Thread: Setup nearing completion, having all kinds of problems (yeah i did a :search:)

I have almost all my equipment installed (wish i had some pics already):
Via Epia M10000
C134 all hacked to hell
OPUS 90W Power Supply
8.4" Lilliput
Pioneer DVD-R Slim/Slot
SB Audigy 2 NX
15gb 2.5" 4200rpm HD
160gb 3.5" 7200rpm HD
Delorme Earthmate
Hauppagge WinTV-USB-FM
Linksys WUSB11 Network Adapter
Tira USB IR Receiver (steering wheel controls)
Belkin 4 port & 7 port usb hubs
Griffin Powermate
And the finisher: One broken pontiac climate control assembly


My problems right now are these, just looking for some advice:

1) I'm accumulating all kinds of 5v devices, and im having troubles powering them. I have the crap 60w itx power supply that came with my case lying in my trunk powering my sb audigy nx and my 7port usb hub. This will not do forever. I cant find a 12v --> 5v step down regulator deal anywhere locally or online.

2) I'm having severe problems with Winamp. When i have mediacar running, and i have the "power button" on my computer set to standby, when i shut the car off it seems to hang most times. The times that it does not hang, and i return from standby, winamp will not play anything. I would have to restart mediacar. I used that winamphelper app on another thread, but now it simply freezes most times when i try to play a song, and also it will not go into standby at all using that application.

3) There is an annoying issue with my audigy 2 nx: there is that cmss 3d processing option in the EAX Console. You can set it to cmss 3d sound (which throws most of the sound towards the front speakers, with some trickeling to the powerhouses of 6x9's i got in the back for some silly surround effect), or you can set it to stereo surround (which sounds wonderful when adjusting 20% to the front or so). Now when i have it set to stereo surround, and when the carputer shuts down and comes back up in any manner, the sound effect resets to the crappy cmss 3d sound option. I look in the EAX console, and it is still set to stereo surround. If i set it to cmss 3d, then back to stereo surround, it sounds like a dream. But you'll never guess what happens when i reboot the system... I figure i'll call creative on the issue soon, but i also figure they know nothing, recalling the last few times ive had questions for them. (p.s. i have an extigy lying around... thinking of just using that if all else fails) (p.p.s. if i turn this cmss 3d option completely off, i cannot get sound to goto the rear channels... whats the deal?)

4) I cannot seem to get the wintv-usb-fm to work with radiator. I got it working with some other crappy fm tuner app, but that doesnt help with mediacar i suppose. I read some other threads on this issue, but they were not to specific perhaps. I installed the recommended drivers but still there is nothing. Also, when i have it working with an alternative fm tuner, the reception is terrible. The wintv-usb-fm has 2 female coax cable connectors on it for the tv and fm antennas, respectively. I hooked up a male coax/male phono adapter to each, and plugged a female/female phono coupler on to that, then the car stereo antenna enlarger/adapter that came with some random head unit, and then into the car antenna cable. This sounds terrible, probably for obvious reasons that i am unawares of. When i have just the coax/phono adapter on, it seems to work all right when holding the unit up in the air. And, well, i would rather not have usb peripherals sticking out the sunroof most times.

After days and days in the garage, the garage floor now boasts much discarded electrical tape bands and, sadly, hair from therussman's head.