Thread: 2006 Mitsubishi Raider - First Attempt

My first step was to play with the computer and get it working in the house before I even thought about moving out to the truck and working on it. I found a really good tutorial for using Gentoo Linux with MythTV as a frontend. The only thing I thought was weird was that everything would be done with Gentoo but the tutorial had me install CrossOver Office to run iGuidance... Kinda defeats the purpose of having Gentoo in the back if your just going to emulate Windows... I attempted this but after awhile, I was getting pretty ticked off that the touch screen wasn't working no matter what driver I used or how it was configured. That's when I stumbled upon mp3Car.com. I found some posts of different people using different frontends but most were using Windows XP... So, I decided to just reinstall XP.

After installing XP, I did my normal updates and cleanup (disable services/software I would not need). Got the touchscreen working without any configuration. Not sure the maker but it's a TM-868. I then started poking around the FrontEnds section of the forums here to get some ideas of software to try. I first tried RoadRunner because most of the threads I read were using it. So I installed it and got majorly confused. I installed WinAMP, got a copy of iGuidance and installed it. It was working good but it just seemed as if was just too much stuff for me...

So I went looking for another Front End... I found Frodoplayer. Installed it and it seems to be working well so far... I have it working with iGuidance with no problems as well as my music. I will need to test it more in my truck... Once I get it powered.

My next steps are to figure out how I can power this carputer with little expense. Me and my dad are going to attempt to play with a ATX PSU this weekend. He wants to figure out where in the PSU that the signal gets converted from AC->DC and basically run the wires from the battery, or fuse box, to that point in the PSU. I did some light reading and I don't think it's possible to do that because the PSU can't withstand the voltage drops like when cranking. He suggested a second battery just for use by the computer so that it won't drop in voltage when cranking because it will be a completely seperate electical system that will get trickle-charged from the alternator. I think that's a little excessive but I'll let him dream... I'll let you know how it goes.

As the weekend grows closer, I decided to start preparing my truck for the carputer system. I wanted to see if the screen was possible and what I might have to do to be able to put it in there. So last night, I took my dash apart.



As you can see in the picture, the stereo is mounted to the dash while the temp controls are mounted to the dash cover I removed. Since the screen is bigger than the head unit and covers about half of the temp controls, I decided to put the temp controls below behind the cup holders (I rarely use them) as seen in this picture:



I was able to run the two cables to below but the one is kind of short so I will need to extend it. I then wanted to see if the screen would fit width-wise with all of the clips and whatnot that hold the dash cover in place and get a general idea of what it might look like.



Looks good to me. I am going to try to get a replacement dash cover from Mitsu that I can play with so I don't end up messing up my one and only dash cover.

I got a little bored last night and took a stock photo of my dash and attempted to put a screen in it to see what it might look like.. I know it looks like crap but I was bored and it only took like a minute to do...



Tonight, I will get some measurements for building a box to put in the back seat of my truck. I will also make it into an armrest and/or center console for the people in the backseat.

Originally Posted by macbrando

My next steps are to figure out how I can power this carputer with little expense. Me and my dad are going to attempt to play with a ATX PSU this weekend. He wants to figure out where in the PSU that the signal gets converted from AC->DC and basically run the wires from the battery, or fuse box, to that point in the PSU. I did some light reading and I don't think it's possible to do that because the PSU can't withstand the voltage drops like when cranking. He suggested a second battery just for use by the computer so that it won't drop in voltage when cranking because it will be a completely seperate electical system that will get trickle-charged from the alternator. I think that's a little excessive but I'll let him dream... I'll let you know how it goes.

Good start on your project!

I would recommend using a DC-DC PSU with integrated SSC:
http://store.mp3car.com/OPUS_250W_32..._p/pwr-024.htm
Something like this.

Why? Well, you will get regulated voltage to your motherboard, and any other components that would be hooked up to it.
Also, you can set it to automatically shut down when you turn the truck off, so you don't have to sit there and wait for it.
You can also hook up your monitor to it to give it regulated voltage as well.
It's a little costly compared to hacking up an AC-DC ATX PSU, but it is definitely worth it.

Since you are using a desktop, you should use one with a little more power in it, 180 - 250 watts sounds about right.

Have fun with your install!

Thanks! The computer has a 108W PSU in it already but I was gonna hack up a 450W PSU and power the monitor off it as well. I did a PSU calc and it said i only need 96W but I dunno if 450 is overkill or not. My dad wants to play around hacking up a PSU so i'll let him...

Also as far as the SSC... I found a post here somewhere about making your own SSC by shorting two pins on a com port and using his software... I'll have to look for the thread...

I'm all for homebrew, hacked up and all that. But I think it's just easier and more reliable to have the DC-DC PSU, mostly for the regulated voltage. There won't be any spikes or dips. This will let anything connected to it work more efficiently.
The risk with letting him hack up the 450 PSU is that if it fries your MoBo, you are looking at having to buy a new one...
Also, the 450w psu is probably only putting out 200 or so watts anyways, where as the Opus solutions products are rated for real world performance.

Originally Posted by monkeyracer

I'm all for homebrew, hacked up and all that. But I think it's just easier and more reliable to have the DC-DC PSU, mostly for the regulated voltage. There won't be any spikes or dips. This will let anything connected to it work more efficiently.
The risk with letting him hack up the 450 PSU is that if it fries your MoBo, you are looking at having to buy a new one...
Also, the 450w psu is probably only putting out 200 or so watts anyways, where as the Opus solutions products are rated for real world performance.

Well, my dad attempted looking at the AC ATX PSU to see where the voltages got converted, etc and he gave up... he said it's beyond his knowledge of electronics. So, I will be looking into a DC-DC PSU. I'll look at the one monkeyracer suggested.

I also downloaded a trial version of CentraFuse... So far, I am liking it... I don't know if i want to put out that kinda money for a front end... It's simple to use and setup, unlike RoadRunner...

That's all for now...

Aww... I was hoping to see someone actually get this done. Dang... Well, there are a few different DC-DC psu's here, and they are the same price as from the manufacturer, except buying from here supports the forum that we are using.

RoadRunner takes a little set up, but once that's done, you don't really have to change anything. I don't know if I really like the idea of paying that much for a front end either, but if it works great and does what you need it, then the people who made it deserve some sort of monetary compensation.

I had some difficulty this past weekend with PC... I hooked the monitor up to it and there was no red! Everything was in blue/green. Plus, I realized that it also doesn't have any serial ports and only one PCI slot. I need the serial ports for the XM and OBDII connections and I need the PCI slots for my FM tuner card. So, my new computer specs are:

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (2.0 GHz)
Chipset: NVidia nForce 220-D
Motherboard: Asus A7N266-VM
Memory: 768 MB DDR SDRAM
Hard drive: 80 GB 7200 RPM ATA
Optical Drive: 16X DVD(+/-)R/RW RAM (+/-)R DL LightScribe drive *Will probably replace with slim dvd drive to be mounted up front
Video Card: Integrated
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy
Network: Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface

I'll have to work on this computer now.

Anyway, I finally got my gift card so I have to look into a DC-DC PSU since my dad wasn't able to modify the AC ATX PSU. I am looking at two different DC-DC Regulators.

1: http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetai...Code=PWR%2D026
or
2: http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetai...Code=PWR%2D015

I'm thinking I'll get #1 because it has a higher wattage incase my load changes.

Until next time...

Its been awhile since my last post so here's basically what has happened.

I finished configuring the new computer with Windows, CentraFuse, my MP3s and videos. I attemped to use new Destinator maps with CentraFuse but they won't work and I never got an answer from David so I gave up and installed iGuidance and installed the CFiG plugin. I still have to do some searching but I can't figure out why my GPS is recognized when I run the iGuidance software by itself but when I use CentraFuse and the CFiG plugin, it won't recognize my GPS.

I had an AverMedia tuner card from a few years ago but I remembered that it has an FM tuner built in. So I plugged it in and tried to get it to work with Radiator. I couldn't figure it out. I tried using AverMedia's drivers and a driver that was provided by Radiator and neither work. I need to be able to get it to work to be able to replace my headunit. I need to be able to still listen to FM. I will get XM eventually but I still listen to quite a bit of FM when I get tired of my own music.

My dad gave up his truck driving job so he gave me his inverter to play with until I pick up a DC-DC Regulator. It's a 400W (800 Max Peak Watt). I went out and got some 10AWG wire and some connectors and an in-line fuse and wired everything up. I ran the positive to the battery and the negative to the bolt holding the driver's seat (grounded though the body of the truck). This worked well. I then ran the mini-banana cord to hook my computer to my headunit (temporary) and I got a really nasty buzzing noise. I did a little research and it turns out that the reason is because the ground going to the power supply from the inverter is not a "true" ground... my dad called it a fake ground. So, to fix this, I ran some speaker wire (12AWG) from another mount point to one of the screws holding the power supply into the case and it worked great. This way, it's using the truck as the ground source which will eliminate any buzzing noise.

Now, for temporary reasons, i just put my tower case in my back seat and strapped it in with a few bungie cords. I'll try to get some pictures of temp install. My next step is to find someone to mount and fabricate my dash to incorporate my screen. After that, I need to find out how to get my FM working. As soon as I get those two things figured out, then I can work on eliminating the tower and cleaning up my install.

Pictures to come...