Totally dissapointed with my carputer! - Page 3

yrean · 07-02-2006, 10:46 PM

im not sure how you mis understood me, but oh well. here is the link for the manual for the m1

http://www.mp3car.com/products/M1-ATX/M1-ATX-guide.pdf

as far as what i was talking about. look.

Wiredwrx · 07-02-2006, 10:46 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

This is obviously not working.

You are joking, right??

How can you fault the M1 when you haven't even been able to install the thing correctly. Once you get that sorted out, if you still have "thump" and you have connected THAT correctly as well, then you can complain. Till then, chalk it up to installation/operator error.

Michael

Wiredwrx · 07-02-2006, 10:51 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

This is the part that's giving me second thoughts about proceeding with my carputer project. I didn't realize that the screens were so bad until I started reading about the new transflective upgrades and saw some before and after pictures. Now I see your complaint. 95% of my usage will be during the daytime. The Xenarc 700TSV is the screen I had more or less decided on, thinking it was the best in the category.

Now I'm not so sure. Are the screens really this bad?

Well, get the transflective if that is an issue for you. Now you have nothing to worry about in that regard.

Michael

timeshifter · 07-02-2006, 11:11 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

this thread is quite entertaining

regarding the screen....if you're wanting something to work like a factory nav unit, go away and come back in about a year or two.

If you're interested in this project as just that A PROJECT, stick around and learn, and you might even help to contribute to making the manufacturers see the need to making the current screens even better.

I don't know what you mean by "work like a factory nav unit". If you're talking about the system in it's entirety I wouldn't expect it to work as smoothly as a factory nav unit. I would expect all of the issues the OP is raising. Now, as far as the screen is concerned I always assumed that the screen quality was close to that of a factory system.

Not sure why I assumed that. I've been reading this board for a long long time. I bought the book Car PC Hacks and read that a little more than once. Nowhere along the way did it occur to me that the screens might be worse than I imagined -- until I read about the transflectives and saw this guy's post.

Is a factory nav's screen much better than a Xenarc?

And, sure a transflective screen would be an easy answer except that they're not readily available and they cost $300 more than the next best model.

god_of_cpu · 07-02-2006, 11:20 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

Is a factory nav's screen much better than a Xenarc?

They can be, but they are always designed to work with the partcular car well. Meaning a factory nav screen doesn't have to be as bright or even tranflective since some are not dulled by touchscreens and are mounted in shaded areas in the car.

DarquePervert · 07-02-2006, 11:50 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

I didn't have a 12 volt car battery in my living room. Seriously, that's the only way I'd run into this problem on the bench.

And that, sir, is where you are mistaken. You don't even need a car battery to bench-test this... Some wiring tricks and an ATX power supply and a spare switch is all you need.

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

Not sure why I assumed that. I've been reading this board for a long long time. I bought the book Car PC Hacks and read that a little more than once. Nowhere along the way did it occur to me that the screens might be worse than I imagined -- until I read about the transflectives and saw this guy's post.

And there are also steps you can take to improve readability.
Recess the screen, tint windows, etc...

For someone who's supposedly been 'round here a lot, one would think you'd know about these issues, because they are brought up on the forum all the freakin' time!!!

piabu · 07-03-2006, 12:11 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

I didn't have a 12 volt car battery in my living room. Seriously, that's the only way I'd run into this problem on the bench.

Before anybody else asks "how?"
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/power-supplies/74547-how-test-m2-atx-using-regular-power-supply-please-help.html
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/power-supplies/68944-powering-m2-atx-inside.html

timeshifter · 07-03-2006, 12:14 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by DarquePervert

For someone who's supposedly been 'round here a lot, one would think you'd know about these issues, because they are brought up on the forum all the freakin' time!!!

whatever ...

Wiredwrx · 07-03-2006, 01:01 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

whatever ...

He is right, there are numerous threads on how to improve daylight readability on this forum. Heck, there are probably 4 VERY LARGE THREADS, on transflective alone.

And, while I understand your reluctance to spend an extra 300 bucks on a screen, when you want and expect a Ferrari, you have to pay for a Ferrari. If you don't want to/can't, then you have to buy the Ford. But certainly, you can't expect the Ford to work like the Ferrari, and certainly not for the Ford price.

Michael

timeshifter · 07-03-2006, 01:22 AM

I'm not disagreeing that he's right, just taking issue with his tone. I hadn't read many of the threads (before now) where they talk about daylight readability. And, maybe I had in the past but their significance had faded from my memory.

I really don't understand the freakin' screaming!!!! I didn't say I didn't know about the issues. I said it didn't occur to me that the screens might be worse than I imagined. How could one know what I have imagined?

Lighten up pervert.

Henk Bos · 07-03-2006, 02:24 AM

Daylight readability of the screen was my major concern (with plenty of sunshine in Middle East) before I started my project. There are hundreds of posts, comparisons, etc. that will help you to make an educated decision before the purchase.
I choose to go for non-touch screen with the highest nits within my budget and have no problems at all with the Xenarc 8".

Maheriano · 07-03-2006, 02:38 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

I installed my carputer over the weekend and I feel like it was a huge waste of money. I'm hoping someone here can help me fix some of the issues.

1. When I turn on the car, nothing happens. I have to jumpstart the computer to get it to come on. And when I turn off the car, the speakers shut off but the computer and screen stay on. And when I force it to hibernate, it works but the fan keeps spinning. I guess that's normal, but when I turn off the car and come back to it later, the fan is off and I have to cold boot it again. I should mention that I bought a stereo harness for my car, plugged it into the stock harness, and wired all the battery/switched/ground/speakers into that. For some reason these idiots made the switched red and constant yellow but that's a different story. Could it be that switched wire is not working properly?

2. The viewing angle on the screen is horrible! When I sit in the driver's seat, I can't see anything. All the dark colours invert to light colours and I can't even tell which video I'm playing. And I have to lean over to the middle of the car to see the GPS. Plus, sunlight doesn't just make it unreadable, I can't even tell if the screen is on or off, it's rediculous.

3. When the amp comes on after the 5 second delay, it makes a loud popping noise in the speakers and then hisses until Windows boots up. Then it sounds normal. I had a ground loop but fixed that with an isolator.

4. I still have iGuidance loading outside my skin. Sometimes it'll load but just be layered over top of the skin as its own application. But most of the time the GPS area of the skin will just be gray and it'll pop up for a second with the OK/Cancel box and when that dissapears, I'm just left with the gray. I have to keep fiddling back and forth between the different screens and eventually it'll load properly, menubarless and big buttons and all.

5. When I first boot RoadRunner and hit volume up or down, it automatically brings the volume to 0. I then have to hit up a whole bunch of times to get it back where I want it but if I hit down in the first few seconds, it brings it right back to 0 again.

6. When the woman is telling me to turn in iGuidance, she's way too loud. I want her to be the same volume as the music prior to the music being turned down. I'm pretty sure this is in the General.ini file so I'll find it.

Please help me guys, don't make me regret my biggest project!

1. I attached an extra wire that came with the kit and everything worked perfect. It was all wired up as it should be, just missing this one wire from the J6 connector to the power/ground pins. Now I have a 43 second unhibernate time from key turn to music.

3. This, for some reason, has also been fixed without doing anything extra.

RedGTiVR6 · 07-03-2006, 07:46 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

I really don't understand the freakin' screaming!!!!

Who was screaming?

I didn't see anyone screaming. I saw someone emphasizing some words, but no SCREAMING (as is indicated by all caps btw).

Maybe you need to go back and reread the posts in a calmer manner, just because you are irritated and are raising your voice, doesn't mean that others are.

RedGTiVR6 · 07-03-2006, 07:50 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

3. This, for some reason, has also been fixed without doing anything extra.

I'm not 100% on this, but I would think that previously the PSU couldn't see that the computer was even on, so it was defaulting the amps on.

It's amazing how well things work when you wire them correctly.

I hope that you continue to work on your other issues and get them resolved as well!

kevinlekiller · 07-03-2006, 11:53 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by timeshifter

I really don't understand the freakin' screaming!!!!

Whos talking? I see letters and numbers , but where is the voices