Which extra connectors up front?

**peecee** · 03-22-2006, 10:42 PM

In planning and putting together my carpc, I thought about adding a nice compartment for a group of usb connections for the occasional buddy who wants to plug in an mp3 player or I want to plug in something like a camera while travelling. I''m planning on adding a couple of 12v outlets as well. Is there any other kind of outlet (like maybe an ac outlet) that I should think about adding?

**PCModifiers** · 03-22-2006, 11:19 PM

you covered the best ones... headphone jacks, 10baseT ethernet, eh thats all i can think of at the moment

**DarquePervert** · 03-23-2006, 08:46 AM

Who uses 10baseT ethernet anymore? 100baseT at least.

When I originally envisioned the PC for my truck a couple years ago, my idea was to have an ethernet port under the fuel filler door. I could drive up to a LAN party, plug a cable into a switch and game from the front seat of my truck.

Up front, I intend on having a couple USB ports, power & HDD LEDs, and power/reset switch. I might also add a firewire port.

**pshadwick** · 03-23-2006, 03:11 PM

I put in a multi card reader (with USB port). This will allow me to plug in a USB device or almost any card type such as the XD card from my camera.
...Paul

**peecee** · 03-23-2006, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

Who uses 10baseT ethernet anymore? 100baseT at least.

Since when is a rj45 tied to speed?

But yeah, I get the idea. I was thinking about putting a firewall/router in the mix so I could have a mobile gaming rig as well.

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

When I originally envisioned the PC for my truck a couple years ago, my idea was to have an ethernet port under the fuel filler door. I could drive up to a LAN party, plug a cable into a switch and game from the front seat of my truck.

Up front, I intend on having a couple USB ports, power & HDD LEDs, and power/reset switch. I might also add a firewire port.

Good idea about the power and hdd leds. A couple cat5 cables should do the trick for all that stuff! Thanks!

**Fenrir** · 03-24-2006, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by peecee

Since when is a rj45 tied to speed? But yeah, I get the idea. I was thinking about putting a firewall/router in the mix so I could have a mobile gaming rig as well.

10baseT and 100baseTX are standards, RJ45 is a socket, two entirely different subjects. You forget, you can run 10baseT over Coax, if you so wish. (You can run 100/1000 over fibre too, again, if you so wish!)

Unless you're leaching files, it seems pointless to install physical network jacks in your car, just use ad-hoc wifi-G. Most important ones for a car would have to be USB and maybe Firewire if you use oldschool iPods or DV cams/firewire HDDs/etc. Firewire also acts as a networking medium (at decent speeds too, 400mbps for FirewireA and 800 for FirewireB) natively in XP, so if someone with a laptop in your car wants to connect straight in at highspeed, they don't have a problem. (unless, of course, they're unfortunate enough to only have USB)

Maybe RCA ins?

**peecee** · 03-24-2006, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by Fenrir

10baseT and 100baseTX are standards, RJ45 is a socket, two entirely different subjects. You forget, you can run 10baseT over Coax, if you so wish. (You can run 100/1000 over fibre too, again, if you so wish!)

Good point. In my rush to be funny, I confused things. I used to run a coax network where a portion of the inner lead of a cable broke. The telephone tech (an old AT&T guy) used a piece of coathanger, which is still functioning today. Crazy stuff those guys knew.

Originally Posted by Fenrir

Unless you're leaching files, it seems pointless to install physical network jacks in your car, just use ad-hoc wifi-G. Most important ones for a car would have to be USB and maybe Firewire if you use oldschool iPods or DV cams/firewire HDDs/etc. Firewire also acts as a networking medium (at decent speeds too, 400mbps for FirewireA and 800 for FirewireB) natively in XP, so if someone with a laptop in your car wants to connect straight in at highspeed, they don't have a problem. (unless, of course, they're unfortunate enough to only have USB)
Maybe RCA ins?

Ah, good point. Although having a rj-45 jack would be more for conversation point than anything else. I don't have any firewire devices, but having firewire port up front would be cool. I forgot about usb and firewire networking, so that would be an added bonus.

Oooh, RCA input, hadn't thought of that one. Maybe I'll use an old front vcr panel with s-video, composite video and r/l audio as a base and add the usb and firewire onto that. Great idea! Thanks!