xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

Hi, I wanted to do the fully functional kitt a while ago and I've kinda steered away from it because of other things I had to do to the car. I am still looking for a digital dash from a GTA and I am still looking for a place where I can mount a lap top.

So far this is what I have come up with.
Hiding the lap top somewhere in the car

I need suggestions of where a lap top can be mounted.

s-video connection to my little monitor displaying KITT right next to the heater vents in the middle.
Microphone installed into the roof pointing towards me with a cone shape around it to isolate just my sound. Still working on it.
Looking for a way to have the computer controll the door locks, lights stereo etc..
I'll teach the virtual hal brain a lot about knight rider and jokes as well.

I need suggestions for
1. How to mount a lap top, or any other computer, and where??
2. The best way to control the lights and instruments???
3. NOS for turbo boos button???

I am planing on making my t-top roof console a custom panel for whole bunch of switches.
Where can I find a cheaper digital dash????
Any suggestions are welcome, since I am thinking of going through with this.

irocbirdbuilder

THeres a place out here in aurora i believe that does all digital dash stuff, i'll try to find the number for ya, no clue on the rest of the stuff but if you need any welding/fab work let me know man...

Btw sorry about never getting time to do your cat, russ said it sounds good though Just got a new job so my hours should go back to normal...ie having nights and evenings off.

xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

Oh man, I did soo many things to it. I got the header leaks fixed.
(exhaust manifold gaskets go a long way ) and I got new coil and distributor cap. My car runs freaking fast now. Its comparible to my 79 trans am, that had some serious big block power. Comparible is the word though .
Anyways, i am still struggling with any suggestions to where to put the lap top.
I saw a post around here where the dude did a custom console out of wood, and he was going to fiberglass it. I am still following it. Maybe thats the way to go.

People, plz. let me know if you have suggestions.

Xophertony

inside passanger seat like fastandfurios.
under passanger seat on a slide mount, slides out (like a set of seatrails only thinner, with a set of drawer berrings attached) and then to make it lift up, you could..... think of somthing

or use this thing i found on ebayebay link

xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

I am thinking of KITT controling all the functions of the car. I am also thinking of splicing into all the sensors and have kit tell me if they are reading faulty. Kinda like codes. Than hook it up to ALDL port as well and read all the codes for me. I know its a bit much, but if you have any ideas of how to do this let me know.

I know I can hook up ALDL to the computer and i can have KITT "virtual hal" read the information off of it.

I am still not sure how to hook up the rest of the stuff, so anyone with some serious "electrical skills" let me know. ANy ideas welcome.

VILeninDM

so when you say "fully functional KITT" do you mean, a car that will talk with you when you are chasing crooks and sometimes pick you up by itself.

Jokes aside, I've been talking to few guys at work who graduated with electronics engineering majors (I am software engineer) and we were discussing a similar integration of the computer with the rest of the car. Major difference is that I don't want my camaro to look anything else but a camaro.

We were only throwing out ideas because my car is still being sandblasted. Then I have the bodywork, then suspension, then engine. Only after that will I do interior.

So here's what I have:
1) Instead of laptop, I want to use an embedded system. A friend showed me a complete computer on a 5" X 5" board with something like 600 MHz processor. He is building a remote controlled submarine and he is using that board to control the sub. The board can run WinXP, Win CE, Linux or pretty much any other OS that a real PC can.

The thing you have to remember is that laptop will probably not work because in the summer it might get too hot, in winter it will be way too cold to operate. Every device has operating temperature range that you have to look for. If you find embedded processor board of military grade those things should operate in very low temperatures.

2) Hookup an LCD touch screen for everyday operations and somewhere under the dash hide the hookup for keyboard and touchpad

3) Instead of hard drives, they have eprom boards which have IDE interface. To the outside world they look like hard drives except you can't write to them. This would be perfect for the car since there is no moving parts and once in a car, you really only need to boot from the hard drive and start your software. If you want to do things such as data logging, have external USB hard drive. [yes those embedded systems have USB and eithernet connections right on them]

4) Since I want to do fiberglass dashboard/center console (another dude at work has worked at a stereo installation place and apparently he did all kinds of custom interiors, but this would be a challenge even for him), I don't want to use the same mechanical HVAC linkages. Instead I want to install some servos to control the air flow and everything else. Then have the computer control these servos when the user changes settings through the LCD screen.

5) Once you have the hardware, I was planning to pretty much hook up all of cars electrical stuff through I/O boards to the computer. Then whenever you want to do something cool, all you have to do is change the program.


Sounds very ambitions, don't it. Like I said these ideas have been floating around the lunch tables and cubicle conversations for the last few months, but so far we haven't found any reason why it would be that hard to actually make something like this.

VILeninDM

p.s. the other thing you have to remember about laptop is that it has a hard drive. That's pretty much the single component in the whole thing that will fail way before everything else because it has physically moving parts. It wouldn't like constant vibrations from the road or the changes in temperature

xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

You are right.
I did play with the idea of getting a car computer. ON that note, where can you get the lill unit you were talking about???
I even thought of getting a little one of those Palm Pc thinigies, but they did not have any ***** to run virtual Hal. I looked into the car computer that was being sold on the net and the price was high. I can put a lot of stuff together for my PC, although I couldnt assemble a mother board. I could get different made parts and put them together, assemble the housing for them and secure them in the car.

Now, the sweetes thing I thought of right now...

Instead of the DASH, I can hook up one of those paper thin TV's across my gutted dash and run a WIN ALDL gauges, with a cool sking over it. What do you think???

Explain more detailed to me how would you get the computer to control all the functions???

There was a website, now its down, but it was a dude who sold a kitt program for a PC where you can hook it up to ALDL and hook up to all your power connections. Than you can simply tell the computer and it will do it.


Woldnt it be nice if the car could actual think and drive around by itself??? I would love a personal KITT

RocVert

iTrader: (1)

http://www.logicsupply.com/product_i...roducts_id/234

Check this site out for the small form factor pc boards and loads of other components

VILeninDM

RocVert, that's a good link and then even have cases and complete systems (for $200-$400) specifically designed to be used in mobile applications. The only thing I didn't like about those is that every single mobile system said, "Do not leave the PC or LCD display in your car in very cold or very hot weather conditions." They also say operating temp min is 5*C which is (41*F)

check out http://www.ampro.com/html/Interactiv..._selector.html

From what I saw most of these boards support temps from -40*C (-40F) to 85*C(~180F). With this board, you can just mount it under dash somewhere (and from what I saw there is plenty of space) and forget about it. And systems like CoreModule 550 support full blown XP or XPe(whatever that is).

Since I want to go with aftermarket EFI setup, like ACCEL DFI or FAST, I am looking for something that can run their software so that you can tune car's ECM without ever needing another laptop.


xlwhellraiser, comments to your post:
- I've thought about using LCD screen instead of gauge cluster. And then display any gauge you want in any shape/size/color/location. But the problem is that computers are relatively unstable things. For show-only car, it would be cool idea, but for the street, I want something 100% solid. So if the computer don't work for some reason, I still want core things in the car to function.

- controlling other things in the car. They have what is called I/O boards. Basically they have a number of wire connections and connections have 2 types: input and output. For input, they sense the voltage on the wire and when voltage goes to +5, they send a signal to the computer that something happened. Output connections work the other way. Computer tells if connections should be 0 or +5 and then you can hook up a relay to it which can then control things like doors, windows, trunk release, head lights, horn.... (pretty much anything electronic).

I didn't look in detail who and where makes these boards, but I know we use something similar at work. I work for security company and we have these modules which can tell a computer when a door or window is opened, or they control devices like door locks. So technology is definitely available.

You should be able to hook up these I/O boards to the PC though USB or serial port connection.

VILeninDM

USB I/O Board

xlwhellraiser

iTrader: (1)

Sweet, I like that little computer roc vert put up.

however, I belive that these units don't come bundled up with any os, or am i reading this wrong???

If so, how could I install it??

If it works right, I might be interested into purchasing one.

Other than that, what is the smallest thing you can fit in the car that has a hard drive and a mother board that can withstand vibration, cold and heat??!?!

I really want to make a fully functional KITT.

If I can t do it, I just want to have KITT talking to me (the very minumum). What do you think the best way is to have KITT talk???

SC82TA

http://knightregistries.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1800

Check the Non Conversion Electronics and Software part of it and click on some of the links.

This guy makes some voice command software and a relay box that will allow you to control functions of your car with voice.

http://www.wuknight2000.at.tf/