Finally Registered, ready to begin my addiction!

**PatrickJohnson** · 08-09-2012, 10:30 AM

My name is Patrick Johnson, and I've been lurking mp3car.com for literally years. I finally decided to take the plunge and begin working up a carputer. I'm driving a 2008 Yaris Hatchback, so my space will be limited, and I want everything to look OEM (doesn't everyone?).

I'm going to start a worklog to document my journey and I'd love feedback from anyone who wants to give it!

Hi everybody!

**Enforcer** · 08-09-2012, 01:32 PM

Welcome

**soundman98** · 08-09-2012, 05:46 PM

welcome!

**Lincolnman** · 08-12-2012, 07:10 PM

What are your goals - entertainment, GPS, ECM diagnostic and/or tuning, something else? No one knows where you are headed with this right now and we need something to chew on if you want a response better than a simple greeting.
So - hello.

**PatrickJohnson** · 08-12-2012, 08:15 PM

Fair point! I guess I kind of went backward and posted my goals in my worklog thread.

Basically, here is my goal:

My "must have" functionality is:

1) Sirius Satellite
2) Playback of CDs
3) Playback of Movie Files
4) Playback of MP3, AAC, etc (including iPod/iPhone connectivity, and charging)
5) GPS
6) Touchscreen LCD

My "nice to have" functionality is:

1) Physical volume knob
2) Playback of DVDs
3) Backup Camera
4) Bluetooth for Phone
5) AM/FM
6) Flux capacitor / Time travel

I've narrowed my approach down to three options for the brain:

1) Raspberry Pi
2) Shuttle SA76R4 AMD Phenom II
3) Something similar to this, but if I can maybe built into the shell of my old Double DIN OEM radio
4) Mac Mini (if I can figure out the power piece, I'm sure there's lots of info here!)

I also plan to try my hand at fabrication, as I'd like an integrated dock for my iPhone in the dash, and I'll likely want to fashion some kick panels to install a 3 way comp system in the front. Then 5.25 speakers in the back, then a sub somewhere, likely no larger than 10 inches (preferably 8", as I am not looking to shake the windows, only fill out sound)

Thoughts on my plans so far?

I've posted more detail in my worklog thread: http://www.mp3car.com/worklogs/15295...k-worklog.html

**chris350** · 08-12-2012, 10:09 PM

raspberry pi might not be able to handle the requirements of the popular front end softwares.

**PatrickJohnson** · 08-12-2012, 10:57 PM

Yeah, I'm starting to see that now that I've done some research on it. I like the idea, and I've seen a few successful implementations of it, but it seems pretty limited. I think I've narrowed it to a Mac Mini or one of the small all-in-one offerings.