The Mp3Car Blog

Forum member coucouillu Has something rather outrageous in the works. He has modified his existing Symphony II radio from his 2006 Audi A3 to incorporate a motorized touchscreen. But this project goes way beyond that:

Coucouillu began his mission with some simple Cad drawings to determine if this project was even feasible. Understanding his space limitations he began to modify his hardware to suit his needs. He turned the atx connector on an M3 sideways and desoldered some motherboard components and extended them for additional space. Following this he began to shape the face panel of the radio enclosure. The CD player and Cassette deck were unnecessary for this design so they were removed, patched, and modified to fit a lilliput motorized monitor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now how the heck do you manage to merge a stock Audi radio and a motorized Screen? By converging the mechanism from a LM Digital 6501 and the screen from a motorized Lilliput with a custom pcb all cut and hacked to fit into double-din Symphony's footprint. Oo Yeah, a computer fits in there too. Maybe these pictures explain a little better…

 

 

 

 

 

Just when you thought this job was complicated enough, coucouillu decided that the Lilliput microcontroller just wasn’t going to make the cut. After some testing and help from fellow forum members, coucouillu was able to devise his own PICBASIC microcontroller for the functions of the monitor. Here is a little video for proof.

 

 

 

 

 

Final customizations include a custom faceplate pcb, altered leds to match the Symphony II’s appeal, and a front USB port. -- Coucouillu recently scrapped his existing Jetway mobo for a smaller more powerful Commell LS-372. He has added a custom heatpipe, and completely hacked a uSDC to plug directly into the motherboard.  I am expecting to see a finished product in the near future! To completely appreciate this project, I advise taking a few minutes to browse the thread. As alway, if you have a project you are working on or know of a community innovation, send a PM or post here .

 

A very common topic on the Mp3Car Forums is getting rid of strange audio noise (typically synchronous with the rev of your engine); an odd humming or whining sound. This is generally caused from using multiple ground points in your setup. Because these points are connected to a common ground but from different locations, unsteady or irregular voltage may occur. We can separate the grounds from each other by using a Ground Loop Isolator.   

 

Here is an old one from the archives- 

Forum member Gip shows us how the poor man constructs his own Ground Loop Isolator. He uses two transformers removed from a couple of old 56k modems, an RCA adapter and some breadboard. Put it all together and viola... no more audio noise. Originally posted as a means to "remove power supply noise from audio".  See more pictures and a full explanation on the thread.

In addition to using a GLI, it is also preferred to use high quality shielded cables, and to keep any power lines away from your signal lines - Make Oersted proud!

 

For further information on this topic consult the Car Audio section of our forums or see the Induced noise FAQ

 

If you have an alternate solution to problematic audio noise you feel should be recognized make a post in the Mp3Car Blog Talk section .

 

 

Do you find yourself parking in tight spots all too often? Please don't scratch your bumper trying to fit into that tiny space. To help us carputer users, Robby_BMW has developed a USB interface for aftermarket parking sensor kits. These kits use ultra-sonic sensors which would normally report back to an LED or LCD to indicate the distance between your bumper and whatever else. Robby's interface uses a PIC 18F2550 microcontroller on a custom PCB to send the information to your computer. The device is recognized as a Plug & Play HID. It works as a wired or wireless connection. I suggest you read up on the technicals for customization options as there are limitations depending on your setup. This interface is device specific. Software is available with a multi-lingual Configuration tool. There are also plug-ins for RoadRunner and Centrafuse .

This has sparked much excitement in the Hardware Development section . I suggest you read the thread as Robby has done a great job of documenting the production. Members like Enforcer and _Dejan_ are also contributors and supporters of the project. Yet another ingenious solution to making a stand-alone device work with your computer. Great work guys! Check out the test video below to see it in action.

Parking Radar USB Test

Talk about this topic in the Mp3Car Blog Talk section .

 

If you have something you feel should be recognized as a community innovation, drop me a PM or post your creation in the User Innovations section .

 

 

 

If you like Mythbusters on the Discovery channel, you may want to check out Beyond Productions' new show, Prototype this! tonight at 10. You might even catch a glimpse of our very own Carnetix P1900.

These geeks put together all kinds of projects like a Mind controlled car, Boxing robots, Six legged all-terrain vehicle, and a Water slide simulator. This is the first part of a 13 episode season. If you guys are familiar with Defcon, badge designer Joe Grand is part of the cast along with 3 other guys from various technical backgrounds. Be sure to check it out tonight 10 e/p on the Discovery Channel, keep your eyes peeled for the CNX p1900 too!  

 

 

If any of you have ever tried to make your own dash piece for that pretty little monitor that you just got, you know that it takes a lot of time and patience to get everything right. Chances are, you are going to have to pull out the Dremel and mutate the factory plastic. There’s not to much room for error either, so there’s no turning back. I have seen much advancement in bezel construction over the years, and I have seen some truly remarkable creations. Plastic, bondo, fiberglass, wood… there are so many different ways I have seen people do this.

 

Often times we get carried away with visioning completion, and neglect to address minor flaws. We deal with these blemishes as they do no impact any function. But every time you reach across to change the song or reroute your destination, that little irregularity stares right back at you. It might even haunt your dreams. There is no sense in losing sleep over this, it is just going to require a little extra sanding, filler or paint. You could have prevented it from the start with a little extra diligence. Crafting a bezel is an art and not everyone can be like Matisse (or TurboCad). It’s not always about perfection and achieving that “factory look” but having a vision and making it real.

Tips:

-Plan Ahead

-Measure twice, cut once

-Always have lots of sandpaper on hand

-Let it dry/cure

-Consider a backup plan

 

 

Here are my Fav 3 custom fab jobs, these guys really dedicated a lot of time an effort to acheive the perfect dash: 

Monkeyracer  - Great example of how time and dedication really pays off when it is all said and done. Also the author of a few RoadRunner skins .

TurboCad - I consider TurboCad Mp3Car’s grandfather of fabrication. He has done some really amazing work, and been around for a while too.

Altinono - This guy went a slightly different route, none the less, really took time plan everything out.

 

What are your top three fab jobs? Post them here ! In the Mp3Car Blog Talk section

Check out the Fabrication forum for more tips and inspiration.

 

LinuxICE – Freedom to Choose

 

Those of you who have been around the forums for a while surely have come across our local Linux advocate Kev000. For the past couple years or so, Kev has been laying the groundwork and developing LinuxICE and its counterpart nGhost Media Center. LinuxICE is an open-source car computing platform protected under the GNU/GPL License. Recently I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about the origins and status of the project. Here is my transcription:

 

Kevron Rees is a software engineer from Salt Lake City, Utah.  He has always considered himself a Windows “power user” but looked at Linux as “the unconquered mountain”. In 2006 he joined the Car computing hobby, as it was a combination of two things he really liked. When a 600 MHz Epia wasn’t enough to handle the demands of Windows, Kev was inspired to search for another solution. That was when he installed his first Linux desktop and began research for development strategies.

Kev wanted a complete system that was free, did everything that you would want in the car, and did it well. Ideas were passed around in the Mp3Car Linux forum about starting a distro that was small, quick and included only the software and drivers you wanted to run in the car; thus, LinuxICE was born.

Eubey was the guy that really kick started it. He chose the name "LinuxICE" and currently does all the graphics for it. Kev quickly jumped on the bandwagon. Others then followed. The LinuxICE + nGhost projects combined, have almost 15 contributors including graphics artists, testers and developers.

LinuxICE is very young (still in its Beta stages) and cannot be compared directly to any Windows based solutions, though it is maturing quickly. LinuxICE is an attractive alternative for commercial system developers and others who are looking for an alternative to paying the “Microsoft Tax”.  It has become the showpeice of the OpenICE platform (an initiative to standardize Car Entertainment/Infotainment and provide a framework for building your own system from the ground up... see http://openice.org for details).

Moblin , LinuxICE’s closest kin, is an interesting beast. It is backed by Intel and stretches its reach from Internet tablets to the car. It has similar goals and is backed by commercial companies. Because Moblin is also open-source, components from each project benefit each other. Moblin is not considered so much as competition but more of a symbiosis; both contribute to car infotainment for the benefit of the user.    

As with any open-source application, community support pushes quicker development and an overall better product. Kev informs me that they plan to release nGhost 2.0.2 on Friday. Here is a short clip of some new features in the next release of LinuxICE (Beta4) produced by kantlivelong. I strongly encourage anyone who has an interest in this project to give it a try. Provide some feedback or write or some code in the Mp3Car Forums here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyday, members of Mp3Car’s forum seem to come up with some amazing solutions to everyday problems encountered in the car computing world. Seeing that we have a pretty steady blog going on, I figured that it is about time to highlight some of these solutions a little more publicly. This gives opportunity for outsiders to see what we are all about here and give due recognition to those who demonstrate their skills to turn something ordinary into something extraordinary. In turn I hope this inspires yourself and others to innovate your own solutions to whatever troubles come your way.

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Forum member AvWuff has come up with an interesting solution to adding phone support to a CarPC . Handsfree bluetooth is a touchy subject when it comes to car computers. There are so many complications. Software support only seems to work half the time (if at all). Limiting factors include: Phone manufacturer, Bluetooth stack, Bluetooth hardware, Microphone, Sound card, echo cancellation, frontend integration… the list really could go on for a while. Meanwhile AvWuff, dissatisfied with software based solution, went a slightly different route.

Using a Parrot Ck3000 evolution, an Adruino board and some other odds and ends, Av hacked together a new system to interface with his custom home-brew software. He took apart the Parrot device and soldered some wires on for relay control. Using the Parrot mute box, he used the speaker outputs to connect to the Adruino board to determine the state of the bluetooth and trigger commands on the computer. Though not as intuitive as the software, this rendition works. Read on to see the pros and cons.

To get the full explanation, read up on it here . Or check out his project page. If you're interested in this, I highly recommend you drop by Av's website to see some other stuff he has worked on. www.avbrand.com

Thanks Av for contribution!

 

Discuss this in the Blog Talk Section  

Suggestions? Send me a PM

[...]

Intel introduces new products for mobile computing; D945GCLF2 , DG45FC

Intel’s Little Valley boards have come a long way. Initially started as a cheap fan cooled 1.3 GHz Celeron, it was then replaced by fanless version with an addition of 2 SATA ports; shortly there after, Intel reverts back to a fanned version. Each of these boards model low power consumption and a cheap price to go with it.

Recently Intel released the Atom processor which promptly introduced the successor to the Little Valley series, the D945GCLF (Code named “Little Falls”); a 1.6 GHz ultra low power consuming board, driven by a chip the size of a dime. Increased performance, efficiency and RAM capacity makes this board more desirable.

If you thought that was impressive you should check out the specs on the latest releases of Intel’s miniITX line. The D945GCLF2 (a.k.a. Little Falls 2) has some notable improvements over the first generation. For starters, it is a dual core Atom processor. Added functionality includes: an S-video output and pin-outs for six channel audio. If that isn’t enough for you, The DG45FC (or should I say “Flying Creek”) should give you that extra boost of power you are looking for. This little guy takes Core 2 Duo/Quad processors (socket 775) and provides up to 1333MHz FSB! 6 external USB ports plus support for 4 more, HDMI output, an e-SATA port, and onboard 7.1 Audio. Check out the specifications . These boards should tear through just about any CarPC application like a hot knife through butter.

Intel's team expresses great excitement with the release/production of the Atom processor; they contend that such innovation will revolutionize the future of mobile computing. This leads all of us to ask the question What will they come up with next?

Talk about this in the blog talk section . See comments on the Little Falls 2 in this thread .  

Be on the lookout for these products in the Mp3car Store Soon!

 

Click Here for Comparison Chart!

[...]

MJS Gadgets has introduced a new product. It is a USB controlled audio selection device. This enables you to turn your single "line-in" jack on your computer to 4 "line-in" jacks and control which input you would like to hear via software. The software has a systray app that allows fast switching between channels with hotkeys. There are also available plug-ins for Centrafuse and RoadRunner. Mp3car Store now carries the UAS, view additional product information here. Share information or opinions here in the Mp3car Blog Talk section .

Check out the new AutumnWave HDTV tuner .

 

This USB TV tuner is different from all the others you may have seen or used before. The OnAir GT is a USB powered device that can receive and display television content. It is capable of receiving Over the Air signals (digital and analog), and of course feel free to plug it into your existing cable line at home. What sets this tuner apart from all the rest is a fifth generation LG Electronics tuner/demodulator which eliminates interference caused by multi-pathing; in turn it finds the strongest signal and latches on to it for the clearest possible picture.

The included software allows you to watch, capture, or pause live content. With the large interactive menu you can change just about any settings to fit your needs: Aspect ratio, viewing options like Desktop TV, zoom and many more. The EPG, or electronic programing guide, gives you a TV guide listing to set your recording schedule ahead of time or just see whats on. There is even software to burn a DVD of your favorite recordings.

 

Digital advantages:

- Clearest Picture - Take advantage of your widescreen monitor

- More Bandwidth - Allows for different languages, more captions, and tv guide

- Multi-Plexing - Get multiple channels through a single broadcast

 

After using this product for several weeks, I can honestly say that I am very impressed with it. The reception is spectacular, the picture looks just as good on my Lilli 619 as it does on my 42" Plasma. For in car use, the included antenna is probably not your best option if you plan on watching tv while driving. You might want to upgrade or engineer your own solution. The installation is quick and easy. I really like being able to switch the unit from my car to my laptop and then take it in at night and plug it into my desktop to watch High-Def on the big screen. I highly recommend this product for anyone searching for a computer TV solution.

 

In the box:

GT tuner

Carry case

Remote control

A/V input plugs

Software

Telescoping Antenna

 

More Information

 

 

Hello, my name is Scott. I am an intern at Mp3Car. Prior to my employment here I spent a lot of time on the forums doing research and dreaming up the perfect driving machine. Unfortunately, I lack the funds to move my dreams to reality in a timely fashion. But, thanks to Mp3car I have made a lot of progress in the past few months.

Here at Mp3Car I spend most of my time preparing and shipping orders. I get to see everything that goes in and out. The coolest part of my job is that I can see what people order and imagine how they are going to make it work in their car. If you had a problem with your shipment, I’m sorry; it is more than likely my fault. Aside from all that, I take time to read the latest forum posts and test products new and old.

In the future, I hope to give you all more insight on news and products related to the hobby. Keep up the good work guys! You all continue to impress me more and more each day.

 

"The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to that which is unknown" - Albert Einstein

 

 

Most of you know how aggravating proper placement of wires can be. Fret no more, the guys at Xenarc have engineered a way to make life a little easier for you. Xenarc's new 706TSA monitor has just been added to the Mp3Car store. This little guy sets a new benchmark in the mobile computing industry. It flaunts an automotive grade 650 nit lcd panel capable of displaying resolutions up to 1600 X 1200. New features include: an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness, mirror / vertical flip, a sturdy brushed aluminum bezel, LVDS signal processing; most importantly, an external input box that sends power and picture to the unit all in one cable. The box allows input from VGA or DVI along with 2 additional video inputs and 3 audio inputs. The 706TSA is the right product for those of you who strive for the perfect mobile computing solution. For more information see the 706TSAProduct Description.

Talk about this on our forums here