e36 Carputer with GPS, MP3, Video, Bluetooth

[fliplap]

Finished being a relative term. This will be one of those projects that never ends.

Goals:
Retain stock look in the interior.
No wires visible anywhere in the interior. Everything is hidden and run along with the stock wire runs.
Retain as much trunk space as possible while still allowing easy access to carputer.
Retain ability to return car to stock. This means no heavy modifications of the interior. Sunglass holder was cut, thats about it.
No inverters. Why go DC->AC->DC

The Hardware:
Lilliput 7" 16:9 Touchscreen mounted in OBC/Sunglass area - Powered off of the M1-ATX so that the screen comes on and turns off with the car, as well as providing power regulation. I don't trust those silly adapters to properly prevent frying something as sensitive as a screen.
Via EPIA MII 10000 1ghz lower power motherboard
M1-ATX automotive power supply with shutdown controller - Carputer turns on with car, hibernates when car is turned off
10gig IBM Travelstar 2.5" laptop hard drive (planning to add a USB HD)
Hand built plexiglass case secured in the trunk
USA-SPEC DF-BMW audio adapter with 2 aux inputs
Orinoco/Lucent PCMCIA 802.11b WiFi card
Zoom USB Bluetooth dongle
Globalstat BU-353 USB GPS reciever mounted on rear parcel shelf
USB 1.1 hub in the front behind the screen
USB 2.0 hub in the trunk
Lots of cables and wiring

RoadRunner CarPC interface including:
MP3 player
Video player
iGuidance GPS - With 2D and 3D map display and voice guided directions
Speed camera alerts
NES/SNES/Genesis/Gameboy/Other emulator.
Bluetooth phone integration - Can view battery level and incoming calls, place outgoing calls from phonebook, view recieved/missed calls, send SMS messages and use for internet connectivity when not near a WiFi access point.

Pictures:

[hatm3]

That really looks good. Did you have to do any modification to the OBC/sunglasses area besides cutting the piece in between?

Also, did you keep your OBC inside somewhere?

[fliplap]

Originally Posted by hatm3

That really looks good. Did you have to do any modification to the OBC/sunglasses area besides cutting the piece in between?

Also, did you keep your OBC inside somewhere?

I did have to trim a small ridge, but I left enough of it that the OBC can still be remounted. And I did not relocate the OBC. I only had the 11 button and didn't find it useful for anything.

[95MMM]

sick

what was the total price?

[souroull]

thats nice, where did you get that case?

[98M3Sedan]

Very Clean.!

[deilenberger]

That is exceptional work. Looks factory.

Where can more info be found on the software (RoadRunner CarPC)? I'll do a Google, but any info would be neat.

And how is the touch screen to use? I assume hard to use when moving since it's located low and would require attention to use..

[Daved]

Great work. Congrats. I love carputers.

[NegativeCamber]

Originally Posted by souroull

thats nice, where did you get that case?

The Hardware:
Lilliput 7" 16:9 Touchscreen mounted in OBC/Sunglass area - Powered off of the M1-ATX so that the screen comes on and turns off with the car, as well as providing power regulation. I don't trust those silly adapters to properly prevent frying something as sensitive as a screen.
Via EPIA MII 10000 1ghz lower power motherboard
M1-ATX automotive power supply with shutdown controller - Carputer turns on with car, hibernates when car is turned off
10gig IBM Travelstar 2.5" laptop hard drive (planning to add a USB HD)
Hand built plexiglass case secured in the trunk
USA-SPEC DF-BMW audio adapter with 2 aux inputs
Orinoco/Lucent PCMCIA 802.11b WiFi card
Zoom USB Bluetooth dongle
Globalstat BU-353 USB GPS reciever mounted on rear parcel shelf
USB 1.1 hub in the front behind the screen
USB 2.0 hub in the trunk
Lots of cables and wiring

[Hammer03]

mp3car.com has a lot of information deilenberger

thats a very clean install man! nicely done. did you angle it up at all to see it better? and how is the glare, are you having any issues?

[Skipjacks]

The use of the touchscreen at that level isn't difficult at all. I've got one there too. It's right in front of the shifter so your hand is always right there. It works wonderfully.

[RUddin3]

Very neat. You should definitely be proud of your work.

How is visibility while driving? I wish we could be able mount the screen higher (like in place of the radio and climate control), as I'd gladly move those less often used controls so I could get a better view from a quick glance at the screen.

Drive Safely,
Raza

[LazyUSN]

so how much do you want to build me one

very nice clean setup man! i like it a lot!

[Rory]

Very interested in this, great job!

[fliplap]

Originally Posted by 95MMM

what was the total price?

Too much. Its one of those projects that nickels and dimes you to death. I suppose the entire thing came to about $800 all said and done.

Originally Posted by souroull

thats nice, where did you get that case?

I built the case with about $10 in 1/4" plexiglass, a $3 plexiglass cutter and about $5 in L brackets, hinges and screws. Definatly use a plexiglass cutter and not a dremel if you're going todo it, it take a lot longer but its easier to cut a straight line. A table saw would be ideal.

I used metal brackets only because I couldn't find an adhesive that would bond plexiglass in a reliable manner. It turns out that Weld-On #4 or #16 will do it, but it isn't available at Home Depot. Weld-On MEK is available ay Home Depot but apparently doesn't do as good of a job.

To be honest I probably won't keep the case. A 10" by 10" junction box will hold everything, only costs $20 and I think I'd feel more comfortable with a metal case.

Originally Posted by deilenberger

Where can more info be found on the software (RoadRunner CarPC)? I'll do a Google, but any info would be neat.

And how is the touch screen to use? I assume hard to use when moving since it's located low and would require attention to use..

The best place to find out anything about CarPCs is MP3Car.com. The frontend forum is here: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=60 The most popular choices are Centrafuse, Frodoplayer and RoadRunner. I tried Centrafuse but decided not to use it because its commercial and comes wil the Destinator GPS software, which has really lousy routing in the US. At the time I was looking I wasn't impressed with the selection of skins available for Frodoplayer, they all seemed to have very small buttons, which isn't good for a CarPC.

RoadRunner was the logical choice for me. I liked the skins available and it integrates nicely with pretty much any GPS software. Best of all, it is open source and me coming from the linux world, I just felt more comfortable knowing that I could see and modify the source if I needed.

As for the screen, its a Lilliput 619GL-70NP w/ the touchscreen option. I don't usually plug vendors, but MP3Car.com's store worked out well for me. The first one I got refused to display the color red. They pretested a new one for me and sent it out while I sent the other one back. I would definately ask them to pretest yours if you decide to order one.

Originally Posted by Hammer03

did you angle it up at all to see it better? and how is the glare, are you having any issues?

I did not angle it up. tried that approach but I didn't like how it looked. The only time that glare is an issue is just after sunrise when heading east. Any other time its fine, even with the windows down and the sunroof open. I do have a black interior though, I'm sure that helps quite a bit.

Originally Posted by RUddin3

How is visibility while driving? I wish we could be able mount the screen higher (like in place of the radio and climate control), as I'd gladly move those less often used controls so I could get a better view from a quick glance at the screen.

The visibility while driving is great actually. The fonts for everything are huge so I can read it at a quick glance. You can mount the screen in the radio and climate control area but it isn't easy. You have to fab a mounting plate for the screen and move the CC and radio down to the OBC area, which requires rerouting the heating ducts and doing a ton of cutting and wiring. I'd say its not worth it.

I'm an insane safe driver, I don't dial, pick up, or use my cellphone while driving. The only reason the bluetooth features are there is because I already had the USB bluetooth dongle and wanted to be able to send music and pictures from my phone to the carputer, all of the other integration was just a bonus. I don't play with the screen at all except maybe to change tracks. Since the buttons for that are all arranged along the bottom it was easy to memorize where they are.

Thanks for all the compliments and questions guys! It was a fun, but time and money consuming project with more than a few headaches. I really thought it would never get done.

[hinzm3]

That looks really clean! Great job

[clumpymold]

Wow, that looks really nice. But I like my OBC though. Can't think of parting with it.

[souroull]

Originally Posted by clumpymold

Wow, that looks really nice. But I like my OBC though. Can't think of parting with it.

i've been meaning to tackle a project like this for quite a while but money is keeping me back, lol. i feel exactly the same as you do, since its only been a couple months since i've retroed the 18b obc. i've been planning to move the climate control at the bottom where the sunglass holder is (a bit of bodo work will do the trick, and some texture paint to get an even more updated and sleeker look) and then make a bezel for a screen where the head unit is (and get rid of it )

[Beamin']

A lap top hard drive can withstand the bumps of driving? How long does it take to boot up?

[fliplap]

Originally Posted by Beamin'

A lap top hard drive can withstand the bumps of driving? How long does it take to boot up?

I chose a laptop hard drive specifically because they can withstand the shocks of driving. The IBM Travelstar drive I have in there can withstand 125g for 2ms while operating, which is signifigantly more than you should see while driving your car. The highest (that I know of) g-forces survived by a human was 83gs in the 1950s, it caused the guys retinas to detach. Granted that was for more than 2ms. There was a chimp that survived just short of 250gs in 1ms, but he passed out. I swear I'm not that big of a nerd, I watched a thing on the history channel about plane crashes and the ability of the human body to withstand impacts. Either way, if you're seeing 125gs of shock in your car you're in serious trouble. Its also mounted using some small rubber spacers to absorb a small amount of shock, but not enough to cause the drive to bounce around.

Depending on how I have it setup it takes 10 to 30 seconds to boot. 10 seconds is if I have it set to standby. Problem with standby is that the power supply will shut it down completely after 2 hours, to keep it from draining the battery.

Right now it takes alittle under 30 seconds to come back from hibernate, with all of the GPS and audio ready to go. And this way it doesn't put any drain on the battery.

[m3ntalmn]

absolutely amazing. that is really impressive the oem+ look of the system is just great. you have much to be proud of congratulations on an awesome project.

[SQ Bimmer]

I have been planning to do something like this for quite some time, but have been worried about the passenger being able to see the screen while in 5th gear.

[waferGS]

Nice setup!

I thought about doing this with some spare parts lying around - but the OBC is useful for me. Decisions- decisions...

[Skipjacks]

Originally Posted by SQ Bimmer

I have been planning to do something like this for quite some time, but have been worried about the passenger being able to see the screen while in 5th gear.

It's not a problem. The shift knob in mine doesn't block the screen in 5th. In 3rd it does, oddly enough, but not in 5th. (3rd puts it right in the middle of the screen.)

In 5th it's to the right side and if the passneger leans back it's out of view.

[fliplap]

I meant to post this earlier too, but check out what I found stuffed under the center console while I was ripping it apart to running cables and wires. Thank goodness I found them all before getting pulled over by a cop who happened to have a drug dog with him.

Last owner was riding the white pony it seems...