mrob

My plan is to install a car PC inside the dash of my 2007 Honda Fit. Here's what I have so far:

• VIA EPIA-CN10000EG 1GHz Mini-ITX Motherboard
• 1GB DDR2 533 PC2-4200 Memory
• D-Link DWL-AG530 Wireless PCI Adapter 802.11 AG 108Mbp
• GlobalSat BU-353 USB Sirf III GPS Receiver
• Scosche Dash Kit
• M2-ATX DC-DC ATX Power Controller
• AMP9 Amplifier kit 14.5V max, low profile (in the mail)

What I need:

• 2.5" SATA Hard Drive
• 7" Touchscreen
• Radio tuner
• Case (will probably custom build)

I'll be using LinuxICE for the OS and nGhost as the front end. I'm thinking of using Roadnav for GPS navigation. I borrowed a hard drive to get the system up and running for development. Wifi, GPS, and multimedia all seem to be working fine.

I opened up my dash to make sure there will be enough room to fit everything. It looks promising.

First I removed the glove compartment to mark and remove the air control cables:


Pulling the head unit out was not easy. There are seven clips holding the unit in the dash. Following everyone's advice I had to force it out by pulling from behind the AC controls. It felt like I was going to break it, but it eventually popped:


Here's a closer look:


With the dash kit in place:


It looks like there will be enough room. After a few measurements I figured the maximum dimensions to fit a slide in are about 7.5" wide by 4" high by 8.25" deep (from the back to the dash kit). Plus, there's a few inches up top where I should be able to fit the AMP9 and maybe the M2-ATX on a small shelf.

I hope to make my final purchases and finish the install by the end of the year.

MP3Car.com

 

dmistry

Good Luck!

I am working on a 07 Accord myself, but I am going to try and install the touchscreen in the CD storage bin under the stock radio, you can see my work log in my sig.

mrob

Thanks! It looks like you're well on your way. My amp showed up in the mail yesterday. Time to fire up the soldering iron!

Here's a mockup of a frontend skin my friend made for me:

dmistry

Oh that mock up looks real nice I would be interested in testing it with you

I've given up on the idea of keeping the door on the lower bezel I'll just mount it in there I do not want to take apart the liliput!

mrob

I picked up a Lilliput 7" touchscreen (EBY701). It's working well, but I can't get a hold of the BIOS update for my MB (EPIA CN10000EG) to support 800x480...anyone know where I can get it?

I also ordered the hard drive. I went with a 2.5" Toshiba 60GB SATA (5400 RPM). I should be receiving it tomorrow.

Here's a shot booting LinuxICE:



The nGhost frontend:



The music interface:



I started wrapping the toriods for the AMP9. The wire I received is 0.6mm, so each core requires 52 turns. One down, seven to go:

mrob

Over the Christmas break I went to work on the amplifier. The good news is that I wrapped the remaining toroids. The bad news is that the one I wrapped a few weeks ago walked away. I'm suspecting that my three-year-old found it too shiny to resist. I'm in the process of getting a new one.

I picked up some sheet metal today and hacked up the case. First I did a little snipping:


Then I got "creative" with pliers, a hammer, and even a brick:


It's not pretty, but it should work. For the dimensions, I went with 7.5 x 6.75 x 4. The depth is 6.75, which will just fit the MB and will allow the screen to fit in front with no modifications. The opening will be to the right as I slide it in the dash.

Jetta_4_TDI_R

Looking good up till now keep it up looking forward to seeing the finished product

johnstof

I really like the frontend skin. I'm watching this log intently as I am also interested in embarking on a carputer project this year.

Keep up the good work.

John

MP3Car.com

 

mrob

Hopefully we'll be seeing more of it soon

javapinoy

I hope you finish your project soon because my project is pretty much exactly the same. I have a 2008 Honda Fit (same as 2007) and I bought the same touchscreen. I want to see how your carputer turns out before I start taking my car apart.

Keep up the good work!

mrob

I'm so darn close. I've just been slammed with work and family stuff. I built the amplifier last month...thanks to Vince from 41hz.com who sent me a new toroid. All that is left is to add all of the connectors to the Honda wiring harness and slide it all in.

I thought that I'd do it all this weekend (3-day weekend for me), but due to some bad timing, I'll be busy with work all weekend.

javapinoy

How does the screen fit into the dask kit? Is it a perfect fit or are you going to need to do some hacking to get it in?

mrob

Holding the screen up to the dash kit, it looks like no hacking will be required. The buttons on the right side, just fit inside the window. If all works out well, I can take the screen as is and mount it to the case. Then the dash kit will just sit against the screen...if my measurements are correct (it'll be close).

Unfortunately, I'll be slammed with real work for the next few weeks. I'm dying to get this thing installed.

javapinoy

How much did you buy your dash kit for? I've been looking around and I found the scosche kit and wire harness on ebay for $65 including shipping and handling. Were you able to get it cheaper from some where else?

Thanks!

mrob

I got it for about the same price off of eBay too. I didn't see it cheaper anywhere else. You might want to ask around on the FitFreak forums.

MP3Car.com