Themutt

Hey all had a couple questions for you all since this is my first carputer project. I'll list the parts I already have because I want to make sure i'm not missing anything.

Parts I have:
- Dell d600 Pm 1.6gig runnign vista Premium
- Dell Docking station which uses a 90w power adpater(in: 100-240v - 1.5a 50-60hz out: 19.5v)
- Rewired dell docking station power button w/ 20 feet of cable
- (I drive an RSX) RSX CD changer to input adapter - this allows me to use the stock dash and when I click the Changer option on the dash it switches to my Red white line in box. I have been using it for my psp but I think it should work nicely to plug the laptop intot he stock dash.

I have a Xenarc 700tsv on order which I currently plan to power via the cig plug.

My questions:

Besides a long VGA and usb cable to connect the screen and touch feature with the laptop, what will I need to power the docking station? I was told that I would need to run a wire from the batter to a fuse box then to an AC-DC power adapter. I'm not really sure what fuse size to get or what kind of adapter to use so if anyone has specific products they can point me to that would be great.

Secondly I want to get a USB gps and software, is there any thats better then most? I was planning on using streets plus from microsoft (comes with the usb gps) but I'm not sure if there is a less expensive route to go with?

Lastly I plan on running the wires from the dash to the trunk for the laptop setup, is there any specific sheilding I will need for the USB, VGA and power wires since they will be running next to one another?

Thanks in advance for the help I'm sorry for being lengthy but I am new at all this.

DarquePervert

Not my recommendation, but OK.
I would seriously consider wiring the screen to something, if nothing else so you don't have wires all over the place.


Thank you for posting the power output of that docking station. Is this a docking station that connects to a USB port (port replicator) or one that connects to a proprietary port and the laptop slides into it? If it's the latter, then lose the idea of the inverter and get a Carnetix P1900 or P2140 (depending on the current draw in amps). If it's a port replicator, ignore it, as it's pretty much useless in the car.

You'll need one line from the battery. One line to a grounding point (or negative terminal on the battery) and one line to a switched ignition source.


http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/faq-...?highlight=GPS

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/faq-...?highlight=GPS

Serious;ly. You should check out the FAQ section. There's lots of discussions about GPS receivers and software and such.


As long as you keep singal wires away from power wires, you should be fine.

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Pistolen08

Couldn't you just use a dell car power supply instead of a dc regulator (like the p1900)? This would be a lot cheaper and seems more logical if you don't need the auto startup/shutdown when you turn the key. I ran a wire from the laptop in the trunk to a button up front, which lets me turn the laptop on/off whenever I want. Do you think that the dell car power supply would introduce audio interference like the inverters do? Thanks.

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Themutt

Thx for the replys.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=310-8555

with this a the power supply for the docking station:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...&mfgpid=157951

This is the docking station I have. The main reason for it is that I have a power on/off switch I can mount anywhere in my car to it and the laptop can be removed with the push of a button from the car in the winter (I live in canada it gets cold here).

Im pretty sure I will be going with the CarNetix CNX-P2140 after reading up on it a bit. And with that I'll be able to wire the docking station and the xenarc screen. As for the dell car power supply... I haven't seen this, can you link this please?

wesniles

I’m running a laptop in my car also, and I went with a car charger adaptor. A quick search on eBay found this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Car-DC-Power-Ada...em300143053133
I installed a momentary switch in my dash and hook it up to my laptop so that it could be turned on and off when needed.

Themutt

Ya I ended up picking up an inverter to power the screen and the laptop docking station. Just to make wiring more permanent without having to worry. I'll be starting a worklog soon enough of the project I hope to do some nice things with the car before I'm done.