1998 Mustang GT - New install

**parksgm** · 09-28-2006, 11:37 AM

09.28.06 morning update

I'm going to need to do a bit more research into the CFLs before comitting. LIke all fluorescent lamps, CFLs require a high frequency, alternating current to operate. This current is produced by a ballast. There are two types of ballasts available...magnetic and electronic.

I was planning to use a 12VDC to 120VAC inverter to provide power to the ballasts for the lamps, but this struck me as a bit inefficient. So, I searched for 12VDC input ballasts. While 12VDC ballasts can be purchased, they are all electronic ballasts, and the PL bipin base type CFL lamps that I had planned to use require a magnetic ballast. I also discovered that cheaper ballasts can produce radio interference, which is definitely something I want to stay far away from.

I contacted www.solarseller.com, who told me:

As a rule, bipin PL tubes are made for use with magnetic ballasts. All of the ballasts we handle are electronic. To use one of these tubes with our ballasts you would first have to come up with a socket ( www.lightbulbs.com or www.bulbman.com ) and then remove the starter from the plastic base on the tube. The starter is either a diode/resistor or a neon light/resistor and is in parallel to the two pins. The IOTA and LIT inverter/ballasts are designed to operate a single tube.

I don't know enough about flourescents currently to know if removing the starter is a feasible option, so more research (again) is in order.

'til tomorrow...

**JpLelko** · 10-25-2006, 11:34 AM

has any one noticed that he stated that his original list was created on 12/31/2006... um if he has a time machine, i would like to know next weeks lotto numbers. or any thing that i can bet on would be great. or you can lend me your time machine, and let me reek havoc on the space-time continum.... think of the posibilities, i mean just look at "Back to the Futre" parts I-III. how the hell they make it out of there is beyond me....

**parksgm** · 10-26-2006, 01:24 AM

Originally Posted by JpLelko

i would like to know next weeks lotto numbers.

45-16-85-56-scrw-u

;-)

**parksgm** · 10-26-2006, 01:30 AM

10.26.06 update

Nothing much doing the past few weeks. I built an in-car test rig out of a PSOne screen to test the different methods of backlighting (CFL, LED), and have decided to go compact fluorescent based on the results of the test.
I'll post pics of the screen in the sun at some point in the near future.

I decided against LEDs after testing a 28 LED array Vector (brand) worklight from HomeDepot (LEDs were arranged in roughtly 3 rows) in addition to the 1 watt Luxeon I mentioned testing earlier on the PSOne LCD. The primary, and ultimately limiting disadvantage of LEDs is that they are point sources, and as such, must be heavily diffused to prevent spotting on the screen. That much diffusion cuts the light output significantly of course, which is counterproductive.

Short story is that two 13 watt CFL bulbs provide more than sufficient even, diffuse light to allow the screen to be clearly seen with direct sunlight shining on it. My primary concern was excessive heat generation and buildup, which was not an issue when testing, and which I don't believe will be a significant consideration in the final design. Color rendition is more than satisfactory with the 5000K bulbs I had on hand, and should be even better with the 27W four tube 6500K full spectrum CFLs I plan to use in the final design.

Next, I need to fab up an cardboard mockup of the aluminum/lexan backlight enclosure for the mp3car.com SP7 screen I'll actually be using. Hopefully, that will get done in the next week or so. When all is said and done, I think this will be a competitive alternative to TurboCad's Luxeon backlighlight upgrade.

**parksgm** · 10-26-2006, 01:53 AM

10.26.06 update numero dos

Forgot to mention the other news...I've decided to ditch CoPilot and go with StreetDeck. That is one NICE program...well designed, fully editable and skinnable, and a great value for the money in my opinion.

I'm planning to run it under XP on a MacMini Core Duo, but only if I can get confirmation that it is fully functional AND that the Mini will properly hibernate with a Carnetix 1900 PS.

...but all of this is awaiting completion of my screen. I see no use in an in-car computer that is unusable when the sun happens to be up.

**parksgm** · 01-14-2007, 07:46 PM

Pin #5----------Ground
Pin #8----------Power Failure
Pin #4----------UPS Shutdown
Pin #1----------Low Battery

**parksgm** · 02-01-2008, 08:29 PM

Update 02/01/2008

Been quite a while since my last update!

I've installed StreetDeck and have been using it for the past year. I'd like to revise my previous assessment of StreetDeck...it's a nice program, but quite a few bugs remain (two years after the initial release) that make it less than perfect.

Otherwise, my installation is fairly stable. Specs can be accessed through the forum link just below my user name.

I plan to use this post as a "home base" to list and hopefully solve the few remaining issues that I'm experiencing that are keeping my installation from functioning ideally. I'm going to list the individual problems here, then keep separate posts below for each problem, and update my progress on each problem in that post.

Intermittent issues

Slow hibernation: Occasionally, the computer will not hibernate correctly. When this happens, a hibernation is triggered by the DS-ATX properly, and the computer beings to hibernate correctly. However, when the hibernation status window appears, the progress bar moves very slowly. If allowed to continue, the computer wil successfully hibernate, but it takes >2 minutes. The DS-ATX is currently set to hard power off after 90 seconds, so when the hibernate issue occurs, the most frequent result is that the hibernation progress bar reaches approximately 2/3 complete, and then the power is cut, and the computer must fully startup the next boot.
Failure to resume from hibernation: This problem is similar in frequency to the slow hibernation problem listed above. Occasionally, the computer will begin to resume from hibernation correctly, with the resume progress bar completing. Then, the screen goes black, and the LCD reports that there is no input signal. Windows never appears. The only solution is a full reboot, and booting Windows XP from the beginning.
gDrive controller: Controller is based on a heavily modified Saiteck USB joystick with a Griffin powermate attached to the top of the stick (looks better than it sounds!). The output from the joystick is routed through Joy2Mouse, a program that translates joystick movement in the cardinal directions to keypresses (the arrow keys). For some reason, the joystick occasional

Consistent issues

Slim USB DVD drive not recognized/doesn't mount: The drive is mounted approximately 10 feet from the computer, and connected directly to a working USB 2.0 PCI card on the computer (I know the card is working because all of my other peripherals are connected through the same card). The drive is powered by a 12V to 5V regulated DC power supply connected to 12V bus of the computer's DS-ATX power supply.

Here's the problem...the drive will repeatedly attempt to spin up and mount any disc inserted, but almost always fails to do so. Usually, the drive sounds like it _almost_ spins up completely, but then stops spinning and begins the cycle over again. If a CD is in the drive on reboot, the drive NEVER spins up successfully. If there is no CD in the drive, and one is inserted while the computer is booted, then the drive will recognize and mount the disc most of the time. When the drive does mount successfully, it works well.

I started a thread here to resolve the issue. I'll continue posting what I do there.

DVD playback error: I have had difficulty with DVD playback in SD since I purchased it. I have downloaded and installed the required codecs (as listed on the SD dependancies page), and still get a "DVD video disc not initialized" error when I attempt to play DVDs. Will troubleshoot this more after I get the DVD drive mounting consistently (however, I have had the same problem with internal IDE DVD drives).

"dw.exe" and "Server busy" dialog boxes on hibernate/shutdown When quitting SD, the SD window closes and there is a strange dialog box (not sure what application it is from) behind the SD window. Occurs almost every time SD is run and then quit. Will get a screenshot of the dialog box and post here. Perhaps related to my hibernation/resume issues, as it the application that is in error might be preventing proper hibernation.

**parksgm** · 02-05-2008, 08:16 PM

Slow hibernation

02/05/2008: Since originally posting the issue above, I haven't experienced another episode of slow hibernation or system crashing on resume. Will continue to monitor.

02/19/2008: See the "dw.exe" post above. I believe these problems are related.

**parksgm** · 02-05-2008, 08:17 PM

Failure to resume from hibernation

02/05/2008: Since posting the issue above, I haven't experienced another issue of failure to resume from hibernation. Will continue to monitor.

02/06/2008: Experienced a failure to resume correctly this morning. System did not hibernate correctly last night, then was unable to resume this morning.

02/19/2008: See the "dw.exe" post above...I now believe these problems are related.

**parksgm** · 02-05-2008, 08:19 PM

gDrive controller

02/05/2008: gDrive controller disconnected after prior episode when controller became stuck sending "arrow up" keypresses to the computer, causing it to crash. Will update when I reconnect and have time to troubleshoot.

02/19/2008: Have not addressed this issue yet.