De Lorean EuroTec

After seeing a post on dmctalk.com (cant find it anymore) yesterday I got an idea for a winter project. The idea is this

[*] Buy a single-din folding touch screen with or without the actual head unit
[*] Buy lowpower/lowheat Atom based XP computer with a 12v -> 5v power converter to feed it. These things come in such small form factors these days you can stick it anywhere.
[*] Alternatively get a gumstix pc with Windows XP Embedded (http://www.gumstix.com/3rdparty-winCE.html)
[*] Attach an small SSD or 2.5" removable HD for audio/video
[*] Attach an amplifier to the PC for sound
[*] Develop a custom interface using Microsoft.Net/WPF for an Awesome custom MP3/Video player

All this hardware does add up a bit, but I can develop the software no problem (that is what I do for a living), and I suppose I can wire everything together. You'd miss the radio and the cd-player of course. (Might even throw in some bluetooth connectivity).

It sounds like a hell of a job, but oh my what a nice touch it would be to have a completely custom stereo.

All sounds very hi-tec Rob

Need Birksie you chime in on this one ... he has done something 'similar'

Im no good to ask ...still struggling to fit my electric aerial ....lol

Mike

Mike,

Only the software is getting hi-tech. I jus tthought all the components are available already, why not? For the time being I will just focus on the software prototype. Design some screens/player mocks etc. When that feels good enough maybe i'll start tinkering with the hardware. Hell, maybe by that time someone has developed a finished hardware solution!

You can close and delete this thread.

I came up with a base pricing and decided to abandon the idea. At least I had fun researching for a couple of hours!

delete??! never!

have you seen Birksie's work in progress Rob? : viewtopic.php?f=41&t=153

EDIT: I mean "had" - Paul is moving his pictures at the moment, but he does have a PC in his car:

That probably was the thread i'd seen. But my idea was a way smaller system. I managed to find a site that can provide all the required components in a single deal because they seem to be specialised in such system. The minimum system came close to €600,-, without any software (but with FM receiver and GPS module). Still beats the price of a descent nav head unit.

My challenge was to write the software, and i'll probably put some effort in that, since these components are coming cheaper and cheaper.

For everyone who want to try it: i've got a prototype app up. See the attachment. Just extract the zip to your desktop (or any other folder) and run 'WpfCarputer.exe' from the zip. It should scan your music folder automatically.

Disclaimer: works on my machine

You can download the zip at http://www.driebier.net/DmcCarputer.zip