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Is this possible or am I dreaming? LCD monitor mounting.
- Thread starter MyPetFly
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MyPetFly
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Hey all,
The front end is Centrafuse. I am using their demo at the moment but will buy their SE version (USD$124) soon. No need to pay USD$275 for the satnav function because if you can get hold of the Destinator 6 Aussie maps (PM me if you want to know how) you can easily add them and then you have the full XLE version for the price of the SE version.
Hakhawk, I would love to give RoadRunner a try but had a go at installing it on my Laptop and it took to much configuring for my liking and I wanted something I could get going straight out of the box (so to speak). If you could help me in a few weeks time when all this is finished I would love to give RoadRunner a go. Because it is open source there are so many plugins that it can do almost anything (except drive the car for you while you watch a DVD).
Anyway, here is a bit of a update on the progress.
* pulled the laptop apart and hotwired a switch to it and mounted the switch in the dash (just in front of the T/C button) otherwise I would have no way to turn it on and off once mounted under the passenger seat. Never done this kind of stuff before but found some good info on MP3Car.com - Your source for mobile computing solutions! I had 3 screws left over after I put it all back together . . . but it worked.
* had to remove the IR remote sensor from the circuit board of the LCD and attached it to an extension cable (just used telephone cable as I needed 3 wires). Mounted the IR receiver inside the A/C vent on the centre console. It works a treat and the only way you can see it is if you get a torch and take a close look inside.
* got sick of having to use the remote to turn the monitor on so I decided to try and hotwire a switch to it using what I had learned from my experience with the laptop switch. Much to my amazement it worked and I mounted the switch next to the switch for the PC (in front of the T/C switch)
* thought I was pretty clever and noticed that I had 1 spare spot to mount a switch next to the T/C switch so I thought I would install 2 USB port in the centre console. Not sure what I am going to use them for but everyone that sees them goes WOW! I guess I could put a movie or music on a memory stick and plug it into the dash or use them to charge some of my portable electronic devices that charge from USB.
* I got a price from Holden for the factory buttons and they were going to cost $21 each plus $12 for a new bezel ($53 total). The 2 I used were from Dick Smith and only cost $2 each. I pulled the USB ports out of an old computer at the office.
* have used a few spots of silicone to hold everything in place inside the pod (monitor mount) to be able to do a road test. I still have to pull the pod off again to get a panel beater to spray it for me.
* tested the satnav and the media functions of the front end (Centrafuse) and it all works a dream.
* did some daytime driving today to see what effect the sun would have on the visability of the screen. The result was good, you can always clearly see what is on the screen but it is not as good at is at night. I would say at night I would rate the screen 8/10 (it is only a cheapie and need better contrast) and by day it would be a respectable 5/10. Some have suggested that I would not be able to see anything during the day but that is not the case.
* the touch screen was easy to setup and works perfect. Just install the drivers and plug in the USB and away it goes.
* had to run some new wires from the fuse box (never done this before either) as I already had my bluetooth car kit wired onto the back of the cigarette lighter and thought I would draw too much current if I ran both the LCD screen and Computer off this as well. After a lot of soldering and testing with a mates multimetre it all worked first time.
* I should mention that all none of my switches or wiring for accessories are hard wired. I have wired everything to plugs so if I want to remove the centre console again I can unplug everything very easily.
* mounted laptop upside down under the passenger seat and it is held in place by valcroe that is bolted to the floor (used self tapping screws).
* had to mount an unpowered 4 port USB hub under the seat aswell because the laptop only had 2 USB ports (and bluethooth was using one and the touch screen the other). Will be using a USB wireles adaptor to connect to my home network and upload music and movies. Will also do a bit of "wardriving" and find a few unsecure wireless networks around the place to use to check my email and stuff during the day. I can also connect wirelessly to my network at the office (I own a real estate agency).
* the pod still needs some fine sanding to be absolutely perfect but I will wait until next weekend to do this as I am really over the fabrication thing at the moment (over 50hrs of work went into it and the dust was insane . . . I worked outside but alot blew inside and put a fine coat of dusk over everything).
* I will post a few pics of the switches below. I should have taken a photo of the laptop before I put the seat back in but forgot (I will take one when I pull everything apart to get the pod painted).
In relation to the next project . . . . I am going to wire the laptop audio out directly into the head unit as per this website GTO Hard Wire Tutorial
I was going to use Phreddy's mod but it looked like a lot of work. I don't mind if my CD player is spinning all the time with a blank audio CD in it. If it eventually wears out who cares (I never listen to CDs anyway).
Here's the pics:
The only work I plan on doing this week is hard wiring the carputer to the head unit. I can't do this until I get my new head unit (old one is getting replaced under warranty as the plastic cracked . . . before I begun my project - lucky). New head unit is supposed to arrive this week. I ordered it weeks ago but I think Holden forgot. I rang them on Friday and they said it was due in on Moday - convenient!
The front end is Centrafuse. I am using their demo at the moment but will buy their SE version (USD$124) soon. No need to pay USD$275 for the satnav function because if you can get hold of the Destinator 6 Aussie maps (PM me if you want to know how) you can easily add them and then you have the full XLE version for the price of the SE version.
Hakhawk, I would love to give RoadRunner a try but had a go at installing it on my Laptop and it took to much configuring for my liking and I wanted something I could get going straight out of the box (so to speak). If you could help me in a few weeks time when all this is finished I would love to give RoadRunner a go. Because it is open source there are so many plugins that it can do almost anything (except drive the car for you while you watch a DVD).
Anyway, here is a bit of a update on the progress.
* pulled the laptop apart and hotwired a switch to it and mounted the switch in the dash (just in front of the T/C button) otherwise I would have no way to turn it on and off once mounted under the passenger seat. Never done this kind of stuff before but found some good info on MP3Car.com - Your source for mobile computing solutions! I had 3 screws left over after I put it all back together . . . but it worked.
* had to remove the IR remote sensor from the circuit board of the LCD and attached it to an extension cable (just used telephone cable as I needed 3 wires). Mounted the IR receiver inside the A/C vent on the centre console. It works a treat and the only way you can see it is if you get a torch and take a close look inside.
* got sick of having to use the remote to turn the monitor on so I decided to try and hotwire a switch to it using what I had learned from my experience with the laptop switch. Much to my amazement it worked and I mounted the switch next to the switch for the PC (in front of the T/C switch)
* thought I was pretty clever and noticed that I had 1 spare spot to mount a switch next to the T/C switch so I thought I would install 2 USB port in the centre console. Not sure what I am going to use them for but everyone that sees them goes WOW! I guess I could put a movie or music on a memory stick and plug it into the dash or use them to charge some of my portable electronic devices that charge from USB.
* I got a price from Holden for the factory buttons and they were going to cost $21 each plus $12 for a new bezel ($53 total). The 2 I used were from Dick Smith and only cost $2 each. I pulled the USB ports out of an old computer at the office.
* have used a few spots of silicone to hold everything in place inside the pod (monitor mount) to be able to do a road test. I still have to pull the pod off again to get a panel beater to spray it for me.
* tested the satnav and the media functions of the front end (Centrafuse) and it all works a dream.
* did some daytime driving today to see what effect the sun would have on the visability of the screen. The result was good, you can always clearly see what is on the screen but it is not as good at is at night. I would say at night I would rate the screen 8/10 (it is only a cheapie and need better contrast) and by day it would be a respectable 5/10. Some have suggested that I would not be able to see anything during the day but that is not the case.
* the touch screen was easy to setup and works perfect. Just install the drivers and plug in the USB and away it goes.
* had to run some new wires from the fuse box (never done this before either) as I already had my bluetooth car kit wired onto the back of the cigarette lighter and thought I would draw too much current if I ran both the LCD screen and Computer off this as well. After a lot of soldering and testing with a mates multimetre it all worked first time.
* I should mention that all none of my switches or wiring for accessories are hard wired. I have wired everything to plugs so if I want to remove the centre console again I can unplug everything very easily.
* mounted laptop upside down under the passenger seat and it is held in place by valcroe that is bolted to the floor (used self tapping screws).
* had to mount an unpowered 4 port USB hub under the seat aswell because the laptop only had 2 USB ports (and bluethooth was using one and the touch screen the other). Will be using a USB wireles adaptor to connect to my home network and upload music and movies. Will also do a bit of "wardriving" and find a few unsecure wireless networks around the place to use to check my email and stuff during the day. I can also connect wirelessly to my network at the office (I own a real estate agency).
* the pod still needs some fine sanding to be absolutely perfect but I will wait until next weekend to do this as I am really over the fabrication thing at the moment (over 50hrs of work went into it and the dust was insane . . . I worked outside but alot blew inside and put a fine coat of dusk over everything).
* I will post a few pics of the switches below. I should have taken a photo of the laptop before I put the seat back in but forgot (I will take one when I pull everything apart to get the pod painted).
In relation to the next project . . . . I am going to wire the laptop audio out directly into the head unit as per this website GTO Hard Wire Tutorial
I was going to use Phreddy's mod but it looked like a lot of work. I don't mind if my CD player is spinning all the time with a blank audio CD in it. If it eventually wears out who cares (I never listen to CDs anyway).
Here's the pics:
The only work I plan on doing this week is hard wiring the carputer to the head unit. I can't do this until I get my new head unit (old one is getting replaced under warranty as the plastic cracked . . . before I begun my project - lucky). New head unit is supposed to arrive this week. I ordered it weeks ago but I think Holden forgot. I rang them on Friday and they said it was due in on Moday - convenient!
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looking good mate, one suggestion with the screen,is to look on mp3car, theres a heap of info on certain lilliput screens you can turn on auto power on function, so when the screen has power it will turn on, otherwise, theres a fairly easy circuit with a capacitor and resistor or so that will "press" the button for you. i did it on mine, and it has never not worked.
yeh, road runners fun to setup, but thats what i preferred,and it just worked real well interface wise. though i havent tried centrafuse in a while, might have to have a look. though im into free programs, dont like paying for stuff if i can help it
yeh, road runners fun to setup, but thats what i preferred,and it just worked real well interface wise. though i havent tried centrafuse in a while, might have to have a look. though im into free programs, dont like paying for stuff if i can help it
MyPetFly
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That is actually why I bought the Lilliput screen. I have seen the posts on mp3car that enable auto-on. I just have to punch a series of numbers in through the remote but haven't got around to doing it yet. I wanted the hard wired button anyway so I did that first.
Burnie
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Awesome project. I am hanging on for next installment. Keep up the good work!!!!
MyPetFly
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Thanks for the encouragement Burnie.
In my last post I forgot to mention a problem that I am having. I am going to post in the mp3car forum about it but maybe someone here could help too.
The laptop is connected to the car electrics via a power adaptor that I bought from supercheap auto (I cut the cigarette lighter off the end and hard wired it to the fuse box).
Anyway, when the laptop is connected to the car electrics this way it puts a small amount of interference onto the LCD screen. The interference comes in pulses that coincide with CPU usage. When the CPU is idle there is no interference. If I park in the garage at home and connect the laptop up to the 240v adaptor there is no interference on the LCD screen at all. I don't know a lot about electronics but I presume that the 12v car adaptor is responsible for the interference.
I have heard of "ground loop" interference somewhere in the distant past. Is this the most likely cause. The biggest confusion is why the interference comes in pulses that match the CPU usage?
Is there some kind of filter that I can buy to get rid of this interference?
I should mention that the interference is not real bad. If I have my sunglasses on I can't notice it at all. Sitting in the garage at home or at night the interference is more noticable.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Not_An_Abba_Fan
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Can you put a filter inline in the power source for the screen? Similar to a stereo filter?
MyPetFly
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I have no idea what can be done. I have also posted on mp3car to try and find out.
BTW, I went to see a panel beater this morning that is a friend of a friend. He said he would spray my "pod" for $30-$40 cash. I asked him if I gave him $100 cash would he spend some time doing a bit of sanding to make it look absolutely perfect and he said "hell yeah".
Will get the spraying done next week.
re GTO Hard Wire Tutorial, I got my ipod working ok. A few points to watch, solder is a high heat so a good soldering iron is needed and the lead free solder was useless but found some good old lead solder and away it went. Another point, don't let a neighbour walk in and bump the table, I had a small component come off the board next to where one of the wires goes, but fluked the re-solder of that. Did take magnified headgear to do it.