And so it continues... 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser Touring Edition - Page 3

Mikey-Z · 07-31-2008, 08:06 PM

Heh. Not saying it would look rice at all... I just meant it's hard to make a suggestion based on pictures.

I've seen some installs that color matched their car paint and it looked odd in pictures. Like it kind of 'popped out' from the rest of the interior...

Then you see it in person and it's a whole 'nother beast.

And your bezel is WAY more stock-looking than mine

. The bezel i'm referring to is the one that holds my iMon controller, not the one that holds the screen.

We pre-2006 350z owners have it lucky. Our stock navi compartment is an exact fit for the 7" screens.

monkeyracer · 07-31-2008, 08:15 PM

My GF doesn't think I should do it, but she also thinks it's stupid to have to stock body color bezels (instrument cluster and passenger airbag) so I'm not sure what to think about it.

I might just paint it body color when the TS controller comes, since the screen will be out for a little bit anyways, but the mopar color and clear will be like $25 for two 5 oz cans. My GF will just have to deal with it, after all it is MY car; she can do what she wants to her car.

I'm really kind of sad that the touchscreen is giving me issues, random calibration issues, I think it's a combination of a bad controller, or as dynamix says:

Quote: Originally Posted by Brian from Dynamix Computers

I have heard that loosing [sic] calibration can be due to a “Knockoff” controller being used. I have a few controllers here and can send you one free, if you send me a picture of the controller connectors. This way you can help us diagnose if some of the monitors have been distributed with a cheaper controller board.

and a touch panel that's adhesive has released from excessive heat. At least the panel can be fixed with a little attentiveness, but if the controller is bad, it's a replacement situation. At least they offered a free one to help diagnose the issue.

I've been using it, but I've been driving with the laptop on the passenger seat so I can still access the touchpad. I want to get it in it's proper spot soon.

rdholtz · 07-31-2008, 11:27 PM

My 10.4" touchscreen appears to have died before I ever got it completely installed, and the warranty is long gone. So I'm wondering whether I want to spend the bucks to get another touchscreen, or maybe a non-touchscreen that's sunlight viewable. I guess the ideal solution is a sunlight-viewable touchscreen, but that's a huge price.

If your touch panel is toast and it would be a while before you could replace it, here are a couple of things I've been exploring. They might let you get the laptop installed and still have a touchpad:

Ergonomic Touchpad
Cirque Touchpad

Other ways to mouse around would be the SpaceNavigator, the Griffin Powermate, or the Shuttle Xpress.

I've been experimenting with a finger mouse, and it's pretty slick. It works well for what it does, but I think it would be best built into the shifter knob, because I have to take it off to type, so it's not very convenient.

I like the idea of a touchscreen best, but it seems there are viable alternatives.

pack3twhore · 08-06-2008, 08:54 AM

Brilliant Work on your bezel. I wish I had the patience to make mine look so perfect. I have a sanding and finishing question for you. After sanding my bezel and adding some layers of paint I realized there are a few spots that need some more work. What grit or kind of sandpaper do you recommend to sand things down? I was going to keep using my 220 grit but I was thinking of going even finer to 400. Is your screen controller giving you problems from overheating or from taking it apart too many times? I couldn't believe how flimsy the screen components are when handling it.

monkeyracer · 08-06-2008, 11:27 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by rdholtz

My 10.4" touchscreen appears to have died before I ever got it completely installed, and the warranty is long gone. So I'm wondering whether I want to spend the bucks to get another touchscreen, or maybe a non-touchscreen that's sunlight viewable. I guess the ideal solution is a sunlight-viewable touchscreen, but that's a huge price.

If your touch panel is toast and it would be a while before you could replace it, here are a couple of things I've been exploring. They might let you get the laptop installed and still have a touchpad:

Ergonomic Touchpad
Cirque Touchpad

Other ways to mouse around would be the SpaceNavigator, the Griffin Powermate, or the Shuttle Xpress.

I've been experimenting with a finger mouse, and it's pretty slick. It works well for what it does, but I think it would be best built into the shifter knob, because I have to take it off to type, so it's not very convenient.

I like the idea of a touchscreen best, but it seems there are viable alternatives.

wow, i didn't get the e-mail notification that there was a reply, and somehow I missed it in my subs, wierd. Anyways, the controller seems to be the culprit, and dynamix is sending me one to try out, and it should be here today, so I will try and get it in and see if it does anything.

Quote: Originally Posted by pack3twhore

Brilliant Work on your bezel. I wish I had the patience to make mine look so perfect. I have a sanding and finishing question for you. After sanding my bezel and adding some layers of paint I realized there are a few spots that need some more work. What grit or kind of sandpaper do you recommend to sand things down? I was going to keep using my 220 grit but I was thinking of going even finer to 400. Is your screen controller giving you problems from overheating or from taking it apart too many times? I couldn't believe how flimsy the screen components are when handling it.

For the first few layers, a low grit paper will be fine, but once you start getting to the finishing phase, you'll need higher and higher grit paper. I used 80 to get the general shape, then upped to 120 for a little finer shaping, then to 220 and 400 then to 600. I could have wetsanded to get a glass-smooth finish, but I am using satin paint, and it turned out fine. After the bezel has settled, there are a couple spots that I need to finish, but since I am swapping the controller, I figure I'd just fix those at the same time.
Since I'll have it out, I might just paint it body color now, and just get it over with.

As far as the controller goes, according to Dynamix, it's possible the controller I was sent was a "knockoff" made with cheap components. If it's a bad controller, it will create heat from it's ineffecient components, and that heat might be what caused the delamination. If this new controller works, I am going to mount it to the back of the casing so that it can breathe a lot better. That will completely prevent any further heat related issues.

I'm still waiting to purchase my PSU (I'm going to use the Carnetix P2140.) and a little more wiring, but the finish line is in view.

monkeyracer · 08-06-2008, 09:21 PM

Fedex didn't have the right address, so they will try to deliver it tomorrow, too bad I work, and nobody will be here. Hopefully they leave the controller at the apt office. Either way, I won't have some good time to work on it until next thursday. So, we'll see...

monkeyracer · 08-12-2008, 02:40 PM

Picked up the controller from the fedex facility 30 miles from here since they just could not figure out what an apartment number is.

I won't have time to install it until thursday, and it will require some soldering, so we'll see if this solves the issue.

hailrazer · 08-12-2008, 10:21 PM

Looking good. One question though.

Did you just use ABS Cement from a hardware store?

monkeyracer · 08-12-2008, 11:17 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by hailrazer

Looking good.

Thanks.

Quote: Originally Posted by hailrazer

One question though.

Ok, shoot...

Quote: Originally Posted by hailrazer

Did you just use ABS Cement from a hardware store?

Yup, Oatey brand ABS cement, in a blue can, I got mine from Home Depot, but I think ACE and Lowes carry it too. Here's the info on it from their website:

ABS Medium Black Cement

Pic:

I figured it was easier than trying to shred up some ABS chunks and try and melt it in MEK or Acetone, it's an off the shelf product, and works great.

monkeyracer · 08-13-2008, 10:11 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by hailrazer

Looking good.

I was looking at your install when you first posted it, and it looks nice. I showed it to my brother to try an coax him into putting a screen in his Av' but he just got the truck, and his wife doesn't want him to mess with anything until the factory warranty is up (even though it can all go back to stock if need be...)

I like what you did with the M4, I was thinking of getting the M4 at the time and I was going to copy you with that. But now I'm getting the Carnetix P2140, and it comes cased.

hailrazer · 08-13-2008, 10:37 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by monkeyracer

I was looking at your install when you first posted it, and it looks nice. I showed it to my brother to try an coax him into putting a screen in his Av' but he just got the truck, and his wife doesn't want him to mess with anything until the factory warranty is up (even though it can all go back to stock if need be...)

I like what you did with the M4, I was thinking of getting the M4 at the time and I was going to copy you with that. But now I'm getting the Carnetix P2140, and it comes cased.

Thanks

The M4 does fine now that I got the latest version. But once in a while I have a problem and I'm wondering if it's just a bit underpowered for what I have (Amd X264 5000+, Geforce 8400, Blu-Ray/Hd-dvd, 3 screens, 7 Usb devices, 4 port Vga splitter, etc).

I was actually thinking about going with the Opus 320w and see if the problems stop. Just random problems that might even be OS related, who knows

Good luck with the rest of your build.

monkeyracer · 08-13-2008, 11:11 PM

Thanks, I'm going to get some good time to do stuff tomorrow, I've got 3 days off in a row, and I'm going to try and use as much as I can to get this all buttoned up.

monkeyracer · 08-16-2008, 08:09 PM

Getting closer, but rain has stalled some progress.

I planned on getting the bezel finished, but I have no good place to lay some paint down, so it will have to wait a little longer. I got the controller in, and it seems to have fixed the issue, there is still the occasional calibration needed, and the screen started doing something wierd after the controller swap. I think the parts were not originally made for each other, so... I'm going to email dynamix and find out what's up.

After a little frustrating work, I remote mounted the power switch. The contact on the tact switch is so tiny, it was hard to get enough solder on it to hold to the wire. I finally got it and a dab of hot glue gives a lot better structure. The wires go to a headset jack, through an extension and to another jack connected to the momentary switch.

I originally had it connected to the modem port, but decided against it due to how hard it was to take it all apart with it like that.

Next step is getting a way to keep the monitor cable connected to the laptop. Stupid HP decided it wasn't that important to put the little bolts to screw the cable into laptop. I guess I'll have to add them my self. And then the next thing is the carnetix PSU and getting it all final mounted.

monkeyracer · 08-24-2008, 12:39 PM

Upgrading speakers today.

I won some gift cards from work, so I'm going to put them to use in getting the speakers for my car. I'm going right now to pick up these:

Pioneer TS-A1702C Component Speakers for the front, and:

Pioneer TS-A1672R 3 way Speakers for the rears.

I love pioneer stuff, never dissappointed me in the past, and the price was right (pretty darn close to free with the gift cards.) I also like alpines, but they are a little more money.

I'm going to put the tweets in the small panel on the a-piller door (where the mirror attaches) and the woofs in the doors.

Pics to come...

monkeyracer · 08-31-2008, 10:35 PM

I decided to take apart the screen to try and fix some of the blemishes on the bezel, and figure out which pins connect to what on the main board on the monitor. While doing so, I was going to try the "LCD Fix" here, but I ended up cracking the glass on the touch panel.

%$&^*%$^%!

Well, I think I was going to need a new one anyways, but I didn't think this would prompt it. The glass seemed pretty brittle though, I didn't put that much pressure on it I thought. I guess that gives me a little time to wait and hear back from Dynamix about the pinouts on the two connectors.

Here's the issue that I have right now with the connectors:

Both connectors have 2 too many pins, and I don't know which pins are used or not.

Also, the bezel is being painted in "Satin Nickel" which is the closest to the satin silver that I could find.

User Name		Remember Me?
Password