Finally started my center console this week in the superduty. 2 15" mtx 9500 subs and a 17" lcd monitor and a custom computer for music, movies, gps navigation, and autoenginuity. Most of the wood shape is done and starting the fiberglassing where it meets the dash. Will post pictures this weekend. I need some help with the computer part of this install. I asked a while ago and recieved some info. Since then i did alot of research based on the feedback i recieved from everyone. Learned alot and hopefully avoided some problems down the road. Does anyone know of a computer forum like this one, lots of nice members that know alot about the topics . I still have some questions that i would like to research some more. What i have now is 160W 12 volt power supply with smart shut off that works with the ignition. 80gb hard drive for windows, and a 250gb for storage of movies and what not, and a 300 external to bring files and music from the house to the truck easily(have to figure out this wireless network stuff). Have a motherboard and processor and dvd burner/reader. What i need to know is how to warm it up, cold wisconsin winters. The parts are going in the console so if i cold put an electric heater of some kind in there on a switch or someway to heat the inside of the console quick in the morning. Any other advice since i'm not very good with computers would be appreciated(other than getting a laptop). Or if anyone knows of a forum like this one for computers and could give me a link. Thanks and sorry for the long post.

 

why do you want to warm them a computer runs much better if it kept at cool temps.

 

Because after sitting all night in 0 degree weather it doesn't want to run so good. I will have cooling fans to keep everything cool but thought if i could find a way to warm things up quick and get everything moving a little faster in the morning it would be great. I would put it on a switch of some kind so it would only be on for about 10-15 minutes when i first start the truck up after sitting and run until the cab is warm and can handle the heating job. Thanks

 

Computers like being cool... not freezing. And, the lubricants in hard drives do NOT like being frozen.

An electric heater seems the best way to go. If you have a remote start, you could consider using one of the aux outputs to allow you to control the heater remotely too. You'll also want to activate some fans to flow the warm air through the equipment.

Also, sounds like you're using standard desktop hard drives. I hope you have those things either shock-mounted or gel-packed (a la Toughbook)... otherwise, you better be ready to start swapping drives.

 

I am using standard desk top hard drives, i already have them. I have thought about the vibration and shock that they are not going to like. How do you recomend shock mounting or gel packing them. This is an experiment for me since i am learning all these things but i don't want it to be an expensive experiment replacing parts i break. Also do you have any ideas on what kind of electric heater would work and where to get it. I do have a remote start and that is a great idea to use an output from that. I thought about using styrofoam inside the console to keep things from freezing. I would need holes for fans so it won't get to hot so cold air will still get in? Thanks for any input

 

Here is a link to pictures of the center console. It shows the cardboard templates and the sides cut out, the hard parts. http://community.webshots.com/album/556584065cJZdROHopefully today i will assemble the rest of the console and have the subs in it and part of the cumputer installed. Most of the wiring is done and just waiting for the console to get finished. Any suggestions on the computer part would be appreciated cause i am lacking knowledge in this area. I found a good power supply that turns on and off with the truck. Still worrying about the harddrives? Don't know how to protect them? Thanks
Hopefully post more pics tonight.

 

Why don't you just use a cheap laptop with an external HD (300g or so). Its not like your going to use it for gaming, just movies and music right? It would take up alot less space and be portable.

 

I had a cheap laptop in there but it was really slow and you had to shut it down everytime and it was kinda a pain. I found a power supply that automatically shuts windows down when the truck shuts off. I had almost everything already, 17" lcd monitor, external hard drive, mother board, amd processor, 1gb memory, internal hard drive for the operating system, and all that stuff. plus this way i don't have a laptop just sitting in the truck, it didn't really have a place and just slid around and what not. So since i already had most the parts i thought this was the better route. And a laptop is pretty tempting for someone to steal, a lcd monitor will be to but that will be screwed down from the back so unless you pry it up it will be secure and that will be all that you can see from the outside so hopefully it won't attract to much unwanted attention and the alarm will do it's job. tvsjr mentioned shock proofing or gel packing the hard drives, if anyone can elaborate on this or how to do this i would appreciate that since that is one of my main concerns. Thanks

 

Don't know if you've seen it yet but mp3car is a forum all about stuff like this. I know this probably won't help now but there are a few companies out there that actually make car computers like you are trying to build. They look like an amplifier but house everything inside, xenarc is one I remember off the top of my head. I was thinking about getting one, but opted to go with a Kenwood DDV6019 instead. Good luck.

 

Thanks beerstalker. I was looking for a forum like this one about computers and the one i found looks like not to many people use it. I will try it out. I looked at a couple of pre built computers but they are so expensive, trying to do this on a low budget and thought since i had most of the parts i would try them instead of buying all new stuff.

 

Good start - gawd thats a big honkin console! Are you planning on contouring/molding it to fit better?

 

yeah i will fiberglass it to fit the dash. other than that it is shaped to fit the contuor of the floor and the rear seat. hopefully tomorrow i will get most of the wood and fiberglass done and hook everything up for a little while and see how it works before i paint it. I still am trying to find out how to make the hard drives road friendly against vibration and the cold or hot temperatures. Thanks

 

Just a little update. Haven't got alot done on the fabrication, haven't felt the best lately and didn't feel like working in the cold weather, sucks not having a garage. We'll with this down time and thanks to beerstalker for his link to mp3car.com i have got alot of reading and learning done. I ordered my power supply for the carputer, an opus 250w 12v-12v convertor. It was one of the biggest i found and automatically turns on and off when the truck turns on and off. It was kinda pricy($200) but from what i read it is the most reliable and can supply enough power for everything i need. With the cold weather issue i read that it isn't that bad for them but the lcd and hard drive take a couple minutes to warm up. I am using a motherboard with on board video and audio, processor, 512 memory, 40gb laptop hard drive, and 15" lcd i already have for now. Was only doing this cause i thought i had everything for the carputer but the more i read about it and learn the more i spend on it. I will be adding 2 headrest monitors for the backseat passengers down the road and will need to get a video card with s video output and an output for the lcd at that time, also need to look into touch screen for ease of use down the road. I am going to be using me 250 gb external hard drive for all me music and movies and will be played threw the aux input on my cd player. Also have learned alot about gps and decided on ms streets and trips 2007 for my navigation needs. Still have alot to learn but this is a start. Don't know if anyone cares about this project but thought i would share a little about my learning and progress with this project.

 

Are you using some kind of timer for the power supply so that the computer stays on during system shut down? I know this was an issue on several that we installed in the past - if the unit didnt go thru the complete shut down process it always had bugs at start up.

 

I did alot of research at mp3car.com and found out there are a number of 12v-12v dc convertors that have built in shut down features that are hooked to the ignition wire or remote turn on from the radio and use this to automatically shut down when you turn the truck off. The one that i just ordered was from here http://store.mp3car.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=22. I choose the opus 250w, it was the biggest so i don't have to worry about not having enough power for everything, also the most expensive. I also did alot of reading and found it to be one of the most reliable. The start up and shut down feature is why i choose to go with the 12v-12v convertor instead of using a 120v supply and an invertor, manually shutting down everytime i leave the vehicle is a pain with the laptop i am using now. The opus has alot of features that make it ideal for the carputer use and is the reason i was willing to pay 200 bucks for it. Also decided against ms streets and trips for gps after doing more reading. It is an amazing map program but the gps part of it lacks compared to some of the other programs. Not very user freindly while driving also. Guess it's back to reading about some other gps software.