Hello everyone,
I recently uploaded a video to share more detail on how I turned a Raspberry Pi into a custom Bluetooth speaker for my carpc project. I thought it would be cool to share a step-by-step description of the entire project. Enjoy!
Monday, August 20, 2018
Monday, April 16, 2018
Carpc project - software
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about the software.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
This episode is about the software.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
The software
Besides a myriad of scripts to control all hardware peripherals, the two most important pieces of software I had to choose are the navigation software, and the media player. This is the bit of the project where I produced the biggest amount of stupid ideas.
Carpc project - the case
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about the case.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
And then it hit me.
With this project, my car will become a wild mess of tangled wires. Shaking my head in horror, I decided to do something about it, and design a custom 3D printed plastic enclosure for the carpc.
This episode is about the case.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
The case
 |
| Final design files. |
With this project, my car will become a wild mess of tangled wires. Shaking my head in horror, I decided to do something about it, and design a custom 3D printed plastic enclosure for the carpc.
Carpc project - power supplies
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about power supplies.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
Not good.
This episode is about power supplies.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
Power supplies
Here's another potential deal breaker of the entire project. The carpc needs power, and the only source of power in the car is the battery. If power were the only issue here, I could do like everyone else and connect the carpc to the cigarette lighter. The issue is that the carpc would turn off abruptly when the engine stops, and that can damage my file system in the long run. I also doubt that the cigarette lighter is regulated, so I expect the voltage to fluctuate wildly around 12V, and spike up to 30V when the engine stops.
Not good.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Carpc project - custom USB keyboard
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about the custom keyboard.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
A carpc is certainly cool, but as soon as you make something with
a touchscreen, you face the eternal conundrum of buttonless
designs: how do I use it, if I can't look at it? I'm sure you've faced the same problem once or twice, trying to
operate your smartphone without looking at it. It's not easy, and when you are driving, it's not safe either.
This episode is about the custom keyboard.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
Custom USB keyboard
 |
| My custom USB keyboard. |
Carpc project - GPS
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about GPS.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
Nothing really special to report on GPS hardware. This part of the project was disappointingly simple and smooth.
This episode is about GPS.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
GPS
Carpc project - digital audio
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about digital audio.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
In its perilous journey from the Raspberry Pi to my car radio, the audio signal will suffer quite some degradation due to the conversions performed by the FM transmitter, losses in the transmission medium, interferences with other signals, imperfections in the FM modulation and demodulation, and more. Ah, that poor signal....
This episode is about digital audio.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
Digital audio
The name of the game here is "signal integrity".
In its perilous journey from the Raspberry Pi to my car radio, the audio signal will suffer quite some degradation due to the conversions performed by the FM transmitter, losses in the transmission medium, interferences with other signals, imperfections in the FM modulation and demodulation, and more. Ah, that poor signal....
Carpc project - FM transmitter
I recently uploaded a new video
to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I
had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I
decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas
about this project.
This episode is about the FM transmitter.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
This is the crucial part of the project. I needed to find a component capable of transmitting an audio
signal to a selectable FM channel, with a transmission range long
enough to be picked up by my car radio, but short enough not to
force-broadcast my music to the entire neighbourhood...
This episode is about the FM transmitter.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
FM transmitter
 |
| Adafruit FM transmitter. |
Carpc project - light sensors
I recently uploaded a new video to show my custom-made carpc based on a Raspberry Pi. In the video, I had to leave a lot of information out for the sake of runtime, so, I decided to write a little series of posts to explore thoughts and ideas about this project.
This episode is about light sensors.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
It's bloody annoying...
This episode is about light sensors.
Disclaimer (sort of):
Be aware that this post is not self-contained. If you haven't seen the video, you probably won't get much out of this reading. Also, this is not a tutorial on how to build a carpc like the one I made. For that, I'd need much more time and space. I just want to document the thought process behind a few hardware and software choices, share some techno-ramblings, and provide you with some links to get you started using the components I used.
Have you ever modified your car with custom electronics? Are you planning to hack a Raspberry Pi into a device that was not intended to be modified? Have you ever started a simple project (such as adding music to your car), and somehow turned it into a huge, titanic undertaking?
Light sensors
So, have you ever pulled out your smartphone in the middle of the night, touched the power button, and burned your retinas with the blazing white fury of a million suns? Or have you ever tried to read on your smartphone screen outdoors, in a sunny summer afternoon?
It's bloody annoying...
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Physical or digital media?
As a collector, I really love physical copies of games and programs. I like to look at them, I like the feeling of holding and using floppy disks and cassette tapes... and don't get me started on the wonderful sounds produced by floppy drives! If you are anything like me, then you know what I mean, and you can probably understand the frustration of reaching for an old game and find that one floppy is missing, or worse, corrupted.
I found myself in this unfortunate situation very recently, when I decided to bring back to life the very first Star Wars game I have ever played: Star Wars: TIE Fighter.
I found myself in this unfortunate situation very recently, when I decided to bring back to life the very first Star Wars game I have ever played: Star Wars: TIE Fighter.
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