richardg

had my reverse cam installed on friday by paragon in-car, braintree

photos if you're interested -
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...verseCam01.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...verseCam02.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...verseCam03.jpg

...still working on the sub enclosure after reading on here how to make on from fibreglass

Tissy

Do you mind posting or emailing a close of the camera and its mount please mate.

Many thanks,

Steve

richardg

give me 10 mins

richardg

here you go tissy -

richardg

blimey, that was exactly 10mins!! how's that for good time keeping

Tissy

Many thanks for that, you are quick !

I have an LCD touchscreen already fitted which is for the CarPC (see my project page here - Subaru Impreza CarPC)

The LCD has an option so that when you put the car in reverse it automatically switches to a selected camera, so i might as well make use of that feature.

How much was the camera on its own if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks again.

richardg

your site looks interesting. i'll take a better look one evening when i have more time. I have a few ideas for some other minor upgrades which i was going to tackle myself but haven't got that far yet.

cam came from a bloke on ebay - the "infra-red" thingy isn't all that, but the image is pretty good during the day. like you i had the option on the head unit anyway so thought i'd give it a try. it cost £25.99 delivered from hong kong. i don't think user name is current on ebay any more (i bought the cam in January), but the seller's email address is/was useek123@yahoo.com

richardg

just double checked and the username is still current -
useek (currently 2115 feedback 98.6% positive)

Tissy

Yup found him also.

I don't think he does the reverse camera, but have found some other sellers that do.

Hope youlike my site, the photo section may give you a better idea of what i have installed for the CarPC.

What mods do you have planned, are they of an electronic nature ?

CarPCs are great, you can then use it for anything at all !!

richardg

i'm adding a 12v socket to the sub enclosure (which is removable with one plug/socket connection) for boot power (ie coolbox, solar panel for charging etc etc). not really very technical, but i am a big fan of convenience! (still finishing my home network installation at the moment!!)

i was also toying with the idea of fitting av sockets to the blank switch plates between the handbrake and the bucket thingy between the seats - think these are heated seat swithces on other models - just by plugging in a lead to the back of the head unit and cabling up to the back of the sockets. i could use that for checking photos on a digital camera in the same way that you may use that function on your home tv, but it would of course lend itself to a variety of other uses (temporary connections for playstation, sat nav output, ipod or similar, etc etc).

will definately have a good look around your site though - i am interested in carpc's, but my dvd player is a cheap solution from ebay and has been part of the learning curve. not sure if i'd be able to justify parting with the sort of money a carpc would cost me, but still very interesting to see what's out there

Tissy

Sounds like a good idea. I have also fitted a lighter socket to the boot since there is a fused distribution bank in the boot from the main battery anyway.

You'd be suprised what a CarPC would cost, particulalry if you built it up slowly over a number of months.

I already have a front mounted camera in development which records footage onto hard-drive along with time / date and speed stamp from the GPS. A short development video can be seen here and don't worry, it's a GPS simulator, my study isn't travelling at speed !! Subaru Impreza CarPC

I know it all looks complicated, but i'm writing parts of the software myself for specific things. The normal run of the mill entertainment front end is free and called 'Road Runner'.

I have a couple of small switches mounted in the heated seat blanks you spoke about. If you wanted to get some extra blanks from Subaru incase you didn't want to mess the originals up, the part number is 66241TC060ML and they are not expensive. Don't forget you may have a blank to the right of the steering wheel also where the fog light switch is, i have the part number for that also if you wanted it.

I'm pretty up on electronic things, so if you wanted a hand at any point i'm not far away.

Steve

richardg

i'd noticed!
had no idea there was a power blank in the boot already, but should have thought of that! thanks for the part no.s (my fog lights are in, so no blanks there).

i'd be interested to see your install at some point if possible. i'm in chelmsford but out and about with work quite often. mrs g works in harlow, we have a site coming up in old harlow soon and i know a few people in the town so i do get over there now and then.

struggling to finish the house at the moment before the arrival of our first baby in 3 weeks' time, so i don't have too much time to sort the car out right now - the sub enclosure will give me more space than i currently have for a buggy!

Stuart Page

iTrader: (4)

errr, couldn't be a bit more specific to where the power blank is in the boot area??! Looking to add a power socket in mine too!

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

There is some very interesting stuff on the thread.
I'd love a few camera's on mine, and being able to record on the a HDD. I wish my dash had a double din slot, so I could get a screen in here. I have a classic with the mechanical heater controls. A project I am hoping to work on, is using a USB headunit to store all of my music. But I'd live to be able to hardwire the USB slot, so I can insert a 2.5" laptop HDD into a connection in the glove box. Like a modern day 8 track.

Tissy

Stuart Page & richardg - Just to confirm there is no power bank already fitted in the rear of Imprezas. It may have been a bit misleading when i said there is one in the rear of my vehicle, but thats because i already put it there! They are reasonably easdy to install, i have a 6 fused output bank in the rear of my vehicle mainly for the CarPC components. If you wanted to fit one, let me know and i will point you in the right direction.

joey_turbo - CarPC is the only way to go for full in-car entertainment with all the features you would want. MP3, DVD & MPEG, SatNav, Cameras, email, WEB etc etc etc. The beauty of them of course is you can juts upgrade as you want. When a new headunit comes out, generally you have to bin the old for new. CarPCs are obvioulsy mainly software based, so you just change the software. Do you have a USB headunit already? I have a USB based hard drive if you wanted to try your concept out. Having never owned a USB headunit i presume it can take MP3s from a storage device? The only thing with a USB HD is possibly the current consumption. Having said that you can now get USB drives at 4GB or indeed a compact flash - USB convertor. Food for thought !!

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

thanks for the reply.
A USB HU is just the first step for me, I would ideally like to have the car Pc setup, but I think I'd like it to look pretty stealth, and as I haven't got a double DIN slot, I can't do it the same way.

The link was very interesting, but I didn't see a pic of the actual pc itself, just a couple of the motherboard. Didn't see any pricing info either.

I'm still looking at USB HU's. Until recently it was only cheap nasty makes doing them, but now I've seen a few Clarions and JVC's with USB. I have a aluminium casing to convert a laptop HDD into a USB device. I've got a couple of 30gb ones, but I'd probably only need a 6gb for mine, which I have.
I tried it on a cheaper make USB HU and it didn't power up the HDD. But when I do it for real, and hard wire things, I will have to look at more power to the device.

Tissy

joey_turbo - You want a stealth TFT touchscreen in a single din mount, no problem !! K90 - 7" InDash VGA Touchscreen USB - fully motorized I went for the double din mount as this is what suited me.

There are no prices on my site as it is a project site, not a commercial one. If you wanted direction, then i can provide assistance. Or, if you wanted one built then we could come to an arrangement, but they're not too cheap !! Well worth every penny though.

What pictures would you like specifically. You say there are no pictures of the PC, it is just a motherboard in a small black case along with a few USB bits etc, both of which featured on the site i think. I will be posting pictures soon of the internals of the PC itself all in the case and of the whole system mounted on a custom back plate which fixes to the rear of the seats, thus still giving maximum boot space. Its a lot smaller than a normal sub and amp build !

Regards.

Stuart Page

iTrader: (4)

Heh heh! Wondered why i couldn't find it!! (removes dunce hat!)
If you could post up some basic info, how it was wired in, any location tips etc that would be very useful!
Many thanks!

richardg

...in which case putting power into the boot direct from the battery wasn't a waste of money then! when i read your thread before and thought there may have been power there already i assumed that they guys who installed the power for me had gone the long way around...my mistake. money well spent then!

richardg

get one of those amp wiring kits, run the power from the battery (fused with one of those big @%$^off fuses) through the bulkhead on the passenger side, under the cill plates to the door and the cover plate over the bottom of the B pillar; then through the cill plate on the rear door and into the boot. breathe. then fix in the boot wherever you prefer. sounds simple, but then i didn't do it myself as i would have butchered it through sheer frustration! i am not a very patient person at times!

richardg

joey - why restrict yourself to a 6gb drive? i like the whole usb idea, but i bought the dvd player so i could put all our music onto a few dvd's (we have approx 450 cd's at home) and have all of it in my car. admittedly i wouldn't listen to all of it as it's not all my sort of thing, but having loads of mp3's on a dvd also means that you can re-write them whenever you want plus your originals are safe and sound at home

there are loads of single din dvd players out there with motorised screens. where in essex are you? i have used paragon in-car in braintree for a number of installs with various different cars and used chelmer car sound in chelmsford for an alarm upgrade yesterday - they have loads of screens on show if you have time to go in and take a look

richardg

tissy - just had a good look around your web site. very interesting stuff.
i'm not sure i'd have the patience to put something like that together, but i certainly like the idea of it all (plus i'm not all that techincally skilled!).

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

WellI dont have loads of music. Saying that, I just sold put the 6gb in laptop I sold, so the smallest I have now is a 30gb.
I'm not far from Lakeside, so I might take a look this weekend.
Thanks

Tissy

Finally got my camera in. Went for a slightly different approach.







Bracket is of course custom made and is attached to the vehicle using existing holes and screws which secure the 2 number plate illuminating lights

Therefore a very easy fit, 2 screws removed and then replaced with the bracket fitted.

richardg

i did think about that position, but cam was too big. yours is a different shape too, so fits well in there.
i have to keep remembering to wipe the lens now and then so i can actually see out of mine! it picks up so much road grime!

Tissy

I actaully bought the same camera as yours and had all the bracket ready to go and dropped the bloody thing straight down on the concrete floor, needless to say the glass lens protector didn't like it !!

So when looking for a new camera i then found this one. Then i thought about mounting it higher and it is already at the right angle, so fitment was very easy after fabrication of the bracket.

Hopefully being higher up it may not pick up as much road dirt, but time will tell.

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Maybe you guys could direct a washer at the lens, to blast off road dirt when your on the go.
Thinking about that, you wouldn't need it, as you only use these in reverse don't you? I'd like to have one that could be turned on with a switch, just to be nosey and perhaps get some tailgaters number plates, lol.

richardg

or i could ask the window cleaners at the traffic lights to sort it out for me
you can run these on switches - that's how i tested mine before i had it fitted. i just chose to have it fitted so that the dvd player in the console automatically switches to rear view when i select reverse. i had assumed that if i hadn't done that, then there would come a day when i reversed into a concrete bollard hiding under my rear spoiler which i could have seen if only i had bothered to use the camera and would end up kicking myself!

malc_gsi

I popped mine on a few weeks back connected to the Avic X1R using the pics at the top of this thread to make by own bracket out of aluminium, powder coated black and attached in the exact same way

richardg