Hi all,

Over the next couple weeks, I am going to be doing a custom in-dash carputer build, while also installing aftermarket amps, speakers, and subs. This will be replacing the factory Rockford Fosgate system in my 2011 Phantom Black Evo X. The result will hopefully be a 7-inch in-dash touchscreen PC running Windows 7, Centrafuse for media, and EvoScan for gauges (Tied into OpenPort 2.0, serial boost sensor, and serial wideband O2 sensor), while also pumping out 4.1 channel audio.

All parts are currently ordered and will hopefully be arriving in the next week:

Scosche dash kit
- http://www.scosche.com/car-audio/product/1652

Mini ITX double din PC case w/ touchscreen
- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bybyte-BBX-1-Mini-ITX-2x-DIN-Case-w-Mini-Touch-700-Touch-Screen-Carputer-Car-PC-/200722159600

ASRock ITX Motherboard w/ Intel Atom processor
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157307

Crucial 4GB DDR3 so-dimm ram
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148191

OCZ 60GB SSD
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227728

Lite-On external DVD drive
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106356

M2-ATX 160w intelligent dc-dc power supply
- http://www.amazon.com/M2-ATX-160W-Intelligent-DC-DC-PSU/dp/B005TWE3Z2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341794514&sr=8-1&keywords=m2+atx

Kicker DS6.2 speakers for front
- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_206DS62/Kicker-DS6-2.html

Kicker DS60 speakers for rear
- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_206DS60/Kicker-DS60.html

Alpine 4-channel amp w/ 50w per channel
- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPF...-MRP-F300.html

Alpine 500w mono amp
- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPM...-MRP-M500.html

2 Kicker 10CVR104 subs
- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2061CVR...-10CVR104.html

And of course of bunch of miscellaneous cables for USB, power, etc..

Stay tuned if you are interested in the build and how it turns out!

 

can't wait, anyway to tie this into the factory rockford system?

 

Hey man, check out this thread.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...mito-02-a.html

You would just have to run audio outs from the motherboard to the inputs on the MITO-02. Not sure what capabilities would be lost though (fading etc.), as those functions are actually performed on the amp itself, not the stock head unit.

Btw, parts started coming in today, and everything should be here by Thursday. Now the hard part will be finding some free time to build the PC, the sub box, and get everything installed.. lol

 

subscribed

 

Any way to tie in the steering wheel controls, or are you losing those?

 

The CarPC JoyCon looks like it would work well for tying in the steering wheel controls to the PC.

http://www.rcjoycon.com/base_3/menu_...om_board_idx=9

I hardly ever use the controls on the steering wheel, so it wasn't something I put a lot of thought into when laying out the system.

 

Subbed.

 

Parts have arrived!

 

^This is my dream system and i plan to do this after you do all the hard integration parts! (thank you for posting )

Can you 'customize' the controls on the steering wheel?

Functions i would want:
-saved station up/down (not just seek up/down)
-switch between gauges and audio
-EQ saved program changing (mo' bass when needed, less when not without going throuh pages on the screen...)

 

Yep, you definitely could! The JoyCon EX pretty much just turns the steering wheel controls into key presses that get sent to the computer, so you could set up hot keys for whatever action you would like the button to do.

 

Well, I found time last night and tonight to get the PC itself put together. I have yet to actually test if everything is put together right and working, but this isn't my first PC build, so I am fairly confident.. lol.

I got all of the components to fit pretty well inside of the BBX-1 case, although it took a little thought as to where to put the M2-ATX power supply, as there are no mounts for it inside the case. This case is meant to be used with a PICO-PSU power supply, but I wanted something with more juice and I made it fit.
To power the M2-ATX I used a larger size N coaxial power jack in place of the original smaller coaxial jack that was already in the case, since the M2-ATX will be pulling more power. I also plan on putting two more coaxial power jacks in the back of the case for amp turn-on and ignition leads.

I did not want to run separate power for the touchscreen, so I soldered the touchscreen power leads to to the +12v and ground of a Molex connector and plugged it in to the power supply. I don't think the touchscreen will be pulling too many amps, so hopefully this will work.

The next step will be to hack up an old computer power supply to power the carputer in the house for testing and setup, I just haven't gotten to this yet. I will add more information about this is a subsequent post.

Now for some pics.

For reference of how big the enclosure is:



The back:



Top down, open case view:



Close up, top down, open case view:



Close up of how I installed the M2-ATX on the left side of the enclosure:



If you have any questions about wiring or anything else, just ask.

 

Would you be willing to make more and sell?

 

That is possibly in the plan after I get this one up and running.

 

Sorry I haven't posted any updates in the past few days, it was a busy weekend. As for the carputer itself, it is finally up and running with Windows 7 installed! I had trouble with the first PC power supply I used to try to power it in the house, it was apparently dead. I decided to just pull a power supply out of a working PC and use it instead.

To get the power supply to turn on without being plugged into a motherboard, I just shorted the power on pin on the ATX connector to a ground pin. Then to get power to the carputer I hacked up a Molex connector and ran the +12V and ground to the power wires on the M2-ATX.

Using another hacked up Molex connector, I ran another +12v wire to the ignition lead on the M2-ATX. I used a DC power jack in between the +12v from the PC power supply and the ignition lead so that I could test the functionality of the ignition start up and shutdown features of the M2-ATX, which seems to be working quite well.

First boot:



Windows 7 desktop:




Next on the to do list is installing Centrafuse Auto and getting everything working just how I want it. Setting everything up now when it is in the house rather then when it is already in the car will save a lot of hassle. After that I will just need to find a good day to get everything put in the car and wired up.

 

Have you thought of doing anything like AutoNet with this as well? http://autonetmobile.com/