Custom Car PC with GPS, M.Media, Wifi, ECU & Internet

[tehx]

Its the 1002HA - the one with 5hr battery yup.

[CheesyMong]

Ahhh now that all makes sense I couldnt for the life of me find a HE model anywhere near the price...however the HA model is a lot more reasonable.

Cheers

Joel

[tehx]

Cool & soz for the confusion. BTW I have updated the install post with my WOL box. Still waiting on the Cig Lighter PSU from ebay to arrive. I'll install this into the box along with two more DC plugs, above the RJ45 connector.

Update from mp3car.com - the Lilliput Transflective LCD is 2 weeks away - Woot!!!

[tehx]

Just updated post 2 with some info on the Wake on Lan (WOL) circuit. This works a treat!! The EeePC (and indeed any notebook with WOL functionality) can be started with this circuit, once you turn the key.

An update on parts - I have everything except the Lilliput LCD. An email from mp3car.com says it has been shipped today - can't wait to get it in my hot little hands.

A note on the Subaru console / facier from AVO. This arrived the other day and I have been playing around with fitting / placement for the LCD. The console appears to be a factory Subaru part, something I could not get from my local Subaru dealer. The console does not include a facier / surround for the LCD though! I have attached a photo showing me holding the Lilliput mount inside the Subaru console. Once I get the Lilliput LCD I will get a better feel for how it might fit together but from this photo you can see some work will be required in filling the area between the Lilliput mount (LCD) and the console. I’m holding the Lilliput mount up flush against the console but in practice it will be recessed further inside the console. Take a look at the pics of the factory SAT Nav on the Subaru website and you will see how the factory 7" LCD is recessed back further. The Lilliput LCD will mount in the same position as the factory Sat Nav but may be moved forward & back inside the dash so just how far it is recessed back can be changed.

My thoughts so far are to see if I can get hold of a 7" surround for an LCD screen (maybe from a Kenwood, Alpine unit etc) where it was not need in that install. I can then use this to cover the gap. I'm sure a local car stereo place would have a few of these kicking around.

I’m also thinking I might build my own bezel / surround for the Lilliput. This would allow me to use the buttons on the front of the Lilliput as well as the IR remote control. A couple of posts to explain in better detail.

The first shows how to build a facier / bezel for a custom install (awesome post BTW) :
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/fabrication/85350-how-make-factory-bezel.html
The second shows how to use the standard buttons in your custom bezel:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/fabrication/38100-how-relocating-screen-buttons.html

What I plan to do is remove the Lilliput from its case and install it in the brackets shown in the photo. I am then going to take to the Lilliput’s case (the front section) with a saw and cut it to fit inside the Subaru console. I will then use the method described in the first post to create a custom bezel that encompass the Lilliput’s front case and fits inside the Subaru console. With lots of sanding, prep etc I should end up with a fit that looks factory and allows me to use the buttons on Lilliput as well as the IR remote.

Just throwing out the Q - has anyone done anything like this before? Your wisdoms / ideas / thoughts would be much appreciated as I embark on this final piece of the CarPC.

[CheesyMong]

Mate u are making my build a whole heap easier, I just wish I could start giving u some ideas but none of my kit has arrived yet....

I ended up goping with the LinITX TMR screen, not as good as transflective but I am still hoping for a good result.

You dont happen to have a 2nd WOL circuit made by any chance Electronics is not my strong point but your diagram is great once I get my laptop I'll have to get cracking.

Any thoughts on where you will mount your EeePC I will be mounting mine under the seat in a custom bracket to allow for esy removal and lockable for security.

Cheers

Joel

[tehx]

I just updated Post 1 with some photos of the Lilliput which I installed Yesterday (more on that in a sec).

Post 2 now includes another way to start-up the EeePC when the car starts. I have not had much luck with the WOL working on an EeePC 1002HA. The WOL circuit works well on my desktop PC though.

Joel: I still have the WOL circuit & can post it to you if it will work on your laptop. I would suggest first getting a LAN cable, cutting off one end, then stripping back the insulation on the wires. Try making the circuit by twisting the wires for Pins 1 & 3 together then touching pins 2 & 6. See if you can get your PC to start. If not, then its time for another idea. Your PC BIOS may also support ACPI - Advanced Power Management - and this can be set to restart on resume of external power. Failing both these you might like to go the path of a magnetic reed switch or external switch. I'll post a circuit for the magnetic reed switch soon mate. Let me know how you get on yea?

The Lilliput arrived yesterday and within about an hour I had it installed in the car. Amazing, I thought I would be working on this for hours. Turns out that the Lilliput fits exactly inside the Liberty centre console / bezel. Case and all so I didn’t even remove the Lilliput from its case. I rather like this as I can keep the warranty & still use the buttons on the front. Check the photo's. Oh and the other thing I plan to do is remove the gold 'Liliput' decal from the front - maybe another excuse to fit an STI decal on the car (lol).

To install the screen I just removed centre console by levering the factory one out - from the bottom first. Leaver it up so that the bottom is released first, just a centre meter or two. Then slide the whole thing out and down slightly. Don't start from the top as you might break the clips & with the bottom still in place it wont come out.

Once I had exposed the centre console I could drop all VGA & PWR cables down the side of the Macintosh HU and then slide my hand under to grab them. I then feed them down the console, past the gear shifter and out near the passenger seat.

The Subaru centre console comes with some mounting brackets for an LCD screen. These are not suitable for a double DIN head unit as they fill the hole completely - they are for a stand-alone LCD screen. In fact I swear they were made for the Lilliput as the bracket holds the Lilliput at exactly the right distance back, from the front of the console / bezel. I used the supplied foam strips & stuck them to the console - on each side of the air vents. This provided a wedge / padding for the Lilliput so it would not move sideways. It's an amazing fit - snug, with everything held in place. I did however find a few sharp edges on the centre console's mounting bracket (from AVO) I filed these down beforehand and put tape on the edges as the wires for the Lilliput go over this bracket and I didn’t wan them to rub & short out over time.

The transflective screen is amazing and well worth the $$! I had the EeePC running in the car with its screen and the sun completely washed out the LCD on the EeePC while the Transflective Lilliput was completely readable - bright and vibrant in colour. I still have some adjusting to do as far as screen brightness etc.

Tip: - RESET the Lilliput, from the main menu, when you first power it up. It remembered the gamma settings of the test PC that was connected to it at the factory and the gamma was way low. I initially corrected this on the EeePC but then the internal screen on the EeePC looked bad. A reset on the Lilliput and both are looking sweet. Centrafuse has a button for screen dim and this now works properly with the correct gamma setting.

Photo's below have some compression due to forum specifics so the shots look a little pixelated. Particularly the JPG compression on the LCD shots. The Lilliput, at its native resolution and 800x600 is crisp & sharp on text edges. 1024 x 786 is a little small for operating the touch screen text edges are a little cropped but still very readable. I also took them on my phone.

[tehx]

A few more photo's

[CheesyMong]

Dude

This is looking fantastic....Starting to get jealous hahahahha

I get my laptop tomorrow so I'll test the WOL and let you know how it goes with the 1002H but I'm guessing they will have the same issue.

That screen fits a treat, however does it look like it is a little left of centre or is that just the angle of the photos.

BTW where did you get your USB GPS receiver from?

Any thought on where/how you will mount the laptop yet?

Also did you have a part number you used for the AVO console piece there are 2 on the web site just want to make sure I get the right 1..

Cheers

Joel

[Hobber]

tehx great work! inspiring!

I think when I get my free netbook from Teched I'll be going down the same path Thanks for sharing the info to date!

Just to clarify - the AVO bezel and the Lilliput is all that is needed to fit as per your pics? No additional mount or frame required?

[tehx]

Hi Hobber,

I found all you need is the Lilliput and the AVO console, which is a factory Subaru console. I also purchased a dash mount / kit from http://www.bybyte.com/ but found I don't need it! If I were to take the Lilliput out of its case and do a custom bezel I would have use it. AVO have two consoles and should I have purchased the other one, I probably would have had to take the Lilliput out of the case and make a custom bezel.

The one I purchased was the 'H0017AG932' for $250.80 USD. I'm not sure how the other one (H0017AG915) would fit as it looks like the lower section is slightly higher and this would obscure the buttons on the Lilliput.

Check the photo (in a previous post) of me holding the bybyte mount inside the Subaru console from AVO. Also note the difference between the photo of the console I received and the photo of the console on the AVO website. The AVO website shows the console with a bezel surrounding the screen and gives the impression a 7" screen (with no case) would fit exactly. I did not receive any bezel in the box.

[loweart]

WoW, very impressive Tehx ! The fit and finish of the lilliput panel looks FAB and just like it was OEM factory fitment ! GREAT work

[coyote]

Are you still going to use Linux or stick with Windows?

[Hobber]

Thanks tehx...Thanks a lot.

Now you have made me start to spend money!



(screens are out of stock ATM )

[tehx]

Things really came together in the end there, that’s for sure. I was certain I would have to do some work getting the screen finish to look good in the console. As it worked out everything just fitted in. The Lilliput was the right size for the console (maybe could have been 2mm wider) but could not have asked for a better fit. The mounting brackets supplied with the Subaru console were exactly the right spacing so the Lilliput was held snug in place and at the correct distance from the front of the console. I think that was just a bit of plain luck - I was totally set on spending weeks fabricating brackets & bezels. Bit of a let down really (lol)!

One thing I forgot to mention was I had to do a little filing of the plastic, on the dash, behind the console. Not the console itself, just the dash behind the console. Seems Subaru used a wonky jigsaw of sorts to cut the centre hole out of the dash where console go's. It was a little uneven and caused the screen to tilt to the right a little. A little work with a coarse file and I evened out the cut in the plastic so the Lilliput sits flat. I also had to file down a little plastic lip that sits on the inside of the console. I carefully wrapped the console in paper and tape so I would not scratch it and filed the lip down. Its only a few mm of plastic but caused a little gap between the bottom of the console and the Lilliput so the finish was not flush.

My apologies for making you spend $$ - I know I need to curb things a little myself after this install. The Liberty is just such a great ride, its got the looks, performance (particularly after Pulse have a tickle with it), AWD, the MAC with its balanced audio, those GT.B 20 spoke rims (I would not trade em for anything). When I get complacent with it I just have to drive something else and the appreciation flows back in two fold. There are of course a few niggles, the brakes, billstine's (both a pro and a con) and the slightly hard seats on really long drives. Oh and those cast pistons - the bastards! But I digress. The $$ you do spend are pretty good bang-for-your-buck in entertainment terms. The full system, with transflective screen is ~$1200 cheaper than the OEM SatNav, $2600 cheaper than the premade CarPC. In the end you get something with loads more features and tones of potential to expand on, both software and hardware wise. Good luck with your CarPC mate - you're gonna enjoy it I’m sure. I think they make the transflective screen to order. I waited 3 weeks or so before mine arrived.

At this point I will stick with Windows as Centrafuse provides a very advanced and tailored interface. It's all the little things like bluetooth to my phone with auto mute on call. The way you can 'dock' external apps to the Centrafuse interface. The quick boot time (from hibernate mode) it's about 6 seconds from turning the key and my movie/songs plays from where it left off when I last drove the car. That said Im a huge linux fan & once I get everything installed Im almost certain I'll be wanting a new challenge. The challenge was meant to be the screen install & fabrication of the console but bugger me that all just turned out to be too easy. So yer, give it a few weeks (I’m off to Perth for a bit) and Im sure I will be spending many a late night getting a Linux version of the CarPC running. My personal preference is to run Linux. I’m just mindful that any CarPC needs a simple interface that, importantly, has minimal distraction from the actual task of driving.

Any thoughts on Linux software, the interface etc? lol... See, now look what you have done ! Guess I'll need something to do on the 4hr flight to Perth

[CheesyMong]

Hi Tehx

Just so I know what I am testing for the WOL

1. Plug AC in the EeePC
2. Configure BIOS + NIC within WINXP (If possible)
3. Make Loopback, twist 1 +3 together and have 2 & 6 ready
4. Plug in LoopBACK and shutdown PC with AC connected
5. Touch 2 & 6 together and see if PC starts

Is that correct?

Cheers

Joel