Alright so Ive been eyeballing carputers for a while since I didnt get my lease with a navi. Ive read up on and and Ive seen that this project can run around 900 dollars, if not more. So is this too good to be true? Instead of doing the conventional swap out where the music screen is, I was going to put it up by where the little clock is and have a custom fiberglass case built around it so it blends in. Would this work or is missing key components?: http://cgi.ebay.com/Carputer-GPS-voi...QQcmdZViewItem
I dont need a computer I can use from space in my car, I just want it to store/play all of my MP3's, use the enable the navigation feature and use it with speed and so I can hook up a PS2 to it. I dont need to surf the web out of my car or check my email, my phone will do.

 

Anyone?

 

Yea,

The link you posted is dead.

 

Oh sorry ... how about this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Carputer-GPS-MP3...QQcmdZViewItem

 

...

 

you dont have to pay 900 for a carputer.....check out mp3car.com, i'm sure you will find all the parts you need to get started.

 

i built my own carputer from scratch and spent well over $1k... but it all depends on what you want going into it??? also how much time you want to spend making it look nice and especially working correctly...

 

just took a look at your link... and for that price, i would not waste my money... the processor is crap... 200Mhz x86 System-On-Chip... to properly run navigation/mp3s and possibly expand your carputer setup you need at least a 1GHZ... looking into the Mini-ITX boards from VIA... they are cheap and straight forward...

the best advice i can give you with a carputer is "make sure you invest in a good screen"... that basically makes or breaks your project because if the touchscreen doesn't properly work, you are basically screwed... at first i bought a lilliput and it died on me in 2 wks... had to scrap it and buy a xenarc... ended up wasting more money...

you are in the NJ area... did you go to the meet in dec??? i was there with my carputer... i could have shown you the setup...

 

No, I couldnt make it to the meet in Dec, youre talking about at the Garden State Plaza right?

 

Final clean your PMs man...

here is a response to your questions...

well if you are savvy with cars and savvy with computers... putting them together is not hard at all... since both the car and the computer run on 12V DC, it is simple as pie... as for the switch and power lines, it is all dependent on your power supply... all of them are different...

my power supply is similar to an amp... it has 3 wires (ground, constant 12+, and a switched 12+) so i tapped my remote line to turn on and off with the ignition switch... so i turn on the car, it turns the carputer on... turn off the car, it sends a signal to the power supply to shut down the comp then turn off... so just do a little research on the power supply you will be getting... if you plan on getting a prebuilt unit, just search it in mp3car to find out information on it... also, you need to make sure that the power supply can withstand voltage fluctuations... since when you crank your starter, voltages can spike up, if your power supply cannot withstand that, you will either fry your board or your ps... same goes for the other direction.. if it is really cold and the battery is dropping below 11+V, the ps should be smart enough to shut itself off so you will be able to start your car...

bios is the same.. and yes u can load XP SP2.. that is what i am running... don't be intimidated by a carputer... it is still a computer that you have inside your house... what part of NJ you from??? if you need help with this project, i would be more than glad to help you... keep me posted... and good luck...

 

i am trying to decide if I want to go the carputer route or the factory nav route. What if I just bought the factory screen? Could I use that for the carputer?

 

yes a memeber here did it on their type S...

 

Monmouth county... yea Im gonna try and put together some money and get it done soon, Ill let you know when I do it, I could use the help

 

the specs on that carputer setup are crap. :killer: