just wondering if anyone has done a car pc install. i need some inspiration to get ym arse in gear and do my car pc install

all i need to get is a 7-8" touch screen prices are a bit steep so been waiting on a few homers comin my way.

been toying with the idea of any bog standard 7-8" lcd tv or similar for around £30 and just getting a touch screen kit from ebay for £30 seems a much more affordable option. getting an adapter for vga to s-video aint that difficult either.

the most annoying thing about it is i have a 17" laptop (panasonic tough book) which already has a touch screen but cant fit it because of size limitations where the cd player goes without seriously hacking apart my dash. plus processing power of that laptop is low and wont run centrafuse without a bit of lag

Seen a few around various web based car forums, but what’s the point?
I can’t really see anything that would be worth the hassle, cost and risk of having it nicked when you can buy an iphone or a lap top /note book which would do most things on the fly.

there is no point

i like electronics i also like computers. i started out as a computer programmer then web developer then hardware repair and then cars so next logical conclusion = computer & car

just a little project i felt like undertaking in my spare time plus the software im using for this is the dogs danglies

its called centrafuse and has a load of nice features i especially like the obd2 features so ill be getting an elm327 as well

all i need to get this project underway is a screen and elm327 and im good to go. also managed to get garmin mobile pc running with centrafuse

heres a website of someone who has done it on a focus, though i dont like his in dash screen modification, really dont like the big bevel
http://www.shugtech.co.uk/ford-focus-in-car-pc/

also his computer takes up too much room in the boot.

i have a fujitsu tablet pc that should fit nicely behind the glove box and has enough processing power to run centrafuse.

do you know how to uninstall an 6000 cd?

Whilst I admire you having the skill to do this, what am I as an ‘end user’ going to do with a pc in the car when I already have a lap top and home pc /external hard drive and large wide screen monitor and can access the web very easily on my phone?

I’m not knocking the idea but I’m struggling to see how it will be a benefit me, how such a thing will be marketable?

moonkng, no my ford never had one as its an ex police car.

cyb, i hear what you're saying.

for me it has nothing to do with browsing the web, reading emails, etc etc.

there were 3 things i was looking to do and that was large amounts of storage for my music and videos for my nephew when we go on long camping/ fishing trips.

the second was sat nav

and the third was the obd2 read outs. being a tech junky i quite fancied the idea of a digi dash when im in boy racer mode

all of those things wrapped up in 1 unit with seamless integration made it the (in my mind) logical thing to do.

there are also the ability to incorporate rear parking cameras and sensors and has the ability to be extended even further with a plugin sdk to create you're own applications for the software.

you are also not limited to just centrafuse there are others out there, and a free one called ride runner.

not sure how marketable it is, i reckon its aimed towards car fanatics and tech junkies such as myself, for the driving miss daisies out there i dont think it appeals much

i've seen a few in trucks before but are near impossible to use whilst driving and cost a fortune to buy and install. my advice for music storage mp3/i-pod easy mod and cd player with connecter is round £100-150. sat-nav buy sat-nav unit good bit of kit can be moved from car to car or can be used whilst walking. digi read outs theres a few cd players that the screens flip out and show you all the specs and info. but it's your money and decision at the end of the day, i like to have tech kit in my car but security, space and power are always the top problems.

for me as i have all the kit gathering dust ill probably only spend about £100 - £150 thats for screen and elm327. the tablet pc i traded my old crapy computer at the computer repair shop i used to work at

[img]http://www.notebook-driver.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/fujitsustylistictabletpcst4120.jpg[/img]

my mobile phone is an orbit xda II which has built in gps so only need to create a dock for it and hook it up to laptop for gps signal on garmin pc.

if i drive another car i always have my mobile with tomtom navigator on it.

not sure how its near impossible to use while driving unless ti was software with not such an easy to use user interface ?

as for power i will be split charging so not to drain the cars main battery.

security i have already thought of and a pull out flip down cover to hide the screen will at least hide it from prying eyes.

space wise the tablet pc will be behind the glove box and well hidden out of sight.

its mroe time than anything thats the major issue but think its a great little project. ive seen a few people spend hundreds on car pc's over at mp3 car but it can be done for much much less

well if you have the kit then go for it i say, just don't rush anything cause when it comes to interiors should you need to cut or screw something in get it right first time cause if you mess it up it's gona cost you!!

One idea i have for my fiesta which i don't mind people nicking, i was after one of them touch screen single din cd/dvd/tv players where the screen flips down. i was planning on building a mount so i could mount it in the headliner at the front so i had somewere to attach a reverse camera to and also something to watch tv and dvds on.

i found this a while back.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/7-CAR-SUN-VISOR-SCREEN-BLACK-GREY-BEIGE-MONITOR-/310125792736

isnt touch screen but there are 7" touch screen kits you can adapt to it

not bad, it would solve the security issue if the visor was up. i'd buy a slim touch screen and see if it could be mounted in the standard visor.