New member with pics of my 03 GMC install

Exposure · 05-17-2004, 06:08 PM

Hey everyone-

My first post ever here. Found these forums quite by accident and I am really impressed with the work you guys do! I am a little reluctant to post my set-up as it looks very amateurish in comparison but thought some of you all might enjoy it!

Specs:

2003 GMC Sierra 4X4 Full Size P/U
Cappuccino PC SP 320
1.3 Ghz Celeron
128 Mb RAM
40 GB HD
DVD
Xenarc 7" with touch screen option
Wireless IR keyboard/trackball

On to the pics! Please be nice though, I posted this on a car fourm and got flamed so much I took the post down. Jeez some forum people suck. The pics are pretty crappy as I have resized and compressed them to stay as close to forum rules as possible. I have much better higher res images available that I can substitute if anyone is interested.

The first pic shows the Xenarc monitor attached to the dash. It swivels and tilts for best viewing by driver or passenger. Then the Blaupunkt headunit which gets fed audio from the PC into its AUX inputs. And at the bottom is the PC itself suspended below the dash for easy access to the DVD drive. On top of it is the IR reciever for the keyboard and the Magellan GPS unit is attached on the right. Not seen is the DC/DC converter behind the dash set to 13 VDC output. Note the firewire and USB ports on the front of the PC. Oh yeah, if you look in the rearview you can see me behind my Nikon D100.

Next is a shot from the drivers seat (sort of), showing the entire set-up as well as the IR keyboard/trackball, it stays hidden beneath the rear seat for the most part and is only used for inputing point to point driving directions in the iNav Gps software. The software gives verbal instructions on where to turn etc, it's very cool in operation!

Here is a shot of the Xenarc monitor with a DVD cued up and ready to entertain. Not that the driver should ever be watching that while moving down the road!

Finally here is a pic of the system in full security mode. It only takes about 15 seconds to go from fully loaded to this and everything stores neatly in the center console. Also pictured is my security badge from a recent job site. Yep, that's my ugly mug there.

So far it has worked flawlessly and I am having a ton of fun with it. My wife thought it was kind of stupid until she saw it in action and is now enamored with it! So I will putting one together for her Maxima shortly. Although I will use a fold out LCD for her car.

The only problem I have encountered is bad RF from the monitor while trying to get distant FM stations. I'm working on it though!

And the legality of the whole thing is kind of iffy. Although I did have a state trooper and his partner behind the other day for about 15 minutes and they ended up riding my bumper to get a better view of the display which was running my GPS at the time. The kept pointing at it. I was expecting to get stopped at any minute but they finally passed me. So I guess I am safe for the time being. Anyway I hope you enjoyed my set-up. I know I sure do.

Jamesr316 · 05-18-2004, 08:00 AM

Why oh Why would you keep your gear in your car? How secure is that. Anyone who looks in your window can obviously see you have an aftermarket player and sadly most ppl are to lazy to take the unit out of the car. I would take it out if I were you, i speak from experience :/

Other than that, good job on the setup.

zijester · 05-18-2004, 08:25 AM

Hmm you know what you can do to make this setup even better? Get one of those uinversal consol things they sell for like 30. Move the tuner and the pc to there and put the screen where the cd tuner is now. Kinda like this

Pudge · 05-30-2004, 05:39 PM

Install looks cool man. I like the hat idea, you might want a different color than bright orange, but still works really well. As for other people flaming you, I don't know why they would. The install fits your needs, works, and most importantly, you like it. Anyhow, good project, and well done.

Exposure · 06-06-2004, 09:05 PM

Thanks for the comments.

After a month in service I have decided to upgrade things a bit. The dash mount for the monitor is just to obvious as has been stated and also can interfere with the drivers vision on right hand turns so I am currently fitting it into the stock stereo opening. The PC and Blaupunkt head unit will be housed in a seperate fiberglass module that will mount under the dash.

On the plus side of things there has yet to be a single problem or malfunction with the set up. I have purposely left the windows tighly shut on the hottest of days to see if there has been any effects on the system and so far none yet (knock on wood).

When the new mounting configuration is done I will post more pics.

xBrady · 06-06-2004, 09:22 PM

How much did you pay for that keyboard? Has a trackball on it doesn't it?

Exposure · 06-06-2004, 09:46 PM

Brady-

Yes the keyboard does have a trackball on it. It works flawlessly and is quite compact. And the price? A paltry $29.95 on E-Bay. Plus shipping of course. The user I got it from is named reforger. They are approaching something like 20,000 positive feedback ratings so they are definitely reliable and I had the keyboard in less than 3 days after payment.

A word to the wise though. Be careful where you store the keyboard. I inadvertantly left a jacket on top of mine which apparantly depressed one of the keys and drained my first set of batteries in less than a week.

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