Thread: Going to replace stock radio with CarPC & 5" LCD. Some Q's:

Here are your questions with my answers:
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1) How would I get radio from an ITX computer? This is my biggest problem so far.
A: You will need to get a FM car with an antenna. Do a search or go to www.hossweb.com and look at his expedition that has all this on there.

2) will removing the airbag and/or fuse light up a dummy light? How do you get around that? if no way, I guess I could use the glove box, or mount it in my trunk and run cables.
A: I would suggest the trunk and run cables. It will be the safest back there then taking out an airbag.

3) Dash kits. Do they make dash kits for LCD screens? Will the PSone LCD screen fit in my dash?
A: Not that I know of yet. there is not that big of a market for this yet and all jobs are custom do it yourself jobs. I would not attempt this if you dont have a clue about customizing your LCD screen.

4) Sound. Can I reuse my old radio some how, or will I just have to buy an amp. all I have are the 4 stock speakers, no subs or anything.
A: There are many setups that you can do. the cheaper you make your setup the cheaper your sound will be.

5) ODB-II. I just briefly read this topic before posting here. This sounds outstanding! How would you interface the computer with your car's ECU? I see there's software to read it. This makes me want a carpc even more!
A: I would suggest some extensive reading as there is tons of information on this. just go to the ODB-II section as if you were going to run this on a laptop and make it a permanent optoin for the carputer.

6) Parts suppliers. Where can I find some of these accessories for cheaper? IE: PSU, the automatic power up/power down with your ignition device .. cables, etc..
A: you should not be asking these questions as you should READ and all these questions would have been answered.


I would suggest going to www.hossweb.com and read all three pages about his setup and you will learn alot. he also has a video he made. do that and then ask questions!

Good luck,
Mike

Originally Posted by mattress

1) How would I get radio from an ITX computer? This is my biggest problem so far.

There are multiple solutions. Griffin Radioshark, DLink USB radio, FM tuner cards.

2) will removing the airbag and/or fuse light up a dummy light? How do you get around that? if no way, I guess I could use the glove box, or mount it in my trunk and run cables.

Personally, I wouldn't want to mess with the airbag. Lots of folks have installs in glove compartments. Check the Show Off Your Project forum.

3) Dash kits. Do they make dash kits for LCD screens? Will the PSone LCD screen fit in my dash?

Not to my knowledge. The PS1 LCD should fit with no problems. Some fabrication would would be necessary. Bear in mind that the PS1 LCD screen is composite in. AS a general rule, the display quality from a computer sucks on a composite screen. You might consider a VGA-input screen, but these are typically 7" diag in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

4) Sound. Can I reuse my old radio some how, or will I just have to buy an amp. all I have are the 4 stock speakers, no subs or anything.

If your stock HU has aux input or a CD changer input, it's possible.

5) ODB-II. I just briefly read this topic before posting here. This sounds outstanding! How would you interface the computer with your car's ECU? I see there's software to read it. This makes me want a carpc even more!

You get a cable that goes into the serial port of the computer to read diagnostic codes through that port.

6) Parts suppliers. Where can I find some of these accessories for cheaper? IE: PSU, the automatic power up/power down with your ignition device .. cables, etc..

http://www.mp3car.com/store/
http://www.digitalww.com/
It's not the end-all, but it's certainly a start.

Sweet, Two posts answer the questions without a flame.... very nice guys.

fantastic information guys. thanks so much for your help! you definitally started me in the right directions.

About the psone being a composite only input, there are "VGA-Mod's" so I could run 640x480 or 800x600 resolutions using a VGA cable. there's also an S-video hack, which i won't need

I'll leave the airbag alone. I'll put the carputer in the trunk, under the carpet. something this simple may save lives! you never know.

I'll checkout that website you posted, i'm sure that'll be a big help.

As far as the ODB-II stuff goes, I guess when I breifly read that section, "2 fast 2 furious" came into mind, where the guy had a screen that showed all the graphs and stuff. that would be pretty cool to display when just listening to radio

Thanks again guys, you don't know how much of a help you've been. also thanks for not flaming!