Thread: New Dell mini 9

Originally Posted by wmpwi

Me too. And it looks like we have a similar build plan. I ordered mine, but it looks like a couple of weeks yet. I plan on using SDHD for media. I have several laying around and they're large enough now to hold most of what I need. I'll use the OEM head unit via USA-SPEC module for the sound. Big questions for me are the power supply and turning it on and off w/ the key.

Received mine Saturday. I haven't put in my car yet, mainly because it's really fun to play with, new toy and all. I'm also using SDHD for media. Works well.

I'm seriously thinking of using a small inverter for the power brick. Figure I can wire it either via relay or direct to switched power and then set the netbook to power down after 5 minutes of inactivity when on battery power. That way, when the key is turned off, the inverter looses power and the netbook goes to battery. Then it just powers itself down after 5 minutes. Just need to remember to set the power option to something else when I take it out of the car.

Since my car is rather cramped, I'm thinking of getting a touchscreen to mount somewhere. Figure I can set the netbook to "do nothing" when the lid is closed (it does blank the screen). That thing is so small closed that it can be set about anywhere without too much problem. May be able to set it in the glove compartment.

I've already loaded Centrafuse and Roadrunner. Centrafuse nav is having trouble finding the gps receiver coming up from hibernation even with some of the fixes applied. I've never really played with RR but I think it may be better for my purposes.

As far as performance, the Mini 9 is about what I expected. It certainly isn't a rocket but does do well. Signal for wireless is very good. Keyboard takes a little getting used to but is usable. And, considering what I paid for the system in my truck, the Dell is a good buy even if I end up adding a touchscreen. The only thing missing is the am/fm tuner that the truck system has, and that's not bad since reception isn't as good as the head unit.

Overall, I think it was an excellent choice.

Are you going to use W3bma5t3r's auto-on module?
If so, how easy/hard is it to solder to the power switch leads?

Originally Posted by FusionFanatic

there are probably better options available to power and control startup/shutdown for that PC. I wouldn't consider using an inverter to power a PC unless there was no other option.

what is the output voltage (and amperage) of the power brick that came with the mini?

Actually, that's the reason I was looking at using an inverter. The output of the brick is 19v/1.58a.

The bigger problem is how to start it remotely. I do not want to take a brand new, still under warranty netbook apart to solder some wires to the board.

Search the BIOS for a setting that will turn on / wake the laptop when power is applied. Maybe you'll get lucky and it will be that easy.

Bootup is the biggest problem with laptops as CarPCs. If someone can make a USB device that sends a power-on signal when 12v is applied to some leads, they'll have a good market for that device. (Extra points if said device is also a 12v-powered hub, so you gain more USB ports rather than losing one, and you have extra power for hungry devices like BT, Wifi, GPS, etc.... but maybe that's asking too much.)

Personally I felt that the Webmaster module was worth the risk, at least on a laptop that has easily accessible places to solder the leads to. (I chose an HP 530 primarily for that reason.) If you're willing to pop apart your laptop and have a look around for the power switch leads, that would be great. If not, I'm sure we'll all understand.

Originally Posted by NSFW

Search the BIOS for a setting that will turn on / wake the laptop when power is applied. Maybe you'll get lucky and it will be that easy.

Bootup is the biggest problem with laptops as CarPCs. If someone can make a USB device that sends a power-on signal when 12v is applied to some leads, they'll have a good market for that device. (Extra points if said device is also a 12v-powered hub, so you gain more USB ports rather than losing one, and you have extra power for hungry devices like BT, Wifi, GPS, etc.... but maybe that's asking too much.)

Personally I felt that the Webmaster module was worth the risk, at least on a laptop that has easily accessible places to solder the leads to. (I chose an HP 530 primarily for that reason.) If you're willing to pop apart your laptop and have a look around for the power switch leads, that would be great. If not, I'm sure we'll all understand.

Aready checked the BIOS. No joy. Since I'm going to connect through the factory radio, I don't know that I'm going to worry with it too much. Looks like I can fabricate a bracket to hold the Mini on the side of the transmission tunnel on the passenger side. If that works out, then it would be a simple process to pop the lid and hit the switch. I'm not terribly worried about power down since it looks like this thing will run between 3 and 4 hours with the screen off. And windows does have a power scheme that shuts the Mini off when on battery.

So my plan still is to pick up a touchscreen to mount in the car and just run the Mini with the lid down. The added advantage is that if the keyboard is needed, then its right there.

How does the Carnetix start up the CarPC?