Carputer running but not right.

Fooch · 07-12-2005, 07:14 PM

Ok, the carputer is up and running, but, I have some issues.

1.)The screen is a lillupt 7" touch screen and I can see the refreshing(like the lines that move up the screen in like waves). They are highly accented when music is playing. If the speakers thump at all the lines make the screen darker.

2.) I have a bu-303 GPS receiver and I get NO reception. It struggles to find 12 sattelites and then it will like single out 1 and only 1 and never lock onto it(go green). It is mounted on the rear strut tower under the black plastic on top, on the side with the antenna behind 5% window tint. Would any of these cause a problem? I notice when I take the receiver and put it near the antenna the radio goes out.

3.) I think this is because of the inverter it is only like 110 watts with a max of 200 watts. But, the carputer shuts itself off after about 30 mins and will work again in a little bit. Is it that reason, or s it the size of wire I am using or what? I also noticed I have to wait about 10 seconds after I turn on the car before the light on the inverter is on to allow me to start the carputer.

Any ideas?

DarquePervert · 07-12-2005, 07:28 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Fooch

Ok, the carputer is up and running, but, I have some issues.

1.)The screen is a lillupt 7" touch screen and I can see the refreshing(like the lines that move up the screen in like waves). They are highly accented when music is playing. If the speakers thump at all the lines make the screen darker.

Shield the VGA cable as well as all the audio cables. Make certain they aren't run next to one another.

Quote:

2.) I have a bu-303 GPS receiver and I get NO reception. It struggles to find 12 sattelites and then it will like single out 1 and only 1 and never lock onto it(go green). It is mounted on the rear strut tower under the black plastic on top, on the side with the antenna behind 5% window tint. Would any of these cause a problem? I notice when I take the receiver and put it near the antenna the radio goes out.

Possibly. It can't see through metal or metallic surfaces, since they reflect the signals. There may also be something absorbing the signal, as well. Try relocating the receiver and see if it improves.

Quote:

3.) I think this is because of the inverter it is only like 110 watts with a max of 200 watts. But, the carputer shuts itself off after about 30 mins and will work again in a little bit. Is it that reason, or s it the size of wire I am using or what? I also noticed I have to wait about 10 seconds after I turn on the car before the light on the inverter is on to allow me to start the carputer.

Get a more powerful inverter. You had that right. The rule of thumb is an inverter rated for at least 150% of your PC's power supply.

Fooch · 07-12-2005, 07:34 PM

Ok, cool thanks for that.

1.) what do I shield them with? and how far apart should they be? I am running both through the center console. I got maybe 1 foot between sides to run wires.

2.)It is on a metal surface but not trying to look through one. It is going through plastic though(but it is covered in plastic so I wouldn't think that would matter), and has a clear view of the tinted window. I will try relocating it tomorrow and see if it helps.

3.)I will go pick one of those up. any recomendations of where to get the power invereter? I am looking for a 200 RMS and 400 PEAK inverter right? Or should I go 300/600? I don't have much to blow lol

Thanks a lot for the answers!

DarquePervert · 07-12-2005, 07:39 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Fooch

Ok, cool thanks for that.

1.) what do I shield them with? and how far apart should they be? I am running both through the center console. I got maybe 1 foot between sides to run wires.

I've heard tales of shielding cables with aluminum foil. I have no idea whether that actually works.
Seperate them. Run them down seperate areas of teh vehicle, as far away from one another as possible.
Is that mroe work? You bet! nothing worthwhile is ever simple.

Quote:

2.)It is on a metal surface but not trying to look through one. It is going through plastic though(but it is covered in plastic so I wouldn't think that would matter), and has a clear view of the tinted window. I will try relocating it tomorrow and see if it helps.

If you relocate it and it picks up satellites with no problems, then you know the problem.

Quote:

3.)I will go pick one of those up. any recomendations of where to get the power invereter? I am looking for a 200 RMS and 400 PEAK inverter right? Or should I go 300/600? I don't have much to blow lol

What's the rating of your PC power supply?
Again, the rule of thumb is 150% of your PC's power supply AT LEAST. You do your own math.

Fooch · 07-12-2005, 07:44 PM

The power supply is 200 watts so I need atleast 300. So the 200/400 would be right in the middle but would run moderately hard, right? Would I want to go by the RMS? 300/600?

Thanks for the help I will try this all out tomorrow.

Jahntassa · 07-13-2005, 10:22 AM

Don't try to go through the tinted window. Some types of tint have metal in them (or metallic properties) and will block signals. That affects XM and Sirius as well. Try moving the antenna to the front dash or externally just to make sure it's working.

Fooch · 07-13-2005, 10:42 AM

That sucks. But it also didn't work any better with the hatch open. I will try moving it around. I hope I can find a sulution to this. There shoul dbe no problem with it seeing through plastic right? Because the actual receiver is incased in plastic.

Fooch · 07-14-2005, 01:13 AM

Ok, the computer stopped shutting off because I upgraded to a 400/800 watt inverter.

The refreshing you can see was caused by the power cable run along side the video cable and RCAs. Also caused the hum in the speakers. I moved that down the side of the car and now the video and sound are clear.

I still can't get reception no matter where I put it in the trunk of the car. I took it and held it about a foot ABOVE my roof and I got 5 satelites right away. Where can I mount this where it will actually work?

astral · 07-17-2005, 08:48 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Fooch

I still can't get reception no matter where I put it in the trunk of the car. I took it and held it about a foot ABOVE my roof and I got 5 satelites right away. Where can I mount this where it will actually work?

have you tried the front dash?