dream it and do it brother!

 

Are you near Poughkeepsie?...I can get there in 8hours. lol
j/k - I'm a DIY guy as well.

 

lol yeah actually i don't live far from poughkeepsie and i went to high school there. heh heh, ive always wanted to visit canada though! ha ha!

 

just an update, i was messing around with the "hot virtual keyboard" OSK. it's pricey ($30) but i tried the freeware and i like it much better than the windows OSK or "zero weight" OSK so i'm going to keep it and pay for it. here's some pics of how it looks in action. not the best pics though, sorry....

OSK up and running. i have it set to just come below the typing line and allow the first location in the list to be shown



just a reference of the key size vs. my finger size....

 

^ must be tough

 

tough typing? nah, not really. i thought it was as good or better than using a dash mounted garmin actually. it's a little tough for me only because im blind in my right eye so everything is slightly skewed to the left for me so i need to kinda lean over and get on top of it but i felt that the typing experience for the size of my fingers was acceptable.

i can even make the keys larger, which i will do tonight. i have that keyboard set up like a real keyboard with keys F1 through F12 at the top, i'll delete those and a few others on the sides and stretch the window out to make the keys bigger. it's very easy to do with the options layout in this software.

but to be fair i've never used the stock infiniti navi system so i don't know how it compares.

oh and spoiler for later.....voice prompts that auto mute the stereo via bluetooth will be functional once i get home from work

 

wooow i like!

 

 

ok new update. i borrowed a generic bluetooth module from a coworker and experimented with pairing the computer to my parrot bluetooth module. as much as i like windows XP it definitely gave me alot of trouble to get it working. however once i googled the solution it was easy as pie, but definitely not something that would have been obvious.

so long story short i have the voice prompts fully functioning through my car stereo via the parrot module. the stereo automatically mutes and the directions are spoken then my music resumes playing. i am very happy with how this turned out.

i also took another stab at making the OSK bigger. i deleted a bunch of keys and stretched it out, now i can comfortable type on the screen.

my only complaint continues to be the quality of the picture from the computer but i fully believe this is because i bought a cheap VGA to RCA converter (~$20). i'm going to look into getting a more expensive one but i don't feel like spending the money right now.

and pics!

generic bluetooth dongle, it came with a pair of BT headphones from bestbuy



larger OSK



my finger as a size reference.



so basically im done with this project for now. i ordered some more USB cables and im going to store the unit under the passenger seat. i am going to mount a more stock looking switch on the stereo so i can swap between the map and and the stock LCD display easier then i'll explore a new converter for the image out to the PAC VCI module. otherwise it's fully functioning and i am VERY happy with the results.

i'll keep updating this but i highly recommend this type of mod to anyone. it wasn't that expensive and it's a great alternative to carrying around a dash mounted garmin. i'm going to look into further options like live traffic through my XM receiver (i might even buy a USB XM receiver for this) and lane assist views but right now i'm not worried about that too much.

cheers!!

 

Nice wish my install was easy

 

on the maxima you mean? yeah that doesn't seem like it would be easy. the g coupe would be though right? i can't remember what the 04's look like inside.

but yeah i'm very happy it turned out to be this easy. originally i was convincing myself it couldn't be done but im glad i did it. i wonder how many other 08's out there have computers in them....i don't think many at all...

 

How much did the overlay run you? where did you get it from?

 

Ragin - the touchscreen overlay was $51 (shipping included) from dealextreme.com but i bet you could find it much cheaper. i really wasn't sure about the quality of the overlays because i was looking at a different one and most of the user reviews said stuff like "broke real easy when installing it" so i went with one that didn't say anything like that but it was a little pricier. it came with the USB cable and interface board and a CD with drivers. it was very easy to set up and calibrate.

i am going to shop around and get another one to keep as a spare in case i break mine some how. i'm also going to look at getting an anti glare film for it.

 

Check out

http://www.navtool.com/infinitIG37.aspx

for a plug and play solution

 

Been having problems switching out the stock LCD on the 04 coupe