Carputer, anyone ever build one?

[Cuda1447]

I'm in the process of finding my new car and have been giving a lot of thoughts to the options. No matter what model I get (outside of the rare nav package) the stock head unit is pretty crappy looking and something that I will want to replace to give the interior a more modern look. I've looked at some nice lcd screens that have pandora built in, or aux input etc... but ultimately, none of them had exactly what I wanted and had a lot of what I didn't care for. This lead me to the topic of a carputer. Obviously this is a bit more complex, but at the same time it may be cheaper and give me exactly what I want. The computer aspect of it is easy for me, it's the car side of things that are going to be a bit difficult. There are a ton of resources out there though that can guide me through things.

I'm curious if anyone here has ever taken on such a project and what their thoughts were on the topic?

 

[Kelvrick]

http://www.mp3car.com/

It will not be cheaper. If you make it look good, it will cost more in both dollars and time. It will be a lot cheaper if you have a car with a double din, then you can just get something like this
http://store.mp3car.com/Preassembled_Black_Double_Din_LCD_Frame_with_7_Li_p/mon-125.htm

Then hook up a netbook of some sort. That will be the cheapest, easiest way.

Here is a youtube video of mine in my legacy. Coming up with the gui probably took me a good 40+ hours, then fabbing the bezel and mount after tearing apart the dash took me another good 20 hours. Financial cost aside from time was probably in the 700+ range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX1B2lXLTd8

 

[bobdole369]

It's difficult to justify the added complexity of a computer system in a car these days.

The largest impetus for the community was to play mp3s in a huge library (an iPhone does that now), and DVD movies (in-dash players do that now).

So what are you trying to accomplish? One thing that is typically not done in a head unit is of course to turn your car into a wifi hotspot - with a 3g/4g cradle. That way your passengers can surf. You could also do a mobile media player with media en masse on HD.

Another absolutely huge impetus (at least the one I'm pursuing) is to use the computer to build an audio manipulation engine - that is something that can put your crossover points exactly where you want - do time delay, infinite equalization, etc. Hardware exists to do just this but its around $500-$1000 for a dedicated "black box".

12V operated car systems are old hat by now - have a look at http://www.mini-box.com/site/index.html and of course the old standby - mp3car.com

 

[skyking]

I have a need, but not to play tunes or use a GUI. I need to operate some temperature related controls that I am adding. I'd be happy with CLI, but I'll need programming help.

 

[Cuda1447]

http://www.mp3car.com/

It will not be cheaper. If you make it look good, it will cost more in both dollars and time. It will be a lot cheaper if you have a car with a double din, then you can just get something like this
http://store.mp3car.com/Preassembled_Black_Double_Din_LCD_Frame_with_7_Li_p/mon-125.htm

Then hook up a netbook of some sort. That will be the cheapest, easiest way.

Here is a youtube video of mine in my legacy. Coming up with the gui probably took me a good 40+ hours, then fabbing the bezel and mount after tearing apart the dash took me another good 20 hours. Financial cost aside from time was probably in the 700+ range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX1B2lXLTd8

Sorry if this question is amateurish, but what exactly is a double din?

*edit* Maybe I should rephrase my question. This stuff is a bit new to me. I realize double din refers to a sort of connection type within the car, but how do I tell if my (prospective) car is double din and if so, how is a double din unit different than a standard touch lcd or head unit?

 

[Safeway]

Umm, DIN is just the height of the radio. If it is a standard, slim radio, it is Single DIN. If it is a taller radio, it is Double DIN. Sometimes the radio is Single DIN, but there is a storage cubby under the radio that will allow for Double DIN installation.

 

[Cuda1447]

Umm, DIN is just the height of the radio. If it is a standard, slim radio, it is Single DIN. If it is a taller radio, it is Double DIN. Sometimes the radio is Single DIN, but there is a storage cubby under the radio that will allow for Double DIN installation.

Gotcha, makes sense now. Thanks.

 

[Cuda1447]

So let me see if I got this straight real quick.

Something like this: http://store.mp3car.com/Preassembled_Black_Double_Din_LCD_Frame_with_7_Li_p/mon-125.htm

Will act just as the touch screen interface. And I can hook up a number of different devices to it to control my car audio etc...? It has HDMI inputs, VGA, RCA and Aux it seems. So I could hook up an Android phone and display exactly that on the lilliput monitor and stream music from spotify or pandora? Likewise, I could use a tablet, or small laptop and control my shit that way? These monitors have no OS or GUI built into them whatsoever?

It seems like a great solution, how do they compare in terms of audio quality to having a regular head unit?

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

there is also din and a half(as I call it, might be some other technical name for it). its in 90's and early 2000 model GM's.

 

[Safeway]

So let me see if I got this straight real quick.

Something like this: http://store.mp3car.com/Preassembled_Black_Double_Din_LCD_Frame_with_7_Li_p/mon-125.htm

Will act just as the touch screen interface. And I can hook up a number of different devices to it to control my car audio etc...? It has HDMI inputs, VGA, RCA and Aux it seems. So I could hook up an Android phone and display exactly that on the lilliput monitor and stream music from spotify or pandora? Likewise, I could use a tablet, or small laptop and control my shit that way? These monitors have no OS or GUI built into them whatsoever?

It seems like a great solution, how do they compare in terms of audio quality to having a regular head unit?

The display/touchscreen won't work with a phone. It must be connected to a device that is compatible with the touchscreen driver.

Based upon your apparent lack of knowledge, no disrespect intended, you should probably stick with a retail solution. Really. Buy a single-din or double-din head unit with an LCD that can hook up to your phone's Pandora application. Done.

 

[ElFenix]

Gotcha, makes sense now. Thanks.

DIN being a german industrial standardization board, similar in function to ISO.

 

[jlee]

Based upon your apparent lack of knowledge, no disrespect intended, you should probably stick with a retail solution. Really. Buy a single-din or double-din head unit with an LCD that can hook up to your phone's Pandora application. Done.

Or he could learn...who knows, maybe he'll be doing engine swaps in 9 months!

 

[ponyo]

I think it's easier and cheaper to use a 3g 7" tablet. You can search and see some YouTube videos of people using the original 7" Galaxy Tab as carputer in their car. Nice thing about the 3g Tab is that you can hack it get full phone functionality so it becomes a giant Android phone. It also has built-in native Hotspot so everyone in the car can share the internet. You have full access to the Android market so there's no shortage of apps. You can place or receive phone calls, use Google maps and navigation, Pandora or Google Music, watch videos and movies, browse the internet, play games, etc. It's really the perfect carputer. I bought AT&T 3g 7" Galaxy Tab a year ago for $200 during their clearance and unlocked it and flashed Euro rom to unlock the phone functionality. I bought a car mount for it and use it as portable carputer/GPS. 7" screen is perfect size for a car.

If you want top of the line tablet, you can import the new 7.7" 3g Galaxy Tab from the UK for about $650. That has the gorgeous Super AMOLED Plus 1280x720 screen and the fastest SOC currently available for Android. It's fully unlocked with full phone and wifi hotspot functionality out of the box. Just pop in your SIM card and you're ready to go.

 

[Cuda1447]

I think it's easier and cheaper to use a 3g 7" tablet. You can search and see some YouTube videos of people using the original 7" Galaxy Tab as carputer in their car. Nice thing about the 3g Tab is that you can hack it get full phone functionality so it becomes a giant Android phone. It also has built-in native Hotspot so everyone in the car can share the internet. You have full access to the Android market so there's no shortage of apps. You can place or receive phone calls, use Google maps and navigation, Pandora or Google Music, watch videos and movies, browse the internet, play games, etc. It's really the perfect carputer. I bought AT&T 3g 7" Galaxy Tab a year ago for $200 during their clearance and unlocked it and flashed Euro rom to unlock the phone functionality. I bought a car mount for it and use it as portable carputer/GPS. 7" screen is perfect size for a car.

If you want top of the line tablet, you can import the new 7.7" 3g Galaxy Tab from the UK for about $650. That has the gorgeous Super AMOLED Plus 1280x720 screen and the fastest SOC currently available for Android. It's fully unlocked with full phone and wifi hotspot functionality out of the box. Just pop in your SIM card and you're ready to go.

Do you just run an aux input from the tab to your head unit for audio to the car?

 

[ponyo]

Do you just run an aux input from the tab to your head unit for audio to the car?

Even more old school. Both of my vans have cassette player.

Newer cars have aux input for portable mp3 players so you could just connect it to that.

 

[Cuda1447]

Even more old school. Both of my vans have cassette player.

Newer cars have aux input for portable mp3 players so you could just connect it to that.

Yea, that would work. My major concern is that the interface for Android is small and might be difficult to operate while driving. Most touch screen solutions in cars have GUI's that are large and simplified, making it easy to use while driving.

 

[ponyo]

Yea, that would work. My major concern is that the interface for Android is small and might be difficult to operate while driving. Most touch screen solutions in cars have GUI's that are large and simplified, making it easy to use while driving.

Interface is no problem. Android has car mode/ home mode you can use. This is the car mode I use and it pops up automatically as the home screen when I connect it with my car mount.

There's other car mode app you can use that has bigger or different GUI. And you can't get simpler than Google Voice Command. I don't type anything when I'm in the car or driving. Remember, before Apple Siri, there was Google Voice command and search. Press the Voice Search button and you can basically do anything by voice. "Call wife" will call your wife. "Find McDonalds" will navigate you the nearest McDonalds. You can voice type text messages, emails, phone numbers and contacts, directions, basically anything you want. It's way better than any other touch GUI solutions in a car. Remember, it's Google and Android. If you don't like it, you can change it. Google Voice search searches everything on your device first before searching the entire web. It's really good and convenient in the car and frees you from touching and typing everything.

 

[Cuda1447]

Interface is no problem. Android has car mode/ home mode you can use. This is the car mode I use and it pops up automatically as the home screen when I connect it with my car mount.

There's other car mode app you can use that has bigger or different GUI. And you can't get simpler than Google Voice Command. I don't type anything when I'm in the car or driving. Remember, before Apple Siri, there was Google Voice command and search. Press the Voice Search button and you can basically do anything by voice. "Call wife" will call your wife. "Find McDonalds" will navigate you the nearest McDonalds. You can voice type text messages, emails, phone numbers and contacts, directions, basically anything you want. It's way better than any other touch GUI solutions in a car. Remember, it's Google and Android. If you don't like it, you can change it. Google Voice search searches everything on your device first before searching the entire web. It's really good and convenient in the car and frees you from touching and typing everything.

Hmm, some good points. Now I guess my only concern would be how to do an in-dash install so it looks clean.

 

[bobdole369]

So let me see if I got this straight real quick.

Something like this: http://store.mp3car.com/Preassembled_Black_Double_Din_LCD_Frame_with_7_Li_p/mon-125.htm

Will act just as the touch screen interface. And I can hook up a number of different devices to it to control my car audio etc...? It has HDMI inputs, VGA, RCA and Aux it seems. So I could hook up an Android phone and display exactly that on the lilliput monitor and stream music from spotify or pandora? Likewise, I could use a tablet, or small laptop and control my shit that way? These monitors have no OS or GUI built into them whatsoever?

It seems like a great solution, how do they compare in terms of audio quality to having a regular head unit?

The linked unit is literally just a monitor with a USB off the back with windoze drivers. So you would connect your carputer to that.

You cannot easily display a phone exactly on any monitor. An iPad has a VGA out connector right, so that might work, but being IOS I know the touchscreen part wouldn't.

You could connect the output from either your carputer or a laptop and control THAT exactly, like start button, etc. Run apps like pandora, etc - through the windows on your laptop/carputer

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Here is a youtube video of mine in my legacy. Coming up with the gui probably took me a good 40+ hours, then fabbing the bezel and mount after tearing apart the dash took me another good 20 hours. Financial cost aside from time was probably in the 700+ range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX1B2lXLTd8

Nicely done! Mechanical HDD or SSD?

 

[Zap]

I'm in the process of finding my new car and have been giving a lot of thoughts to the options. No matter what model I get (outside of the rare nav package) the stock head unit is pretty crappy looking and something that I will want to replace to give the interior a more modern look. I've looked at some nice lcd screens that have pandora built in, or aux input etc... but ultimately, none of them had exactly what I wanted and had a lot of what I didn't care for.

A few thoughts...

Many cars don't even have normal DIN slots. My Mazda, for instance, has everything integrated as one big panel. In such a vehicle you would need a replacement panel before you can put in a normal DIN/doubleDIN.

What exactly do you want it to do? My wife's Subaru's stock system can accept music from her Android phone through Bluetooth. She can indeed play Pandora that way. It also has a 3.5mm input if she wants to use her old Sansa MP3 player. Most of the time, however, she just uses a USB flash drive with MP3.

 

[manimal]

Since so many features are integrated in new factory installs its sometimes best to ADD an additional 7 inch screen than replace the stocker.

 

[Kelvrick]

Nicely done! Mechanical HDD or SSD?

mechanical, which is why it died on me a year later. I made mine before there were really netbooks or cheap SSDs. I planned on replacing it with a dell vostro netbook i picked up with an sdd, but then my house got broken into and it was stolen.

Now I have an acer netbook that was $200 from target last black friday that I put a torque ssd in that is waiting to go in.

Back to the OP though, it is MUCH harder now. All the cars seem to have everything integrated with everything. I was lucky since the legacy's had a dash/cubby that could hold a 7" screen by reusing the bezel and fabbing brackets to hold the screen.

OP, don't feel overwhelmed. Its never too late to start learning. Just spend some spare time reading on mp3car and if you have specific cars in mind, visit those model specific forums to see if other people have gotten started yet. A netbook/laptop function is also nice because they have that battery backup you can tap into without draining your car battery.

 

[Cuda1447]

A few thoughts...

Many cars don't even have normal DIN slots. My Mazda, for instance, has everything integrated as one big panel. In such a vehicle you would need a replacement panel before you can put in a normal DIN/doubleDIN.

What exactly do you want it to do? My wife's Subaru's stock system can accept music from her Android phone through Bluetooth. She can indeed play Pandora that way. It also has a 3.5mm input if she wants to use her old Sansa MP3 player. Most of the time, however, she just uses a USB flash drive with MP3.

Well I'm looking at doing this on a 370z, most likely 2009 with bose system but no nav installed. One of the main reasons I want to do it is because I think the interior on the 370's looks outdated and underwhelming, so I want to make it look more modern etc...

In terms of functionality, music controls via spotify most likely. I figure I could just do a tablet install and run an aux input cable to the stock headunit. Maybe some GPS capabilities, or web browsing if I need to look something up on a bigger screen than my smart phone. Really though, its for aesthetic purposes and quality music control. Everything else is just a bonus.

 

[Safeway]

Well I'm looking at doing this on a 370z, most likely 2009 with bose system but no nav installed. One of the main reasons I want to do it is because I think the interior on the 370's looks outdated and underwhelming, so I want to make it look more modern etc...

In terms of functionality, music controls via spotify most likely. I figure I could just do a tablet install and run an aux input cable to the stock headunit. Maybe some GPS capabilities, or web browsing if I need to look something up on a bigger screen than my smart phone. Really though, its for aesthetic purposes and quality music control. Everything else is just a bonus.

Ok. So. You want:

+ Navigation
+ Bigger screen
+ Better music control

Get a stock unit. There is absolutely no need to install a carputer now days. You have a phone with internet access. Do you really think you will look something up on a carputer? Think about the angle and placement of that screen. Looking up something on a phone would be infinitely better. To top it off, to get streaming data on a carputer, you'd have to tether your phone to it. To get Nav, you'd have to purchase a GPS antenna and GPS software.

Just use your phone and an AUX/USB connection to a nice head unit with Nav.

Why are you trying to over complicate this?