This is my CarPC mod installed on a 3G TL, non-navi.
Originally I installed a xenarc monitor and cut up my console but now I got hold of a navi console off ebay and proceeded to hack the buttons by mapping it to a usb keyboard controller. The frontend is roadrunner running a modified version of my skin called FSR, which is all done in flash.
Screen is a Xenarc 7" widescreen with USB touch controller.

I have a working oem navi LCD and my old cut up oem non-navi plastic cover if anyone is interested in buying off me as I have no use for them now.

This is the result.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtA73eu65Kg

 

damm that looks sick.
DId you do the install yourself? If so how difficult was it?

 

nicely done...I been thinking about a CarPC...always want to put one in the TL....can you list the spec please? like what did you buy? where did you get it? how much? how long did it take you to install it?...thanks!

 

Pretty difficult to do. Required me to trace all the buttons and modify some of the traces. Hacking the keyboard is another feat of its own.

Here's how:
http://www.instructables.com/id/ERQH5YWNUIEP2874LM/

Once everything is wired, each navi button didn't map to a single keyboard button. Some of the navi buttons spits out a string like "hgr" which I had to capture using a custom program I wrote with autoit.

Difficulty level i think is like a 8/10. Definitelly worth the trouble!

I will take some pics of it installed in the car next time.

 

Seeing that your in SD, I would love to see this in action some time! Let me know if you have a minute sometime to show it off.

 

Looks really good. I wish I had the skill to do the software. I'm more on the hardware and fabrication end of things. I'm in the middle of hacking up a spare non navi screen to make a 8" dynamix touchscreen fit. I downloaded your skin moahdib. I'm going to try to load it this weekend.

 

man thats awesome. I can hardly turn on my computer much less do something like this. I sure wish someone would retail it. hint hint!

 

haha love the name .. lebowski.
anyways i'm actually in LA, so SD would be a very very far drive

 

Oh, I saw on you video it showing SD.......so I assumed

very impressive though

 

...is there anything you're not willing to do when it comes to your TL carputer? I mean, I thought the 44 wires extension and getting the fit right on that non-navi LCD move was hard enough to copy, much less you being the original first to try it....and now this...

Your stamina is admirable.

BTW, is that opening sequence a flash animation based on multiple photographs, or captured from a fmv or what? I suppose you modeled your entire car in 3D, adding in all your interior/exterior accessories like the aftermarket gas pedals, then designed the "flyby" complete with Direct-X handled texturing with your skin as a texture over the screen area, and it's complete with the sound of your car starting to accompany startup...Actually, I think you should incorporate it with Google Earth and have the camera fly into your car from outer space (but through Jessica Alba's bedroom first), automatically updating the animation for car's location on the globe.


...Oh, and in your glovebox, there should be a sliding tray with a nice hot cup of tea wired to the computer.

 

That's the beauty of Southern California freeways...the 405, the "San Diego Freeway", does not go anywhere within 80 miles of San Diego!

 

oh good point. I was on a trip there beggining of the year and had saved the gps logs to do playback =)

Why thank you =)
I'll let you in on another mod I'm working on. Ever since I obtained a NAVI dash and screen i've been hacking it up like no tomorrow.
So this is whats coming:

Front view camera (already have a rear one) and adding the TL OEM "navi" LCD as a second computer display in the bottom compartment where I once had relocated the oem screen.

I already got the navi LCD working via standard VGA input cable and using a program called powerstrip to adjust the frequency. No need for a VGA to RGB converter unless you wanna throw money down the drain. Image quality is superb at 960x468. (i'm running this resolution bc its twice the native (480x234) resolution and keeps the aspect ratio the same for widescreen movies.

For my temperatures and audio info, I'm gonna try obtaining the navi clock display. On the navi, that display has all the info my non-navi LCD has. Just a big waste of space. Thanks acura!!

I can't even begin to count how much i've done to my TL and don't know when it'll be over either. haha

And that hot cup of coffee .. you just gave me a great idea. I'm gonna grab one of those USB heater/ cooler and install in the cup holder to warm or cool my drinks.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...rocess=default

 

here are some pics of the LCD in action....

 

...you probably have thought of this already, but I'd go to a powered hub or a dedicated DC/DC for any kind of warming device, vice mobo usb/ carPC PSU. heaters = current. Just throwing that out there for other carpc folk who might want the same thing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/tea.shtml

 

Those last pics are from the OEM Navi LCD??? I can't believe how crisp the text is in the first pic! Powerstrip is an incredible find! I'm doing the CarPC mod this summer and using the OEM Navi LCD and hopefully the PnP USB conversion that csmeance is working on and PowerStrip is a perfect addition without having to buy a crazy VGA->RGB converter.

I do have one question... I have Dom's Navi converter. I'll want to be able to switch between three sources on the LCD screen: 1) Original Navi display, 2) Dom's converted image, 3) the Car PC. Do I just splice into the RGB wires with a huge relay? Is there a better way to do that?

 

OK..first pic of the powerstrip settings are from my 17" LCD =)
just wanted to show my settings..text is NOT that clear on the navi LCD bc the resolution sucks!! 480x234...

the other thread with the carPC install on the navi using the converter has a nice explanation about switching the feed...its just 4 wires and you can use one 4PDT relay to do that. I'm sure you can just add it on to the Dom's unit and control with 1 switch up front for the VGA.

The only downside using straight VGA to RGB is that you won't see anything during POST and Windows loading, until powerstrip loads you won't get any image.

And as far as 5V power to my "USB" devices... I have a dedicated 5V, 10A PSU with 8-17V input sitting on my trunk specifically for my 5+ usb devices so I think i'm good to go

 

OK... I was freaking out. Yeah the 4PDT is easy enough. I'll do that... I don't mind about missing POST especially if I'll be saving $200 from not having to buy the converter. But only 4 wires? R, G, B and H-sync, V-sync, and ground no? I really haven't looked into it...

 

R,G,B and Csync ( Composite Sync). You'll need a compatible video card that has Csync Latest ATI cards from 7500 should have this. If you don't you'll need to make lot of mods to the cable by adding gates and resistors... so I suggest you use an ATI card. I used a Geforce4 MX440 which worked by some miracle bc most if not all Nvidia cards don't support Csync.

 

How much for the old console?

Oh yeah, and Do you happen to have any of the older pictures of your install? From this post....

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...tl-2004-a.html

I would be willing to host them for you if so?

 

i have to look for those pics bc they are in my old PC... PM me for the old console i still gotta take soem pics of it.

 

I really feel like a retard now but unless I'm missing something, which is very possible, I can't for the life of me get PM to work. No enough posts yet? its grayed out. Is it possible to get an email address from you to send it to since i can't get it to work, I even tried the MP3Car forums to send one but couldn't through there

 

moahdib.. is there anyway that i can take a look at your car in person???

 

Post 2 more times for a total of 5.

 

i just bought some upgrades to my carPC.

- Latitude D520 intel centrino 1.7ghz, 1gig ram and docking station.
- Pinnacle usb HDTV pro tuner to watch hdtv channels over the air.

I already tried the tuner with my old carputer and reception is like watching cable TV...even when the car is moving is pretty decent!! My old PIII 1ghz laptop just wont cut it so had to upgrade.

I'm gonna put together a little video when its all setup.

 

Okay cool, thanks I guess now that I've got everything all good with the car I can start posting more

 

You still need an electric guitar hookup and effects pedal so you can deter theives by wailing away like an ultimate ninja, right on the dashboard. Oh, and friggin' lasers.

Know what I really need? Someone to embed Microsoft Money into RoadRunner. That way, I can track my spending while I work on my install. That, and a pulse rate monitor that works via mobile broadband, so I can track my wife's heart rate and know whether she's seen what I'm spending in our online bank statements...this way, I can tell from the road whether to come home or get a hotel for the night

 

Here's a new video i just made.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q06TEthCu14

old ones:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vtA73eu65Kg
and
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lsACVZMti7Y

 

Truly amazing

 

Moahdib, thats a schweeeet setup! Nice work!

 

I just noticed that video didn't do justice to my lower compartment LCD which is what I wanted to show in the first place. Also forgot to show HDTV hehe.
My phone somehow lost the second part of the video =/
I come to love and hate carpc installs, you're never done upgrading.

 

So now you have a second LCD where the bottom compartments were? Where did you put the stock screens at for HVAC/radio? Nice work again.. I seen your install on mp3car.com a long time ago and just picked up an 04 TL a few weeks ago. As you can imagine, I'm itching to get my PC back (I have a PC in my other car and took one out of the one I just traded)

 

dude, thats sick.

(BUT, now i have to make my car transform into a gigantic battle robot to even come close to your setup!)

amazing work!!!

 

that's pretty amazing, the OEM integration is awesome!

 

The original non-navi oem display "was" behind the LCD in the bottom compartment area. I just replaced that with a navi LCD i had laying around.
I recently got the navi subdisplay clock for a bargain off ebay (damm i love ebay) and just installed it. Now I can get my temperature info where the clock used to be!!
I don't know why but I can't get radio information there but I can live with that. I mostly wanted temperature info.

If anyone has a navi can you tell me when do you see the audio information on the clock display area? When I turn on the car I just get the clock and the hfl phone icon. Temperature info shows up when i turn on AC. But nothing about the radio info.

So basically... this is what i'm using from navi parts:
- navi LCD display and navi buttons.
- navi subdisplay clock ( shows clock, temperature, and hfl icon)

Both LCD's are xenarc 700tsv. One on top is using vga input and AV2 autoswitch to my rear view camera. The bottom one just uses AV1 for tv-out from the laptop.

I am not going to use the navi LCD for now since I don't have dual VGA output from my laptop.

 

Here is the "fixed" video showing the HDTV and the 2nd screen. =)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dMGpudWLk6s

 

Dear Moahdib:

I've been searching for hours but still can't find your instructions on how to connect the VGA --> RBGS using the program powerstrip. I was just wondering if you could re-post the pictures (the hosting on all your pictures seems to be bad links) or some schematics. I am really interested in doing what you have done with your carpc. Thank you very much.

 

the radio station is always displayed next to the clock, and when you change the volume it displays that for a few seconds where the radio information is

 

I've seen that TL before. Is that your red interior on those shots that zoom into the the screen ?

 

I think you only get the radio information (e.g. song, artist ect) when u have XM on .

 

that is correct. otherwise all you see is the station numbers