Info overload, help me sort this out please

**Jeepskate** · 09-14-2004, 03:12 PM

Newbie to the CarPC world and I've been poking around here and elsewhere for about a month now. I've got about 23 years of computer experience and about 20 years of car audio & electronics experience, so I'm comfortable with most of the stuff. I'm considering a CarPC system for my recently 'restified' 1986 Jeep CJ-7. The head unit I installed decided to drop the audio portion of the CD player and I figure for not a whole lot more money than a new head & a CD changer I can put in a basic CarPC and add to it as I go. Basic functions I want out of the box are MP3 playback and FM radio, with eventual plans for GPS and interfacing with a DIY fuel injection setup that I'm planning to do later. I've pretty much settled on a Lilliput 7" touchscreen for my display and CoPilot for GPS. I have a steel security center console where everything will be installed (inside dimensions 9.5" wide, 11" deep, 6.5" long front compartment, 9.5" long rear compartment...there are grommeted cable pass-thru's between the two compartments as well as in the bottom of the console, and they have separate lids). My intention is to mount as much of the rig in the front compartment as space allows, then drop a panel over top to attach the touchscreen to so that it is accessible with the front lid open. I have components up front, 6x9's out back, and a 10" sub behind the back seat powered by a 5-channel amp and I have a handful of signal processors (AudioControl ESP-2, EpiCenter, and EQQ). I imagine I could probably replace some or all of these with software components. Here's where I need some guidance:

Mobo's: Looking at the Epia line-up mainly (also looking at the Wafer, but I don't think that's going to pan out the way I'd like). It lloks like the Epia M series is the only one that does 6-channel audio, is this correct? So with the others I'd have to live with splitting the 2-channels or drop a sound card (I've got an older Audigy laying around) in the PCI slot, correct?

Power supply/control: This one has head my head spinning the most, but I think I've got it straight. The basic options are: standard ATX PSU with an inverter (I found a controller on Ebay that is supposed to work in conjunction with these to provide shutdown control, amp remote turn-on, etc, but don't know if I want to go this route with the extra components), DC-DC PSU with an ITPS (seems like this has fallen out of favor around here), DC-DC PSU with a Carnetix (I'm leaning toward this one since it has outputs for the mobo & display, plus shutdown control and amp remote turn-on), and the integrated PSU/controllers like the Opus (seem to be getting some mixed reviews, plus only the lower wattage unit has the amp remote turn-on, and it appears to only support one device (either the mobo or the display, not both)). Is this correct and does it sound like going the DC-DC + Carnetix route is the right one for me?

FM tuner: Run-of-the-mill USB units the way to go? I've got one laying around from last year that I attempted to use for a TV project that does FM also.

I think that about covers it. Thanks for any help/advice.

**stevieg** · 09-14-2004, 05:26 PM

Power supply/control: Have a look into the opus. It's around £100 but well worth the money.
FM Tuner: Search for the thread about HU quality FM tuner in development. The cheap USB ones aren't that good quality compared to even a cheap head unit.
Mainboard: Epia M series is worth the money; it's a quality board for the small form factor

**Jeepskate** · 09-14-2004, 06:40 PM

Thanks for the info, stevieg. Sounds like maybe I should pull one of my overhead consoles out of storage and pop the head unit in there and pipe my CarPC audio through it's inputs (which would also eliminate the need for the 6 channel audio on the mobo).