Jimny from Dorset Now with Carputer

I like it and viciouspenguins', I might have a faff with the 15" laptop that's in the shed.
Battery's no good but works ok on the mains, so obviously an inverter would be required.
The air bag in the passenger side is definately going as I like the idea of the extra space. The airbag 'flap' could always be hinged perhaps or even held on with velcro??

Keep the pictures coming..

K

If you look at this photo you can see 4 square holes, one in each corner of the air bag housing. The cover clips into these quite firmly so no velcro needed



15" laptop may be a bit big for the hole though

Nice one, will have to get off me botty and go have a looksee & measure up.

Cheers

K

what about an ipad or similar tablet?

Ipad is an idea, but I went for a 10" Netbook... I can plug in my external GPS reciever that lives ontop of the CB (magnetic), and remove when not in the car.
Ive been threatening to fabricate a shelf like Mr Penguin's but havnt had the time.
I use an inverter, and just run all the wires up inside th edash, and refit the cop cover ( hollow ) when not in use.

Will get some Pix tomorrow

i like the idea of an onboard pc, i had thought about it but it was the cost that put me off. it cost me about £200 notes for the netbook install and if you managed to get all your kit for £200 well done. i'm jelous lol.

as for a 15" laptop you might be a put pressed to fit it in. as far a tablets go i would say they are the simplest solution and infact i am looking to replace the netbook with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer 3g version when it becomes available in the future, altho memory map does not work on the android system there are apps which are able to run the .qct file format. failing that you can always turn to the dark side and get an ipad which has memory map as an available application. howevfer they are an expensive option. I intend to get mine as part of a 3g paymonthly package no huge cash outlay and you get the sim etc as one.

as for recording incar video a pc is perfect, just watch on the drain of CPU power you might find it struggles a bit if you are doing anything more than webcam quality. i know this from experiance

I used a sharp stanley knife and cut around the inner.

Plan now is to make a shelf and box the sides in, then either fibreglass it smooth, or make a plug and mould a cubby hole.

Great to see all this tech going in all these Jimnys.

To be honest netbooks or tablets are probably a more sensible idea as they are sat that much higher so in theory more out of harms way If I hadnt had most of the stuff here already I would have probably gone netbook myself.
The guys I go lanning with were interested in costings for this kind of set up, here is what I worked out...

Well, had a quick tot up

As I said I got older 2nd hand parts so probably equals quite a dated system but it isnt exactly running top end games so seems to cope well with what I am asking of it so far.

I estimate my system came in at a tad under £200 but looking for parts quickly on e-bay you could easily spend around £450 plus for new more current parts

Current approx prices for main parts

8" Touch Screen £100 min
Cheapie USB GPS reciever £15
Same case I have £80 new
Motherboard anything from £75-£150 +
Memory £20 ish
Hard Drive £40 ish
Power Supply £40 ish
Processor £50 +

+ cables ect, ect.

I am sure I paid about £80 for my screen a few years back when I had my deli but never got round to doing anything with it. I picked up the case £30 2nd hand from ebay and got a motherboard with ram and processor for another £30. Chucked an old harddrive in and ordered an inteligent power supply from HK for £35 and the rest is odds and sods from the spares box.

While looking on ebay for prices I saw an motherboard with processor the same as mine go for £25 so the parts are out there.

I think if you consider a good stereo must be about £150 if you can have something this versitile for even double the money then its money well spent (thats what I told Michelle anyway )

Thanks for the tip on the video recording being a bit power hungry I hadnt thought about that side of it
I have a couple of different cams I can try to see what works and what doesnt before I spend anything out.

Its all a learning curve but if you dont try you dont know

P.S. Ooky-123 you need to clear out your glove box

ooky_123 wrote: I used a sharp stanley knife and cut around the inner.

Plan now is to make a shelf and box the sides in, then either fibreglass it smooth, or make a plug and mould a cubby hole.

nice work thats exactly what i did, not sure about the stanley tho I cant remember

when you make the shelf remember that you will need some sort or mechanism for actualy holding the laptop in place. also consider access for power cable and any usb connectors. I bought angled cables off ebay so the wires come out the side of the usb plug.

If you can do it I would go with fibreglass, its thin so it wont take up much space and strong. I have/had issues with the sides not staying in place.

Glovebox is full of essentials .. spare bulbs, CD's Torch, Plasters and sweets


Total cost for my kit was

£59 for GPS reciever
£199 for Netbook (Maplin 'A' Grade stock

Memory Map & Maps were already "achem" .. mine

I also have a TV reciever and a shed load of films on the Laptop to entertain my daughter if were out for the day / evening.

Finishing touch

Yep 15" laptop is a non starter but a 10.2" Android tablet is and will be.

Memory Maps are working on an Android version and hopefully will be out soon.

So many jobs with so little time to do them all!........