EDIT WITH MAGAZINE SCANS 08/04/05
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Magazine scans can be found
here.
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EDIT WITH UPDATED DETAILS 02/17/05
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So I finally got both knobs working. The one on the right, which acts as a mouse, is still using the phidgets encoder. The one on the left, is now hooked up to the scroll wheel of a mouse.
Originally, the scroll wheel was set to emulate a volume adjustment via Girder, which is what the original function was on the original headunit. I realized that was inefficient since volume didn't require such an advanced input.
Instead, I decided to use it as a scroll wheel, and now I'm MUCH happier w/ the setup. The knob now allows me to scroll through the centrafuse playlist, much like the jog dial of an iPod. Pushing down on the knob selects the song to play, also like an iPod (i'm a big fan of the iPod interface). If a song is already playing, pushing down on the knob again pauses the current song.
Oh yeah, volume still functions by holding down the knob and turning
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First of all, I gotta thank all the people here for all their help; I couldn't possibly have finished this project w/o this board. Everyone's been a great help.
Anyways, after losing hundreds of hours, tons of cash, a girlfriend (well, almost at least), and some skin, I've finally finished my project.
My goal was to have a completely stealth installation while maintaining an OEM look. Thankfully, my car was able to accomodate this goal perfectly and hardware has finally become available which allowed me to carry out my project. In Japan, the mr-s comes with an optional GPS unit, so they sell a navigation pod for mounting the screen. After getting the mounting pod, it made mounting the LCD really easy.
I gutted out a stock headunit and managed to cram all my components in there, including the CD drive. All the parts, sans OPUS PSU are encased in the stock radio.
I think the centerpiece of the entire setup is the integrated control and CD-ROM. After making careful measurements, I was able to mount the slot-loading CD-ROM to match the stock slot and wire up the eject button to the stock panel. Effectively, the optical disc capabilities of the computer look clean.
The input buttons were an extraordinary pain in the *** themselves. Using the serial device plans found
here, I was able to wire up the switches to control various actions. Unfortunately, the stock switches aren't mechanical and require the factory microprocessor to read the inputs. Instead, I ended up cutting the traces to have them act as mechanical switches. For the knob, I bought an encoder interface from
www.phidgetsusa.com and hacked that up to the stock encoder. The knob on the right controls mouse movements like an etch-a-sketch; regular rotation moves horizontally and pushing down and turning the knob moves the cursor vertically. I wasn't enable to get two encoders to work simultaneously though and the volume knob on the left doesn't work.
To finish, I gotta figure out how to get the volume knob to work, and I'll be completely done. Right now, volume control is mapped to some other buttons.
As weird as this may sound, I've been dreaming about having a carpc ever since I was 16. Eight years afterwards, the culmination of my efforts have finally materialized, and I have to say I'm extraordinarily satisfied with the results. There are a few tweaks that need to be done, but everything is more or less complete and working well.
Car:
2001 Toyota MR-S
Machine specs:
VIA M10000
512MB memory
Samsung 40GB Laptop HD (MP0402H)
Samsung 60GB Laptop HD (MP0603H) encased in firewire enclosure.
macally USB 2.0/ FireWire Aluminum Enclosure, (PHR-250CC)
Panasonic Slot-loading CD-RW (CW-8123-B)
Lilliput 7" LCD
Opus 150W PSU
BU-303 GPS
Software:
Centrafuse 1.2 w/ embedded iGuidance.
Pics:
- Factory input PCB.
- Button input prototype.
- Test fitting the mobo in the case.
- Factory radio casing.
- HDD mounting.
- Testing.
- Testing the etch-a-sketch function on the knob.
- Rear panel.
- Final install. Looks boring cuz I used OEM parts, but I like it
Hope this helps other people with ideas.
Stealth OEM install in MR2 Spyder - Magazine coverage!
Linear Mode
