I added an in-dash PC.. Check it.

Cooquist · 09-24-2003, 11:30 PM

I've been asked to show pictures of the computer system I added a couple weekends ago to my car for MP3's, GPS, DVD's, Internet, Games, and mobile office computing.

I have a ton more picts but will have to build the site and it will be a while but I threw up a couple teasers for everyone to see.

Here's what it consists of.

The screen is 14.1 inches and only cost me $150 at best buy.

The screen mount cost me about $30 in parts between home depot and a woodcraft store for the right size slide rails. With the screen titled back so that the top rests on the dash, it is entirely solid when hitting bumps and doesn't shake really at all. It is on a tilt swivel and can slide forward about a foot and it also fully removable with snap clips for security. I don't use my air controls much but the entire screen pulls forward and tilts 90 degrees while still connected if I need to get to them. I'm so used to it I do it all by feel which is rare except for the mega hot days or cold and rainy ones but then I usually just have heat on my feet at that point.

The laptop is mounted by my left foot and would not work if you have a 5 speed but I'm sure you could either get a smaller laptop or simply put it somewhere else.

The GPS was only $100 bucks on eBay and the software is like $50 for the maps. Its the little green box on the drivers side dash. Its practically unnoticeable.

As a mobile tech, the GPS alone was worth doing this. I can't tell you how nice 14 inches of GPS is when driving to unknown places, especially in this San Francisco bay areas crazy mountains and cities. You just follow the arrow like a friggen video game, and it talks to you too as an added bonus.

The Internet goes through my sprint phone and USB cable. I have the a500 Samsung with unlimited Internet as part of he plan for $55 a month. The home page is a bay area traffic page so I can actually get instant reports on what the heck is slowing everything down, and even see alternate routes. I also use it to download stuff for work when I'm in the field if there's no faster connection around.

The most use is winamp and all my music, which by the way I've fully paid for and then rip. I never did use napster and will never give these songs away. Its just smarter this way if you ask me. This way I don't worry about getting my cd's stolen. If the laptop breaks or is stolen, I have all the songs backed up at home plus still have all the cd's to rerip if I have to and this way the people that make the music still get their's. I use a white background skin with black text for winamp, GPS, and the basic desktop which makes everything readable in direct sunlight. Going topless kind of requires it.

The laptop itself has a 40 gig drive and is great on bumps by default since its basically made to take abuse, its never skipped once.

Sound is through a pioneer 2500 with aux cable plugged into the dock for my laptop. The remote makes it very easy to adjust.

Control of everything is a big trackball that is loosely mounted by Velcro so I can move it around if I want to hold drinks or give it to others while driving. I also have a portable USB keyboard that can rest on my leg but its not used unless I'm mapping new GPS waypoints or playing games while waiting for people.

The laptop can simply be undocked and locked like a pullout stereo so all the wires are always connected and I can bring it in and use it where ever I am and do so for work almost daily.

I wasn't going to post this info since I've been asked to start a kind of car cockpit consulting service for this stuff since there is specifics for software and the mount that took a while to get right but I also wanted the mustang community to see how versatile our cars are.

There's a guy in my building that owns a Lotus that paid thousands for a 7" little Sony screen and I'm sorry but watching DVD’s in my car is incomparable. He's always commenting on me doing this for him. I get stopped probably 3 times a day by people wanting to know what it is, how it works, can I do it for them etc. So, this forum has helped me in the past. Maybe you guys can get something out of this from me back.

The whole system could be built and scrapped together for like $500 to maybe $700 bucks and I'm not kidding when I said I figured out the whole thing in a weekend. This is easy stuff. The PC's is an old IBM p2 that I almost threw away but **** it works great for this.

OK, too much info... here's the link to my teaser:

http://www.merctech.biz/

and if that's down. (Its been flakey lately) Try:

http://www.gillquist.com/merctech/splash.htm

Later!!

skyruner22 · 09-24-2003, 11:34 PM

Those rims looks really nice, I hope your not going to put that huge ass screen in the middle, I think you should do a pull out monitor, like the indash kind. It will look way cleaner.

Cooquist · 09-24-2003, 11:42 PM

I understand that this isn't for everyone but my experience with this is I wouldn't have it any other way.

If they have 14" in dash pull outs then I might do it but the bigger the screen, the better for reading song titles and especially using GPS and internet. Plus the screen pops off so I can always put it in the trunk or take it with me if I'm worried about it getting snatched.

Also when you park, it’s great to watch movies on, its completely out of the way.

Plus I love how it looks, but that's me...

Herry Balz · 09-25-2003, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cooquist

The most use is winamp and all my music, which by the way I've fully paid for and then rip.

Do you have to say that? YOu hurt my feeling....

Your car = my dream car btw

Cooquist · 09-25-2003, 08:10 AM

Thanks Herry, you crack me up!!

Cooquist · 09-25-2003, 11:03 PM

Head's up,

I threw up more picts that show the system in action.

Hope you like....

The site agian is:

http://www.merctech.biz/

Herry Balz · 09-26-2003, 01:46 AM

Dang sweet mothafcker.

How do you connect gps receiver to your PC? Or do yuo have the receiver?

I was thinking, if i move to LA or SF and had to get caught on traffic jam every time i go home from work, I might want to install monitor on my dash. Yet in the long run, i think the one who really enjoy it more are the passengers.

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 02:02 AM

The GPS is just a USB connection to the PC. The cord goes down my drivers side door jam and is completely hidden. There's a USB hub down there that I plug it into when I need it. Its not always plugged in. I plug it in, and it works beautiful. You can see the GPS adapter on my dash in the outside pic from the back seat. It’s the little green box right on the drivers side near the windshield. Not sure if you know but GPS is not a monthly service. I get asked that all the time. Rather its just like am radio, the waves are all here all the time, and you just need a receiver to catch the satellite signals. The cheepy I bought on eBay averages 3 to 6 sats or more so its great. You can buy more accurate ones if you want but I think the bigger ones get ugly so it’s a personal thing.. Maybe you could hide the bigger ones but they need to have a direct line of site to the sky and shouldn’t be covered...

Um, I hope I answered your question...

Thanks again for the interest Herry..

Late!!!

Ken · 09-26-2003, 04:41 AM

That is a great install job.

Are you concerned about theft? Oakland isn't the safest place in the country..

TORCH_RED · 09-26-2003, 06:24 AM

Cooquist, your website is down. i couldn't view it.

mustangpv · 09-26-2003, 09:14 AM

cant see it......

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 10:41 AM

Can you guys try again? Not sure what happened but like 10 people said the same thing. Maybe too many people were looking at it or maybe the server did fail. It works for me now but maybe not other parts of the net..

I'd love the feedback...

Thanks!!

Requiem · 09-26-2003, 11:28 AM

noooo! i cant see it!

i want to see it so badly.

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 12:07 PM

Well, it worked last night and it just worked on my phone but then it stopped working on both. Its either the web hosting server or net traffic. I'm sure this is all temporary so just keep trying if you really want to see it.

TORCH_RED · 09-26-2003, 12:26 PM

ok, it worked.....nice set up

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 02:17 PM

OK, I think the issue is with DNS or the redirect service I use.

Here's a direct link:

http://www.gillquist.com/merctech/splash.htm

This hasn't failed yet...

Later!!

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 02:36 PM

Yep, its my redirect. I just tried to check my account with them and everything is down... I'm sure it will be fixed soon but at least we know what the hell is going on now... That other link should do the trick...

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 02:50 PM

Just saw the second line in Ken's post about theft.

First off I live in a building with a 24 hour guard watching the garage. Its so safe I can leave the top down, even though I do have a proximity sensor so if people get close it starts to chirp. If I see someone approach the car, I'll remote start it and they usually take off. It’s like watching candid camera sometimes.. Plus I'm in a great part of Oakland where crime is very, very low. Oakland’s a big town and gets a bad wrap. If you know where not to go, it’s actually a pretty nice place. But if I'm in a sketchy part of town, I can pull it forward and the mount has two little clips in the rails that pop the entire screen off as easy as pulling out a removable stereo face. Then I just wrap it in a towel and put it in the trunk or if I'm really worried I'll take it with me. Its also nice because once you pop it out, it looks like I've already been ripped off and its even less interesting to a thief. Now if I ever forget it in the car somewhere questionable, there could be an issue but if it does get ripped, its only $150 bucks and will probably keep getting cheaper. These screens just came out so once there are more of them, the price may go down even more... That's what I love about this. I can't believe what people pay for a little 6 or 7 inch screen. I'd be terrified of getting one ripped off just because it’s so expensive. But my setup is replaceable without much headache...

Hope that answers it...

CougarStang · 09-26-2003, 04:34 PM

Friggin awesome. Very unique

Requiem · 09-26-2003, 04:48 PM

thats a big ass monitor! lol. looks pretty cool though. i would have done something a little different with the laptop though *shrugs*

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 04:54 PM

Yea, I’m still undecided on what to do with it. I was going to try and mount it horizontally just under the dash but it’s too cramped. I don't even notice it right now. If I upgrade, I'm sure I'll get something much smaller that can be more concealed but for now it works pretty much perfect..

Thanks for everyone’s comments so far.

tone it down · 09-26-2003, 05:43 PM

talk about motivation (THIS ROCKS)
way cool.! you should put this in a show .
thanks for the input, on what you did or even where to get it man that is cool
i could`nt get this annywhere else .thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!
awesome

this is what 3.8 mustangs is about

6_banger_pride · 09-26-2003, 06:32 PM

Those Rims look awfully familiar....................nice job on the PC though, Talk about driving distractions though.

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 06:47 PM

My rims are 18x8's with 9" wide tires in back. I looked at yours, are they the same size? I noticed when buying them that they look different for say 15" to 18". Just curious...

As far as driving distractions, I only glance at the screen when needed. All of the DVD and game stuff is mainly for when I'm parked. Though I have had some music videos play while driving but I don’t look at it. It’s mainly for others that want to watch and I’m just happy to hear the songs. My old girlfriend did watch Ghost in the Shell while I was driving once but again, I didn’t look at it until I parked. Since the screen is so big, you just glance at whatever song is coming on or playing and if using GPS, just a quick check to make sure you're on track. About the same distraction as changing a radio station. If you use a regular mp3 player or smaller GPS, its actually more of a distraction trying to read the little text or see the little map pictures and you have to look at them harder. In realizing this, I found that the bigger the screen the better. If you have others in the car, it’s great for them too. I've had people in the back seat ask what song I was playing and I just told them to look. So, once you’re used to it, just like any new thing, it really becomes second nature. Plus, there’s so many mp3’s on there, I usually just let it shuffle and forget about it…

Cooquist · 09-26-2003, 07:01 PM

Oh and as far as the pict of the PC and keyboard, I just unfolded the keyboard and laid it there so you all could see that there's keyboard access. It’s usually folded up and put away. I very rarely need to use it but it works fine when ever I do..

tone it down · 09-26-2003, 08:15 PM

so what do you use for a power supply? battery backup?

Cooquist · 09-27-2003, 12:49 PM

I use an AC converter plugged in to the cigarette thing by the parking brake. It just sits under the passenger seat. Its puts out like 300 watts but the screen and laptop draw little power. It gives you 2 regular AC plugs like a normal power outlet on a wall and I just plug the screen and laptop into it. As far as battery back up, I could attach a UPS but the laptop has a battery so if power gets messed with, it keeps everything but the screen on. I have had people knock out my power accidentally that were sitting in the passenger seat but you just plug it back in without any music disruption. It’s very rare..

jpuckett · 09-28-2003, 06:54 AM

Thats awesome. What is the model number for the screen, I cannot find one like that at Bestbuy.

InfernoStang · 09-28-2003, 07:39 AM

Very Nice

The rims looks sweet on your car too

Cooquist · 09-28-2003, 11:24 AM

Um the model of the monitor is:

Model: L4BX-NA KO

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....6&type=product

Wow, it looks like the price went way up. Maybe I got a promotional deal. I saw it on buy.com or amazon.com with rebate for like $137 but I didn't want to wait so I picked this up at the local Best Buy. It still had a good rebate then though too.

I'm sure they'll get cheaper eventually. I guess I lucked out. Still $250 is not bad and if there’s any other company that makes a cheep flat screen, I'm sure you could make it work. One thing though, this Kogi screen is very light and was a part of why I picked it. I've noticed some of the nicer resolution screens are both thicker and heavier and might be a pain to install or cause warping in the dash eventually. Just some things to consider..

Oh and inferno, thanks for the rims comment.

The rims were pretty cheep as far as rims go. Brand new at American tire for $150 each.

The tires actually cost more than the rims.

I have a couple posts about them on here as well on how they took all vibration out of my car and they’re a dream to have. If you want to read more about them, do a search for my name Cooquist on this forum and you’ll see all the different things I went through.