istalling a screen in the mustang (with pics)

jash7 · 04-17-2008, 07:44 PM

i have a 98 stang. i recently modified and installed a bezel from a newer mustang so i can install an awesome touchscreen radio (alpine w200). heres some pics of that install.

so i wana install a touchscreen for the pc, these are the only places i could think of though.

up by the hvac controls, or down under the screen. but i'm not really crazy about either of these spots. i'd really like something more stealthy, hidden, and more oem looking. any ideas?

(note: pictures were photoshopped, my camera sucks. same exact thing though.)

and last but not least, heres my baby:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...5/100_1410.jpg

rdholtz · 04-17-2008, 08:29 PM

Let's see -- if you put it where the HVAC controls are, you have to move the controls (which can be dicey, depending on whether they're electronic, or mechanical, or vacuum), and the screen will partially block the vents.

If you put it down below, in the little switch panel location, it will partially block the Alpine screen.

What if you lowered the Alpine screen, and put the new unit in above it? Then it would block the HVAC controls a little, but probably not enough that they'd be unusable. You'd want to watch how far out the screen is when installed, to be sure it would clear the controls; that would determine how far into the dash you could install it.

jash7 · 04-17-2008, 08:54 PM

yes i've considered that, but there is a glare issue and it's more visible then i would like. i've also thought about moving the hvac controls to the bottom, and putting the screen onver the vents and hvac controls so i would lose 2 vents. but i still have the glare and stealth issue there. it's a tough call.

rdholtz · 04-18-2008, 04:49 AM

I'm finding the glare issue to be pretty much universal. Until we get to the quality -- and price -- level of transflective (transmissive-reflective) displays, I think glare is simply going to be a fact of CarPC life. My next install will be with a transflective display.

I may even consider ignoring the touchscreen and going to a straight display with a touchpad; I thought I had to have a touchscreen because "real" CarPC installs all have them. I may be pulling in my horns on that issue. But first I have to finish this install, before I start doing a lot of next-one planning. As Turbocad6 says, lots of people get to 70%; the mark of a good installation is that it's 100% complete. Although, for many of us, 100% complete probably means "ready for the next change".

Have you looked at the displays you're considering to see if transflective displays are available?

jash7 · 04-18-2008, 05:36 PM

well besides glare, it just doesn't have that oem look, which is important to me. the car has a very clean looking interior.

anyway, i do hear about touchscreen issues all of the time, if you do just go with a monitor, i definitely recommend a good radial encoder to deal with controlling it. maybe a spacenavigator, i like them way better then the powermate people like to use.

rdholtz · 04-18-2008, 10:40 PM

The glare problem isn't solved by moving the screen down lower, unfortunately. That just means the screen reflects different stuff. Apparently, a truly bright screen is the only antidote.

OEM look is what I wanted to achieve, too. That desire places some constraints on what we do. If nothing else, it demands a higher level of craftsmanship. I look to the best examples on MP3Car.com, and shoot for that level, and I certainly understand that you'd want to keep the car looking good.

I've been reading about the Space Navigator, including the new smaller version that weighs half as much. It lists at $129. We can get the full-size version for about half of that on eBay, so the slightly bigger one sounds okay. I've never played around with one, but every time I read about it, I get itchy for one. I may have to do that in lieu of the trackball mouse I was planning to use.

jash7 · 04-19-2008, 10:56 AM

yeah it looks at works way better then a trackball mouse.

i guess i'm just gunna end up settling for using the alpine h/u as a monitor. will my gauges be unreadable? the primary purpose of using the whole carpc is the obdII diagnostics. i can get one of those adapters for like thirty bucks

rdholtz · 04-19-2008, 12:52 PM

There's a thread on here about using the Alpine as a monitor, but their project hasn't hit the streets yet. They're only using one Alpine unit to start, and hoping to move to other units from there. It's a pretty slow process to develop, and users are all over them about release dates. They're pretty sharp; they just keep plugging away. I hope it works out well . . .

Quote: Originally Posted by jash7

i guess i'm just gunna end up settling for using the alpine h/u as a monitor. will my gauges be unreadable?

Most of the time, looking at computer images on a TV just plain sucks. I'd bet you won't be happy with it. There have been some comments on threads here, but I don't remember where I read them.

If we look at private aircraft, the new ones come with "glass panels", or at least glass panel options, and homebuilt aircraft are driving the process forward, as well. They have some of the old "steam" (standard) gauges as backups, but almost all of the display work is done on one or more large LCD panels, not individual gauges. Automobile manufacturers might learn something from them.

There's a system for vehicles, called FusionBrain, but I have no experience with it. It's discussed in a number of threads here.

I'd love to have the center section of the panel be nothing but a big portrait-mode monitor, with the front end running on top, and the gauges and other information displaying below. Turbocad6 uses that sort of thing in one of his vehicles, and it looks just plain amazing. I have to stop looking at it, or I'll start drooling into the keyboard -- it's that hot.

That's where I hope all this development work is taking us.

jash7 · 04-19-2008, 02:55 PM

yeah i've read about fusion brains, pretty cool how you can control the cars functions through the actual pc. i've also read about - and pm'd the guy who made that thread. he said he really has no intention of toying with my w200.

jash7 · 04-19-2008, 03:35 PM

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/1157848-post3.html

thats a picture of what it looks like. but, i think with the right front end software, and colors, i can make that look presentable. what do you think?

rdholtz · 05-03-2008, 02:38 PM

I've fooled around -- some years ago -- with PC images on a TV, and it was awful. The things that will determine how well it works are the resolution of your Alpine, and what kind an image you find acceptable. It'll be interesting . . .

jash7 · 05-08-2008, 05:52 PM

well i bought and installed everything, i'll post some pics of the result.

Treyfsu7 · 05-11-2008, 02:57 PM

go ahead and move those A/C controls, its not that hard really...itll allow you to put a 10.4" screen in there if youre good at fabrication......the A/C controls in my mustang are now behind the glove compartment ready to be hooked to servos.....good job though....let your imagination run wild and the possibilities are endless

jash7 · 05-11-2008, 06:08 PM

i ended up hooking it up through the av controls. it's pretty blurry but not all that bad for now. i'm thinking about puttling a nice flip out where those hvac controls are.