T&T: Idea for a twelve volt solid state PC

[Elliott Bray]

George,

I too have been investigating/pondering car computers for about the last
year. Someone on the list put me onto Logic Supply
http://www.logicsupply.com/ . I was (still am) really interested in their
DC-DC power supply designed for automobiles.

I am a fan of Small Form Factor desktops for an enclosed flybridge/pilot
house. I have been running Nobeltec on an old PIII dell for the last 2.5
years using a $250 17" LCD mounted in my enclosed upper helm. Does great. I
started plotting how to use the DC-DC PSU instead of the inverter output
(probably NOT true sine wave-my alarm clock does funny things). I strayed
down the DIY road.

But...
Part of the research I have done suggested that I wanted an Intel processor,
which lead to Wikipedia and info on mobile (laptop processors). The Pentium
M (the Celeron is a somewhat less capable-for gamers- version) has a PIII
ancestory and is laptop oriented with MUCH lower power requirements than the
Pentium 4 desktop line.

Intel's newer processors with dual cores also come in desktop and laptop
versions, again with much lower power requirements for the laptop
processors.

There are 4 desktop motherboards designed to use the laptop Intel Core Duo
processor. http://indigo.intel.com/mbsg/compare.aspx?orgID=0&aryAttrID=238
They also happen to be in the 'Home Entertainment' category - more about
that later.

To shorten the story a little..

I constructed a SFF desktop system using an ASUS - 'N4L-VM DH' motherboard,
1 GB of dual channel memory, a WD 160GB fast HD, a CDRW-DVD.  I also added a
TV-Tuner card with DVR capability.
Total - tax and shipping - $ 784.

The case includes a 190w power supply. The ASUS manual suggests that with
the number of things installed in the box, it should be requiring about
120-150w. This suggests that if I want to use the automobile DC-DC PSU
directly from the 12v sustem I should be fine. It also suggests that a
relatively small individual inverter could do the trick.

Note what this gives me, especially if I run from a lowerstation. The
machine is fast enough to do anything I want and more. I have the TV-Tuner
connected to the cable. I can run the nav during the day. At anchor or dock
I can watch TV or DVDs on the same monitor (or use an S-video cable to a
regular TV set). The motherboard supports 5.1 surround sound altho I'll wait
awhile to put all the speakers on Letitia.


I'll have to confess, I'll have to wait till spring to get the new box to
the boat. So far I have used it as an expensive addition to the TV. I now
have a timeshifting DVR (TIVO like) and can do Picture In Picture with two
channels. Oh yes, I have connected it to the stero and for $20 more I got a
piece of software which lets me digitize my cassette tapes and turn them
into MP3s.

Be happy to talk more about it.
****************
Elliott Bray
  wintering in Austin
M/V Letitia - Gulfstar 44 MC
  lounging in heated storage in Michigan
*************

--------------------------extracted message----------------
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 21:15:23 -0800
From:
Subject: T&T: Idea for a twelve volt solid state PC


With the wind howling and the rain pouring down, I have had some time to
think about building a twelve volt solid-state computer for use in my
pilothouse.

It would be an alternative to buying a PC and a sine wave inverter, although
it sounds from other posts like you need a sine wave inverter for recharging
power tools anyway.