Sunday, December 20, 2009

CAR PC Components

Here are the ingredients for the CAR PC:
a. Intel 945GCNL Atom Motherboard
b. 2 GB RAM
c. 160 GB Laptop SATA HDD
d. 7" Touch LCD VGA Monitor with VGA and USB Port
e. 100 Watts ATX Automotive Power Supply
f. Sony CAR Amplifier for AUDIO output
g. Frontend Software Centrafuse 3.0
h. USB Blutooth Module compatible with Bluesoliel
i. Generic USB GPS Module

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Car PC

Hi, this is Jeetu. I am from Guwahati; a city located in the State of Assam in the North Eastern Region of India.

Ever since I bought my car, I have felt the need for a novel kind of car entertainment system which will have certain flexibility such as no need of keeping Audio CDs or USB drives and has a large storage space. It has to be high-tech and trendy as well. It should be capable of monitoring the overall health of my car and should constantly indicate parameters such as engine temp, rpm, etc. It should be equipped with GPS. Finally, I came to conclude that these things are possible only with a modern computer.

I feel fortunate to have been born in an age when technology is developing rapidly with each passing day and newer technologies have evolved which makes it possible for a tech-savvy ( I consider myself one of ‘em) to experiment with different innovative ideas.

All said, I contemplated on developing my own unique entertainment cum monitoring system for my car. I procured the required components from different parts of my home country (India) itself. I found the latest innovations to be very useful. Intel had shrinked their motherboards and processors to a new breed called "ATOM" which requires less power and does hell of a computing at a remarkably faster speed. The biggest challenge for me was the getting adequate power supply for the motherboard. I desperately searched for ideas; I scanned the forums of car PC’s. Everybody suggested that an automotive power supply would be best suited for the purpose.

First, I sourced the material from a company in Mumbai who is considered an expert in providing solutions for car PC. Secondly I wanted the VGA monitor to have touch screen facility and I used a 7" VGA screen for the purpose. The Front End software I used is "Centrafuse 3.0" which I personally feel to be one of the best software I have ever come across. It will integrate whole of the car into one and oh yes! your mobile phone too!