Automotive computer plans

[liljim]

My brother and i have been brainstorming the idea of implimenting a pc media system into a car. Im going to tell a little about our goal and give links to the hardware we've been looking at. If your interested then please give your comments and suggestions. This is something that i do intend to build and all thoughts ,good or bad, are welcome.

What were wanting is basicly an all in one media device that doesnt occupy much room nor requires alot of power. We also want a clean 5.1 surround sound because its not offered by very many car audio head units. I know that theres some out there but the use of a pc instead of a head unit opens alot of doors, such as having mp3's on a hdd instead of disk and also having the option of the media player search engine to find that favorite song and creating playlist. Another benefit is the pc choosen has built in wi-fi which has its own great uses, especially if your in an area with wi-fi internet. We choose a touch screen lcd along with the use of windows media center edition w/remote which should kill the need for a mouse and kb. Were also looking at an external soundblaster decoder which will give us the 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 output were looking for. Were going to be using the existing speaker system that i'll describe later. Here are some links to the considered hardware.



Configuration:
1.4 Mobile Celeron
512 DDR2 memory
80 gb hdd
cd/dvd combo drive
windows media center w/remote







The existing speaker system is:

Front (doors)
2 - 6.5" full range pioneer

Rear (back dash)
2- 5X7 3-way soundstorm

Subs (in the trunk)
2 - 12" Audiobaun DVC (dual voice coil)
Bandpass enclosure

Front and rear speakers are powered by a 1000 watt (turned way down) soundstorm amp running a 4 ohm impedance.

Subs are powered by a 1200 watt Autotek X series amp thats bridged with a 2 ohm impedance.

Can you say vibrate? Trust me, its LOUD! Its currently on a sony head unit but thats going to be replaced with the pc.

The car is my 99 ford escort, thats why space is an issue.

Ok, with all the given info, i'd like suggestions if anyone has any.

What have we overlooked?
Are there better componets avaliable?
Other componets to consider?
Disadvantages?

[Gecko]

You are going to have to ground the pc case to the car ground, you should do so with a .
It will ground the pc and prevent the negitive dc current from flowing freely into the system
and making a loop which will cause a constant speaker noise.

The other thing you might have a noise problem with is the car’s ignition system mainly the coil and the spark plugs.
You might have to do some shielding inside the pc case to eliminate coil and spark plug noise.
Sheets of honey combed aluminum should do the trick and then connect them to the ground loop isolator.

Also make sure you use shielded speaker wire.

Have you looked into a dc to dc instead of the Inverter?
I didn’t check prices but it is another way to go and you already have a good 12v system in the car.

[th3_d0n]

This sounds like it's going to cost a pretty penny!

Can't wait to see what it look like though, be sure to post somes pictures when it's done.

Sounds awesome.

[liljim]

[venney]

Hey liljim mate, I like the idea but I just want to say something.

Would it not be a lot cheaper and easier to buy an mp3 player or even mp4 player, build a mount into the centre console and wire it into the cd player, its not too hard to do.

I think an mp4 player mounted into the dash would be a REALLY good idea, because you could take it out and upload songs onto it, and you have the bonus of being able to watch movies when your bored in the car.

Also you would have an in car charger. This would be like a nice time keeper and also extremely practical.

What do you think?

Venney

[liljim]

Hey venney,

Its indeed a good idea but i dont have anywhere in the dash to mount it. I only have a single din slot which is why the mini pc appealed to me. It would definatly be cheaper to take the route you mention but im so limited to space.

A side note though, im starting on the entertainment system for my chevy tahoe. Just about everything is ordered already and i have more room to work with. Its going to be a really fun project i think, im building a custom sub enclosure and amp rack so everything fits the way i want it to and it will be unique. I hate having something that everyone else does but i promise when this is done, you will only see it again if someone sees the pics and attempts to copy it.