Ask Slashdot: How To Add New Tech To Old Van?

First time accepted submitter Dslice_allstar writes "I have a '77 GMC Van that I would like to take into the 21st century with some good tech. I have several large LCD monitors, and I want to hook at least one up for watching movies and doing some mild PC gaming. I am concerned about power, i.e. using an inverter and not frying the computer every time the van starts/stops, and I'm worried about whether the alternator will support a computer/monitor setup as well as LEDs and the like. Would a UPC backup be a good idea? I would also like to be able to play music over the sound system, preferably off the computer. Should I be thinking mini ITX HTPC, or would a netbook better serve my purposes? How would you all pimp out an old conversion van?"

Do it HAM style

[havana9]

You should look how amateur radio operators and/or people with RV are setting up thei systems. I think you should stay with a 12V power supply system, an inverter is a more complex system rather than a lead acid battery, and yu'll need a DC/DC inverter for the sound system amplifiers. A mini ITX pc with a 12 power supply it's not a big deal, so a satellite receiver. If you want to be sure to not fry your electronics, use a dual battery setup with a contactor that disconnects the secondary battery from the main circuit when the engine is not running, like RV pepole sometimes are doing, and remenber to flip on the switch when needed, or use an automatic system. If a dual battery system is too much take the supply from the electronics directly from the battery poles, with a suitable fuse on both poles. Put some L-C filters and a big diode in antiparallel to the supply.

Zotac

[gruntkowski]

Concerning the HTPC/netbook/..., check Zotac (zotac.com). Very small but surprisingly interesting mini PCs.

Re:Van Art

[Lumpy]

Coolest one I saw was all airbrushed to look like an un-populated circuit board. The detail in the paint was incredible.

The guy had about $15,000 in tech inside and a stereo that would do 155Db in a SPL contest. The coolest part was the dashboard was 3 7" LCD monitors all running from a single mini ITX pc. you could change the gauges to anything you wanted and from the 13" touchscreen where the stereo would be you can select the GPS and then flick it to the dash. (it ran linux)

He then fired up the HUD that was very cool but fuzzy because of the double reflection from the windshield. He has not found the right coating to apply to the windshield to remove the double reflection, but the HUD projection from the projector (not a display, a projector) covered most of the windshield and would overlay turn by turn arrows and info as well as cues from his custom collision avoidance system.

IT was very cool, but I am unsure of how much was "mock up" in the HUD and "sensors"

You're talking about something the RV community..

[cptdondo]

solved long ago.

Get yourself some regulated 12V buck-boost supplies. I use a Logic Supply Intelligent DC-DC Converter; good for 10 amps. Then get some 5 VDC regulators from mouser; a Texas Instruments PT78HT205V works nicely.

Now you're ready to rock. Plug a Roku into the 5VDC regulator, a TV into the Roku, and you're almost there.

Get an OpenWRT compatible wifi access point. A Buffalo WZR-HP-AG300HR has more horsepower than you need. Plug a hard drive into it, set it up. Install lighttpd and roconnect, install the ro-cnnect channel on the roku, and you're good to go for movies.

Now install some of the other channels; you can play movies from a usb stick, and there are some music channels.

Set up the wifi access point to serve up the movies and music; now you can stream from your van to your iPod or whatever.

And the whole thing draws about 3 amps, not enough to worry about.

Re:Van Art

[Anonymous Coward]

With RV-ing, that "van down by the river" can cost up to $140,000 easily. The class B motorhomes (vans that have bathrooms, kitchens, and some type of bed, likely a fold down couch) are pretty pricy, especially if one gets it on the Sprinter chassis. However, they can get up to 20MPG.

For a single person on a vacation, those are great, because they not just provide transportation without being too unwieldy, but provide a place to sleep/shower/make breakfast without being too cramped.

You can park at a RV park or campground and use shore power, or if off the beaten path, most class B RVs have a small generator so one can run the air conditioner without having to keep the vehicle's engine running.

They are great for stealth camping, especially some models like the Airstreams. Since they don't look like the typical RV, but more like work vans, if parked somewhere to sleep overnight, you are far less likely to be bothered by panhandlers than someone with a class C or class A motorhome. In this increasing hostile country, having the ability to travel unnoticed is important.

For touring the US before the country divides into zones and one has to have proper authorization papers to enter/leave cities, a class B motorhome is very practical. Other than parking garages, you can go anywhere with the van, be it an urban area, or a rough fire road in the middle of nowhere.