In Car Laptop

[Bytemrk]

Hi guys,

I decided some time ago to set up a pc in the car, but never quite got my act together...

Anyway, a few weeks back I stumbled on a very cheap Asus Eee pc.

I am setting it up so I can run in Car Mapping (most likely using Oziexplorer), be able to reference my Rave manual if needed on trips and as the PC interface for the Nanocom.

I started looking around at suitable mounting methods, and found some pretty cool Ram mounts and few other ideas, but the PRICES!!...this has to be a BUDGET project.. ( wont get past the minister of finance if its not ;).)

So this week I visited my local scrap metal merchant and for the princely sum so far of $3.50.... I have the initial prototype of my in car mount.

Any of you guys that make a living working metal... please don't look too close... I work with Computers... not Aluminum... but I'm pretty happy so far with what I've turned out.

The idea is to mount this try on the dash... the bottom will sit in the depression on the middle of the Disco II dash ( I'll remove the rubber mat.)

Initially I'll use double sided tape until I'm happy it works.. then I'll mount it more securely.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1061.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/12160)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1062.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/12161)

I know i will probably need to build a guard of some sort for glare... but i'll pop this in place and see how it goes.

Also wondering if it might block too much view of the front left...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1063.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/12162)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1064.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/12163)


I'll let you guys know how it goes as the experimenting progresses...

Mark

[Tombie]

Loose the check Plate mate... Offroad it will wear the back off the laptop...

And it wont take long at all...

:eek:

Other than that... Good project.

[Bytemrk]

Loose the check Plate mate... Offroad it will wear the back off the laptop...

And it wont take long at all...

:eek:

Other than that... Good project.

Thanks Tombie...

I have some insertion rubber sheet in the shed... might line it with that.

Mark

[Ricey]

Awesome little computer! I got mine this week & fitted it to the RAM mount which I already had.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1046.jpg

[hoadie72]

They're a great little computer. I used mine recently travelling from Sydney to Perth and return. It sat on the centre console the whole trip and didn't move an inch!

Didn't have too many issues with glare either

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1060.jpg

I don't know if you're thought about power but I bought a 12v to 12v transformer from Jaycar. I can find the model number if you need it.

PS don't mind the mess of cables.. I'd been traveling for 2 weeks so I'm allowed to be a bit messy lol

[Ricey]

That'd be great Hoadie72, battery life is pretty awesome anyway but I'd rather a 12v source rather than running an inverter.

[steveG]

If you want something easy to hold it to the plate you could just use a couple of pieces of shock cord, one from side to side between keyboard and screen, and either the same across the front by the touchpad, or a diagonal piece across each front corner.
If you knot one end of the shock cord and pass it through a hole in the tray, then make a knot in the other end and slip it into a slot in the edge of the tray it should hold everything firmly in place

SteveG

[Bytemrk]

Yeh, I have a 12V adapter for it already...

I like those ram mounts... just couldn't justify the cost at the moment.

I'll get this working, use it off road on the weekend.. then fine tune it.

Mark

[Bytemrk]

If you want something easy to hold it to the plate you could just use a couple of pieces of shock cord, one from side to side between keyboard and screen, and either the same across the front by the touchpad, or a diagonal piece across each front corner.
If you knot one end of the shock cord and pass it through a hole in the tray, then make a knot in the other end and slip it into a slot in the edge of the tray it should hold everything firmly in place

SteveG


Nice idea Steve, Thanks

[LOVEMYRANGIE]

Do the Eee PC's have a serial port on them or just USB???

[Bytemrk]

mine is only usb

[hoadie72]

That'd be great Hoadie72, battery life is pretty awesome anyway but I'd rather a 12v source rather than running an inverter.
Compared to my Lenovo laptop I reckon the battery life is rubbish, especially with the screen on full brightness. I'm considering buying an extended cell battery off Ebay but worried about quality...

This is the adapter, input voltage is 11-24v, output is 12v regulated @ 6amps

Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MP3064&CATID=27&keywords=&SPECIAL=&form=CAT&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=665)

[Ricey]

Thanks for that Hoadie, I'll grab myself one of those. I'm leaving my eepc 1000 running all day & just closing the lid when not in use - that leaves me with about 30% batt life after 8 hrs which is ample for me.


Compared to my Lenovo laptop I reckon the battery life is rubbish, especially with the screen on full brightness. I'm considering buying an extended cell battery off Ebay but worried about quality...

This is the adapter, input voltage is 11-24v, output is 12v regulated @ 6amps

Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MP3064&CATID=27&keywords=&SPECIAL=&form=CAT&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=665)

[AussieAub]

Out of interest, what do you guys use to pick up a GPS signal?
External ariel, GPS mouse, etc...?

Cheers,

..:: KIEREN ::..
2000 Disco II Auto V8
AussieAubs Disco Page (http://aussieaub.blogspot.com)

[Ricey]

A cheapy USB GPS mouse.


Out of interest, what do you guys use to pick up a GPS signal?
External ariel, GPS mouse, etc...?

Cheers,

..:: KIEREN ::..
2000 Disco II Auto V8
AussieAubs Disco Page (http://aussieaub.blogspot.com)

[hoadie72]

I got a Haicom GSP mouse from these guys

Your Garmin GPS and TomTom GPS shop for GPS Australia (http://www.ja-gps.com.au/)

[malleefowl]

What's the easyest way to load Oxi Exp.I have a 900 model
Copy the program to a flash memory stick?
Download from the net?
Any other suggestions.
Also do you load your maps to the hard drive or use an SD card?
Thanks,
Mary

[hoadie72]

I shared the DVD drive on my desktop PC and installed onto an SD card over my home network. I went for the SD card as maps can very quickly take up your disc space!

[isuzu110]

Awesome little computer! I got mine this week & fitted it to the RAM mount which I already had.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/1046.jpg

Can you tell me what RAM Mount product you used. I cannot find a dedicated eeepc one on their website . Do you have a mode/product number for yours ?

[Ricey]

RAM Mounting Systems, Inc. (http://www.ram-mount.com/) Wow, their product range has grown somewhat! Mine isn't designed for the eepc but was a standard lappy mount that will take up to 17" monitor. It's in at the mechanics atm so I don't have a product number. Seems like the 1000 is a big improvement on battery life & HD space (160 gig!)

[Lotz-A-Landies]

The Asus seems to be the innovator in this new format PC.

Has anyone done any comparisons with other brands on the market like the Dell Inspiron mini which vodafone has a broadband deal Vodafone Australia - Netbooks (http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/mobilebroadband/mobile-broadband-netbooks.htm)

Worthwhile or not or are there better options and providors?

diana

[tracker]

I have been trying to get my garmin 60c to talk to mapsouce. It will up/down load but no go showing pos on (comp):(map when moving?

[The ho har's]

interesting...since my laptop died this week and I have to buy a new one.....I saw those Asus Eee's at the repairers and was wondering if that is the way to go much smaller in the car....now I will look into it further...thanks


Mrs ho har:angel:

[cripesamighty]

Hi all,

Last week we purchased a 10.2" MSI Wind with a 120Gb Hard Disk, 6 Cell Battery etc for $599 from Austin Computers in Perth. It also comes with a matt rather than glossy screen. Typically, a few days later they reduced the price by $40 AFTER I bought mine. Doh!

We also bought a Lacie external DVD burner to go with it. It's a good setup as you can power the burner via an AC/DC adapter or the computer's USB port.

I talked to a few computer technicians at several stores before buying and each commented on having few if any returns of MSI Winds. They have however had a few EEE PC's, HP Mini notes, Acer Aspire Ones and the Dell Mini 9's being returned. Seems they might have the same internal components (ie motherboard, Atom 1.6 processor etc) but the Wind is put together a little better but there's probably not a lot in it. Having said that I am sure the Gremlins will now nuke my new netbook just to spite me! :p

Worth investigating the Wind anyway. Let me know how your setups go as I have to decide what we are going to do when we head to Vic from WA after Xmas.

Cheers,

Cripesamighty

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Have just been reading reviews on the MSI Wind. Will the mechanical HDD (even though much larger) be a disadvantage over the solid state 8GB drive of the Eee during the hard knocks off road?

Diana

[Bytemrk]

Out of interest, what do you guys use to pick up a GPS signal?
External ariel, GPS mouse, etc...?

Cheers,

..:: KIEREN ::..
2000 Disco II Auto V8
AussieAubs Disco Page (http://aussieaub.blogspot.com)

Hi Keiren,

I'm running a Globalsat BU-353 USB GPS Mouse - performs perfectly.


Cheers, Mark

[Bytemrk]

What's the easyest way to load Oxi Exp.I have a 900 model
Copy the program to a flash memory stick?
Download from the net?
Any other suggestions.
Also do you load your maps to the hard drive or use an SD card?
Thanks,
Mary


Hi Mary,

I have only windows on the main drive and all my maps and programs on an 8Gig SD card. I have access to a USB DVD drive so U use that to load them, but you could copy the installer to the SD on another PC, then move the SD to your Eee PC, run the installation and then delete the installer file.

Or if you have it networked share a drive on another machine to install from as previously suggested.

Cheers, Mark

[Bytemrk]

The Asus seems to be the innovator in this new format PC.

Has anyone done any comparisons with other brands on the market like the Dell Inspiron mini which vodafone has a broadband deal Vodafone Australia - Netbooks (http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/mobilebroadband/mobile-broadband-netbooks.htm)

Worthwhile or not or are there better options and providors?

diana

Diana, I think the right answer depends what you want the machine for.

I have access already to USB broadband for work.. so I can use that if I need internet. That said.. that's not what this machine is for - for me.

You may need the internet access you might not...

Just keep in mind, at $69.95 per month for 24 months that machine and net is costing you $1678.80. You can buy the PC alone for Dell for about $600, so unless you need the internet , it's not cheap... even if you do you are spending $41 a month... there are other options at similar prices.


In my case, I bought my Eee PC because I got it for well under $300 off ebay and I am more comfortable with it getting a hard time in the car when it doesn't cost me so much. ( Allows me to keep my good laptop away from the car)

So I'd suggest, think hard about what you are going to use it for.

Another interesting option is the Asus R2H

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (http://au.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5&l2=25&l3=350&model=1205&modelmenu=1)

But they are pretty pricey...

Good luck with it,
Mark

[Bytemrk]

Have just been reading reviews on the MSI Wind. Will the mechanical HDD (even though much larger) be a disadvantage over the solid state 8GB drive of the Eee during the hard knocks off road?

Diana


Most likely YES The most common failed part is the hard drive, they don't like bumps and bounces.. even if they are mounted suitably.


Mark

[LOVEMYRANGIE]

I have been trying to get my garmin 60c to talk to mapsouce. It will up/down load but no go showing pos on (comp):(map when moving?

Thats probably because you need to use Garmin nRoute for live mapping.
Garmin took this out of mapsource a few years back.

nRoute is a free download. You can get it from Garmin here (http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=575)

[tracker]

""Thats probably because you need to use Garmin nRoute""

thanks for that.d/l now and will let you know how ir goes.:)

[cockie55]

I use an Eee for travelling conveniance inc small bluetooth GPS reciever and OziExplorer getting around. Last time I used it was cruising the canals of France. It is great for that but a bit slow.

I built a on board system for my D1 and it has everything. One of the special things is it has both a solid state drive and a Seagate military/NASA spec hard drive. Some details here.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-tutorials/55571-onboard-pc-2.html

[tracker]

Thanks lovemyrangie:TakeABow:. Works like a charm.:twobeers::arms::clap2:

[CaverD3]

What's the easyest way to load Oxi Exp.I have a 900 model
Copy the program to a flash memory stick?
Download from the net?
Any other suggestions.
Also do you load your maps to the hard drive or use an SD card?
Thanks,
Mary

Easier to download from web. I have my maps on my SD card.

I have the Dell Mini 9 fits in the upper gove box like a Glove. :D

[CaverD3]

Thanks Tombie...

I have some insertion rubber sheet in the shed... might line it with that.

Mark


Mark just glue some thin sheet rubber over the plate and attach the netbook with sticky velcro. :D

You can get a car adaptor frome this lot:

Laptop Battery, Laptop Adapter, Camcorder Battery, Digital Camera Battery. (http://www.battery-charger.com.au/)


Prices are good.

[Bytemrk]

Got a little more done today, lined the checker plate with rubber, cabled up the power supply and test mounted it in the Car.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/02/1472.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/12186)

It's just mounted using double sided tape at the moment, until I'm sure it's positioned right.


I still get clear view of the left front corner of the vehicle, so I'm taking it out tomorrow for a drive and see what I think.

Does anyone know if there are legal restrictions on screens positioned in front of the driver?

Cheers, Mark

[CaverD3]

Thre is a general rule for clear vision, applies to all obstructions, not sure what the perameters are though.

[LOVEMYRANGIE]

Thanks lovemyrangie:TakeABow:. Works like a charm.:twobeers::arms::clap2:

I see my "legend" status continues......!