Hello, a simple question

reapur · 08-03-2006, 04:38 PM

Hi,
New to car PC and I'm loving this forum.
I've been in IT for 18 years and I've installed 13 kick a$$ car stereo so I'm hoping I can pull this one off, I'm getting older and squeezing into some of those tight spots in cars to do installs is starting to hurt a little heh heh.

I have a question about batteries and a project like this. I've read in some of the threads and faqs that you can either connect the touch screen to computer power supply or straight to the battery. I can't find a discussion on pros and cons of each. At the very least I think I'd need some sort of surge protection if go straight to the battery.

second, do these car PCs act like laptops so that when you kill the engine they run on battery for a little bit then go to sleep or do they just get killed hard. Not sure about this one as I can't find it on this site.

Best Regards,

oh, I have a 2000 4runner decked out for 4wheelin' and a pretty kickin system, but now the Alpine 7878 has melted its motherboard, I need a new solution.
http://www.reapur.com

Freelander · 08-03-2006, 04:45 PM

no questions are simple.

some screens can be powered straight from the battery. however, many people feel that if they spend $300+ on a nice screen, they should invest in a regulated power supply.

many power supplies have shutdown controllers, meaning they shut down automatically when the car is off.

this are common questions for a newbie. read the Frequently Asked Questions, specifically the ones on power supplies.

good luck

RedGTiVR6 · 08-03-2006, 04:58 PM

read up regarding just what the power supplies do. Many of them have integrated start-up and shut down controllers.

Some people go into stand-by, some hibernate, and others just shut down completely.

It's your decision which you should do.

As for the screen, that's your decision as well.

Some run direct off the battery (myself) others don't.

Personal preferences.

reapur · 08-03-2006, 05:03 PM

Thanks Guys.
I actually just found the faq to the faqs, I don't know how I missed it, I've been reading here for a week... Sometimes gotta pull your head out to see clearly

cheers

RedGTiVR6 · 08-03-2006, 05:05 PM

glad ya found it!

There is a lot of information on this board. It's quite easy to get lost in it all!

reapur · 08-24-2006, 10:23 PM

OK, another point I can't seem to nail down:

If I have a complete car stereo with HU, amps and all that. If I were to add a carPC (I'm almost done picking my parts) I'm not very clear on the interaction between the carpc/touchscreen and the HU.

I have an alpine HU, and I'm thinking about the DWW flipout screen, that way I use up my double-DIN.
I understand how the carpc connects to the amps and all that when the HU is nto present, but I can't find a diagram or an explanation of how I would switch to the HU to play a CD or FM, then switch to the PC to play a video or navigation. Can they be used at the same time (CD and navigation?)
pardon me if these are lame questions, but I'm not getting this part.

best regards

DarquePervert · 08-24-2006, 10:35 PM

If you're going to retain a headunit, then the easiest method for audio is to run the PC's audio into the aux in of the headunit (assuming you have one!).
If you want to hear GPS prompts and play a CD at the same time, you're going to be playing the CD throught he PC or have an additional audio device and speaker(s) specifically for the navigational prompts.

Welcome to our madness.

reapur · 08-24-2006, 11:11 PM

Thanks for confirming what I was thinking. I don't see another way about this, unless I get a labtec speaker hidden behind the dash for the PC sound, but that wouldn't be good.
Maybe I'll just dump the HU, since it only really works in the winter, and go with a full carpc solution.
I wish I had a store in town that carried some of this stuff so that I can "feel" how the system will fit in my truck.

aaaaaahhhhhhhhh, madness ineed!

we87 · 08-25-2006, 03:37 AM

Well.... I have a question: Why cant you have a multi-channel soundcard, and select your GPS Nav program to only spit out audio to one channel, which would be an aditional speaker somewhere in the car, while your HU is on.... Wouldnt that work aswell?

Personally, I cant see the advantage to having a HU plus a Carputer except for the FM Radio aspect of it. (which can be solved with a FM Tuner Card) But thats just my opinion of course....

2k1Toaster · 08-25-2006, 03:44 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by we87

Personally, I cant see the advantage to having a HU plus a Carputer except for the FM Radio aspect of it. (which can be solved with a FM Tuner Card) But thats just my opinion of course....

That and a backup. All CarPC's will go crazy sometime, and usually in the middle of some 7000hour cross country trip. So, a backup.

Also since he is going with a flip out, why not get a flip out that has built in radio/cd. Backup built in, and it'll look cleaner while solving the dillema of getting both sounds!

ODYSSEY · 08-25-2006, 03:49 AM

Sup and welcome to the forum.

2k1Toaster · 08-25-2006, 03:49 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ODYSSEY

Sup and welcome to the forum.

Yeah, that too!

RedGTiVR6 · 08-25-2006, 07:05 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

That and a backup. All CarPC's will go crazy sometime, and usually in the middle of some 7000hour cross country trip. So, a backup.

I actually have yet to experience this.

15 hour drive to Kansas City, Mo from College Station, Tx.

10 hour drive from McKinney, Tx to South Pare Island, Tx

Various 4 hour trips from the D/FW area to Houston and Austin, from College Station to San Antonio.

Here in 2 weeks, 15 hour drive from McKinney, Tx to Atlanta, Ga

Here in about a month and a half 12 hour drive from McKinney, Tx to Kansas City, Mo

The only time I've had issues that bright the CarPC down completely were when I was messing with the OS for some reason.

Build it right and it will function correctly.

Quote:

Also since he is going with a flip out, why not get a flip out that has built in radio/cd. Backup built in, and it'll look cleaner while solving the dillema of getting both sounds!

is there a VGA touch screen option that has a built in radio/cd option?

DarquePervert · 08-25-2006, 07:12 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

is there a VGA touch screen option that has a built in radio/cd option?

The forthcoming 6.5" double-DIN unit at DigitalWW has AM/FM tuner & CD built-in: http://www.digitalww.com/DWW-6500.htm

RedGTiVR6 · 08-25-2006, 07:18 AM

yeah I'm aware of the DD from Digital WW, but it's not what the OP was wanting....it's dd, not single....

if he went that route he would have to ditch the HU he was saying he wanted to keep...

I can't help but wonder about the quality of that DD piece myself...it's like a no name head unit...nothing to vouch for the quality of the internals or build or anything.

Considering many name brand units that have similar functionality are nearly double the price. I know that the DigitalWW unit wont feel like a quality unit, more like a Kenwood or JVC or Sony HU, just for starters. Buttons that aren't snug fit, gaps that are either huge and/or uneven. Mechanisms that will fail with little to no use (much like those HUs mentioned above).

While I'm happy to see that unit on the market now, I'm not holding my breath on the quality.