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http://www.itsonsirius.com/carpc/12.jpg
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T-View 7 Inch VGA Touch Screen
2 USB Hubs
Slot Load DVD+R/DVD-R Laptop Drive in USB enclosure (mounted under the dash)
Alpine SIRIUS Connect Radio w/
Timetrax USB Adapter
XMPCR
HAiCOM USB GPS Reciever (Model HI-204S)
Hawking 6DBi Wifi Antennas! (2, one for the PCI Wifi Card, one for the access point)
D Link 108mbps Wireless router (acting as an access point.) connected via cat 5 to the computer.
Power is being supplied by an Optima Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery which is connected to the car's main power by an 80Amp relay which engages when the car is on and disconnects when the car is off. This allows my carpc to run off the second battery while the car is turned off!
As an added Bonus, I had the guys at
Color Match Antenna paint both the XM & SIRIUS Antennas and my GPS Adapter to match my car! Especially with the GPS being blue.
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http://www.itsonsirius.com/carpc/5.jpg
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Great Job Guys!
Installation
The Installation was a pain, the hardest part though was to mount the LCD without damanging the dash by drilling holes or altering anything. I did it by mounting a home made bracket to the inside top of the Radio housing. You'll also notice the USB hub for the front of the car for the touchscreen, USB DVD+R/-R drive and I was thinking of putting a USB port on the dash.
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http://www.itsonsirius.com/carpc/7.jpg
I think the LCD mount is VERY clean and I ran the wires out the vent!
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http://www.itsonsirius.com/carpc/10.jpg
I also put an RF wireless keyboard with built in track ball in the car. I glued clips to the back to allow me to clip it to the visor or on the pocket on the back of the passenger's side seat. (I used JB Weld, but you have to drill a hole in the back of the keyboard case and get the JB weld to go into the hold because it won't just stick to the back of the keyboard.)
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http://www.itsonsirius.com/carpc/11.jpg
I'm also going to be adding an RF remote to control the computer. It's a simple setup, one button will be for power, another for reset and two others left open for later add ons. This will also allow me to start up the computer from inside the house.
The Software
The software running the car PC is my own creation. I'm using
Map Monkey and the Destinator maps for GPS! It's great! I get turn by turn directions and love the ease of use! Plus it embeds nicely into my own .net application.
The SIRIUS Radios are being controlled by my own software (I have written a .NET DLL to control the SIRIUS Gen 2.5 radios). The XM stuff isn't written yet but should be simple because the specs were published.
Yes, the SIRIUS Radio is running on an Apline SIRIUS Connect Radio with a USB adapter my friends over at
Time Trax let me play with! It sure beats
my first interface!
I plan on adding MP3 support and playlist support using Windows Media Player as well.
You'll also notice my preset buttons have stream logos on them. Each button can be set up to be an XM or SIRIUS channel or be a MP3 playlist!
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http://www.itsonsirius.com/carpc/1.jpg
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Here is a close up of the software
Conclusion
I am very excited to have a simple single interface for music and satellite radio! There is alot more work to be done on the software but over all, I'm really happy with everything so far!
I would like to also give a special thanks to my wife Jamie for being patient with me and all my little project! (and thanks to the makers of The Sims for occupying her while I work
)
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