Putting a computer in the car

[beefybull]

Would it be conceivable that you could get a small computer tower box, load a hard drive and stuff RAM in it, load it with every NES, SNES, and N64 rom, then buy some USB Controllers or Controller-to-USB adapters and use it in the car? What additional wiring would need to be done? Any suggestions? Which emulators would you use?

You could also do it on a laptop as well I think, and get a cord that goes to an internet-abled phone and use your screen and a USB keyboard to access the net from your car. Never know when Mapquest directions would be nice without the subscription price/privacy issues of a GPS unit. Sprint PCS Vision is one example of internet service, you can get unlimited minutes for like $15. Sprint tracks KB/MB used, so you wouldnt wanna be downloading songs or anything while using your cell as a modem. Still, you could check mail, auctions, get directions, etc. while using relatively small amounts of memory.

You can get giant LCD screens that go on your dash for CHEAP now and the computer format would allow you to load tons of different software.

 

[beefybull]

Also, if your tower or laptop had a DVD drive, you could use it for watching DVDs, mp3s, etc.

 

[Ulcasterdropout]

You away from home alot?
Thats alot of hassel to rig your car like that.
The only time I'm in my car, is when I'm driving it.....

 

[plornive]

I think, if you have the funds and the time to throw at it, you should go for it. Great idea! I like the fact that you are thinking of how to adapt and integrate computer technogoly into your life.

I think the main issues are
i) networking,
ii) power supply,
iii) interface and
iv) aesthetics.

For networking, I believe there are two practical options for Sprint's 3G network: Network card or USB based phone connect kit. If you used the USB based phone connect kit, you could place your mobile phone into a phone-holder (already exist) and just plug the cable into the phone when you enter your car.

I'm not really sure about power supply issues.

Your interface could be a touch screen and wireless controllers, including a wireless pointing device. Those would be very straight-forward to use. You could add microphones later. Software would be pretty easy to customize for touch screen use while driving. You seem to know how to mount an LCD so that's great.

The most difficult part would be the case, cooling and placement into your vehicle. If you wanted to use a notebook, putting it into your glove compartment would be a plus, although I am not sure if its safe to let a notebook get very hot (if you leave it in your car in the heat). It wouldn't get into the way, and all of the wiring would be out of sight (other than the cable to your phone, which could come through your dash) yet easy to access if there were any problems or you wanted to change something. Your wireless receivers could go there as well. You could also remove your notebook when you chose to use it for something else.

That's the cheap way.

But if I were to do it, I would probably look for a case and network card which could be imbedded into the dash with no further complications. I hate being Mr. Gadget. A big LCD with touch-screen is all I want to deal with....

 

[plornive]

Actually, hardware is so cheap nowadays that I think you should search for a case that fits perfectly in your car and build a nice system. I just built a bunch of systems that work perfectly for everyday use for just US$250 each including tiny, well-cooled metal cases. Probably not tiny enough for a car though.

 

[Delinquent]

cops have notebooks in their patrol cars so ya it's possible. When my father in law was in charge of the TAC unit and drove an unmarked car, he would talk to my fiance on aim while doing stake outs.

 

[beefybull]

Did a little research on this, you can get those USB controllers for about $20-40 each.

Know any good sites for super small computer boxes?
How many USB ports could you put on one of those? (I'm not sure if there are emulators that would offer full 4 player control for NES/SNES, but it'd be nice to have an extra port for a mouse and other stuff if I was going to run Windows.

 

[Dial_tone]

People have done so to create mobile mp3 players. Instead of a tower get what's called a 1U server case, which is 1.75" high and very flat.....the ones you see stacked in racks in pictures. You'd have to mount it carefully to avoid damaging the hard drive over bumps. Mount it under the seat in an SUV or in the trunk area. It wouldn't be cheapt if done right though.

 

[SoreArms]

This is actually a project that I've been thinking about. Mostly to use as an MP3 player, but I also want it to be a fully functional PC with wireless. At my job, we have tons of Laptop mother boards, LCD's, HD's etc. that I can use. I'm thinking of making my own case and some sort of key pannel with a few keys (play, stop fwd, rev, etc...) aside from regular kb capability. I think the toughest part would be the power supply. Something to power and charge off you car battery/alternator when the car is on, but I would like to put a rechargeable battery in it so it can be used when the car is off. Writing the key pannels drivers and a few other programs might be abit tough too.

 

[beefybull]

I think the touch screen would be wildly badass, but programing that kind of shit is beyond my reach of skillz. If I can have 3 functioning USB ports I'll plug in 2 controls & a mouse.

I was thinking a DVD drive & a big hard drive. Throw a bunch of emulators, games, music, etc (maybe even a lil porn for you and the ladies) on that shit and you'd be good to go.

I've also heard of those with Sprint "PCS Vision" or other similar services (internet on your cell phone) getting data cables so you can use your cell phone as a modem and connect using your "Internet Minutes" (which are usually unlimited for $10-20/mo). Some of today's cell phones can transmit data at up to 144kbps, thats almost 3x faster than dial up. Thing is, you cant download/transmit large files b/c most of the companies started tracking memory usage. They dont want you downloading mp3s and shit thru the phone eating up the bandwidth.

Anyway, before my DUI I was spending at least an hour a day in the car. Depending on what happens in the next few months, I could end up spending hours each day in a car with someone else driving me around (hire a relative/friend or driver do it for cheap) due to business. Not sure yet but if I cant drive and I've gotta dart around the state, I'm gonna do this so I wont always be bored.

 

[RaZor Ramon]

What happened to people focusing on driving when they are behind the wheels of their cars?

 

[beefybull]

in the next few months, I could end up spending hours each day in a car with someone else driving me around

Read the posts bor

 

[GoldenDelicious]

hiya. the easiest and cheapest way to do this is with a modded X box or ps2.

id use an xbox myself.

reason i say this is because

1) x boxs are cheap
2) theyre the easiest to connect to your screen/lcd. you can already get kits.
3) you dont have problems with controllers- just use the xbox controllers
4) you can boot your emulators off a single dvd or whatever- far less stuffing around with settings as per a laptop

i built a few arcade machines (still have one MAME monster working ) and mate, emulators can be huge, huge headfucks on a pc. you have driver issues, operating system issues, interfacing issues blah blah and it busts your balls.

good thing with an X box or whatever is that all you need to do is find someone who has done it to copy the cd/dvd for you, and youre ready to rumble. all the config is pretty much done for you. takes out a lot of the guesswork and bullshit

so, xbox = $200 with controllers
car lcd screen = about 500 for the really cool remote electric flip down one im thinking of (or 300 for a cheaper one)
modding the xbox = another 100 or so

and youre done.

LOL you know what, you got me thinking

 

[GoldenDelicious]

oh i didnt read the bit about wireless networking. sorry mang

but if its for games/dvd/music id do what i said

 

[beefybull]

oh i didnt read the bit about wireless networking. sorry mang

but if its for games/dvd/music id do what i said

Yeah, not sure about the phone/net thing yet, I was speaking about if I got a laptop anyway.

Tell me more about modded X-boxes, you have any interesting links also?

 

[manny78]

For the power supply, you may have to change the crankshaft pulley for something better which spins the accesories faster.

 

[audiophyle]

xbox linux will let you put linux on your xbox without even modding it. If you can write drivers, it wouldnt take much to turn one of those controller ports into a usb port and plug in your cell phone for wireless networking.

http://www.xbox-linux.org/

 

[jnuts]

Use a Via Epia motherboard - they even sell 12 volt adaptors for the power supply. Nice boards for car computers.

 

[ZKaudio]

I've done this multiple times before. I'm serious (used to work at an audio install place back in the day)

firstly, there is no reason you need to mount the mobo in the dash... it can be anywhere in the car. Biggest problem is hd life with all the vibrations. If you have a lot of cash you can go with flash mem but it's gonna run u lots... I interfaced fold out tv screens into the video cards composite out... dig out would be better if you can get a monitor that supports it. Any questions I can address, can't type out step by step though too tired.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

Yeah, not sure about the phone/net thing yet, I was speaking about if I got a laptop anyway.

Tell me more about modded X-boxes, you have any interesting links also?

nah dont have the links to xbox chips and all that, my mates are into modding so they are on the ball as to which chips are the best at the time. the messiah 2 was the gold standard last time i looked into it

just go to mameworld or arcadeathome and start reading...its been done and done and done...quite easy

cheers

 

[MaGilicuti]

for an mp3 player wouldn't an ipod do? u can connect to the car nowadays no? and u can take it out of the car for the gym.

and why not just get a laptop? you can bring that in the house as well.

i guess those 2 suggestions are too practical

 

[GoldenDelicious]

not as practical as you think. the ipod could only do music, not run any emus or gps, and the laptop is difficult to mount, and expensive

 

[digger]

Cars are a really hostile environment for electronics. You've got cold as well as heat to cope with, and one badly-placed pothole could be a disk killer.

On the other hand, I just saw a gigabyte SD card, which would hold a lot of MAME ROMs.

 

[ZKaudio]

dig whats the biggest flash mem setup you've seen.

 

[digger]

Biggest flash I've seen? One gig. I've been carrying around a lot of ebooks in a "mere" 256MB, and that's cost-effective for me for now. (The iron I push around is all about rotating storage and maybe a 16MB config card.)

One of the guys at work took apart a bunch of firewall boxes that were past their "best if used by" dates, and found they had 40MB CF-format hard drives in them with a stripped-down Linux config. I wiped one and stuck it into a PDA; it worked, but it's no faster than flash memory, so I didn't see much point: it's more fragile, more power hungry, and smaller capacity than a regular CF card.

 

[Dial_tone]

CF is so last week.....Solid State Disks are the future, orb.

 

[audiophyle]

I'd recommend one of the Bit micro solid state drives. They're kinda pricey but no moving parts and they're ide compatible so they'll work with any normal motherboard.

http://www.bitmicro.com/products_edisk_35_ide.php

 

[deltreefitness]

I did this about 2 years ago to my Jetta: http://www.geocities.com/ppgt1994/jetta/

www.mp3car.com for a great forum about this.