friendly Linux distro. For those that don't know VMware, all guest O/S' run concurrently. You can switch between them (almost) as easily as ALT-TABing between Windows apps.

Now, there are loads of issues with something like this. Like which O/S is bound to which USB devices, for example. Also, the guest O/S' (Windows and Linux) need to use separate partitions to avoid corrupting data and creating a rip in your CarPC's space-time-continuum.

Just thought I'd throw it out there.

How can i connect to internet through linux machine from windows?

Ansilio — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:08:31 GMT

I have 2 Nic cards in linux and one in windows.From one nic card of linux machine its is connected to internet .And i connected other nic card of linux with the nic card of windows machine.How can i access internet from windows through the linux machine.Linux machine is acting like a proxy srever.Linux version is slackware. And windows is Windows XP.Thanks in advance

Need help with dual boot settup!!!

locs4dayz — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 03:12:38 GMT

I need help with my dual boot setup. I have Windows XP installed and running great...I plan on purchasing Centrafuse as my front end from the mp3car store next week(been playing with the trial version, and I gotta say this is the best frontend out there). Originally was going to use LinuxICE as my primary OS, but too much stuff wouldn't work properly...touchscreen for example...and Navit just isn't gonna cut it for my navigation needs(not enough features and not easy enough to use), plus I am still new to linux and don't feel like spending anymore time on trying to fix stuff. So I opted for a Windows system, and everything was easy as kindergarten to setup and everything works properly. So I opted to use a full Ubuntu install as a secondary OS, which also runs properly, with the exception of the touch screen(which is why Linux won't be my primary system any time soon, but I don't mind using a wireless or usb mouse when using it...which won't be often, and will mainly be used for downloading when necessary and web browsing, since linux is virtually virus, spyware, and malware proof).

My problem is that I want to use the xp bootloader as my default loader. I have Ubuntu's bootloader(grub) installed on it's partition. Both OS's boot fine with no errors. I need to add Ubuntu to my XP boot.ini(which I can easily do), but I need it to point to my Ubuntu partition bootloader.

I have tried other methods, but none seem to work. I just need to know what line to add to the boot.ini so it will point to the right place to begin loading grub, more specifically what to type in. How do I accomplish this? I shouldn't have to go messing around editing anything else to make this happen, or messing with menu.1st either. All I need is for the boot.ini entry that I plan on editing to point to the right place on my Ubuntu partition to start the boot process, like it does when the partition is made active(used fdisk on an old win98 cd to make my Linux partition active to test, and it worked flawlessly). Then I used the 98 disk to put XP back to active status after my test with no problems at all. Both partions boot perfectly when made active, but I have to keep XP active if I want its bootloader to be the default one(do not wish to use grub as my default loader). I know It would be easier to use grub since it adds windows automatically, but I want to use XP's bootloader.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help(please don't ask me silly questions or tell me to use this program or that...just give me a simple detailed answer on where my boot.ini entry needs to point to). I should be able to get the desired results by editing ONLY the boot.ini....I am better at working with windows than I am with linux!!!!

Ubuntu is installed on a separate partition on the same drive(the 3rd one...Xp is the first partition, swap is the 2nd).

Simple networking help for Linux

Bugbyte — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:03:04 GMT

I just got a new embedded Linux board, the igepv2. It comes with Poky Linux and I'm trying to get it online but can't figure out what the problem is. Right now it is plugged into my router via ethernet cable but won't show up as an attached device.

I'm able to iwconfig and iwlist and the if config reports:

Code:

eth0  Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 76:09:B3:FF:F5:05

        inet addr: 192.168.1.100  Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0

        inet6 addr: fe80::7409:b3ff:feff:f505/64 Scope:Link

        UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

        RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

        TX packets: 176 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

        collisions:0 txqueuelan:1000

        RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)   TX bytes:17831  (17.4KiB)

        Interrupt: 80

I was able to set the IP address to the 192.168.1.100 and it took it just fine. I can actually ping 192.168.1.255 and get a response. But when I try to ping one of my home pc's FROM the igep terminal, I get nothing. It sends the ping and then waits.

The web browser built into Poky won't connect to anything either.

If I enter:

ifup eth0 <--the ethernet device, then I get:

udhcpc (v1.9.1) started
Sending discover...
Sending discover...
Sending discover...
No lease, failing

Any help is appreciated!

Ubuntu 10.10

SapporoGuy — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:17:25 GMT

Ubuntu is getting touch gestures. I wonder if this relevent to us here? Hmm, is meego gonna port? Or .... ???

I really would like to see nix become more popular in this market :)

Help with xorg.conf file

nasa — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:07:45 GMT

Howdy,

I am trying to create a xorg.conf file to work with my eby701 screen... The monitor doesn't seem to support EDID and/or DDC communications over VGA, so if you want more *correct* modelines you have to add them yourself (or so I think). The xorg.conf file I have come up with (leaving sections I want to work automatically out) follows:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
DisplaySize 152 91
VertRefresh 60-72
# 800x480 71.50 Hz (CVT) hsync: 35.96 kHz; pclk: 36.25 MHz
Modeline "800x480_72.00" 36.25 800 832 904 1008 480 483 493 503 -hsync +vsync
Option "PreferredMode" "800x480_72.00"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "945GM/GMS"
Driver "intel"
Option "UseEDID" "FALSE"
Option "Monitor0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Primary Screen"
Monitor "Monitor0"
Device "945GM/GMS"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "800x480_72.00"
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Primary Screen"
EndSection

Somethings I have noted: it seems the EDID option doesn't work any more, so I am unsure how to have xorg not try (it's pointless). And xrandr shows the following:

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1024 x 768, maximum 4096 x 4096
VGA1 connected 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.0*
800x600 60.3 56.2
848x480 60.0
640x480 59.9 59.9
LVDS1 connected 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.0*+ 85.0 75.0 70.1 60.0
832x624 74.6
800x600 85.1 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
640x480 85.0 72.8 75.0 59.9
720x400 85.0
640x400 85.1
640x350 85.1
TV1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

This confuses me as I am connected via VGA, so why do I have LVDS show up?

I've attached the X.org.log file for further info...

As always, I appreciate the help.

Attached Files

Xorg_0_log.txt (32.7 KB)

Android Invasion

SapporoGuy — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:58:30 GMT

:google: <--- without the thumbs up

I was reading an article on PC World just a few minutes ago.

I'm going to go out on the big limb and say, "android is going to be massive"!
Like in Windows massive.

I have the feeling that the mass appeal factor by manufactures will allow android to take new and up coming OS based appliance market. More than likely within the next 2 years most of us will own a android something or another.

I've always wanted a smart-land line that allowed me to sync my cell phone, computer and telephone. That article brought one up. Too bad I'm too attached to the hip to my smart cell phone.

So, I'm wondering would it be smart to start looking into android options for a carpc?

New to 'nix

Dak446 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:53:59 GMT

Joining the Linux scene with Ubuntu 10.4. I like it so far. Super light weight. However, there are many things I don't know about it, and from a "newb" standpoint, would like to know

What tips do you have? Absolute must have programs/aps/plugins?

EBY701, Vertical Size, Linux

nasa — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:32:38 GMT

Hi,

I have an eby701 monitor talked about on this thread: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lcd-...iput-ebay.html. On pretty much all resolutions I have tried, the image is bigger than the display in the vertical space. The monitor has controls for moving the picture up-and-down, but I can't find one for shrinking the picture vertically. Does anyone have modline and/or xorg configurations that work properly with this monitor? Or is there another option I haven't explored? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

LinuxICE

LinuxRacr — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:25:46 GMT

I think it is past time for me to try out LinuxICE. I'll let you know how it goes.

android factory carpc

unsungboxer — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:14:01 GMT

Cool article, shows that not only is android a competitive carpc platform, but its also commercial. Blows a hole in most of the anti-android-carpc arguments (sorry kev).

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/s...ne-with-andro/

Who has Steering wheel controls working with a Linux CarPC?

red_parchel — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:08:13 GMT

CURRENTLY my truck does not have stock steering wheel controls, BUT I'm fairly confident with the help of ebay I can replace my steering wheel with another OEM wheel with buttons, [along with the other parts needed] but after that I'm not sure what to do. I've seen devices such as the Joycon EX [windows only?]. Has any one tried this product in Linux? does any one know why it wouldn't work?

Does any one have working steering wheel controls on their Linux CarPC? and how? I'm looking for idea's before I run out and buy parts that just won't work [I've got enough of those]

Thanks
-Red

EDIT: I've seen THIS tread, but no one talks about it actually working, I was hoping for a testimonial?

First Car PC, Gentoo Attempt..

jmorgan6 — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:04:23 GMT

Just wanted to stop in and say hello. I've been considering doing a car pc for a while now, and finally started the project.

The car:
2004 350z Touring model. Bose w/o Navigation. The plan is to use the 2003 cubby, with a 7" touch screen.

The hardware:
Athlon XP x64 5600+(2.9ghz dual)
1-4 Gig Ram(have 4 gigs..)
250 SATA laptop drive
USB GPS - prolific chipset

OS:
Gentoo Stage 3 Install(Well maybe).
genkernel kernal
Fluxbox and/or Slim window/desktop manager?
Pandora Radio via Adobe Air
Navit -- Maybe, kinda working
python interface/mp3 player/weather -- Using pymedia's module

I use SLES and ubuntu on a daily basis. I -thought- I had become decent at linux. Gentoo is, well, a humbling experience.

The gentoo install was pretty easy, and the more I used portage the more I liked it. However, I couldn't get X to work right on my first install. I emerged, xorg-server, xdm, fluxbox and slim. If I rebooted, it would come up and go to a black screen, and X working pretty hard for several minutes. After 5-10 minutes randomly i'd get a login screen. I added fluxbox to my xinitrc, and specified fluxbox as my XSESSION parameter in rc.conf. I also put slim in my xdm.conf . Fluxbox wouldn't start automatically, I finally fixed that by adding fluxbox to slim.conf (I think?). However, I still have a long delay before X starts, and it seems to randomly die..even tho 'X' is still running.

Looking in my xorg.log I saw 'unknown module' radeon, which made me think my ati drivers were incorrect and causing the long delays in X loading, and slow performance. However, if I tried to install ati-drivers, I got an error saying >=xorg-server-1.7.0 was blocking ati drivers ? I couldn't get past this.

Things I did manage to get working:
pymedia module for python
navit -- I had to manually touch the usb device for my prolific /dev/ttyUSB0
Pandora --- I use Pandora currently on my iphone connected to my radio. I love it, and this is part of my plan for my car PC. After installing adobe air, and grabbing the pandora.air this worked very well.

My first attempt was on an old spare IDE drive, i've decided to start fresh with the drive i'll be using. I'm not looking to be spoon fed, but i've exhausted my googling abilities and can not figure out my issue with my ATI Radeon onboard video. It's an Radeon 3200 series onboard video. I thought maybe it was a make.conf issue, so I added video card = Radeon to it, and re-emerged xorg, xdm, flux, and slim. I've been tempted to just install gnome or kde and see if that fixes it, but that seems like alot of bloat that I don't need for this project.

I've learned alot this weekend playing with Gentoo, but it's been pretty painful... USE Flags are something else..

My -goal- is to write my own interface in python. I'd like to integrate weather information on the main screen, have Music, GPS and Web abilities. I plan to call a 3rd party app for GPS(Navit or something). For Music, i'll write an mp3 player in python to handle this(pymedia module). As well launch Pandora.. I don't think I need a full blown gnome/kde environment to do this, but having a 5-10 minute delay in X starting is unacceptable.

Linux based iPad (sort of)

davedave1234 — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:17:11 GMT

I was looking around and I found this and thought Kev may be interested. http://wepad.mobi/en It is a iPad like device that runs linux. It has a 1.66ghz Intel Atom, no mention of ram though, 6 hour battery, 16gb or 32gb storage (upgradable with SDHC cards) 11" screen, web cam, all the same sensors, 802.11 a/b/g/n, 3G (special version), GPS (I think only on the 3G one though) but it looks like a nice device and has multi-touch and Linux. Here is the spec sheet compairing its self to the iPad. http://www.neofonie.de/files/product...ad_1004014.pdf

What do you guys think?

Dave

webcam dvr

eliofall — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:39:17 GMT

Hello

Ok here's the think, I have 2 webcams set up in my car. I don't want to be recording all the time. That takes up a lot of hdd space. So is there a program that will let me rewind live webcam and record?

Another note. I need to program to record audio too.

And if there isn't a webcam dvr like program could it be done with a script? Like the last 5min are in tmp and anything older moved to null? But then I would need another script to save the tmp video/audio

Any ideas?

Gauge Graphics Library

fastdeuce — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:15:49 GMT

Are there pre-made graphics libraries with common dash gauge graphics available from somewhere? I'm looking for gauges such as speedometer, tach, fuel, turbo boost, engine temp, battery voltage, etc.

I tried a search for these, but I did not find much.

Beagle Board

legendhero — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:34:52 GMT

I really want to use this board in my setup. I would place it behind the touchscreen in the dash if possible. or in the glovebox. just wondering if it can run linuxice. I am brand new to linux and i read that the beagle board can run ubuntu. I know linuxice is different but im hoping that it will run on this board. It is inexpensibe, small, and awesome in my opinion. I have used it previously in a psp hardrive project and it is awesome. Just had to have someone load linux and everything on it for me. Hope someone has some info for me. Sorry if this has been covered. I lurked for hours last night looking for the info but i could not find with the search feature or through my own post scouring. the board is at www. beagleboard .org. thanks everyone in advance for all your help. feel free to criticize as long as you can point me in the correct direction as well. Haha. thanks everyone.

Holy linpus lite boots fast

Punky — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:14:34 GMT

I was pointing out linux pendrive, so i decided to have a look at one project that i totally forgot about. So i checked their website today, and i saw this video, HOLY! this OS boots fast!
Skip to 2:10s to see the boot time.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYMsEYEk2hY&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Now how do i get my hands on a copy that's none trial!
KEV? what u think?

Have Questions on Linux and Ubuntu Linux.

HiJackZX1 — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:30:35 GMT

Please, I just want to say please don't bash me for partially jumping ship as far as Windows is concerned. I know some of you told me so, but I had to find out for myself.

My main system will be Windows 7, and as you know I have dumped alot of money into it. My quest to add 6 personal systems though, I really do not want to spend alot of money per system. My budget for each system is $125.00, $100.00 is for the MoBo and $20.00 for a 2GB USB Thumb Drive. I am doing this to show that you can have a very cheap for under $150.00 dollars. I did research on booting Windows from a thumb drive and there is simply to much involved and it isn't really guaranteed to be stable. Because I only want to listen to music, watch video, DVD, chat and browse the internet, I don't need a bloated Windows install (Yes I'm admitting it, I don't need Windows.)

Now I came over here to get info on Ubuntu, or maybe even LinuxICE. I know that Ubuntu can be used off a USB Thumb Drive, I saw it done on SYSTM the TV show that has the former host of the show from channel TechTV (which G4 raped and destroyed).

1) Will Ubuntu play nice with having to use devices on my main Windows 7 setup? I want the other units to be able to access the DVD Rom, Media Drive, and 3G Modem. I am thinking that because I will be using Internet Sharing on the main system, Ubuntu will just connect as though its connected directly. Will I have issues with DVD Rom, and the Media Drive?

2) Can LinuxICE be run off a USB thumbdrive?

3) Will Linux use any other devices connected to it. Say someone decides they want to use their iPod or Zune or a web cam on their system, would it be plug and play? If not will it be easy for me to set it up so it works?

4) Can I use Linux in a EWF type mode? Basically I want Linux to write to RAM and only read from the thumbdrive. I want this to be done so that the drive lasts longer. Alot of writing will kill the drive faster.

5) Is it easy to customize a skin? I know you will hate me, but I want to create a skin that looks similar to the skin I use in Centrafuse. I want a consistent look. Basically when I turn on the unit, all I want to see is icons that show Media, Video, DVD and Internet, thats it. No other info is required or needed. Maybe an area that shows time and stuff, but thats it.

6) What hardware should I go with? The motherboards I am using are 1.6 single core atoms. What I am not sure is how much RAM i should use. I was thinking 2GB will be fine (thats the boards max) but do I really need that much? Remember I would like to write to RAM. So maybe 1GB for system and 1GB for Writing? I know Linux isn't aggressive with system usage so what do you guys think I will need for a fairly speedy system. What thumbdrive is recommend. I know the faster the write and read, the better. What size should I get though? How much does Linux use? i was thinking 2GB should be enough.

7) How does Linux use devices. One devioce, the touchscreen, has to be able to be disconnected and reconnected without issue. Thats how the KVMP does it. I know woth Windows it isnt an issue, but will it with Linux?

8) I see that Ubuntu has so much I can do.... it has alot of add ons. Is LinuxIce the same way?

9) What else should I know?

Any help would be appreciated.

XENARC 700IDT and Xorg 1.6/1.7

xcoldfyrex — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:41:37 GMT

So, I got this device last year(from mp3car), and it worked fine with the evtouch(only driver that worked) drivers with Xorg 1.4 and 1.5. Something in 1.6 broke the drivers and the screen only responds to click events, no pointer movement. I've tried hacking around with the drivers, many combination of xorg.conf to no avail. udev rules are correct, the device node is being created and the X config does reference the proper node. I have found noone else using this combination so alas I turn here for help with hopes someone is using this! If anyone is using this screen with 1.6 or newer can you please tell me:
-your xorg.conf
-your kernel version
-any drivers not bundled with xorg that made it work

I'm running Gentoo for those who are wondering.
Thanks! :)

New to CarPC and Linux. Critique my proposal.

ChristopherJ — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:49:00 GMT

I've been reading the forum for a few weeks now and decided to post my questions since I believe I've exhausted the search. I want to describe the proposed setup of my CarPC and let the geniuses who poke around this forum offer advice before I start reinvesting my tax return. :peace:

I plan on using a 7" Lilliput Touch screen (EBY701), with a GuruPlug Display to run all of my goodies (stats are in the link). It ships with Linux on the internal flash memory. The goodies I want to run are Centrafuse (other suggestions welcome) for the front end, GPS software with rooftop antennae, OBDII hardware, reverse camera, wireless keyboard, Griffin Powermate volume knob, DVD drive, tuner for FM radio and a sound card. I'm looking for options to power this beast and Carnetix seems to get the vote for most CarPCs but will it work with the GuruPlug? Below is a list of components I compiled when I was going with a Windows XP base for this. After some experimentation I determined that tinyXP takes too long to start up on my old donor PCs. I'm hoping for a below 30 second startup; ideally 15 seconds.

How ambitious is this for me, as a complete beginner, to be tackling Linux? Is Linux going to be a good fit for what I want to accomplish? Is there enough driver support out there for all of this hardware? What are the speed bumps that I may not see?

Thanks for the time you took to read and think about this. I feel like I'm a little on the cutting edge since the GuruPlug Display unit hasn't been released yet so I want to gather all of the input I can. I sent a similar email to the company which sells the GuruPlug.

Quote:

CarNetix CNX-P2140 185W Dual Output Intelligent DC-DC Regulator
Preassembled Black Double Din LCD Frame with 7" Lilliput EBY701
ElmScan Compact 5 USB OBD-II by ScanTool
CMOS Infrared, Night Vision, Waterproof, High Resolution Backup Camera, works with 1" Mounting Hole
Mini-Key USB Wireless Keyboard PS3-0326
Griffin Powermate Volume Knob 1100-PWRMTS
Rooftop GPS/Cellular/PCS/WiFi antenna GPS 2400
Centrafuse Auto Navigation Edition for North America
Panasonic Slot Load CW-8124 DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive 24x24x24 Disc Drive
HQCT 1.0 (High Quality Car Tuner) FM Radio

DCDC-USB on Linux

tripzero — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:24:11 GMT

I'm trying to write some code to read voltage and ignition from the dcdc-usb powersupply from minibox. I"m using libusb 1.0 and I'm a little lost in this protocol. I seem to be able to write to it but I'm unable to read from it. I wonder if I'm sending the write message. For my test, I'm just writing a simple test for now, setting up the device, writing a "Get all values" command and then trying to read a response. Here's my code:

Code:

#define DCDCUSB_GET_ALL_VALUES                        0x81

#define DCDCUSB_RECV_ALL_VALUES                        0x82

#define READENDPOINT                                 0x81

#define WRITEENDPOINT                                0x01



unsigned char* message = new unsigned char[1];

        message[0] = DCDCUSB_GET_ALL_VALUES;

        int transfered=0;



        int result = libusb_interrupt_transfer(psudev, WRITEENDPOINT, message, 1, &transfered, TIMEOUT);



        qDebug()<<"result:"<


        if(result == 0) //success

        {

                unsigned char *buffer = new unsigned char[500];

                result = libusb_interrupt_transfer(psudev, READENDPOINT, buffer, 500, &transfered, TIMEOUT);



                qDebug()<<"result:"<


                QByteArray reply = QByteArray::fromRawData((const char*)buffer, transfered);



                if(reply.size() && reply.at(0) == DCDCUSB_RECV_ALL_VALUES)

                {

                        double val = reply.at(3)*(float)0.1558;

                        m_voltageIn = QString("%.2f").arg(val).toDouble();



                        val = reply.at(4)*(float)0.1558;

                        m_ignition = QString("%.2f").arg(val).toDouble();



                        val = reply.at(5)*(float)0.1170;

                        m_voltageOut = QString("%.2f").arg(val).toDouble();

                }



                delete buffer;

        }

Here's some links to the window's source code and a "text test": http://resources.mini-box.com/online...SB-Pro-src.zip

Am i missing anything obvious?

M4-ATX tools for Linux

knyt — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:12:26 GMT

m4api, a tool for monitoring and configuring your M4-ATX PSU from Linux, is now available at http://ram.umd.edu/wiki/Public/Software/m4api

See 'Power Supplies' thread: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/powe...ols-linux.html

GPSD Protocol Changes

chunkyks — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:29:34 GMT

I dunno if many people here are using gpsd, but if they are, there's a document up describing the API changes for the new protocol

FWIW, the changes I made to support this: the actual C and feature checking in cmake.

Gary (-;

PHPuter

tief — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:09:11 GMT

Hello

I'm wondering if anyone will have interest in frontent running under
PHP + GTK2. It is running on my EEE901 with composite effects under X server.
As a player is used vlc for audio and mplayer for video. My OS is gentoo.

For now it is private project but if there will be interest for such a beast i can
clean it a little bit and make it publicly available.

I'm even working on simple php API allowing easy development of another modules.

Some old ( very old ) pictures can be found here http://www.c5club.cz/phputer/

regards

tief

Infill g4?

Fry_kun — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:41:52 GMT

Hi all
Has anyone tried getting Infill G4 to run linux?

I'm trying a Fedora live CD but can't find the right modeline to get graphics going :(

v1 support in Linux

tripzero — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:05:08 GMT

http://icculus.org/~chunky/stuff/v1cs-2009-11-23.tar.gz

Chunky_Ks was kind enough to build a basic cli app for valentine1 support in *nix. This will hopefully be the beginnings of a proper dbus daemon for Linux[ICE] and UI for nGhost3.

More to come...

If you have a v1 and can test this, please let us know how it works.

Big thanks to Chunky_Ks for his efforts!

Mobile Linux

Punky — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:58:06 GMT

Anyone have any nice mobile linux suggestions? I'm testing this on my old P4 system.
Currently testing out
ubuntu netbook remix - don't really like it
ubuntu MID - will test tonight
Linpus Quick OS - this one i can't find anywhere it seems like its only made for acer one netbooks, but it looks nice and have really fast booting. I tried the old linpus version, it was niec and fast, but the touchscreen driver didn't work so well. The new one looks much more polished, but not publicly available.
Moblin - just downloaded, not sure if it'll work on non-atom processor.

Apache server hell - help!

Bugbyte — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:53:53 GMT

[Sigh] I hate to ask for help here but I know somebody has the answer and I've invested hours in this problem.

I've set up my apache2 server and have had it working without issue but I wanted to change the location of the document root for it because its in the root user location and I'm having trouble ftp'ing data into that folder. I also know that it isn't appropriate to use the root user for the web location. The apache2 install is in /etc/apache2

So, I've changed my apache2 http.conf to read the following:

Code:

Servername localhost1

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

DocumentRoot /mysite

Unfortunately, I get a 403 error "Forbidden - you don't have permission to access / on this server."

I've tried other locations for the folder and restarted the server using the apache2ctl restart command each time. I know it reads the file because if I put an invalid path in the DocumentRoot it will tell me so.

I've also added /mysite to my sites-enabled folder and included Order allow,deny and Allow from all in both the default file and the mysite file. The mysite file reads as follows:

Code:



        ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost



        DocumentRoot /mysite

        

                Options FollowSymLinks

                AllowOverride None

                Order allow,deny

                Allow from all

        

        

                Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews

                AllowOverride None

                Order allow,deny

                allow from all

        



        ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/

        

                AllowOverride None

                Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch

                Order allow,deny

                Allow from all

        



        ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/errormysite.log



        # Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,

        # alert, emerg.

        LogLevel warn



        CustomLog /var/log/apache2/accessmysite.log combined



    Alias /doc/ "/usr/share/doc/"

    

        Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks

        AllowOverride None

        Order deny,allow

        Allow from all

        Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128

At this point, I've tried to set everything back to the original working setup but at this point I am denied access for all options. I know I have a permission problem but I can't figure it out.

Can anyone suggest a fix? Thanks in advance.

RevFE - Linux style!

malcom2073 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:01:51 GMT

RevFE now officially supports all you linux folks! Well... at least the ones running ubuntu. Attached is a .deb installer for ubuntu 9.04, but it may work for other versions. Unzip and Install it using your favourite Debian installer. The default music directory is ~/.revfe/Music as set in /usr/share/revfe/settings.xml so put your music in there, or change settings.xml to match where your music is. Once you install it, run RevFE by typing RevFE in any terminal window.

A word of warning, RevFE is a bit dep-heavy, due it it's using phonon and Qt. You may also need to install gstreamer's good bad and ugly plugins to play mp3's if you do not have an appropriate codec on your system already.

Edit 11/10/09:
Removed link, see RevFE forum for latest linux version.

Edit 11/1/09:

Added some 0.43 changes, and fixed minor bugs that linux causes :)

Edit 10/28/09:

Fixed the crashing issue, as well as added the two taglib libraries to the dep list. Also added a feature where settings.xml defaults the music directory to ~/Music and the musicdir variable accepts ~ and replaces it with the users home directory.

Moblin 2.0 with Intel D945GCLF2D

hexxamillion — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:27:36 GMT

I was following the moblin project a while back but then lost touch with it. Now I see they finally have a LIVE Image available. I am curious if anyone knows if the Moblin image will run on any of Intel Atom mobos such as the Intel D945GCLF2D. That would be a nice O/S for a CarPC because of the GUI design. The only thing is getting handsfree phone stable.

The site states that the Moblin will not run on non-SSSE3 supported CPU's. The question is if the CPU for D945GCLF2D supports that. Will have to research.

http://moblin.org/downloads

Virtual gauges for my new Challenger

Challenger82 — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:19:28 GMT

I need some help with a new project. I want to replace the gauges in my new Dodge Challenger with computer generated ones. I am planning on using an embedded Linux device connected to Three 6" (or so) OLED screens. I have been able to find the hardware I need but I can't seem to find the software. I will need some thing to interpret the information from the car and some thing to let me translate that into a virtual gauge for each of the three screens. I would also like it if the program would make it easy to design skins (or just the world... which ever).

Any help would be appreciated.

ncarinfo

unsungboxer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:47:21 GMT

hey kev000,

do some of your programs like ncarinfo run without linuxice and nghost? I ask because I have never had good luck w/ linuxice. I am also partial to the full ubuntu desktop, but I like some of the components you have made.

I am running 9.04 UNR, with XBMC for my media player. I have been looking for GPS and OBD2 programs. My assumption is I could add your PPA and key to synaptic and be able to download ncarinfo, but have not been able to figure it out.

btw, I dont mean to knock nghost and linuxice. I commend you for your work, and someday I will jump aboard. I am just waiting for it to get developed further. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Android

upspace — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:36:42 GMT

Android linux based OS developed by Google looks promising for Car PC usage, because

- available to Smart phones, Internet Tables, PMP, MID, UMPC, etc.
- large buttons for touchscreen navigation
- plays all formats
- a lot of applications
- navigation software from NDrive, CoPilot (others to come)

I ordered the brand new Archos 5 Internet Table 500 GB version and can't wait to get that beast.

Silverwolf 3?

intuitionsys — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:57:40 GMT

Hey everybody,

It's been forever since I've posted here. I've been so busy with other things I pretty much dropped Silverwolf 2 development and since moving back to the United States I haven't gotten around to putting the latest version archives back up on the new server. Which leads me to my question...

I don't even know what's available for Linux right now as it's been well over a year since I've done anything actively wrt car pc development. Is starting development on Silverwolf 3 a worthwhile endeavor? Are there already really decent projects available that are easy to install and use that would make it kind of pointless? The skin options in Silverwolf 2 were endless but editing the skin file was so daunting only a few people ever tried making their own :)

If anybody might be interested in a new Silverwolf frontend, especially for Linux (the first two were exclusively for linux, the first being an embedded option) I'd like to hear from you. Whether it actually happens or not I can't say but I don't want to start a big project if there are already several out there that everybody is perfectly happy with.

It's good to be back :)

Linux Compatible USB Sound

PaulF — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:15:29 GMT

My new car security system is depending on a PA speaker under the hood, which can be heard within a half mile, and my sheeva plug which is on 24/7. Problem is, the Sheeva plug doesn't have sound output.

So I'm looking for a USB sound card that runs on linux and has a driver in either the standard Debian repository, or source code, since it needs to work on an ARM processor.

Any ideas?

A little php help?

Bugbyte — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:18:06 GMT

I'm working with gpsd and trying to output data from the gps to a web page. gpsd comes with a gps.php interface but when I try to run it, I get the following error:

Code:

Warning: fopen(gpsd_config.inc) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/www/gpsd.php on line 515

can't generate prototype config file. try running this script as root in DOCUMENT_ROOT

The gpsd_config.inc file does not exist but if I understand the code directly (locate here), it tries to create it if it does not exist. I must have something configured wrong on my Linux server but I'm a total noob at this and am not sure what I have to do. I already tried changing the document root to the /var/www folder but that doesn't seem to help.

Other php scripts run okay in this same location. I installed phpmyadmin but can't even figure out how to get the path to pull up on my browser. I know I'm misconfigured but don't know what to look for. Any help is appreciated.

Proximity 2

tripzero — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:11:31 GMT

What is it?
Proximity is a simple daemon that can perform any number of custom actions based upon the proximity of things. It can be used to sync with a home network when you get within range of your home AP or start your car when you walk up to it with cell phone in pocket.

Features:
- Wifi Proximity: will trigger events when Access points appear or disappear.
-- Supports SSID and Hardware Addresses (MAC)

- Bluetooth Proximity: will trigger actions based on the proximity of a bluetooth device such as your cellphone.
- Works with and bluetooth device that supports SDP.

- GPS Proxmity: will trigger actions based on your distance to a pre-defined lat/long point.
- Uses the "Haversine equation" to calculate radius accurately.

- DBus events: All "events" will notify via dbus to any listening app for further control and integration.

- Simple XML-based event configuration.

Download via svn:

Code:

svn co https://linuxice.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/linuxice/packages/proximity

Documentation:
http://wiki.openice.org/index.php?title=Proximity

system in RAM

eurocarpc — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:20:06 GMT

Hi!

In order to reduce disk access and improve performance I thought about having the whole system running from a RAMdrive.

I know the system does very good caching for itself and so on, but it still may be interesting to "evaluate".

Let's say we could fit the whole OS and programs in about 2GB. A cheap pendrive can give you around 20MB/sec of read speed. That is 100 seconds +/-, and quite a resonable figure to me... From then on, I'say everything would go really really fast wouldn't it?

Quoting Jeremy Clarkson... "How hard can it be!!??" :)

[A bit OT] Amount of WEP networks in your area

eurocarpc — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:41:51 GMT

Hi!

There is a massive amount of (still) wep'd wifi networks in my area, as the dominant ISP ships their routers with WEP as the default setting, and no one changes it.

How is this matter in your area/town/city?

TFT Touchscreen with eGalax Touch driver + USB Mouse -> weired mouse pointer action

cmonty — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:42:08 GMT

hi!

i'm running ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-15-generic, X server X.Org X Server 1.6.0 Release Date: 2009-2-25 X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0.

to get the TFT touchscreen working, i've installed package xserver-xorg-input-evtouch and driver eGalax Touch driver for 32bit Linux kernel 2.6.x, version 2.06.2905-32b-k26.

output of cat /proc/bus/input/devices

Code:

I: Bus=0003 Vendor=0eef Product=0001 Version=0112

N: Name="eGalax Inc. Touch"

P: Phys=usb-0000:00:1d.0-2/input0

S: Sysfs=/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.0/usb2/2-2/2-2:1.0/input/input5

U: Uniq=

H: Handlers=mouse1 event3

B: EV=1b

B: KEY=401 0 30000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

B: ABS=f

B: MSC=10

everthing works fine UNTIL i plugin USB mouse controller.
then the mouse controller is not working properly, means the pointer is moving on the screen, but i cannot select anything.

this problem is described here http://www.conan.de/touchscreen/evtouch.html
"Since Xorg 7.2 there is always a default-mouse-pointer which will run simultaneously with evtouch if you do not prevent it from loading. It is extremely important that you add the following to your configuration. Otherwise you will get double click events and all kind of strange things."

but as HAL is used i don't know how this should be implemented.

can someone assist here?

THX

The things I want in my Linux CarPC...

eurocarpc — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:10:09 GMT

... and are not "standard" in my Ubuntu 9.04 .

These are all small ideas for scripts that shouldn't be more than a few lines in bash, but could be very useful for me.

I'm not talking about any specific distro fixes, these are things you would like to see in any Linux distro for the CarPC.

If anyone reading this codes at least one of them, I'll do another.

1. The screen goes black after 10min. Fixme

2. Filesystem integrity check loaded less often, only if stopped.

3. Small script to de-activate unnecessary services in the CarPC environment, like printing, and anything related to multiuser.

4. No ttys besides the graphical terminal are needed. Maybe one or two, just in case, not more.

5. Is there a program to modify the bootsplash image with the car brand logo?

Poor man's Jeep PC work-in-progress and nGhost troubles

DirtySouthTech — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:57:18 GMT

Please excuse me if I have inadvertently posted this in the wrong place, as I'm not sure where to place this question. I've been tinkering with various pieces of hardware I've been fortunate enough to get my hands on this year in an effort to build a prototype automotive PC for my jeep. It's been slow going, mainly because of a video issue stemming from finances. I don't have a job at the moment, and I'm on a fixed income. As you can pretty well guess, this has limited my options, but it HAS had the added benefit of dramatically improving my prayer life. As many of you can attest, when you're so broke you can't pay attention, you have a tendency to see options you never knew were there. For instance, a dear friend of mine has had an automotive DVD player with two headrest mounted monitors for a few years and finally told me of it late last year. The DVD player itself does not work, but the AV inputs were fine and the displays were in good condition, so I slapped down $30 for them. Well, even though I'm a trained computer technician, I never did learn the finer points of video signals, sync frequencies, and the like beyond resolution and refresh rate, so inevitably when I plugged the displays into my Mini-ITX board, the image rolled into incoherence. Needless to say, I was quite disheartened, but prudence won out and I kept the displays, thinking that I would get a PCI card with composite video out or something. In the following months, I kept researching various software options before stumbling onto two solutions that would solve not only my video problem, but would upgrade my displays to full touchscreen capability. A trip to ebay landed me with a video converter module for $32, which has just arrived and the displays worked fine. Luckily, the new LinuxICE2 alpha's desktop shows up perfectly, even if I wouldn't be able to use the terminal application without hefty font resizing. When combined with a touchscreen film that I will be purchasing in a few weeks, the display setup will be a poorman's touchscreen and will have cost me about $120 to build altogether. When compared to an absolute MINIMUM of $220 or so that I've seen them go for on the Internet and on Ebay, I'd say that's a good deal. This will be going with the now discontinued Intel 201GLY mini-ITX motherboard I bought from Logic Supply for $74 and a 1gig stick of DDR2.

For the software side, I intend to use OpenICE from the nGhost project, which is perhaps the most elegant front end I have ever seen, even compared to such proprietary front ends as Centrafuse. It would seem a no-brainer to use the nGhost, either by installing it in a custom Linux install, or by using the Live CD that the openice site offers, but alas... the last beta did not boot at all on the laptop I'm using to test my configurations with. The new alpha boots however, and it is gorgeous! However, looks aren't everything, especially when almost nothing works. I have no idea where the nghost configuration file is, so I cannot point to where I want my music stash, the Thunar file manager seems to be suffering from a bad startup script which generates the error "cannot locate '%F' " before exiting, and the nGhost configuration utility hangs every time I try to use it. I've been a frequent visitor to the openice.org website, and have found that many of the links are either broken or lead back to the front page, the forum's layout is confusing and easy to get lost in, and virtually all of the howtos are hopelessly outdated. It appears that the development team is understaffed and overworked. The fact that they've been able to roll out a new Live CD based on Ubuntu 9.04 at all is amazing, and I tip my heatsink to them. Kev000, I see that you're a member of the development team and frequent this particular forum, and I hope you don't take what I've said in the wrong way. I'm very frustrated, but I don't fault you or your associates for it, and would love to help in any way that I can. Since I'm working on an automotive PC and have chosen to build it with nGhost, I'll gladly document my progress as I build and test it with the openice distribution, Ubuntu, and Gentoo. When I have learned how to set it up properly, from packages and source, I'll be happy to write up a guide and post it for you. All I ask is for some patient tutelage. Please pass my gratitude to the rest of the development team for all the hard work that has gone into the project. I'm eagerly await your response. God bless man.

SheevaPlug Wishlist

chunkyks — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:56:54 GMT

In response to BugByte in this thread, here's a new forum thread for the discussion of a shopping list of what people want by default on a SheevaPlug distribution intended mainly for cars.

I'll start:

Kernel modules:
ftdi_sio
Bunch of bluetooth stuff

Userland:
obdgpslogger

Next?

Gary (-;

Three questions regarding Sygic+Wine

eurocarpc — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:10:04 GMT

Hi!

I'm succesfully running sygic under wine now, with Ubuntu Desktop 9.04 .

But I have a number of minor problems I'd like to solve:

1. Why is it that if I do "wine Drive.exe" or "wine /Drive.exe" the program stops after showing the first screen? If instead, I do right click and "run with wine" from nautilus, it works fine... =( I think it may have something to do with environment variables, being set differently in the terminal and in nautilus, but I'm not sure...

2. Is there any way to maximize the window automatically when the program is started?

3. I have created a soft link from the directory to the GPS tty, ttyUSB0; that lets wine read from the GPS as a standard windows serial port. Till there, everything OK. Now, what if I want other programs to use the GPS at the same time? AFAIK, you only need to read from the tty to get the GPS coordinates; and therefore there should be a way to "replicate" the port in the same way the Windows program Franson(s?) GPS gate worked. How can I do this?

Thanks!

Hibernate in Ubuntu when external power is disconnected

Meltz014 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:37:33 GMT

Well, the title pretty much sums it up: Is there a way to do this? I would also like it to wake up when the power is connected again, but i'm fine with just hitting the red button stuck in my dash i guess. I'm running 9.04 right now, using moovidia, but that probably shouldn't even matter.

Moovida Media Center

wirelessdreamer — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:03:17 GMT

I've been looking for a media player that will work well with the software setup for my carpc. within the past month the media player Elisa, went under a major rewrite of the gui. and the new project is called Moovida. I've been very happy with the interface. I'm running it on top of Ubuntu 9.04 right now.

I'd be interested in hearing feeback from anyone else that tries it. I think you'll be impressed.

Navit working on Iphone - get it on cydia

Fiberoptic — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:30:32 GMT

We plan to do a video blog on this tomorrow morning, but here it is 4 days off the press:

http://wiki.navit-project.org/index.php/Navit_on_Iphone

Why dosen't navit have a torrent? Downloading the compiled map version is taking 2 hours. grr......!

"
What works

Routing
GPS updates
OSM maps
Speech (OS<3.0)
Track logs

nGhost 2.0.2/Ubuntu 9.0.4 - Library won't play anything

ThePistonDoctor — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:14:11 GMT

Hi all,

I've been messing around with nGhost for a while now and I am having some trouble. I recently added about 15 gigs of music to my HDD and am able to get it to show up in nGhost, but when I hit play it won't play anything. It's like it's having some kind of problem reading the files because it skips through them one by one, but they don't play. I watched the terminal as this was happening and I see something like this each time:

Code:

06/20/2009 16:58:02 EDT:WARNING - event.cpp:doListBoxAction(1065) - Unhandled action: goto_positionText

06/20/2009 16:58:02 EDT:WARNING - populate.cpp:SearchDir(70) - Failed to create the artgrabber plugin

buffer: loadfile "/home/god/music/Rascal Flatts/Feels Like Today/10 Holes.mp3" 0

 sizeof(73)

06/20/2009 16:58:04 EDT:WARNING - event.cpp:doListBoxAction(1065) - Unhandled action: goto_positionText

06/20/2009 16:58:04 EDT:WARNING - populate.cpp:SearchDir(70) - Failed to create the artgrabber plugin

buffer: loadfile "/home/god/music/Rascal Flatts/Feels Like Today/11 Oklahoma-Texas Line.mp3" 0

 sizeof(87)

06/20/2009 16:58:05 EDT:WARNING - event.cpp:doListBoxAction(1065) - Unhandled action: goto_positionText

06/20/2009 16:58:05 EDT:WARNING - populate.cpp:SearchDir(70) - Failed to create the artgrabber plugin

I don't know if there's something I'm missing or what but I have no internet right now since I'm in the process of moving so I can't search (currently sitting outside Brueggers with a wifi card in the car, lol).

I have played with the nghost config file, it's pointing to the correct directory. I have also tried messing with some of the other conf files, changing users, modifying permissions on my OS, etc etc. I think I might be missing some plugins or something because I also have no options in the "Apps" button, and the blank button in the lower right pulls up three more blank buttons which when clicked just show a bunch of "xxxxxx plugin not loaded" messages.

Hopefully someone can help me out with this, cause this Audacious application with the freakin tiny buttons is getting old very quickly! haha thanks everyone.

Trouble installing lilliput drivers

thrasherCivic — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:10:48 GMT

I've lurked for years on this forum but only recently saved up the money to actually start building anything! But I can't get past one of the first steps... I can't get the monitor working.

I'm using a Lilliput EBY-701 screen with Ubuntu 9.04 with the eGalax drivers which were supplied with the screen.

When I try and run the "TouchKit" file I get an error saying "Please make sure the X Module is installed and root permission is required to run this program".

Am I missing something? :violin:

Moblin Not Seeing Drives to Install On

pyr0 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:13:25 GMT

Hello all

As title implys, on my test pc (gaming pc) install options and booting was fine, all be it laggy from lack of drivers, however, when i got to my CarPC to install, test and see if it was any good, it appears that only IDE drives can be installed on as in the install menu that lists drivers there is nothing that would allow or even pick up that there was 2x Sata drives and a large enough SSD also.

Is this normal, and just a major design flaw or is there another way or step i missed in making them visible.

Thank you

---
Pyr0

OpenICE, Linux and Why

pyr0 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:39:38 GMT

Hello all

having only used linux to f**k around and decide that for a gaming computer its just not easy enough to bother with, i come here now with carPC in mind, as generally i will only be using my new CarPC set up for the basics of Audio/Video, linux is looking good, while as a beta tester of windows7 since it was avaliable to be one, i do believe windows7 will be better than Vista (even if it does have the ****ty Vista UI) I though some crazy good linux setup would be the way to go as most if not all Linux distros have the apps i need for audio and video playback.

back when i was testing out Linux, i was always either installing on back up PCs, but i loved the USB installs "hacker style" :)

want to know in general a few things;

Most people use OpenICE? (which i am / have just downloaded) :dance:
Why is Ice better than say Ubuntu which i also have
Will it fully support all my hardware (windows 7 has almost everything built in up to current high end Gcards)
What are average boot times with Ice? (Current W7 is 14-18 seconds)
Does Ice support all the monitoring goodies, like temp, fan speed, CPU infos?

For all of those lurking in this forum, the linux breed, why did you choose linux over XP/7 (no need to ask about vista, ****in on your CPU would be better for it)

Thank You
---

Linux Web Front End Development Thread

PaulF — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:01:03 GMT

In this thread here:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/linu...-fun-n00b.html
Myself and a few others were talking about the sheeva plug in a car environment. If you don't know what a sheeva plug is, it's a tiny, powerful arm-based computer made by Marvell and has only an ethernet port and a usb port for input/output.

All of this sparked the idea for developing a web based controller for things such as:
GPS, OBD, Fusion Brain

There are already linux daemons/back-ends for all of these.

What we need to do now is decide on how we want to use these things.

On the application as a whole here are my goals for the project:

Customizable, right through the web interface
Plugin-based
Single timer/ajax request.. make request intervals customizable by plugin
One actual html page, all information exchange is 100% ajax
Javascript based "pages" - more like "tabs"
Simple information exchange/update type of language/standard
- The javascript side will make some sort of "ask for" type queries each on a particular update interval, with a list containing things to ask for
- The server side will send back the information in javascript using some syntax like getPanel('GPS').runCommand('UPDATE:COORDS:50.03,40 .21');
  - Basically on the javascript side, each panel will define their own "runCommand" function however they want and their server side functions will be programmed to tell the php responder file what to output

Basically once the main interface is done, people can start developing plugins for it. Such as a plugin for gpsd, one for fusion brain or maybe even music control. Anything anyone can think of.

My biggest interest in this project is the Fusion Brain part and heres what I would like to see happen:

Have an interface for entering rules into it
- Page where you say if this, then this
- 'if this' means check a reading from a 'raw' sensor or 'logical' sensor
- 'then this' means run an operating system command or send something to connected browser sessions
Raw and logical sensors
- This is something I've dreamed up
- Raw sensors are sensors physically on the fusion brain
- Logical sensors get information from something and give it out a modified value
  - They can get the readings from raw sensors
  - They can also get information from commands or sockets
  - They can then output it as a different value

We'll probably need to make a second daemon or expand fbd to allow for these rules and logical sensors.

Now heres the fun part for all of you reading this... tear me apart in my ideas. I'm pretty good at programming for this whole interweb thing, but I know there are people out there with better ideas. Suggest better ways, criticize me, whatever. Anything that sounds a little strange, question it, even if you can't provide a better option. Please, rip me apart before anyone starts coding.

Also suggest any features you want to see in the future of this interface as they might require a critical change in this foundation.

Lilliput 7" TS with Debian Install

hdhouse3rd — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:56:20 GMT

Hope someone with experience in this can offer some advice. I am running Debian Lenny, kernel 2.6.29.4 and trying to install the Lilliput drivers for the 7" touchscreen.

Keep getting an error running make for Makefile 1249, which appears to be in the xf86drv directory running that makefile. The line in that makefile reads:
InstallLinkKitLibrary(xf86,$(LINKKITDIR)/lib86)

Is there a file that I am missing to install or do I have a bad link setup? The Makefile under this directory was Makefile~ which I renamed to Makefile.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Henry

wifiproximity - generic AP based events processor

tripzero — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:36:38 GMT

This is a generic daemon (GPL) I wrote that will integrate with NetworkManager and perform a number of actions when pre-defined wifi access points are within range of the system.

This is useful for doing things like automatic synchronization with home PC's when you arrive home. It can also perform these events after the access point goes out of range as well.

It's really rough right now, but it's a good start. This won't be a part of the OpenICE 1.0 platform, but hopefully it will be accepted in 2.0 as it matures.

If anyone is willing to make a simple event editor GUI, that would be awesome!

Here is an example "event" that will create a file, and issue an rsync command in my home dir:

Code:



        

                /home/kev/rsync/linksys-was-in-range.txt

        

        

                -arvuz

                /home/kev/rsync/

                /home/kev/rsync-dest

Hope it comes in handy! The source is in the linuxice repo: https://linuxice.svn.sourceforge.net.../wifiproximity

Window/Desktop Manager choices and uses [opinions inside]

red_parchel — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:40:58 GMT

For years now I have personally used Fluxbox as my window manager of choice, for many reasons including text based config files, light weight, extremely simple, and to me elegant. For me and my purposes it worked very well. And because of this I without question put Fluxbox on my carputer.

I'm looking to branch out try some new WM's or maybe even Desktop managers, in hopes of finding something that is best suited for me and my carputer.

there seems to be very little about what WM/DM people use in their car, why they use it, what kinds of modifications they've made.

here's a thread that we can all share our experiences in fine tuning our WM/DM's for use in our cars, including set ups, tips&tricks, config files, and perhaps the obligatory screen shots!

Xenarc 705TSV Touchscreen - Totally Dead in Ubuntu 9.0.4

ThePistonDoctor — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:32:48 GMT

Alrighty everyone, so here's where I'm at:

I have my carPC installed, up and running, currently working with a PS2 mouse and keyboard on my passenger seat (lol).

My touchscreen is totally dead. It's a Xenarc 705TSV. It turns on, I can adjust the resolution and make it look normal with the mouse, and I can use it fine, but when I touch it I get no response at all. It just does NOTHING. I have searched Google endlessly and read tutorial after tutorial about how to get these screens calibrated properly but I can't even get to the point of being able to calibrate it.

I am sure this has something to do with the driver, but I am pretty new to Linux and don't know a whole lot about how the system works yet. I am getting there, but I need some help! :)

So I found instructions to download and try the eGalax driver which I did. (BTW, the screen is plugged in via USB and if I do a lsusb it shows up there, so I'm pretty sure its recognizing the hardware). Anyway, I extracted the .tar.gz, ran sudo sh setup.sh, it asked me if I wanted to blacklist the usbtouchscreen module which I did successfully, then it asked me to reboot and run sudo TouchKit, which I did. When I run sudo TouchKit I just get an error that says "No Touch Controller Found" and all I can do is click OK, which pops up a window about the driver and which OSes it supports, etc etc. Click ok to that and still nothing.

The touch portion of the screen still does nothing.

I am currently on my laptop and have about 50 tabs open so I can use them when I go out to my car where there is no internet access, but I figured I'd post this here and hope for some replies by the time my battery dies on my laptop and I have to come back inside to charge it...lol

I also have a nice thick book on Unix using Linux which has some helpful information in it for when I have no internet access; it will become my Google.

On a side note, the screen looks great and the computer itself is fast, quiet, and efficient. I sat in the car for 5+ hours yesterday messing with it and it never killed my battery even with two amps powerd up as well!

Thanks for ANY help you can all give me!

:peace::peace::peace:

SMSd

tripzero — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:37:48 GMT

I'm currently in the process of writing an sms daemon process that will send and receive text messages using a mobile phone or modem using dbus.

It uses libgammu to communicate with the mobile device, and it only works with the current dev snapshots of libgammu (I found a bug that was subsequently fixed upstream by the maintainer).

it's checked into the linuxice svn repo here:

https://linuxice.svn.sourceforge.net.../packages/smsd

I'll include this with LinuxICE2 if it is useful to anyone.

NOTE: yes there are 2 other sms daemons available for Linux. I didn't like how either of them worked using files or mysql to send/receive. Mine is much more simpler and doesn't require you to have a database or create some special file somewhere. Mine is also c++ (while the others are in c).

List of OBD2/OBDII software that works on Linux, native or with Wine

Sureshot324 — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:08:56 GMT

What are all the OBD2 programs that are known to work in Linux? The ones I know of are freediag and nghost. Will Carman work on a Linux laptop or only a Nokia tablet? Are there any good Windows ones that run on Wine?

iGO 8 running on 'nix

blk02si — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:58:29 GMT

Just thought I would share that iGO8 GPS software runs very good on my FreeBSD machine under wine 1.1.4. It actually loads faster than it does on windows! It was very simple to do just run 'wine iGo_PC.exe' in the iGO root folder. So far everything works good, just wanted to share since GPS is such a gray area in linux. So I may be moving over to linux in the truck since iGO is my favorite GPS app, and there is now supprt for other devices like HDradio too!

Keep up the great work guys.

Is a Linux distro frontend possible with moblin?

Redian — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:27:34 GMT

I have been using and programming for moblin quite a bit in the past week.

the beta is extremely fast. on my quadcore computer it boots in under 3 seconds. on my aspire one it boots in <8 and fully usable in 10.

then, you can rip out all the useless junk and use the frontend engine it already has to create a new interface for carpcs. this can only get better w/ development of moblin and advances in the new gnome interfaces.

although i really dont have the time for it, i do believe that there is a possibility that a spinoff of moblin can be made specifically for carPC.

I just wanted to know your opinions about the subject.. for the few linux carpc users out there.

Xenarc 705TSV + Ubuntu 9.0.4

ThePistonDoctor — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:11:32 GMT

Hi all,

One other question. I am just about ready to install everything. I've got nGhost installed and running, wireless keyboard and mouse working, air card for internet access working, but unfortunately (stupidly) I rand the VGA cable for the touchscreen already in my car and it's under the carpet along the center console which means if I want it back I have to gut the whole car (again).

Is there anything I can do to minimize the chances of my touchscreen not working at least enough so I can get it calibrated once I install the PC this weekend? It's the last piece to get working before it's functional and I can actually start having some fun!

I REALLLLLLY don't want to take the whole car apart again, and yes I will have to because I gutted it ALL to run the wiring for the computer, two amps, a sub, and a front component set.

Thanks :)

Verizon AirCard (USB727) + Ubuntu

ThePistonDoctor — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:04:49 GMT

So I did a bunch of research on this today, managed to get mine hooked up and running, but in kind of an unorthodox way. The general consensus it seems is to plug the thing in, sudo modprobe -r usbserial (unload the usbserial driver) then reload it with the vendor ID and product ID of the air card you're using. Ok so I did all that. Then you're supposed to download and install the KPPP package, which I also did, and configured it as directed by the sprint instructions (all U727 cards use the same architecture).

Long story short, I got connected by clicking the network icon in the upper right and switching to the "Auto Mobile Broadband (CDMA)" connection. However, when I try to connect using KPPP, it won't connect.

Well, really, it connects and then disconnects. Upon looking at the PPP log I see that it "Cannot determine ethernet address for proxy arp" (but then still seems to connect and immediately drops the connection).

I don't have the log here since I have the computer set up on my test bench at work, but I googled around for the answer and it seems to be a general theory that it's something to do with the ARP tables, routing tables, and/or subnet/MAC/IP of the air card not matching up with something else in the system.

Like I said I was able to get connected with no problem using the network icon in the upper left, but that doesn't explain why KPPP isn't working, and I'm not sure whether that method will be reliable once I actually get everything installed in the car.

Can anyone shed any light on this situation? Thanks in advance!

Edit: BTW this is using Ubuntu 9.0.4 with Kernel 2.6.28-12 (Jaunty). Motherboard is a D945GCLF2 (Intel Atom 330) and a Fujitsu 320GB HDD.

Need some Linux advise

mx270a — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:39:48 GMT

Hi guys. I�ve been a Microsoft guy for a long time, and I started programming on it 2 years ago. My platform has been VB.Net Express Edition, and I�ve gotten quite comfortable with it. Recently I have reassessed what I need to do, and I think Linux would be a great fit in a couple places.

Project Background: I have a Windows box that gets GPS data and uses that to steer a farm tractor. While it is working good, I want to split the steering math away from the other user related stuff. We also do logging, and if I have to load old data, it might take a second to load from file. While that is happening, the steering process suffers due to CPU load. I want to go from a single computer solution to a dual computer solution. There would still be a windows box that the operator would interact with, but there would be a second box running Linux doing the critical stuff. I don�t envision even putting a monitor on the Linux node, since it would be acting more like an embedded device. Due to this, I anticipate doing most of the monitoring and configuration via a web browser.

So a couple weeks ago I really started digging in to Linux and C++. I currently have a VirtualBox VM running Kubuntu 9.04 and I�ve been trying various programming IDEs. Kdevelop is what I�m using now, but I�ve tried Anjuta, Eclipse, and CodeBlocks. I had expectations of an IDE as �smart� as VBEE, but I haven�t seen anything that smooth on the Linux side. Does such an IDE exist in the Linux world?

-Lance

Weather based on gps location

tdb30_ — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:43:49 GMT

I was tinkering last night and wrote a short program that will read gpsd and then go out on the net and get the weather from noaa based on that info. I wrote it in python and wxpython and I think it also needs python-gps. I haven't done too much testing, and the code is very crude and doesn't do a lot of error checking. If you feel like giving it a shot you can get the file from this post on my site get weather based on gps location for your carpc

Sheeva Plug and virtual gauges(im a nooB)

mattnsac — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:51:22 GMT

Hey guys. Let me preface this that Im just looking for some answers to a few questions just to see if what Im hoping to do is actually possible. I dont have the faintest clue about Linux but thats whats on a Plug and given the thing costs $99 it may be worth learning.

Ok heres the idea. For a long time I have wanted to make a virtual dash using one or two 7" screens mounted behind a bezel to look like round gauges and look OEM (this would be going into a very custom 64 Malibu). I know there are very limited products on the market that are first very expensive and secondly not that customizable for a particular application other than the different skins that may come with the product (Im refering to Magden in this case). On an electronics forum I am on, I got into a discussion about a microcontroller based system to do this and the general consensus was that a micro wasnt going to be the best way to go for something like this and what was needed was more or less a PC without a keyboard. I dont really have any computing requirements short of reading sensors and displaying them on a screen so I dont need mp3 control or stuff like that, just instrumentation althiough it could be cool to add other stuff if it wasnt that bad. Things like a multi gauge that could display nav or other body controls like some newer cars would be trick but right now gauges only is fine for me.

I dont necessarily need it to just plug and go in an obd2 port although the car has an ls1 so it has that built it. I was going to make a micro that could read sensors and output data over serial to the computer. From there out to the screen(s)

What I wanted to know is if anyone could point me in the direction of a gauge program that I could customise to my liking. My forte in the computer world revolves around art and multimedia such as Pshop, Illustrator and Flash (more or less anything from Adobe). I am an idiot when it comes to actual programming though and hopefully I dont have to become a hardcore programmer to do this.

Im praying I dont get a bunch of use the search posts cause I have searched and have necessarily found anything for Linux, either that or I wasnt aware that it could be used with it. Either way Im hoping someone has a link either to a particular thread or another site so I can take a look at it. Thanks

OpenTom and VNC

DigitalCorpus — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:03:25 GMT

So I got this crazy idea in my head. I have a VW Passat and the OBD cable is specific to VW's. Because of its proprietary nature there is not in-kernel support and no third party reverse engineered driver afaik. I recieved a TomTom Go 930 back in Dec for Christmas and I shortly found out that it runs linux. My idea is fairly simple, though I know it would take a bit of technical know-how to pull it off.

Carputer running diagnostic software --> VNC Server --> data/network connection via USB, bluetooth, or SD to 802.11b/g card --> VNC Client running in OpenTom w/ touch screen support.

Is this possible to pull off because it would totally kick butt :peace:

Linux help needed - make fun of the N00b

Bugbyte — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:18:11 GMT

In my search for solutions to replace my car PC with my iPhone, I'm in need of some Linux assistance.

One of the issues with the iPhone is that you can't easily interact with external devices -particularly USB devices such as Fusion Brain, OBDII, XM Direct.

However, the iPhone can easily connect to a WiFi router and theoretically, if you have some type of device (usually a full blown computer), you can control these devices via a javascript web page if a server is running on the computer.

I didn't want to use a full computer but I do have to 'cheat' a little, so I decided to use a Sheeva plug - an embedded Linux system that has a USB port, an ethernet port and an SDIO port.

It arrived yesterday along with lots of really cryptic information about how to make it boot and stuff. I wondered, however, whether it might not already have the basic Debian Linux burned in the flash memory (512mb) already, so I don't have to load it up.

I tried pinging it and it responded.

Then I tried to telnet into it but the connection was refused.

What is the best way to 'see' inside this system? It is entirely possible that I have to build and load a distro for it -which I can painfully figure out. I just want to make sure one isn't already on there.

I'm just a little lost here and need some guidance forward. Once I get it running Linux (maybe Linux ICE?), I'll need advice on what I need to do to get a web server up and running (Apache? Is there one already built into Linux? Feel free to taunt me). After that, I'll look at communicating with some USB devices like the Fusion Brain or the OBDII ELM cables.

P.S. - While I'm using a Mac, I do have VM Ware so I can set up a Linux virtual machine to talk to the plug. It also comes with a Windows Host package that lets you connect to the JTAG port and diagnose the computer.

Basic Beginner Bumblings

Meltz014 — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:33:49 GMT

Hey guys,
I'm a total noobz0r w/ Linux, but Windows has really been ****ing me off lately. I recently bought an IDE to CF adapter and like a 4GB CF card to boot off of (my HD i think suffered too much from speedbumps and the like). I have XP and everything installed, but it just sucks at playing any video file. I have CCC pack installed and everything, but i'm only getting like 1 frame every 5 seconds or so. Anyway, I have been thinking about giving LinuxICE a try, but i was wondering if it would be worth it or not. I have an old Celeron FV524RX running at (apparently) 466 MHz, like 128 MB of ram, and a ghetto-ace pci Video card (the mobo also has integrated video, which is probably just as good as the card). Is LinuxICE fairly easy to install/use, and would my system be enough to run it?

Thanks in advance for the help,
Meltz

multi touchscreen setup

tripzero — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:03:20 GMT

using the egalax driver I *should* be able to setup more than one touchscreen on one PC. I can get each of the TS to work, but I can't get them both to work. There seems to be either an error in the driver, in xorg, or in my config.

dmesg sees the two touchscreens and sets them up as /dev/hidraw1 and hidraw2. in my xorg.conf I set them to use those device. however, when I run TouchKit, it appears that they are both setup to use /dev/usb/hiddev0???

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep hid reports that it finds two touchscreens on the same device???

Code:

(II) HID Touch Controller @ /dev/usb/hiddev0 

(II) HID Touch Controller @ /dev/usb/hiddev0

So I get the impression that the egalax driver is ignoring my Device option.

I can cat /dev/hidraw1 and /dev/hidraw2 and get output when I touch the individual screens so I know those are the correct devices...

any suggestions on what else I can try?

Below is my complete xorg.conf.

Code:

Section "ServerLayout"

    Identifier     "Layout0"

    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0

    Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"

    Screen        2  "Screen2" LeftOf "Screen0"

    InputDevice    "EETI0" "SendCoreEvents"

    InputDevice    "EETI1" "SendCoreEvents"

EndSection



Section "Module"

    Load           "glx"

EndSection



Section "ServerFlags"

    Option         "Xinerama" "0"

EndSection



Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier     "EETI0"

    Driver         "egalax"

    Option         "Device" "/dev/hidraw1"

    Option         "Parameters" "/var/lib/eeti0.param"

    Option         "ScreenNo" "0"

EndSection



Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier     "EETI1"

    Driver         "egalax"

    Option         "Device" "/dev/hidraw2"

    Option         "Parameters" "/var/lib/eeti1.param"

    Option         "ScreenNo" "1"

EndSection



Section "Monitor"

    Identifier     "Configured Monitor"

EndSection



Section "Monitor"

    Identifier     "Monitor0"

    VendorName     "Unknown"

    ModelName      "CRT-0"

    HorizSync       28.0 - 55.0

    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0

EndSection



Section "Monitor"

    Identifier     "Monitor1"

    VendorName     "Unknown"

    ModelName      "CRT-1"

    HorizSync       28.0 - 55.0

    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0

EndSection



Section "Monitor"

    Identifier     "Monitor2"

    VendorName     "Unknown"

    ModelName      "CRT-2"

    HorizSync       28.0 - 55.0

    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0

EndSection



Section "Device"

    Identifier     "Device0"

    Driver         "nvidia"

    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"

    BoardName      "GeForce 6200"

    BusID          "PCI:4:0:0"

    Screen          0

EndSection



Section "Device"

    Identifier     "Device1"

    Driver         "nvidia"

    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"

    BoardName      "GeForce 6200"

    BusID          "PCI:4:0:0"

    Screen          1

EndSection



Section "Device"

    Identifier    "Device2"

    Driver          "intel"

    VendorName          "Intel Corporation"

    BusID          "PCI:0:2:0"

    Screen          2

EndSection



Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"

    Identifier     "Screen0"

    Device         "Device0"

    Monitor        "Monitor0"

    DefaultDepth    24

    Option         "TwinView" "0"

    Option         "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "CRT-0"

    Option         "metamodes" "CRT-0: 800x600 +0+0"

    SubSection     "Display"

        Depth       24

    EndSubSection

EndSection



Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT-1: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"

    Identifier     "Screen1"

    Device         "Device1"

    Monitor        "Monitor1"

    DefaultDepth    24

    Option         "TwinView" "0"

    Option         "metamodes" "CRT-1: 800x600 +0+0"

    SubSection     "Display"

        Depth       24

    EndSubSection

EndSection



Section "Screen"

    Identifier          "Screen2"

    Device          "Device2"

    Monitor          "Monitor2"

    DefaultDepth  24

    Option         "TwinView" "0"

    Option         "metamodes" "CRT-2: 800x600 +0+0"

    SubSection     "Display"

        Depth       24

    EndSubSection

EndSection

set position in navit.xml

navquest — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:19:26 GMT

hi

1. wen i open the navit gui and set a destination, i want the position to be set according to the latitude and longitude that i have given in the xml file.

i want a default position from wher thevehicle should move in the ruote to the destination that i have set dynamically.

i want to set the position of the vehicle in navit.xml file under vehicle tag.
but i dont kno the attribute and the format of the values that i have to give.

for example,in case of setting the center of the map in under navit tag,we make modifications in xml, here

in a similar way,how do i set the position of the vehicle from wher it has to move toeards destination?????

2. how do i set the speed of the vehicle(cursor) in the xml file?

plz help me in doing thes tasks...

set position of vehicle and speed in navit xml

navquest — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:12:37 GMT

Getting ODB2 (OBD-II) scanner working in Linux

Sureshot324 — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:08:11 GMT

I have a cheap USB ODB2 scanner that I got off ebay straight from Hong Kong. I has no brand or any other info, so I'm not sure what kind of chip it has. Do nghost and other Linux OBD2 software usually have the drivers for most OBD2 scanners included, or do you need to get them separate? If they're separate, how would I go about finding the drivers for my scanner?

Fedora 10 from USB drive

ThePistonDoctor — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:33:48 GMT

Well, I'm not off to a good start on my first carPC...lol

I just fired up my D945GCLF2 for the first time, just using a regular ATX power supply and have it hooked to the board with a VGA monitor on my desk (I'll test the DC-DC PSU later on)

I wanted to get everything set up then test the PSU then install it.

Anyway, I downloaded the fedora live CD iso from www.fedoraproject.org, and used the Fedora LiveUSB creator to put the iso file on a formatted 8 gig USB stick. I first tried the i686 version and then the x86_64 and neither one works. I set the bios to boot USB devices first, then restarted and it will show the initial Intel splash screen (where you would press F2 for setup) but then it just goes to a black screen that says "boot error".

There are some other weird things going on too. Since I'm just using the ATX power supply, I don't have a way to turn the power on and off other than flipping the switch on the power supply. I didn't think that this should be causing any problems, but whenever I turn it off, I have to pull the cmos battery and put it back in before the computer will start again (i.e. the fan doesn't even turn on until I pull and reinstall the cmos battery). Then when I turn it back on, it gives three errors: that there was a cmos battery failure, then hit enter and that there was a cmos checksum error, and one other which I don't remember at the moment but it wasn't significant. After I enter through those three messages, if the USB drive is in I get the boot error message, otherwise I get a request to insert a bootable device. I don't have a CD rom so I need to do this via USB.

All I'm trying to do is install Fedora 10 from this (supposedly) bootable USB stick but I can't get anywhere. All that's hooked up is the motherboard, 2 gigs of ram, power supply, ps2 mouse and keyboard, and sata2 hard drive. All the components are brand new and I know they are all correct for each other.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

USB Sound

nalav — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:02:31 GMT

I'm not too sure about USB Audio on Linux, as I've never had need or desire to use it. But now the PC I'm building uses a case so small I can't possibly fit a sound card into. Anyone use USB Audio? What I'm looking for is something with good sound and full Linux compatibility. I'm guessing USB Audio drivers are mature by now, but I honestly don't know. Anyone have some recommendations for a USB Audio device? The more features on it the better, but I really don't care too much as long as it works and sounds good.

Lilliput Native Resolution

unsungboxer — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:16:53 GMT

Ok, This is driving me nuts. I have a 7" Lilliput Monitor, native resolution = 800x480. Ubuntu detects the following displays:

600x480
800x600
1024x768

I am having no luck getting native resolution, everything is stretched. I am using Intel Atom D945GCLF2 Intel 945GC 1.6Ghz.

The only thing I can find from research is a suggestion to use 915resolution, but I have run into a roadblock. ANy thoughts?

openice.org site

yOU — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:15:53 GMT

To openice.org admins:

The site has been down (for me) for a few days now...I did some digging, it looks like it uses nameservers at servercyclone.com, and servercyclone.com expired on march 6 and hasn't been renewed yet...if any of openice admins are here, it might be a good idea to pick a new nameserver :). It seems other people may be able to access it still, but that will likely start failing when ISPs dns cache starts to expire.

In the meantime, anyone who still has DNS cached able to tell me the IP address?

-brian

So, I have this CD...

ThePistonDoctor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:59:47 GMT

The touchkit CD I have for my Xenarc screen has drivers for Debian, Fedora, Mandrake, RedHat, and SuSE (as far as Linux goes). I'm trying to decide on which one will be the most compatible with what I want to do. I have an Intel D945GCLF2 mobo with the Atom330, 2 gigs of ram, and a 320GB SATA II HDD.

Most important things to me are GPS navigation, sound processing software, and a simple front end. Don't care too much about DVDs or any of that stuff, but wireless internet access via an air card is a must. Edit: when I say sound processing software I simply mean I spent a lot of money on high quality audio components and want to be able to get the most out of them, so I need something that will do that from the computer.

I am a network administrator so I'm pretty tech-savvy but don't have too much experience with Linux. I've installed Ubuntu and done some basic stuff with Backtrack and RHEL4/5. Just trying to decide on which OS is going to be the most practical and simple for me to learn to use.

I'm not worried about a challenge, so if it's complicated that's ok, but I would still like as few complications as possible :)

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Weird calib issue!

hattrickinc — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:06:00 GMT

Sorry for the double post (in a diff sub forum)..

I'm having trouble calibrating my no-name LCD touchscreen (via usb)

I read 2 posts on this site that didn't help me.. I'm stuck here;

Code:

(*) Linux driver installer for TouchKit controller 



(I) Checking user permission: root, you are the supervisor.

(I) Begin to setup the TouchKit driver.

(I) Extract TouchKit driver package to /usr/local/TouchKit_x1499.

(I) Create TouchKit utility shortcut in /usr/bin.

(I) Searching the X input modules directory.

(I) Copy X module egalax_drv.so to /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input.



(Q) Which interface controller do you use?

(I) [1] RS232 [2] PS/2 [3] USB : 3

(I) Using interface: USB

(I) Found a non-HID compliant touch controller.



(E) No X configuration file found.

any ideas? I'm using 2 monitors currently, The one connected to my laptop and the one through the LCD, if that means anything?

Centrafuse On Ubuntu

blackcode — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:51:05 GMT

I want to use linux.

because
1. Boot times is less than XP
2. It's stable
3. Don't worry about virus.

but I want to use centrafuse

Who use this .
And How to setup.

ีubuntu 8.10 + wine + wine-door
but I can't use centrafuse.......:(

thinking of switchign to linux how is it compared to Road Runner

d_roc88 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:34:22 GMT

well i'm currently on Road Runner and and it is a headache to configure all the stuff and i don't want to spend $250 on centerfuse that's just overpriced. all i want the carpc is for GPS and OBD2 like the fancy gauges with speed, tach, preassuer ect... does linux ice have a good gps software, and any good OBD2 software wiht fancy gauges?

I have many qustion about Linux

blackcode — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:34:57 GMT

1. Linux ICE is OS (Operating System) ?
2. Nghost is Frontend program ?
3. ODB II can working on Nghost?

4. Nghost can run on Ubuntu 8.10?

Thank .

PS. I'm Newbie for linux :(

Tiny Core Linux

Crinos — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:32:38 GMT

Anybody been trying out Tiny Core Linux as the OS for any frontend apps?

Not even sure if it works... But might be a good option?

cd and dvd plugins for nghost

tripzero — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:04:13 GMT

if anyone has the time and the desire, nGhost needs you! (strange, just got a weird feeling of dejavu...) We need someone to write plugins for cd and dvd track selection.

right now, nghost plays dvd's cd's by issuing a cdda:// or dvd:// to mplayer. This works in theory (still needs testing), but it'd be better if there were gui for selecting different tracks, etc.

if you know basic c/c++, the plugin interface for nghost is really simple. It would probably take a day or two to develop each plugin. If you want to learn c++, here is a good opportunity to shine!

Let me know if you are interested.

radio/hdradio/obdII testing in nghost

tripzero — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:57:45 GMT

I'm putting in some skin settings that should enable radio playback in nghost. It uses mplayer's "radio://[channel]" feature. If anyone has a radio that is linux compatible, would you mind testing this out?

Also, the hdradio plugin needs more testing and tweaking. If you have one of those fancy visteon HDRadios, nGhost needs you!

Last of all, I have only tested nGhost's OBD-II plugin in simulation. It needs to be tested on a real scan tool before release. If you have a OBD-II scantool, nGhost once again, needs you!

If you don't have any of the above hardware and are looking for the excuse, here is your chance. Tell the wife that "nGhost needs you!".

carman and ubuntu

unsungboxer — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:04:08 GMT

hi everyone,

Does anyone know if Carman can be used with ubuntu?

I am using ubuntu 8.10 for my OS. I am very happy with how its running, and I like the custom configurations I can do with the desktop (which is why I am not using linuxice). The only thing I am missing is OBD2 support. I am using a program called evoscan in virtualbox, but this is a clunky way to view gauges when im not datalogging.

Thanks
-unsung

installed and running

elj4176 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:55:55 GMT

Got the screen and pc installed over the weekend. Everything is working but there is still a bit of tweaking to be done. I'm using Ubuntu 8.10 and nghost w/roadnav. When the new linuxice is released I'll give it a try and until then xfce and blackbox instead of gnome - just for a change.

linuxice update server

tripzero — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:39:40 GMT

I'm in Asia for a few months while my baby is born. While I am able to still dev on nghost and friends, the location/environment makes it difficult for me to do some of the important maintenance things like keep the update server updated.

If anyone is interested in helping build packages and maintain a debian repository server, let me know. There have been a lot of threads posted recently with problems related to the server being down. Getting keeping this going will be a huge help to the community.

It basically involves an hour or two a week to sync the source, build the packages and upload them. Someone smarter than me could probably automate the syncing and building and have it done daily with very little effort.

Is linuxice via compatable?

no6969el — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:25:24 GMT

And if so does it have trouble installing to SSD's? Im able to boot linuxice from the usb, if i go to the folder that has the install button any of the selections in there will lock up the console. I have to hold reset to get it to retry. Install button doesnt lock up but rather nothing happens.

SPECS

Motherboard
VIA C7
Processor
2.0GHz VIA C7 CPU
Memory
1 gb DDR2 PC4200
Hard Drive #1
8gb SSD
Hard Drive #2
120gb
Power Supply
160 Watt M2-ATX
ScreenEdit Value
Lilliput 629 (modified in dash)

Noob questions about LinuxIce and nGhost

cyan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:43:59 GMT

I am a linux noob intersted in setting up a linux carpc. In reading about LinuxIce and nGhost, I am not clear on how the two work together. Is nGhost basically a GUI overlay? Sort of like the Netbook Remix in Ubuntu?

Put another way, can I load LinuxIce and use it out of the box without nGhost or do I need to have nGhost as well?

Also, I haven't seen much on satellite radio functionality for LinuxIce. I did, however, see it mentioned in a writeup of nGhost, which lead to my confusion.

Any help for this noob is appreciated. Thank you.

LinuxICE update

Virac — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:00:05 GMT

When/are you going to post a new beta of LinuxICE. Also what version of the Alsa library are you using and is there a way to do somthing like SerialSwitch or AmpCtrl, ie use the DTR line to turn an amp/relay.

Linux ice trouble

chopper79 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:14:55 GMT

Hello

I am new to car computer feild and have been using ubuntu for a little while now. I really wanted to use a linux OS for my car pc so I chose Linux Ice. I installed a fresh version of it and it loads up great. The problems I am having is it will not let me configure my system, run touch calibration, load music, access internet, well pretty much nothing at all. I followed the instructions for install but it will not let me do anything. I also can not get it to play a dvd or cd from the icons that are on the screen. I have no idea what im doing wrong but after 7 hours of work on it and still the same results I am running out of energy with it. Please let me know what I can do to correct these issues if anything. My system consist of The stage 2 system from MP3car with a belkin USB internet and a dvd r/w drive and a lilliput 10.4 screen.

I thank you in advance

Lets get brains!

yam125 — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:32:55 GMT

hey if the scarecrow could get a brain in oz why cant we linux guys do the same. One of the few things that the windows people have in their vehicles that we don't is the fusion brain. linux will recongnize it as a generic usb device so all we need to do is write something to work with it.

Who uses Linux ice?

Joeybad — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:16:15 GMT

I'm new to carputers and especially new to linux. I have the OS loaded and installed on my HD but when I'm adding music to the music folder it isn't all coming up in Nghost. Could anybody give me some insight into why this may be? All of the files are mp3 format and something isn't adding up for me. Also it doesn't seem like everything is coming up on each boot. Should I maybe just reinstall Linux ice and start over or can this problem be solved? Thanks for the help

Ubuntu on Mac Mini (sleep issues)

natedawgg — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:20:21 GMT

ok so i am somewhat torn on what forum to post this in so i am going to post in both. i am running an intel mac mini and have been experimenting with linux. i am running the ubuntu mobile package on Ubuntu 8.04. i have been able to load and run Ubuntu without any problems as the primary OS. the problem that i am having is getting the mini to go to sleep when i turn off the car. i have a carnetix p1900 and it is set to make the mini sleep. i don't know if there is just a setting somewhere or what but any help would be awesome. thank you all in advance

Intel Moblin

bemenaker — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:12:15 GMT

Intel has a custom version of linux specifically for the Atom based processors:

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/n...r-netbooks.ars

Might be of interest.

Garmin MobilePC being tested- so far, so good.

rogerdugans — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:07:01 GMT

After having spent quite some time working, hacking and generally messing around with my system, I have still been unsatisfied with some things.
GPS navigation being the biggest single flaw, as it is for many of us.

Using a linux-native application would be best, but nothing is yet available that does the job.

I have been experimenting a LOT with alternatives: the stuff I use on my laptop does NOT work well on a small screen (DeLorme Street Atlas in a VM.)
Some of the other, popular apps either don't work for various windows driver reasons or are too expensive for me to mess with.

So I decided to try Garmin, since I am fairly impressed with the state of their standalone units.

It is working. :)
The installation is NOT without problems, and a few hacks must be done and I have NOT thoroughly tested it yet (running on a desktop machine right now) but it looks pretty good so far. (Destinator LOOKED hopeful too- but the software locks up every 15 or 20 minutes while moving.)

I have begun a "HowTo" and will be testing it on another machine before trying it in the car, but I hope to actually have all of that done today.

The biggest issue with Garmin Mobile PC that I have so far is that it does not have its own virtual keyboard, but there are ways to work around that, if everything else holds up.

More later.

couple of questions

elj4176 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:44:38 GMT

I bought an Lilliput EBY-701 and it came with an AC adapter for in-house use and a car cig lighter adapter. Is there another car adapter that doesn't require using my cig lighter plug? That would be a messy install to have a wire coming around the back of the dash and into the lighter plug. I hope I am just missing something.

second question: I bought a M2-ATX (against some warnings) but have not installed it yet. I am using a shuttle case and it looks like I can just take out the regular power supply that came with the case and the holes in the M2-ATX lineup with those holes - but there are bits of solder on the back of the M2-ATX that will touch the case. Is that ok? Seems to me that is not a good idea but I haven't built a carpc before.
Thanks!

griffin imic and Ubuntu

natedawgg — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:10:18 GMT

ok i just got my griffin imic to work under Ubuntu 8.04 and thought i would share with everybody in case anybody cares. ok so here is how it all went down.

with Ubuntu 8.04 (the only one i have tried this on) when you plug in the griffin imic, Ubuntu should automatically recognize it. you can check this by here:
/proc/asound/cards
you should see something like this:
0 [something ]: some other system audio device
1 [system ]: USB-Audio - iMic USB audio system
Griffin Technology, Inc iMic USB audio

in this case the imic is card number 1.

at first i just went to the sounds app under system->prefrences->sounds and tried to select the imic from there. all i could get was the test sound through the imic everything else would come through though internal speakers. nothing i did would seem to change this setup. turns out the answer is actually pretty simple. to finally get this system to only use the imic here is what you will need to do:

you need to make a conf file to direct the system to the imic. it should look something like this:

/etc/asound.conf

pcm.!default {
type hw
card 1
}
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 1
}

from here all you should have to do is reboot and it should all work.

if it doesn't you could try going into the system->preferences->sounds and setting everything to usb audio. if that doesn't work then i have no idea you may have to do some more googling.

hope this helps