How much airflow do LCDs need? And, waterproof?

**wompser** · 03-28-2002, 03:07 PM

Wow! Thanks for all the responses! Like I said, its great to have people to bounce ideas off.

Mike: Yup, I checked out EarthLCD already. NOT impressed with their site, prices or the user interface. You would think they would invest a little money in getting that site to work well, be easy to undestand, product pictures/white papers, etc. I also think their prices may be pretty high.

ODYSSEY: I'm with you on that. It concerns me more from a safety standpoint than a legal one. Maybe I could make the mount in a way that the screen would flip out of the way in the event of an airbag inflation, but it seems like a LOT of work and I'd be unable to test it till it was too late! I know lots of guys have a switch to disable their airbags when they go off road (so it does not accidently inflate) but my situation would not be quite the same.

smoothswiss: That Datalux monitor looks really good. For once a monitor manufacture who has a good website with info on their product! I'll look into that one some more for sure. Ebay will become my best friend. Thanks for the tip! And I'm most excited about building the box for the computer. I wish I could say it was my idea, but the inspiration actually came from this (see attachment) I made a cardboard one last night and have been driving around with it today to see it it is livable. So far so good, you really can't even tell it is there! I love it. I agree with you on the fan idea, should be pretty simple to make it water resisitant. And the heatsink is something I've already thought of, I don't know much about them but I had that idea too. I'll underclock the CPU so I don't have to worry about heat from it, but the Sproggy.... Don't know how to heatsink that yet, still working on it. Heat sink plus this fan? http://voidedwarranty.netfirms.com/reviews/18/ We'll see...

tation: It may take a little padding before it is finished, just in case... NOticed your install the other day. Looks good and I was considering doing the same thing, but I'd have to take out a heck of a lot from my dash to fit something in. Vents and radio mostly, but I'd have to tear out a buch of metal I think, and then the dash wouldn't go back together if I didn't like the project in the end. Plus it makes it hard to replicate this install, I'd like to make something modular that anyone can install if possible. It would be cool if you could take this right out of one jeep and put it in another. Jeeps have been very similar (ok, mostly) since the 50's so I don't think this is too far-fetched. And cops/thieves are things I'm thinking about too. Still gotta figure some things out. I'll try to post pictures of what I'm talking about as I go along.

**Rob** · 03-28-2002, 03:20 PM

I don't know if these are of any use to you, and I'm not sure on the price. But it might be worth having a look. I've played with a couple of them and they are very nice, but probably expensive.

http://www.ab.com/industrialcomputers/icmonitors.html

**wompser** · 03-28-2002, 04:34 PM

Wow, I checked out those Datalux monitors, they seem like just the thing for me. Small form factor, pretty bright, rugged. They look just perfect if I can find one of the new ones that does not need that special controller card. If I could will someone into putting a touch screen one on ebay....

**Adam F** · 03-28-2002, 04:56 PM

The 10.4 datalux says its only 100 nits...is that enough to see in the daytime?

**smoothswiss** · 03-28-2002, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by Adam F
The 10.4 datalux says its only 100 nits...is that enough to see in the daytime?

woh, don't get that... it's either an error or a really old model. Mine is 200 nits (LMV10R2, resistive touch screen), and that is the most common. There is also a 500 nits model(LMV10RX), but that one is very difficult to find. The 200 is fine for a car, 500 is probably visible in direct sunlight. The 500 nits version were actually developed for use in police cars.

The displays currently on ebay are non-touch screen. The prices are expensive, cause I have seen non-touch screen versions sell for 120 dollars in nice condition. For a while, there were a whole lot of touch screen (LMV10R) models on ebay that would go for just a little over 200 dollars. They seem to come in waves, and usually it's the same reseller, so you'll just have to wait for them. I think a good price to buy a touch screen version (which is what I recommend getting since they are so sweet!) is from 250-300 dollars.

<b>HOWEVER...<b> as wompser said, be very carefull for the ones that require a special controller card... I would not get one of these, since they only work with a non-upgradeable ISA card

Check the website... they have lots of info: www.datalux.com

**dscustoms** · 03-28-2002, 05:26 PM

please PLEASE don't mount anything in front of an airbag, have you ever had one of those go off? I know a couple highway patrol officers, they carry laptops in the cars now, and even with the screens mounted firmly to a steel structure between the seats, when the passenger airbag goes off, it usually blows the screen off and across the car, who knows what would happen to your passenger when 8 shotgun shells blow an lcd screen into their face. That would be a nice lawsuit. and I'm glad your dropped the first idea, sudden braking and a 15" lcd from the ceiling would either break your windshield or your passenger...
Mount small screens in visors, The little ones don't generate too much heat, so sealing them off shouldn't be bad. Or use that datalux, but keep it in the center of the dash and mounted low, not in front of the airbags, and not more than 4-5" from the dash to the immediate side of an airbag, it'll pop off sideways.

**wompser** · 03-28-2002, 08:13 PM

Yup, I checked with the seller, these are only 100 nits. (although it says on there 200...) I don't think that is bright enough either, from what I've read on this board. The 500 nit version would be cool, but I don't know where I would find one.

Good point with the airbags. I'll be sure to keep it far out of the way of those suckers.

Thanks for your advice everyone. I'm going to do lots of planning, so this may not come together quickly, but it will be cool when its all done!

Thread: How much airflow do LCDs need? And, waterproof?

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