Embedded vehicle PC vs laptop for chasing

[chadvia]

This year I'm considering embedding a mini itx motherboard or purchasing a Voom2 type PC combined with a touch screen vga monitor for storm chasing instead of mounting the laptop. Thus far, the main drawback I see is having to shut down and reboot the computer every time I turn the vehicle off to refuel or stop to eat etc. I was curious if anyone had any experience with carputers with a Windows OS or had an opinion about using such a setup.

 

[Tyler Allison]

If you chase enough it makes sense. If you only chase a few times a year. Not worth it. IMO

 

[Sean Waugh]

There is a small discussion about this in the 'Concern over laptop mount with airbag' topic, but I'll reiterate a few points. I've done this exact setup in both my personal vehicle and in the NSSL mobile mesonets that were used for the VORTEX 2 project (that I built). The problems that you mention are easily overcome depending on how you wire the computer. If you run the computer using an AC power supply, you can simply plug it into an inverter which you can turn off and on. If you opt for the DC power supply, which is much more energy efficient and slightly smoother running, you can wire the computer to your car's electrical system. Rather than attempting to wire the computer directly to the car's battery, I would suggest you run your own wires from the battery to a fuse box inside the vehicle, from which you can power almost anything you want. You could put a switch inline with this circuit so that you can turn it on and off at your will. Most of these computers can take a few fluctuations in power as you crank your car to start it, as long as it doesn't take do long or isn't a switch. If it's a problem, install a backup battery and use a UPS switch to move back and forth between the power sources. You could run the computer equipment briefly with the car off without too much concern of draining your battery, but I wouldn't let it go for too long. You could always hook it all up and do a few tests to figure out how much time you actually have (backup battery would eliminate this concern).

From personal experience, I might caution you towards using a touch screen. It sounds like a great idea, but was practically difficult to use while chasing. Plus, without paying an enormous amount, the screen will likely be fairly small. You could just run the computer to a regular monitor (14", 15', 17" ,etc) and use a wireless keyboard with a trackball. Just my suggestion from what I have done.

 

[Tyler Allison]

From personal experience, I might caution you towards using a touch screen. It sounds like a great idea, but was practically difficult to use while chasing. Plus, without paying an enormous amount, the screen will likely be fairly small. You could just run the computer to a regular monitor (14", 15', 17" ,etc) and use a wireless keyboard with a trackball. Just my suggestion from what I have done.

That's how we setup the CoD chase vans. regular flat panel monitor and wireless keyboard and a geo-spacial mouse. The mouse is a b&#^ to get the hang of, but once you do you can simply wave your hand around and move the mouse.

 

[Keith Hosman]

One option would be to pick up a used Motorola MDT (Mobile Date Terminal)

 

[Skip Talbot]

I was just asking Sean some questions about this in PM. In addition to not having to mount the laptop, the allure of running a desktop in a vehicle is the increased performance and capabilities it offers. I'd like to be able to edit HD video out in the field so I can send something off to the news, get something up on youtube quickly, or maybe use that long drive back from the plains to render out a time-lapse. It would also be great to use the radar software I'm developing out in the field. Because of the amount of video memory it consume, however, its currently not very practical for a laptop. If I could put an i7 with a gig of dedicated video memory in the car I could do all of this and a lot more. Sean informed that vibration would probably be an issue trying to use a conventional desktop in a car. In addition to using a solid state drive, how about a pad or rubber feet to dampen the vibration?

I checked out the specs on some of these PC's designed for cars, and they are quite similar to laptops. Why not just get a laptop and then some sort of docking solution? Then you could stash the laptop under a seat, get a nice screen for it, and also use the laptop in your motel room after the chase. You'd also have the laptop's battery to use when your car is shut down at the pumps. Is the main advantage of a dedicated PC over a docked laptop the price?

 

[chadvia]

Is the main advantage of a dedicated PC over a docked laptop the price?

I've been considering this for a couple of years now for a couple of reasons. First, although my current setup doesn't require a lot of time to be in "chase mode," I like the idea of already having everything in the vehicle ready to go with little or no notice.

Secondly, I too would like more processing power. I know most of the pre built car pc's are similar to average laptops or netbooks, but I have plenty of parts already at my disposal to assemble one capable of video editing etc. I'm wanting enough processing power to run radar software, stream video, and record video directly to the hard drive during the chase.

Lastly, my chase vehicle has to double as my every day vehicle as well. A nice clean and virtually "hidden" setup is always desirable. The Expedition has plenty of room to tuck away misc gadgets so that I'm not required to remove laptop mounts, etc during family trips etc.

I was also wondering about the vibration factor which I hoped I could resolve with rubber mounts and washers during installation.

I like your point Skip of purchasing a nicely equipped laptop (vs the average one I currently use) and stashing under the seat, but I guess it just removes the fun factor of not drilling and wiring in everything myself. ha ha

 

[Jason Foster]

I considered this (PC) option back in 2006 when I had my Dodge Caravan. I think I brought it up in a thread later (2008?...but yes...search doesn't seem to find it) and one point was made that sealed the deal for not having a PC and keeping a laptop...which was not being able to take the laptop with me into restaurants, hotels, etc. I'd much rather update the blog, chat online, post 'reports' while being lazy on the hotel bed than sitting in the vehicle I just spent all day in.

I'd still consider putting an older PC in the back of the car for a 2nd/3rd person riding in the back...because I already own the PC MiniTower and screen and modifying would be minimal. I also have a SMALL as 97 Legacy...which is smaller than you'd think for equipment.

 

[David Drummond]

That is the way I used to do it years ago. Laptop just seems, easier, any more. These are from the last one I did that with I used in 2001-2003

 

[Jerry Prsha]

This year I'm considering embedding a mini itx motherboard or purchasing a Voom2 type PC combined with a touch screen vga monitor for storm chasing instead of mounting the laptop. Thus far, the main drawback I see is having to shut down and reboot the computer every time I turn the vehicle off to refuel or stop to eat etc. I was curious if anyone had any experience with carputers with a Windows OS or had an opinion about using such a setup.

I thought about this same issue when I built mine a few years ago. I decided on an on-baord computer instead of a laptop for a few reason...

1. I don't want to have to pull my laptop in and out all the time and rewire things.
2. A monitor on the dash doesn't get in the way of the airbag which is currently being discussed currently in another thread
3. Running an inverter is a waste and running DC only just adds "space" to your current Alternator.

Does the setup cost more.. Yep. But stepping into an automobile where everything is just sitting there ready to use is SO much more convenient.

• I decided on a Mac mini with an SSD drive because a spinning hard drive is going to fail with the bumps, temperature changes, etc.
• There's a 14" touchscreen on the dash and boy is it so much easier when at stoplights than navigating with a mouse.
• A trackpad is installed on the console for things that the touchscreen isn't convenient for.
• Wireless Keyboard that can sit on the lap of the driver or passenger.
• DC power supply that automatically hibernates the computer when the key is turned off and thus allows the computer to resume quickly.

The computer mounts under the seat and everything is pretty much hidden when by tinted windows... Even the touchscreen as it's black and just appears to be part of the dash. Wires are hidden and nothing is in the way of passengers or my roving three year old. When I used a laptop on a mount, I has wires all over the place and the car looked terrible when the laptop was there. This way is SO much more clean.

The reason I spent the money on this was because I live a nomadic life, fixing computer and helping people all day long. Staying in touch is part of my business.

The only complaint that I have is that the touchscreen doesn't dim with darkness like a laptop would so at times on very dark nights, even just the taskbar is too bright and I have to put a black screensaver on the screen to help drive.

As someone posted before... If you spend a lot of time with a laptop on a mount, putting something in permanently is so much more convenient.

 

[TJ Whitt]

I recently built a carputer for a friend. It uses an Intel Atom cpu, 4GB of Ram, 120GB SSD, media card reader, and 1GB graphics. Cost a little under $450 to build. I used the rubber feet that have springs off an old turntable and a seperate mounting board for vibration isolation. Friend says that after a year of use, it is still going strong.

I plan on building one for myself. While I like the idea of a carputer for chasing, I still think a decent laptop would get the job done.

 

[Verne Carlson]

I'm with Jason on this one. When you get to your destination after chasing you're going to want to pop your laptop out to download video, process pictures, post to your Blog, etc. Also you may want to still be running GR to see what that next line of storms coming to your hotel room is going to do. If you have a laptop you don't have to worry about it getting jacked with out in your car by a smash and grab too.

 

[Lou Ruh]

I have been running with an onboard PC for years (but, my chase vehicle has lots of room so I've had a lot of flexibility for that). I also have a laptop that I fire up as needed (since I have onboard wifi I can use both computers simultaneously if needed). With the wireless keyboard, the computer can be operated from anywhere in the vehicle and I also have a monitor in the front and the back. And, everything except the monitor is hidden when the vehicle is parked.

Another thing to consider is a laptop with a separate monitor attached (and mounted safely somewhere) and a wireless keyboard and then you could keep the laptop out of the way somewhere (i.e., away from airbags, etc.) and still take it with you when you leave the vehicle. Sort of the best of both worlds.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Speaking of wireless keyboards, one idea I've been thinking about is putting the keyboard behind the steering wheel. You could put your hands through the holes in the wheel and type fairly comfortably without having to take your hands off the wheel. Either your wrists would be on the wheel or you could actually steer with the keyboard if its mounted in a sturdy enough fashion. The keyboard would be behind the airbag, so you wouldn't have to worry about that. Yeah yeah, I know you aren't supposed to type at all while driving, but this would probably be safer than my current routine of steering with my knees and reaching over and typing on the laptop desk. At least I can type without looking at the keyboard, so my eyes aren't off the road.

 

[Mark Blue]

There are several form factors available these days that would allow someone to build a PC that would essentially be integrated into your car permanently. I would definitely recommend using a SSD versus a platter based hard drive if you are serious about building your own, mainly due to the bumps in the road. There are plenty of shops online that offer equipment to dampen vibration and things of that nature, amongst other things. For example: Frozen CPU and Performance PCs just to name a few.

I however believe that laptops can be purchased these days with as much horsepower as can be had in a desktop or SFF PC. If rendering video is something you do on the fly while driving you could get an external drive that has USB 3 connection and probably get along just fine, since an internal SSD doesn't come with mega storage just yet (Gigabyte wise) and HD video files can be rather large. I could potentially see an eSATA interface on an external drive sufficing for this task as well, but USB 3 seems to have the most bandwidth of any current interface.

I can understand your need to build your own as I like doing that as much as the next guy. It affords you the opportunity to hand pick every part that goes into your build which is a really cool thing. I would probably opt to buy a notebook with plenty of power and a dedicated graphics solution and a Blu ray burner if the chips were down though. You may want to check out the notebook kits you can buy now where you can build your own notebook and choose the components yourself as that is certainly an option that exists nowadays. Just an FYI, Intel is rolling out their new line of processors code named "Sandy Bridge" and according to early test results they are going to blow the doors off any current Core I7 chip. Apparently the new chips will run circles around Intel's current line up (including the Core I7-980X Extreme Edition) and best of all they will cost about 1/3 the price. Best of luck and if you decide to build please post pixs for all of us to see!