Thread: BMW E46 convertible install - FOR SALE!

Very nice. Can you tell me more about the space navigator? How do you build it into the cup holder? How do you set up its functions?

I'd like to do this, but I think I would miss the cup holder...

edit: Also, how did you secure the notebook to the trunk? Do you want to build some protection against cargo for it?

I didn't take any progress pics of the cup holder but I tried two different ways before I got it right. The first time I tried doing some plastic welding which didn't go so well. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. The fumes are toxic and it takes so long to get anything done. In the end my piece got so warped from the heat that it didn't fit any more.
So what I ended up doing was cutting the bottom of the cup holder off and epoxying it to fill up the hole. Then I used bondo to smooth out the top. Once that was done and the front was totally flat I cut out the new hole for the space navigator. Then I drilled a small hole for a PC power button. The Space Navigator comes apart very easily and is a breeze to work with.
I painted the final product with SEM interior Satin finish paint but it didn't give me a good texture. So I sprayed a coat of metallic texture paint from Autozone, let that dry and then painted it with the SEM paint.
Now that I only have one cup holder I don't miss it. The rear one fits a tall coffee from Starbucks perfectly with the arm rest still down. The passenger can hold their own drink. :P
If you don't want to modify the cup holder at all the Sapce Navigator fits amazingly well in the cup holder with out any modification. You'll just have to maybe drill a hole to hide the wire. I wanted a more OEM look so I modded mine instead.

As far as drivers go, the RBC9 drivers from this thread work great and you can configure each axis to do anything you want. http://www.3dconnexion.com/forum/vie...27d7e6c2de9a33
When in windows I have it configured to simulate a mouse but when Centrafuse is running it switches to a Centrafuse configuration where twisting navigates forward/reverse and up down scrolls through long lists.

My laptop is simply velcroed with this super strong 3M velcro from Radio Shack to a piece of MDF that I cut to fit in the place wherethe OEM tray used to be. I would like to support it on some foam later on so it doesn't take the full hit of the suspension.
I don't use my trunk much but I wouldn't have a problem putting some groceries on top of it right now. I may extend the monitor wires and put the screen facing out on the top part of the trunk at some point.

I'm still dealing with software glitches and suspend problems so once that stuff is figured out then I will look at mounting the laptop again.

Originally Posted by RipplingHurst

Very nice. Can you tell me more about the space navigator? How do you build it into the cup holder? How do you set up its functions?

I'd like to do this, but I think I would miss the cup holder...

edit: Also, how did you secure the notebook to the trunk? Do you want to build some protection against cargo for it?

I decided to go the easy route to start and keep the stock headunit and amp. I used a car2pc adapter which also lets me keep my steering wheel controls for volume and skipping tracks. I just leave the HU on CD changer mode. The car2pc plugs into the headphone jack and emulates a cd changer. I have a radio through the laptop so there is no need to ever use the HU. Eventually I'll replace the speakers and stock amp.

So I decided to get rid of my headunit completely after I had problems moving it to the trunk. I also wanted separate sub control instead of running it off of the rears. I switched to a Turtle Beach audio SRS running in 5.1 mode. The only problem is now my volume is quite low and doesn't scale in a linear way. Maybe I need a Sven4 or something.
I also lost my steering wheel controls so I'll have to figure out how to get that hooked up again.
I also switched to the awesome FreeICE FE after using Centrafuse and RoarRunner.

PAC SWI has a programing interface for the steering wheel. You'll have to setup a remote control for your computer. The PAC will learn this remote and translate it into the car steering wheel control.

I had problems with the Turtle Beach SRS and sleep mode in my HTPC in the past. I hope their drivers got some upgrade on that part, not sure, maybe it was only with me.

To adjust the levels of any input (without adding any potentiometer and therefore noise), I would recomend this:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_c...hp?prod_id=446

which can be found for about 49 bucks at Ebay. With it you can control subwoofer levels (balanced or not) or any type of signal really, with a bypass (for a separate amp, if that is the case).

Will this just boast all levels? Right now the volume increase isn't linear and even at 1 it's fairly loud. It then increases in volume up t0 50 or so and doesn't get much louder after that. The bass seems loud at low volumes and doesn't increase as much as the other channels.

Yes, from what I understand, it will adjust the volume of whatever it is connected to: I think the idea is to split the signal into two amps, one for the bass, the other for the rest, and then you get an extra volume level for one or the other of your chosing.

But I don't think this will equalize the levels, or work as a full preamp. For that I would use the other products in the JL Audio line, like the cleansweep. But since you ditched the headunit, I didn't think you would need something like that. Are you sure you turned off all sound processing in the Turtle Beach/Windows/Winamp?