New to car electonics...

**dickon** · 10-22-2001, 03:13 PM

I have been collecting MP3's for a while, and after realizing that a Rio cannot forfill all my needs, I want to put in a Car-Puter.

Unfortunatly, I have no idea what kind of power devices/connections/cables I would need to power the computer from the car's power source.

Can anyone give an "idiot's starter info" speech for me? It would be gratly appreciated.

Dickon...

**Arby** · 10-22-2001, 03:50 PM

Easy and cheap way is to get an inverter.

Plug the inverter into the cigarette lighter, plug the computer into the inverter. You can get one for about $30-40

Another way is a DC-DC power supply. This replaces the normal power supply in your computer, and runs off of the car's 12V. These are much less noisy, and more efficient. They are about $80+.

**dickon** · 10-22-2001, 04:35 PM

Hey thanks. That's great.

I'm would eventually like to store the computer in the trunk. So would I be running a power line from the front fuse box or something back to the trunk?

**Maveric** · 10-22-2001, 04:55 PM

I would get one that connects to the car battery. Those are easier to run to the trunk.

**dickon** · 10-23-2001, 02:50 PM

hmm? So I run a line straight from the battery or from the fuse box or what?

Sorry for these simpleton quesitons...this is all new to me

Thank you.

**SkinnyBoy** · 10-24-2001, 03:12 AM

you run a wire from the positive side of the battery to the inverter in the boot and get the negitive from the chasis or the car...

**Aaron Cake** · 10-24-2001, 09:34 AM

An excellant idea would be to get the book "Getting Started In Electronics" by Forrest Mims III. This is available at Radio Shack for around $5, and contains quite a bit of "newbie" electronics info. Trust me, it'll be one of the best $5 you ever spent. That should answer nearly all of your hookup questions.

There is nothing particularily complicated about installing a computer in a car, so once you know the basics, the rest should be a piece of cake.