[aprssig] LCD in the car

[jkelly]

Here is some more info on the CarPC.

Traditionally CarPC's were dominated by Mini ITX motherboards.
Their low power consumation and cool running (fanless) with PCMCIA
slot were ideal for harsh auto environments.

Intel has produced a MB in the same form factor that is about $75
and had good success.  Intel D201GLY2A  Both are still popular.

The hard drive is usually the item that could go first.  I have never lost one.
Some folks are using a compact flash on linux or modify XP or 98 to
limit write cycles to the memory.

Having a broadband card in the system makes the CarPC really special.
Besides, media playback and GPS, once you get online then weather radar,
talking email, web, webcam, echolink - just about anything can happen in the car.

Wifi is cool for obvious reasons but people have written programs that when
you pull in the driveway it will autoconnect your CarPC and download any
podcasts etc that may have come in on your home pc. 

I would remote desktop to my shack and with Skype listen to dx on the road.

In the winter when the LCD screen starts it will be a little dark and slow till
it warms up.  The LCD is a touchscreen but I also have a trackball and mini keyboard
on the center console.

There are a lot of "frontends" that people build that turn the PC into a enterntainment
center with buttons for all the possible things you would want to run in the car.

If your interested - go for it - it is a very rewarding project.

Jeff
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