At this point I like to give a big cudos to the endless tips from the internet.
just make sure you read and search before you post questions.
Check out:
- Anything can be found here
- Marvin Hlavac on the GPS Forum
- RoadRunner Installer
- RoadRunner
4/23/07
Truck_Puter: Putting it all together #2
Between last and this weekend I did build a nice monitor stand. I used PVC pipe that I glued together and fixed to the center console. Then I spray painted it in a interior color of the Truck (on the picture it look much lighter than in reality).
Tip: I used 45 deg angle bends, if you use a bunch of them you can have the arm go in all directions and always end up with a flat top surface.
It took me some machining of solid plastic to build a similar receicer to the screen swivel than the original table stand.
The I ran a video cable (2 video, 1 audio) to the back of the car by using the cabl;e channels underneath the door steps. Once I came to the back I used a hole to go to the outside. I cut a hole in an elastomeric plug. Make sure you seal the hole afterwards with some silicone.
I had to lower the license plate to get a camera high enough to see anything. The metal strips are for this purpose. You can also see a little electrical water tight box that I use to make connections to the cable/camera (this is not for the trailor).
Full setup with camera installed:
And here the result with a picture of my lovely driveway!
Tip: I used 45 deg angle bends, if you use a bunch of them you can have the arm go in all directions and always end up with a flat top surface.
It took me some machining of solid plastic to build a similar receicer to the screen swivel than the original table stand.
The I ran a video cable (2 video, 1 audio) to the back of the car by using the cabl;e channels underneath the door steps. Once I came to the back I used a hole to go to the outside. I cut a hole in an elastomeric plug. Make sure you seal the hole afterwards with some silicone.
I had to lower the license plate to get a camera high enough to see anything. The metal strips are for this purpose. You can also see a little electrical water tight box that I use to make connections to the cable/camera (this is not for the trailor).
Full setup with camera installed:
And here the result with a picture of my lovely driveway!
4/22/07
Truck_Puter: Putting it all together...
Alright - I started last weekend to put everything together. I disassembled the center console and placed my 'fit 4 purpose' docking station in there. I cut holes to allow access to the ports of the docking station.
I ran all cables underneath the carpet to the center console. With the laptop here I can always pull it out and take it with me. It fits very nicely in there.
You notice the flat white cable running out of the box - this is the on/off & undock button from the docking station. I cut this on off to gain access to the on button without opening the laptop (does not work to to space constrains). I still need to find a good place for it.
I ran all cables underneath the carpet to the center console. With the laptop here I can always pull it out and take it with me. It fits very nicely in there.
You notice the flat white cable running out of the box - this is the on/off & undock button from the docking station. I cut this on off to gain access to the on button without opening the laptop (does not work to to space constrains). I still need to find a good place for it.
4/13/07
Truck_Puter: Update
I have played with RoadRunner and I like FrodoPlayer better. In the meantime I have destroyed (cosmetic surgery) my docking station for the C400. I did cut off some side pieces so it will fit nicely into my box between the two front seats. I have now also tested the setup at home and everything works fine.
Tomorrow I will route the cables in the car underneath the carpet and will figure out the best mounting for the touch screen. I am still thinking about PVC pipe that is spray painted in the cars color scheme....
I will post pictures here as soon as I start getting everything into the truck.
Tomorrow I will route the cables in the car underneath the carpet and will figure out the best mounting for the touch screen. I am still thinking about PVC pipe that is spray painted in the cars color scheme....
I will post pictures here as soon as I start getting everything into the truck.
4/8/07
Truck_Puter: The Software
I played around with two different front end computer software over the long Easter Weekend.
1) FrodoPlayer
2) RoadRunner
Both are freely available on the net. I choose to go deeper with the FrodoPlayer as I understood quickly the skinning technique. I created a skin for the player that follows the color scheme of the interior of the Truck. My work with FrodoPlayer was extensive but this will not exclude Roadrunner later. I just hope I find a good way to include easyly the Microsoft GPS software.
Here is the latest skin:
1) FrodoPlayer
2) RoadRunner
Both are freely available on the net. I choose to go deeper with the FrodoPlayer as I understood quickly the skinning technique. I created a skin for the player that follows the color scheme of the interior of the Truck. My work with FrodoPlayer was extensive but this will not exclude Roadrunner later. I just hope I find a good way to include easyly the Microsoft GPS software.
Here is the latest skin:
4/6/07
Truck_Puter: The Beginning
Long ago when we bought our travel trailer I had the idea to include a backup camera system into our trailer and the tow vehicle. This idea was extended when I got Microsoft Streets & Trips for Christmas. Now I had to face two problems:
- display a standard NTSC or PAL video feed from the camera(s)
- display a computer screen from the GPS system
- provide interface to interact with the GPS system
- one “nice to have” that I am thinking about to include in the future: OBD-II car diagnostics
After a while of searching and reading up on the internet I decided to go with a Laptop as my base system. The advantages from a Laptop are very easy to understand:
+ designed for low power consumption
+ low noise emission
+ battery (for delayed shut down if needed)
+ comes with monitor and keyboard already attached
+ small ‘real estate’
(nice discussion on this topic)
The problem is that you don’t want to display a laptop all the time on your dashboard as it attracts thieves. Yet another problem is that the Laptop is not necessarily equipped to display video feed. You would need a tuner card or a video recorder card to get this displayed but there might be a time delay in video display when doing so. At this point I decided to not go the route of displaying video on a Laptop. For the added security I decided to go with an external touch screen monitor so the Laptop could be tugged away out of sight. The touch screen also allows the main interface functions with the laptop/software/GPS system.
Now the fun part started – looking for components. I am still in the process of sourcing some parts but I have the concept and main parts on hand. Here is a list with parts (all from ebay):
1) Dell Latitude C400 (very small) // about US$180 on eBay with official Win XP-Pro, Wireless card, 20 GB HD, 512 MB Ram, etc
- display a standard NTSC or PAL video feed from the camera(s)
- display a computer screen from the GPS system
- provide interface to interact with the GPS system
- one “nice to have” that I am thinking about to include in the future: OBD-II car diagnostics
After a while of searching and reading up on the internet I decided to go with a Laptop as my base system. The advantages from a Laptop are very easy to understand:
+ designed for low power consumption
+ low noise emission
+ battery (for delayed shut down if needed)
+ comes with monitor and keyboard already attached
+ small ‘real estate’
(nice discussion on this topic)
The problem is that you don’t want to display a laptop all the time on your dashboard as it attracts thieves. Yet another problem is that the Laptop is not necessarily equipped to display video feed. You would need a tuner card or a video recorder card to get this displayed but there might be a time delay in video display when doing so. At this point I decided to not go the route of displaying video on a Laptop. For the added security I decided to go with an external touch screen monitor so the Laptop could be tugged away out of sight. The touch screen also allows the main interface functions with the laptop/software/GPS system.
Now the fun part started – looking for components. I am still in the process of sourcing some parts but I have the concept and main parts on hand. Here is a list with parts (all from ebay):
1) Dell Latitude C400 (very small) // about US$180 on eBay with official Win XP-Pro, Wireless card, 20 GB HD, 512 MB Ram, etc
2) VM84 - 8.4" 8" TFT LCD touch screen // about US$140, native resolution 800x600, 2 RCA video inputs, 1 audio input
3) Backup Camera // about US$40, 0 Lux infrared night vision, reverse color image, 2.8mm, 120 deg view
4) 2nd camera for Travel Trailer, preferred with audio, still looking
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