Car computing

Are you looking for touch screen ability? If so, you will have to look for somthing else. No one has come up with that yet. As for video out, look at Vais they have a video input, but it may only work with Nav units - not sure.

 

Not to long ago someone started a thread about putting a computer in the Prius. If I remember correctly, they used a separate touchscreen mounted under the radio in the slot under the radio and not the MFD.

You might try searching for it, although with the recent problems it may be more difficult.

 

If you go to MP3Car.com they are a board dedicated to insatlling a PC in the car. They have some indash USB touch screen LCD's for sale as well as discussion areas about them.

 

I'm on my third car computer in my third car (the Prius) now. The MFD is too low-res to be useful to use as a screen for the computer. I have the computer installed under my seat with the touchscreen installed in the storage below the stereo. I must say, it is pretty awesome. You know you're a geek when you're never more than 10 ft away from a computer

 

Umm unless your mac mini is different than mine... Mine does not fit into that slot perfectly. You have to mod the enclosure in the car as the unit is way too tall.

 

Besides, imagine giving yet another chore for our already-overwhelmed MFD to handle! Your setup is my dream future setup too. Great work.

 

It's the Xenarc 700-IDT. Check Mp3Car.com for other in-dash screens you can get. There are some motorized ones there too

 

Your Xenarc 700-IDT, how does it come out just spring loaded? How do you lock it's position in front of the radio (i.e. tilt so it is at correct angle). The dash assembly looks pretty harsh, was it as bad as it looks?

I am currently fabricating a insert that goes between the console and the dash that will house a computer & or other stuff, possibly a touch screen but I havn't gotten to that phase yet (still in resin mold phase), it might be to low and distracting with the TS down that low..

Viro

 

The spring load is a simple system where you can close it and it locks.. push it in a it unlocks and swings out.

I would've liked to had the screen installed right into the slot so i could keep the cover on the slot, but it needs to be out far enough so the screen has room to extend and fold out.

I find the height of the screen to be perfect. In my Sentra, I had it installed in a storage bin on the top of the dash which is about the same height as the MFD. I rarely need to look at the screen at all while i'm driving and it's not distracting at all. Of course, that may be because I've had a car computer for almost 4 years now.

When stopped, I can view the screen quite clearly and passengers in the back are able to do the same. It works out quite nicely when I have a date and we move to the back seat for a optimal view of the screen

 

Have you ever tried to LAN rome for internet access while tooling through town and has anyone been able to tie into the NAV antenna for use with other NAV items or for LAN roaming?

Viro

 

it's be nice if the stock antenna was able to pick up network frequencies, but i'm not sure if it does. I have a usb wireless adapter that I use to access open wifi spots. There are lots around in Greater Vancouver. I'm never more than a block from 2 . I'm looking to get a wifi antenna for better signal and range, though.

 

If anybody wants an authentic toyota backup camera for their carputer or a video interface to the MFD, I have some for sale.

I bought the backup camera from japan but don't need it now. $259 plus S&H. The video interface is a G-NET NavVideo that works with the 2004/2005 Prius with NAV. $399 + $30 S&H with included remote.

Here is the info:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...view=getnewpost

Let me know if you are interested.

 

I am doing this right now. About to remove my 6 disc in dash cd changer so I can put in a flip out lcd touch screen like yours.

It is obviously capable of holding a single din unit. How did you get it to mount inside?

What software are you using for that nice interface I saw in the pictures? It showed options like GPS, Media, ext. I am a software developer and could do that easily with .NET but it would just be a launcher screen. For example when you touch the GPS button it would launch the GPS program, Media would be winamp or itunes, and so on.

What is the speed of your computer? I am looking at EPIA mini-itx that has 1.0GHZ speed. The seems like it would be fast enough for music, dvd, and gps.

Thanks!

 

^^^
The front-end software I'm using is Media Engine 2.0 It's nice and to-the-point, and it's free!

I had to pull out the map slot and remove the door to get the screen in there. It has to stick out like that, otherwise the screen won't have enough room to fold out. In order to install it, I had to pull the dash apart and take the whole assembly out which included the MFD and radio/changer. Here's the Frankenstein:
[Broken External Image]:http://intdata.homeip.net/albums/dansprius/IMG_0025G.sized.jpg

There were some little spikes used to hold the map slot in place so I also had to grind them off to get the screen to slide in properly.

 

There are a ton of options for in dash lcd touchscreen. How is your xenarc? Can you see it during the day? I am nervous about the ebay specials, but I dont want to spend $900 on a screen either.

 

What in-dash screens have you been looking at that are $900? Most seem to be $450 to $600 that I have seen. I would really love one that is motorized and fit in the dash storage without removing the door.