Cool, thought of it myself but never got around to even putting it on paper. Gotta try it when I've got free time (which I don't know when that will be). Thinking perhaps can hack a PSU to directly regulate power from the car's 12v supply? Can then get rid of the inverter for better power efficiency. A single core A64 or sempron would be great for this setup, very low power consumption, possibly 50-70W for the whole system with the PSU efficiency factored in.

Alternatively can get a IDE card reader and pop in some flash memory. Completely vibration/shock proof

I've been measuring power consumption of a number of PCs lately, I'll share it in another thread soon about how much power does a PC need. Learnt a lot from my experiences with PSUs blowing out. AMD does consume less power than Intel (especially on idle) starting from AthlonXP and Pentium 4 onwards.

Just FYI, my gf's PC which is similarly spec to your car PC takes ~120W on full load for the whole system except display. My own Athlon64 X2 AM2 takes up ~110W on full load (using onboard GeForce 6100 display) and ~70W on idle, both excluding monitor.

You guys are right about that, but actually I mean use the PSU to regulate the car's suppy. It DOES fluctuate like crazy-not that I've measred, but with all the stuff that draws from it I'm sure its not pretty. PSUs actually produce all the seperate voltages/rails from a single rectified (but poorly regulated) DC source, so I was hoping can adapt the circuit to accept the car ~12v as the DC source. To compensate for severe voltage drops I could even include a sealed lead-acid as a form of UPS (the grey ones you can find in electrical hardware shops). The problem is adapting the circuit in a PSU. I've been working on it for a while now but its giving me a headache. Should be able to get it eventually. Planning on a fully portable desktop with battery(meaning not too heavy to carry).

Btw allngap, if I use the method I think you're suggesting I doubt it can supply anywhere near the required current for a PC. Easy to find electronics that can handle <1.5A (enough for any fan available) but with PCs we're talking 10A++ even on a ultra low power consuming PC; parts that can handle that much are ridiculously hard to get and expensive.

unrelated: Btw, did you know ppl used to 'overclock' hard drives by increasing the motor voltage to make it spin and hence read faster?

This post has been edited by lohwenli: Mar 8 2007, 06:06 PM

Correction to your statement, with current HDDs spinning at 7200rpm you will probably kill it almost immediately (try rev your car that much ). That was in the 3xxxx-5400rpm days (or perhaps earlier).

It should actually be quite easy to detect wireless, as long as the adapter is on. I doubt they can detect the CMOS battery, the car's alarm system also produces more electrical signals than that.

I think for audio cables if you get some good ones to connect from the sound card to the car's audio system it should be ok, Zyntherius should be quite experienced in this by now. However for IDE cables you can't use cables longer than 1m, in fact at that length you may have data transfer issues already. Check the ATA specification for details-google for it.

Ah but that is good news for b@i because power cables can be pretty long as long as the connections are sound and the cable resistance is low enough. Even cables similar to our 240V electrical wires would suffice.

Btw, USB regulation is 5m (includes length of electrical traces on circuit boards). Should not be a problem unless you own a bus and have the PC on the opposite end form the audio system

This post has been edited by lohwenli: Mar 9 2007, 06:59 PM

Do a lot of reading on the subject for interest; electonics & PC are kinda like hobbies for me. Currently studying applied physics in USM, so have a bit of underlying knowledge to fill in gaps (mostly in electronics-my course has heavy emphasis in the physics of semiconductors & electronics).

Well, my course doesn't focus on actual electronic device application, but sure, I'll try my best to help you with what I know. I'll say my knowledge in electronics is around the level of a amateur electronics hobbyist. Best people to ask would be those studying computer hardware or electronics engineering.

Thanks, I'm flattered.

Besides, I bet the only things you store in there you can afford to lose/have other copies..HDD can replace but data no backup means bye bye.

PCs when off actually can survive temperatures a human can't. Most fragile also is HDD, but come on, you're not going to use some damn expensive one and/or keep important stuff on it are you?

Its not the ceramics you should be worried about, its the silicon that's on/inside them. Electronics can easily survive 80C even for long periods if not operating, but more than that you're taking risks. When operating its a different story-thats why companies like Thermaltake, Cooler Master, Thermalright are having so good business.

That gives an idea, how if hook up the car's ECU to the PC? Can tune a car on the fly..

Can, use serial to usb convertor..

Can't hurt to try, the serial to usb convertors are dirt cheap nowadays.

hehe, consider it a challenge from the uncle..I'm sure there are places in a kelisa to tuck away a small PC..

Zyntherius, I remember where I got the idea for controlling the ECU by in-car computer..Fast and Furious..man, that was cool, even though it was largely cosmetic in the movie..

I was thinking about it myself. Bit tricky as you'll need something to interface between the instrument panel signals and the PC. Definitely something with an ADC.

My own plan was to rig up a LED array like the one you cna find on Honda S2000. Not that hard to do with simple electronic components, no need for a PC. But I may never actually get around to doing it..got many other better things to do.

LOL...

Imagine if you'd hooked up the ECU to it...

And bro, post up your stuff on sale at the garage sales (automotive garage subsection), and link from here to there.

Better leave a backup meter just in case.

Like mentioned before, he's using a laptop HDD. Laptop HDDs spin slower, and are less vulnerable to car goyang. Also, don't be stupid la and put important data on it, most also you'll put songs and movies only right?