The Planning Phase

I have gone through so many phases of this project prior to its implementation, it's almost hilarious.

LCD
My first thought was to get an LCD. This was about 5 years ago, and mini LCD panels as you see them today were not readily available. I went to eBay, generally the first place I go when I'm looking to find almost anything, and did a search for LCD MP3 and came up with an auction by this guy DennisK. He had these Sharp LQ9D161 complete with Digital View Controller and 3M Touch screen. I bought one and built an enclosure for it but wasn't really happy with the colors it supported. The output on DVD and Divx playback was less then what I desired. After buying dozens of different LCDs from 9" to 17" (the 17" will still be used), I came across a panel (with help from my friends at Mp3Car) made by Planar and modified by AllBrite. These things are BRIGHT! Since my car is a convertible, it was hands down going to be the choice for my install. The only problem was, no controllers were available. A member of the mp3Car forums found a compatible controller made by Dicon - the 1280EI, to be exact. Thankfully, I bought my Allbrite with the back light inverter, otherwise, there'd be an additional large expense. Now, with the LCD chosen, I could move on to the rest of the planning.

CPU
I built a 1.02 GHz Celeron for this project but that PC shortly after became a sort of HTPC. So, I have to build a new PC and am leaning toward a Mini-ITX. I haven't really decided, as it may be hinged on what add ons I may incorporate and the corresponding power requirements. I'd really like to use that size MB as I could really hide that nicely. As far as drives, I decided a slot load DVD was in order for its OEM look . I went to Newegg and bought a Pioneer on the cheap. I bought a 250 GB Western Digital standard 5 1/4" drive for storage and it should be more than enough.

Input Devices
I decided to use a Griffin Powermate for the volume control and a simple (read - cheap) trackball pistol grip thing which will be fabbed into something (shifter knob? Hmmm....). I also have a mini keyboard and enclosure that I am constructing and will be in a secret location only to be unveiled when it is complete. I also have several ELOtouch SAW touch screens - one of which I will use with a controller and cable I made from a ribbon cable and a DB9 connector and hood.

Environment
I knew I would be interested in controlling the HVAC from the touch screen, so I bought a stepper motor controller and 3 motors from Salem Controls. Many people use servos, but I decided not to as I didn't want to gut my HVAC control box. I wrote a VB program to control the motors and keep track of their position. I also needed an easy way to get the temperature from the environment and adjust the HVAC according to the requested temperature. I bought a Phidget kit from PhidgetsUSA which has proven to me to be the most simple way of interfacing with the environment . It is simple to implement into any VB program with awesome results. It will also be used to determine the level of light in the passenger cabin and adjust the LCD back light accordingly. I will also be using it to control the lumbar support in the seats. It sounds complicated but it really isn't. There are so many Phidget accessories that you can do just about anything with them.

Connectivity
I have a D-Link Wireless B card that is in my HTPC and I am not sure if I'll be using it or not. I probably will just for cost savings sake. This could allow someone to WarDrive or look for open networks while cruising around. There are various software programs that allow for this. Netstumbler is probably the most popular. When there isn't a network available, I'll use my LG VX7000 and data cable with the Verizon 3G Data Service.

Well, that's a quick overview of my plan. I'll add more when it becomes necessary.
- Jeff