Carputer

What is it?

After Many hours of research, several good ebay deals, and even more hours of patience, it is finally up and running!

HARDWARE
Epia M10000N (1GHZ Nehemiah) Motherboard (info)
Crucial 512MB RAM
120GB Seagate HD 3.5"
Opus 150W Power Supply (DC-DC) (info)
Samsung DVD
Hawking PCI 802.11g / External Roof Antenna
Delorme USB GPS (info)
In-Dash 7" TFT Touchscreen Monitor (info)

SOFTWARE
Windows XP Media Center
FrodoPlayer Front End - Custom Skin
iGuidance Navigation
 

Now I know the first comment I get is why use full size components? Well, I already had most of them laying around and the F150 has the space so why not? I am running a Micro-ATX MB so the next step is to move into a Micro case with a slim hard-drive and optical drive. For the moment, this is working fine and I didn't have to buy new parts.
 

PICTURES

Monitor Closed Into Dash

Manual control, less parts to break. Full Tilt for viewing angle.

Carputer

The Opus 150W DC power supply is tied into the truck's amplifier remote turn on. When the ignition turns off, the Opus sends a hibernate signal. When the ignition comes back on, the Opus send the wake signal.

Carputer Desktop

Yes I know the screen is loose in the casing... gotta work on a budget! System actually boots past the windows shell directly into the FrodoPlayer front end.

External WiFi Antenna

Magnetic Roof Mount - 7Dbi. Soon to be added are GPS and XM antenna. They will all eventually run through the 3rd brake light housing.

Visualzation

WMP10 "Energy Bliss" running inside Frodo. With moving clouds, equalizer, and album/track info this is a perfect visualzation.

FrodoPlayer Main Menu

Next on the list is to add the XM and Camera hardware

FrodoPlayer Media Screen

Running in Day Mode, automatically switches to hi-vis skin at night.

FrodoPlayer Exit Screen

Not really used since the Opus controls the power, but nice looking.

FrodoPlayer Video Screen

Can play from ripped DIVX on the harddrive or DVD

Glovebox USB and Power Switch

Switch can over-ride the Opus, allowing the computer to be remotely controlled from inside the house and for sync.

USB Thumb Keyboard

Actually designed for Playstation Controller, but works great in the car!

iGuidance Navigation

Full Touchscreen controls- also have Delorme and MS Street&Trips for backup

GPS Monitor

Keeps on eye on the GPS signal and aligns which satellites to use


MORE INFO
www.mp3car.com
www.carputer.org
www.frodoplayer.com

CONTACT

abn@alexn.net