Mrbmw99

TEASER PIX!!

Feel free to offer friendly criticism. This is only the bezel itself, no buttons or LCD panel, USB Jack or rotary knob.

Notice how there is not very much room for buttons on the left. I might be able to do 6 buttons, but that would make each one even smaller than it is now. The LCD frame is large, so the buttons can't be much wider than they are now (maybe 1/16" wider at most).

bezel5.jpg is the same piece, but in white so it's easier to view the details.
EARLY stages of the LCD bezel:

Attached Images

    

MP3Car.com

 

thepurser

Looks and sounds great so far.
Bit confused by your last post though.
Is the bezel adjustable so it can be angled away from the dash or fixed?
I agree that a motorised screen is just asking for malfunction but I certainly would need the flexibility of adjusting the screen angle!!!!
Just a suggestion but if the module was built with the hinges (or whatever) to allow a motorised screen it could be sold as fixed with a screw or clip fitted, Adjustable manually or Motorised for those who want it?

As though you didn't have enough to cope with?

Keep it up!!

thepurser

Aaaron16

Looking good!

Is it possible to make the lowest hole a button and relocate the USB port to the rear (assuming the hole is for a USB port)?

Also, I know it's tight, but how difficult would it be to sqeeze a few slim buttons under the LCD. Something backlit like this would be nice:

Mrbmw99

I'm trying to stay away from any unnecessary moving parts for reliability reasons. If sunlight readability is a concern for you, we will be offering a transflective upgrade option.


Aaron,

I was thinking of using that spot for a sixth button instead of USB. There will already be 4-6 USB ports on the rear of the unit, so it's not required. It'd just be a nice and readily accessible method for connecting a USB pen drive, etc.

Unfortunately, there is ZERO room under the LCD for any internal buttons. The LCD panel itself is already sitting on the bottom of the bezel. If I move the LCD panel any higher there won't be enough room for the CD slot (required).

- Brett

Aaaron16

Although it would be nice to have a front mounted USB port, in my application an extra button would be more important. Even at 6 buttons, the design is a bit minimalistic.

Edit:
How about having a row of buttons in place of the slot loading DVD drive (as an option maybe)?

jbors

Just curious, how much do you think the whole enclosure will cost to the customers ? Or it will be the whole system like Infill ?
I did single din enclosure some time back and found it pretty hard to do professionally without going thousands.
I wish you could make it though

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hammer32

It looks great!

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Jasin

i would rather have the usb front option then a 6th button, while it is nice there are some in the back which will be used, it would be great to quickly be able to plug in a thumbdrive and do what you want with out having the hassle of taking anything apart.

Mrbmw99

Aaron,

Actually, that could work well.


jbors,

EARLY pricing estimates - Please please please please please (did I stress that enough? ) keep in mind that there are early ballpark figures and that a lot can happen in a few months to change those numbers.

What did your single din project involve? Going through prototyping and production is definitely an expensive proposition, but when producing larger quantities it's not as bad.


hammer32,

Thanks!


Jasin (and everyone else for that matter),


I was thinking about this problem. I realized that the best thing to do is probably move the CD/DVD slot over a 1/2" or so to the left, and put a USB port next to it on it's right. So, a USB port will be on the far upper right corner next to the CD/DVD slot. Then there would be room for a sixth button on the left side...

- Brett

speedy_parker

Brett,

This is sounding great and I've already reserved enough of my tax refund for it, so I'm in line for sure! I cannot wait.

Been telling friends about it and they are convinced I'm crazy - "It'll never happen.." "They can't do that..." poor souls... they'll see.

(I vote for keeping the front usb too!)

I think you are going to make a lot of money with this. Make sure you're doing the proper CYA as well - and the proper marketing. We'll buy a bunch of them, but this could go a lot further - a LOT FURTHER. Best of luck to you.

Jasin

That would be great

MurrayW

Count me in as one who is very interested in an easy to install product...and the proposed time-frame of having this in production fits my schedule very well.

Not having had a car PC yet, is theft a big problem to worry about? As I have been wandering through the forums, I came across this thread discussing an LCD camouflage anti-theft mod http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...ght=anti-theft

Is this something that would be worth designing-in?

Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your progress.

thanks,
Murray

ik632

I like the idea of keeping the usb on the front. Maybe offering a little rubber molded cap to cover it like the plug covers on a digital camera would be good. That way it's accessible, but covered when not in use.

I saw the round spot at the top and I'm wondering if that's for a knob? Are you looking at a basic rotary encoder or a multi function unit? I've seen the multi function units at Mouser and my favorite is the dual shaft unit:
http://www3.alps.co.jp/WebObjects/ca...KJXM/RKJXM.PDF

There's also the single shaft unit:
http://www3.alps.co.jp/WebObjects/ca...KJXT/RKJXT.PDF

The reason why the dual shaft unit is more favorable (to me anyway) is that you have the rotary encoder connected to the outside section (volume, control, etc). Then there's a hole in the center allowing access to the directional control stick (or nub of some sort). I'll draw something up quick when I get a chance today and I'll post it to show what I'm talking about. That dual shaft unit is 8 way with center click and has detents for the rotary encoder. If something like that could be included in the controller with the other buttons that would be great. That would take the button count up to 14 and I'm sure that whatever controller you are using can handle that.

Afterwards, you'd just need some good programmer to write the code to allow the button presses on the unit to map to macros, key strokes, or windows events (volume, play, pause, etc).

Great work so far. If you guys need any other help with the 3D design I'm using SolidWorks and have access to a seat whenever I need it.

03LeMans

Heh, I know I just joined, but I've been trolling these boards for months, but from the sounds of it, count me in for one! I too like the idea of having a front USB port.

So far from the mentioned specs, everything that I'm looking for seems to be included! Good work! I can't wait!!!

Mrbmw99

speedy_parker,

Thanks for the support! I'm glad to hear this will work well for you. Yes, I've seen some people say the same about this "It'll cost too much" or "If it could be done, it would have been done already". In a way it has been with the DL065A, but we're taking it further.

I hope this goes further and is a really successful product. It may CarPC based systems much more assessable to the masses (less work involved in designing and installing a complete system). Who knows. All I know is that it will help out a lot of people here.


Murray,

I haven't had a problem with theft before, not to say that I won't though. It would be difficult to design an anti-theft system into the unit because there are so many styles of dashboards we would have to accommodate. It would be easier for someone to do the mod you listed to their specific vehicle. If the monitor is mounted a 1/2" deeper in the dash, there would be enough room for that mod.


ik632,

I am looking for a black rubber USB cover to include. It'll need to fit into the USB jack and not hang too far over the edges. The round spot is for a rotary encoder knob. I was looking into the Haptic force-feedback encoder, but it's too large to fit. So, I am planning on a simple rotary encoder. I'll have to find a nice black knob either way. I do like the idea of the multi-function unit you sent me. Do you have any pictures of one installed in a device? I'd like to see it in use. I suppose if this were used in our design, we'd have to find a knob that will work for both the outer encoder and inner joystick. Ideas?

Thanks a lot for the offer on the design part of it! I think we're good for the time being, but I'll keep that in mind.


03LeMans,

Welcome to the forums!

- Brett

MP3Car.com