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Presenting the WhoreRunner
I've finally got this PC almost to where I want....
Old Setup:
Alpine Deck single din
Rockford amp, and subs
WhoreRunner Specs:
Hardware:
Double DIN Lilliput 669GL-70NP/C/T - Monitor
Dual Atom 330 Zotac ION - CarPC
M2-ATX 160w PSU
Optimum Yellow Top Battery
ODB II USB ELM323 - ODB Reader
MP3Car BoomzBox - HD Radio
BU-252 - USB GPS Reciever
Corsair 60GB SSD
2 Powered USB Hub
Yubikey RFID (I'll explain more later)
External Omni direction WIFI antenna
Misc stuff: Griffin Powermate, USB slot loading dvd, 500gb laptop drive (in external case), Proclip Holster for Evo4G
Software:
Windows 7 64bit
Centrafuse
Truecrypt (Both primary OS, and External USB are fully encrypted)
Android Phone (Evo4G)
Details:
When I first get in my car I put my phone in the charger. This starts bluetooth, and wifi hotspot on my phone
Then when I start the car 1 or 2 things may happen.
Less than 2 hours since last restart:
System returns from sleep and continues where it left off.
More than 2 hours or fresh boot.
System asks for Decrypt password. I have a usb port that I put my Yubikey in and touch the little button, thats my 32bit random password. Its required once more when windows loads, however I might do away with that. It also auto mounts my encrypted usb drive which contains music, movies, and other things I want to load and go.
Diagram:
Install Photos:
Logitech diNova Mini:
Perfect for the CarPC, a little pricey but battery lasts months, and is much better than a keyboard and mouse
Yubikey:
There are two ways a Yubikey can work. You can either do 2 way authentication which for this situation would be bad since you really don't have anything to auth against.
You can however make it so it generates a random password. I found 32bits were just long enough but not too long for truecrypt and windows
You put this in a usb port and when it lights up you touch the contacts, it outputs the 32bit password. and decrypts the OS.
Functionality and Quirks:
The CarPC works great. Realtek just updated their drivers so now I have 5.1 sound without the center. Both fronts act as a center channel. and it fills the surround speakers correctly now.
I still have a power issue. Its not really a problem when I start the car. Its a problem when I shut the car off. Since it has its own feed to the battery it shouldn't just turn off when I turn the car off. It seems to happen about 1 out of 5 times or so.
My music library is way to big for Centrafuse to handle. Its decent, but it needs skip to letters and a better interface. Maybe an option to load the database into memory, it can't be more than a few hundred megs. I feel like this 4 gigs of memory is a waste
Things to finish:
reroute usb cables so they are clean
get a better gps adapter as this one looses lock all the time
maybe get a new psu
Wish list:
USB RFID reader so I don't have to insert the Yubikey anymore
Additional Monitors for other zones
Move the mic to be around the phone holster.
Remote start
Reserved
Reserved for future use.
SOYP is for completed projects.
I think for GPS, you mean the BU-353. I'm not aware of a BU-252.
Why would you want the NuLOOQ and a Powermate? They both serve the same function. Unless that's just for experimentation.
Honestly, if you have a touchscreen (which you specc'd), a control knob like that really isn't necessary.
It looks like you've got the basics figured out, save for the PSU. You didn't specify anything.
Looks like you're on the right track. You've got all the basics covered and thinking about the future (always helps).
I did my install in a 2000 4Runner. I bought a Xenarc 7" and it fit very well into the double din space. It required some dremel work to the car, but it didn't require any custom fabrication. The Xenarc basically sits in the double din space, I snap the center console back into place, and it fits flush over the screen. The screen sits in place and never moves. The downside for me is it doesn't look professional because you can see the screen is not molded into the console (cannot tell the difference at night). I'm thinking the same situation will apply to you should you go that route.
The power mate seems like it can only control one fuction, either volume or moving tracks up and down.
the NuLOOQ looks like it can do way more, and doesn't have a bright blue annoying light. But i want to try them both.
I added the power supply.
Matt, thanks for the feedback, Hopefully it fits and just looks good, If I have to mold a new one I can.
One thing I do have an issue with. Since I have an acc wire to turn the computer on and off, I need to control the amps. I've seen where I can use a transister to do it. But what about the antenna? Its a power antenna, whats the best way to control that? a Relay? What kind? and where is the best place to get it?
Thanks
Sounds good. That's the approach I took. I was happy enough with the look (in the day time) and if I needed to, I would try molding it once I got sick of the look.Originally Posted by Exstatica
The M2-ATX has an amp remote turn-on feature. This is called "J6" in the M2-ATX manual. The M2-ATX will send a signal to J6 after it receives power itself. When a wire runs from J6 to the amp, the amp will turn on after receiving this signal.
I am not too sure about the power antenna because I didn't use it after going to a carPC. This thread my help you. I'm very interested in the solution. I do not believe it will be difficult. Doesn't the BoomzBox have an input for car antenna's?
I'm concerned that the remote turn on won't be enough for 2 amps, I guess I'll have to test it and try.
Last night I got the PC up and running on 64bit windows 7, so far I've solved all of my driver issues, GPS, bluetooth, and CF all work together like they are suppose to, along with the navigation.
Navigation kind of sucks, Seems so old, its not innovative at all. You'd think with a computer you could have something pretty awesome.
I have not tested the HD radio yet, but I'm going to assume its just going to work. If not I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
It boots really quickly, I haven't used the m2 yet, because I don't have an external DC power source I can use.
seems quick, the CF interface is kind of slow. Is that normal with it? Just doesn't seem to have fluid animations. I turned them off, but its still a little laggy.
the other concern I have is the length of the USB runs.
I have a 4 port powered hub, this is how I was going to break it up
Port 1: USB Hard drive
Port 2: Unpowered USB Hub
Port 3: USB Port - Phone Charging (flush mounted jack)
Port 4: USB Port - Phone/CD-rom/Misc (flush mounted jack)
The 4 port unpowered hub is assigned as follows.
Port 1: HD Radio
Port 2: LCD Touchscreen
Port 3: Bluetooth Adapter
Port 4: Blank
The question is, should i just run separate wires for the monitor, and the radio? Do you think I'd have a bandwidth issue with the a HD radio, hard drive, Bluetooth, and lcd panel running on the same cable?
Should I just run home runs for the LCD, and HD radio?
Ahhh I see. Sorry, didn't mean to insult your intelligence. The remote turn-on draws very little power. It shouldn't be a problem at all, even for 2 amps.
I assume you're using the navigation software bundled into Centrafuse 3? If so, I heard similar complaints from other people. You still have the option of installing different GPS software and embedding that into CentraFuse.
I'm dying to get an SSD for every single desktop I have. Your boot times must be great. There are certain tweaks you can do to systems with SSD's that may help you. Link.
The sluggish performance of Centrafuse might be a limitation of your mobo's graphics or the amount of RAM you have. Or maybe even Windows 64-bit. I'm not sure. I doubt it's the mobo because (I think) many people have had positive experiences with Centrafuse and the Zotac Ion. This is from memory, but I think Centrafuse has two options for turning off fancy graphics. When you're in the Settings menu of Centrafuse, you may need to turn on Advanced Settings to see these options and disable them. But still, the advanced graphics is a nice touch and it would be better if everything worked as intended.
USB can be a bit tricky in terms of Windows hibernating/suspending/other situations. Sometimes USB devices will not work properly. My best advice is trial and error. If a USB device is not working properly then try switching the ports it's connected to, or even connecting it to the mobo. Or switching to the powered hub and vice-versa. One thing I would do is connect the more power-requiring peripherals to the actual mobo rather than the hub. I would definitely do that for the Touchscreen. The flush mounted jacks in your console should be fine for the non-powered hub, but again, it depends what you connect there.
As for running the lines, I would try to minimize the distance and the amount of wires. This also depends on where the carPC will be located. But for example:
-If you have a ton of USB wires running from the center dash to the trunk, then it would be better to have, at the very least, the hub(s) located near the center dash. This way, you have one USB (or two) USB wires running to the carPC which is the for the hub(s) rather than all the individual peripherals. You'll still have a ton of wires going to the actual hub(s), but he lengths will be reduced significantly.
-Another option would be to have the hub(s) and carPC located near the center console (there's some space under the driver's seat for a carPC depending on the pc case). This way you have even shorter runs for the hubs.
But this all depends on what you want to do and is completely your decision. I think running more lines, and longer lengths of cable may introduce more problems. One last thing, if your USB peripherals are acting strange/not working properly then it could be the M2-ATX is not providing enough juice. If so, there's a USB hub product available in the mp3car store that is powered through the car battery rather than the carPC thus bypassing the M2-ATX. This power is switched and will turn the hub on/off with the car (just like if the hub was powered through the carPC). I could not find the link but give the store site a search if you run into this situation. This is just an FYI in case you run into problems later.
So I've almost completed my CarPC install. However before I upload the photos and a more detailed work log, I have two issues.
1. In the Realtek audio, I can set 5.1 audio, I test it, and it works on all 4 speakers and the Sub, however when Audio is played its only in the front two. I'm not sure how to force it over all of them. I tried using Audio fill, it didn't help, so I'm gonna try a firmware upgrade, but we'll see how it goes. Worse case I get a new audio card.
2. If I have the car in ACC mode and I'm using the computer, then I go to start the car and the system reboots. All of my power feeds are dedicated, the only things connected to ignition are the USB hubs, and the car pc.
Any suggestions? So far its great, I the last thing I need to fix is the Power antenna, i'm not sure how I want to do it. Because I'd like it to be semi automatic, so I might use a relay with the ignition.
cheers
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