2001 Pontiac Trans Am

redls1bird · 08-27-2006, 08:58 PM

:::::EDIT:::::

I now have a functioning CARPC installed for beta testing. Im using a M3-ATX to power it with no problem. This is for testing for potential problems, and fit and finish. Read through from page 5 for more updates and info on the pc installed in the car.

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Well, here we go. I decided i would fire off a worklog since im finally making some "progress". so heres my car:

Its a slightly modded 2001 Trans am. Currently on a cam only motor its putting 376 horse and 364 ft lbs to the ground, untuned. Im ready to tackle the multimedia portion and i figure a carputer will be perfect. Right now my system that seems to be materializing is a HP Vectra vl400 small form factor desktop, with what will hopefully soon be a Pentium III 1ghz or higher, 512mb ram, pci card with usb 2.0 ports, seagate barracuda 15 gig hard drive, and an undetermined external hard-drive (for multimedia storage) most likely 80 gig.

Im shooting for mp3 playback, navigation, hands free intergrated phone control, dvd playback, possibly radar detector, fm and tv tuner, broadband wireless internet. All controlled by a touch screen (not yet determined), griffin powermate, and voice control.
Essentially a fully loaded car pc.

The audio at this point will be run through the stock head unit via a GM9-AUX input, or hacked of i can figure it out, to offset the cost of all this upgrading.

I will be using Road Runner for my front end, and most likely Liquid_smokes amazing LSX skin.

Right now the main unit will most likely be hose here, like XxAndyxX's setup:

The screen will be modled after Curious's very nice setup:

Right now I am compiling all my hardware, and tweaking my software to do what i want it to. Right now my machine is running windows 2000 Pro, but im contemplating upgrading to windows Xp. My powermate seems to be much happier with the 2000 though, and often ****s the bed while running on my xp machine. i would love some input from anyone with help or ideas to keep my install neat and clean.

redls1bird · 08-27-2006, 08:58 PM

YES!! THE EDIT FEATURE HAS RETURNED, AND I NO LONGER LOOK LIKE A LOSER!!

That being said, here are a few pics of some stuff on my setup. Beware, photo quality is from a non 1.3mp razr, also known as ****ty.

Here is a picture of my vectra with the top removed, nothing exciting goin on in here.

obviously my powermate

my new usb2.0 pci card. it fit horribly, and needed some slight modification to fit. all is well now

this is where i was going to isntall my bluetooth dongle, but i have since learned that it will not fit at that angle. bummer.

and here is my bluesoleil bt dongle

here is a horrible pic of my current headunit and what will be replaced by a 7 or 8 inch touch screen.

redls1bird · 08-30-2006, 10:34 PM

i loaded up a version of xp to try on my carpc, its the tinyxp beast edition. works well, although i had a hell of a time getting my graphics drivers uploaded correctly. everything is functioning now. so far the powermate hasnt had a heart attack yet, but i believe a mild stroke will occur before it makes it to the car... Right now with 256mb of ram and a 733 mhz p3 im booting to music in around 33 seconds. im going to load bootvis on it, and maybe a few other tweaks. im trying to figure out minlogin but since im still new, no luck yet. unfortunately my digital camera is in alabama with my fiance, so no pictures yet, but soon damnit!! even if i have to take them with my phone and upload them. i think im going to get a m2atx 160w psu if my current deal on ebay works out.. should be less that 50 bucks shipped for new!! well, ill keep this up to date. thanks for reading.

redls1bird · 09-09-2006, 05:51 PM

Well, i now have on order a Piii 1ghz chip on the way, a blue tooth dongle, and 5 port pci card. enough to keep me busy for a while. im also considering an audigy 2 sound card at this point, but not quite sure... ill keep posting as i go!

redls1bird · 09-11-2006, 10:08 PM

Got my 1 ghz piii yestarday, and my bluetooth dongle today. have both installed. the cpu took about 2 seconds off my boot to music time without any tweaking. I still plan to run bootvis to see if i can scrap anyhting else. Imcurrently having a hell of a time getting my phone to be fully operational with phoco. its a v3 and i knew it would be a pain. i am currently looking at other options for hands free use of the phone in the car via roadrunner.....

redls1bird · 09-11-2006, 10:27 PM

here are some cheesy pics i snapped using my razrs camera. i was really just checking out the dongle i got, and the file transfer speeds. there about what i expected. my computer reprots that there about 115kbs most of the time.

redls1bird · 09-15-2006, 08:38 PM

As of now, i have everything except updated ram (512 mb) completed for the hardware of my carpc itself. I recieved my PCI USB hub today and installed it. I got it dirt cheap off ebay, and it shows... came with no instructions and a minidisc marked drivers. The disc must have contained drivers for every product the company makes.... i had to search out the ones for my Ali chipset pci usb hub, and then install. not fun. i probably wont let the ram hold me back for going further with the project. now that i have my bluetooth working on my desktop, expect alot more pictures soon. They wont be of super high quality, since they are coming from my phone, but none the less, they show what im working with.

Snootch · 09-21-2006, 10:21 AM

Redls1bird, I have a TA as well, and here's a thread to my roadrunner skins if you would like to use them: http://www.mp3car.biz/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=76234

redls1bird · 09-21-2006, 06:31 PM

very very cool... that will probably be my base/everyday skin since it will match the interior quite well. thanks for the great skin!

redls1bird · 09-26-2006, 10:06 PM

I have lately discovered the program Roadnav, a free navigation/gps system based off the us census bureaus maps. its kind of slow, but its free, and im on a budget. You have to download the maps for it, pretty much one at a time, by county in each state. I live in Georgia so i downloaded all of Ga. My fiance lives in Alabama, so im going to get all of that also. I hit south carolina everyonce in a while so plan to get that. im pretty much going to cover the engtire southeast. Too bad you cant get a country overview with all major highways, and stateroads. then you could easily navigate to your destination city which you could have preloaded the counties for... if i knew how to do this, i would take up the task of putting it together. One thing i dont like already is that it shows alot of bodies of water that areny significant. I think i am going to couple this system with an ayay Sir gps receiver. Theyre pretty cheap, have good reviews and theyre made in the usa. ill post some screenshots after im done downloading maps.

redls1bird · 10-08-2006, 09:24 PM

Well, i just won an auction for an AYAY Sir GPS antenna, so i should be able to check out the rest of the Roadnavs abilities shortly. Also, ive discovered that you can go in an eliminate those bodies of waters i was complaining about earlier. It also improves the refresh rate of the maps greatly.

underdog · 10-18-2006, 12:15 AM

What do you think of the AYAY GPS? I'm going to get one if people say it is good.

redls1bird · 10-18-2006, 08:19 PM

well, im still waiting for it, but not by any fault of the manufacturer. i abruptly moved after ordering it, and now i have to wait for the us postal service to catch up. as soon as i get it thought i plan on putting it through its paces. where i live now is wide open, so i can test its ttff in the way they recomend. then,. i have to drive through wooded areas, so ill see how well it holds onto its locks. check back in about a week, and i should have stuff posted by then.

redls1bird · 10-31-2006, 06:50 PM

Well, after much fuss with the post office, i finally got my gps receiver. I immediately installed the drivers on my notebook, and then connected the receiver via the usb port. After about a minute, i had my location on MS streets and trips 2005. After a quick test drive I feel pretty good about my purchase. It held sat. lock well, even while placed in the center of the car, on top of my armrest, and had my shoulder over it the whole drive. It was also through pretty heavi;y wooded areas and i never lost lock. I guess its on par from what ive read of the bu-353 recievers. Im going to be taking a trip to Atlanta in a couple of weeks, and im toying with buying iguidance before i go to test it out. Ms s&t is definately not good for the car environment. I also dont like how it prompts you for a turn 3/10s of a mile ahead. In a crowded city, there might be 4-5 streets in that distance.

redls1bird · 11-12-2006, 12:41 PM

Well, I took my trip last night and went out to the ATL to see Carlos Mencia at the Tabernacle. Great show. I went ahead and picked up a copy of Iguidance 3.0 and installed it right before i left home. I decided to put some faith in the program and not print out directions before i left, i had an area atlas if need be so i wasnt too worried about it. Iguidance mapped me out a very predictable route without alot of fuss. It also recalculated when i lost my way (something that is apparently beyond the guys at microsoft). Once i got into the city with the tall buildings and the constant overpasses, i never lost signal, until i went under the overpass for the runways at hartsfield international airport, but it immediately regained lock on the other side and never missed a beat. After the show and getting ready to head home, i now have to find the highway. In the downtown atl area with its plethora of one way streets and lanes that abruptly end and force you to turn, i expect to spend no less than 20 minutes trying to find and get onto the highway from any given point in downtown. Iguidance and my AyAysir reciever got me from my parking lot, to the highway in no more than 5. I am extremely happy with the software and the recievers functionality.