Seattle Area Meet

**spectrumzz** · 12-23-2003, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by gospeed.racer

Man, Pizza is good no matter how bad it is

I am up for anywhere, as long as the date doesnt change!

I would volunteer to talk about soft hard drive mounts, but i dont know s^&$ about em after all

LOL

Look forward to seeing lots of people there---------Jeff

I'm in for the Seattle meet. I can talk about carputer software design and hosting controls, etc. My car is fully based on .Net.

**Dan Marsh** · 12-23-2003, 07:28 PM

I can't wait to see what everyone is doing for interfaces! I have tried a number of off the shelf ones, but most seem very heavily geared towards touchscreen use. Effective and safe interfaces are, in my mind, one of the biggest challenges in building a car computer.

Spectrumzz, do you have a page about your car project where we could maybe see some pictures of your interface? What do you mean about hosting controls?

**spectrumzz** · 12-24-2003, 02:07 AM

Originally Posted by Dan Marsh

I can't wait to see what everyone is doing for interfaces! I have tried a number of off the shelf ones, but most seem very heavily geared towards touchscreen use. Effective and safe interfaces are, in my mind, one of the biggest challenges in building a car computer.

Spectrumzz, do you have a page about your car project where we could maybe see some pictures of your interface? What do you mean about hosting controls?

I don't have a page up yet (maybe when I get done), but I primarily have mine set up for touch. One technique for making them safe is that you disable the touchscreen when the car is motion, reducing the inclination of the driver to use it (like Lexus does).

By hosting controls, I mean integrating MapPoint and other components (ie. ActiveX user controls) into your own software through COM and other technologies.

**SiGmA_X** · 12-24-2003, 06:09 AM

This is kickass! I can do the front end swap with my car on the same time as the meet! I'll be doing the front end swap (Jetta -> Golf and Golf -> Jetta) at 10am until (At the latest) noon. Where ever we go, it’s got to be able to have us under aged kids, because I really don't want to get blocked from coming

1pm somewhere sound good?

spectrumzz - Do you have AIM? Or another chat app like that?

**Dan Marsh** · 12-24-2003, 10:34 AM

The plan thus far is to meet at 1 at the UW parking lot and spend some time looking at each other's systems. Once we get bored with that, we can walk over to one of the cafe's and chat it up and do the seminars. I am thinking the Cafe Allegro as it has a pretty decent sized backroom, is within easy walking distance and has good drinks and munchies. If we really get hungry, there are a number of good pubs/restaurants. We will make sure to pick someplace that accepts minors.

**gospeed.racer** · 12-24-2003, 07:14 PM

Hehe...if we park close to a cafe, chances are they might have some wireless connections

**Dan Marsh** · 12-25-2003, 03:16 PM

Yes, several of them do. I am also in the process of putting an access point in my car with a cellular uplink. When finished, I should be able to get a slow internet uplink anywhere within range of my car.

**SiGmA_X** · 12-26-2003, 05:53 AM

Dan, nice! I am looking at getting an antenna with better range, mounted in my back window or headliner of the roof. Any suggustions as to what one to get?

**Dan Marsh** · 12-26-2003, 03:07 PM

I take it you are referring to an 802.11b/g antenna? Firstly, you need to have a 802.11b/g adapter with an external antenna connector. I recommend Orinoco Gold/Silver and Senao/Engenius 200 MW cards for this purpose. They both have external antenna connectors and have very sensitive radios.

http://www.fab-corp.com/ sells 5 db omni directional mag mounts for under $20 that terminate in the appropriate connector (MC Card for Orinoco, MMCX for Senao). I have seen 8 db mag mount omni antennas as well, but they are significantly higher profile, have greater wind-load and the gain achieved by flattening the signal can actually limit you in some ways.

I will definately speak about wireless at the meet. Topics will probably include:

- Remote administration
- Finding and using public hotspots
- Internet access via cell-phone

**Dan Marsh** · 12-27-2003, 03:46 AM

I am posting this here as well as at the beginning of the thread so that everyone will view it.

Since everyone has had ample time to comment on meet location and time, I thought I would announce final arrangements for the meet.

Starting Location: University of Washington parking lot N5
Time: 1 PM - Saturday, January 10th
Map:

Directions: From I-5, take the NE 45th street exit and head east through the U-district until you reach 17th AVE NE. Take a right onto 17 AVE NE (you will be heading south). You will see two toll-booths and a small observatory. Take the first available left after the tollbooths and lot N5 will be on your left.

Rough schedule: We will arrive at lot N5 and probably spend a couple hours checking out each others systems. N5 is a big open lot, so dress warmly and it might be wise to bring an umbrella if it looks like there will be rain. After we get done at N5, we will walk over to one of the nearby cafe's to warm up, chat and do some informal seminars. Afterwards, we will head over to either Northlake Tavern or Atlantic Street Pizza and cap off the night with some of the city's best Pizza.

Here is a list of the tentative seminar topics. If you have suggestions for other topics, or wish to volunteer for a subject (very informal, just talking about your experience with the subject) please do so ASAP.

Definate:

- Wireless Networking/Internet Access
- User Interface Design
- Power Systems
- Audio Integration
- Boot-time Optimization

Possible:

- Custom Fiberglass Dashes
- Input Devices
- Voice Control

I am looking forward to meeting you all!

Daniel Marsh