Thread: Speedy (Mazdaspeed6 Carputer Project)

I smoothed out the areas that needed a little extra Bondo and re-primed those spots. Next comes paint.

To make the screen mount match the pattern of the vinyl on my dash, I decided to try a hammer finish paint, followed by a flat black coat. Here you see the first hammer finish coat, then the black coat. The black separated like the hammer finish, which is not what I wanted. I'll try again tomorrow after it dries real well.

Well, the texture is working out great, except for the part of the black paint covering the hammer-finish texture. For whatever reason, the black matte paint won't cover all of the the texture. I may have to seal it with clear first, then paint over.


Also, when I previously installed the computer and tested, the startup/sleep/wake sequence did not seem to work. Turns out, the Mac Pack cable had a green wire that leads to the Mac Mini power switch to invoke sleep that was not properly crimped into the connector, so the sleep signal didn't get sent to the Mac. I'll have to request a replacement.

I finished up the painting after repriming the areas that would not cover with the Matte Black. After the primer, the black covered properly and I could proceed to installation. I installed the fan and the screen in the mount, screwed the mount to the dash tray, and ran the cables down to the glove box. Then I connected everything and started it up. Everything works good, except for sleep/wake because of the bad MacPac cable. When I get a new one it should work fine. I haven't extended the IR sensor cable yet, so I can't use the Apple remote right now, and I haven't settled on a mounting and wire routing for the Contour Designs ShuttleXpress rotary controller I plan to use, so it's not in the car either. This is a pretty good start, though.

Inspired by this thread: Apple Remote Steering Controls I decided to integrate the Apple Remote into my console.

First, I had to extend the length of the IR sensor board wire. I had previously removed it from the Mini and bought some three-wire connectors from a hobby shop. I spliced the wires one at a time, to make sure I didn't confuse them while soldering. Then I disassembled an Apple Remote and used the top as a template to drill holes in my console. It conveniently had screw holes which I used to secure it to the panel. I mounted the sensor board to the underside of the console panel, then ran the wire through the back of the console, up to the glove box where the Mini is and connected the sensor board to the computer.

The console panel is thicker than the Apple Remote casing, so I had to use felt and milk jug plastic to create a spacer between the control circle and the buttons on the remote assembly. Unfortunately this makes the clicks spongy, so I'll probably try to figure out another type of spacer that gives a more positive response.
The Mini also responds only intermittently to the remote, so I think the battery contacts are somewhat loose. The battery holder is not secured to the console which is most likely the problem. The Mini responds fine if I aim another remote under the console. I'm probably going to use the back of the remote case to put pressure on the battery contacts and tape it to the panel.

Turns out the battery holder was the problem with the intermittent clicks. I took the back of the remote and taped it to the inside of the console panel (don't know if this is a permanent solution) and everything works well.

[Update: a tie-wrap around the battery holder solved the intermittent function problem.]

Very clean install!

You coming to the meet this month?

Planning to, hopefully life won't get in the way.

Whoa, a fellow 6-er! Are you on the Mazda6Club forum? If not, JOIN!

Nice install, I wish I caught this thread earlier cuz then I would've been able to toss my two cents.

My screen:
Note: The bottom is NOT blocked off at all. The dangling cable is from my GPS puck, but it has since been relocated. This pic was taken when I was first testing out my laptop as a CarPC, hence the dangling cables and open glovebox.

The rest isn't really finished, so I haven't taken pics yet. I'm getting a VoomPC-2 case in the mail soon, so then the trunk will finally be 10x cleaner.
Where did you mount your GPS puck? I gutted the 3rd brake light on the rear deck (I have a spoiler) and put the puck in there- works like a charm!
Unfortunately, the USB controller in my EBY-701 crapped out on me, so I lost the touchscreen function. I need to pick up a spare USB controller and try to rectify it. For now, I have an Adessio EasyCat touchpad (similar to what laptops have), but it's not a very clean install, hence why there aren't any pics lol.

Originally Posted by angel120

Whoa, a fellow 6-er! Are you on the Mazda6Club forum? If not, JOIN!

Yeah, I hang out there sometimes, but not much lately. I don't post much because I don't do mechanical mods that are popular in the MS6 area very often. Being an electrical engineer, I'm much more drawn to audio, carputer, and lighting.

My screen: Note: The bottom is NOT blocked off at all.

I've seen the hinge-type mount in the map tray for the 6, but I decided I wanted something that looked more permanent. I'm going to change mine, though. I thought the lip overhanging the screen would shade it and make it more readable, but it doesn't help at all and I've decided it looks dorky. So when it gets a little cooler, I'm going to take it out, saw off the top and round it off.
Also, I didn't texture the frame around the screen, but now I think it needs the same texture as the rest of the mount, so I'm going to add more hammer finish paint.

Where did you mount your GPS puck?

I put it at the base of the windshield about 6" inboard on the passenger side. Since I mounted the Mac Mini in the glove box, I could run the cable along the dash and down the side in a seam to hide it.

I recently added a Griffin PowerMate to my install. That's not a permanent mount, either.

Mac OS X allows virtual desktops called Spaces and right now I use two. I have the front end in Space 1 and Garmin Mobile PC, running in Windows XP under VMWare Fusion in Space 2. I tap the PowerMate to launch the Mac front end, Neon BoomBox and to switch between the front end and the nav software with a push down and turn input. Works pretty good.