Computer in a Car, Tips?

[pmcizhere]

Hello everyone,
I am a 17 year-old who happens to have a car and some friends at the local community college. So, they are all going to install a computer into a car. I am also friends of the leader of this club/organization, so my car was an easy candidate for this modification, since it is a 1997 Honda Civic EX (Nothing complex about it). I was just wondering if anyone here has done such an upgrade before, and any pointers would be much appreciated (And they will probably save my car from any bad mistakes).

I'm just excited about the prospect of a touchscreen computer inside my car hooked up to my sound system, including two big subwoofers I picked up from a friend of my Dad's. Now THAT would be reason enough to go to the beach hahaha!

Thank you in advance for any tips.

 

[Horsepower]

I tested a car computer for a company about 4 years ago. It was a small unit, smaller than a tablet pc that mounted on the center hump. The company said it should be always on, but it fried itself in a couple of weeks. The moral: if it's 90F outside, it's 150F minimum inside. <fwiw>

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Horsepower
I tested a car computer for a company about 4 years ago. It was a small unit, smaller than a tablet pc that mounted on the center hump. The company said it should be always on, but it fried itself in a couple of weeks. The moral: if it's 90F outside, it's 150F minimum inside. <fwiw>

Excellent point. Conclusion: Any auto installation should allow easy removal of the latop whenever you park the car in the sun. The heat in the car exceeds most laptop operating specs.

I.E.,

 

[EpOxY]

I was at Fry's a couple months ago... and I saw a book written specifically on this topic. That would probably be a nice place to look too... I can't remember what it's called though. Sorry.

 

[Stonesoldier]

either pc mag or pc world magazine did a car pc build not long ago
try there sites for tips


also dont drive and try to type at the same time
people drive bad enough as it is with just there phones

 

[tyanni]

www.mp3car.com

 

[pmcizhere]

Ok well here's some more information: The setup will be a computer that will be hidden from general view, with only a touchpad just to the right of the driver's seat. It will probably be a PIII 1.2 GHz CPU-powered Dell laptop that someone already has, and maybe watercooled somehow to help with the temperature. We are thinking about using a modular setup so that I can take the laptop inside with me if I'm doing something important (While parked of course). I'm all for the GPS and Wifi (Some special antenna that can receive signals up to 1.5 miles away?!) as well as Bluetooth, as is the group. Thanks for the replies by the way!

 

[QueBert]

thinking about doing the same thing myself, the heat thing was my big concern, but more and more people I spoke to told me HD's don't like bumps, which makes sense Also people told me about power issues, where with a AC/DC converter hooked up can lead to uneven power. I don't know how true that is, but after a few weeks of research I started to see it was going to be a much bigger undertaking then I really thought. I'm still going to get it done, would be really sweet to have a full pc, + touch screen + my 500 cd's all at my fingertips.