01 Metro LSI 4 door

c4shm0ney · 05-31-2005, 02:04 AM

I'm posting pics of my progress today. I have the computer and custom enclosure mostly completed.

I will be doing the electrical including lighting and mounting the 10.4 inch tft touchscreen in the near future. More pictures to follow.

The enclosure is made of plywood and smoked acrylic. The large fan was taken from an older compaq server.

Completed box with acrylic top and front panel

This is a closeup through the smoked acrylic.

The acrylic paper is off with a dark wood stain

Total build time on the enclosure was about 3.5hrs

John_Duh · 05-31-2005, 03:35 AM

any pics of the car it's going to be installed in ?

c4shm0ney · 05-31-2005, 05:44 AM

I'll post some later in the project. I'm sure everyone will laugh b/c it is a cheap car but I'm mostly happy with it for now.

John_Duh · 05-31-2005, 07:44 AM

being impatiant as i am i did some

and came up with this :

Is that the one ?

c4shm0ney · 05-31-2005, 09:49 PM

Yeah that is the Metro, mine is silver however and I have way more bird**** on the hood.

"Metro, It'll get you there"

PatrickB · 06-01-2005, 03:17 PM

not that i care but i just find your car and user name so ironic :

Cris · 06-01-2005, 03:40 PM

I like that case.

c4shm0ney · 06-01-2005, 10:14 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by PatrickB

not that i care but i just find your car and user name so ironic :

it's all cool, I'm just a southside balla on a budget.

c4shm0ney · 06-03-2005, 12:03 AM

After 12 hours of wiring,cutting,painting,fusing,bleeding,cursing,dr illing,cursing,sweating,sanding,testing and installing the system is operational.

Remaining to be done.

ground pc chasis
install ATI TV card
jump audio from FM card and TV card to line-in on soundcard.
mount TFT bracket and install
create enclosure for GPS reciver,Linksys USB Wifi adapter and radar detector in rear view.
Troubleshoot custom keyboard extension cable.
wrap cables in conduit

Pictured below is my keyboard which I'm still working on it was designed for one of the early police car / computer intergration. It is illuminated with red leds. I had it sandblasted and powder coated a flat black. The cable is extended with 12 foot of CAT5e cable.

Pictured below is the switch panel. Made from folded aluminun cut to shape.

Installed, excuse my nappy floor board.

Installed.

c4shm0ney · 06-05-2005, 05:03 AM

I discovered the system is unstable during hot days like today. I'm currently working on a design to vent the trunk cavity which warmed up like an oven today. The system will involve a port hole from the trunk to the interior cabin with a high capacity DC fan and some tubing. I believe cooling the trunk interior will make the system more stable during the warmer months. I will be doing some testing with a wireless tempature probe tomorrow to gauge the temps in the trunk. I am interested in hearing how others have addressed this problem.

c4shm0ney · 06-05-2005, 07:46 PM

I am reconsidering the system cooling idea as it has been stable today which is equally as warm as yesterday. The wireless tempeture probe shows the temp inside the case at a peak of 104.5 today with the system operating stable.

I completed a mount for the Datalux TFT today. The mounting bracket is made of steel with an aliminum tube connecting each wing of the bracket tied together with a piece of allthread and wingunts. The gooseneck is made of a 3/4" copper pipe a 1/2inch pipe mounting bracket and a 3/4inch 'pipe sealer' for lack of a better word to describe it. The goose neck is mounted into the left tap that holds the passenger seat with a locking nut/washer and about 2" of thread into the tap. I will be painting the mounting bracket and covering the copper with pipe insulation for astehtics and to manage the cables.

The mount as you might expect causes a bit of vibration on the display however I suspect there is little that I can do as the vibration is coming from the car/road and not because a design flaw.

The mount is very functional I can tilt the screen up-down left-right, push to be flush with console for passengers or push down to the floor.

c4shm0ney · 06-05-2005, 10:07 PM

c4shm0ney · 06-06-2005, 01:45 PM

I am dissapointed with my Datalux during the daytime. The glare is unbearable I would almost rate this unuseable in day light. I'm currently working to find a solution to the glare problem.

Cris · 06-06-2005, 04:30 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by c4shm0ney

I am dissapointed with my Datalux during the daytime. The glare is unbearable I would almost rate this unuseable in day light. I'm currently working to find a solution to the glare problem.

And so another one joins the LCD backlight upgrade mission...

c4shm0ney · 06-06-2005, 05:03 PM

I am thinking about testing out a fine nylon mesh screen over the display from what I understand it should cancel out most of the glare.

I suspect that the mesh would make using the touch screen almost impossible however if it worked it would be a removeable overlay that would come off at night.

If all else fails I am seriously considering putting a higher power inverter and tubes up in this mofo.

ref: http://www.displaymate.com/glare.html

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