hkdl

Okay so, I'm looking at touch screen monitors...so far my options are less than $200 for a normal monitor from ebay but it'll require me to solder to get it installed in a double din slot..or over $300 at least for a single din that will just slide in.

So basically I've never done any soldering or car wiring. I am very well versed in PCs though(worked on them professionally for 5 years before switching over to programming).

Basically my question is how hard will it be for me to learn quickly to do the soldering I'll need to do and the car wiring. I have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt LS. Any help would be appreciated...thanks.

peecee

Soldering is easy. Just remember that you heat the wire and the heated wire "draws" the solder into the connection. Get a decent solding iron, because with this hobby, you're likely to do a lot of it. Get some extra wire, flux, and lead free solder from someplace like Radio Shack or your favorite local electronics store and practice. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it.

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NotYou

I'd go for the monitor you are more interested in, or is more suited to what you want to do.

Don't let soldering be a determining factor. You could bypass the soldering by using butt connectors if you really wanted to, and/or if you don't solder at the monitor you'll probably end up soldering somewhere else.

Like peecee said, soldering is something you can get the hang of with a little (and I mean little) practice. It's not critical that you get a NASA certified (tm) solder joint, as soldering if generally forgiving. (Yes, NASA has like a 100page technical document on soldering).

Do a google search for "how to solder" and you'll find some good tutorials, as well as this video is excellent: .

Besides, once you get a soldering iron you'll no doubt find more things that you need to "fix" around the house =)

Nadre

Yeah I'd have to agree with everyone, it's really not that difficult. Just like peecee said, remember you're heating the wire not the solder, that was my biggest challenge. Now I solder all my connections, even the ones I use to use butt connectors on. Reiterating peecee again, practice on spare wire to get the hang of it. Another key thing for me was to get the right type of solder. I've found that the thinner the solder the easier it is. You don't have to but depending on where the soldered connections are you might want to think about heat shrink. Don't forget to steal your signifacant others hair dryer or buy a heat gun to shrink it. Heat shrink makes for a nicer looking install (you could use electrical tape also)

Again do what's right for your install. If the montor you have to solder isn't right don't get it, if it is get it and just come where someone will help you understand what you need to know, do or where to find the answer. This forum is a great place, everyone is so helpful. I've figuered out alot about my present carputer through this forum.

As far as the car wiring goes again ask specific question an people will be more than glad to help you.

Hey, NotYou is right on the money. Just over a month ago I soldered my stepson's rockband drum set, one of the wires had come loose. Now I go around the house looking for things to solder. Today I just might rip some wires out just to solder haha.

hkdl

Wow Thanks for the responses so far, they're quite helpful. Both Monitors fit my needs just one is more expensive than the other, and since I don't have unlimited funds available and need to try to keep the STBWAF(Soon to be Wife Acceptability Factor) high I'll probably go with it.

It looks like all the soldering is for is to remove the 9-pin DIN connector from the case when I try to remove all the innards. I'll probably pick up an Lilliput EBY701 from Ebay. I've been reading about how to do car audio and it seems pretty straight forward, I'm going to start gathering parts...wish me luck :-p

EDIT: Just a question, is there a high rate of failure for the Hard drives due to all the jarring around? Has anyone tried a SSD in their car pc?