Sounds pretty cool....got me thinking now, darn it!

 

I love that idea and I was thinking of doing that myself...but, I can forsee one major snag. The cameras would be awesome and all, but you would have to transmit the feed to another computer to be recorded or saved. If you recorded it on your Car PC and they steal the Car PC, it would be more than worthless. Unless you have another idea of how to accomplish that...I'd definately be interested in knowing.

Ed

 

Your point is valid FaSS2001 - but my intent wasn't based on theft..

...but how many times have you or your friends gone out to their car only to find that someone dinged their door into yours? Or a new scratch? Or someone keyed your fender? Or backed into you? How would you like to SEE who it was- perhaps catch a license #? ...zactly...

THAT is the value point from my view... and I DEFINITELY think it's worth it. Anyone interesting in joining forces on this fun project- PM me.

Special thanks to amthar and rcdash for posting helpful linx and answering a tough question in a helpful straightforward manner. Thanks

 

I'm just waiting for the god_of_cpu screen to be finished for the '05's!!!

All these posts are making the waiting harder!

Dave

 

The problem really lies in the current draw. I don't think my carPC would last more than 2 hrs "fully on" before draining the battery below cranking range. I have a P4 board with ATI graphics though and it sucks juice through an OPUS 150W supply.

Now I do have the OPUS set for a 20 min delay shutoff (so I can sync from home, update software or whatever after I park in the garage). In that 20 min, recording from webcams to the pc could be possible (though I don't know how you'd angle it exactly to get the widest field of view). I have tried a logitech quickcam pro 4000 as a backup camera and it is good, but night image is poor and the unit itself is bulky (round, big) - hard to tuck away somewhere. I now have a small dedicated camera hooked up at the license plate for rear view.

 

yep, I agree. I am looking into what kind of horsepower it would take (P4 or Centrino..) to run the security app + stream the video. I think stacking it w/ RAM may allow me to use a more efficient processor.

The way ideally I'd have it set up is, u go somewhere get ready to exit your car, select the setting (prowl, reactive or off) for the security app. After 1-2 minutes, the system goes to sleep mode. The car alarm with periphery dection serves as the 'wake by LAN' signal <or substitute motion detectors>, wakes the carpc out of sleep mode activating the security app-

It's a tall order... I know. Some questions would be;

1) how well the security app behaves coming out of sleep mode
2) these apps usually run through a big buffer to capture near real time reaction.. need to better understand system requirements
3) i think you also have to consider how much power the camera's will pull when activated
4) if you're in an extremely busy parking lot, could keep the system "up" for hours

-damn, those are some high hurdles. :/ I think it would be the c00lest thing tho/ i will keep working to refine this and post as I learn. thoughts from the m0d pro's/tekks are always welcome.

Doing this stuff in a car, it's a new realm for me. ty again for the time and responses..

 

One issue I noticed though, if the system is actually built, your cameras will only be active after the perimeter senser or alarm trip is activated and the system (pc, apps, cameras) are fully loaded and operational. In that case if you want to catch someone that dinged your door or whatever, your footage will be after the fact, and even a liscense plate # will do you no good since you didn't catch it in the act.
The other huge issue as many of you said is power drain.....a pc that has enough ***** to process multiple video streamsand cameras is going to suck up juice like a Hummer with bad spark plugs sucks up gas. It is also possible for the pc to hang and not go back into standby mode also if there are system errors.
You can get a power supply that does shut off in case of low battery or get something like a "battery buddy", but in either case, you will still only get a few hours operational on the stock battery. Possibly having and additional battery for the system may be an option.

 

lol.. hummer w/ bad spark plugs.. HA-

Everything you say is true.. it really all comes down to power consumption (hence, have been thinking about the secondary battery also- my wife even suggested solar panels to help recharge it- which I nearly laughed at/ then realized maybe not that bad of an idea...)

Anyway.. I digress: the way these security apps make up for the lag is the same way a Tivo works.. then use a large memory buffer so that when the motion/trigger happens, it starts recording at the begining of the buffer and therefore makes up the second or two.

This all leads back to the original problem tho- power consumption by a carpc -- having it go into and out of 'sleep' mode may cause issues/ if I can power this thing, 99% of the problems go away. PS - to add to the power consumption problem/ the cameras are powered as well..

My thoughts now turn to the alternator. I wonder if the stock unit recharge 2 batteries, or if I'd need to install an aftermarket higher output unit.. I'm pretty sure I could split the leads to either unit and run a second line to a second battery. Hmm. just talking out loud.

 

there are circuits that will charge one battery at a time - so you don't need to upgrade your alternator

the same "smart box" (usually just a manual switch) will allow you to crank from your secondary batttery in case your primary goes dead

 

awesome nfo.. thx. That makes it a bit easier. Is this "smart box" something that would be picked up at a car specialty shop- or ?

I am trying to map out all the hurdles and things to mitigate them so that I can determine the best solution before I start.. I know I'll hit snags, might as well eliminate as many as possible before hand. As always, ty.

 

Just do a search for "dual battery isolator" and you will find what you need. Relatively cheap and easy. Also the gel deep cycle batteries (made by Optima and Odyssey) can be mounted in any position (no liquid to spill).

I thought about this, but didn't feel it was warranted for my uses (running off of a single Optima yellow top - 51R). I have modded the OPUS supply so that it does not keep powering the USB line when off.