Thread: Expensive Hobby or what?

I planned this with good intensions; have to replace the factory head unit because it’s where I plan to put my touch screen. Replaced it with my Alpine. Now the speakers don’t sound right, so I had to replace all 4 of them, And of course, the Amps to drive the speakers properly. Doesn’t quite have the base I wanted, so adding a subwoofer as well.

Yea I can see it adding up, especially if you are paying somebody for the labour. I have well over 1500 in just audio.

Originally Posted by TruckinMP3

The GF likes the results but is not interested in the journy. At least I do not get grief about the hobby. Cheers

I'd have to say my GF is the same way, she gets a kick out of seing the work but is not interested in the steps along the way. Although, she does help out sometimes... She had a great idea for helping to stop the bondo from leaking into the bare xenarc casing and with her little fingers was able to really help me.


I work on a lot of computers but I think that my carpc is the most exotic computer I'll ever work on and I truely enjoy improving it.

Currently, I've lost a knob to my heat controls... I think it fell out of my truck while I was working on it, of course there is a bunch of snow on the ground so I think I'll find it in the spring.

Good post IntellaWorks I think everyone can at least associate with one of your "experiences".

I've taken your post as I believe it was intended which is as a bit of a fun "rant" about how costs can spiral when your ambitions are refined and developed during the course of a project.
My installation plans shared the same philosophy as many of those who have responded so far in that from the initial stages of planning this was always considered a hobby project. My personal definition of a hobby is a project where any financial costs are written off in order to learn some new skills and to gain some new experiences with the emphasis on research and education along the way rather than always looking ahead to the finished product.

Posts like yours, and the support of all the people on this forum, really helps you appreciate that, while you may be cold and cutting your hands on bits of metal hidden round the back of your hole where a dashboard used to be. There is someone else, perhaps hundreds of miles away, doing the exact same thing with the exact same problems, and probably uttering the exact same profanities!

So far, my project has been fairly economical IMHO.

Travla C134/M10000/80GB/DVD/256MB PC, Touchscreen and Carnetix as a bundle, unused and boxed from this very FS forum £400 (free delivery)
Miscellaneous filler/bonding/paint/sanding materials from a local car store £18
USB GPS Mouse - eBay £36 + £5 del
Orinoco Wireless USB Adapter - eBay £11 + £4 delivery
2.4GHz 7dB external omnidirectional antenna for above - eBay £19 (free delivery)
Old mouse I had lying around for butchering. Free
Dials/buttons/shaft encoder for remote unit using above- RS Components £16

Which I believe comes to just over £500 (or around $925). Which I consider a very reasonable price for what I have leaned and gained along the way. It's by no means a killer spec, but it does everything i want for the price of a top end consumer headunit (and how much less than a consumer DVD/Navigation/GPS rig?)

Yes, this is an expensive hobby, but if you do enought research, the cost will be cut down a lot.
This is true for today because most hardwares are getting cheaper and a lot of document/tips/technique available to reduce the change of "going wrong".

Before tearing my 04 Matrix dash apart and buying new hardware and stuff, I try it with my older 89 Supra first with all the left over part from my home PC upgrade.

At the end, my Matrix setup doesn't cost me over 1500 buck - time spend.
$ 75 ---- for mobo,
$100 --- for CPU (free after mail in rebate Micro Center promotion).
$ 45 ---- for 2x256MB PC2700 RAM
$ 45 ---- for 80G Seagate 7200RPM HD
$200 --- for GPS (software and receiver)
$250 --- for Lilliput
$ 45 --- for DVD ROM Drive, mouse and keyboard
$100 --- for Sproggy parts.
$150 --- for xp pro oem
$200 --- for wires, paint, bondo, fuse, case, and all other small stuff.
$165 --- for speaker upgrade
$250 --- for HU upgrade.
That is a lot CHEAPER than $2000 GPS option from Toyota and I have a much beter system and it is upgradable 100~150 maps update is much cheaper than from Toyota.

I think I've had the best time reading everyone's own personal experiances with this hobby that we all agree to love ! Someone couldn't have put it any better, as you cut your hand on the hidden peice of metal where your dash used to be someone else could be hundreds of miles away cursing at the same types of problems. Here we can connect those problems and possible warn each other of further "hazards"

A little update for my own woes:


Because I am a perfectionist, I've completely re-done my dash for the 3rd time and I'm really happy with this outcome but I still might do a little more to is before it's all said and done.

I still havent had the computer in my vehicle for more than an hour at a time. I've gone 4000 miles in my truck without a radio (the truck has 8000 miles) But every day I get into my truck and look at the un-powered molded xenarc and imagine the day that everything is working. (sometimes I think scarcastically to myself, and think it will never be finished.... there will always be something I can do or add)

I finally have the power issues worked out becaue I switched from ITPS to Carnetix 1260, but because I'm nLiteing windows XP and installing it into a Extreme III flash card my install has slowed dramatically !

I've gone through 16 different variations of nLited windows and I hope the the last version I made last night (or this morning 1AM) will install and run my .Net front end (as a shell) I'm starting to see light at the end of a tunnel YAY!!!!!

Ok so I've got a little update:

Baught a USB dvd player that was working during the whole "pre-install phase" I was setting things up on my test bench and using the dvd drive to load some drivers and things like that. After spending a few hours getting the PC back into the truck I turned everything on and started watching a movie and playing some cd's... I parked my car for the night.

Went to get some beer or something later that night and the DVD drive is locking up my machine, WTF ! Braught it inside and does the same to my development machine... Looks like the day I installed my carpc my DVD drive STB. To top it off, I don't have a USB laptop enclosure yet so I can't listen to mp3's.. For the time being I have a really expensive calculator in my car...

GRRRRRRR !

You gotta love this:

So finally convinced myself to buy a KVM switch, I have one that I braught home from work but its one of those new USB ones and my Keyboard is still PS2 so I went to staples to buy a USB to PS converter.. but it was 20.00... I mean I have two new ones sitting on my desk at work and didnt see the ned to buy another one... but I did see a Belkin KVM 2 port switch and decided it would be easier to set my system up using the KVM...

I'm setting everything up thinking this will be great no more do I have to switch keyboard inputs. I wont have to crawl behind my computer ever again !!!! I opened the KVM switch over the trash (thinking it would be more efficient, threw away everything staples bag and reciept) Hooked up the KVM switch and booedt up the CAR PC with my development machine running...

I was going to do a reinstall of the OS today so I started doing this... As I'm going through the installation process... the KVM switch wont respond to switching screens !!! Are you joking me ?? I even said to myself when I saw the reciept in the trash... Now that its covered in food and muck I will probably need it.. Sure enough the damn KVM switch wasnt responding correctly !!!!

BAH ! tommorow I'll have to return the damn switch and use the food covered reciept. OH WOE is me !