Thread: 02 VW Golf TDI 7" Eee PC Budget Build

Progress:

Radio Shack Ground loop Isolator FOR THE WIN! It works perfectly and removes about 99% of the noise with no appreciable loss in sound quality....Although I did have to buy a stupid $6 Phono to 1/8" adapter like I suspected. Total came out to $24 after tax, bringing my grand total to $370! :O

I could have waited and bought one off of ebay for about $12, but I still would have had to buy the adapter, meaning I only would have saved about $6 bucks.

All in all, a good day in the build. I passed the in-car charging and audio test. Thanks for the tip on the isolator Scrambles!

Progress:

Glovebox removed:

Note to MkIV owners: DO NOT go through the trouble of removing both lower center console pieces to get at the single hidden screw tab. JUST BREAK IT! I properly removed everything and it took me about an extra half hour or so of work only to find that 1. The tab is not even necessary to hold anything together. 2. It was about 90% broken already once I got to it, and immediately broke once I took it off.

Glovebox marked for cutting:


Glovebox cut:

Note: I will most likely cut a little more off the back where you can see that bit hanging down, as the front door really comes in close.

Another note to MkIV VW Golf/Jetta owners: The early style glove boxes (<'03) are smaller than the late style glove boxes because of some useless metal that VW decided to put behind the glovebox to the left. Pictured here (all of it should be removed, but the part circled in red may require cutting?):


Finally, I added two mounting brackets made of strips of aluminum with holes drilled into them to either side of where the head unit will go. I will get some pics of it installed tomorrow. Also, I think that the antenna wire should reach with out extending it any further, and I WAY over-extended my factory wiring harness by about a foot and a half. Oh well...

My only concern now is whether I should cut another hole to retain the factory glove box light, and I'm leaning towards yes.

Progress:

Okay, so I got the CD player installed in the glove box today with the PAC IR-X infrared repeater to control it through the remote with the glove box closed.

Here is a shot of the mounting brackets I described earlier:


Here is how the head unit fits in the glove box, from the rear:


Then I had to go back and remove the metal bracket which was circled in red above. It doesn't need to be cut off but it is certainly a PITA to remove because of the three 8mm bolts with one only accessible with an open wrench that I had to go buy from Harbor Freight cause my set only went down to 10mm!

Anyway, once the offending bracket was off, the head unit, now mated to the glove box, fit like a glove.... box.

You can also see there that I relocated the stock glove box light, and swapped out the bulb with a red LED. I think it came out pretty good.

Then, once I made sure that all the wiring worked properly, I took everything back out to take out the radio cage, so I can fab up the Eee PC mounts this week. It left me with quite a large hole in my dash:


I held the Eee up in the different ways I imagined it might fit. First, is the way that I'm currently planning it:


The good thing about doing it this way is that I'll have both of my "front" USB ports accessible beneath the LCD screen. This way however, will extend beyond the dash about 1/2" and cause my screen to be tilted up at about a 10-15 degree angle.

So, a buddy of mine said that it would look a lot cleaner if the screen were flush mount, and I could build in some tilting mechanism later. Then I'd just have to get a USB hub sooner than I intended or run some USB extension cables from the side ports. Here is the fitment test sideways:


You can't really tell in that picture, but there is only a slight plastic tab on the right preventing the computer from going all the way back. And with a little cutting, there is plenty of room on either side for cables and such.

So, I'm kinda torn between mounting positions now. Any thoughts???

Also, while I had everything apart, I ran the USB cable for my GPS:


Finally, I scored a sweet deal on a used Parrot CK3100 this morning on eBay. Only $48 shipped!! Plus I had to buy a $4 right angle 1/8" adapter at Radio Shack to get the Auxiliary Input cable to fit in the glove box as you can see in the pic above. These two items bring the total cost from $370 to....... drum-roll please...... $422!!!! OH

Originally Posted by Scrambles

i would go for the flush mount way

yeah I think I am gonna go with the flush mount. I didn't realize how much room was back there with a little cutting. I may have to find a right angle adapter for the power cord connector in the back or even tilt the mobo a little to make it fit, but it will definitely fit sideways. I also found a USB hub on craigslist for $5 and that will solve the problem of usb port accessibility cause I'll just run it to the glove box. Plus it won't get in the way of the AC controls this way and I won't have to fab anything to cover the sides of the screen.... It'd be nice if I can find a way to tilt it when I want to though. My buddy suggested those little cabinet door latches that you push once to open and again to close like this:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...89973-P655-STB

Originally Posted by rdholtz

Take a look at Rockler.com for other latch options.

It doesn't look like they have much more selection than Lowes.

Progress:
Tonight I picked up the final piece of hardware for the build: a Rosewill 4 Port USB Hub for $5 on Craigslist, new in box! This brings the total to $427!

Anyway, cost aside, this will give me plenty of options for accessories as I have 3 on-board external USB ports, which will have a 4-pot hub connected to one, and with the touch screen controller's built-in 3-port hub connected to the internal webcam USB port, I'll have an additional 2 ports, giving me a grand total of 8 available USB ports!

I know I've gone over this before, but I'm still not sure exactly what I'm going to connect to where yet, as I have so many options now, but I think it will go something like this:

3 Internal ports(Don't want to overload this hub because of reports of failure)
Bluetooth
GPS?? or MicroSD reader or open?
Open for webcam relocation later

1 Left External Port
Mini USB cable routed to center console to charge phone (and tether?)

2 Right External Ports
4 port USB Hub
GPS

4 port hub
External 80GB hard drive (may take two ports)
MicroSD reader
2 open for:
Mouse
Keyboard
iPod
Flash Drive


Finally, here's a shot of what I'm trying to fit in where:

More Progress:

Eee Disassembly:


Comparing LCD Bezel to radio cage (I've got some cutting to do ):


Removed things I won't need like speakers and webcam:

Note: Wifi antennae (black and white wires) also came out too to be relocated.

LCD separated from mobo (incredibly light mobo BTW):


It almost fits without even cutting anything:


Heat spreader removed from plastic bezel:


Test fit of new cooling:


And that's where I'm at.... Tomorrow: let the dremeling begin!