I'm currently just researching and figuring out how I want to set up my carputer. I posted my prospective setup over in the newbie forum but I was just wondering...
Does anyone know if I will get any background hiss or interference in my music etc if I am running off the built in sound in a laptop?
Also, will the built in sound have enough power to send a decent voltage signal to the amp, or am I gonna have to crank up the gain?
Hi,Originally Posted by NS98GSR
I found that if i used a AC invertor to power a laptop i got noise but i got a DC (Ciggy lighter) adapter and now get no noise at all on the audio but now get a little sometimes on the video!!??
Regards
blicky_1
With an inverter, it generates alot of noise in the conversion process. Unless you can find a way to ground the laptop to the same ground as your power source (the chassis of the car), its going to do that. Your direct ciggy adapter is DC to DC, so there is still noise, but it's greatly reduced. You can help eliminate some of it by adding a noise filter to the audio connection between your laptop and head unit.
Video uses more processor power than just about anything else, so it's likely the increased draw over the power lines is helping to enhance that buzz. There's also the fact that video is generally quieter than direct mp3 or CD playback, so its possible that the noise is coming through a little more clearly because of that too.
The ALEXIS Project
MP3---VIDEO---GPS---REARVIEW---OBD---SKINNING
Color Coding :
DONE / MOSTLY DONE / BASE FEATURES / WORKING CONCEPT / NO CODE COMPLETED
go to audio properties and mute everything but your main line. Sometimes you line in or mic or other stuff will be unmuted and can cause noise. Doubt it's your problem though.
talk from experience: using a laptop (HP 4650 or something like that) with a power inverter - I get noise (using the built in sound card). When music is playing - it is not noticable. When it's not playing and you accelerate - it sound almost like a turbo
I don't know if the sound is strong enough for the amps, but it is strong enough for my HU (Pioneer 740 or 750, who remembers) and the quality is BETTER then off mp3 CDs. So go figure.
Current Status: For Sale
Specs
- 1.5Ghz Toshiba Laptop (available - no screen)
- Indash Motorized 7" VGA TS
- DeLorme GPS (sold)
- Power Inverter (sold)
- Pioneer HU (sold)
I don't intend to have a head unit. Whether or not the laptop would give a strong enough signal for my amp will really make or break whether I put together a carpc. Does anyone know?
Edit: The only way I can think to test this would be to hook my pocket pc up to my amp and see how loud the output is from that since the output volume is probably similar or less than what would come out of a line-out or headphone jack on a laptop.
I have my laptop connected to my R phosgate 800a2 amp and I have absolutely no hiss. I do have video interference though, but very minimal :-)
I bought a really thick shielded cable though (the cheapo radioshack ones might work, but i didn't want to deal with any possiblility of noise). My cable has a male headphone jack on one end and male rca cables on the other end, have it running straight to my amp in the trunk and havn't had any noice or gain issues. I have the gain on the amp not even turned up high and still plenty of clear volume.
Yep! Signal is signal, and if it can drive a set of headphones, it can provide a sweet source for an amp. Hell, you could plug a craptastic cassette walkman into the amp for killer sound off of nothing more than a car and a couple of AA batteries!
The ALEXIS Project
MP3---VIDEO---GPS---REARVIEW---OBD---SKINNING
Color Coding :
DONE / MOSTLY DONE / BASE FEATURES / WORKING CONCEPT / NO CODE COMPLETED
Thanks for the quick response. That's what I figured.
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