TL: my car pc project has begun.

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Old 11-18-2009, 12:06 AM
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my car pc project has begun.

got a free laptop from my job (wont boot the os and it sold so they were gunna toss it)

got 2 touchscreen liliput 7inch screens on craigslist for a good price (pm me if u want one because i no longer need both of them)

looking to buy windows 7 with the student discount because of its fast boot time and ill be in action sometime in the next two weeks. i promise to deliver pics
Old 11-18-2009, 01:34 PM
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Considering it's probably a older PC I would stick with XP.. Unless the CPU, memory etc can handle the extra load of vista or Windows 7..

Normally if a PC won't boot a OS I'd say it was the hard drive that crashed.
Old 11-18-2009, 01:35 PM
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Let me know if I can help you out at all or if you have any questions.
Old 11-19-2009, 09:56 AM
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Thanks. i ran the recovery console on the laptop and it looks like the MBR was damaged. a quick reformat and windows isntall and its running like a champ.

now i have to make a custom bezel for the screen and im kind of scared.

pic coming in 2
Old 11-19-2009, 10:00 AM
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as you can see my metal brackets are bent from when my stereo was stolen a year ago. so i have to fab a bracket for the screen as well as a bezel.

any of you guys have advice?
Old 11-19-2009, 10:37 AM
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Best thing I can tell you is to even up those metal brakets the best you can then start with card board to make a face plate.
Card board will probally be your best friend for making your templete.
Then you can adjust occordenly before you decide on the material of finish.
Cardboard is your best friend phee,Trust me
Old 11-19-2009, 11:58 AM
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^ thanks man. im trying to get the oem color and finish so ive already spoken to my friend rick who owns a boddy shop. paint is mixed.

are you suggestign i make a template out of carboard and then fiberglass it? or bondo?
Old 11-19-2009, 12:16 PM
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you could do it like that.
I think raja made a set up with a piece of cf
It a pretty flat area so you can use just about anything you can find
Old 11-19-2009, 12:30 PM
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ahh. CF!. ill be doing Cf guys. stay tuned
Old 11-19-2009, 03:26 PM
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got some free leather




it was my first time working with it. what do you guys think? if its bad ill re-do it
Old 11-19-2009, 03:52 PM
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what the frame made out of?
If its something a little thick 1/4-3/8" you could use a adjustable electric staple gun.Just practice on a simular pice to get your depth right.
That way it will wrap tight.
or 3m has spray adhesive but,It would be hard to get it to wrap nice.
Looks good thou,
I'm sure you will end up going over it again

Last edited by richardparker; 11-19-2009 at 03:54 PM.
Old 11-19-2009, 05:49 PM
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yea. im gunna pass by the shop again tommorow and get more pleather. im going to foam it and use adhesive spray. it lookss wrinkled because i used a hot glue gun.

the frame is made out of multiple plastic pieces from old bezels i had laying around
Old 11-20-2009, 08:31 AM
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3M Spray adhesive and a heat gun and the stapler once you get it stretched.
Old 11-20-2009, 08:37 AM
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thanks! ill be picking up a 5 channel amp today. hope i can find a deal.

my total cost so far is 50 dollars
Old 11-21-2009, 08:46 AM
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Good job. Where can i get the program???
Old 11-22-2009, 08:35 AM
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Looks great and I am thinking second time around you will have it perfect (wrinkle wise).
Old 11-23-2009, 12:18 PM
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Looking good
Old 11-23-2009, 05:47 PM
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ive already re-done the leather. it looks awesome. ill update with pics after the amp install. but im a bit swamped with LEd guages and fog lights right now
Old 11-23-2009, 07:42 PM
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wham bam thank you ma'am
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subscribed.
Old 11-23-2009, 09:42 PM
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Old 11-25-2009, 07:26 PM
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Looks good so far, definitely interested in seeing how this turns out. I'd really like to see what you did for running the audio from the laptop to your speakers. I have the same type of project in mind I am thinking of doing over the next few months
Old 12-03-2009, 12:46 AM
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Old 12-11-2009, 12:41 PM
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recieved my two alpine amps today and im still waiting on my car-charger for the laptop.

im gunna buy cable today and start on it
Old 12-18-2009, 07:24 PM
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Old 12-19-2009, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by phee
recieved my two alpine amps today and im still waiting on my car-charger for the laptop.

Car charger?



You should be buying a power inverter, hard wiring it and use the standard "house" charger. Seems like a waste of money to buy a car charger, cancel the order and get the power inverter. The power inverters come in handy to more then you realize for other items you need to plug in.
Old 12-20-2009, 08:45 PM
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^ dont want the noise that comes with an inverter. im not really plugging anything in but my laptop. iphone will handle internet and navigation. and the laptop will be hard wired.

just needed the PCB in the charger. (11$)

already set up a remote power button to wake the laptop upon statup
Old 12-20-2009, 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by phee
^ dont want the noise that comes with an inverter. im not really plugging anything in but my laptop. iphone will handle internet and navigation. and the laptop will be hard wired.

just needed the PCB in the charger. (11$)

already set up a remote power button to wake the laptop upon statup
My inverter is dead silent. I have a cobra. I originally got it because I do mobile detailing on the side, so I needed something to power the vacuum and the buffer, and it handles a lot of power with no noise at all.
Old 12-20-2009, 11:04 PM
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Originally Posted by phee
got some free leather




it was my first time working with it. what do you guys think? if its bad ill re-do it
its not that tight...i see some bubbles...but it still looks great
Old 12-21-2009, 07:37 AM
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Originally Posted by ANC297
My inverter is dead silent. I have a cobra. I originally got it because I do mobile detailing on the side, so I needed something to power the vacuum and the buffer, and it handles a lot of power with no noise at all.

Old 12-21-2009, 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by dave_ramkumar
its not that tight...i see some bubbles...but it still looks great
thats been fixed
Originally Posted by Jonesi
ill check one out. thanks
Old 12-24-2009, 10:14 PM
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Originally Posted by TSXon19z
Good job. Where can i get the program???
program is called ride runner. download it at mp3car

Old 12-24-2009, 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by MD03CL-S
Looks good so far, definitely interested in seeing how this turns out. I'd really like to see what you did for running the audio from the laptop to your speakers. I have the same type of project in mind I am thinking of doing over the next few months
bought a 1/8th inch to RCA converter and im using the headphone jack split into the amps. one amp passthroughs into the sub mono block.

upgrading to a surround sound card in a couple of months and ill have 5 independent channels
Old 01-19-2010, 09:58 AM
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Any updates on this...I've always been intrigued with Carpc's.
Old 03-30-2010, 08:08 PM
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Are you using a GPS program with ride runner? If so, what program?
Old 03-30-2010, 08:32 PM
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sorry guys. i had it running for a couple of months and then my screen went out. i didnt get to install any gps software but i did use riderunner
Old 04-07-2010, 12:56 PM
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why cant i see any of the pics?
Old 04-08-2010, 06:53 PM
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pics still work for me, refresh maybe
Old 04-10-2010, 01:55 PM
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looks good man. whats the audio quality like w/that split rca?
Old 04-10-2010, 11:21 PM
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looks sick
Old 04-13-2010, 05:51 PM
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Cool project, I would love to get a linux car pc running off a flash drive. I'm just want faster load up and shutdown times. For now I modded my GPS to play movies, mp3s, and of course the GPS.
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