New Hard Drive Arrived, DVD Rom Here Too

Having had my break I'm back and more detirmed than before to get this system installed. I'm reverting back to the old head for the short term but that will be changed at some point. I do plan still to use my Ipod as a media drive with Centrafuse 2.x for a number including getting in to Podcasts. To help here I have made a foam mold for my center arm rest including a space for my mobile too.... only problem is I'm not sure how to route the cables. In the mean time I have been searching for a new Album Art tool & a folder watch tool for my MP3 directory to work with Itunes.... no simple task believe me. In the end I found iTunes Album Browser & iTunes Folder watch where if you buy the brower you get the folder watch app free. There was a small problem that the folder.jpg files where not created so I emailed the developer and he added it for me. Add this to my MP3 ID3 Tag script ( under links & DL ) that I found and my Mp3's are compatible with the Ipod, CarPC & Media Center in one go.

Getting back to the CarPC its self now I have my DVD Rom from the Digital-Car Classifieds and the replacment hard drive I'm just waiting for a power ATX cable from Linitx so if all goes well I'll be installing my new image having used Nlite some time this week.

A Small Cheap Universal Mod That May Help Others

Of late I've had a problem with scratches and it my just be the pram going in and out of the boot, top this off with the fact that I work in the boot on the CarPC at times as its easier to access I decided I needed a little protection.

So - here is a simple solution..... simply get a good bit of carpet... in my case the same stuff I use to cover boot items / cases... cut it to size so it fits in the boot... cut out a couple of notches so its held in place when deployed and giving protection to the sides... and finally make sure it rolls up in the right direction so it hooks under the car... and your done.

Deployed in about 5 seconds and goes away just as fast it provides full protection to the length of the bumper stopping those pesky scratches...

Bad News For The Project

As you know I have been busy trying to make the system ready for the upcoming UK meet.... I did have most of the system in place at one point. Because of having problems getting the new head unit to work with the Car using the CANBUS adaptor I was delayed, top that off with having some hardware fail ( the M2 and the hard drive ) I will be unable to make it in time for the show this year.

As you can see from the attached photos the system fitted in exactly as planned and looked very good too. I didn’t find reflection a problem when the screen was on and it was much more crisp and clearer than any previous screen I have had.

The majority of the kit ( Hubs, GPS, Silabs, RF Remote Receiver ) was installed within the screen enclosure which was a WRX double din case. I did try a number of modifications to get the look right with this screen but in the end I used a couple of aluminium bars which although slightly raised actually looked ok. To hold the screen in place I had to be a bit ingenious and ended up using some foam pads and a bit of brute force.
The surround of the screen was simply held in place by using double sided sticky tape which I found was more than enough in this case.

The main CPU was installed in the boot cupboard located on the driver’s side. This allowed it to be totally hidden yet still vented. Supplying the power to this was very easy as it was simply a case of removing a grommet in the engine bay and feeding the AWG cable straight in to the cabin area behind the glove box.

One of the main downfalls for this car is that even though it looks big and roomy behind there in reality very little space is available. For instance just behind the glove box ( inside which was mounted the head unit ) the is the main cabin blower which presents a number of challenges. Also to get the standard double din cage in and then the WRX cage some minor modifications where needed to the space behind as it was blocked.

If you’re at the UK meet do pop over and say hello because I am still going and I will be more than happy to talk though what I have done and plan to do.

Steady Progress - Ready For The May UK Meet

I finally managed to complete the Double Din conversion of my screen in the WRX kit.... it fit just right how ever as you can see by the picture it did take a little while and some messing around to get it installed in such away I was happy it would not come loose. One of the main features you can see there is that the IR & light sensors where removed so I can fit them else where in the car. To enable this to happen and give me the opportunity to remove the screen if I wish I used an RJ45 cable, soldered the appropriate bits and added a RJ45 male to male in the middle. This means its a simple process of in and out now when 'servicing'. You an see a picture of it fitted to the dash to the right here. Actually this was my 3rd attempt.... the first got damaged, the second had a hiccup when I dinged it with the drill and then got super glue on the IR lens from an Xbox so when I go here I opted for a more simple approach held together by ( wait for it ) bluetack. I'm pretty sure the local Vauxhall garage thought I was mad going back for blanks every few days plus some other bits like a sports switch which will become the reset or power on off for the CarPC. Before I got this far I just had to try a test fit.... ( tip take out the heater controls before removing the dash ) to get a feel for what it will look like and size up some other things....

While I was behind the dash, which by the way does not have much room due to having the blower behind the glove box, I had a thought. The Elite models have some thing called a 'light and sight' pack installed which in short gives auto wipers and an ambient light at night from the mirror. While changing all that will be a pain and I am happy with auto wipers for loads of reasons I like the idea of ambient light just like the BMWs have in the foot well. The great bit is just above each foot well is a solid bit of over head plastic which is easy to gain access to so when I have the time I am going to fit two normal style ( like those in a glove box or boot ) lights with a low watt bulb which come on at night time. With the light coming from above near the feet it should light the foot well just nice with out a glare effect..... I'm currently trying to work on a way to do the same underneath the front seats to give the same effect to the passengers in the rear.... watch this space.

Talking of watch this space to the right hand side you can see a copy of the latest re-incarnation of the Vauxhall logo..... if I get time I'll see if I can get it on to Photoshop as I did before.

If your in the market for a few cheap bits then I am selling some of my old kit ( well I say old its not that old ) over at Digital-Car.co.uk on this thread. You do have to be a member to view it but with luck you are already ;)

Lastly a small notice - due to HP fitting motherboards to a number of laptops world wide which fail my lappy has gone to see them.... as such I've not been able to update the web site so please hang on in there as it may be a bit longer when its back as I plan a rebuild too.

Some More Bits Arrived This Week

Some quick updates for you.... I ordered a new case this week from Cartft.com - the Voom 2. I want to stick a DVD in it purely for playing movies when I'm not on the move as such and because of where I'm mounting it a top slot load DVD would be spot on. Another reason for staying with this case is a new set of boards coming from the VIA stables... eg this 1.8ghz unit - the VIA EPIA SN18000G. I need to look in to this more but I'm hoping the bios start image can be updated like the Intel units as that is one of my requirements.

I've also had a delivery of my Fakra cable which is basically the new ISO standard for car connectors.... in this case its a specially made up lead with a MMCX to a Male Fakra for my new USB GPS to be connected directly to my factory fitted GPS antenna giving me an excellent signal.

Another part that arrived today is my Connects2 Double Din adaptor for my dash. This will allow me to fit my screen in to the hole which will be left when I remove the original head unit as planed how ever I need to have a play as its not that compatible with my WRX case I have ready.

My final thought today is that I need a new ICE to work as the amp. While the Kenwood has done me well when I remove my OEM head ( and this is daft ) I will not be able to set the time on my clock ( see I told you ). I'm currently looking at some kind of Blaupunkt model how ever which I do not know yet. This will be connected to the official Blaupunkt CANBUS adaptor 7607589541 which will allow me to access those features which only the OEM head control - how ever at £99 for that alone its no cheap addition.

v5 Is In Progress And The New Car Is Here

Well its been a busy few weeks.... mainly because I have been so busy preping my plans for v5.... and in the process I got me a new toy.

This is a Facelift Vectra C SRI 2.2 Auto ( well Auto / manual )... complete with a full Exterior Pack and 19" wheels. SO far I have changed the repeaters for darker ones, changed the locks for my crome ones and stuck my 1/4 wave arieal on. Although I looked at the VXR and could have even got one at the same price the fact that the petrol prices have gone stupid and I believe tough times are ahead for all leaned me towards this car. This time I have gone auto for a few reasons. First of all I loved my old Senitor, it was a joy to drive and to this day I still miss it. Secondly I have noticed the driving I have been doing over the last few years due to the changing roads in the UK and my own job would be advantagous in an auto. Lastly - although its an 'auto' it has also got a great manual option for when I do have the urge to control the car my self..... in all its win win win.

One last feature about the car which may be coming in to play for the CarPC is the in built CD70 Sat Nav system with TMC and colour screen. Although I looked at ditching the CarPC because of the TMC and the fact some of these you can upgrade to have an aux feature this was not one of them and in the end I decided I perfered my CarPC.... what else. The joy of this is that the colour screen can be used. This German modder has been producing a kit ( CID-Interface V4.2/OES Basekit ( details here, here and here ) to alow VGA, RGB, and scart feeds directly in to the screen :). I have emailed him for some details and will post up here when I know more. The last part of this great edition is the inclusion of an external GPS arieal, because of this I have ordered a new USB GPS but one with a MMCX connection. I'm currently awaiting a phone call from company that should be able to provide me a MMCX to Fakra cable to allow me to use it..... if the cant provide me one I'll no doubt make my own assuming I can find the parts to do it with.

For those that want to know my old GSI has gone to a very good home down in Devon, I hope you enjoy it Adamjones2000 as much as I did.

In preperation for my forthcomming v5 install I have just had delivery of the new CarTFT CTF700-H screen which has a high brightness backlight to get past any sunlight and a light sensor to adjust the screen as needed. I'll be installing this in to the double din cage I have as soon as I'm ready and as normal I will document the whole thing as normal for you guys.

I'm still awaiting some feed back on the new Sygic GPS software which I have been able to test. Aparently the new version that is been unvailed at CEBIT 2008 will have RDS-TMC ( bet its not for the UK... I hope I'm proved wrong ) and some more features. I provided them a load of comments based on my tests and other UK CarPCers so with luck they will have listened.

Version 1.7 of the new Flash based front end FreeICE from CDRSkull is now out as of today. There will probably a slow down on releases for the moment as he has hurt his hand but with this version supporting custom menu items and more to boot this should keep us going for a bit.

As for the last bit of news - it seems mini box have released a new 300w Peak PSU called the M4-ATX. It is available from Cartft and its spec details follow...

M4-ATX is an intelligent, high power, vehicle (car / boat / electric cart) DC-DC ATX PC power supply designed for use with car pc or general purpose battery powered applications. Designed to provide power and to control the motherboards's ON/OFF switch based on ignition status, M4-ATX is a wide input (6 to 30V) vehicle / car / battery operated ATX power supply capable of surviving tough car engine cranks (down to 6V) as well as transient over-voltage situations. Connect it to your car / boat / RV / solar battery and power up your PC! By using Patent Pending HyperWatt[TM] technologies, M4-ATX packs an impressive amount of power relative with its small footprint. M4-ATX has several key advantages over traditional power supplies: - Programmable shutdown / sleep modes via optional serial cable.

It its any motherboard equipped with a 20 or 24pin ATX connector.- 100% silent, fanless, no moving parts. It Operates from 6-30V, multi-chemistry batteries supported.- Highly efficient design, does not produce a lot of heat. It works with any Intel Core Duo as well as all VIA or AMD processors.

I'm intending that I will be ready for this years UK CarPC meet and with luck in with a chance for a change for winning something - even if its most Getto.....

New GPS Apps, A New Front End & A V5 Update

We are just a few month away from the new car arriving now and with the passing of the new year I getting my new screen on order for it. I'm still trying to work out how the back end will look but one thing is for sure I'm going to need extra graphics this time. Why ? Well in the last month or so there have been fantastic developments in the CarPC scene.

First of all there is a new Frontend on the scene called FreeICE and its from our well known developer CDR ( Freedrive ) and its completly flashed based. So far only version 0.9 has been released but wow.... what an impact it made. Its hoped a new and massivly improved version 1.0 will be released soon how ever that depends on how much CDR plays with the Car he has just built :)

Secondly not just one, not two but three CarPC GPS apps suddnely hit the scene. The first been the old classic Destinator 7.... you still need the maps though. The second been IGo 8 which features 3D POIs how ever when asking the developers does not exist. Lastly ( and this is going down a storm ) is the brill Sygic Drive. I'm in the process of reviewing this how ever its got a free SDK ( which needs improvement but is usable ) and is basically an improvement on the Navigon NavigatoR 2 app. Proper 3D graphics, excellent verbal feed back and top maps make this imho the GPS for the CarPC community. Yes it needs some addtional features how ever the community is working on these and have even come up with solutions for things like speed cam support. Watch this space for my forth coming review.


Franson who produce GPSgate have took some of the improvements I suggested and installed them in to their latest client & tracker web site. I'll be reviewing this too shortly how ever I can say having used it for a couple of weeks the tracking is bob on and the features to allow users to view your tracks ( or prevent them for that matter ) are wide and vairied. With plugins for Google maps, web pages and more you have an unlimited way of interacting with live GPS data. One of the great side effects of GPSgate is that my Bluetooth connection is controled now meaning I have Internet when ever I need it where as previously I needed an application to moniter it for me. To mark this release Franson have given the members of Digital-car a discount code.... how ever you'll have to be quick if you want to buy a copy.

My final update is that I did make a start on a new skin. Yep - I came out of retirment ( until CDR showed me how to do it :) ). Called Mercury I have completed it and offered it to the Ranger GUI team. If they dont use it I'll probably release it publically on the basis credit is given back.

UK CarPC Meet - 24th May ( At the Bubble Car Museum )

Next years UK CarPC meet has been anounced... and yes I'll be there.....

"Yes people its almost that time again, this year promises to be the best yet (Yes we said this last year) but with a new superb venue we defantly mean it this time.
The Main show will be on Saturday 24th May 2008,The DC Staff will be there from Friday Morning until Sunday afternoon, and welcome you to come and stay for as long as you like over this weekend!
There will be a raffle and usual prizes for best Dash, PC etc, We Hope to see as many of you there as possible and please remember you dont have to have a CarPC. Just come along for a chat,there are always plenty of people who are willing to share ideas."

More info can be found here.

And some breaking news just in.... Its now offical - the New Vectra ( D ) will not be called Vectra.... GM have dropped the name in favour for the expected Insignia..... Theres a discussion on it here at Vectra-C.com

v5 Is On The Way & Traffic Data Is Live

Well... its been a joy ride since I last posted. First of all - the traffic data.... Its live thanks to mostly to RadioTrib on the DC forum & Wicked Websites. You can find more info over on my dedicated Informatics site as well as more about the project its self on Sourceforge. Currently based on the BBC TPEG data it converts it in to diffrent formats including KML. The second version will use the upcoming DATEXII system which has far more advanced data and will be an EU standard.... meaning if its done for one contry it will work for the rest ;)

Ok - drum roll please.... yes... its here ( well in planning any way ).... v5 is now been looked at for the new car. Yes you heard right a new car. I was looking at the VXR but with the roads the way they are now... tax on the up and no doubt some other disaster ( just look at the finance markets and what they are doing to the world right now ) just around the corner it seems a little silly. Any way - because of all this I am looking at getting a 2.0t Xpack ( Vectra-c.com forum link ). This will look the same ( if you get the factory fitted kit ) and will be very punchy around town as well as having a load of top end ( so I am told ). So - some time around mid year I will be looking for the exact one I want... and as before I'm willing to wait to get the exact spec I want.

The best bit about this is oodles of space and a wacking great big double din space in the dash ( 2005 face lift models onwards ;) ) so I can create a new system them way I want to. I have a work log on the DC forum although I'll still post here so heres some basics for you to get an idea of what it will look like...

• CarTFT TMR 7" Screen
• WRX Double DIN Enclosure
• Intel ITX Mobo
• Mini ATX Tower Case ( small ) for the boot build
• New Boot Door Cover to hack & some perspex
• Connects2 Double DIN Kit
• Connects2 Steering Controler
• DAB Receiver ( TBA )
• TMC GPS ( Just waiting for a new one to come out )
• SATA Hard drive for the System
• MP3 Player ( Prob the Creative Zen ) to act as an external HD
• Memory ( 512mb )
• May be an extra Video card

With luck I'll be getting the double din ( From Custom Car Computers ) enclosure very soon with the screen in the new year. There are several reasons for this including the fact that I can do with out upgrading the backend for a short time how ever I will need the screen as soon as I get the car. Plus I am rather hoping that Intel will bring a new faster board out by then. Incidenatally before I sign off... the reason I am going for Intel ITX board is that they arer a tad fasrter & they have customisable bios images :)

Before I go I'd like to mention Ranger GUI from Karputer. At last we MAY have a front end that looks after the needs of those in the UK and not just mainland EU or the US... the beta is worth a look and they are taking feed back and unlike others actually listening. It also includes the first decent GPS maps I have seen - and better yet it creates then using vector graphics for truly impressive details

Stay tunned or visit the forums to see what I am up to... ( trust me there is more ;) )

A Public Online Traffic System For Use In The car

For some of you lucky people who have met me face to face I been able to show you my private traffic system. This is a set of custom web pages skined to match my car & controlable by big chunky touch screen happy buttons. I did this because I can do HTML quite easily and using some of the free public systems I have a very good working system - but its far from perfect. ( BTW - Its accessable from any web browser which means I can move front ends or make major changes very easily :)

Now because some of the items I use I can not share for a number of reasons I've decided to be more adventurous and work with the Google maps API.

It all started when I found the 'Watchtheroads' widget for Opera. The reason for this was that it was the first system I had found based on Java script alone rather than a big SQL server & loads of PHP behind it to get updates.

So - I'm now going through this and picking out the bits I need and mashing it all together with serveral other services I have which work stand-a-lone. The end result of all this should be one fancy system thats free to use and is CarPC friendly.

Services planned for this are....

• BBC TPEG TMC
• UK Highways Agency Traffic Info
• UK Highways Agency Adverage Speed Data
• UK Highways Agency Motoway Matrix Signs
• Motoway & Town Cameras
• UK Speed Cams
• US Traffic

I'm also looking at doing this both and on and offline version later on to provide directions, on screen notifications & voice prompts..... but lets get the basics done first.

More info on the project can be found in my work log here.....