Car Computer mk2

[Cret]

Doing another in car PC so that I can do mapping and stuff (and also have loads of MP3s etc as well and satnav, blah blah).

Based on an Intel Atom 330 dual core CPU on a mini-itx board (17cm x17cm), an OCZ 30gb SSD (solid state hard drive - fast as hell!), and a motorised touchscreen monitor. Excuse the ropey pic quality!

Here's the rough idea for the board and PSU inside the glovebox:




Here's the normal Kenwood head unit and the monitor unit installed above it:




Here's a vent panel I've made to house a few controls:


The left switch is to toggle between the first and second set of maps the ECU can run.

The second one with the flip cover (for the cheese factor) is to enable antilag/launch control. Don't plan on using that often I must admit but the ECU has it so may as well add a switch for it.

The LEDs are for the knocklink display to show any det as it occurs.

The button on the right is for resetting/calibrating the LC1 wideband lambda sensor & its controller circuit.

Then finally there's a mini USB hub so I can plug in any dongles I want easily like wifi/USB storage/bluetooth etc.

The PC has a fancy DC-DC PSU that's necessary to make sure it runs smoothly. Cars run "12v" and that's what this gear needs but in reality in a car it's anything between 6-15v depending on what's going on, and for a PC that's a disaster.
This PSU is designed to be used in a car for a PC so it provides stable voltage even while say cranking the engine.

The hard drive is hella fast and after installing a cut down version of XP it would cold boot in 17 seconds! It's about 30-40 now that I've installed a load of stuff but I won't be using it that often so I can easily live with that!

More to add in due course.....

[Jay_VTR]

looks really cool! love the flip lid thingy! haha! like to see radio one on as well!!

[Cret]

Cheers mate.

Hopefully once it's all together it'll be pretty decent.

Only problem is the plakky trim that goes round the two DIN units is damaged and dunno if I can get another anywhere due to the age of the car.
Trying to get one through people on my forum but no luck so far. Might have to try repairing it.

[tree]

Thats smart that bud. i removed mine from the rallye and am saving it for a more forgiving cruiser type vehicle..

[Cret]

Cheers matey. Take it yours was a little bit too bumpy for it then?

Pleased with how it's coming on.
Last night I made a 'cradle' for the guts of the pc to live in the glovebox. Sorry for the big pic but it went direct from my phone to photobucket:


Was making it out of plasticard but was too thin & flexible, and the glued edges were weak, so made one from thin ply and hardwood (iroko - like teak).
Much easier than dealing with plastic and stronger too. Result.

Not finished yet but the motherboard and PSU are mounted now in the glovebox. I'm making it so the whole thing can come out fairly easily if need be.

[Cret]

Ok, now we're in business. PC installed and running well. Single button on the dash boots it up in a matter of seconds and also makes the motorised touchscreen fold out and switch on.

The ecu software is installed and it's already proved very useful for datalogging even though its only been fitted a few days.
Pretty pleased with it though.
This is it just before it went in (sorry for big pics again - gonna have to look into that):



Normal kenwood head unit with the monitor in the closed position above it. Sadly as you can seem, some animal had previously hacked up the trim that goes round the head units. This was necessary since the previous one didn't fit through and neither to these ones properly, but I'm in the process of trying to salvage and tidy up the trim panel now after previous savagery :unsure::


Look! Windows! Quite pleased as the SSD hard drive takes bugger all time to boot/hibernate etc:
win

ActOne software for controlling/monitoring the Simtek, showing the base fuel map:
actone

At the top of the dash is the vent panel which houses the following:

• Toggle switch to go between primary and secondary maps. Not yet wired in.
• Toggle switch for enabling/disabling antilag/launch control. Doubt this will see much use but as the ECU has it I thought I should add the option.
• Left pushbutton is for calibrating the LC1 Wideband O2 sensor
• LEDs are for the Knocklink display
• A 4 port USB mini hub to plug in wireless dongle/bluetooth dongle/memory

Obviously the monitor is titchy compared to having a full size laptop in the car, but having this carputer means it is always in the car if a tweak is needed or monitoring, plus it also gives a nice mediplayer front end, lots of storage space for music (which pipes into the Kenwood), and satnav if necessary. Plus web browsing over wifi if the wife pops into the shops or something and I'm sat in the car for half an hour. Or much longer....

The screen is about as reflective as most mirrors I've seen so in direct bright sunlight it's a bit pesky but generally its ok, and being the isle of man it's usually overcast anyway.

Having a flat battery should not be an issue with this device since the power supply refuses to start the PC when voltage dips below 11v, or will shut the PC down if it drops below that level while the pc is already running, in theory leaving sufficient power to start the engine still.
















Oh yeah, and another thing I need is some sort of cheap and miniature input device for keyboard and mouse use. Yes the screen is touchscreen and you can get soft keyboards on screen etc, but while touchscreen in a car is ok for general prodding and the odd little accurate bit here and there, a keyboard and mouse/trackball would make lfe easier. Am thinking about something like this:
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-4G-Wireless-Rii-Mini-Keyboard-Touchpad-PC-PS3-/150444368256?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_KeyboardsMice&hash=item23072ee180"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-4G-Wireless-Rii-Mi...=item23072ee180[/url]

Or this:
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Wireless-PC-Keyboard-Mouse-Touchpad-Remote-Control-/280479996415?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_KeyboardsMice&hash=item414de919ff"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Wireless-PC-Key...=item414de919ff[/url]

Which can live in the centre console or something, ready for use when necessary.

[Unders]

Now im jealous!

I would love a setup similar to that and it would soon come in handy when I finally get my new engine.

And those wireless keyboard/touchpad devices look cool!

About how much would a package like this cost?

[man83g]

I take it that you are a "geek" mapper or something similar cret.. Do you do live mapping yourself then???

[ah kid]

how cool,maybe you can make me one of those in your spare time???that way i might be able to get face book on the move!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cret]

Cheers chaps.

Unders - the cost is something like as follows:
Motherboard/CPU £70
Memory £10-20
Hard drive £20-50 for a normal laptop sata one, but I bought a solid state one as they're uber fast for quick boot time, safer for car use and use less power. £110 for just 30gb!!
Power supply £20 secondhand (£40 ish new). Proper carputer power supply is really important to avoid a load of potential hassle.
Touchscreen monitor was the dearest bit. The motorised one I use is something like £250 new but I got it for a good few quid less.

Technically you could manage with near enough any lcd monitor but ideally you want touchscreen and at least VGA resolution at minimum.


Yeah, definitely a geek!
My mapping experience is relatively limited as most of the times I've had my two mappable ECUs (previously Apexi Power FC and now Simtek) for the car they've spent a lot of time off the road.
But I've had to meddle a lot with the maps and settings in general. The apexi was fairly easy with the datalogit I used to have with it. The Simtek interface is quite simple to use, but the downside of the simtek is there is no manual for the software and there are a LOT of settings, so finding out what they are all for and the relevance etc is not so straight forward. Nice that I can switch on antilag/launch control though if I want, plus it gives you two sets of maps as well.