Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I have asked in the past for info but can anyone provide an accurate price or a how to sheet on this

1) PC
2) touchscreen
3) keyboard, don't waste time with on screen stuff, been there tried it, too much stuffin around & too fiddly
4) oziexplorer
5)garmin gps 3 plus so have most satelitte's & external aerial[/quote]

what do you reckon cost set up for this?

I have a Garmin 128 and interface already in the Datsun.

What do you do for a 12v power supply?

Thanks
Locky

I did mine for about $400 but i had the laptop.
I have a touch screen, run oziexplorer, mouse style gps on the roof, and a 12-18v converter to run the laptop.


PC say $300 for a second hand one.
Touch screen $200 or so off ebay (chinese one)
Oziexplorer is about $100 for a copy or just copy it from someone.
Mouse style gps $100

can you give us some more info on this set up please?

what else would you like to know.

I run.
Laptop,
GPS,
touch screen,
Oziexplorer,
12-18v converter for laptop power.

There is not much to it at all.

Cheers
Simon...

Was looking at a dedicated 12v PC other than laptop. Either the mini DIN sized one or a Desktop with power changed to dedicated 12V.

10 inch screen that could also be used as TV screen and a seperate wireless keyboard or just a numerical pad for waypoint entry.

I guess looking for a cheaper more usefull system than FX324 as i already have a good Garmin 128 that can interface but doesn't have mapping and is slow to enter waypoints in a comp.

Concerns are voltage drop out when cranking or winching (dual batteries linked no isolator and inverters and laptops don't seem to be that efficent and have seen planty of fried laptops and the concern of bulk in the front.
Many of the laptops that I have seen mounted for comps are downright dangerous in the event of collision.

I have a PC based on a mini-ITX main board - left over from R&D where I used to work. I bought a case, laptop HDD, slimline CD burner & Windows XP online. Case is mounted under the passenger's seat; it came with DC-DC ATX power supply, which is connected to my auxiliary battery.

8" touchscreen (also ex work) clamped to the jesus bar. I primarily did it for downloading photos, & burning to CD as we go. Also used for keeping a trip log - plug a $10 keyboard into a front USB port as required. I also have it connected to my stereo, so I can play ripped CDs.

I don't own a GPS, I'm happy to read maps.

84ZOOKSTA wrote:

nice zook

http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/sc.8/category.101/.f

These look interesting.

Thoughts?

-Scott- wrote:... mini-ITX main board ... with DC-DC ATX power supply ...

mini-box.com wrote:... mini-ITX boards, and car PC ATX power supplies ...

I reckon it just might work...

this might help...... http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/

Thanks,

my concerns are dust and water as my GQ is a pig that is used hard and also the rough and tumble in the cab.

All the laptop mounts I have seen on dash concern me in te event of a collision.

I have seen laptops mounted in back of seat pockets, is this a long term solution. Inverter up to 240 and back doesn't seem efficient. Ther Projecta la top kits might be a solution.

So I guess I keep coming back to a 12v Din unit mounted in dash or pod or maybe glovebox with monitor and a numeric pad or small keyboard.

What does the touch screen plug into and what do you load the ozi ex' on to?

Is that a 240v plug that is plugged into the screen ?

Ruffy wrote:What does the touch screen plug into and what do you load the ozi ex' on to?

My touch screen has three connections: standard VGA connector for video, USB for the touch, and +12V for power. From memory, there were a few other input options - RCA connections for one.

I believe Ozi goes on the PC.

Ruffy wrote:What does the touch screen plug into and what do you load the ozi ex' on to?

My screen is a 12v screen. It has usb connection between the screen and the laptop for the touch screen side of things.

Oziexplorer runs on a laptop which is mounted behind the passenger seat.
The laptop is powered from a 12-18volt converter so no stepping up to 240v then back down again.

The screen also has a TV tuner in it and as well as 2 rca inputs. The laptop connects to it via a VGA connection.

Cheers
Simon..

84ZOOKSTA wrote:

Ruffy wrote:What does the touch screen plug into and what do you load the ozi ex' on to?

My screen is a 12v screen. It has usb connection between the screen and the laptop for the touch screen side of things.

Oziexplorer runs on a laptop which is mounted behind the passenger seat.
The laptop is powered from a 12-18volt converter so no stepping up to 240v then back down again.

The screen also has a TV tuner in it and as well as 2 rca inputs. The laptop connects to it via a VGA connection.

Cheers
Simon..

So do you need to able to access the lappy at all, like to turn it on and off or can everything be down via the touch screen?

Anybody using this kind of set up and surving in OBC or like the old Simex Pursuit stuff. It really appeals but expensive if the equipment fails.

LOCKEE wrote:Anybody using this kind of set up and surving in OBC or like the old Simex Pursuit stuff. It really appeals but expensive if the equipment fails.

More to the point, how quickly can you enter way points? and how does the screen handle a little bit of dirt/mud/dust?

sierrajim wrote:

LOCKEE wrote:Anybody using this kind of set up and surving in OBC or like the old Simex Pursuit stuff. It really appeals but expensive if the equipment fails.

More to the point, how quickly can you enter way points? and how does the screen handle a little bit of dirt/mud/dust?

I do have to access the lap top and that is just to turn it on and off.

To create a Waypoint, Trackpoint or Track Note is as easy as touching the screen where you want the way point to be. To enter a waypoint i have a onscreen keyboard which makes it rather easy to enter the longs and lats or UTM's. But you do want to do them when stationary as it is hard to hold the stylus still when trying to touch the screen on a rough road.

The screen i have has been in the car for 2 years and has had a pretty hard life. I did modify the bracket that came with the screen as it was a pissy plastic one.

And have not found any issues with the dust as yet. i do give the screen a clean (quick wipe down) every time i use it.

I've just fired up my system to check it out for a trip in a few weeks. Typing messages using the on-screen keyboard is REALLY painful.

Something a little left field - the iMac mini will fit in a 1 din space ( connection becomes a bitch though - someone might be doing an interface plate for them by now.)

M+S

-Scott- wrote:I've just fired up my system to check it out for a trip in a few weeks. Typing messages using the on-screen keyboard is REALLY painful.

I keep a rubber USB keyboard rolled up in my glovebox for those moments. I've got a 4 port hub on the side of my center console so it only takes 5 seconds to plug in and unroll the keyboard.

festy wrote:

-Scott- wrote:I've just fired up my system to check it out for a trip in a few weeks. Typing messages using the on-screen keyboard is REALLY painful.

I keep a rubber USB keyboard rolled up in my glovebox for those moments. I've got a 4 port hub on the side of my center console so it only takes 5 seconds to plug in and unroll the keyboard.

What do you have for the rest of the set up.

half a laptop strapped to the cargo barrier (broken screen removed), gps mouse on the roof, DC-DC power supply, USB external HD for mp3/maps/divx etc, 8" touch screen on the dash, remote power button, pcmcia wifi with roof mounted antenna, roof/rear view/under car webcam, bluetooth for phone, main/aux battery monitor, inside/outside/fridge temp monitor through roadrunner frontend, running ozi, garonav (like mapmonkey), netstumbler, freefone, plus web browsers, email, aprs etc etc...

festy wrote:

-Scott- wrote:I've just fired up my system to check it out for a trip in a few weeks. Typing messages using the on-screen keyboard is REALLY painful.

I keep a rubber USB keyboard rolled up in my glovebox for those moments. I've got a 4 port hub on the side of my center console so it only takes 5 seconds to plug in and unroll the keyboard.

I normally carry a cheap usb keyboard in the back of the car, but I'm interested to learn about this rubber keyboard. Got a link?

http://www.gpsaustralia.net/shop/produc ... cts_id=386
It's got a much better feel than I was expecting, you still wouldn't want to write an essay on it though.

Hello all

What are the minimum requirements for the laptop with this setup? I can get hold of an old laptop running xp, battery is shot but everythings else is okay. Just need to make sure it will have enough brains and speed.

regards

John

A celeron 400 with 128Mb ram is quite useable, probably wouldn't want to go much slower than that though.

Thanks for that festy. Do you have any problems with the hard drive shaking itself to bits?? I was thinking about getting a flash drive to use - no moving parts, nothing to break.

I've lost 1 hard drive, but it was dodgy to begin with. I've got a 3.5" external enclosure and just have an old 10gb drive in it currently, if it breaks I'll just throw another one in. I mount the drive vertically, so the heads bounce parallel to the platters, not into them.