2009 Jeep Wrangler (JK) -- Camera System

cpk · 06-18-2009, 01:25 PM

This is my first post, so help me out if you want.

My goal of this project is to have a camera system in my new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

What I have available is a 12" PowerBook G4, a web cam, and a great knowledge of Apple hardware, Mac OS X, AppleScript, and shell scripting.

I started by checking how the camera would fit just behind the rearview mirror (I'll add a picture later). It looked good, so I connected my Mac and left it on the passenger seat and went for a drive. The video is cool (I'll try to upload it somewhere ... suggestions?).

From there, I toyed with these questions:
Where do I mount the laptop?
How do I power it on?
When and how do I power it off?
(Wouldn't it be nice to record after you've left the Jeep, too?)
Do I have to modify the hardware? If so, I'll need to buy one that's not in as good of shape as my PowerBook.

So far, I've decided that I could have the computer sleep when not in use -- provided it sleeps with enough power to last for a day. I'd like it to then wake from sleep when the car turns on. I've been able to do that with settings from Mac OS X and using some AppleScript and shell scripting knowledge.

Now, I need to test the recording software to determine if there are any problems with 'continuous' recording when the computer goes to sleep and then wakes. If there are, I'll have to rethink my logic or work around that problem.

That's it for now. I've attached a pic of my ride (just so you'll have one to view).

Carl

cpk · 06-19-2009, 03:18 AM

Here's a clip of the test video I took. The actual video is clearer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySR4ln8Ixuk

Carl

JohnWPB · 07-02-2009, 10:53 PM

When you go to view the video, I can not. It states that the video is private.

cpk · 07-07-2009, 04:36 PM

Thanks, JohnWPB, for pointing that out. It is my first video on youtube (and it was much harder than I expected). I went back and made it public, so you should be able to see it now.

JohnWPB · 07-07-2009, 09:26 PM

Yes, working perfectly! and sorry... welcome to the forums! I have to say, that has to be the smoothest riding jeep on planet earth, -or- a great job using a video stabilizer plugin

I really do not know anything about Mac's specifically, But some of it is universal:

You should be able to set the standby options to shut off automatically though. Just set the laptop to go into standby mode when the battery drops to say 95%. This way when you get out of the Jeep, power to the laptop is cut, and it will remain on the battery until the battery drops to that level, and then go into standby.

I'm not sure about Mac's but on a PC you can also set the computer to go into hibernate at say 20%. This way, you shut the car off, power to the laptop is cut from the power supply. It then waits till the power in the laptop battery drops to 95% and then goes into standby. When the battery gets to 20% it will hibernate to prevent the battery from going completely dead, and losing any information.

As for resuming, it's a bit trickier. Most people solder wires to the laptop's power button. These can be hooked to a relay and a small circuit, so when you start the car, it will activate the relay for a 1/4 of a second or so, thus "pressing" the power button for you.

In the rare case, you may have a feature in your bios to resume with power. Meaning the laptop will wake up when power is sensed from the laptop power supply.

Have a search here in the forums for keywords like "laptop power" and the likes, there are tons of threads and good info on all of this stuff.

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