I am re-considering installing a PC in my car (recently influenced by the good work others have done on a very similar vehicle). My initial requirements are GPS, 802.11b/g, EVDO, Touch Screen and and interface into car stereo- but it would also be nice to include wireless sync, hands-free bluetooth, backup camera and 'rolling' drive camera. I don't have any need to watch movies on the unit (I think GPS will be distracting enough!).
This is the quick list I have come up with:
- Screen: Xenrc 700TSV
- Computer:
- Mobo: VIA C7-D 1.5GHz mITX : J7F2WE1G5D
- Case: VoomPC-2 Enclosure
- Power: M2-ATX 160W Intelligent DC-DC PSU
- Memory: 1GB DDR2
- Drive01: SATA 160GB
- Drive02: Jetway ADPCM2 PCMCIA + CF
- Optical: Slim DVD-ROM
- Misc: PA-CD2 SlimCD adapter
- GPS: Pharos GPS (USB)
- ODB II: ELM327 (USB)
- Camera(s): Webcam (USB)
- Wireless: 802.11b/g (USB)
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth Dongle (USB)
- EVDO PCMCIA: Sprint Merlin S720
- Honda Interface: CAR2PC-HON1 (USB)
- Software: RoadRunner + Plugins or MeidaCar
A quick total puts it at about $830(!)- not including shipping or cables... If I do go ahead with this I will be purchasing the parts over several paychecks:
- Phase 1: Computer - $362.00
- Phase 2: Screen - $350.00
- Phase 3: Other Accessories - $115.00
The most difficult part will probably be modding the car to fit the screen- followed by running power + VGA to the trunk (where I plan on mounting the computer).
The motherboard has 8 USB ports and the case will provide 4 external ports (2 on motherboard + 2 on front of case); the other will need to be wired internally.
For a long time I too thought of installing a computer PC in my car. But considering the cost plus the possibility of building something that is sub-par (more on that below) made me re-think the project.
ReplyDeleteIn my car I have an AM/FM radio, a CD player (hardly ever used), a cassette deck (factory installed) and an aftermarket XM radio. I discovered with XM I don't even listen to my MP3s anymore. The one function I wanted is the GPS, which raised the question: would the GPS in a carPC work better than something I buy off the shelf (I was/am considering the Dash).
After weeks of research I came to the conclusion that the carPC GPS would likely not work as well as one from Garmin, Tom Tom or Dash.
I considered using an old laptop as my carPC, with an external touch screen to control it. But then I decided to create a DIY photo frame instead.
I think for me the biggest consideration is cost. For $1000 I would get a cool toy, but only available when I am in the car. I really don't drive that much, so I'll likely not reap the benefits of all the hard work.
But...
I may consider a carPC for our minivan, especially if I can centralize all the following functions:
- AM/FM/XM radio
- Intelligent GPS with re-routing based on latest traffic updates
- Broadband connection via WiFi and EVDO
- Multimedia functionality - can stream VOB, ISO, AVI to the car's built-in DVD LCD screen in the back
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Speaker phone
- MP3 / CD / DVD playback
- Voice activation, can read/write email / IM / SMS by voice
If I can have all that I am willing to pay up to $2000 for it
:-)