Thread: 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 Truckputer Install w/ 15" Touchscreen

Oh I completely agree and trust me its crossed my mind... Fortunatly I live in a good town with minimal crime and if it should occur then thats what insurance is for. I just remove the screen when I am going to leave the truck parked somewhere for an extended amount of time like I did over the past week takes only about 5 minutes.

I just really like having the big screen for when I want to web surf or watch movies. I also use my computer for Emergency communications stuff and other HAM radio digital communications so it is easier for me to have the larger monitor. I just wish there was a front end that worked the way it should form the get go and actually utilize 1024x768 So far I am not very pleased with any of them :-(

Originally Posted by IssaquahWA1979

I just wish there was a front end that worked the way it should form the get go and actually utilize 1024x768 So far I am not very pleased with any of them :-(

CF is running on Josh's 17-inch touchscreen; setting it up was simple, and it works fine. The buttons are big enough that he can probably press them with a tennis ball, but it does everything it's supposed to do. The big screen is unnecessary for CF, but the additional screen real estate is perfect for regular PC operations.

So I thought I would update a few new pictures... I decided to move my Ham Rig to the monitor to clean up the dash a little bit. I also have ordered a new intel atom d510 motherboard as I have done my proof of concept with the shuttle AMD 2000. I must say though even though its a bit slow this machine has ran Windows 7 just fine with all the garbage that I have installed on it.

So next steps are to build a center floor console under the cup holders that will have additional Cigarette style power outlests as well as my most favorite Anderson Powerpole plugs for my ham gear and other gear. I am thinking along the side will work well as to not invite coffee spills into the connectors. Probably do a couple of USB jacks and Line in jack if someone wants to plug IPod or laptop into the system.

So far this has turned out very well one of our local police officers was in my truck the other day and just loved the setup even though they have the very nice toughbook laptops he liked my setup better...

Oh and the pictures were taken middle of the day full sun to give an idea of the sunlight capability of the Elos monitor, so far I have yet not to be able to read it during the day even with sunglasses on and I am visually impaired....

hey,
looking good there
and i noticed u got a icom
what type is it ?
i got the ic 7000 and 706mk2
both had them in the car but i got a opel corsa c and the fuel injectors are annoying
you hear them on the radio and my xenon headlights, well they are hell
the qrm you get from it :S

Thanks a bunch for the comments yes the 7000 is a wonderful rig, my friend has 3 of them I keep threating to steal one for the truck... Mine is the D-Star enabled 2820h, so far I am very happy with it other than the dead line of pixels in the screen, I just need to get it fixed...

so here are some pictures of my latest revision of the Ramputer. This was just quickly hand milled and will eventually go on the CNC to be a perfect custom case but for now it will do... This is the new Intel D510MO and has the MiniBox M4-ATX supply. I still need to do some cable dressing and DC wiring in the truck but I threw it in today and all seems to be happy.

Very nice, very compact. Looks extremely durable. I have 2 questions:

Is the hard drive OK being used on it's edge like that with the platters not laying flat?

Is there a way to connect that USB line that doubles back internally? (with or without soldering something)

Nice job!

Originally Posted by PhilG

Very nice, very compact. Looks extremely durable. I have 2 questions:

Is the hard drive OK being used on it's edge like that with the platters not laying flat?

Is there a way to connect that USB line that doubles back internally? (with or without soldering something)

Nice job!

There is so much gossip on whether having the HDD on its side will bother the HDD. My first second and third install all had the HDD laying on its side and I never had a problem. The myth is that when you hit a bump, the needle will glide along the surface, where as when you lay it flat the needle will go straight into the platter. I have run both ways and each time the HDD ran perfect. I have never had a HDD die in any configuration. Only one died and thats because I accidentally had a live 12V wire touch it while the PC was on, that was an instant frying.

As for the Case, I think it was creative that you used the HDD as walls to support the whole thing. I can see you used the mounting holes on the HDD and all to fasten it all together. I assume this goes in a very open space, or one that the case is really fastened in the car, because one big bump and the HDD will get banged up, which I am sure will cause faster death.

Thanks for the input, I also have been running drives in vehicles for other applications for many years unsecured bounced around you name it and they have all survived. I think people are a little bit behind the times in terms of how durable these drives are. 5 years ago I might have agreed they are fragile today's drives are pretty rugged.

As for the mounting in the truck this is a tight fit into the bottom center console, the reason for the larger bottom plate is it get sandwitched in between the rubber padded carpet and the console insert you cannot move it once secured in place. Airflow comes from two fans up front pulling air in and is passed out the rear of the console. I still need to fabricate the grille for the back side so it looks nice.

I could have taken up a header on the board but it would still have required me to solder it in. That USB is for the M4 communication. I may at some point find some single header USB ports but even then I would have to find a very short USB cable and worry about that connection. So far seems to be happy.

Thanks again for the comments and always looking for more.