Hi all, here as promised is some pics of my recent in dash installation of a 7" widescreen touchscreen display. Its hooked up to a toshiba celeron 600 mounted on the back of the rear passenger seat of my 2+2. Laptop has wifi, bluetooth, nissan datascan and cable, O2 XDA mini mount is in forground right. Got a 600watt amp mounted in the rear left storage compartment run by apple's iTunes. A usb hub is in behind the screen. Ipod uses usb and is controlled by iTunes. I cut the dash module just below the screw mounts below the aircon vents then used 6mm dark tinted perspex to fill the void. The monitor (as with all the other components) was bought through ebay. Here is a list of components... Toshiba laptop Picked up no charge (busted screen) 12v laptop power supply $ 46.25 Widescreen touchscreen $395.81 Datascan & cable $137.00 4 port usb hub $ 10.99 usb wifi $ 19.95 usb bluetooth $ 34.95 usb exten cable $ 8.50 300w 4ch amp $ 81.00 O2XDA mini mount $ 75.00 6mm perspex 300mmx600mm $ 40.00 $849.45
any problems with the laptop when you go over bumps etc? does it cause any issues? nice work! ::Risk::
Looks sweet. I am a gadget person myself (see my avatar). I've mentioned to Rob [K-ZED] about doing this but with a ZPC rather than a laptop. ZPC is an ultra Small Form Factor PC. To those PC minded, it is about the same footprint as a Soltek QBIC or Shuttle XPC (or equiv), but only the height of 1.5 CDROM drives (about 4 inches). I already have my 5" screen in the Zed, but a 7" touch as you have got would be much better, as you should be able to set up the "wake on mouse" function to turn the system on. Running Datascan is my main intention, but use as an incar enternatnment setup is another benefit too. Well done.:thumbsup:
Keep us closely posted Greg, VERY interested in your idea I also have two XDA PocketPC's... any chance of hooking up one of these to a consult cable somehow?
Pocket PC and Conzult Definately possible to make the connection, but would still need some smart person to write the software !! ZPC should fit under a seat.
Would existing datascan run on XDA, as it is a PC platform. I've tried before but to no avail. Any ideas?
looks great, but please remember to secure that laptop somehow. Doesnt look like it is in the pics. Thats a fairly heavy object right behind your head if you have an accident.
Re: Would existing datascan run on XDA, as it is I am not sure on XDA, but on PDA (Pocket PC platform) it doesn't. It would likely would require re-compiling or even re-coding. I am certain it would be easier, and cheaper to get the ZPC. If necessary it would fit in the dash, and you could fold down or up the screen (if placed in the same spot as the one pictured above). There are three importers of IWILL products in Australia. I already deal with one of them, but they do not bring in the ZPC. I will contact the other two on Monday to see if they import it. Will keep you posted tho. My setup is a little different with the screen above the air vents, and if the ZPC proves viable, I will update to a similar screen, because a mouse device in the car is not practical. Just a word of wisdom to [DavidB], cover your LCD panel with a towel if you park in the sun, because LCD displays do not like heat, and it will substantially shorten the life of your $400 investment, even if in direct sun for a short peroid.
Dave, how's the glare on the screen? For my carpc, I'll be dremelling out the double DIN slots and recessing the 7" touchscreen back about 1" at the top and maybe triple that at the bottom. That way, it'll be more shielded from the light entering from above through the windscreen, and it will sit more vertical than the normal slope of the centre dash panel. Have you had any issues with glare on the screen with your set up? My set up is similar to yours, except that I'm using a docking station for the laptop. This'll allow me to tap into the ON and OFF buttons on the docking station, and run them forward to locate them on the dash. That way I won't have to frig around with powering up at the laptop. How are you powering up yours? Cheers Peter
That's some nice modifying David, and who could compete with that many gauges available! The best thing I like about having a display of gauges that way is when one goes over a prdetermined limit (or under) you can write it up to appear with only that particular gauge in huge scale with a warning sound. The possibilities are astounding! Well done and keep going with it :thumbsup:
Great. There is a glare issue during the day. I found that recessing the unit wont fix the glare lest you bury it 6" plus into the dash. I wired a small wire from the laptop swith to the dash. I use hibernate mode as it starts up and shutsdown in under 10 secs. David
