F-Body Ideas - Camaro and Firebird - Page 3

JasonWW · 02-01-2006, 08:30 AM

I've been thinking about how I would like the end result of the dash to look. I don't really think a dash pod above the screen would look very good. Nor would having the A/C controls below the screen. I think Ideally I would want it to look like Bernhard's car. A very clean, factory look.

I have an Alpine controller that some say should be mounted in a visable place, but I think I can put it in the center console. I think the A/C controls would be best if mounted in the center console as well. Everything would look clean and factory and no long reach over to the glove box to adjust the temp.

If I could figure out a way to extend the temperature cable, would you guys be interested?

cdcamaro9534 · 02-07-2006, 09:15 PM

This is geared to the 93-97 guys. Just took some pics of my install, I finally got the bugs worked out with my indash Xenarc touch screen!! But this screen tucks away nicely when I want it out of the way. And I have no trouble getting to my HAVC controlls since it folds down. And best of all it swivels. I've had the PC installed for over 2 years, but i use to not have a touch screen, I use to use a touch pad in the ash tray

Made driving fun sometimes. But ignore the amps in the back, the small one 4 my highs is a borrowed amp. Im thinking about getting all new amps, and clean the wiring up of course. But that will be later.

Final install, the PCI card hanging down is my WinTv tuner card.

iGuidance GPS

meissenation · 02-07-2006, 11:46 PM

Nice install! I'm beginning to think the only good way to do a carPC install in 93-96 is to have the foldout screen like you have.

JasonWW · 02-10-2006, 12:09 PM

Hey, I just wanted to update all you f-body guys about getting your steering wheel buttons working. I've made some pretty good progress. So far I only use my carPC to play MP3's - GPS and XM will come later. So I mainly use the MP3 screen in Roadrunner. RR is what I use, but I'm sure other frontends will have Girder files available.

First the hardware. I recommend this little serial IR reciever:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1
It cost me about $15 total shipped from Germany. Took about 2 weeks to get, but that's no big deal.

Second is the PAC SWI-X steering wheel remote control. (edit, I found found out that my own device is the older SWI-2. I'm looking into the newer SWI-X to make sure it will work as well)

They run about $40-$60 and be found several places.

That's about all you need, besides any IR remote you happen to have. Credit card size is a good choice.

The SWI-2 (SWI-X should be similar) is a simple 3 wire hookup on our cars. You can program all 8 steering wheel buttons to do anything the remote can do. And the remote can do just about anything as you are going to use Girder 3.3 to control the PC.

If your already using Girder (not 4.0) to control your PC by remote, your already ahead of the game. Programming the SWI-X consists of pushing the learn button on the unit, pushing the remote button (aimed at the internal IR reciever in the SWI-2) and then hitting the steering wheel button you want it to match up to. Once all 8 are stored, they stay stored even with no battery power.

Once you have the steering wheel buttons ready to go you need to download Girder 3.3. It can be found on the web for free if you know where to look. You plug in the serial IR reciever I mentioned above into a serial port (you have one, right?). You add a certain plugin called IGORPLUG.DLL - SFH-56 to the girder plugin folder. Then go into the Girder settings and load that plugin and set the COM port. Then you load the RR command list which has all the button commands that RR uses. You choose one like (vol+) you hit the learn button and hit the volume up button on either of your remotes and the code will be saved. You can program whatever button you want. It's pretty quick, but there are lots of options such as adding a delay to certain buttons so that it doesn't get pressed twice by mistake, etc... I'm not on the advanced stuff yet, I'm just getting the hang of it. Girder is a big and complex program, but once you get the basics understood you can come back later and fine tune it.

Whatever IR reciever your using, serial or USB, you will need to get the Girder plugin in order for Girder to communicate with the device.

There is a pic below of how I have my buttons currently programmed. I like having the volume and mute/play/pause button on the left so that's one of my quirks. The 4 right side buttons are all about finding the songs. I can move one song or one page at a time up or down. Once I found what I'm looking for I hit the play button on the other side and the new song will start. It's pretty sweet.

Since the remote will have more than 8 buttons you can program them to do all kinds of stuff, but the steering wheel buttons should be programed for the most commonly used controls.

If anyone needs details, let me know and I'll help you figure it out.

Jason

JasonWW · 02-10-2006, 01:08 PM

I've got an interesting idea for an amp rack as well. I'm going to link my 3 Rockford amps together and mount them on the gas tank but at about a 45* angle so that they stare you in the face when you raise the hatch.

I've got 2 Audiobahn subs coming soon. The shiny ones. Don't worry, I didn't cheap out, they are blown and I intend to cut the cones out and use the shinyness as speaker grills. Cool idea, huh? I got them for 5 bucks plus $25 shipping, so I couldn't pass them up. They will be covering my old Image Dynamics IDQ12DVC subs. They are awesome, but lack in the looks deparment with an all black cone.

Anyway, behind the amps will be an enclosure that holds the PC, Alpine H700 brain, passive x-overs for the fronts and other misc stuff. There will be plexi windows and lights with lots of raw circuit boards showing. Should look cool from the front looking towards the rear. Then from the rear looking forward you'll see all the subs and amps. I like it.

I'm going to pull the rear seats out and make storage bins there as I carry a lot of junk that I use for work. I have to put it somewhere. I'll probably leave the heatsinks exposed to keep things simple, although I could remove the back panels and mount fans to circulate the air. I have to come up with a filtered crossflow air circulation system anyway for the PC.

I did a photoshop of what it might look like from the rear. My car is black, but otherwise it's the same.

Quote:

Here's some real pics of MY beast if anyone is interested.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...wCalipers3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../jasonww21.jpg

NoTicketsPlease · 02-10-2006, 02:32 PM

nice car. thanks for the info on steering controls, i may do this down the road. lets keep this thread going and put all f-body specific info we can get in here.

turbocad6 · 02-10-2006, 03:18 PM

are you saying that your going to stick the audiobahns there complete with magnets/ minus cones to be used as speaker grilles?!?!?!

I'd have to say that's.... uhh .......original

JasonWW · 02-10-2006, 09:31 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

are you saying that your going to stick the audiobahns there complete with magnets/ minus cones to be used as speaker grilles?!?!?!

I'd have to say that's.... uhh .......original

Yep, once I recieve them I'll see if I can remove the magnets to reduce weight. They aren't visable, so I might be able to cut them out and no one would know. I could also use black grill cloth with wire mesh around the inside of the basket to make it look cleaner. I got lucky with these subs as I found an almost new matched pair and they are the audiobahn which are pretty wild looking. I did a search of really cool subs and then checked e-bay for the ones I liked. Hardly anyone puts up blown subs for sale much less matched sets. I think it'll look good, especially once I create a form fitting cover piece to fill in all the gaps around the box.

NoTicketsPlease · 02-15-2006, 10:48 PM

Just got my m2-atx. Got it working in the house, going to install it in the car in a few days. Anyone know how the auto shutdown for the pc on the m2 works with the fbody extended accessory power feature? You know, how after you turn the car off your radio and windows will work for 10 or so minutes or until you open the door. I would like the pc to shutdown based on when the accessory power goes off, not when the car is turned off.

meissenation · 02-15-2006, 11:09 PM

With my Opus power supply, it shuts down 10 seconds after the 12v switched source is turned off. In my case, the 12v switched source runs from the fuse for the radio and accessories, so while the radio is on the carPC is on, when the radio turns off, 10seconds later the carPC does too. Works good for me.

JasonWW · 02-16-2006, 09:39 AM

I'd do it like Meiss says. I'll be getting my M2 next week and plan to use the switched radio wire. I think I can splice the power button wire from the PS to the mobo (J8) and mount a toggle switch up front. That way I can bypass the PSU trigger and cause the PC to stay on even when I open the doors. I'll add an LED to make sure I know it's switched open.

Then I'll add a "momentary on" button to J9 so that I can manually turn it on and off as well. Should come in handy if the PC ever locks up. I can hold the button in and force it to shut off.

I already have my amp "turn on" lead attached to the PC 12volt line and plan to power my steering wheel device from the PC as well. That way I don't have to have the key in the acc. position for the steering wheel buttons to work.

meissenation · 02-17-2006, 04:11 PM

Well, I've completely dismantled the carPC bezel, removed all the computer parts from the bezel except for the screen (wish I had made it an easy project, the way it is right now, there's no such thing as removing the screen from the bezel, it's mounted in such a fashion that it can't come out) and I'm going to try and mold it to look more like a 97+ radio bezel... square with rounded edges, a groove for accessing the 97+ cup holder... hopefully that will make it look a lot better. I'm just totally baffled on how to design this bezel to look good, blend in, and have the curves of the bezel not standout like a sore thumb... The past few weeks I've been working entirely on my interior, removing panels, sanding them down smooth and painting them, I've installed red carpet in the interior and am going more "deep end" with the black/red combo of my interior. So far the comments I've gotten back have been very positive, so I'm really excited to get it all done, but I *NEED* to do the bezel right this time and have it look better than before.

Any suggestions on getting this bezel to look better would be much appreciated.

JasonWW · 02-17-2006, 09:37 PM

I still think the bezel needs to be finished off in vinyl that has a similar grain. High gloss paint is never going to look factory.

Snootch · 02-17-2006, 09:56 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by NoTicketsPlease

Just got my m2-atx. Got it working in the house, going to install it in the car in a few days. Anyone know how the auto shutdown for the pc on the m2 works with the fbody extended accessory power feature? You know, how after you turn the car off your radio and windows will work for 10 or so minutes or until you open the door. I would like the pc to shutdown based on when the accessory power goes off, not when the car is turned off.

I have the M1-ATX wired up to the factory stereo plug's power + ground leads, and it works fine. The computer stays on after the car is shut off, and finally shuts off as soon as the door is opened. I have it set to go into standby, so as soon as I open the door, 5 seconds later the computer goes into standby. When I get back in, and start the car, 5 seconds later music is playing. You can roll into a parking spot, kill the engine, and still have the computer running as long as you do not open the door.

JasonWW · 02-18-2006, 04:09 AM

Just curious about standby. Doesn't it consume too much power? I thought it would run your battery down pretty quickly.

Also, do you mean you have the PSU wired to the battery + and ground and then the turn-on trigger wired to the radio's + wire?

Now that I think about it, the radio does have +, - and ign. Did you use all 3 wires for your PSU? I'm sure the PC uses more power than the radio, did you need to upgrade the fuse?