Ivan, I was doing some research a bit ago as i was going to fot on in the Mondeo.. ITX is the way to go...

You need a decient 12V power source that will keep a regulated 12V I have attached some web sites... ATI remote very good instead of having a keyboard... + wireless so you can update the P.C whilst the car is on the drive!!!

http://mini-itx.com/store/default.asp

instead of a screen... http://backupteam.gamepoint.net/smartie/

http://www.itx-warehouse.co.uk/

give us a shout if you want some more info....

G

On the fabia there is a spare slot where the Climate control might of gone. Now you can buy a draw for this which slides out of the dash.

I take it you will need the interior dimensions of the slide out tray Ivan

I'm running an ITPS unit with a lead acid backup battery circuit for starting protection. The net output of the itps given that the modern car does not spike that much was 11.6v, close enough for my epia to be rock solid. There are opus powerunits which can provide more umph, it depends what you want. If I was doing it again I'd go for a 150w+ opus and a larger case to take desktop drives over laptop drives for storage reasons.

The touchscreen is very good for application written with touch in mind, that is big buttons. Other applications take a bit of precision finger taping, but they are usable.

The slide monitors are great, again when I was building this they were either out of stock or a sickening price. The 7" tft's will fit behind the dbl din space face on, allowing you to totally remove the HU, feed direct to amp's, this was my initial grand plan, but see the next note on usability. The slide outs should be DIN compatable, although I think IIRC the yanks have a slighlty different measurement for some.

The only caveat to all this is the controls are not intuative, a HU is a doddle to use eyes closed, slide fingers over 1,2,3,4,5 buttons next one is channel 6. A touch screen interface is smooth with no physical guides, menus fly out that respond to mouse over events as your touching the mouse is not over or moving so they fold back etc etc...

Other than that it is usable with care and I'm glad I did it.

Your bound to have foun this by now, but www.mp3car.com

I take it you will need the interior dimensions of the slide out tray Ivan

Yes please Jeff.

Right then, the internal size of the box is

L:150mm

W:113mm

D:40mm

You could increase the sizes by adjusting the internal walls (about 2-3mm thick) and there is a ledge at the front that would also have to come out.

I know the one you're on about - Drivesoft, they put it in that brand new caddy shoe car. It is exactly the same as what you want to do (and me too ) just it costs a bit more.

Noticed that no one has mentioned software to run on the system - my suggestion would be xp cut right down (got the tools for this ) so its only got what you need and then media engine for your media needs.

This software also supports GPS usb dongles too, so you can have a FULLY integrated system.

The general idea for Mini ITX is correct - although another, possibly more expensive, yet cooler and much much smaller option is JREX from http://www.dpie.co.uk/. They are 3.5" (same footprint as a standard disc drive) motherboards with complete solution chipsets on them. The power supply will work out slightly bigger (see my email).

Touch screen is defo the way to go - especially because media engine supports it. Bluetooth seems pretty cool too - would be nicer if you could integrate it so you used the pc as a hands free too (further more to the FULLY integrated system).

For what you want to do, it may be worth ignoring the idea of a fanless solution (unless you can get a massoff passive cooling system which will cope with DVD playback, email etc.)

Another minor problem, which some people have tackled is power off. You can do this with the ignition switch or manually every time - however if you were to ignition switch it, and turned the ignition off, the machine would not shut down, and we all know how much windows loves that . Some people have been stripping UPS' and putting backup batteries in there, or even small batteries to provide enough power to shut down efficiently, however its not been documented enough yet to create a DIY solution or find a retailer for one.

I would just suggest turning it off yourself (wire a push to make switch to the dash and hold it for 5 secs.).

My m8s currently uses a fanless 500MHz via CPU with 256MB RAM and a 20GB laptop drive, and a custom mini ITX psu with transformer. We are gonna put a WIFI LAN on it and mount it into an earthed metal case, and cut a hole in the top for directional beaming (primarily so no one else out of the line of sight can join the LAN) however if you open the case or remove earthing of the metal shell, you can have a fully despersing LAN (for when you need to go on the internet on the loo :confused:). We are then using winamp/TCP controls for playback monitor free on a hifi. Machine will never turn off as it will also act as a proxy/firewall to the network, as well as being a mini MP3 server (primary use really).

We will be finishing it off in its case soon (just waiting on the wifi dongle) and ill take photys of it to show ppl.

Dave

http://www.xenarc.com/ have a bit on there too

The general idea for Mini ITX is correct - although another' date=' possibly more expensive, yet cooler and much much smaller option is JREX from [url']http://www.dpie.co.uk/[/url]. They are 3.5" (same footprint as a standard disc drive) motherboards with complete solution chipsets on them. The power supply will work out slightly bigger (see my email).

Any idea on how much more expensive these are? Am I correct in assuming the larger power supply is because of the processor?

I've seen Nano-ITX boards, but these are 12cm and not widely available yet... :(

Rob.

Rob,

not so much the power supply being bigger than the one you'd use on the ITX solution, its the same size, just it works out the board is smaller over one dimension than the power supply. I think when i checked about a year and a bit ago, they were around 150 quid for the board, to which i said "nice speaking to you :)" but as with everything, we can only hope its cheeper. Best thing is to ring dpie as they are more than happy to sell one.

Hell if loads wanted - dpie are a distributor - we mite have a group buy

Dave

For what you want to do' date=' it may be worth ignoring the idea of a fanless solution (unless you can get a massoff passive cooling system which will cope with DVD playback, email etc.)

Another minor problem, which some people have tackled is power off. You can do this with the ignition switch or manually every time - however if you were to ignition switch it, and turned the ignition off, the machine would not shut down, and we all know how much windows loves that . Some people have been stripping UPS' and putting backup batteries in there, or even small batteries to provide enough power to shut down efficiently, however its not been documented enough yet to create a DIY solution or find a retailer for one.

I would just suggest turning it off yourself (wire a push to make switch to the dash and hold it for 5 secs.).

[/quote'] Dave,

I use the mini ITX cut into the boot foam, the heat does seem to rise but never to a point beyond which it might say in a hifi cabinet and has not crashed in a 10hour drive up to North Scotland. The case I have has a small fan, the limited airflow is vital, hence I'm using that spare wheel well area. Although not 100% convinced owing to a few open to the elements holes in that space, but it seems okay for the last 6months.

The ITPS and Opus supplies both have remote power on solutions, connect the unit to the mobo power connector. They have a 12v signal line which is connected to a dash switch, this also feeds the monitor so neither can be on or off by accident. Activate switch thus sending 12v feed and it boots up a copule of seconds later. Powering down is simple, flick the switch and this removes the signal. The power units send a shutdown to the mobo switch before removing the power some 30(variable)secs later. Never had a improper shutdown yet. The ITPS also protects/regulates spikes.

I have a small lead acid batter with a diode between the itps and the 12v power line (not switching line) this normally provides enough current during ignition to cover the pc's requirements thus preventing a powerloss.

Using XP, but it has an issue with USB discovery on EPIA's. There maybe a fix, but 2k was far better, although slower. Time is my greatest enemy as I've not got enough to fix the xp issue.

The JREX units do look good. The power supply size is not a huge issue, can be hidden almost anywhere. That JREX would fit easily behind the glove box or anywhere in the front saving on alot of wire runs.

ummmmm begins to think about things again.

Rob, unfort. i do know there is a premium with small cars - usually

Rob, unfort. i do know there is a premium with small cars - usually

You've got the same question on thesmartclub too lol.

Toughbook doenst take my fancy too much, cant really mount it on the dash comfortably. The mstations are about

Yeah, the Toughbook would be a bit inflexible in terms of mounting - could probably done quite nicely with a custom dash, but then it defeats the point of trying to do it cheaply...

With some of the newer EPIA boards having compact flash slots onboard, I guess booting a lightweight OS off it could be practical. Might also be possible to get one large enough to store a decent amount of MP3s on, but then you come down to the debate of what a "decent amount" is...

I'm not convinced about needing to resort to having a computer that small though...most cars have a good number of cubbyholes, so distributing various peripherals over the vehicle needn't be a problem!

Wasn't planning on going to Trax...quite a distance, and I'm a cheapskate.

Rob.

Very true, could put an ATX one in the smarts door pockets! lol Mite just go with a creative Zen Nomad and put it in the drawer under the stereo. Would be ideal if you could replace the whole dash speedo with an LCD detailing all the vital statistics of the car, and you can switch between that and your MP3 etc (or DVD if you watch it whilst driving)

In theory that would be pretty easy, especially on a car like the Smart as it is basically a computer with wheels and buttons...

Not sure if there might be some issues with legality though - things like the odometer and the speedo calibration could be "interesting"!

Rob.

Yeah, that is very true, i suppose you'd have to keep the mini LCD in the center, but i know you can get the codes from the ECU and translate them into some understandable figures. Someone a while ago was working on an ipaq feed from the ECU so they could see what was going on on their ipaq screen - pretty cool if you can do it, i think its as close to KITT as you'll get

This is a good guide thingy: http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/bmwpc/

I like the case idea.

thats the other software, i didnt want to say in case i was imagining it lol mediacar - http://www.media-car.fr.st/ and click software.

Anyone selling a Mini-ITX mobo, i want one now hehe

D

how many you want?

got couple of hundred.?

Couldn't I just throw a ready-made cube like this in the boot, and attatch a touch-screen etc...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3740&item=5120560071&rd=1

Cheers

Ventmore

Couldn't I just throw a ready-made cube like this in the boot, and attatch a touch-screen etc...

Yes...however, you have to be careful of power usage unless you decide to upgrade your alternator...

This is the benefit of the EPIA Mini-ITX boards - really low power consumption, yet all the power you need to do most media things you'd want in a car. This is evidenced by the fact you can run them using just passive cooling...by comparison Intel/AMD offerings generate a *lot* of heat.

Another consideration with using standard PC components rather than laptop stuff is that it might not be as resilient to vibrations.

If you do want the ready-made solution, then Tranquil make some nice boxes. The only problem is with something as nice looking as that you probably wouldn't want to hide it in the boot...

Rob.