StevieG's Car PC Blog

Everything"s still working great. I"ve made a few additions to finish it off a little bit. I"ve been deep in thought and long term, I want to be able to use it "headless" – without a screen or display, and just ask whatever I want, and it respond. There"s nothing around to do that yet, so I will be doing it myself. I"ve got a few Visual C++ and Visual C# books so I read them, or just do it in VB6.

I"ve added two things this month. To keep the missus happy, cutting the car to pieces to fit it in is not an option. The car"s new anyway so chopping bits on the dashboard is a risky business so I"ve decided to keep the head unit. I"m happy with it anyway, the car is a special edition with pretty decent audio.

To get the sound into the head unit in Hi-Fi quality, I"ve invested in the Connects2 AUX adapter. It"s a special box that allows you to connect the Car PC audio into the CD-Changer input of the factory head unit. I was pleased to find it"s excellent quality – the Car PC audio is now as good as any CD – it"s refreshing to switch the car on and within a second (Thanks to standby on the Opus) have top quality sounds.

I"ve also invested in a proper mount – from Dashmount. They make specialist mounts for most cars to fit TFT screens and with little modification (simply screwing half of the original lilliput mount onto the dashmount) it"s fitted to my satifaction. The screen is now perfect – great position, great adjustability and it"s rock solid. Although fitting flush with the dash would be nice looking, the Dashmount position is much, much better for real-life use.

Over the past few days I"ve also been in code-monkey mode again helping James at Digital-Car.co.uk with organising a national UK Car PC meet, at a proper venue. Sometime in August/September we"re looking to have a UK-wide meet with attendance from as many as possible in the UK Car PC community. I"ve built a web application (that runs from this server, with the digital-car branding) that allows Car PC community members in the UK to add their location to a map, which dynamically chooses the best location, and suggests venues – all on the fly. It also allows us all to select which weekends we are all free, so we can narrow down when it is – all hopefully to guarantee a decent attendance. If you want to attend, you"ll need to register at www.digital-car.co.uk and look for the link in the UK Gatherings section – it should be posted in the next day or so.

Over the next month or two, I"ll be concentrating on software. I"m evaluating InfoMap Navigator Pro , courtesy of www.action-replay.co.uk to see what the programmable interface is like for using as a backend to the application I"m planning, so it will either be that or writing on MapPoint courtesy of my MSDN AA license. Either way it shoudl be interesting. The software will provide navigation, music, video (as others do) as well as tracking, internet communications, traffic, trip counter/mpg (without ODBII) and hopefully usable with and without a screen – fully voice controllable. I estimate that I"ll have something usable by September.

Refreshingly everything"s been working well for quite some time! Though, that should be a given really since i"ve been doing this for over a year now! So happy birthday Car PC. Didn"t buy it any cake though.

So for this news update, I"ll quickly run down what"s been achieved in the first year.

In the beginning, I didn"t really know where to start. The original setup, in my MR2 was carefully wired in, using a custom built case and custom built PSU. The screen was the cheapest available – a 5.6" video tft screen. Controlling it was a nightmare. The satellite navigation GPS interface was provided by a Road Angel unit which was wired into the system in a complicated way. Luckily the Road Angel is a seperate device again and the Car PC GPS is provided by a separate device.

As time went on, it has improved considerably and now boasts on the move real-time traffic data, satellite tracking and all the features required to equal a high-end head unit with touchscreen interface.

There"s still much to do. Integration with the Car ECU is almost here to provide the same functions top-end cars boast such as trip counters etc, with the added bonus of custom gauges to privde real time car info. I"m also close to building the Car PC unit into the car chassis itself and the touchscreen built into the dashboard. These have to be done as a logical step towards completion.

To tie it all together I need to write my own software interface, to tie it altogether. That"s also in the works too.

Anyway, let"s get back to what I"ve been working on this month…

Traffic Data

I"ve been working on getting real-time traffic data working on the move. This has involved writing both the back-end (which is working off this site and server) and the application. My application will interface with this, as will the VOICES software package written by a talented guy named Satish. I"ve written a basic application to do this which will come in useful immediately as months of roadworks are just about to start on my main route to work! To get this working on the move I"ve also had to install internet access in the car, using GPRS technology which works over the UK mobile phone network.

Satellite Tracking

A useful benefit of having internet access in the car is the ease of integrating an internet-based satellite tracking solution. I"ve had no problems writing a small application to do this. The main purpose of this is for research, however I have built a backup solution which doesn"t rely on the Car PC being operational or even in the Car in case of emergencies. I won"t go too much into that however as I"d rather keep it a secret just in case the wrong people are reading this. Suffice to say, I"m pretty well covered against both the casual thief and the thief who knows what they are stealing.

Video Camera

I haven"t decided on the purposed of this yet, either CCTV or reverse camera, probably the former as I don;t mind turning my head round to see where I"m going. I need to do a little work on this however to integrate it within the car in the right place.

FM Radio

As the Car PC nears completion it will replace the car stereo/head unit completely. And seeing as I listen to the radio a lot of the time in the car I need to be able to have this as part of the Car PC. The D-Link DRU 100 USB radio is well supported and very common in the Car PC community so it was an ideal choice.

New Case

I"ve purchased a Via Sereniti case as an interim case before I start the main integrated build. It"s a great Car PC case as the Opus 150W PSU fits inside it perfectly in the place fo the supplied PSU without any modifcation whatsoever. It"s also got room for a standard DVD-ROM drive to make things easier for me

GPRS Internet Access

As mentioned above I needed an internet access solution for use on the move. While it"s not really practical to drive around posting to MP3Car.com (though I did try while the missus was in the Chinese take-away) I need internet access for telematics. At the moment I have the traffic and tracking data, but eventually I"ll be adding various data such as weather, and up-to date local information. I"ve also got plans to build in software to provide a "buddy list" function a bit like MSN messenger but plots locations of other car PC users on the map who"ve chosen to share your location with you. Hey, I might be able to sell a solution to a taxi company

New Software

I"ve been in code-monkey mode the last few weeks and I"m only just getting started I"ve written the Traffic application, which is mainly a proof of concept and a test application for the tracking. I"ve also released some basic code to the community written in Visual Basic to interpret GPS data just in case anyone else wants to write their own software but doesn"t know where to start.

So the rest of this month will be writing code and looking for a new middle bit for my dashboard to cut up and fit the lilliput in and looking on ebay for a cheap 4-channel amp If you want to sell one for less than £50 quid email me!

New Website

The move to a new website is now complete. I"ve been through a couple of web providers in the last couple of months and there is no place like home. SIck of having to live within a hosting providers constraints the site"s now hosted back upstairs in my house. You"re looking at a locked down Windows box running Apache, PHP and MySQL running a cron service for some of the back-end all locked down as tight as if they were on a unix box. I"d obviously prefer to host on a Unix box but the Windows box gives me some extra flexibility with regards to plotting maps and processing certain kinds of data for serivces I wish to provide in the future. To save my bandwidth I"ve uploaded all images and downloadable files to my ISPs web server as it"s a waste of my connection to serve them from home! The site itself has been updated considerably and as you have seen new sections added. Hope you like it.

A note to members of the mailing list, if you joined on the MR2 site you will need to re-subscribe. This is because I"ve changed to a outsourced mailing list provider and I also know some of you may have been intersted only because it was an MR2. If you want to receive new mailings from me, you will need to re-subscribe.

It"s been a while, but we"re back in action!!! Sorry for the lack of updates over the last month, but it has all been happening behind the scenes.

Here"s a quick run down…

The New Car is here

Regulars to this site will know the MR2 is no more – see the March archive or the gallery for the pictures. However all is not lost – the Car PC is reborn in something a bit more up to date – a new Ford Focus!

Here"s a pic…

As you can see, my attempts at copying the techniques of Max Power photographers aren"t amazing, this was taken at an industrial estate in the countryside near my house!

The car itself is a "Ford Focus MP3" – honestly, it"s a coincidence! I fell in love with the car before I notcied it was a special edition with MP3 player etc – pity really that it"ll be ripped out. However it does make it slightly more special in a small way, as it means the computer connection is even on the V5 logbook, as it"s the official model name

I didn"t waste time once I"d got it though. The death of the MR2 only made me more persistent to make sure this project didn"t die on the rocks, after all I"d only just got the Opus Car PSU, one of the keys in making the system work as if it was a factory item.

The new install

You"ll be able to read more about this in the Install section, but to quickly give you a run down – I"ve re-built the system with help from my power drill to integrate the Power Supply into the small case, and finished the case off nicely with professional speaker box carpet to help the current incarnation blend smoothly into the boot.

The Second UK Car PC mini-meet – Santa Pod, 18th April 2004

One of the driving factors of getting the car, and getting the Car PC working was to make sure I had something to show at the Car PC meet! After almost a year of work it would have been very dissappointing if I hadn"t been able to show off at least some of my hard work and compare it against some other installs (even though I only had a day to build and install it!)

New software

V.O.I.C.E.S is the driving software behind the Navigation features of the installation. Using MapPoint 2004 as it"s engine, VOICES is controlled by voice commands and responds over the speakers. This allows you to tell the computer where you want to go, what changes you want to make and get it to tell you useful information (such as time to destination) without look at the screen. It also tell you your next turns (including what road to turn onto – useful if the roads have been dug up and changed since the last map update) over the speakers without taking your eyes off the road. It"s being developed to fulfill all the functions of the Car PC – so eventually it will be possible to control the entire system just by talking to it.

You can read more about VOICES at the MP3Car.com forum

Still to come soon

I"ve just ordered a slightly larger case for the Car PC – that"s on the way right now and will be installed ASAP – I need more space to fit a PCI card to allow FM Radio and Video-In

I"m also going to be ordering in the next day or two a device to connect into the Car engine management system, from ScanTool.net. This will bridge the missing link between the two computers in the Car – the one you can"t mess with that manages the engine, and my System. Soon I"ll have custom gauges for various engine levels, and be able to replicate the feature found on many cars – How many miles are left until the petrol runs out. You can imagine how this will integrate with the rest of the system. There"s 20 miles left on the tank of petrol, I"m on the motorway and need a petrol station. The computer will automatically find the nearest petrol station and tell me the way to it.

Earlier this week I ordered and received my Opus Car PSU (from www.linitx.com) – Ordered Monday, received Tuesday. See the Hardware section for more details.

DISASTER STRUCK though this morning (Thursday) – One the way to work I’ve totalled the Car. Into a wall. So this site might being renamed to whatever replaces the MR2. All the pictures are in the gallery, here’s one of them below L

It might not look THAT bad, but both front wheels are pointing different ways. Busted is some part of the steering, the front suspension, both front wings, front bumper, the metal under the bumper, the headlight, the headlight cover, the bonnet, the fixings under the bonnet, the back wheel, the back passenger side wing. Not good, is it?!

I’m determined not to be set back with the Car PC so whatever replaces the MR2 will be the Whatever Car PC, so keep watching this space.

I’ve added a gallery hosted at www.fotopic.net – see the link at the side. This will let me add hi-resolution photos to the website in addition to the install, hardware pics etc so you can have a good look at the system itself.

Car PC itself has been working reasonably well – I may need to reposition the GPS sensor to a better position under the dashboard for better reception; the other day it cut out on me for about 30 minutes for no apparent reason, just when I needed it while driving to somewhere I’d never been before! Typical!

I’ve also got to do something about something that’s not a major problem but could be. The inverter that powers the system isn’t ideal, and must use masses of power, I ended up with a blown fuse the other day due to it’s ultra-high power consumption! I need to look toward getting an Opus car PSU from www.opussolutions.com when I’ve got the money. Initial reading of the MR2 electrical manual suggests there’s some decent places to plug directly into the car power system safely. (More research may be required before I do anything!)

Software wise, I’ve decided to have a proper look at GPSS from www.gpss.co.uk . Although this doesn’t appear to be a vector based GPS system, like mappoint or navigator, It looks a good option mainly as it allows customisation of the map data. I’m thinking along the lines of attempting to use some aerial pictures with map data overlaid with help from Paint Shop Pro J – I’ll see how I get along. I’m also keen on the voice guidance/recognition features and the speed displays. Once I’ve got it installed to test on my laptop (and connected my extra long serial lead out to the car to connect it to GPS!) I’ll see if Robin at Sunninghill Software will be kind enough to send me a free key code. I’ll keep you all posted.

It’s been a busy month for the Car PC, I’ve now got a lilliput touch screen, the media car interface working wonderfully, the GPS working great, and a half-decent looking install.

WLAN is firmly on the agenda as well – I’d already got WLAN at home and I’ve bought a netgear 54g usb wlan adapter, which will be installed soon!

More pictures later this week, but so far all the wiring is slowly being put under the carpets, and plastic, nice and neatly, I’ve started drilling holes in the dashboard to put the LEDs for the computer, and went through half a tube of Araldite gluing everything together firmly.

I’ve also changed hosting provider to donhost.co.uk and re-organised the website; I have also re-scripted the whole website and changed the way it works.

Thought I should update the site and let anyone know what"s been happening. News is, not much. I"m moving house and that"s holding up everything. Hopefully moved by the 19th!

The good news is once I move, I will have more time to spend on this, and my car will be a lot safer than where I live at the moment.

The better news is i"ve got decent insurance on my car so I might be able to do a permanent theft proof install of some of the kit.

More news when I"ve moved house!

It"s been a busy few days, as I"ve been getting the system working well enough to actually try and use. Or rather for my fioncee Lisa to use. And if she has to mess about using it, she isn"t happy. And if she isn"t happy, then I won"t be happy!

I"ve also re-organised the website, so you can see the project progress more easiliy. The install is detailed under V2 in the new install section. I"ve also made a new plans section so you can get a better idea of my "dream". The re-build software section also details how the software is set up and where it"s going.

The best part of today"s diary section however is my Road Tests, as for the first time I have successfully tested the system for practical uses.

Media Road Test

Long journeys can get very boring, especially if you know the way and you"re just going on the motorway. Wouldn"t it be great if you could watch one of your favorite movies on the way to pass the time!!!?? Well, no because you"d end up causing a pile up, probably. But nothing"s wrong with listening to a movie while your passengers watch (or rather passenger in my two seater sports car!). I"ve decided that having a screen in the front can"t be illegal, as new cars all seem to have it and I"ve seen our local "CCTV" police cars with them in the front displaying video images. So after re-installing my PC last week in the car, my journey all the way down the M5, to Devon, UK was about to become a little more interesting.

Before I left I had to make a remote power button (more details in the install section) so I could switch on/off while driving, as stopping on the motorway to lift the bonnet to restart a PC is a bit much, so there will be more details on that soon.

Previous tests using the old case have been problematic, as it"s overheated, crashed, lost power, so I was worried what would happen with the new setup. The day before we left I drove to work and back, and checked the heat under the bonnet, and the computer was still cool. On the way down, we had a remote control problem, but that just turned out to be batteries being dead. The whole weekend it worked fine, apart from a few little issues, mainly with me not plugging leads in properly.

Verdict? It works Messy cabling at the moment, but it works. It was a squash however at 2am on the Saturaday night when 4 of us tried to sit in the car outside the holiday flat and watch "The Fast and the Furious" though, but that"s down to the size of the car. And there were a lot of jealous stares on the M5 as we sat in traffic jams, relaxing to "Shrek"….

GPS Road Test

I"m househunting at the moment, so I"m doing a fair bit of driving to places I don"t know. Last night, nuneaton was my target. The GPS system just shows the map of where I am, and I haven"t programmed zoom features or any other control just yet. And to cut a long story short, it works. In as much as it shows where I am, but that doesnt help me get where I want to go. It just tells me where to turn round next when I realise I"ve went the wrong way. And I look twice as stupid asking people where places are when there"s a screen on my dashboard showing where I am on a map!!! But then again, it"s still in development. We"ll get there in the end!!!

Next road test, I"ll bring the camera out, so you can see what actually happened!

In the meantime, I"m going to be getting to work with the ON-digital remote using Girder files from the Vauxhall Vectra Car PC Project

The build-your-own case plan wasn"t quite as good as it seemed, The computer fitted in but cooling wasn"t upto much, so I binned the idea.

After much searching around, it turned out that my local computer store (where I used to work many years ago) sells Mini-ITX cases, so I was able to pick one up today an hour after deciding to get one Great!

Here"s a picture of the case just after I got it home…

And 30 minutes later, it"s all in the case…

It fits in rather well, and looks better than I thought. It"s also got room to add a few custom bits inside, such as a 25 pin port or similar to allow a remote ATX power button, or a few other bits such as led"s while still having them built into the main case.

For the moment, I haven"t added my power regulator, which takes in the 12V and makes sure it"s 12V. Instead I am going to use a power inverter, and the 12V converter, and see if I get less noise through the speakers too. How converting ~12V DC to 240V AC then out to 12V is a good idea is anyone"s guess, but other people have been doing it, so it"s worth a try. Just in case you don"t know what the inverter looks like, here it is.

It will be wired up straight to the battery. I"ve also bought a motorcycle battery, as suggested on the thisstrife.com forums, which will be wired up to the main battery with a diode in between (to allow electricity in from the alternator but no power out from the motorcycle battery to the rest of the car) to allow the car pc to carry on working even when starting the car. I"ll update more when I do more…

I"ve finally found the new case for my car PC, and it didn"t cost a thing. I found a scrap printer switch box, that"s about 15 years old, that is the perfect size for the car computer. Perfect in that it couldn"t be any smaller!

It doesn"t look very pretty at the moment, but that will change over the next couple of days. And of course, it made of metal so it will be fully shielded too, which has caused problems in the past…

First thing I did was gut the internals out – just a circuit board. The task will be to put a plastic layer over the current ends to tidy them up, after fitting the components inside and fitting the back panel. It fits like this…

To give you an idea of how small the case is, here"s a picture of the mainboard on top of the case. As you can see, the case couldn"t be any smaller if I tried…

To tidy it up, it needs a respray in a more suitable colour. The only colours I have are red and black in sprays and some silver in a tin. Most left is red, so the case will be red, with a big black mr2 carcomputer logo sprayed on using stencils. On the side, or front, I"ll be using the silver paint to paint on a "via" logo.

The spraying takes a while to do, as I need a few coats on to make sure it covers properly, sets and doesn"t crack. So it won"t be finished tonight! So far I"ve put the first few coats on of the red, and printed out the templates…