Quote: Originally Posted by Jamiks
DISCLAIMER: Poin't of this thread is so called "Spoon feeding"...
Take out that disclaimer, or maybe link to the
spoon feeding thread.
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I've been reading so many threads where newbies say something like: "I'm new at this car PC "hobby" and i'D like to get some advices for my project". Well the next step usually is: "how do i get started?, how can i power my PC?" and stuff like that. Mostly answer to that kind of questions is something like this: "use google noob", "use the freakin' search!" and so on...
It's pretty hard for total noob to start searching if he/she doesn't really know what to look for don't you think? So, i thought that maybe i could write some kind of guide to car PC basics including all the normal stuff like powering your PC and all the extra electronics that you're going to install, safety issues and so on... But i think that's enough for introduction so let's get started shall we?
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I've read a lot of threads where newbies say, "I'm new to this car PC 'hobby' and I'd like some advice." Since this stuff can easily be very overwhelming at first, I put together this guide to the basics. It includes:
- Powering your PC
- Electronics you need
- Safety issues
- Front ends
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Extra battery paraller to primary
*parallel
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NOTICE: Here's one nice notice from NeckPayne (thanks): "Adding an extra battery (tanking) isn't mandatory". So think twice before starting to add those extra batterys
. USUALLY IT'S NOT NESSESARY TO ADD THOSE EXTRA BATTERYS.
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However, if you don't need your devices running all the time, then you can
make a startup/shutdown controller or buy an
OPUS PSU that sends a signal to your computer to hibernate when the car turns off.
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Laptops require less power than desktops, but, on the other hand, desktops generally perform better.
Laptop vs Desktop - Pro's and Con's.
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No one likes to spend more money and time because of stupid mistakes right? So what is Fuse used for? Here's a short explanation from wikipedia:
"In electronics and electrical engineering a fuse, short for 'fusible link', is a type of overcurrent protection device. It has as its critical component a metal wire or strip that will melt when heated by a prescribed (design) current, opening the circuit of which it is a part, thereby protecting the circuit from an overcurrent condition"
So fuse basically just protects your system if anything bad happens at your car's electrics.
It should be placed as near as possible to battery. Fuse is easy to replace, but what about PC's powersupply or your 7" screen in the dash? Fuse's costs almost nothing at all, but that 250$ screen would be nice to blow up because of malfunction at the electrics don't you think
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No one likes to spend more money and time because of stupid mistakes right? A
fuse basically just protects your system if anything bad happens at your car's electronics.
It should be placed as near as possible to battery. Fuses are easy to replace, and much less expensive that $250 screen or $500 computer.
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Look at the attached pic #1 for simplified diagram or see more advanced diagrams here!
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For sound system you prolly should install some amp's and woofers also.
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For the sound system you will probably need some
amps and
woofers to get the most out of your carputer.
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NOTICE: REMEMBER TO CHOOSE VALUE OF THE FUSE CORRECTLY!
Move this up to the fuse part of the essay.
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Installing your system (cabinet or what ever you like to call it 
):
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Installing your system (Cabin):
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and trackball mouse would be pretty nice if you don't like to buy touchscreen.
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and trackball mouse would be pretty nice if you don't have the money for a
touchscreen.
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This is pretty large topic, but i'll try to be brief. GPS comes from "Global positioning system" and basically it tells to third party software your position (how surprising) and tracks your movement. [url=http://www.mp3car.com/store/index.php?cPath=43&osCsid=e241d6345910031f9fc488d1 15cb0801GPS modules/dongles[/url] can be connected to laptop/normal PC/handheld by bluetooth, usb, or rs232(serial).
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This is pretty large topic, but I'll try to be brief.
GPS comes from "Global Positioning System" and basically tells third party software your latitude and longitude and tracks your movement. GPS modules/dongles can be connected to your carputer by
bluetooth,
usb or
rs232 (serial).
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Many of my friends have asked me when they hit in to my ride: "what the hell is that thing in your laptop?". Answer to this question is Front End (i got media engine running there with Volvo skin). Well i'll suppose they are used to see just a basic windows desktop with winamp and maybe some plugins running in laptop/normal PC. Front End is program which combines mp3-player, dvd-player, radio, possibly tv and normally there's possibility of running basic applications too. List of Front Ends is availbale
here (also some other useful applications).
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Many of my friends have asked me when they get in my ride: "What the hell is that program on your screen?". The answer to this question is a "front end" (Mine is
Media Engine with a Volvo skin). Well, I suppose they are used to seeing a basic Windows desktop with Winamp running in normal PC. A front end is program which combines mp3 player, DVD player, radio, TV, GPS and normally can run basic applications too.
List of Front Ends and some other useful apps
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This depends lot's of your hardware and accessories, but here's brief list for basic solution (i'll be adding somekind of diagram pretty soon i think):
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This depends on your hardware and accessories, but here's a brief list (I'll be adding somekind of diagram pretty soon):
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Uh, i think that's about it. I'll sure hope this helps someone even a lil' bit
.
I'll be adding some info time to time and also that one diagram for those connections (this might take some time). Check out for any updates weekly.
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Well, I think that's about it. I sure hope this helps someone, even a lil' bit
.
I'll be adding more info from time to time and also a diagram for connections (this might take some time). Check back here for weekly updates.
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PS: I'm sorry for my lousy english, but i'll hope you guys understand it because im from Finland. Let me know if there's some mistakes (no matter if they are huge/little) and i'll fix those.
You don't need this, I've got your back.