Ah, yeah. MP3Car replaced it last time, which is much closer but I think this time it has to go through Opus because I did infact buy it used off ebay. I haven't measured it yet, planning to work on the car tomorrow and take it out and wire up the ghetto rigging.

 

just checking in to see how your troubleshooting is going

 

I didn't measure the 5v wire, I ghetto rigged it and got the PC working off the regular ATX powersupply and invertor again. I figured I'd let them deal with it, if it just stopped working out of no where, chances are something's screwed up with it, so I'll let them deal with it. I'll update if tech support lets me know what was wrong with it.

 

any word back yet?

 

Well, it's been quite awhile since I last updated -- geez 3 whole months!!! I've been busy with my personal life lately and running my website so I hadn't really even had the time to sit down and work on the carPC. I went back to using my invertor and regular computer ATX power supply for awhile. Before Camaro Superfest, my dad told me he'd buy an M2-ATX power supply for me because of all the problems Opus' power supply gave me. I did some research on MP3Car.com and found that Opus's power supply actually isn't meant to handle all the power that the USB devices use, someone posted a thread on there stating that when you take into consideration the wattage used for the 5v rail for the harddrive and then the 5v USB rail that you run out of watts for the said 5v rail... something like that. In any case, the 5v rail on the M2 has more watts and is working now. It took three weeks to get it to work, I had a bad ground point under my dash even though it was the factory ground position. So, to finish my rambles, the carPC is back together being powered off the M2 power supply and thus far (only been a full two days) has worked flawlessly. Plus, I really like the 5 second startup and shutdown compared to the 10 second delayed shutdown, AND the M2 will turn off the power to the USB after 2 hours too.. very big plus. Though, I have noticed my USB GPS mouse has not stayed on since I switched to the M2.

 

After a lot of time and troubleshooting, I found that the problems stemmed not from heat, but from a flaky 3.5 hard drive and the M1-ATX I was using was supplying barely enough current upon startup. I replaced the M1 with a M2, and switched to a 2.5" laptop drive, and no more problems. I also moved all the "guts" of my system out of the dash, but I think if I had left everything installed in the dash there wouldn't be any more problems.

 

Speaking of heat, I have noticed that (atleast this was on the previous setup with the invertor and regular PC power supply) that if the car had been directly in the sun for awhile (over an hour) in the summer heat that when I would boot the PC up, the screen would be covered in vertical lines in multiple colors... restarting the PC wouldn't work, and I had noticed one time turning the invertor off and then back on once I was in the shade worked, and another time tapping the touchscreen made the screen go back to normal too. Alas, no issues as of yet with the M2.

PS - Also, not sure about you're total setup, Snootch, but for everyone else reading this please keep in mind that I don't have any fans connected to my system. The motherboard is the fan-less Via Epia motherboard, and the inside has yet to noticably overheat unless you include the above story, but I think that might've been a problem with the invertor.

 

Awesome thread. I had originally thought about doing this when I got my car, abandoned the idea as I was leaning toward total performance/near race car direction, but have since come to some realizations and changed my mind. Now I'm planning on doing this again. lol

It's hard to sit and read 9 pages, especially when most of them are old, but I did scan through it, and have some questions. Hopefully they weren't already talked about (and I ended up missing them).

At a minimum, the radio has to be removed. I see that some people are using XM radio. And I saw in another thread that aftermarket head units can be hooked up to the steeringwheel controls (which is awesom, ever since I had my '88 GTA in the late 90s I've been stuck with OEM stereos because I refused to give up my steering wheel controls. lol).

Are there any aftermarket units that can be controlled through software, via the touch screen? (then I could also get the steering wheel controls hooked up to it and keep it looking like it was a factory option)

What do Corvette HVAC controls look like? I'm wondering if it would look better if doing one of the screen+stock HVAC location setups. (Jason, your motorized screen is a neat idea, but too much hassle for me personally, plus more weight, plus more stuff to break. While I'm comfortable with it being a GT car now, I still do not want to add any weight I don't absolutely have to for some other goal/reason. lol)

 

Did I mention something about a motorized screen? I don't remember. I prefer fixed screens. I plan to put a 10.4" in the stock dash location. I plan to move my original HVAC controls with the cable still attached into the glovebox. Then take another HVAC control from a wrecked car, cut out the middle hot cold cable switch and bring the other 2 switches together. The fan and vent selector are the 2 most used ***** anyway so I'll put them together in the TCS/storagepocket/cig lighter area so they are in easy reach. Then on the rare occasion I need to adjust the temperature switch, I'll open the glove box and adjust it.

With this setup the main controls will be in easy reach, the cable won't have to be modded and the electrical wires shouldn't have to be lengthened. I will probably have to cut the vacuum lines and add a short length of vacuum hose to extend them a little. I will also maintain the cupholder as well. Can't lose that. .

Overall, that's the plan. I'm trying to locate either a transflective LCD or an Allbrite 10.4" for the dash right now. I've had problems from my PC lately. The RAM went bad. Which I don't understand. Now the mobo is acting screwy. It may be going out on me or something so I'm going to look into another 754 mobo.

It's a good idea to be able to throw a cd player into the rear floor board just so you have something to listen to if your PC should run into problems. I can't stand driving around without music.

The PAC steering wheel adapter takes the steering wheel signal and converts it to a IR signal. If your aftermarket radio has a IR remote control for it then it can be programmed to control that radio. That's what I did with my Clarion CD player before I put the PC in. Now with the PC, I added and IR reciever and plugged it into the PC. My front end that controls the music is called RoadRunner. I then used a program called Girder to take the IR signal and convert it to commands that simulate button presses in RoadRunner. So when I'm listening to music and looking at the RR interface I can use my 8 steering wheel buttons to control volume, track up or down, page up or down (for scrolling) play/pause, or whatever I want. Plus I still use the Clarion wireless remote if I want have more button to use. It's pretty sweet.

 

That's massive, let me tell you. I originally was going to do a 10.4" touchscreen for mine, I had a Kiosk PC... this is what my bezel looked like after I had molded it (it was my first ever job doing this, so don't mind the waves in the finish)






With an 8.5 x 11" printout of the infamous "blue skirt girl" picture stuck in there at a car show:

 

10.4 does seem pretty big.

The more I think about it, the more I want it to look OEM, or Foosed, I guess, really. His thing is always to make it so subtle that it looks like it was just that way all along. He has said, if people look at it and ask "what did you do to it?", he knows he did the job right. (simiar to how score composers say that you should not actually notice the music in a movie when it's there to just enhance the mood.... but I digress lol)

So... it seems that none of the factory setups have a HUGE screen that dominates the center console. And, the more I think about it, the more it seems overkill. Unless I plan on watching the Power Block while cleaning hte interior or something, I don't see what I could really do with 1 giant screen that takes it all up, that I couldn't do with a smaller one that only takes up the radio space.

Plus, what OEM tucks the HVAC controls in the glove box?

Don't get me wrong - it works, and it can look nice. And if you want the massive screen, it's one of very few options available. I'm not slamming it, it's just not what I'm looking for.

I do not want to sacrifice anything with this car (other than performance that will be sacrificed by not gutting it and making it unstreetable). So nothing in the storage area, no rear seat deletes, no glove box occupation, etc. This makes things a bit trickier, I know. lol

Anyway....

I'd still like to see what the 'Vette HVAC controls look like. The ***** look ok in the Trans Am and Firebird as it stands, but, with a slick touch screen interface, it suddenly looks out of sync.

I'm also trying to figure out what to put on the sides. Every factory set up I've seen is flanked by buttons and such, and the lack is noticable for it's lack, imo.

But I'm digressing again. lol

Just to make sure I understand - you used an IR control converter to map the wheel controls to the IR remote port. That's way cool. But you said you hooked one up to the PC too? So that means you can use a software interface and press buttons on the screen and control it in the same way as on the wheel? Duplication, yes, but, the wheel is there for when not in radio mode on the display (the way I see it).

Speaking of display, what about stereo display? Do you have to do everything blind? Or can you see it through the PC? (which is really what I'm aiming for)

Oh! What about EQ and Fade/Balance? (or in the case of aftermarket units, like my Kenwood Excelon in my Grand Prix - bass, treble, fade, balance, non-fade, cross over limits, etc)

I'm guessing that if it's all done through IR, you're limited to whatever the remote can accomplish. It would be really nice if the PC could hook directly into the HU and read the display and input controls.

Any good links on HU's with monster remote or cable control capabilities?

(I know I'm asking a million questions, sorry, just excited and it's like midnight and I have to crash, so I'm trying to get everything out before I forget lol)

 

I personally think the 10.4" looks like it was made to fit there. Did you see these pics or my thread focusing on f-body CarPC's?



That looks so nice and factory to me. You guys don't agree? I would say it looks very Foose.
I think the 2 ***** below the screen for fan speed and vent selection would look fine as well. Foose might find another solution, but I doubt he would spend much time to figure out all the alternatives. It would be nice if I could swap it out with something slicker. Some type of automatic climate control would be great, but I don't think it's possible. The controls could also be tucked into the center console. There really aren't many choices other than that. The advantage of having the hot/cold selector switch in the glove box is that you don't have to legnthen the cable on it.

If you want to compromise on the screen and use a smaller 6.5" just do it up like Snootch did. That works and is pretty easy to do. Looks factory as well.

I don't think your following me here. I don't run a headunit at all. Before I switched over to the PC, I did use headunits as that was all you had. PAC makes a simple steering wheel converter that takes your wheel button presses and transmits them out through an IR transmitter. You program it buy using the IR remote from what ever headunit you are using. Since the HU is already setup to use it's remote, you just aim the converters little IR LED at the radio. These have been around for several years and are not made specifically for PC's.

All I did was plug an IR reciever into the serial port on the mobo and setup the software. Now the steering wheel controls the PC. At least 8 buttons worth. I don't have a touchscreen yet as I'm still scouting around for a good LCD screen.

I don't have an FM radio in the car anymore and don't really miss it. All my music is on the harddrive. I do plan to add an XM tuner to the PC to hear fresh, new music as well as the comedy channels. I love those. If you can't live without FM, then you can add an FM tuner PCI card to the PC.

All of the sound output is going out of the sound cards SPDIF output into an Alpine PXA-H700. That is really the best way to do it in a carpc setup. It handles all the EQ, x-over, time alignment, etc... digitally.

 

Ah, I see now. I didn't think about FM tuner cards for a PC. But that would make the most sense. (although if you don't run FM, a shaved antenna would be cool - I do use FM quite a bit though. But then, I only have the 1 CD drive in the Monsoon too)

For some reason I had the idea in my head that I needed to keep the stereo, not really sure why. lol (doh!)

Is there a way to make the steering wheel buttons do the same thing all the time, regardless of what's being shown on the screen? (meaning that even if you're in GPS mode or stopwatch mode or whatever, volume on the wheel is still volume, etc.)

Meissenation's pics of a 10.4" screen looked much larger than the ones you posted Jason. And yes, those do look good there and perfectly sized for it. It does seem a bit oversized compared to what is in the S-Class and such (which is the ultimate of ultimate, short of a Maybach), but.... that would be cool if the HVAC could be controlled through the screen. As it's not practical (in the least) to pull that off, that means hiding those controls in an unusual and decidedly non-OEM manner.

If it was Overhaulin', you're right, he wouldn't spend too much time on it. But if it was Impression.... when the project lasts years, time isn't exactly of the essence. heh heh

Hey, speaking of the glove box (to go on a slight tangent), any ideas on adding a second latch so that it sits even, not with one corner sagging down?

 

I'm not sure about the volume. It depends on a lot of things. Usually the Girder program can switch the button functions depending on what program is on the screen. If you use the GPS screen built into the RoadRunner front end it probably will work. Or you might be able to map the volume buttons to some dedicated keyboard volume buttons to control the Master volume. I haven't done that myself, but it can probably be done. I haven't added GPS or XM yet, so I haven't tried any of that.

It is nice not hearing the antenna go up and down.

I haven't found a solution to the glove box warpage. The latch being on one side is always going to warp it. You might could attach a linear actuator to the passenger side and motorize it up and down. When the motor closes it, it will pull it up flush. I'm not sure if it's worth a $100 actuator to do that, though.

If you really want to get into the carpc thing you need to go over to MP3car.com. Ls1tech really isn't the place for this.

 

There was one guy who did that. He was an engineer and use solenoids for each of the vacuum switches, relays for the fan speeds and a servo for the cable control. It had automatic climate control all controlled through the PC.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=18189

His pics are gone, but here are some I saved. Suffice it to say, this is virtually impossible for me or most people to build and design the software to control it.

 

Well, it is electronics, and in an LS1 car.... lol

Yeah, I've been lurking over there much of the day yesterday, I just don't have a log on there, so it was easier to post here. lol

 

That's true, Jason, I forgot you're the lucky bastard with the Pontiac interior. It's so much harder to do that in a Camaro interior!!!

I have the carPC working beautifully now with the M2-ATX power supply. Although I did notice my USB GPS doesn't seem to "activate" at all? I switch over to GPS and it doesn't turn the mouse on, it stays off. :shrug: Just one of the two things left to trouble shoot. The other is (I think) the screen needs a seperate ground than running off the M2's. For the screen's power, we just used a harddrive connector and cut the 5v rail and one of the ground wires off so it was just 12v and ground then connected that to the Lilliput's power wires so I can plug and unplug the screen from the power supply. Now I have white lines that go horizontally through my screen... I think it's a ground issue, but it's not all the time, so it's weird. I've noticed a lot of times if I tap the touchscreen to change songs or to turn the volume up the white lines will disappear, but it's not always that way. Dunno, confusing.

 

The ac controls were what killed this project for me. The blower motor is electronic, but the hot/cold selector is some sort of phyisical cable and the vent selector is vacuum lines. They do not want to relocate. At all.

I was going to run a headunit and run an input from aux out of the mobo. HU just gives you more sound shaping options and ability to power things, IMO. Yes, it can be redundant if you have a dvd or cdr in the car on the computer, but there is no redundancy on signal and power interfacing as far as amps go.

If I could ever figure out where to put the ac controls that was not in the glove box, I would run an 8" screen.

Meissen keep posting that stuff up - your experience is very enlightening.

 

I'm with you on not wanting to put them in the glove box, however, they will relocate to there, so it's not a case of it not being possible. Snootch managed it without too much trouble.

Another idea is what Jason was talking about, moving the blower speed and vent selectors down to where the lighter and TCS switch currently are, pulling the temp dial out, and moving that alone over to the glove box. It's a nice compromise.

Or, you could control the blower speed through the PC, and just mount the cable and vacuum ***** down in the TCS switch/lighter location. That way nothing is hidden in a spot that an OEM would never put stuff.

It should also be possible to lengthen the cables too. So you could get into some extreme fabrication and either put them on top of the vents, ala one of Jason photochops, or, you could really get involved and just build a new center dash section that moved the vents up, allowing more room for a larger screen and the HVAC controls could stay where they are. Probably too involved, but, it's a thought.


You're saying that an 8" wide screen won't fit with the HVAC controls in their stock location? That's a bummer. The 7" would be perfect if it was a but longer to fill in the space. I was hoping that an 8" 16:9 would extend over enough without taking up too much more space that it couldn't fit vertically.

Y'know, another really wild idea would be to put the HVAC controls on the center vents. I have no idea how to go about it, but picture this, say those stainless bezels people like to put in there, they could be stainless or dash colored, or whatever, and hooked up to the controls behind the vent. So that turning the bezel would have the same effect as turning the ****. Or, you could perhaps fix the directional vents in place somehow (probably by mounting them further inward) and using the entire circular vent as the **** itself.

 

Interesting. I wouldn't mind giving up a vent. The blower wires can be lengthened, you are right. That's nothin' but wires. The vent selectors are vacuum lines...has anyone figured out where those go, or tried to lengthen them? I am sure you could put an in line male/male adapter of some kind and stick some more hose on the end and hope for the best.

I was thinking actually ashtray for blower motor and hot cold selector.

It's that blasted mechanical cable for the hot-cold that really forces you to stay near its intended location. I could see putting it in the center ac vent, moving the blower and vacuum to somewhere else. I have throughouly destroyed an AC headunit before and found that its all pretty modular.

I did the measurements on the stock enclosure area (leaving everythign else on the car as is) and hunted around for monitors that fit in that space. They are few and far between in an 8". 7s will fit, but damn thats small. I'd want to go as big as possible, though from the pics 10.4 is a bit incredible. I have to go find my measurments again.

EDIT:
One more thing - I hacked my last center console to bits and put my stereo HU where the traction control usually goes. I couldnt find anywhere else to put that either. Pic of that is here

Keep in mind i was not really done making it look nice, and a couple weeks later that car got totalled.


Center console might work but playing cds would be negative - modern cd players still do not like over 35-45 degrees mounting angle. Not to say you couldnt put one of those slimline optical drives somewhere else.