More In Car PC QTN's

Submitted: Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 12:30

ThreadID: 36276 Views:2779 Replies:4 FollowUps:6

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Tim

I am still going through the brain storming process of installing a pc in my tojo.

I am looking at installing a computer (not laptop) as they are cheaper and easier to work on if/when something goes wrong.

The power supply on a normal desktop supplies 12, 5.5 and 3.3V to the computer. Am I better off using an inverter and leaving the power supply in the PC or ripping the supply out and running a 3 voltage reducers?
The voltage reducers I am looking at are the ones that are plugged into the lighters although I would hard wire them.

The other question is to do with hard drives. Is there anyway which I can somehow take precautions so the HDD does not get the impact of all the corrugations. I was thinking along the lines of having a small HDD in the PC and a larger USB HDD some how "suspended" so it doesn't cop all the bumps. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance
Tim

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Reply By: Notso - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 13:04

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 13:04

There used to be a computer system called a Lil Traveller or something like that, it had a small format box with LCD screen seperate from the box.

I would seriously think about suspending the whole system as there are many items that can vibrate loose etc.

If you want to use a standard PC type setup then I'd definitely use an inverter as power supply.

I personally reckon you'd be better off with a notebook as they are more robust and designed to be carted around. Especially if you pick up one of the better brands. Still should suspend it and I reckon about 50mm of medium density foam between it and the carrier as well.

AnswerID: 186062

Reply By: feral - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 13:12

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 13:12

Do not run an inverter. Just for safety sake!!

You can get 12 volt power supply's for computers, just do a Google check as I saw these the other day. From memory they were only $80 which would be cheaper than a inverter anyway.

Cheers.

AnswerID: 186064

Follow Up By: Notso - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 15:58

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 15:58

The problem with a standard PC is that they use all different voltages in the system and you can't tap off 3.5 volts or 5.5 volts from a 12 volt supply, whereas with an invertter suppling 240 volts and let the internal power supply give the various bits what they need. Of course if you use one of the HP small format pc boxes they run off either 12 or 18 volts so you can use a laptop adapter for them provided it will supply the wattage needed.

It is OK for a laptop and the adaptors from 12 volt work fine.

FollowupID: 443077

Follow Up By: feral - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 18:28

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 18:28

I thought I might have been a liitle unclear I what I was trying to do when I posted ;) but I was sure these power supply's were 12 volts INPUT and then 12 volt OUTPUT with 3.5v & 5v OUTPUTS. It looks like a normal computer power supply and the connections at the end to hook up to the m/board.

I am looking at doing the same thing as we are tired of having the laptop resting on the console with the navigation on.

My only problem is to convince the wife to spend more money on navigational equipment again!!

Any tips?

Cheers.

FollowupID: 443111

Follow Up By: Rokkitt - Monday, Jul 31, 2006 at 14:44

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 at 14:44

Look at the DC-DC power supply....on mp3car.com

I purchased from new zealand - can get the name of the supplier if you need it.

I have a complete incar system set up and fully operational incorporating TV/Radio..movies....navigation...etc

Drop me msg and I can point you in the right direction, my set up cost was inside $2000:00

FollowupID: 443305

Reply By: _gmd_pps - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 17:50

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 17:50

www.zantech.com.au/synocean/stc012300.html

I have ordered one of these...

I am getting a new truck .. it's ordered but not here yet and am working on a new
alarm and security system... I have the PC already in this case

www.zantech.com.au/synocean/stc012300.html

which I am going to use ...

A mirrored RAID array for additional HD redundancy.

The case set in foam 10cm thick all around within a custom alluminium
enclosure.. the foam is reasonably soft ..

There are huge differences between harddiscs taking different gforces while operating. I actually use two laptop harddrives with an ide adapter and run them on an adaptec 1200A IDE Raid controller... it's not the fastest but good enough ..

I have external SATA drives for expansion when stationary .. I will have other computer systems in the camper but they dont run during travel ...

I use a Geovision capture card and have 4 cameras connected to it at 4 corners of the vehicle for surveillance ... its a large rig with a truck camper and a boat ..
I originally have designed the system for the caravan but there was not a real
good solution out there for larger off road ones for us and we wanted the boat more than than extra bit of space in the caravan. So we decided for a truck camper and the boat. At that point I decided to put the PC in the truck and not
the caravan/trailer and actually run it all the time. I have been hit on a carparks 3 times with my other cars and those jerks drove off .. so I was left with the damage. no more ... that surveillance system will give me record when I get hit again and I will not let them get away ... we will see anyway if it works or not ..

In the camper I use one system with hot swap SCSI drives which I take out
during travel and place them in a custom made padded drawer. I do lots of
photography and underwater photography so I want the conveninece of a good computer everywhere. It is less of a problem then one would think with todays
harddrives, especially the laptop ones ... they have much less mass on the moving
parts than the 3.5 ones and can take even higher g forces. All a matter of trying out. We use the PC as MP3 server, Navigation System, DVD server, Photo storage (on extrenal disc) and capture system.

good luck
gmd

AnswerID: 186089

Reply By: chump_boy - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 19:23

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 19:23

Tim,

If you are still in the planning stages, I would decide up front what u want to do with the PC. What applications, and subsequently how fast, how much memory, how much hard drive, etc...

I myself have gone down the HP e-Vectra route - they use an external 19v power supply, similar to a laptop, and it is quite easy to get a cigarette lighter adapter that outputs 19v. It think my adapter cost $15.

The e-Vectras are old technology - mines a P3-950MHz, and I have a Celereon 800MHz processor if I want to use a bit less power. Newer PC's are pretty power hungry, as is the later RAM chips, video cards, etc....

There are a few 12v PC power supplies on the market as mentioned above - just google and you'll find a wealth of info. Also, checkout www.mp3car.com - it has everything you'll need to know, and then some more.....

I've just spent the weekend building a little shutdown controller, so when the car turns on, the PC comes on, and when it turns off, the PC shuts itself down. It should hopefully all come together next weekend, and be working as a stereo, reversing camera, and wardriving unit. GPS will come once I am happy it is all working properly, then after a couple of months a climate control system hopefully....

Cheers,

Chump

AnswerID: 186104

Follow Up By: Muddy doe (SA) - Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 22:00

Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 at 22:00

Hiya Chumpy,

How long does your shutdown controller delay (if at all) after ignition shut off until PC shutdown? I would set it for 15 or 20 minutes which caters for those short stop-offs like refueling or stopping to take piccies at a place while on tour.

Cheers
Muddy

FollowupID: 443179

Follow Up By: chump_boy - Monday, Jul 31, 2006 at 08:53

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 at 08:53

It goes into Hibernate mode when the key is turned off accessories. It end to have the wife and kids in the vehicle if I need to duck in to pay for anything, ie.. petrol, etc....

I personally don't like the idea of a timer, as the PC would still be on when I walked away. I just wouldn't want it to hang while shutting down, and kill the battery overnight or anything. I have been toying with the idea of putting a timer in, but I think that'll wait until later.

I also plan to have a few accessories wired through the controller as well - a small printer, phone charger, laptop port, network switch - the sooner all that shuts off, the better!

Cheers,

Chump

FollowupID: 443238

Follow Up By: Rokkitt - Monday, Jul 31, 2006 at 14:49

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 at 14:49

The DC-DC power supply is configurable to delay the shut down for minutes or hours....mine goes off with the ignition, into Hibernate anyway with an override switch in the dash so I can turn it on and off independently of the ignition as well.

I have also been running a 40Gb (cheap) laptop hard disc in my car through the harshest conditions...up and down difficult rocky climbs and so far have not even had one hard drive crash let alone any system failure. They are far more resiliant than we give them credit for...:)

Rod

FollowupID: 443308