Carputer troubles never end.

So... Finally got a nice temporary/hidden install set up for my carputer.

I put the power supply under my seat and the computer is right behind my seat. I am still able to position my seat how I like and for the most part, all the cables have been hidden.

Unfortunately I worked great for about two days and then fell into the an issue of just continuously rebooting. The screen turns on, the audio turns on, but after about five seconds the computer turns back off. Just to start the whole thing over again in 1 second.

I have set up an account with Zotac and will be attempting to get them to resolve the issue. The other idea I have is to pull a gig of memory out of my desktop and see if that changes anything.

According to one of the forums they found faulty memory causing the issue. I've tried removing the memory and firing up the system myself but that didn't resolve anything.

Oh well, I'll keep working on it and one day will have a fully functional, constantly working set up. :)

Side note. I tested and the computer will fit perfectly in a amp's enclosure I have. I'm currently using it to power the sub woofer in the living room or else I would have moved the board over. Once I get everything sorted out with Zotac, I plan to look into replacing the car sub I have hooked up to the living room stereo and then sacrificing the amp.

I'll post pics as soon as I have any progress.

Just got everything working...

And the Asus AT5NM10-i died.

I'm not sure what happened exactly. One moment it was powered on, I unplugged a usb device, and the next everything shut off.

Through extensive testing :), I found the problem to be in the motherboard. There is a capacitor that is reaching temperatures hot enough to almost burn my finger, and this is within a few seconds of the board receiving power.

At first I thought it was the mount I was using, as there is a rivit near where the capacitor is located, but I bolted everything back up and checked clearance, there is over two milimeters of clearance.

So, in light of recent malfunctions, I decided to go with a different motherboard.

I will still be returning this one to get it replaced, as I'm certian I will not be able to get a refund, "purchased last December", and will find another use for it.

And now on to better news.

Behold, The replacement!!

ZOTAC Atom Dual-Core D510/Intel NM10/WiFi/A&V&GbE/Mini ITX Motherboard NM10-A-E

I'll get a write up soon for how this board performs and how the over all system works.

On a side note,

The bluetooth module came it today. I will have pics and info up soon.

Carputer Installed

Finally,

After waiting for what felt like eternity,

My Carputer is installed!.

Carputer Install

I purchased the M4-ATX from Amazon on Friday, over-nighted it so I could get it Saturday, and then started the install Sunday morning.

At first I didn't think it was going to be that hard. I mean, honestly, how hard could it be to place a computer into a car? I expected the mounting of the monitor was going to be the most challenging thing but to my surprise, that was by far the easiest part.

I started by hacking apart an old mini ATX case and using the metal from that as mount points for the motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

Originally, i expected to put the computer in the trunk somewhere, and maybe one day it will find it's way there, but as of now, i didn't have the extension cables I needed to run the monitor, so it is now located in the Dash.

I prefer the Dash location, but I have a feeling that as soon as I get my radio cover, I'm going to find that I have a lot less room.

Either way, we'll see when the time comes.

So for now, the car computer is installed, and it plays internet radio "Pandora", and mp3's :-)

I have a couple more orders from amazon that I'm waiting on and will update once they arrive.

Also, I will write a full write-up once I get some time.

Intel Atom + 2Gb Ram + Touchscreen = Carputer

I finally did some work on the the Carputer setup this weekend. While I am not too happy about having to use Windows for my operating system, I am impressed with Centrafuse, the "front End" software that will be my interface in the car. At $80, the front end is reasonably priced, especially for all the features it includes. In addation to the stock features, you can download the SDK and start developing your own plugins and skins, customizing the look, feel, and overall function of the suite.

Current Hardware setup:

ASUS AT5NM10-I

Intel ATOM D510

2x 1Gb RAM PC2-6300

32Gb SATA SSD - Adata

Space Navigator

7" Touch Screen

Future Hardware:

GPS

Bluetooth

Soundcard

USB Hubs

Software setup:

Windows 7 Ultimate

Google Chrome

Centrafuse

PDANet for internet via Droid.

Centrafuse:

Centrafuse comes with built in support for many car/hands free operations. When it first launches, after a complete reboot, it takes a minute for it to load the plugins and of course there is that nice little warning prompt you have to get through. Once that is complete, about 5 seconds, your ready to start enjoying all the benefits it has to offer, Including...

GPS navigation

Audio playback with visualations,

Video playback

Web browsing.

Picture Browsing,

Graphic Equalizer

Weather

Pandora - (User generated plugin)

There are many more features, but I haven't had a chance to test all of them. Once I get the rest of the Hardware required, i'll post more information.

All in all, the system runs great, from pressing of power button to full boot, it takes 23 seconds. Standby takes 10 seconds to show screen and be usable but the music resumes playing after 1 second. Centrafuse was extremely responsive, with minor glitches on the visual effects here and there, not bad considering the graphics are embedded in the processor. The interface was more than touch friendly and looked great at 800/600. I toyed with the idea of running a higher resolution but realized at this point there is no need.

I hope to have everything in my car within a month. Of course this is also about the same time I expect to be pulling out the engine but that project should only take a few months. (keeps fingers crossed). Once I have some miles on the system i'll try to remember to post a complete write-up on the performance and usability of the system while driving. Next step will be to install a guardrail avoidance system. :-)