I posted this on the mp3car forum so I'll just re-post the info here but for pictures please visit the thread on the mp3car forum at:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...up-screen.html

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I own a 2005 white RX-8 and I've been using my custom made carputer for a while now. I wanted to have a motorized touch screen but the OEM nav unit price could not be justified. I figured I could fabricate my own for less. So here are the details

Control board:
I programmed a PIC microchip to handle opening / closing the LCD screen when the car is turned on / off using a servo motor. I tapped into the touchscreen's button panel to control turning off the LCD panel when the screen is closed, and turning on the LCD panel when the screen is opened. The board is also hooked up to a button in the ashtray which can be used to open / close the screen once the car is started.

Plexiglass computer case:
Cut some plexiglass to form a box large enough to house the mobo, wireless card, HD, power supply, fans, and future low profile video card. Cut out the necessary holes for the mobo back plate, wires, fans, etc. Glued it together using a solvent meant for plexiglass. Mounted the mobo and powersupply on brass mounts. Installed the fans and HD. The top part of the case can be opened for servicing.

Motorized flip up touch screen in dash:
This part of the project took the longest. I bought a center dash piece from my local mazda dealership and carefully cut an opening on the top, saving the cut out piece to be re-used. Bought some abs plastic sheets and fabricated the base of the dash unit to mount the LCD unit into. I used the abs plastic and lilliput bezel to also fabricate the LCD screen unit. I re-used the cut out dash piece for the top of the LCD screen unit. Glued and smoothed everything together and then primed, sanded, spot puttied, and painted the units with SEM texture and trim black paint.

Modified ashtray:
After completing the dash piece the ashtray went quickly. I took apart a 7-port USB hub and fabricated a mounting plate using some very thin plexiglass. The mounting plate was necessary to mount the unit in the ashtray and keep the unit in place while withstanding the force of inserting external USB devices into the ports. The face of the ashtray unit was fabricated with abs plastic and holes were cut for the 4 usb ports, an audio input jack, and a button which is used to open and close the LCD screen. Once glued, I then primed, sanded, spot puttied, and painted using SEM texture and trim black paint again.

The unit has 4 ports on the front and 3 in the rear. The 3 rear ports are all being used for the car2pc unit, touchscreen usb, and the slot load dvd drive.

Basic carputer stats:
BioStar micro ATX mobo w/ Geforce 6100 and PCI-E
AMD Turion MT37
80gig WD low profile HD
BU-353 USB GPS receiver

Belkin usb bluetooth adapter
DSATX power supply
PCI wireless card
Lilliput 7" touchscreen
7 port USB hub in ashtray
slim slot load dvd-r cd-rw in glovebox
Mazda Car2PC adapter

Created my own wires w/ molex connectors for running power from the trunk to the front. All wires (USB, VGA, audio out, audio in, power), run from the computer in the trunk through the center console. The main 8awg wire from the battery runs through the wiring harness boot on the drivers side and along the door sills to the rear, and then into the trunk. I tapped into the 12v fused accessories line at the fusebox and ran a wire from it to a switch in one of the blanks and then back to the DSATX power supply acc in. This allows the computer to be turned on / off while the car accessories are on.

 

You are my idol. Can you post a picture so I can make a poster for my bedroom? Thanks.


Sick fab skills dude, just sick.

 

very nice indeed- looks OEM, but better.

 

holy crap thats impressive! O_O good job!

 

Absolutely AMAZING work!

I'll copy the pics over for you

 

extremely impressive fab skills. VERY nice job

 

that's AWESOME!!!!

 

Man, you are out of control!!!! Seriously clean install. It's hard to imagine how much work you put into all of that.

The computer box could be dressed up a bit, but that's just being picky. I'm sure you have so much fun just sitting in your car and playing around on the screen. Cool.

 

man that looks absolutely awesome!
you might have to take the comp out for a track day though :D

 

That is hot. Very inspiring.

 

Very nice looking.

 

I am amazed!!!!!! That is impecable work! BTW, I'm jealous.

 

make me one!!! i'll give you a thousand internets

 

You SIR are a GOD,

Previously I thought my GF'f EE breast were GOD but here breast don't have your GODLY fab skills.

Incredible job, P.S I stand corrected you already did post on RX8Club.com (see my mp3.car post )

 

That is some sick work.

 

Can you do that for my car?!?!

 

pix for comparison's sake

 

Thanks WikkedOne for posting the images (missed a few but no biggie ).

Although fabricating more of these would be significantly quicker than the first time, I won't be making another one lol. The entire process was long but mainly due to delays.

I started the project early last year with gathering the necessary components. Mid last year I completed all the fabrication work and assembly programming of the controller board, but I had still not gotten all my computer components. By the time I got all the computer components and started fiddling with the front end software it was time to winterize my car (damn Canada weather). So I put the project on hold till this spring and finished the software stuff. Installation in the car took a couple of nights.

One of the last things I want to do is find a better and more accessible area to mount the slim slot load dvd drive. I currently have it inside an enclosure which provides mini ide to usb capabilities and stashed away in the glove box.

Any ideas where a good place would be to mount or fabricate the dvd drive into?

 

yeah there is a 20 pic limit on here, so i cut 4 from the begining

 

With your excellent skills at cutting plastic, I would think you could fit it in the blank plate right below the volume **** of the radio. Or is there not enough room?

I'd think you'd be able to make that look damn near invisible with just a tiny slit running across.

 

This is some really nice work. looks awesome.

 

That was my initial thought too when I first started the project. Unfortunately when I took a closer look, there's not enough room at the opening behind the lower half face plate to fit the dvd drive. I think the dept inside is also too small if I recall correctly. Currently I utilize that space to fit my car2pc adapter

 

I believe there is enough room but you will have to modify the HU slightly. There are 2 LEDs that are in the way that would need to be relocated.

 

Yes the PCB board holding the LEDs on either side made the opening too small. I'll have to check again if the depth is sufficient to fit the drive along with the connectors coming out the back for the usb and power (although if necessary these connectors can be relocated).

 

Very Nicely Done.

Could you mabe make me one?

And how much would it be?

Thanks.