Computer in FJ62 Project

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yukon365

yukon365

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Threads
10
Messages
32
Location
Utah
I know I'll probably end up regretting starting another project with so many other irons in the fire, but this one should be pretty cool. I've decided to integrate a small computer into my 1988 FJ62.

The plan is to have iTunes, GPS maps, and bluetooth handsfree phone operation be the main applications and motive for the upgrade, along with the geek cred of having a computer in your truck.

Here's the gear so far:

ASUS Mini-ITX motherboard. Just came in today. looks pretty good.
Newegg.com - ASUS AT3GC-I Intel Atom 330 479 Intel 945GC Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo

I'm recycling an old 200GB SATA laptop HD that I had left over after upgrading my MacBook Pro.

Bought a USB GPS unit off of eBay for a few bucks. It's weatherproof and has a long USB cable.

Recycling an old USB 802.11b WiFi adapter. I know it's only 802.11b, but it should be fast enough for what I'm going with it.

I'm planning on using the M3-ATX HV (.pdf warning) for the power supply. It should have enough capacity to power the Atom 330 and a few small peripherals. I'm hoping I can just put the machine in "hibernate" when I'm not using it, and not have it kill the battery. That might be a wrong conclusion.

The current theory is that I'm going to modify the fiberboard glove box liner to fit the computer. I never use the glovebox, anyway, as I mainly use the center console box for holding little tools, papers, other stuff.

The screen will be a standard Lilliput 7" VGA touchscreen. I think it should fit right into the Double DIN slot.

I need to decide on a mini headless amp that I can put in the cavity behind the touchscreen to drive my speakers after my cheap aftermarket stereo (single DIN) unit is pulled out.

I'm installing WinXP as soon as the CD and the RAM come in. I'm planning on running Centrafuse v3.1 as the main touch interface. Some videos showing the operation are:
here
and here

I'm installing iTunes on the computer, and am planning on having the computer automatically (when it's in WiFi range of my house) sync all of my music from my laptop to my truck. The program of choice is SuperSync.

That's about it for now. Let me know if anyone has questions or suggestions!
 
Looks like you'll have fun building this one. One thing I would pay special attention to is shock absorption for the motherboard. I used to keep my ASUS net book in my glove compartment but after about a month it died. After sending it in to get repaired it turns out several of the connections were shaken and/or broken. This was just under normal driving.

Good luck.
 
Vibration

Thanks for the heads up. I'd been considering anti shock mounting for the Hard Drive, but not the motherboard, but that totally stands to reason. I'll have to find some kind of spring or rubber shocks or something. Hmm...
 
RAM & WinXP

Just got back from a work trip to a test oil rig for the past week. The RAM I ordered off of eBay came in, and I installed it in my test setup consisting of a cheap case for the motherboard that includes the power supply. Powered it on, and all I got was a series of beeps from the little mini speaker.

After looking up the "beep codes" for the motherboard, it looks like the RAM isn't being recognized. After some research, it turns out that I didn't do my homework like I should have :doh: and that my RAM isn't compatible with my motherboard. I just went back to newegg and ordered the correct RAM, which should get here next week.

I also got the Windows XP SP2 disc in, but without the RAM, I'm kind of stuck. Blast. More updates to come.

P.S. One of the concerns expressed in the newegg customer reviews was that the fan was too loud. I thought it was pretty silent, even with the case open. Once this thing is in the glovebox, there's no way anyone will hear it with the engine off, much less over the hum of my MT's.
 
yukon365
I have , and doing the same thing.
Right now i have a big bulky tuffbook , and a wireless router plus a sat receiver .

I have a micro atom puter that i did a huge heat sink , and dropped the fan, that was one power drain.
let all know of the developments.
 
VTCDN said:
yukon365
I have , and doing the same thing.
Right now i have a big bulky tuffbook , and a wireless router plus a sat receiver .

I have a micro atom puter that i did a huge heat sink , and dropped the fan, that was one power drain.
let all know of the developments.
Click to expand...
Why are you worried about power consumption?
 
USB

We use toughbooks (Panasonic) where I work for field use all the time. They really live up to their name, I've used them during a tropical rainstorm in Trinidad with no issues. I'm hoping that my install will be a bit more discrete. My Atom mobo isn't designed for auto use, so I'll have to be careful, and allow for shock dampening and strain relief for the cables and connectors.

I found some instructions online how to install WinXP from a USB flash drive. Perfect. I didn't have a CD/DVD drive handy to put in the little case, and frankly I didn't want to put it in anyway. I'll just need to download a few utilities and do some command line magic.

Still no RAM from Newegg. Maybe tomorrow or Wednesday.

I'm thinking for strain relief for the VGA cable that I'll get a knife and cut the outside jacket off of the cable so just the interior strands are exposed. it would make it easier to get around corners, and wouldn't put so much stress on the mobo VGA connector if it was flexed or vibrating.
 
VGA Noise

I guess I had figured that the rubber jacket was just strain relief. There may be a foil layer underneath. Maybe I'll dissect a spare VGA and post the pics. Good thinking, though, especially if I'm going to be running audio cable.
 
yukon365 said:
I guess I had figured that the rubber jacket was just strain relief. There may be a foil layer underneath. Maybe I'll dissect a spare VGA and post the pics. Good thinking, though, especially if I'm going to be running audio cable.
Click to expand...

The insulation on the inner conductors is pretty thin, the outer layer of plastic is mostly abrasion protection.
 
any updates?
 
Stil in the game...

Sorry for the long delay on updating this project. The old FJ62 needed some work done on it to the tune of about $1300, and the computer project lost funding for awhile.

Recent acquisition: Double Din touchscreen. Lilliput. I connected it to my MacBook Pro, and it works pretty darned well. I held it up to where it will go in the dash, and I think it'll end up looking awesome.

Just ordered last night: M3-ATX power supply. It's supposed to work from 6 to 24V, and handle dips in voltage during cranking, so it should work just fine.

The iTunes sync was pretty danged slow when I was babysitting it back in the day, but I got tired of having the box just sitting in my room with the old keyboard and monitor on it, so I'm going to resume the sync once it get closer to install time.

Feel free to ask any questions or give suggestions!
 
Oh, and BTW, the installing XP using a USB stick was an utter fiasco. Wasted about two hours before I just jacked a DVD drive out of another computer and attached it.

The new ram chip came from Newegg awhile ago (sorry, forgot to post about that), and the system is totally up and running (minus the centrafuse install). I was surprised at how fast the little atom processor is! I timed bootup from power off, and it was faster than I'd expected (I forget what it clocked at). Running just VGA and some basic apps should be no big deal. Time will tell.

Also, one of the Newegg reviewers complained that the fan noise was loud, but I think he must have had it under his pillow or taped to his head, because inside the little case, it's silent even in a quiet room. No way I'm going to hear it stuffed in the glove box and over the sound of the engine.
 
yukon365 said:
Thanks for the heads up. I'd been considering anti shock mounting for the Hard Drive, but not the motherboard, but that totally stands to reason. I'll have to find some kind of spring or rubber shocks or something. Hmm...
Click to expand...

Soft rubber grommets. Use shoulder bolts or if you are cheap, then bolts with without full threading, ie they have a smooth shaft for part of their length.
 
I don't get over to this forum much so I just saw this. I'm running a full PC (win7 ultimate) in my FJ-62.

The machine and double din monitor are from www.mo-co-so.com. I'm running their fanless dual core model with heat pump cooling and their 7" doubledin Lilliput with DVI and all possible anti-glare coatings (you'll need this in the stock stereo location of the FJ-62). Automotive powersupply with auto shutdown and short term hibernate if desired (switches from hibernate to hard shutdown after 2 hours). 7 usb ports, and that is barely enough!

Details:
  • SSD to handle high vibration environment.
  • DVI definitely improves the monitor display (I've run both VGA and DVI with this set up).
  • Centrafuse for a front end, run as the shell to improve boot time.
  • GPS with Garmin Mobile PC for maps (I wanted both on road maps/directions and geo maps). It is integrated into Centrafuse with a 3rd party plug-in.
  • Bluetooth for iphone integration and Andrea's cheaper mic for hands free.
  • Amplifier in the quarter panel.
  • For music I import CD with itunes and point Centrafuse at the itunes library. This works well. Centrafuse also has ipod support, which I use occassionally.
  • WiFi
  • Griffin powermate so that I can control volume and scrolling via a dial.
Future:
  • Wire up my backup cam (my Lilliput has a wire that you can apply +12v to, for example from the brake light, and it will automatically switch to an aux input.
  • Investigate moving to Win7 embedded.
  • FusionBrain integration:
    • Auto dimming of the screen at night via a light sensor
    • Outside temp
    • Convert all my aux guages into digital form
Good luck with your project, it is definitely worth the effort.
 
Last edited:
AMP

Moby- What amp did you end up using? I've been looking for a small form factor model with just the basic functionality, but haven't been convinced by any that I've seen. I don't need 10,000W of power or anything. Thanks for the info. I probably should've just rocked the all in one solution from above, but I have some kind of sickness that leads me to do things the hard way.


Also, where did you get your anti-reflective coating?
 
This post really has be intrigued. I love projects like this, but I worry with an LC that it will become a theft target when parked in the middle of BFE.

The other thing holding me back is the ease of operation factor. I'm fine with it being complicated when doing trick things, but if it takes 20 keystrokes accompanied by delays while the box thinks just to turn on the radio then it probably won't fly. Any thoughts or comments on that?

How much do you think you'll be in to it to get the basics - box, screen, wifi, radio, garmin street nav +topo maps, reasonable amp, etc?

Very interesting...
 
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