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10-27-2006, 12:27 AM
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#46
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 153
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at first i wasnt sure about the vinyl looked kinda well crappy, but then once u put in all the hvac n stuff in the slots it looks simply stunning, u should seriously be proud of wat uve built. hats off to u mate
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10-28-2006, 08:02 PM
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#47
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Quick update,
While running my wiring, I noticed a slight bit of alternator whine coming from my antennae extension. I got ****ed and tore out the coaxial cable that I had used and decided that I was going to try and isolate the the problem one step at a time when I made a discovery, Lo and behold, Dodge has provided me a whole crapload of slack in the antennae wire when I pulled it down out of its stock location. So if you have a Dodge Dakota/Durango and are looking at re-locating your H/U, rejoice in the knowledge that you will NOT have to extend the antennae wire. Just a small update, but for me a major breakthrough because now I have no alternator whine!
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10-31-2006, 05:11 PM
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#48
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Screen bezel finished and ready for screen
Today I finished dremelling and sanding and I made the modified screen bezel fit nice and snug. I feel that I took a little too much off of the side on the bottom right but then again, I will be critical of my work no matter what. Overall I am happy with the way that it came out and I'm anxious to get the screen back together so that I finish running all wiring and have that puppy in there permanently.
Here is a nice close-up of my screen which shows a small gap that I am now stuck with because I got a tiny bit anxious. In the future and for the benefit of others, I would recommend more use of heavy grit sandpaper and less reliance on the dremmel to make any adjustments. Its always possible to take more off but not possible to add back on and that came to show through while trying to fit my bezel. But it is nice and tight and I have made a mounting bracket for the lower portion of the stereo/screen bezel that I modified and painted. I love the way that it looks and am looking to continue on the morrow. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! 
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11-02-2006, 10:03 PM
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#49
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Screen reassembeled
Today I took a crack at reassembling the screen and getting the computer programmed. During the process, I noticed that when I tried to put the buttons back in, the paint had run down into the space and was making the buttons stick. At first I tried using a small piece of sandpaper to remove the excess paint. DO NOT DO THIS!!! The easier way is to simply use a craft knife and scrape it away. The sandpaper scarred the edge where the buttons mount and although it is very hard to see, I know its there and of course I am my own worst critic. The knife method worked much better.
After reapplying the buttons I attached the button controls and and laid down some 3M double sided tape to re-attach the screen. It took a LOT of patience to get that puppy realigned because the lip inside the screen is a little too wide for it to simply drop in.
Here the screen is re-assembled and connected to my wife's computer. The resolution is currently set to 800x600 and man its clear! I set it up to the next setting but it chops a little bit and I wasn't happy so I set it back down. Its VERY VERY bright and the colors are excellent. I very happy with the quality of this screen and the results of my work.
Okay, this is where it sucks a little bit. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!!!! If you'll look at the bottom right hand corner of my screen, you'll notice a nice gouge. I was pulling the dash opening apart and positioning the screen down behind it when I finally got it into place and lo and behold, a metal fastener for the dash scraped across my fresh paint job. In the future I will be wrapping the screen in Saran wrap from now on when moving it down into place. I am toying with the idea of re-spraying that part but I think that I will think about it for a few days. I took the screen back out and set it up with the computer which is now in the process of getting programmed. I got a nice 250 GB HD to put all stuff on. Here you can see my computer loading up.
Well, I'm not too ecstatic about my nice little scratch but I am thrilled about the progress that I am making. Tomorrow in the console I am putting in my USB sound card and my USB hub in. I am getting frustrated with the wiring but I will take my own advice to go slow and take care in running everything. Let me know what you all think. 
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11-02-2006, 11:16 PM
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#50
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Maximum Bitrate
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NJ/RI
Posts: 821
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Patients is the key! LOL
Its comming along AMAZING. I was going to mention about the paint and button problem, but i completely forgot....It came out REALLY well i must say. I like the overall shape and design of the bezel.
REALLY NICE
You may be able jut to touch up the scratch
Spray a load of spray paint on a piece of cardboard and then use a paint brush to apply it to the screen. Its small enough and in the corner it should do the trick. If it were bigger or in the smack middle it may not look so good....
__________________
Worklog -- 1987 Toyota Camry Resurrection
Current Progress:
[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX====]80% Works Great; Front speakers need to be replaced; On hold while at school.
Brown 2010
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11-03-2006, 12:02 AM
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#51
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Thanks for the suggestion, Sidewalk. I think that I am going to try and touch it up once it is completely bolted into the dash which should be at the end of tomorrow if I'm lucky. Right now I am struggling getting drivers loaded for the touch screen. Initially when I first bought it, the drivers worked perfectly. But then I dropped in a new 250 GB 7200 RPM 16 MB cache SATA drive and now the drivers are not being very compliant. I am going to experiment around with different drivers until I find that magic one that make my dreams come true. I think I'll sit back, put on "Maximum Xtreme Challenge" and settle in to toy around until I figure it out. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I will be perusing around many posts to get some collective archived knowledge while I tackle this issue.
**Update**
Found out what the problem was. Turns out the software was running perfectly all along. What "I" was doing wrong was that I was simply tapping the touch pen onto the screen when it asked for calibration and I was not holding it down. Note to self and all others: 1. follow the directions on screen rather then panicking right away and thinking there is something wrong with your hardware. 2. Limit your alcohol intake when you expect to play around with electronics, it clouds your judgement somewhat and causes you to not read what is on the screen to it's full extent. Now I am going to retire for the evening and enjoy the rest of my malted barley and hops.
Last edited by Eternalodyssey; 11-03-2006 at 12:47 AM.
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11-06-2006, 12:22 AM
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#52
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Mounting internal hardware, starting to run wires
Today I paid a visit to Radio Crap and was rather astonished at the selection of items that they carry. I built a 3 switch box to use to perform control functions to my truckputer. The push-button momentary switch will serve as my accessory on/off control for the computer itself. This will run directly to my power supply, should I have problems with startup/shutdown functions on my OPUS 120. The middle button is a rocker switch which will be my valet switch which I can also use to cut off power to the PC. The ignition line will run through this switch and allow me to cut power to the PC as well as my M2-ATX PSU which will be providing power to monitors & USB hub. The third switch is an accessory switch that will turn my neon light mounted in the case on and off. All of the pieces including the box cost less then $10 and provides a very valuable interface, not to mention allows me to keep the PC from being powered ON if I do not wish to have it on for whatever reason (vehicle in for repairs, valet parking, friend borrows truck to move, etc).
Here you see my power distribution block which will provide 12V DC and my ground block. I will be running lines directly from my battery terminals to ensure maximum grounding and a safe distribution to both power supplies as well as my wireless headphones transmitter.
I thought that it would be a good idea to include wireless headphones in the mix in case I want to listen to my radio while others are watching a movie. The unit consumes a very low amount of current and switches off when there is no audio signal coming from the computer. I will be using a molex connector to tap the 5V rail of my M2-ATX and provide switched power to my USB hub. I have heard of others draining their battery when their hub continues to stay powered off of their battery and I would prefer that not to happen to me.
Here is a short mock-up of the breadbox (my comp) dropped into the console and gives me a good opportunity to look at how things will look and fit. Its tight in there, but I think that everything will work out great. Everyday is another checked off item on my to-do list. Tomorrow I will be tapping into my ignition wire and trying to get as much of my wiring in the truck done as possible. I will also be running my USB GPS as well as my wireless antennae which I will be mounting behind some trim next to my seatbelts. I don't know how great of a signal I will get with that plan but I think it will be decent. Onward and upward!!!! 
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11-06-2006, 01:33 AM
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#53
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Maximum Bitrate
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 519
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looking good, also looks like youve got a decent amount of space in there. Can you post some more info about the wireless headphone setup you have? Is it bluetooth?
__________________
REBUILDING!!
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11-06-2006, 02:00 AM
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#54
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Quote: Originally Posted by Dragonknell911  looking good, also looks like youve got a decent amount of space in there. Can you post some more info about the wireless headphone setup you have? Is it bluetooth?
Thanks for the compliments, Dragonknell. Its actually a rather tight squeeze in there with everything packed in. You'd be surprised how much you pack into such a small space when you need to though. As far as the wireless headphones, they are made by Poweracoustiks ( www.poweracoustiks.com) and the model is the RF2CH  and they are not bluetooth, which is good because I don't have a bluetooth adapter. The wireless headphones are dual radio frequency and sound absolutely excellent!! I got them off of www.etronics.com for about $120 and I think they're well worth it for what they do. They take two AAAs and have a mute as well as a good volume feature. Oh yeah, they are absolutely loud as hell when turned all the way up! Good times. 
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11-07-2006, 04:22 PM
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#55
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Monitor wired, mounted, and FINISHED!!!!!
Shizzzam!! Today I ran the power wire for the monitor as well as the USB cable and the VGA cable. I was pleased with how easily they ran and fit down behind the dash assembly and underneath my console. I decided to use some 3M double sided tape to mount the screen in because the bolt holes seem to be too much of a hassle, and whenever I need to do maintenance, I can get the monitor out a lot easier.
Not bad if I don't say so myself. Notice how there is a little bit of gap around the right lower side. I'm not too thrilled about this but I am happy overall with the way it came out. I can deal with the little imperfections. I have discovered that when running more then one wire at a time, it is easier to simply run a piece of string and then tie it to the wires so that you can pull them all at once.
Aaah, sometimes it feels good to just sit back and look at all of my hard work coming together. I getting closer and closer to posting this in the "Finished projects" area. 
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11-07-2006, 07:35 PM
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#56
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Low Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Fairfield, CA
Posts: 83
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I gotta say, this project turned out really nice. I'm looking to do a similar setup in my S-10 eventually. Your console build gave me alot of good ideas. Also, as for that scratched paint on your screen mount, you'd be surprised at how much a black Sharpie can hide, especially where the scratch isn't in a spot that's very noticable anyways 
__________________
-Jay
1997 Chevy S-10, ext. cab
CarPC Progress: 75% - Functional, but not quite finished.
Check out my progress.
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11-07-2006, 09:42 PM
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#57
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Maximum Bitrate
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NJ/RI
Posts: 821
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Sharpie is a good temp fix... but what i hate is when light hits it and you see that purpleish reflectiion... 
__________________
Worklog -- 1987 Toyota Camry Resurrection
Current Progress:
[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX====]80% Works Great; Front speakers need to be replaced; On hold while at school.
Brown 2010
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11-08-2006, 01:08 AM
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#58
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Constant Bitrate
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 210
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Thanks for your suggestions. I think that I am going to just go ahead and take a very fine haired brush and lay down some paint over that scratch. If I am careful and quick about it, I should be able to do a good job. I actually tried the sharpie method and it just didn't work. You really can't see the scratch unless the screen is in direct sunlight and the camera flash brought it out pretty good as well. We'll see what happens. Right now that scratch is the leas of my worries. I just have to:
* Run my ignition wire.
* Wire up my switchbox
* Run my RCAs from my monitors to the video amplifier as well as the power wires.
* Drink beer and rejoice in my victory.
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11-08-2006, 01:49 AM
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#59
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Maximum Bitrate
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NJ/RI
Posts: 821
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LMFAO sounds like a plan.
__________________
Worklog -- 1987 Toyota Camry Resurrection
Current Progress:
[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX====]80% Works Great; Front speakers need to be replaced; On hold while at school.
Brown 2010
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11-08-2006, 01:57 AM
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#60
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Maximum Bitrate
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NJ/RI
Posts: 821
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Hey quick question... can you output a second video signal from the RCA output on the MoBo you have or is it always a clone of the VGA? Also what resolution does it output only 640x480? and lastly is it clear?
__________________
Worklog -- 1987 Toyota Camry Resurrection
Current Progress:
[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX====]80% Works Great; Front speakers need to be replaced; On hold while at school.
Brown 2010
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