new to board, i got a ?

[hewlett2002000]

ok i have a 1966 chevrolet pickup im redoing the interior. im adding new speakers, amps, subs and such. i would like to have a pc in there to play my hefty music collection but being a single cab im kinda low on room, and with the amps and subs im really low. i dont want to run a monitor, i would like to have a small LCD screen(like the one on my G15 keyboard). i got the hardware end worked out but how can i boot strait into audio player? any way i could run it through the cd changer controls on my head unit? please help.
thanks,
John

[dr_angus]

If all you're using your carputer is for just playing mp3, you might consider getting a headunit that has a hard drive. That would definetly be a cheaper alternative than getting a full fleged carputer. I remember about five years ago, Sony came out with this awesome headunit that had a built in 10gb HD(humoungous for that time) usb ports and a memory stick port. It was called the MEX-HD1 and used to cost $1.5K. I don't know if they make them anymore, but if they do, it should probably alot cheaper.
Also check out this site: http://www.dension.com/main.htm. They seem to have some cool headunits that might be useful to you.

[TruckinMP3]

Look for information of booting into a shell instead of windows.
also look at the Matrix Orbital LCDs it may suit your needs for song info and controls.

[hewlett2002000]

thanks, that helped alot. i appreciate it.

[TruckinMP3]

Sometimes it is hard to tell when people are genuine or not. If you have additional questions let us know...

Welcome to the addiction, I (and many others) have spent a bunch of time pursuing this passion each for their own reasons.

I hope you find it rewarding.

[hewlett2002000]

that did sound a bit smart dident it? im sorry, i was being genuine, that really did help. ive seen a couple projects where there was just a no monitor, just an lcd, i just dident know what to search for to get back for info. i do have a queston though. would it be possible to change the songs using the cd changer control on my head unit?
thanks,
John

[2k1Toaster]

1966 with CD Changer? Somewhere there is a typo there, or missing information.

But anyways, check out the Car2PC units, which there are quite a few of, and you can get one that is specific to your vehicle, and it will work that way depending on how old your CD player is.

If it is ancient or not supported, then you can get keyboard emulators, that basically just have pin header and you will need to solder quite a bit onto the button area on your CD changer.

Quick answer is that there is no easy way to control through CD player if it is old or unsupported.

[hewlett2002000]

if you know anything about the old chevys you will have an idea what im talking about, if not ill be glad to post a pic of my current dash. i just realized im going to cut the center of my dash out and weld a piece in that is flat, with no glove box(ill have a center console for storage), no ash tray(i dont smoke), and the radio will be in the center console. all i have at the moment to go in the dash is my gauges. i could put a huge screen on my dash, hell i could probably fit a 15" if i wanted to, no, no, triple screen carPC !!!! ok maybe im going a little overboard but hey, its a thought. but at least now i know where to put my screen. ill post up a pic tomorrow of my dash so you will have a better idea of what i mean. anyways, thanks for the help.

[hewlett2002000]

well of course the changer is not original equipment. its a sony head unit, about 2 years old. theres nothing left original on my truck.

[DodgeCummins]

Old school...

going for the retro MP3 player...there are probably lots of options available now for that.