Thread: 2007 Honda Fit - In Dash

I tweaked the desktop theme, increasing the font. It helps out with Rhythmbox and the touchscreen:



I've been messing around with virtual keyboards. I like matchbox-keyboard and Florence. They both detect when an input box gains focus and automatically pop up. Unfortunately, they require the Accessibility feature to be turned on, which causes this bug on Rhythmbox. So I ended up using xvkbd:



It doesn't come up automatically, so I added the icon on the top panel. The default layout for xvkbd needed to be changed to be more useful with the touchscreen. To get the layout in the screenshot, I added the following to my .Xdefaults:

Code:

xvkbd.windowGeometry: 780x280+10+300
xvkbd.compact: true
xvkbd.modalKeytop: true
xvkbd.*Alt_R.width: 1
xvkbd.*Meta_R.width: 1
xvkbd.*Caps_Lock.width: 45
xvkbd.*Multi_key.width: 1
xvkbd.*Shift_R.width: 75
xvkbd.*Control_L.width: 30
xvkbd.*Alt_L.width: 30
xvkbd.*Meta_L.width: 30
xvkbd.*Focus.internalWidth: 0
xvkbd.*Focus.bitmap: /usr/include/X11/bitmaps/target

xvkbd.NormalKeys: \
  F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Delete \n\
  Escape 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = \\ ` \n\
  Tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] BackSpace \n\
  Caps_Lock a s d f g h j k l ; ' Return \n\
  Shift_L z x c v b n m , . / Multi_key Shift_R \n\
  MainMenu Control_L Alt_L Meta_L space Left Right Up Down Focus \n\

xvkbd.ShiftKeys: \
  F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Delete \n\
  Escape ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + | ~ \n\
  Tab Q W E R T Y U I O P { } BackSpace \n\
  Caps_Lock A S D F G H J K L : \" Return \n\
  Shift_L Z X C V B N M < > ? Multi_key Shift_R \n\
  MainMenu Control_L Alt_L Meta_L space Left Right Up Down Focus \n\

xvkbd.KeyLabels: \
  F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Del \n\
  Esc !\n1 @\n2 #\n3 $\n4 %\n5 ^\n6 &\n7 *\n8 (\n9 )\n0 _\n- +\n= |\n\\ ~\n` \n\
  Tab Q W E R T Y U I O P {\n[ }\n] Back \n\
  Caps A S D F G H J K L :\n; \"\n' Return \n\
  Shift Z X C V B N M <\n, >\n. ?\n/ Com\npose Shift \n\
  MainMenu Ctrl Alt Meta space left right up down Focus \n\

xvkbd.NormalKeyLabels: \
  F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Del \n\
  Esc 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = \\ ` \n\
  Tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] Back \n\
  Caps a s d f g h j k l ; ' Return \n\
  Shift z x c v b n m , . / Comp Shift \n\
  MainMenu Ctrl Alt Meta space left right up down Focus \n\

xvkbd.ShiftKeyLabels: \
  F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Del \n\
  Esc ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + | ~ \n\
  Tab Q W E R T Y U I O P { } Back \n\
  Caps A S D F G H J K L : \" Return \n\
  Shift Z X C V B N M < > ? Comp Shift \n\
  MainMenu Ctrl Alt Meta space left right up down Focus \n\

I did a test fit of the motherboard in the case. It's a snug fit, but it will work. I just need to come up with a mount for the disk drive.

The Amp9 has a home:



I put together a case for the vallet switch and a remote turn on override. I'll keep this in my glove compartment:



On the back there's a connection for the remote turn on, line in, and mic in:



All that's left is to get a mount for the disk drive, move everything to the case, and mount the screen. I may complete the install next weekend.

I installed the PC this weekend. It took the whole weekend. The biggest snag I ran into was ground loop noise. I couldn't get rid of it, so I caved and got a ground loop isolator...which did the trick. I took it for a spin and all worked fine. I really need to replace Rhythmbox as my media player though. It has everything I need, but it's just not great with the touchscreen.

This morning I realized that I'll have to reroute the cables, because when I kicked on the car's ventilation fan, I could hear interference through the speakers.

great project mrob!

I'm embarking on a same project, but I'm using the Atom-based motherboard, and running centrafuse instead of Linux

Just wondering, with the AMP9 amp, what's the power output to 4 Ohm loads? Also, how are you powering your tweeters? Is it true that the amp (the low profile kit) can be fed directly from the battery's 12V?

I'm simply powering all four stock speakers directly with the AMP9. I tied the inputs to make it two channels. It's plenty loud for me...much louder than the stock amp/radio. Yes, the amp can be powered directly from the battery.

Regarding the power, the amp is based on the Tripath TAA4100A chip. You can see the spec sheet here. I've been very happy with the amp.

Ahh.. that's good to know.

so you only get four inputs to the speakers, and that they are connected to each of the output of your AMP9, correct? That would mean the tweeters are already taken care of by some built-in crossover.

It's so good to be able to discuss with someone who's working on the same thing.

I'm currently troubled by the enclosure, not sure if I want to stuff it in the double DIN slot or should I route it somewhere else. As you have mentioned in previous posts, the depth of the DIN slot is only 6.75" ?

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

Do have a question.... why not go with Windows and a Front End that has better features?

The main reason is that I love to tinker...and Linux is *much* better for tinkering. I took on the project not just to have an entertainment system, but something I can always hack...at any level. Otherwise I would have simply picked up a commercial device.

I don't have a problem with Windows (I use it more than I use Linux). But for my purposes here, Windows is not a good fit.

I'm currently in the process of making my own front end...so I'm just using Rhythmbox until it's done.