parasomia

Hey everyone, hope the weekend is going well.

Been lurking here for a few days now reading up on faqs and posts. Very nicely setup! I am currently upgrading the sound in my 99 Trans Am. I was thinking of going with a dvd type HU with gps and mp3 playback... but some of those cost a lot and like it has been said many times here already... if you are going to pay that much for something limited.. why not just do something better.

Some questions though! I have searched around a bit on here but didn't see anything yet... For those out there with Power Antennas in their vehicle.. how do you control that with the carPC? I would think a traditional HU would be needed? Also, how good is the sound quality most of you are getting from your PC? Is it comparable or better than a decent aftermarket HU such as Alpine? (sound quality is important to me because I love great sounding audio with minimal line noise!)

I guess those are important because I'm deciding if I want to find a way (headache) to keep my current Alpine HU in there alongside a pc and screen (yep that will be a tough fit) to control am/fm and power antenna (doubt I'd buy a fm thing for the pc though)

Anyway, thanks all and keep up the greatness!

RedGTiVR6

As for the SQ, see my signature, it should answer your questions. I've been running a carPC as my only source unit for 4+ years now.

As for the power antenna, I think you first need to find a reliable AM/FM radio before you worry about the power antenna part of it.

to the forums.

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FusionFanatic

I personally prefer keeping a HU for audio control (that way I don't need the carPC on to play music, and I don't have to wait for the carPC to boot up first). you certainly don't need to a HU to control your power antenna (see below). do you have any pics of your car's dash/console? we can help you find a mounting solution if you post a pic so we know what spaces you have available.


a power antenna (PA) does not require a head unit (HU) to function, in fact many aftermarket HUs don't even have dedicated PA outputs anymore (most modern HUs just have a single +12vdc ["REM"] output that can be used as a signal wire to switch an amp, PA, etc on/off.

the PA output on a HU is just a switched +12vdc output. in most cases, this wire is not used to directly power the antenna motor, it's just a signal wire to tell it when the radio is on/off. if you decide not to use a HU in your setup then you simply need to hook the PA's signal wire up a switched +12vdc source. you can use:
1.) -your car's ACC circuit. this will extend the PA when the key is in the ACC or RUN positions (but it will also retract while in START position, then extend when the key is released back to the RUN position)
2.) -your car's IGN circuit. this will extend the PA when the key is in the RUN or START position (but it stay retracted when in the ACC position)
3.) -your carPC's +12v PSU output. this will extend the antenna anytime the carPC is on
NOTE: if your antenna is directly powered by the HU's PA output, then you should not wire it to any of those sources mentioned above, you can use the above sources as a signal wire for a relay, and let the relay power the antenna.

good luck

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current carPC setup
previous carPC setup

parasomia

You guys are awesome!

Red, thank you for that. I took a little dip into your thread there. Good information! Sounds like you really have something nice setup there. I'll read more into it later on when I get some time. I am getting a bit ahead of myself with the power antenna hehe. I suppose while going through all these ideas in my head I keep thinking of everything that I would need to work with... but I guess it is better to plan every detail then nothing. Red, once again thank you because sound is always important (theres a reason why I'm upgrading the speakers and everything!)

Fusion, that was also something I was considering. I have this good alpine unit laying around and It would be nice to have it in there if I don't want the PC on or maybe I just want an Audio CD and I'm sure a CD/DVD drive on the PC will cause a lot of jumps and skips while driving. So I've been going through this in my head a bit.

I just took some pics of my dash (It is similar to some others on here as well that I as looking at. I was thinking that the HVAC control would have to be moved in order to fit a screen and the alpine unit if I went in that direction. I thought it would be nice to control it via the fusion brain that I read about.. but i wouldn't know the first thing on making that work yet(sounds complicating) I'm still considering either a 7" or 8" screen. I'm sure I'm still a month or so before doing anything in the installation/building side of things. Tons to learn plus the audio needs to be upgraded first.

Don't mind that it isn't so clean.... she just got out of the garage. And don't mind the dash crack.. oye I got her last year and she had that and I haven't figured out a good way to fix that without making it look like crap.

Attached Images

  

fred333

There should be some mod kits in like a crutchfield type of magazine or if not contact the dealership.

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Working on my Comp TIA training.

parasomia

Fred, mod kits for what? Sorry, wasn't sure what you were meaning (I have the stuff to install a receiver, from crutchfield, Nice place)

FusionFanatic

how big is the factory radio opening? from the pic it looks like it's 1.5-DIN (7" x 3").

but I've seen a few worklogs where people managed to squeeze a 7" screen behind it (I don't know if the bezel cuts off a bit from each edge). you could do what others have done and mount a 7" panel to the factory bezel. if you run the carputer without a head unit then that would be fine.

the easiest (and cheesiest) solution would be to get a trim kit and mount a single-DIN motorized flip-out monitor where your factory head unit is. there is/was a company that makes half-DIN flip-out monitors (don't remember where I saw it). that would probably fit above your alpine.

you have plenty of options depending on how much modding/fabrication you're willing to do. I've attached a few GIMP'ed images of your [potentially modified] dash to give you some ideas of what you could do if you were willing to spend the time and effort.

[image #1] is a more extreme option which involves re-routing your dash vents (to the floor?) and mod/fab your dash panel and radio bezel to accommodate a 7" or 8" monitor and a head unit.

[image #2] involves mounting your head unit (or just the faceplate) where the ashtray and cig lighter are.

[image #3] is basically the same as #2, but involves moving the HVAC controls down. this keeps the audio/video in the same spot.

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current carPC setup
previous carPC setup

parasomia

hahahaha I love those pictures, good editing!

You are correct Fusion, its about 7.5x3. I bought another bezel thing off of ebay so I am free to cut/trim as I please. There really are a lot of options here (seeing the firebird/camaro threads makes me think that a 7 inch could work) I guess if I wanted to make it easy, not using a head unit and moving the hvac would allow for a bigger screen and a thin size cd/dvd rom there. Having the head unit though would be convenient for no hassle audio cd's. Wow the pre-planning sure takes tons of thinking! Fun though.