computer setup in car for ozi explorer

Hey Matt, nice photo of your rig...but looking at the flag are you driving backwards... ??? ;)

Matt,

Providing you have the correct adaptor, you can successfully run the Laptop off the Car battery and change the Laptop battery at the same time.

There are two methods of doing this.
You can connect an inverter to the vehicle's 12 volt supply and then the Laptop to the inverter via the standard Laptop's power adaptor. The only concern here is that some Laptop require a pure sine wave inverter which are more expensive than the cheaper modified sine wave inverters. The Inverter provides 240 volt AC output from 12 volt DC input.

Or, you can connect the Laptop to the vehicles 12 volt supply via a 12 volt adaptor that provides a higher DC voltage output to suit the particular Laptops requirement. The Kerio brand is an excellent compact adaptor that does away with the need for a "cumbersome" inverter and separate adaptor. The "negative" here is that the Kerio adaptor must be suitable for the particular Laptop you are using and the Kerio output voltage can be adjusted by means of a fuse like linkage device.

Some Laptops, like my Dell Inspiron 6000, will run OK off the Kerio (with the right 12 volt adaptor plug, but will not charge the Laptop's internal battery due to a unique "Dell design". Dell do however provide an accessory adaptor that replaces the original one and can be plugged into 240 volt AC, 12 volt DC vehicle supply, or even an Aeroplane socket, simply by changing the input lead.

Any of the above options will provide suitable power to your Laptop and at the same time , ensure that the internal battery is fully charged when you choose to run it away from the vehicle.

Thanks Sand Man, I think Iwill just get the correct 12v adaptor to suite my laptop.

I Just wasn’t sure how hard it was on the vehicle batteries considering all the other draws, GPS, fridge etc.

Thanks,

Matt

very very impressive.

do you power it all up via 12v or inverters?

cheers

stage 1 for me will be to set the laptop up with stage 2 ending up with the touch screen. How do you find the touch screen with Ozi - explorer?

Hi Grooove,

I presently use a laptop with my GPS with Ozi-Explorer but my wife severely objects to having the laptop on her lap.

I have been considering buying a Lilliput 7" screen (I won't go to the indash installation) & have priced through EBay. Noticed they come from HongKong & I am a little reluctant to go that way. Where did you buy yours and have you had any problems with it? Does the touch screen work OK?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Willy

Groove

Nice setup you have there!!

I notice your GPS is down on the transmission tunnel. I take it you get satellite coverage ok from there without having to put in up on the dash etc or run a mouse gps into the laptop?????

I also run a Magellan 315 and find it works great but I mounted mine on the dash for caoverage.

Jayse
I use a Targus adaptor no inverter, never had a problem with it.

Willykj
I did this install beacuase of the same objections from my lady. I purchased my Lilliput off ebay from Hong Kong nearly 2 years ago now, it always worked fine for me and its had a tough life. The touch screen works no problem at all. Your welcome to come have a look if your local.
You can get them is OZ now from a company called WES components in Sydney, dont know what the cost is. If you have an ABN you get wholesale pricing and it usually cheaper.

Alan
If you look closely next to the GPS is a reradiating antenna this is connected to an antenna on the roof. However since the photo was taken I have purchased a USB mouse type GPS off ebay for $80. This unit plugs into a USB port and is powered by the computer so comes on whenever the computer is switched on. I am pretty impressed with this unit for the money. It gets a lock very quickly (usually before the computer has finished booting)

Cheers