Does anyone have a computer in their car?

[BlakkIce]

im looking to put a computer in my durango and i just wanted some ideas i want to attach it to a 7in LCD touch screen, this computer will be used for MP3 playback, navigation, and internet

 

[TGCid]

I think you will have problems with the hard drive, all the road bumps will greatly shorten hard drive life spand.

 

[magomago]

yeah, the vibration isn't going to be very nice to your computer......

And the heat...

Try a laptop - that is what my friend has (though its a Yukon and he built a little docking station for himself)

 

[BlakkIce]

damn i didnt think about that

 

[RSMemphis]

No, I don't, but I want to. (Don't have a car at the moment)

You are not alone... Linky...

Vibrations aren't a huge problem, although using a notebook harddrive may be a good idea...

 

[BlakkIce]

thanks for the link, if i use a laptop HD it will also cut out on alot of heat HUMMMMMMM

 

[Confused]

VERRRRYYY basic HTML page with details of my incar MP3 computer. Go to the directory root for pics of it


Feel free to ask/PM/email me any questions



Confused

 

[stevewm]

I've had a computer mounted in my car trunk for about 3 years now.

Its a standard MicroATX tower. Using a standard desktop IDE hardrive. (Maxtor 20GB). Its used solely for mp3/ogg/wav playing purposes.

The hardrive is still going strong after 3 years without a single bad sector (I do a full surface scan with ScanDisk at the end of every month to check for bad sectors)

The case is laying on its side on top a 12" thick piece of foam, its then strapped down to my trunk floor with 3 rubber tie down straps . This setup allows the whole case to bounce around a bit with bumps. Laying the case on its side also puts the hardrive vertical in relation to the road. This prevents shocks from making the drive's heads slap down on the platters.

For control/display I am using a standard 20x4 HD4478 compatible LCD. OS is a Win98. I'm using Winamp with a plugin called VisLCD (something like that, don't remember exactlly what it is called) that drives the LCD and provides a numeric keypad control interface.

The display and keypad are connected to the computer via a very long parallel cable that takes the same path through the car as the factory rear speaker wiring does. (there are 25 wires in a single parallel cable, this is more than enough to carry all the signals for the LCD, keyboard and audio out + plus power for both keyboard and LCD )

The display is mounted in my dash where the factory CD player would go. I left the keypad laying between the front seats.

In the 3 years I've had this setup I have had only 2 major problems. When I first built the thing the case was mounted directly to my trunk floor without the rubber straps and without the foam padding. After about 2 weeks with this setup the entire drive cage assembly ripped from the case frame. It crashed into the motherboard damn near cracking it in half. (hardrive survived though!) My second problem was my inverter buring up for no apparent reason.....

Any questions don't hesitate to PM me

 

[bocamojo]

Check out these sites:

Car Computer comments

Smart Vehicle PC

 

[CraigRT]

i know a guy that has a laptop in his car.... even has an LCD screen in his dash for controlling winamp..

 

[Confused]

Once I figure out how to rotate an HTML page through 90 degrees, then I shall have an iPAQ for display/controlling winamp


Confused

 

[ojai00]

There was an issue of Maximum PC a couple of months ago that showed a computer in a car as Rig of the Month. Might want to check that out...don't have a link on hand, sorry.

EDIT: forgot to mention that it was a convertible I think

 

[PurePeon]

if you only want it for mp3s, why not get a mp3 car player? maybe they have cd changers that play mp3 also.

 

[BlakkIce]

im still waiting on my back issues of MPC they are still shipping to my old address, thanks for the links guys ill be sure to post pictures

 

[CZroe]

Uhh, I take my laptop with me everywhere I go I wouldn't want it PERMANANTLY attached to my vehicle...

 

[dkozloski]

All we need on the road is another driver with a major distraction. The cell phone users, book readers, smokers with a fire in their lap, spilled hot coffee, a whole range of sex acts and the Lord knows what else, are evidently not enough. The good Lord protects fools and drunks. What category does an automotive computer user with his vision focused on a screen fall into. After you cream the five year old on a bicycle I would like to hear the story you tell the judge.

 

[CZroe]

As long as he uses it as nothing more than an ultra-GPS or ultimate jukebox (With dashboard controls) while driving I don't see an issue... Other than the fact that I heard a screen can not legally be allowed in the front seat (Of course, they have some loose definition of screen which allows GPS/OnStar units and such).