How is the PC hooked up to the car such that you get access to the touch screen?

 

I think a DIY is necessary

looks amazing btw!!

 

That's the hardest part of the project. I opened the navi screen and found the FFC cable that connected to the touchscreen panel. I relayed this connection to a USB touchscreen controller. When the relay is energized, the connection goes to the PC, otherwise, the navigation system receives the signal.

 

This is awesome. I am a PC guy, but wouldn't touch anything in car. I wish I could do these installs myself.
Question:
How did figure out how to wire a touch screen outlet to USB? Do drivers work out of the box?
Oh yeah, and where did you hide the PC?

 

^^^ X2.

Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to know what your PC was comprised of. I'm in the process of building a carPC myself and would like tips on the components you used.

 

I only put quality stuff in my G. I'm running an Intel DG45FC with Core 2 Duo 3.0, 4GB of ram, 160gb of SSD hard drive. Some people may say this is an overkill but I like to have windows starts in 30 seconds and I wanted to be able to watch blueray movies. I think the SSD is a good idea for the hard conditions inside a car. This is powered by a M2-ATX DC-DC power supply. It helps start the computer when acc is turned on and shuts off the computer when car is off.

 

You cant just wire the touch screen to usb. I used a touch screen controller. It's a small chip that translates the touch screen coordinates to USB signal. The controller comes with drivers.

 

Thanks for the info. Another question, how do you go about hooking up the output of the VGA to the nav screen? Did you splice anything? Wiring schematics?

Also, did you go with something like a micro-itx case? Or one of the pre-made cases designed for caputers?

Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate the knowledge you're sharing with us.

 

dammit i thought this was an "off the shelf item"!! Back to HKS Camp2 again lol

I must say though, that's really impressive that you were able to have all those options all in 1 screen.

 

Very nice!

 

Thanks guys! The computer is a mini atx case. Here is the link:

Morex 5677 Mini-ITX Case Without PSU

The display is also tricky. If you dont mind having low video quality of rca, I would recommend getting a motherboard with rca video out or getting a VGA to RCA converter. That way, you can just hook up the video to the car's existing A/V inputs.


But if you want higher quality, it's a lot more work. The car navi screen uses RGB input at 15khz. So you need to get some kind of VGA to RGB converter. The only one that works flawlessly that i've found is Scan Do 800.

The way I set it up is: Cut 4 wires from the back of the screen (r, g, b, sync) and connect to the common leads on a 4pdt relay. Then connect the same wires from the navi and the Scan DO 800 to the other 2 sets of leads on the relay. The relay is then connected to a switch. This allows the video to be seamlessly switched back and forth.

 

The computer is hidden in the trunk. In order to preserve space in our already tiny trunk, I fitted it under the plastic cover, next to the spare wheel. I also installed a fan in there, just to make sure the computer does not overheat.

 

Amazing work.

 

This is the most worthwhile thread I've seen in a while. Looks awesome. Thanks for being innovative without drilling holes all over your car.

 

Thanks