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Carputer - Subaru 2.5RS


XtremeCreations

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I'm a member over there too. My carputer is built on the bench now and I'm finishing up the software setup. Everything below is on-hand, waiting to be installed.

 

Hardware:

• AMD Sempron 3100, Biostar K8NHA PRO mobo, 512 meg DDR, WD 200 gig SATA hd, Opus 150w power supply, Xenarc 7in touchscreen, 80211.g wireless connection to home network, M-Audio 5.1 sound card

 

Car audio:

• JBL GTi 6.5 separates front (3 inch voice coils, 600w capacity), JBL 5.25 separates rear, three JBL 75x2 amps (one bridged on each front speaker, one for rear fill), one JBL 1200x1 amp for the sub, one JBL 25x2 for center channel, one PowerAcoutik MOFO 12 in. sub. (yes, PowerAcoustik; laugh all you want - just wait till it's done). Will also include extra battery and 1 farad cap.

 

I plan to integrate the stock radio into the carputer. You'll be able to listen to it by selecting the "aux" input on the carputer. That way it's not just a dead piece of dash real estate. A simple line-level converter feeding into the sound card's "CD Audio in" port should do the trick.

 

The touchscreen will be flushed between the center HVAC vents. This also requires moving the clock to the current ashtray location (I don't smoke anyway). I start on the screen fabbing this weekend.

 

There will be a slot-load DVD drive in the glove box for movies. I may replace it with a combo DVD & CD burner unit later to burn files on the go. There will be usb ports flushed into the center console, connected to a self-powered hub. I've ordered a tiny (like 7-8 inch) USB keyboard that'll fit in the glovebox for when I need to type. Of course there will be GPS navigation as well, and I'm pre-wiring for a backup camera too.

 

Finally - a project that combines my two favorite hobbies. Before I got into the IT field, I owned a car stereo store in the early 90s. Now I spend all day managing networks & thousands of PCs. I might as well have one in the car too.

 

Pics when I'm done :D

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go for the small compartment in the glove box. You can fit a micro-MOBO in there prolly with a slim-DVDrom. might have to relocate the powersupply unless you can find a small one.

 

Do u think one of these would fit:

http://www.xenarc.com/product/images/carputer1000-small.jpg

http://www.xenarc.com/product/images/carputer1000-diagram.jpg

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Since all my components are full-size, mine will be mounted in the trunk. Right now the biggest hurdle to my whole install is where am I going to put 4 large amps without losing trunk space? I've already got the sub enclosure designed and it'll take very little space. I may lose the spare tire.

 

Everybody with a tiny computer seems to complain about long times for boot & resume from suspend. My setup boots in maybe 15 seconds and goes from hibernate to full music playing in less than 2 seconds.

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Freak'n awesome, I'm on the same road, but not for the carputer, for my Nav/DVD/TV/Mp3 player....I can't wait to see it done....

 

Specially mov'n the clock to the ashtray....Did you order a 2nd piece to work with or are you just work'n on the stock piece. If you did order, do you have the part number and such. I'd love to order it and be able to work on a 2nd one, that way if I ever want to go back to stock for some reason.

 

Rock on, good luck.....and can't wait to see it....(I can't start till feb...tear....)

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I'm working on the stock piece. I can always buy a new one so why spend the money if I haven't broken it yet :D

 

BTW, if nobody has discovered it yet, you can't remove the clock unit entirely. The airbag light in the instrument cluster will stay on if the system doesn't detect the "ON / OFF" display.

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BTW, if nobody has discovered it yet, you can't remove the clock unit entirely. The airbag light in the instrument cluster will stay on if the system doesn't detect the "ON / OFF" display.
Hmmm, we will be able to rewire it and extend it to the ashtray...thus mak'n the light go away.....or so we hope :rolleyes:

 

Keep the info coming, this is awesome, I've never had anyone do'n my research for me....I kinda like it :cool:

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Since I experimented with carputers back before carputer was even a word, here’s my $0.02.

 

If you don’t have cooling when the car is off, don’t bother if where you live sees summer days in > 100F and you park the car outside. The little AMD you got is going to overheat before you even turn it on.

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You can just create a circuit that will turn a fan on if the temperature goes over some predetermined threshold. You could even have the computer turn off before it reaches a critical temperature, the MB bios should have this built in. You might want to look into a cooling device that actively cools, such as a peltier (Google it). Water-cooling would risky because of all the vibration.

 

Link to Peltier Info:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/peltiercoolers/

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GA qualifies as having hot summers (we're having a hot winter right now, with temps around 75 degrees), but I'm not worried about it. I've built PCs for automotive shops that worked fine in 100+ degree conditions. It's all about cooling it properly.

 

Pics when it's all in!

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Since I experimented with carputers back before carputer was even a word, here’s my $0.02.

 

If you don’t have cooling when the car is off, don’t bother if where you live sees summer days in > 100F and you park the car outside. The little AMD you got is going to overheat before you even turn it on.

 

My old tbird 1300 has run multiple times at 100-110C without crashing.. Usually idles at 60-65C..

 

If you're into the overclocking "community" you'd think if your cpu got above 25C it would cause a nuclear meltdown instantly pulverizing everything in a 50 miles radius.

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You can just create a circuit that will turn a fan on if the temperature goes over some predetermined threshold. You could even have the computer turn off before it reaches a critical temperature, the MB bios should have this built in. You might want to look into a cooling device that actively cools, such as a peltier (Google it). Water-cooling would risky because of all the vibration.

 

Link to Peltier Info:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/peltiercoolers/

You only want peltiers for super-exotic configurations or situations where you need to cool something below room temp (IR camera). Otherwise it doesn't work. Say 50W for cpu, plus 200W to run peltier, you need to dissipate 250W out of the hot side. If you can't you're going to end up cooking the cpu.

 

Just a big heatsink is plenty. If it's not good enough underclock the cpu, it will work fine.

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Imagine all that money spent on horsepower instead of earpower...

All my equip was already bought....and I'll do the install...so only materials...cheap.

 

Plus I'm new to the mod'n world and engine work.....I LOVE it...but go'n slow to get into it....STS, HIDS stuff like that to start. Now if I had a mentor around...I'd love be be spend'n big bucks on mod'n the engine......any takers :D

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That's why I say you need cooling when the car is off.

That heatsink is going to soak up all your ambient temp ... put a heatsink in your car when summer comes around, touch it in the middle of the day and see if it isn't hotter than when you oc your cpu.

And it isn't just the cpu, everything with metal is going to get really hot - your hard drive, your memory, your chipset. Most importantly, make sure the PS won't get all screwy on you.

 

If the stuff can run reliably at 100F+, great :) They wouldn't back then with a K6 ... (didn't I say it was a long time ago?) I meant it when I said it gets overheat before it turns on - my computer wouldn't even POST :lol:

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I'm working on the stock piece. I can always buy a new one so why spend the money if I haven't broken it yet :D

 

BTW, if nobody has discovered it yet, you can't remove the clock unit entirely. The airbag light in the instrument cluster will stay on if the system doesn't detect the "ON / OFF" display.

 

Just cause it is connected, doesn't mean it has to be visible...he-he.

 

ya could always plug the airbag indicator icb in and tape it down somewhere behind the dash. out of sight, out of mind... As long as the airbag system works when it is needed, why does it need a little light to advertise it?

 

Now if someone doesn't want to lose the trip computer, and all that..... that is another story, and relocation would be an issue. it would probably be a chore to integrate those functions into displaying on the carputer screen, besides the clock, of course.

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Yeah, it's because of the extras that I'm re-mounting it rather than hiding it. There's actaully a good bit of space in the dash. There's a nice 2.5-3-inch high hollow spot above the glove box between it and the airbag module. I don't know if the airbag uses that space to deploy, but if not, it's tempting storage room!

 

I haven't ignored the go-fast market, it's just that there isn't anything I want yet. It'll take a while before the products I need are produced for the LGT. Then it's showtime. By then, I'll have paid for all this junk and be ready for more :D

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John,

Just started planning out and ordering parts for the carputer setup in my GT LTD. Basically looking to do the same install you came up with. 7" screen in the cubby, move the clock and such to the ash tray. Got any tips to report before I get started?

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I just got my spare Xenarc monitor housing. That way I can do all the epoxy & bondo work without jeopardizing my $400+ monitor. I'll probably start working on that part of it this weekend.

 

My biggest hurdle to getting everything underway is I don't know where I'm going to put all these amplifiers. 1 or 2 amps is easy but this will be 4 large ones and 1 small amp. I don't want to lose much trunk room so I've really got to plan this one out. The trunk must be usable when I'm done.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It's spread into other various threads :)

 

I have to get the car tinted before starting the install so it isn't in their way. As soon as I can make it by there to get that done, I'll start on the dash.

 

My only other hurdle is deciding where all the equipment goes in the trunk - that's still undecided as well.

 

The good news is the hardware works great in the house :) I've been ripping DVDs to the HD and they look great.

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  • 1 month later...

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