I was thinking about buying a screen for my max for around 200 dollars, then a friend of mine got a portable, foldable DVD player for under 100 bucks at kmart- This dvd player is already setup to be used in a car, and has video input so you can run a laptop, ps2, x-box etc off of it. has anyone tried to hardwire one of these into the dash of their max?

seems easy enough, and alot cheaper?

ideas?

 

You'd still need a way to play sound. Some type of head unit.

 

Yeah I have known lots of people to do this, I work at Sams's Club, and we sell a car kit with 2 -8.4" screens for $285.00 and I will be purchasing that and molding it into the dash. You just have to remember to be careful when pulling the trim apart because if how fragile it is. You save a lot of money, you just have to know what you are doing.

 

any pictures?

 

what the heck? .. why not just buy the microvision screen for 150$ shipped ... it fits in perfectly

 

You'd have to do some modification to the radio trim in order to make 8.4 fit. Or a completlely custom enclosure for it all together.

 

im planning on getting a microvision but im completely clueless as to how im going to wire everything up once i get all the components.

 

wiring up the microvision is easy. It will have a power and a ground wire. Wire up the screen to a power source (I had used the light that goes to the coil tray), or you could wire it to a constant power source (yellow cable on the radio connector).

Ground, I wires it to the coil tray ground. or crimp a connector and attach to a suitable screw. All done, test for power.

 

Look at this:




Thats nice it fits so well it looks like its made for our opening!


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-M...spagenameZWDVW

 

i would rather keep my pull out tray and get a screen that actually slides in and out with the deck right below it..since our bose system is so fat we can acutally hold 2 of them in there

 

i was also thinking about this and making a carputer...those of you who have done it the cheap way by modding a portable dvd player, i have a few questions

i know there is a difference between VGA and standard RCA cables but is the picture really noticable? also, how easy is it to run wires for a video input?

what im planning on doing is making a carputer using either a 64mb video card with s-video out or an 8mb card with RCA out...either way i have an S-video to aux converter so thats not the problem...but would the picture make a difference with either setup?

also, im not a very electrically inclined person when it comes to the power in cars and i know for the actual computer you need a shutdown controller but for the video would it be ok to hook the power up with the wiring for the head unit? will power fluctuation, start-up voltage, and quickly terminating power to the screen when the car is turned off eventually hurt the screen?

like i said i happen to be very good at computers and wiring the setup between computer, screen, and audio but i am a total noob at electrical systems...(until college that is )

 

does that seller give any discounts to .org members?

 

thats how mien is done, i'll take a pic when i get my car back later (engine swap)

 

If you are going to do a carputer, I would suggest you hit up MP3Car.com it is going to be your best bet and helping out on all of your questions.

You are right there is a major difference, you have to have a VGA input on your monitor if you are going to do this. If you have a Video Card for the computer with S-video out, you will be fine, however the quality won't be as good. Of course the picture will be different with a lower MB card. It isn't going to be as good. S-video is better than RCA, so if you are going to do either one instead of just getting a VGA monitor then I would go with the S-video. As well, I am not sure what video you are talking about, if you are talking about hooking your monitor up, then yes, that is fine, you can hook it up to the head unit, however with the ground, make yourself a new one, don't use a factory because you don't know how long that ground is, so make yourself a new one. But if you are talking about your carputer, you would need to do one of 2 things, 1st being the cheaper route, just put your computer in the car with a power converter, 2nd buy a 12volt carputer power supply instead of the 110v that a house runs on. You will also have to have the shut down power supply, so it shuts it down for you instead of everytime you turn your car off its like pulling the plug from the back of the computer when you are using it at the house. In addition to the monitor power, I would add a switch, so it isn't turning on EVERYTIME you turn the car on, if you have to run in a store for 2 seconds, then it will have to turn on, and like with anything, constant on and off isn't good on anything.

In addition to my set up, I will mold with fiberglass a houseing into my dash with my stock radio(Bose Double Din) sits now and will have to do cutting and triming, yes, but it will be more than worth it. I was orginally going to do a 10 inch in the dash, but haven't come across a good enough deal on one yet.

 

Cable out....let her go!

Lol, does the microvision fit perfectly like that?

 

How bout making a carputer out of an xbox? That way you can run navigation, dvd's mp3's etc and all through RCA outputs?

 

thanks duke...i have been reading up on mp3car for a few weeks now getting the basics and advanced stuff down pat. I do know there is a difference between card memory and input type on the screen that contributes to how the picture looks.. i am just a little rusty on electrical wiring mostly because im scared to mess with it im guessing my main question with the screens is not only how it looks with a DVD (which i doubt im going to be using for dvds) but what the difference looks like for a standard windows (or maybe linux) desktop...resolution differences alone are gonna make it look different i know but im just wondering if i should suck it up and buy VGA (id probably get the expensive touchscreen) or go cheep S-Video

thanks for the help though when i suck it up and buy one ill have some more questions either here or for mp3car.com