"Noob Guide to Mp3car.com" or "Search is your friend"
This is my start on another noob guide. I hope this is received well.
I felt the amount of noob bashing and the proportional amount of questions garnering a bashing warranted a post...
This a forum, a support group. Let's help each other...
Noobs Guide to Mp3Car.com
(inspired by fark.com new user guide)
What is Mp3car.com?
Mp3car.com is a forum where enthusiasts and tinkers, and electricians, and coders, and graphic artists and various other forms of internet life mingle together to discuss ideas, glean information, and poke fun at one another about subjects related to the concept of car computers.
Some things that will help you in your search for the bliss that is computers running in cars include the following:
Search
Search more,
Search even more….
Despite what you may think, the subject has probably been covered before.
The best thing to do is search for specific terms that apply to your question.
i.e. I wonder if my 3.5 inch Hard drive will work in my car….
3.5” HDD will result in an enormous amount of results.
In fact, there will be more information than you would think. Not only will a 3.5” Hard drive work, some people say it works better. While looking through the various posts there are references to:
1. The perfect case(ikea)
2. Hard drive not detected
3. Scion TC media….
4. hdd power consumption
If you think this doesn’t begin to answer your question, you may want to go back to square one and determine if this is really what you want to do.
for example:
The "perfect case" thread is a discussion about a metal box that works pretty good for holding a carputer, it even holds a 2.5” disk drive…. Oh wait you wanted 3.5…I guess you will know not use the ikea case…..that’s okay, I had a problem with it myself….
The "Hard Drive not detected"….. a thread about why this stinking *&$ing HDD won’t show up….there is some info here, read it.. it will apply to you at some point, trust me.
The "Scion TC media" thread…..look a finished project, or a project in the process of design… I might get some good pointers out of here….you will, trust me, almost every thread except the “Boris needs to change his Avatar” thread will be helpful…..just saying.
The "HDD power consumption" thread….hrmmm, well, uh, oh……I see. The power supply I use will determine how much crap I can get to run in my car computer….I should probably make a mental note of this….
In summary of the search feature, I want to know if I can use a 3.5” HDD, yes…
will it work for me, is the greater question….
Since I’m not using the Ikea perfect case, I may be okay….
The Hard drive takes up X amount of power that leaves Y-X amount of power left to run my USB keyboard, the USB drive, the GPS, the XM radio, the DVD player, the Motherboard, 1 stick of RAM….Maybe I should use a 90Watt instead of the 60 watt I was going to use….Man, I learned a lot from searching 3.5” HDD.
Which is better, Product X or Product Y
Please see the previous section, Search is your friend.
Meets
Meets are the places we get to see our projects in action. If you don’t have a car computer running, Its okay. Its all about getting together and seeing what everyone else has done. Besides, the initiation isn’t painful…….just kidding. Oh wait, there aren't any meets in my area...organize one.
Finished projects
Finished projects are great resource for ideas. Furthermore, it is a great place to ask questions like, “how did you mount the USB hub?” and things like that.
If you really want to ask a question after searching...
Make sure you ask nicely.
Don't tell us you don't have time to search...
Explain what you are trying to do.
I have an EPIA M10000 w/512 RAM...When I boot, I get an error that says....
works better than...
Why won't my computer work?
If people bash you for asking a question, ignore it. Wait for the nice people.
Acronymsin alphabetical order...
5.1/7.1 = Different verions/levels of Surround Sound
BIOS = Basic Input/Output System A link about BIOS
DIY = Do it yourself
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
FP = FrodoPlayer
LVDS = Low VoltageDifferential Signaling...or read this
M10k = Epia M10000 Motherboard
MB = MotherBoard
MC = Mediacar
OBD = On board Diagnostics(often confused for ODB which is Ole Dirty Bastard who has nothing to do with carcomputers)
OPUS 90W/150W = OPus 90Watt or Opus 150Watt
PS = Power Supply
RR = Road Runner
RTFM = Read the F**king manual
YMMV = Your mileage may vary
0|33| = we all wonder this at times....Boris seems to be the closest.
Some Helpful Links
HOWTO: Get sound from PC to car stereo
HDD Mounting
XM on carputer, THE GUIDE
OPUS 90 W Questions
Other Power related links
Surround Sound(5.1)
Noob - How to get into BIOS
Grounding Things
Displays - Evrything we know and believe about Lilliput, Xenarc, and LinITX/mm400/Tview
Other Links These are manufacturers sites, they have a load of information that may or may not pertain to your project. Generally, MP3car.com will have more detailed information and specifics to guide you along.
Opus Solutions(Power, cases, complete systems)
Carnetix (power, cases, complete systems)
Via Embedded (Motherboard stuff)
Xenarc (displays)
Lilliput (displays)
Mini-ITX site
Foosball
Does not cause taste loss, unless you play with your tongue....
(to be continued)
