2002 Skoda Octavia RS carpc in progress

Ackeman · 08-03-2006, 01:30 PM

I´d like to start off by saying hi to you all. I am new to the CarPC thing and this is my first post on the forum. Been hanging around here for some time now getting ideas and making my own.
So far i have bought almost all of the parts needed for my project, still waiting or a few parts though. I have finished the bezel, incorporating the screen (LinITX 7" TS), a 4USB hub, dvd drive and powerswitch. I have been working on the car it self by finishing the dashboard for the pc case.
I have also almost finished the pc. I made a simple housing/case for the mobo, psu and HDD. It is manufactured by cutting up an old pc housing and redone it to fit a 2 din slot in the car dash. I have been benchtesting the whole system and it works fine. Well all tested but the PSU so far.

There´s a bit to do before i am done but i´m almost ready to put the pc in the car to se if it all still works.

Things yet to do is a long list, among these are...:

Finish wiring for the pc and for the audio system.
Install a fan for the pc.
Refit the car AC panel and fabricate some new bezels to the dashboard.
Run antenas for the tv and FM card.
Finish the subwoofer box including the amplifiers, EPX and capacitator.
Finish wiring af the headrest- and sunvisormonitors.
Run final set up of the pc.
Tweeking sound.
Change the dvd drive to a slot in.

..and a lot more...

Some pics of the install so far. It´ll be updated as i progress.

First of the car.
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The dash where the pc is to be mounted. The cd player is going out. i just need music in the car ´til then..
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The bezel with the LinITX TS and dvd, front.
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...and the back..
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The pc. The foam under the mobo is going. And the whole thing is to be firmly tighten at the final assembly.
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Well thats all so far. Got kids to put to bed so i can go back to my car..

Ackeman · 08-10-2006, 01:25 PM

Weather here is great, so not much work has been done. I have recieved the parts i had ordered, a PCI TV card and a riser. Now all i have to do is figure out how to squeeze the TV card into the case. The first look at the whole thing makes me wonder if i may have to redo the entire case. It is quite tight in there.
But i have been making a little progress though.
I have started buildning the box for the sub and the amps.
And i have started the wiring for the pc and some periferals.
The headrestmonitors are done. The sunvisormonitor is giving me some difficulties that have to be solved..
But my problem is not starting things, it´s that i have too many things in the making at once. It doesn´t seem to be any progress..

Once the TV card is in place i´ll put the PC in the car and the screen as weel, fire things up and we´ll go on from there. It should´nt be any problems.

The case loosely put together with the TV card thrown in there. It´s tight.
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The PCI TV card.
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Amplifiers. JBL GTS600 and GTQ400. These are to be put into the sub box.
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Subwoofer. Cerwin Vega 124, 800W peak. One is going into the box.
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The box. It is fiberglassed in the sparewheel trunk of the car. I will put the woofer, amps and EPX in here. It fits, i have had it like this before. I just want to remake it better.
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Wiredwrx · 08-10-2006, 01:47 PM

I would be careful, I have heard time and time again that the foam and anti static bags are conductive material, which COULD cause short circuits on your MB.

Michael

Ackeman · 08-10-2006, 02:19 PM

Thanks for the reminder. I became aware of the foam beeing conductive by a post on the forum. I am to disasemble the PC before putting it all back together and in the car. As i do i will remove the foam.

Ackeman · 08-10-2006, 02:55 PM

I had to post a pic of the monitor bezel in place as it is finished to be installed. I have some things i´d like to change on the fabrication (move the power switch, change to a slotdrive, maybe upgrade to 8") but that is for later. For now i really want the system running...

The monitor bezel in the car.
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Closer view with fingerprints and dust...
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Ackeman · 08-13-2006, 11:16 AM

I have been canceling the previous case for the pc since i need a little more room inside the case for PCI card (wasn´t really happy with it from the start anyway...), and begun fabricating a new one. It is also from an old desktop pc case. I have just cut out the outlines for the case and are about to bend it to form.

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In between workmoments i am trying to figure out how the best get my sub box in shape. I think i will go for the layout of the amps i had before, but this time in a more seriously fabricated install.
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Ackeman · 08-17-2006, 03:15 PM

Time for a little update on the pc progress.
I have been manufacturing a new case for the pc as i wasn´t to happy with the old one. This case is a bit bigger to house the PCI TV card and to get some more airflow in the case. I made it from an old pc case. Measured it up, cut it up and bent it to form. Pictures of the new case just cut up is posted above.
This is what the new case looks like bent togehter.
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With the top lid on.
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And from the rear with the pc installed.
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Before the final install in the car i need to fix the TV card properly, trim of the bolts (they are in the way of the monitor) and figure out where to attach a fan. I´ve got some ideas.
Other then that i have finished the wiring to all units to go into the interior (PC, monitors, fans and auxiliries). I have at last found a good spot to place the main fuse for the whole install. The fuse is in place and next up in the audio install is wiring the amps. Not looking forward to that...

Cris · 10-03-2006, 05:43 PM

Any updates?

Ackeman · 10-06-2006, 01:42 PM

Been a while since i posted any updates. Busy working, so progress is slow on my project. Anyway. I´ve got my system installed in the car after a whole lot of swearing and a few mishaps. The system is running fine exept one thing. I can´t seem to get any remote signal from my M2-ATX to the amps. I haven´t been trying too hard to find the reason why yet, but i am going to. I am happy with the system in all but one thing. The bezel is a hasty work, and i really want the monitor angeled more towards me in the driverseat.
So the monitor is out again, and on the bench for a remake.

I´ll post some pics soon, showing my work so far.

Ackeman · 10-07-2006, 10:57 AM

So today i set my self up to find the problem with the absent remote signal to the amps. No remote signal found on the M2-ATX at all, so i got really p** off and took the whole PC out. It´s a total bit*h to do any sort of maintenance on the PC the way i have stored it in a box inside the centerpanel. I can hardly get the conections on to the mobo because of the cramped space. Now i´ve had it. Out comes the PC, out comes the monitor. I have to redo it all. I wasnt all that happy with the monitor either. What bothers me the most is that i dont get any remote signal. How the f**k am i going to enjoy my music if i dont get the amps running....

I´ll be back

Ackeman · 10-14-2006, 01:15 AM

I was just about to do the finishing touches on the new bezel when i took it for a last test in the car. There i just got a really bad feel for the whole concept. It wasn´t at all what i wanted. The monitor had a strange angle and the overall look of it was awful. So after a couple of coffes and some serious thinking, i ripped the monitor and bezel apart again. So now it is back to the grinding, sanding stage.
Well in between sanding i am about to take the PC apart too, and refit it in the center console.

Ackeman · 10-15-2006, 02:10 PM

Well i normally have the most unluck believable. Thhings that can go wrong, usually goes wrong. Let´s me work on my cursing if nothing else.. But this weekend my work went pretty well (apart from the fact that i had to redo the monitor bezel for the third time). I had the PC reinstalled in the center console. Now all the conections are easily accesible from behind the glovebox. All i did was tilt the case 90 deg. KISS (keep it simple..) is the word. The bezel is coming out fine. I have some more sanding to do, but with some good machinery it goes like a charm.
I still have to figure out how to get the amps running. I have some ides but they´ll have to wait for later. First of the PC and monitor has to be finished.

Ackeman · 11-11-2006, 01:41 PM

Monitor is in place after a lot of work. For now i am content with the install. The PC is running ok. Well it i s ok when it is running. After it has gone into "Hardoff" it is just a b--ch to start up again. It seems like the PSU just needs some vacation before it decides to get with the program. usually some 30min before it is up to speed and i can start the PC again. Most f.... irritating.
Got some minor touches to take care of, and the problem with no remote signal to the amps...
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