zillacles

Hey all (and a shout-out to fellow CD5 member bemenaker and also the fellow Aussies here). I'm a longtime lurker, but I've finally come to the stage of actually doing something instead of just dreaming.

So far what I've bought:

- Lilliput 7" 629GL LCD with LED backlight: link
- Globalsat BU-353 USB GPS: link
- TEAC slot load DVD-drive: link
- DSATX 220W PSU: link

I've decided to go for a full ATX mobo as it ends up cheaper, and will be more powerful (power usage isn't really a factor here because I've bought the DSATX anyway).
*edit* just realised the mobo I'm getting is micro-ATX (24.4cm square). yay for me

- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2HP: link
- CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Dual Core

For the HDD I'll probably re-use a 320GB IDE from my home PC, just because it might be on it's last legs and don't mind if it dies while in the carPC.

Soundcard:
Since I have full ATX to play with I might as well get a PCI sound card depending on if they are that much better than a USB one. Still have to do some more research on this, but I'll leave it until everything is installed and running first.

This is basically what my console looks like. It came like that when I bought it, and since the steering wheel is white I've been put off painting it back to black. Although if I see a S2000 wheel with airbags for not too much I'll definitely do it:



Worklog
1. New battery, terminals and cables
2. Centre console mount

MP3Car.com

 

MeeM

Hey bro,

Great to see another Aussie here So far it all sounds good. Where do you plan to mount everything?

zillacles

I'm actually half way through the console fabrication/mounting but haven't gotten around to writing it up here. I'm uploading pictures as we speak :P
Did you end up getting the screen off eBay?

MeeM

Oh tru. Can't wait to see the pics

Yep, got the LCD, PSU, and slot-loading DVD-ROM from eBay. All work great.

zillacles

Awesome. What PSU did you get on eBay? I only saw the M2-ATX on there. I didn't go for that because I saw a lot of bad comments about them, plus the fact that I'm going for an ATX system.

I was hoping someone would get the Jaycar LCD so we can see if it's any good. $200 is a good price, so could possibly buy one and mount it somewhere else just because I can :P

MeeM

I bought the M2-ATX. It's working perfectly so far for me and 160W is more than enough power for my system.

lol ye that Jaycar LCD is quite affordable but it's got a CCFL backlight, not LED. I would've been more than happy to try it if it had an LED backlight.

__________________
2007 Camry Altise In-dash Car PC

zillacles

There's even one for $179 now. Yeah it's not LED but it's only for the rear/auxiliary. Alas I should just focus on getting this one done first haha

zillacles

First things first:

My battery's been giving me the ****s lately and upon looking at it and the accompanying cables you'll see why from the following pictures. After all, can't have a carputer if you gots no battery :P. The old one has 330 CCA and something like 55Ah. This is the new one:

450 CCA, 95 Ah.

I was planning to relocate it to the boot but in the end but in the end it was going to be too expensive as I'd have to buy something like a Yellow-Top that doesn't vent as much.

And the dodgy cables:

My starter ground, OMG! when I first saw that


The metal underneath it:


The positive cables (to fuse-box and to starter):

Corrosion riddled and such I just decided to ditch the lot and run new cables. I hate having messy/crappy wiring so I had to do it anyway, sooner or later.

The battery grounds:


Alternator ground:

It's not too bad just the exposed part I don't like. I'll either heatshrink it or replace it , it's okay for now.

Anyway I started by taking off all the old cables and sanding down the ground connections to the chassis, ie:

Much better now.

New cables




And it's done!

Yay. And yeah I really need to clean my engine bay. But hey, at least I can drive the car now.

MP3Car.com

 

corvettecrazy

That starter ground looks horrid. It also looks like it must have fallen out of its ring terminal and instead of fixing it properly they just twisted the wires and bolted it back on. YIKES!!

zillacles

Console fabrication

I decided to mount the screen in the double DIN slot in my centre console. Since the 629GL's bezel isn't even on both sides I had to do some measuring to get the screen centred in the console.



Also had to sand down and make the DIN hole taller. Now epoxy'ing bezel to console:



Now by this stage I was intending to have the DVD drive in the centre armrest. But I figured, screw it, I might as well mount it in the dash as well. So I removed the screen's button bar since I figured I have the remote anyway. I'll relocate the PCB behind the screen itself. Tool of my choice: soldering iron, haha. Don't have a dremel and it was late at night, so it was the best option. And hey, it worked well... apart from all the plastic fumes :P





Epoxying the DVD drive in... I know it's basically in there permanently but I don't really mind if it dies later down the track as I don't see myself using it much. No need for CDs anymore if any song I'll ever want to play is already on the HDD:



First filler:


More filler and sanding with 40 grit:

MeeM

Damn! Those connections were so dodgy, even dodgy would call them dodgy. I'm glad you managed to sort it all out yourself.

Interior looks neat too.

__________________
2007 Camry Altise In-dash Car PC

zillacles

Tools and stuff
Thought I'd list out the main stuff that have come in handy so far:

Sandpaper + Swiss army knife (never found it so useful :P)


Steel wool:


Rubbing alcohol. Very handy for cleaning surfaces before epoxy/filler/etc. Even on some electrical contacts:


Epoxy.. good stuff, forgot to check the temperature range before I used it but I checked it out after and it will be fine in the car even on a very hot day:


Body filler


Ze soldering iron. Oh she's misused so badly


And of course the electrical tape:

zillacles

I know! I can't believe I've been driving around with it like that. I thought I had fixed all the dodgy wiring from the previous owner but they were obviously more retarded than I give them credit for. I mean the other ones were just corroded/etc but this was something else :O

bemenaker

Looking good.

zillacles

I sorta didn't really take many more pictures since but the install is just about done. The screen is in, new power & speaker cables have been run, and the case is mounted in the boot. Only problem I've been having so far is a lot of noise on the front speakers... I'll post some pics later

MP3Car.com