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Post by philg on Jul 26, 2017 19:17:39 GMT -5
Yup, the old laptop is finally getting retired. My original install was done well over 5 years ago and included an old HP 6710b laptop from 2008 that had been driven over when only months old and pooched the screen but the base of the unit with the boards was perfect. I powered it at 19V with a Carnetix 1900 which I just replaced about 6 months ago due to the 19V output failing. My plan is to get the original fixed as a backup. So I wanted to replace the PC with something faster but still use the same power supply, it has performed well for me over the years. So here is what I bought: The PC is from Ali Express on SNO's recommendation, this is what they call it: HRF Intel Kaby Lake Core i5 7200U Mini PC Windows HDMI+VGA Mini PC i5 minipc 4K HD HTPC Intel HD Graphics 620 Fanless PC. It's a 7th gen I5 duo core-quad thread. I bought the bare bones as I already had a 500G SSD so I just needed to add Ram... I added 8 Gigs. I tried to post this work log all in one shot last night but it was too much, I had pics out of place and missing text, got frustrated and just closed the browser so I'm going to do it in several posts. Number 2 will follow likely tomorrow.
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Post by philg on Jul 28, 2017 15:06:55 GMT -5
I decided to try an all in one approach for the peripherals like SNO did in his setup. This will allow me to remove all of the components in one shot if I need to plus it reduced the ball of wires in the console. It also helped get a couple of the components that were not mounted to anything up off the hot floor and now get a bit of air circulation. So here is what I did: I used the bottom out of an old broken milk crate. By using a "grid" approach it allowed me to move components around without drilling holes and will allow me to change out a peripheral without drilling new holes. Here are the biggest boxes with the most connections, the sound card & HD radio, I stacked them and pointed them out the front of it so the majority of the wiring would be far forward in the console. Here's the rear of the console, the Sirius tuner and interface box plus the Andre DA350 mic sound card are mounted here. Out the drivers side is are the two GPS modules plus the OBDlink unit. You can also see here the plexi top I added to mount the PC on. I molded up some corners to hold the PC in place. I added an 8 pin connector to provide 12v Batt & Acc for the HD radio and 5V for the Sat radio and powered hub. I also added an extra connector end to an ATX power supply so I could power everything with one connector on the bench when needed. Here is the unit assembled, wired and ready to slip into the console.
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Post by philg on Jul 28, 2017 15:18:38 GMT -5
Here is the console cleaned up and ready for the new unit: And the all-in-one box installed waiting for the PC: And PC in: Basically it gets set in on top then 8 USB's, one VGA and one power connector get plugged in....done.
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Post by philg on Jul 28, 2017 15:34:57 GMT -5
Last item, update the power board. I need to power 3 hubs and a Sat radio tuner with 5V, plus provide 12v to the monitor and PC. So I left the HD radio powered directly to the truck, it was designed to be connected directly to an automotive 12V system. I left the 12V output of the P1900 connected to the monitor as it was in the old system. I have 2 of the 5V output units built into the P1900, one I ran one to the Sirius tuner, the other to the on-board USB hub in the all-in one unit. I connected two of these: www.amazon.ca/Adjustable-Converter-Stabilizer-Regulator-Protective/dp/B01FQH4M82/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1501273336&sr=8-2&keywords=drok+buck+converterto the 19V output of the P1900 and stepped one down to 12V to power the PC and the 2nd one down to 5V to power the hub mounted in the side of the console and the other hub mounted on the power board, I should have no issues of under powered peripherals and all outputs to the entire system will be controlled by the startup/shutdown controller of the P1900 other than the HD radio which will be controlled by the ACC circuit of the truck. So far, all of the hardware is working well. And man, this thing is fast in comparison to what I came from. Boot times are impressive too.
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Post by SNOtwistR on Jul 28, 2017 16:59:25 GMT -5
Great work and nice to see you are enjoying the faster system SNO
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Post by flylear45 on Jul 30, 2017 4:41:50 GMT -5
Lookin' good. All the power sounds logical to me. Should work great.
How's the shielding on those power supplies? I've always wondered how much noise the one in the Tbird produces, but never bothered to do any testing since everything worked.
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Post by philg on Jul 30, 2017 10:29:46 GMT -5
If your referring to the little Drok supplies with the lcd screen, there's nothing there for shielding. All components are exposed and everything is sandwiched between plexi which of course will do nothing. In my install they are far from any audio, and most of my audio is digital until it hits the alpine processor under the back seat so no concern. If they were mounted next to analog audio cables...I can't really say.
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