My First Carputer..fitted in a Fiat Bravo (UK)

**Daz155HGT** · 03-25-2004, 04:13 PM

I have been lurking around this site for a couple of months now, but this is my first post...and if it wasnt for all you guys i would never have gotten past the first stage...So i'd like to say a big thank-you to you all!

The car...might be a small engined car to the american members but i own a 5cyl 2.0l 20v 155bhp Fiat Bravo 155HGT...(And a proud member of Fiat Motor Club GB and the Fiat Bravo/a Owners Organisation @ www.FiatBoo.co.uk)

I started with a standard PIII 500mhz mini PC with 128mb RAM, 10gb HDD...but that didnt last long...lol

I kept the case as the internals were set up so everything was quite close together to keep the overall size to a minimum...but upgraded the motherboard (A bit of trimming was required) and changed the chip to an Athlon 2800+, with 1gb RAM, 120gb HDD, and 128mb Nvidia G/fix card and a 6.1 USB sound card with RCA outputs...

For a screen i decided on the 7" Lilliput touchscreen (IMO a wise choice)...it was first installed on its little stand but again it didnt stay that way long...

There was not much room in the dash to install the screen as i wanted...so i had to relocate a lot of the cars controls (heater & aircon controls) to get the screen where i wanted...a bit of a pain, but well worth the effort...

To tidy it up a bit, i covered a lot of the area in a biege suede material...not to everyones taste i expect, but i like it...

Any feedback (Good or bad) would be appriciated as i want to plan a bigger install in my next car...

Anyway thanks for reading...and i expect i will speak to you in the near future...

Daz

**shakes** · 03-25-2004, 04:36 PM

looks good ... how do you like that infinity perfect sub? is that a 10 or 12?

looking to get a single 10.1 for the jeep eventually.

**Daz155HGT** · 03-25-2004, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by shakes

looks good ... how do you like that infinity perfect sub? is that a 10 or 12?

looking to get a single 10.1 for the jeep eventually.

Well spotted!

It is a great Sub...i have 2 now...lol

They are both 12", but my new one is the 12.1 VQ...

Daz

**Daz155HGT** · 03-26-2004, 03:30 PM

I can't believe it...165 views and no-one has any comments?

I need some comments so i know what to keep and what to ditch on the new project

Daz

**nl4jy** · 03-26-2004, 04:17 PM

What is that on top of the heater vents? I can't really tell. Nice install. But like you said...some ppl won't like that suede, and I'm 1 of them.

**NovaKane** · 03-26-2004, 04:29 PM

Looks good. What are you doing to power everything? Opus? DC-AC-DC ?

And what about interconnectivity? 802.11x? cell phone? RJ45 out your window?

**wizardPC** · 03-26-2004, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by nl4jy

What is that on top of the heater vents? I can't really tell. Nice install. But like you said...some ppl won't like that suede, and I'm 1 of them.

I think that's his headunit without the faceplate.

I, too, am one of the people that doesnt like the suede. But, that may be something thats popular across the pond.

**Daz155HGT** · 03-26-2004, 05:41 PM

WizardPC is correct that it is indeed the headunit without the front...

For power i am using a true sinewave 1200w inverter...

For interconnectivity i have a Wireless LAN, but i have had some trouble with it, so for the moment i have a 25m Cat6e cable running into the house...(My mate has also installed a Carputer, and the plan was to have Wireless LAN on the move so we could chat on the way to club events without using mobile phones or walkie talkies...there is a big crack down in the UK with the use of mobiles and walkie talkies while driving...)

I have fitted a few relays so the PC/screen/amp etc... automatically turns on when the ignition is turned on, and a small UPS so that i can just turn off the ignition, and the PC automatically goes into hibernation...

(I will release this bit of software when i have ironed out some of the bugs)

For software i am using MediaCar (Top Software!), and Infomap Navigator...i did try a few voice control programs, but could not get them to work very well without using a sound cut off switch (The music was interfering with the commands), so i ditched that pretty early on...

For the sound i am using a External USB Sound Blaster 6.1 with RCA outputs (The sound set-up is running as 6.1), all controlled with a custom volume control on the dash (Variable potentiometer)

Thanks for the feedback guys, anything else you need to know just ask...

Daz

**youngteam** · 03-29-2004, 07:36 AM

Originally Posted by Daz155HGT

the plan was to have Wireless LAN on the move so we could chat on the way to club events without using mobile phones or walkie talkies...there is a big crack down in the UK with the use of mobiles and walkie talkies while driving...)

The "crack down" is actually on the use of any device that transmits and receives data, so that wouldn't get around the law. In fact it would probably be considered worse.

**Daz155HGT** · 04-01-2004, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by youngteam

The "crack down" is actually on the use of any device that transmits and receives data, so that wouldn't get around the law. In fact it would probably be considered worse.

You may be right, but i've looked into it, and as long as you are not holding the transmitter/reciever you are ok?

Daz