Car PC.

[sirdigalot]

So my old exploder that i bought from some jilted ex-GF of some other dude who was an idiot for $900 a few years ago had an "aftermarket" radio/headunit installed.
(i say exploder because this dude, cared more about a large amplifier and 20 inch rims than actually, you know, maintenance... needed oil change, new radiator, head gasket, the windows would not go down/up, the remote locks wouldn't the cheap arsed aftermarket projector lamps (badly installed with those aweful squeeze wire splices) not aligned and pointing at the sky! - the usual from idiots - anyway)

So i was bored, and the wiring/trim was too shagged to put in a stock unit again (which would have been fine) so i decided to use my Raspberry pi and a few cool addons and programmes to make a car PC...

The specs are:

Raspberry Pi minicomputer 2GB with a 16GB micro SD card storage
256GB Solid state - (no moving parts) SATA external Hard drive
7 inch 1080 LCD screen with resistive touch overlay ( i would have preferred capacative - like a phone or ipad but this was way cheaper)
GPS navigation
FM radio
Auto switch reverse camera for parking
Wifi capability
can play movies from my collection
4x50w amplifier

Also part of the software is IPOD control, it will also take a CD/DVD player but i hate having discs in the car they tend to get scratched and warp in the Florida sun!
I also threw in a bluetooth adaptor i have lying around, but since you need to push a button to connect devices it is a pain in the booty!


here are the ongoing results:

here is the "hole" and "nest" i was left with after taking out the trim and old units:

The thing you see on the seat is a 3 amp USB voltage converter, it (by the use of a script) "talks" to the Raspberry pi and tells it to shut down when you turn the power off so you do not just power off the computer and potentially wreck the file system... (more on that later)

In the cup holder is the amplifier a small 4 channel IC based one works native on 12 -14.4V which is easy to deal with for now.

here is the trim ready to be customised, note the middle bracket that should be in the big gaping hole - isn't:

Aligning for carbon fiber vinyl covering (it did not go too well )

Testing the new braces for the screen:

dry fit of the screen for trim:

Trim being installed - lexan polycarbonate not that it makes a difference just easier and less fragile to work with than acrylic

This is the rearview camera, it was a cheap ebay thing but works well, even has a digitized "grid" to assist with parking, it comes with 20ft of composite wire (cheap and thin) and a power connector to attach to the reverse light wire:

The actual switching is done on the LCD display control board, and again you take a 12v signal from the reverse light wire and attach it to the AV input on a stupidly small header, when it detects the high voltage it auto switches to AV2 where the camera is attached, when the voltage goes, it goes back to the last input, which for the Rasberry pi is HDMI

sue me! i was too lazy to try and deal with the super tight rubber grommet under the rear door hinge, the white is multicore - not solid core cat 6 cable and carries the power, i stripped the insulation to tuck it under the rear door seal along with the AV line, and then siliconed around it for water proofing.

The AV line reaches to the front drivers side dash i need to extend it about 3 ft to get to the head unit area.

Yes my rear door trim is busted, the whole thing needs to be replaced it is like bone china already has holes in it from whatever the last owner was carrying in the trunk (when i picked it up one of the 20 inch wheels wit ha puncture and the front axle driveshaft!)

Here is the 90% completed product.

i still have had issues hooking up everything ( there is a lot of wires!)

the amplifier (the little blue thing in the cubby hole) is a 50W IC type the heatsink is woefully undersized and it does not really do the job great - it sounds ok just not super loud... luckily the USB sound box i use is a simple Line out so i can upgrade the amp anytime.

also the sticky outey knob thingies are for basic volume and quick select, while the whole thing can be touch screen controlled it is better to have a physical knob to control a few options to save staring at a screen... they are digital and connected to the pi.


So the little auto power USB converter for the raspberry pi sort of went "smoke smoke poof" i think i messed up a wire somewhere when i was wiring up the amp so it broke, i will be buying a new one, they come from a company in the UK so it takes a couple of weeks, i learnt my lesson!

the stuff used for the curious:

Rasberry pi 2 - $40 (with shipping)
16GB Micro SD card for the Pi ( for the operating system and basic software) - $10
7 inch touch screen with auto switch - $40
usb sound device - $30
auto power off 3 amp supply - $25
rotary encoders ( the knob thingies) $3
FM radio module (not shown) $5
USB GPS receiver $35
256GB Solid state Hard drive - $100 ( i got it for free coz i work in an I.T. dept! but they are cheap and not entirely necassary)
USB to SATA controller ( for the external hard drive) $30 - (also free from work)
USB wifi adaptor - $10
Software for Rasberry pi/car PC - FREE!
misc stuff vinyl trim wire etc- $40

Time - months!

beer consumption- $200
whiskey consumption - $150

swear jar contributions - $500+ and counting

so this cost me about $300 in total not including the free stuff i had, and yes, i could have bought a reasonably made ready built unit for that... but where is the fun in that!?
I got to flex my Linux skills again, and do fabrication, and drink lot.

 

[sirdigalot]

Here is it actually working after I bought a new screen