EVO X CarPuter
Dec 11, 2008, 08:15 PM
#33
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I put one just like this in my 350Z a few years back. Cost:
Nav Finisher Kit = $85
Car Puter = $650 (i would NOT recommend the Via motherboard to anyone)
7" Lilliput touchscreen = $200 (i would NOT recommend lilliput to anyone)
GPS (MS Streets & Trips USB) = $80
Premier CD HU = $250
High Quality VGA cable = $60 (my puter was in the glove box, which was behind the passenger seat... lots of interference on the cheapo VGA cable, had to spring for a good insulated one)
Windows XP = $0 (HAH!)
Centrafuse = $129 (i think that was the price.... the same front end as in these pictures)
Bluetooth OBD port = $200
Mini Bluetooth Keyboard = $60
Bluetooth Gamepad (passenger seat NES gaming) = $30
I eventually switched over to a tuned linux install + custom interface that I wrote. It drastically reduced start up times and the UI worked as I wanted it to. The hardware install took about 12 hours, Windows + Centrafuse = 2 hours. Linux setup = who knows, probably 6 months of writing code in my free time.
I wouldn't recommend this setup to someone who isn't comfortable messing with driver sets, inf files, etc., as these screens and custom chipsets tend to be fussy and can take some manual configuration to get to work right. Lilliput displays suck big time, as do Via chipsets, because of issues like this. I haven't messed with the car puter setup in a few years, but when I was, Xenarc was the best display to get (about $350) and it was worth the extra $200 to get the 'day-time' mod on it for better visibility in sunlight. Also, if you live in a cold weather climate, prepare yourself for malfunctioning screens at 7am until the car warms up and dead hard drives every 20000 miles or so. I even resorted to forking out extra cash for an automotive grade harddrive which still failed. The cases that tend to be used for carputers don't really do anything in terms of shock absorption.
Centrafuse is a decent front end but has its problems and is pretty pricey (i think the price went up to around $200), which is why I ended up switching to a homebrew frontend. In the end, I had any gauge config I wanted (based on data that was available from OBD), electronic suspension control (TIEN), wifi with auto-snoop and auto-crack thanks to Linux, and full phone capabilities via bluetooth to my cell.
If you have LOTS of time to play around with the carputer setup, to the point that its a hobby rather than an accessory to your car, it's great and as cost effective as an in-dash unit. However, for the casual user, it simply is not ready for primetime in my opinion. This is coming from a professional software developer's perspective.
Nav Finisher Kit = $85
Car Puter = $650 (i would NOT recommend the Via motherboard to anyone)
7" Lilliput touchscreen = $200 (i would NOT recommend lilliput to anyone)
GPS (MS Streets & Trips USB) = $80
Premier CD HU = $250
High Quality VGA cable = $60 (my puter was in the glove box, which was behind the passenger seat... lots of interference on the cheapo VGA cable, had to spring for a good insulated one)
Windows XP = $0 (HAH!)
Centrafuse = $129 (i think that was the price.... the same front end as in these pictures)
Bluetooth OBD port = $200
Mini Bluetooth Keyboard = $60
Bluetooth Gamepad (passenger seat NES gaming) = $30
I eventually switched over to a tuned linux install + custom interface that I wrote. It drastically reduced start up times and the UI worked as I wanted it to. The hardware install took about 12 hours, Windows + Centrafuse = 2 hours. Linux setup = who knows, probably 6 months of writing code in my free time.
I wouldn't recommend this setup to someone who isn't comfortable messing with driver sets, inf files, etc., as these screens and custom chipsets tend to be fussy and can take some manual configuration to get to work right. Lilliput displays suck big time, as do Via chipsets, because of issues like this. I haven't messed with the car puter setup in a few years, but when I was, Xenarc was the best display to get (about $350) and it was worth the extra $200 to get the 'day-time' mod on it for better visibility in sunlight. Also, if you live in a cold weather climate, prepare yourself for malfunctioning screens at 7am until the car warms up and dead hard drives every 20000 miles or so. I even resorted to forking out extra cash for an automotive grade harddrive which still failed. The cases that tend to be used for carputers don't really do anything in terms of shock absorption.
Centrafuse is a decent front end but has its problems and is pretty pricey (i think the price went up to around $200), which is why I ended up switching to a homebrew frontend. In the end, I had any gauge config I wanted (based on data that was available from OBD), electronic suspension control (TIEN), wifi with auto-snoop and auto-crack thanks to Linux, and full phone capabilities via bluetooth to my cell.
If you have LOTS of time to play around with the carputer setup, to the point that its a hobby rather than an accessory to your car, it's great and as cost effective as an in-dash unit. However, for the casual user, it simply is not ready for primetime in my opinion. This is coming from a professional software developer's perspective.
Last edited by SupremeX; Dec 11, 2008 at 08:38 PM.
Dec 11, 2008, 09:14 PM
#34
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^^ Agree on the SSD drives.
On my old car I was considering doing basically the EXACT same thing you did. But never got around to it. Now that I have my X, I really think I may make it my winter project. If you don't mind could you shed some light on a few things. Questions I had when I was considering it were:
How is it powered and managed with startup/shutdown? You briefly mentioned it hibernates and is controlled with the status of ignition.
And do you have any concern with heat/cold being a problem?
Ideally I would like to be able to have my own navigation system and MP3 database at my fingertips and have internet usage through 3G. And I love your setup by the way. Good work!
On my old car I was considering doing basically the EXACT same thing you did. But never got around to it. Now that I have my X, I really think I may make it my winter project. If you don't mind could you shed some light on a few things. Questions I had when I was considering it were:
How is it powered and managed with startup/shutdown? You briefly mentioned it hibernates and is controlled with the status of ignition.
And do you have any concern with heat/cold being a problem?
Ideally I would like to be able to have my own navigation system and MP3 database at my fingertips and have internet usage through 3G. And I love your setup by the way. Good work!
Dec 12, 2008, 01:35 AM
#35
I have my touchscreen cold booting at 8 seconds, I have it caching some things on startup to make things run faster when logging later on too. Its running a custom version of Windows CE 5.0 (windows CE 6.0 is too bloated) and its running .NET Framework 2.0 which means that I can program the software using all the latest 2008 development tools.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ec...en-review.html
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ec...en-review.html
Dec 12, 2008, 04:49 AM
#38
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I have not had a problem with the screen during the cold as someone else mentioned (Coldest is has gotten is 25 degrees here so far this year). And the SSD disks can operate in much more extreme climates than even the old automotive grade hard drives could. The motherboard and processor I got run on low power and have very little heating issues. No fans and it hasn't overheated yet. The Intel Atom 330 processor is a very good low power yet high performance processor.
Dec 12, 2008, 04:59 AM
#39
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yeah, I should probably read the last few posts before recommending SSD Drives. Looks like you already have ! Good work !
Last edited by spooled_u; Dec 12, 2008 at 05:01 AM.
Dec 12, 2008, 05:23 AM
#40
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I have my touchscreen cold booting at 8 seconds, I have it caching some things on startup to make things run faster when logging later on too. Its running a custom version of Windows CE 5.0 (windows CE 6.0 is too bloated) and its running .NET Framework 2.0 which means that I can program the software using all the latest 2008 development tools.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ec...en-review.html
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ec...en-review.html
Since EVOScan will run on Windows CE, I think I am going to see if I can get it to run on my wife's AVIC-F90BT. They run Windows CE and there is a hack to get into the main OS. I like to tinker
.
Dec 12, 2008, 07:59 AM
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Very cool, good to know. Thanks! Time to start planning the whole thing out...
I used an automotive power supply that can monitor the ignition status. The power supply sends the signal that the ignition is off and sends a shutdown command to the PC. I have the PC setup to when it gets a shutdown command to hibernate instead.
I have not had a problem with the screen during the cold as someone else mentioned (Coldest is has gotten is 25 degrees here so far this year). And the SSD disks can operate in much more extreme climates than even the old automotive grade hard drives could. The motherboard and processor I got run on low power and have very little heating issues. No fans and it hasn't overheated yet. The Intel Atom 330 processor is a very good low power yet high performance processor.
I have not had a problem with the screen during the cold as someone else mentioned (Coldest is has gotten is 25 degrees here so far this year). And the SSD disks can operate in much more extreme climates than even the old automotive grade hard drives could. The motherboard and processor I got run on low power and have very little heating issues. No fans and it hasn't overheated yet. The Intel Atom 330 processor is a very good low power yet high performance processor.
Dec 12, 2008, 11:45 AM
#42
What features of the PC do you like over the PocketPC? I was thinking of doing an in carPC setup like this, but after I added up all the cost of a carPC it got to over a $1200 to make one. i have all the parts to make a carPC, I have a miniATX board and power supply, I have a 3.5" laptop harddrive with an adapter cable, the laptop hdd should be good enough for the movement of the car. but the SSD drive sounds like a good idea if I want more space. Yeah you can hack any winCE device to get back to the desktop. My pocketpc can take 8Gb of movies and music. sdcards are small enough to carry between my inside PC or I can connect via bluetooth to download music off my home PC.
Dec 12, 2008, 03:29 PM
#44
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^ i use 2.5 laptop hd 7200 rpms works perfectly in ny no lock downs... if u are trying to put everything in a mini itx case it will require 2.5 hd 3.5 won't work.. i have m2 atx 140w ps i have used hibernation works good if u get back in ur car after 5 or 6 hours but if it stays overnight it just drains the battery out..plus i also have mini battery wich might be issue but i never test with the standard battery
Dec 14, 2008, 05:18 PM
#45
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I found this power supply, will this do the job of proper hibernation? http://www.mini-box.com/M1-ATX-90w-I...C-Power-Supply
Any of them will work great with hibernation mode.