Noobie Questions, Advice needed

**Phoenix_MR2** · 03-08-2005, 12:31 AM

i am very new to these forums and very new to the carputer scene. I am going to be using my toshiba laptop as i have broken the screen in it anyway and am using a desktop monitor for it anyway.

Please dont post "search", ive read alot on here and unfortunatly i am not computer literate to understand even half the terms you guys use or understand what you guys are talking about. i will learn, just give me time.

1: I just purchased a lilliput 7" black touchscreen this evening off ebay for $260 shipped (is that a good price?) and am wondering what i need next.

2: Do i hook my laptop up to my 300 watt inverter along with my screen and run my sound out of my laptop through my amps for sound?

3: How do i make it to where my laptop and lilli screen shutdown and come on whenever i turn my car off and on?

4: How can i hook up other monitors such as visor monitors to my screen laptop or lilli monitor to view everthing coming out of the laptop?

5: I think i am going to go with mediacar, is there someone out there that would be willing to make a custom skin for me for some cash?

6: i think i know what im talking about when i say inverter. Its the little box i have that connects to my battery and changes the power so i can plug in household stuff. First off i think i am going to purchase a larger power one like a 600watt just to be on the safe side.

7: As far as hooking up other monitors, would i be safe in using a device called an "expandview" which i use to hook my 4 monitors into one cable to my monitor output on my desktop?

8: Anyone from utah skilled in fiberglass or would like to stop by sometime to help with the carputer want to make a few extra bucks?

lots of questions i know, if only replying to one question, please put the question number down so i know which one your answering. Again all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Phoenix

**blackbravo** · 03-08-2005, 07:10 AM

2) probabaly easier to get a In Car adapter for ur laptop, Its got a cig lighter sopcket on the end.
3) If u go into power settings i think u can set the laptop to hibernate when un plugged, and the lili power it from ur car.

**DarquePervert** · 03-08-2005, 08:03 AM

Originally Posted by Phoenix_MR2

Please dont post "search", ive read alot on here and unfortunatly i am not computer literate to understand even half the terms you guys use or understand what you guys are talking about. i will learn, just give me time.

No better time to learn...

1: I just purchased a lilliput 7" black touchscreen this evening off ebay for $260 shipped (is that a good price?) and am wondering what i need next.

What do you want your carPC to do? Mobile internet access? GPS navigation? Audio integration with your car stereo? WiFi capability?

2: Do i hook my laptop up to my 300 watt inverter along with my screen and run my sound out of my laptop through my amps for sound?

Yup.
A better method for power is to get a 12v automobile adapter for the laptop, that way you can ditch the inverter. The Lilliput also has 12v capability if you use the egg.

3: How do i make it to where my laptop and lilli screen shutdown and come on whenever i turn my car off and on?

That's tricky. Some people are using Wake-on-ring through a serial port, but that will only work if your laptop supports it. It can all be done with relays.

4: How can i hook up other monitors such as visor monitors to my screen laptop or lilli monitor to view everthing coming out of the laptop?

I doubt you can use multiple monitors on a laptop. There are USB VGA adapters. You can try one of those, but I don't know that it'll give you what you want.
If you want the same image on multiple screens (which is pretty useless, as far as I'm concerned) you can get adapters to replicate the signal to multiple monitors.

5: I think i am going to go with mediacar, is there someone out there that would be willing to make a custom skin for me for some cash?

Try asking in the MediaCar skin forum.

6: i think i know what im talking about when i say inverter. Its the little box i have that connects to my battery and changes the power so i can plug in household stuff. First off i think i am going to purchase a larger power one like a 600watt just to be on the safe side.

See my response to #2 above.

7: As far as hooking up other monitors, would i be safe in using a device called an "expandview" which i use to hook my 4 monitors into one cable to my monitor output on my desktop?

Why in the hell do you want 4 monitors showing you the same thing? I can't see the usefulness of that sort of setup.
But yes, that would work...

8: Anyone from utah skilled in fiberglass or would like to stop by sometime to help with the carputer want to make a few extra bucks?

Do it yourself. It's not that hard. There have been a couple tutorials posted in these forums that are top-notch.

**Phoenix_MR2** · 03-08-2005, 05:44 PM

thank you for your responses, it helps a ton. I am going to go with the cigarette lighter adapters for the laptop and screen wired into the dash so its hidden.

As far as the other screens, its a show car, the more....the better.

i think im going to go with booting it up and down before car shutdown and turn off with a toggle switch to turn the power source on and off for "cranking" (i think i understand what that means). i think i want to be able to turn the carputer on after my car has started and off when its not on since it doesnt get driven very much, maybe 2000 miles a year.

i would like my car pc to play music videos, movies, GPS navigation, and possibly a camera in the front and rear of my car.

**Phoenix_MR2** · 03-08-2005, 05:45 PM

any other opinions?

**Deviser** · 03-08-2005, 06:09 PM

Phoenix_MR2,

I recommend a LIND auto adapter for your laptop click HERE to lookup the adapter for you model of laptop. They are very reliable and are made to work precisely with your laptop unlike many "Universal adapters"

Deviser

**DarquePervert** · 03-08-2005, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by Phoenix_MR2

any other opinions?

Yeah...

MORE screens isn't necessarily better.

**Redeyez** · 03-08-2005, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

Yeah...

MORE screens isn't necessarily better.

If all he wants is to, say, play the same video all through the car then it could be useful. But i agree it isnt necessarily better that way.

Originally Posted by Phoenix_MR2

8: Anyone from utah skilled in fiberglass or would like to stop by sometime to help with the carputer want to make a few extra bucks?

Originally Posted by Phoenix_MR2

As far as the other screens, its a show car, the more....the better.

if you want it for show purposes, why not just get a professional to do it? either that or just do it your self.

Originally Posted by Phoenix_MR2

5: I think i am going to go with mediacar, is there someone out there that would be willing to make a custom skin for me for some cash?

have you tried doing it yourself? the artwork isn't really all that hard, just really time consuming. same goes for all the coding.

good luck!

**Phoenix_MR2** · 03-09-2005, 02:36 AM

i probably will have a pro do the fiberglassing but as far as the 3 other monitors, mounting and placing them are simple. Unfortuanatly my body guy doesnt do interior glassing.

have more monitors are simply a few extra points in the "presentation" category. I was dinged at the last car show i attended for not having a video setup. The person that beat me had 5 monitors showing the same thing, which was a race video.

i am going to try to do a custom skin, i have the time, im just not a very good graphics design person.