Thread: Bugbyte's 2001 New Beetle -Mac Mini Install

Originally Posted by thecolor

right where you have the binary code on your sunroof avatar, you should install a solar panel (inside of course) between the glass and fabric cover in the car. A perect solution to recharging or day time seperate power source.

Someone makes 2 side by side 8 1/2 x 11 panels to power laptops. That would fit perfect.

That's an interesting idea. At first I was thinking that it would block the light coming in but I get that you were talking about the fabric slider inside that would block the sun.

I wouldn't be able to get enough cells in there to power the computer, though so I'm not sure what I'd use that power for. Maybe an APRS transmitter...

Well, it doesn't look like much but I'm one step closer to going to installation. I've completed the ductwork that the Mini will sit on top of and route hot air out and into the dash.



You'll have to look up a couple of posts to see the plan for how it fits in, but it came out okay. I tried test fitting it in the car and it went in just fine. Lining it up with the upper dock will be the challenge, but that's for another day. The white goop on top is silicon but I've got some foam now and I may pull that off and put a pad of foam on top of it.

I also worked this weekend on adding a handle to the Mini. This is important because the handle is my eject mechanism for the dock. I could try to come up with some kind of mechanical or electronic eject system but in the spirit of keeping it simple, it seems to me that a handle that lets you pull the box out of the dock and the dash is an elegant and simple way to do it.

As with everything else, we'll see.

Here's the finished product.


I made if from 1" aluminum I bought at Home Depot. I laid out the plan by tracing the Mini on a piece of paper.


Then I bent the aluminum to shape over a wooden template I made to match the radius of the Mini shell.


Then, I drilled two holes in the metal with a drillpress and use a Dremel with a cutoff wheel to span the gap between them. I needed a slot because I want the handle to sit flush against the front of the Mini when closed, and slide out so I can get my fingers around it when I want to eject the Mini.

After marking the location of the slot, I drilled the hole for the screw that will hold the handle. Then, I tapped it to create threads for the screw.


Finished project retracted:



Extended:



Next steps - have to test the whole system out by wiring up the P1900 and bench testing the startup and shutdown. If it works, the next thing to do is figure out what to do about my stereo system, do it, and install.

Update: Had a good stretch of time to work on the system today. Got the P1900 all wired up, set the jumpers accordingly, and cut and soldered my power cord to the P1900, including the wake/sleep ACPI springs I installed in the dock and the back of the Mini.

Plugged the Mini into the dock with the newly constructed handle and flipped on the power supply (I use a Radio Shack 10 amp 13.8 volt regulated power supply for bench testing).

Bong! The tone came on, indicating that the springs and ACPI connections I added to the dock and Mini were working. Got boot up. No picture though, I need a VGA gender changer for the end of the cable and I gotta check that as it is possible I accidentally nicked the purple wire in trying to cut the rubber collar off of the VGA cable. That's easy to replace but only if I do it now. If I wait, it will require a complete deinstall.

Disconnected the accessory wire to simulate key off and the Mini went into sleep with the power light pulsing on and off softly. Sweet. I also measured the output at the secondary and I'm getting 12 volts, which I'll use to supply my Xenarc to get it off of the cigarette lighter.

Used the "undocking handle" for the first time to remove the Mini from the dock. Worked like a charm!

Tomorrow, I go over to my buddy Chris' house and we'll fiddle with making sure the actual dock fits into the car without leaking hot air all over the place. That may or may not be the final install. I'm thinking not, as I haven't settled on exactly what to do with the head unit. It's cheaper to just remote mount it and use it like an amplifier, but not so elegant. Since I got jack for responses on my Monsoon thread a couple weeks ago, I'm not closer to a solution than I was. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

They stick out at least a 1/4 inch. When compressed, they are pretty tight so no, I'm not worried. I'm more worried that they will oxidize over time (I think they are brass) and won't make good contact.

I may have to sand them a bit in the future if that happens but since they are straight back, I ought to be able to do that without uninstalling the system.

awsome install.... the dock idea is great...I was wondering why you weren't building in an eject mechanism until I saw the addition of the handle, but what are you going to do to hold it in securely? is it a tight enough fit with just the plugs & friction of inserting or are you going to have to add some sort of a "lock"....

I like the way you install...IE; it takes as long as it takes....take as much time & spend as much effort as it takes....no rushing....it isn't worth doing if it isn't worth doing it right....if you can't find the time to do it right, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over........ etc...,etc...... you have to end up with an awsome install.... great attention to detail....

my first idea when seeing this is to use a vacum floresent display from a HTPC that displays many functions of the pc over the face of this.....then it hit me....this ain't a pc....it's a mac!... are there any similar solutions for the mac that you have seen?

great job so far...just wanted to be a part of this thread to keep up on the progress.... I actually thought of docking a macmini when I first saw it.... but I don't know anything about mac & never got around to playing with one....

good luck with it...looks great so far.....

Originally Posted by turbocad6

my first idea when seeing this is to use a vacum floresent display from a HTPC that displays many functions of the pc over the face of this.....then it hit me....this ain't a pc....it's a mac!... are there any similar solutions for the mac that you have seen?

That's what I have in mind. I'll have to figure out whether it can be done on a Mac or not.

A little bit of a setback today. I took the whole thing out to the car to test fit. Turns out my lower exhaust ductwork is too small to thread the VGA connector through! I think I can save it by cutting the front off and extending it to be bigger. I'll rebuild it if necessary.

Thanks for the nice words. I'll keep the thread up to date.