Cheap Carputer

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:08 am

Maybe one of you would know what I should look for.

I'm looking to set up a carputer for myself. Money is a bit... well not there. I have a laptop that I can simply put in my car but i'm looking for something more. What I'd like to do would be to get a small touch screen that could be mounted in the car, attatch it to my laptop, and run everything through one of the various front end programs out there.

As far as mounting/wiring goes I don't want to rip out the 6 Disc player since I plan to possibly detatch the touch-screen at times (like when im parked downtown) so I figure mounting it to the right of the radio will do. Power and audio are also a mystery to me... I can see hooking up the sound being relatively easy but I have a feeling power to the laptop could prove to be a bit challenging...

Does anyone know any cheap solutions to this? I'm already thinking a good way to get a cheap touch-screen would be to nab a used police car touchscreen. (upside of which is... they are durable and designed to be attatched to the side of a console). GPS would be nice but unless anyone knows where I can get a cheap car navigation system that idea is out. (best i have is a few year old lo-tech Garmin GPS..which.. actually might be able to hook up with the laptop to use a GPS program... i'll look into that). This wont be the prettiest and most high-tech carputer out there... but it'll be something i can tinker with and will give me a starting point.

OR

if anyone has any recommendations for a great cheap setup I'm all ears. my franken-puter idea is nice because it allows me to take my laptop out and use it outside of the car... but i'm not sure its the most practical solution...

help me DCAWD-kenobi you're my only hope.

Katya4me · Post by **Katya4me** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:07 pm

Cereb Daithi wrote:Maybe one of you would know what I should look for.

I'm looking to set up a carputer for myself. Money is a bit... well not there.

Does anyone know any cheap solutions to this?

ROFL

snaab · Post by **snaab** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:10 pm

Katya4me wrote:
Cereb Daithi wrote:Maybe one of you would know what I should look for.

I'm looking to set up a carputer for myself. Money is a bit... well not there.

Does anyone know any cheap solutions to this?
ROFL

plus one for the ROFL.

But talk to complacent. He used a Mac mini and a touch screen.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:12 pm

yeah but that was about $2000. i'm not looking to drop that much. and when i said cheap i meant comparatively cheap... ie. the cheapist (but still working) gear that is on the market.

snaab · Post by **snaab** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:14 pm

I know, but I figured he would have some suggestions.

Besides, ebay has used solutions for significantly less than retail price.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:15 pm

yeah ebay is my best bet. i'll talk to him though.

Katya4me · Post by **Katya4me** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:17 pm

I think I spent about $1200 on mine and if I ever get my act together, I have a touchscreen that may be for sale.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:19 pm

keep me posted. I'm at a crossroads as to how much i want to put into a system. i know i really dont need anything.. but alas I have always been fascinated with installing computers into cars.... this will be an expensive project in the end. i just know it.

Katya4me · Post by **Katya4me** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:30 pm

Cereb Daithi wrote:keep me posted. I'm at a crossroads as to how much i want to put into a system. i know i really dont need anything.. but alas I have always been fascinated with installing computers into cars.... this will be an expensive project in the end. i just know it.

www.mp3car.com
It's a great resource and starting point. Just make sure you read everything first before posting otherwise they will eat you alive. Oh, and tell them you have boobies.

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:31 pm

snaab wrote:plus one for the ROFL.

But talk to complacent. He used a Mac mini and a touch screen.

Colin had a Mac MINI hooked up to his Pioneer D2 but the touch screen didn't control the Mac, it was just the display. not sure if he transfered the setup to the new[old] Scooby.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:34 pm

there's an idea... ill just put my G5 in my car and mount the cinema display in the passenger's seat

Katya4me · Post by **Katya4me** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:58 am

While going thru things the other day, we found Shawn's Lilliput screen. He never used it himself, and it is either new or nearly new if you're interested in it. I still need to track down my Xenarc screen.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:09 am

i might be interrested. I'll PM ya.

DCAWD.com

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