2003 BMW M3 Custom Dash / Overhead Console

**gork** · 09-09-2004, 09:31 AM

I don't belive you can control the radio's tuning with Ibus messages. It might be possible to switch it between modes, but I am not sure about this either. You might only be able to switch it to/from the telephone input. I'd just get a am/fm tuner for your carpc if you really want to listen to the radio. Many are available at very reasonable prices.

The VEN4 is available at pretty much any car audio place (in the US anyway). It's made by peripheral electronics. You can also get it online everywhere.

**mentalmike** · 09-10-2004, 06:17 AM

I'm a n00b to this and I'm interested in makin a car pc out of an itx board, have a sat nav reciever n dvd drive etc.

Now just a few questions. I have an 04 BMW so ideally i want to rip as little of it apart as possible, after reading about for ideas (and finding these forums!) I found that I can get all the states from the car as you have done here. Now how easy is it to get to the one behind the dash and to locate the conector i need, n also how do i go about getting behind the dash without recking it n scratching it to pieces.

the second thing is what is the easiest way to get the sound from the pc to the speakers in the car?

Also if i connect to the i-bus what is the chance of it working with the e-90 (new 3 series) when its out as I'll be getting one of them

Thanks for any help

**tsingsu** · 09-14-2004, 03:04 AM

Originally Posted by mentalmike

I'm a n00b to this and I'm interested in makin a car pc out of an itx board, have a sat nav reciever n dvd drive etc.

Hehe... welcome to the club ;-)

Now just a few questions. I have an 04 BMW so ideally i want to rip as little of it apart as possible, after reading about for ideas (and finding these forums!) I found that I can get all the states from the car as you have done here. Now how easy is it to get to the one behind the dash and to locate the conector i need, n also how do i go about getting behind the dash without recking it n scratching it to pieces.

What BMW do you have? There are differences in the several models, also between the factory built stuff.
What kind of radio do you have, which steering wheel, what else (CD-changer? DSP? Tape?)

the second thing is what is the easiest way to get the sound from the pc to the speakers in the car?

That depends on your factory stuff.

Also if i connect to the i-bus what is the chance of it working with the e-90 (new 3 series) when its out as I'll be getting one of them

Small chances.
The new 5 series has no I-Bus anymore, BMW now connects all the stuff with a MOST-Bus - and that is not compatible, as it also transports the complete Audio/Video stream. Not easy to hack into this...
I expect that the new 3 series will have the MOST-Bus also.

cu
tsingsu

P.S.: we're getting OT here...

**mrbean** · 09-14-2004, 06:18 AM

Hey all,

Just stumbled on to this wonderful site, and this wonderful thread, and am now completely enamored with the idea of a Car PC. I drive an '89 Nissan 240sx, and I'm wondering if there are any PC compatible diagnostic software and hardware for Nissan OBD I...

**mentalmike** · 09-14-2004, 04:43 PM

oops forgot about that! Right, currently I have a 3 series compact with the business tape player at the front with a cd changer in the boot. I have the stearing wheel with all the buttons. By the time I do this though I will have a sports coupe at the end of oct that I want to put somethin in, so this will have the sports stearing wheel and the cd player at the front that u get with the sports package, so i'll have no cd changer, will have DSP, air con as well.

I'm guessin with that most bus in the end someone will hack into it seeing as its new and gona be on all the cars?

**pjanak** · 12-22-2004, 02:49 AM

Is this in car PC 100% custom? I mean where did you get the small screen? I wouldnt use it for XM as I already have a portable XM but I would use it for my GPS software, ODB-II stuff, hidden camera and whatever else. I drive a 97 Chevy Camaro and wonder how easy it would be for this not so handy person to do this themselves. And what kinda cost are we looking at minus the CPU and memory since thats a given.
Is yours designed to boot up on engine start and to safely shutdown on engine cut off? What about road vibration? That would be murder for the hard drive. Not to mention any DVD.CD drives. Have you considered touchscreens? How about, for lack of a better term. Gensture mice. These mice are actually your own hand. YOu move your hand infront of the screen and the mouse follows. Twitching yer fingers in a certain way determines an action.
Pete

**JDLoaner** · 12-30-2004, 01:01 PM

What century are you from

Touchscreens!!? Genius!

**dasbell** · 01-19-2005, 11:00 AM

Hey Gork,
I am curious to know where your project is now. Which LCD are you using at this point? Are you back to the Xenarc/Gain 7", and if so, which model.

Thanks
-D

**gork** · 01-19-2005, 01:05 PM

dasbell:

Thanks for asking. I am using a somewhat combined form of both LCD's. I have connected the GAIN touchscreen to the Lilliput LCD panel. Now I think I have the best of both worlds.

The cheap Lilliput touch overlay is the only major problem with the Lilliuput other than the connector (Which I have hot glued and retained excessively to prevent further problems). The remote is nice to have in case I need to adjust the screen. I have put t IR phototransistor up to the edge of the touchscreen glass behind the dash so I can put the remote a foot or two away from the screen and still control it. The upside is that there is no visible sensor anywahere; the downside is that it reduces the range of the lilliput's remote (not a big deal in the car).

The GAIN screen wasn't as bright, did not have a remote, and did not have a USB touch screen. Two of these problems are fixed by the newer Xenarc screens. The remote is nice to have, but not totally required. I'd probably go with a High-bright Xenarc if I were doing a new installation, espeically if I could leave the buttons exposed. OTOH the lilliput is significantly cheaper, so there's always that to consider.

Neither of the units meet a very high standard, though. I really think some company would storm the market with an LCD/touchscreen panel that is high brightness (600-800nits), embedded in a very thin metal case and has an external dimming input designed to be connected directly to a car's dimming wire.

**dasbell** · 01-20-2005, 10:38 AM

Hey Gork,
Thanks for the feedback.

I own a 2000 BMW 323i and am about to start my own mod based on your experiences as listed in this forum...

Given your feedback on LCDs, would you see any problem with just going straight for the Xenarc 700TSV. I would love to save the money and get the Lilliput, but if I am going to have to replace the touchscreen would I end up really saving any money or would it be more hassle than anything else. Love to hear your opinion on this.

Also, would you mind running down your current list of equipment? I am starting from scratch and building a shopping list at this point. I would also love to hear what you currently want to improve...

Thanks again.
-Dave