First off, let me start by saying I am not an Audiophile in any way, shape, or form. When I've replaced car stereos in the past it was due to the car not having a CD player, and then it was usually whatever was cheapest at walmart. Sound Quality has never been a determining factor for me. Now with that in mind, let me continue.

Let's talk CarPC's, Carputers, whatever.

imagine, if you will, that I have a spare laptop sitting in my house. it's nothing fancy, hence, spare.

I was looking into carputers (mp3car.com) and figured, these are just glorified laptops.
if I removed my stock HU and installed a plain 7" touchscreen, then ran VGA from the Laptop (which would be stored somewhere in the car) then connected the laptops' audio out to the speakers in the car, I would have a carputer, and able to run everything (itunes, media player, what-have-you, GPS navigation, even the internet) from the touchscreen in the dash. (XP has an on-screen keyboard [accessibility in the accessories start menu] that would ideal).

I realize now it will not be quite that simple. For instance, how does one go about taking a stereo 3.5mm jack, and running multiple car speakers off of it? it requires and Amp, from what I understand, which is a peice of equipment that I know virtually nothing about.
I fully realize that there is software available to do most processing functions (volume, video, nav, etc) but what about the Radio? is it even possible to run a car antenna into a laptop? probably some type of external hardware I have yet to find.
or power on/off for that matter?
I looked into how to swap CD/DVD, but then it occured that this laptop has a 140GB HD, and I probably won't watch movies that often in the vette.
As you can see, this is an evolving oddessy, that started with simply looking at motorized Jensen DVD stereo's at Wal-mart.

am I getting in over my head, or is this kind of a straight forward deal?

thank you for your patience.
I'm sure someone on here has tried or even succeeded in this endevor.
BTW, I am an Electronics Technician in the Coast Guard, so splicing and dicing of wires does little to deter me.

 

I run a 3.5mm jack through a Y-splitter and some 3.5mm -> RCA plug converters to a home-theater amp for my computer (when I take it out for DJ-ing). I can imagine that the same cable setup would work.

 

a car pc is a great alternative to traditional head unit... cost effective..not always but can be. The reason most of us go with a small form factor mini-itx motherboard is the fact that they have a small power consumption and the availability of automotive power supplies that will actually turn the pc on and off automatically. this was key for me because i wanted it as seamless as a stock head unit. You may be able to fashion some switching device with the laptop but it'll require you breaking into it and soldering onto the power switch at the very least.

the onboard soundcard may blow, you may want to look into a usb soundcard or dac. I can help you with that if you choose to go this route.

it's pretty straight forward, but I would definately think about investing a bit more and scrapping the laptop. the best thing that i did was to follow the proven methods (after a failed first attempt) it cost less in the long run and provides tons more of support when something f's up.

 

I was really hoping to get away with this for the least money possible. An amp, and a screen.
But perhaps you are right. Maybe I'm getting in over my head trying to save money (looks to be about $400 for a basic 'puter from MP3car.com, wonder if they are on ebay?) come to think of it, I have a 3ghz p4 on a Micro-ATX mobo in my closet... probably take too much power to run effeciently in a car though (heat wise).
as far as using the laptop though, Like I said, I'm not really afraid of soldering and re-wiring. And I wouldn't think it wouldn't be all that difficult to add one of the auto on/off power supplies, in-line through a momentary relay, to supply the switch power to the PSU on the laptop. or even http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lapt...er-switch.html
although the "noise" from the car would destroy and signals in or out of that setup.
but I suppose if something did blow, it's alot easier to replace "desktop" components than laptop ones.
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dammit.

 

it's not impossible and a lot of people have done it, so if it's something you want to try then go for it. you can find used setups on ebay. my old roomate got a full setup for ~500 including the computer psu flip out screen and a few other things.

the micro atx board may be too power hungry unless you have a mobile processor or if you run an inverter instead of a dc-dc psu.

 

Well, I think I found what I need.

from http://store.mo-co-so.com/
a Carputer, Screen and a few accessories for uner $600 shipped to my door.
Now I guess all I need is going to be an Amp to get all my speakers hooked up.

 

elemental designs is clearancing out there nine.5 amp, could be a nice amp for a fully active setup.

 

$350?
I was thinking more along the lines of:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BOSS-CH350-400-W...QQcmdZViewItem

besides, don't I only need a 4 channel?
I never come close to maxing out the stock unit in the vette, I can't imigine I'd need more than 400W.
besides, to me, the sound out of the unit was fine.

on that note, why wouldn't a 2 channel amp work for me, since the carpc only has a 2 channel output anyway? just tie in the rears together with the fronts for each side, or is that a matter of ohms vs. speakers?

 

there is a huge difference in quality of a boss amp that cost $37 and well... boss just isnt' a reputable brand. it cold be fine for what you want but it's could die on you in a short time.

it really depends on your set up. if you're going to go with components up front and a sub in the back you need at least a 3 to 4 chan amp. I think it's a commonly agreed apon figure to have at least 75-100 watts per chan to the components. That boss amp isn't 400 watts, it's 40 watts per chan. With so little power you'll most likely be turning up the volume a lot higher and pushing the amp to distortion (which is what ruins speakers... not power)

If i were you, I'd look into more reputable brands and up your budget. You dont have to go ***** out, but plan on spending closer to $150-200 on the amp (if you go with a 3-4 chan amp). You probably would be happy with an infinity/jbl amp since it seems like you're not as concerned with sq.

what speakers are you thinking of?

 

stockers.

as long as I can listen to music while I drive, I am happy. seriously.
hooking this thing up to the speakers is kind of an after thought. If I could install it and still keep my stock head unit, I would. But then there would be no place for the screen to go.

 

Let me bounce this idea off of you.

in order for me to make this carputer work with the stereo in the simplest (and least expensive) way, I would need to keep the stock head unit.
Then there would be no need of an amp, having to buy either the GMCVP(?) adapter or replace the stock speakers.

here goes: Is there room behind the head unit so it could be pushed back about 2 or 3 inches? then I could just mount LCD screen in front of it on a locking hinge so I could move it out of the way if I wanted to use the Radio and change to AUX input, which the Carputer would be plugged into (I've already got the stuff to do that mod when I get home from the ship).
That would work, right? unless there's not room, I suppose.

 

hmm... room would be tight.

you could get away with getting a bose inteface (soundgate, pac-audio, etc..) and then just get a small 25watt x 4 amp and go to town.

 

if those dumb little Bose adapters weren't $100, I'd do it, but even then, I'd still have to buy an amp.

I feel bad becuase you've been giving me correct answers, just not correct for me.
Maybe I'm trying to do the wrong thing with the limited budget I have.

 

get a cheap amp and a pair of cheap coaxial speakers maybe?

 

so:

onboard sound,

something like this amp:
http://cgi.ebay.com/T-AMP-Digital-Am...sid=p1638.m122

then to a pair of infinity coaxial speakers.

should sound pretty close to a stock system... maybe lacking on bass though

 

hmmm.... I may be in luck
Just found out that since the ship did a port call in Columbia, I'll be getting hazard pay. $225.

this may happen after all. Unexpected money is great.

is there a good amp/speaker combo to be had for about that?

I'll probably still try to see if there is way to have both the screen and the radio when I get home, but you never know.

 

would you be willing to go used?

 

always.
Used is as good as new, but cheaper!

 

cool, i'll keep my eye open. $225 used will get you some decent gear. I was actually going to purchase some phaze 3-way components that i found for $135 shipped... if you can up your budget to about $250 you could pick those up and a decent amp and have a kick *** system. Another option is going active. this will require more tweaking and a soundcard with x-over capability (like the soundblaster live pci card i mentioned...they are dirt cheap) but it's another option

 

what's "active"?

will I have to replace all the speakers in my car if I'm unable to retain the stock h/u? or just the ones in the door?