Anyone have car PC (carputer)?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
This really could have gone in any number of the forums here, but ATG seems best.

Does anyone have a "carputer" (whether self built or purchased) in their car?

I'm getting a Raspberry Pi unit next week, and I plan on putting it in a plastic casing (probably LEGO) with a small HD hooked up to a LCD unit I have lying around. Going to to run audio to aux in on my stereo and mount the LCD... somehow. It's not a touchscreen, so I think I'll use a HTPC remote with the system. I'm trying to save money, and I have 2 or 3 of these cheap but serviceable Chinese units. With a 250GB laptop drive and a lightweight Linux distro installed, I think it should be a good system for storing and playing all my music.

I'm thinking about adding bluetooth GPS capability later on, as well, but I have to look into that. Plus I'll probably have to add a mini bluetooth KB, or just swap out the screen for touchscreen.

Anyone else have a carputer or plan on getting one? Any idea on a good mount for a ~6" lcd screen? I want to fit it either on the windshield or between the driver and passenger's seat.
 
nboy22

nboy22

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2002
3,304
1
81
I started building one back quite a few years ago. I ended up scrapping the project because I didn't have much money, I was moving for college, and didn't invest in the best touchscreen. My liliput touchscreen would overheat even in the summers in Idaho, which would make it turn off. I was moving to Phoenix and knew I would pretty much never be able to use my carputer due to the heat, so I sold all the parts. If I would have changed anything it would have been investing in the $250-$350 screen at the time (not liliput brand), because it seemed to handle the heat better.
 
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
nboy22 said:
I started building one back quite a few years ago. I ended up scrapping the project because I didn't have much money, I was moving for college, and didn't invest in the best touchscreen. My liliput touchscreen would overheat even in the summers in Idaho, which would make it turn off. I was moving to Phoenix and knew I would pretty much never be able to use my carputer due to the heat, so I sold all the parts. If I would have changed anything it would have been investing in the $250-$350 screen at the time (not liliput brand), because it seemed to handle the heat better.
Click to expand...

Good to know about Lilliput. I've considered getting it before because of the sheer convenience of USB, but I didn't think about the potential for overheating.
 
nboy22

nboy22

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2002
3,304
1
81
Crono said:
Good to know about Lilliput. I've considered getting it before because of the sheer convenience of USB, but I didn't think about the potential for overheating.
Click to expand...

I would do some more research on it too. There might be some models that don't have that problem but I think the better models were a different brand and close to $100 more expensive
 
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
No, but i'm waiting for a good tablet to come out under <200 that i'll replace my in-dash nav with.
 
W

wnrussell

Junior Member
Jul 24, 2012
6
0
0
After 6 months of trial, I finally found the perfect PC for my 535i. The Stealth.com LPC-460. (Xenarc now sells it for under $400)

Link to specs: http://www.stealth.com/littlepc_460_mobile.htm

Features:
Built for Mobile, In-Vehicle Computing
Start Up/Shut Down Safety Feature
DC Power Input 10V-26VDC
Powerful Intel Core 2 Duo Processors
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
3D Graphics with 16x9 Capability
Built-in Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0,
1394a Firewire, Audio, Serial, Video
Low Profile Rugged Aluminum Chassis
Slim Slot Loading Optical Drives
Solid State Hard Drives (SSD) optional
Windows 7 & XP Pro Compatible,
*other O/S Options Available

Dimensions:
5.7"(W) x 9.9"(D) x 1.65"(H)
(14.6 x 25 x 4.2 cm)

LPC-460_front_large.jpg
LPC-460M_rear_large.jpg


I turned my car into a mobile office with a rear display (Touch panel) my passengers can use while I am driving. The car has:


CarFi on board: Autonet Mobile
Slingbox
Skype
Google Talk/ Video Chat
Netflix
Windows Media Center
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Office with voice translater
Optical drive to play movies
Voice activation: Google search and video chat.
Safe driving, no physical input. Say "Home Depot" and you're on your way.
900 TV Channels if connected to FiOS.

Windows 7 with 5 input options, including voice:
StealthDesktop8.jpg


Google home page, with GoogleTalk chat session:
StealthVideo8.jpg


Logitech Webcam covers both front and rear passengers:
Stealthlogitech8.jpg


Full internet capability:
StealthMSN8.jpg


Rear seat touch display:
StealthRear8.jpg


Slingbox works great
xoom2.png


Installed Outlook on Stealth today, and activated the Windows 7 Speech recognition.

Everything is working with voice commands i.e. say "Start, Outlook" and you have it hands free. Then you can say "Press Down" to scroll through the messages, "Press Enter" to open them, "Reply" and start dictating, "Send", "Close window", etc.

For anybody who hasn't tried the Windows 7 Speech recognition yet, it just needs to be turned on and configured for the microphone. It is blazing fast and accurate.

VoiceRecognition8.jpg


Users can cycle between car, PC and phone with a press of a button.

BMWPhone.jpg
 
Last edited:
skyking

skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,635
5,743
146
"press down"
"press down"
"press down"
"Press Enter"
"Reply"
Paul, that sounds great OH FVCK! <insert breaking glass and crumpled fender noises>
 
Anubis

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
my friend built ones years ago, he used a tiny mobo (mini ITX i think) some low power CPU came with it, he had it in a case that looked like a car amp. it ran some version of linux and a custom winamp like program that parsed for songs, he had a 500GB HDD hooked up to it. he ran line out to his head unit and installed a 4 line B&W LCD that would display track information, DC-AC converter that would auto shut down the computer when the car was off, had builtin wifi so it would sinc to his home network when he was in his driveway. he used a logitech harmony remote to controll it
 
Last edited:
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
planning on creating a clean mount for my nexus 7. will probably create a thread for it.
 
W

wnrussell

Junior Member
Jul 24, 2012
6
0
0
skyking said:
"press down"
"press down"
"press down"
"Press Enter"
"Reply"
Paul, that sounds great OH FVCK! <insert breaking glass and crumpled fender noises>
Click to expand...
Have you ever used Windows 7 Speech Recognition? You read the text on the item to jump to it. It does take practice though, for sure. It is faster than typing IF you don't have much background noise.

"Not to be done while driving" :D
 
Last edited:
F

Ferzerp

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,438
107
106
Old thread bumped by brand new reg giving a glowing review about a product....?

Hmm. Gee guys,what should we think here?
 
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Ferzerp said:
Old thread bumped by brand new reg giving a glowing review about a product....?

Hmm. Gee guys,what should we think here?
Click to expand...

Report spammer, I guess... though it doesn't bother me.


I ended up buying a cheap 7" Vizio LCD to pair with my raspberry pi. I just got all the parts, going to post pics later this week when it's all set up. I'm hoping to have the Linux distro (Raspbian, optimized Debian for the RPi) set up so that I can use it with a mini keyboard/HTPC controller.

If it doesn't turn out ideally, I have a Kindle Fire that I can mount instead (but I'd rather use it for books).

Black2na said:
DO THAT! we love us some build threads!
Click to expand...

Definitely would like to see this as well. :)
 
Last edited:
C

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Anubis said:
my friend built ones years ago, he used a tiny mobo (mini ITX i think) some low power CPU came with it, he had it in a case that looked like a car amp. it ran some version of linux and a custom winamp like program that parsed for songs, he had a 500GB HDD hooked up to it. he ran line out to his head unit and installed a 4 line B&W LCD that would display track information, DC-AC converter that would auto shut down the computer when the car was off, had builtin wifi so it would sinc to his home network when he was in his driveway. he used a logitech harmony remote to controll it
Click to expand...

That's pretty close to what I was thinking, though now with tinier and cheaper computers (I have "Android on a stick" in addition to my RPi) than even mini ITX. Sounds like a sweet setup.
 
W

wnrussell

Junior Member
Jul 24, 2012
6
0
0
Hey, guys, I am new here. Did I put my PC post in the wrong thread? Should I post a new thread?

Can't tell where I am with the conversation as it relates to the OP. Thanks
 
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
halik said:
Never understood the point, my car came with nav.
Click to expand...

if you drive long distances regularly, it's nice to have navigation & pandora going on the same screen so you don't have to fumble with your phone while driving. also google nav is way better than any built in nav i've ever used. granted, you need a data connection, but tethering from a phone or hotspot is trivial.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom