350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I am currently in the process of fitting a Windows Media Computer in my Roadster. I was faced with the Dilemma of a satellite navigation and DVD system that we all know doesn’t work in our imports. So what to do, pay £1000 to convert to a VDO system that is only a Sat System, or as I have decided change it to a full PC system. Measurements 8 x 2.5 x 10 inch. This could easily fit under the passenger seat, or as I will fit under the glove box behind the seat. Here is the PC bare bones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Here is the pc in the car case, with slide cd rom (same as car cd players) Spec on the mother board is MII-series motherboard, the MII-1200, which is powered by an x86-compatible C3 chip clocked at 1.2GHz. The MII-1200 features an incredible variety of on-board PC I/O, including CardBus PCMCIA and CompactFlash slots, to support a wide variety of third-party WiFi, GPRS, and other peripherals. The board also offers two USB 2.0 ports, as well as FireWire, for the addition of removable hard drives, CD writers, and other storage devices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Side view Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 End view, the benefit of this motherboard is it can take the 3G Wireless PC card (same as for your laptop) to connect at service stations and any where there is service (country wide) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 And the front One especially nice feature of the MII-series boards is the inclusion of Via's VT1616 audio chip, set up in a way that isolates it from onboard pre-amplifier circuitry to signifantly lower the ambient noise floor. The chip supports playback at better-than-CD audio quality, too. The MII-1200 even offers an RCA port that can be set up as a digital audio out, or S-video out, depending on the desired application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 The PC also features a special 90-watt power supply designed for 12- and 24-volt automotive applications the M1-ATX board; this replaces the power board that comes with the case. The old power board was discarded and the M1-ATX plugged in instead. The M1-ATX power includes a relay to power on your amplifier when the car engine starts The M1-ATX DC-DC ATX supply can deal with power oscillations during engine cranking, and can interface with ignition relay signals provided by most automotive electrical systems to initiate radio antenna extension. Depending on how its BIOS is configured, the PC can be configured to boot or resume when the car is started, and to shutdown or suspend when the engine is stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Should you choose to suspend the PC during engine-off intervals, the power supply has circuitry to shut it down all the way, in order to protect it against the possibility of the car's battery discharging deeply. Additional circuitry prevents amplifier "thumps" when the PC is powered up or down, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 The pc is now complete and loaded with Windows XP media, but it needed an interface to emulate the requirements for DVD, Sat Navigation, Music, and for future interface with data logging of my engine. The interface I chose was the G-NET system, this was relevantly cheap (downloadable) And runs in front of windows and shuts windows down at the click of a button. I am currently using the same programming software as G-NET to write my own interface, using 350Z logo’s (still in Beta) This picture shows the engine bay mount PC that GE-NET sell on their site http://www.gnetcanada.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 wow! that makes for some cool stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 nice one m8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Told you and all for under £400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 awesome price, are you installing it yourself?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Yes I will take pictures as I install it, as I want to get it under the glove box floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 cool, can't wait to see it in person @ our first meet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astonal Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 Im keen to see this too! I have a Jap sat nav installed in mine and dont know what to do with it - seems like such a waste - any other ideas? Will it cost me full whack to uk-ify it? (Sorry if this have been covered elseehere, Im new) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted February 3, 2006 Author Share Posted February 3, 2006 Dont be sorry ask as many question on any subject you like, See for answers http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic ... highlight= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmickey2k Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Cool! Ive been toying with the idea of getting one of the mini pcs off ebay that fit in a single din, but you say you've done all this under £400? I would prefer my monitor in the glove compartment, but definately would like to know how to source the parts uve used. cheers metal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350Znismo Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Read about it here http://www.mp3car.com/ and order from uk suppliers ( i searched the part no within the UK) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I would prefer my monitor in the glove compartment, but definately would like to know how to source the parts uve used. cheers metal er no glovebox in the 350Z just a few cubbies holes behind the seats unless you mean the little cubby hole above the stereo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmickey2k Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 yes, the cubby hole above the stereo is what they lovingly referred to as the glove box. but that ideally should be where my screen is without ripping the stereo out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trog Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Any updates on this install ?? I am very interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seedy Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I thought I would play about with a mini pc , might eventually get it into the car . I bought most of the parts at http://www.linitx.com It really simple and not that expensive for the PC you need a few parts. Now if you dont need a cd/dvd drive in it the cost comes down but you need to connect it one to install an OS such as windows or linux. All prices are pre VAT. 1. Case: Cubid 3677 £48.00 2. Hard drive: Seagate 40GB Momentus 4200 2MB Cache £43.20 3. MotherBoard:VIA EPIA MII 12000 Nehemiah Mainboard £112.20 4. DVD/CDRW: Panasonic CW-8124-B £46.00 After VAT and delivery the above came to £301.98 ( you could knock £50 off if you dont need the DVD/CDRW in it) The following I had at home and did not need but heres the prices 1. windows XP home: £58.72 2. 512MB of memory: £33.78 With this configuration I can run it as a normal PC and use my keyboard/ mouse and monitor, so building it is quite easy. As the computer is not meant to be the all powerful, i am not too bothered about the speed of the Hard drive. As I have a wireless router at home I bought a NetGear WG11 Wireless PC Card which took no time to set up £23.45 inc vat. I have looked at the dashboard and most of them are lacking in comon sense , so when I have time ( and most importantly I feel like it ) I will knock up something more to my taste. I did notice that microsoft have autoroute with GPS antenna on special offer for £100 on the pcworld website. The downside with this system is it's size, it not what i would call the most compact thing in the world. It could fit very easy in to the storage area behind the passengers seat, or if need be a custom container could be built to store in one of the little boxes behind the seats ( between the speakers). Removing the centre console is not too difficult and people have mentioned which touch screen can fit in there. Running the wires to the PC whether its under or behind the passengers seat is not a problem as it seems most of them have extension leads. The only part I have not looked at is the wring from the PC into the car's electrical system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diether Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Looks good I'm also installing a carputer in my roadster but I'm loathe to take out the Bose stereo multi changer, does anyone know how to get an AUX in to this unit as the Nissan Sat Nav units must be integrated into the head unit but I cant find out how. Also where are you mounting your pc box as so far the only place I can find that has any space is the glove box behind the passenger seat but this has no ventilation. I was looking under the seats but with the heated seat harnesses there is no room. Took the dash out yesterday and the 7" Touchscreen will fit nicely with only a small bit of modification. Using Centrafuse as my integration screen found this to be simplest and most reliable. www.centrafuse.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 don't think the nissan stnav is integrated in the headunit as it's got its own unit.... quite confident the BOSE hasn't got an AUX in mate, but I'm sure people with more knowledge will chime in soon by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 diether, which 7" screen have you gone for ? oh welcome to the world of the Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.