dhorst27

Hi, looking for ideas of how people have repackaged their laptop internals...can you explain or give show some pictures?

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toasty_one

I did a custom car pc movie player mod using a ThinkPad 600X. I went to ebay and purchased a wireless remote: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWN:IT&ih=022
I'm trying to figure out the best way to power it when built into the laptop. I have made some amazing mods to this laptop already and tested them. The first thing was to reverse the pcmcia cage so I could install a 4 port usb 2.0 card and not have anything stick out of the laptop. I then removed the usb interface ports and soldered on usb interface cables. I also added a wireless N usb card, bluetooth, wireless presenter mouse, RF remote receiver, and S-video/Composite output ports all internally so the laptop looks exactly the same cosmetically as before the mod. Everything works and I am attempting to connect it to the input A/V ports on my new Honda Odyssey so my kids can choose any movie on the fly without having to carry a ton of DVDs. So far, everything is tested, media software is installed, media remote works, the only thing I have issues with is the damn power switch. I can set the power down time through windows, but obviously I can't turn it back on remotely. After buying this remote from ebay, I have been trying to think of the best way to install the receiver into the laptop. Ultimately, I would like to be able to grab this laptop and use it separately from the van when on vacation and don't have access to TV. The remote receiver needs a 12vdc, 6mah power source. I could hook it into the car battery, but that would mean separate cables and I would like to avoid that if possible. The preferable method would be to hook it up to the internal laptop battery but it only has a 10.8vdc output. If you are interested in pics or details, let me know.

buddy

I don't know about him, but I'd like you to start a whole build thread of this custom laptop. It sounds pretty sweet.

Later,
Buddy

toasty_one

Well,
here's the breakdown: since I wrote this post, I have gotten hold of a docking station for this laptop and decided to do away with the remote robot on/off switch and go with webmaster's brilliant accessory auto power-on unit. Thanks webmaster! Anyway, using the docking station idea, I decided that the Frankenstein problem would be eliminated if the dock was permanently installed in the car and all the cables could be plugged into it. That way, when the laptop needs to be removed, I can just turn the key on the side and pop! Out it comes, neat and clean... The only problem with this is, now I have to rig a pass-through for all the external video and remote power connections to go through the dock. I am going to use a volt meter to trace the pin paths from the laptop to the dock. Since I have no use for the parallel or PS2 ports, I have plenty of pins to work with. The best way to do this is by reusing the plugs that are already there but the dock build faze will have to wait unfortunately as I have run into additional snags.

Since this is a work in progress, I have been analyzing every reconfiguration I do and usually scrapping an idea as soon as I get started.
Here's what happened; I decided to take a break from soldering and make sure the software end was sound. My findings were somewhat troubling... I am using J. River Media Center and it works great at home, but when I set it up on my CTPC, it would bomb out as soon as I forced it to hibernate or go to standby. Also, because it uses Windows Media Player primarily, I get a message saying, "Windows Media Player sensed that you are trying to go to standby. The movie will be restarted once you resume." The whole point of this project was to duplicate a normally functioning DVD player in the van. Since my wife chauffeurs our kids around town, the car is constantly being shut off and started. The idea of watching the same beginning to a movie every time they got in the car sounded a lot like torture which was definitely not my intent. I now have to scrap the J. River Media Center idea and find an alternative which is a real problem because most of the Media Center programs require 3D acceleration to function. Since the 600X has only a 4meg video card it took a while to locate a compatible app that would provide everything I required.
I then discovered that VLC worked great, but the video selection was completely nonexistent. I really wanted to have a screen where the avi files were displayed as large pictures so they could be easily navigated through and selected like an "On-Demand" style navigation screen. Now I am forced to download numerous video players in hopes of finding something that will come close to providing a similar affect.

I also have another concern about the remote. The one I purchased for J. River worked great... (for J. River) I don't know if it will work the same with a different program.

If anyone has a solution to my current problem, it would be greatly appreciated.

More to come.....

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