Car laptop Mounts

[ebaydoug]

Anybody have any install experience with a particular model or brand.

I sell some from one company but they are expensive, always looking for new alternatives. thanks..



mine are here:

http://corporate.auctionworks.com/store/shop.asp?sid=200302152103300000000004127231&sfid=11275&cmd=shop&c=10018123


if you already use one of the models I sell, I will offer $5 for a picture of your install.


thanks.:sponge

[sonyman]

How many people actually drive their car and *use* their laptop at the same time? Furthermore, a mount for your laptop in the car? I believe in having a good time ebaydoug, but you should consider putting that bong down for a few minutes out of the day.

*amused*


This is some serious :sponge :soapbox

[Archon]

a car laptop mount? how... illegal sounding

[vladmin]

Almost every police car nowadays is outfitted with one of these bad boys. I would consider using one as I use MS Mappoint for maps on long road trips and would also like to use one of those GPS USB 'thingies' to get like a ghetto navigation system setup in my car. You can also use your laptop to play media through your car stereo if you have an aux jack.

While I do beleive that douglas is spamming (I don't think he can control it) I'm just trying to make a point for these laptop mounts... I mean come on, with all the super tech nerds on this site does the idea of mounting a laptop in car really seem that far fetched sonyman?.. seriously.

[sonyman]

Originally posted by vladmin
Almost every police car nowadays is outfitted with one of these bad boys. I would consider using one as I use MS Mappoint for maps on long road trips and would also like to use one of those GPS USB 'thingies' to get like a ghetto navigation system setup in my car. You can also use your laptop to play media through your car stereo if you have an aux jack.

While I do beleive that douglas is spamming (I don't think he can control it) I'm just trying to make a point for these laptop mounts... I mean come on, with all the super tech nerds on this site does the idea of mounting a laptop in car really seem that far fetched sonyman?.. seriously.

Yes, and I am familiar with maps as I have Microsoft Streets and Trips 2003 on my laptop....like I stated in a previous post...if you are interested in using your laptop as a toy or a gaming machine you may have to ask someone else this question. But am I going to use my laptop cruising down the freeway at 70mph? No. I get my directions to my destination before I get in the car. Furthermore, am I going to use my laptop as some medium to play music in my car stereo? LOL. No. But hey, whatever you want to do. Talk on the phone, use your GPS system, hook up your laptop to your car stereo, and prepare a MS powerpoint show all at one time, in the car nonetheless, while cruising your city streets? Sounds very feasible. In your hotel room or in the backseat, that is.

[vladmin]

Don't assume that having a laptop in the car automatically makes you use it and all your other media while flying down the highway. I do not see how a laptop is that different from the multimedia/dvd-nav systems in many luxury cars... if you dangerously abuse it and drive like an idiot or not.

[neuroking]

Actually, I'm a pharmaceutical rep, and we LOVE these things. Most of my work is done in the car before going into a doctor's office, and after coming out. Watch next time you go to a doctor. Look around in the parking lot, and I'm sure (if it is a larger practice) you'll see several ppl just sitting in their cars doing something on a laptop or paper.

Hey can't admins actually delete some of the spam posts? At least nix the link and ask for a referral fee! hehe...

Brandon

[ebaydoug]

NEVER compute while driving.

Here in Georgia, I think Officer Bubba would kick your ass silly if you were speeding and playing asteroids at the same time...

I can't help it but if it makes you feel any better, I am just one guy in my kitchen, not a "big Corporation".

i will contribute "non spam" to the forums as well.

[sonyman]

Originally posted by neuroking
Actually, I'm a pharmaceutical rep, and we LOVE these things. Most of my work is done in the car before going into a doctor's office, and after coming out. Watch next time you go to a doctor. Look around in the parking lot, and I'm sure (if it is a larger practice) you'll see several ppl just sitting in their cars doing something on a laptop or paper.

Hey can't admins actually delete some of the spam posts? At least nix the link and ask for a referral fee! hehe...

Brandon

Yeah Brandon. I saw a pharmaceutical rep. last week on an appointment I had. On the way to his car he remotely popped the trunk and then placed his laptop briefcase in the trunk. He then proceeded to get in the car emptyhanded. But I am sure this is the exception and not the rule. BTW, who is your employer?

[neuroking]

Originally posted by sonyman
Yeah Brandon. I saw a pharmaceutical rep. last week on an appointment I had. On the way to his car he remotely popped the trunk and then placed his laptop briefcase in the trunk. He then proceeded to get in the car emptyhanded. But I am sure this is the exception and not the rule. BTW, who is your employer?

Hehe, well, some of us actually do our precall/postcall planning right before and after our calls :) It used to be annoying before we had PDAs, but now we can enter notes in the office. Otherwise you either wrote them down in the car (since the laptops were friggin 9 lb monsters from the 90's), or you lugged your state of the art 166MHz Pentium around everyday. Still, I would argue that the reason that more reps don't use their latops in their cars is that it is inconvienent. I'm one of the RARE ones that knows you can get an DC->AC converter for the cig lighter and power stuff in the car.

And I really like the company I work for, but since I do tend to ***** about work in general, I'm going to pass on saying who it is. Not a huge one (like the dreaded "P" company-which everyone hates), and not a dinky outfit (like Wally's Wacky Drugs and Bubble Gum Company). I'm too lazy to add a sig with a corporate disclaimer to every post. ;)

btw- this is why I'm interested in nearly everything mobile. 99% of my work is done in my car/away from home. The ultimate would be to have the entire laptop, sync cradle, printer in the car and free up my home office space. *sigh* Still not really possible (sometimes syncing with the home office servers can take a couple hours over 56k, and I park underground at home.)

Blah blah blah...
Brandon

[sonyman]

Originally posted by Archon
a car laptop mount? how... illegal sounding

Is legality the real issue here or is it safety?

[jdandison]

-jdandison

[snosrfr]

i'm gonna go out on a limb here...

sonyman, you don't have many friends do you?

[sinistar]

I think he's having a hard time comprehending that many people are smart enough to utilize the laptop mount while parked... it's still probably a convenient thing to have as maybe the steering wheel gets in the way and keeps your lap free etc...
and leaving on the front seat between job sites, it's destined to fly foward at a stop ;)

[ECA]

OK, IF I wanted one.
1. close laptop and it slides under dash to conceal.
Hate to come out and find it GONE.
2. If its in the car, then it AINT in the house and NOT in my arm to carry around, so should be mounted PERMANANT. ($2000 laptop stuck in a car, DUH)
3. Make its use NOT available while driveing... Look at map, look at street, look at map, look at sign, look HARD at map to see streets, BAM, hit car infront after NOT seeing red light. NOT.
4. Wireless access from your HOME. Why?? How you going to get data updated, esp if you made it so No-one could steal it.

Whats the use. Roadmaps? fine, print them OUT on home computer and flop pages on steering wheel(much easyier).
Trips and data stored on laptop for look-up? DONt do it while driving, find the first stop, go there, then look up second location, on regular laptop. Hide in trunk or under seat(no one see it that way) Or take it inside with you and writr your notes(no security problems) and you get more use out of it.

Cant play games on it, unless you stop the car. cant do spread sheets, unless you stop the car, cant write notes, unless you stop the car. Rather NOT have a mount, then i can carry it with me, and make SURE its not stolen.

[ECA]

NOW, a Mounted desk top, would be killer, in a car.

[ECA]

Or a modified Seat, that pops open as a safe area.

[Falko]

Jeez, you would think you never heard of "Navigation" software with "Voice". I use it all the time. You don't look at the laptop except when you are stopped someplace. As you drive it calls out the turns, exits and addresses to you. Of course you setup the trip ahead of time, of course you don't play on it while driving. However it also makes a good entertainment system for the passengers when not used like this (with headphones so as not to distract the driver). And I would want a folding mount with a quick release of some kind. I even have that for my Pocket PC. However for longer or more complex trips, a laptop navigation system is more appropriate. And I am talking about a "Lap" top. Not a Dun-Lapped-Over-Big-Thighs-Top. I got a sweet little 12" screen 3lb Centrino with a DVD-CDRW in it. I can actually carry it, and not lug it. A 17" "Laptop" is more like a one-piece desktop.

Ok, back away, I am now stepping down off my soapbox. (grin)

[ebaydoug]

Laptops don't kill people,
people kill people!

[Ioman]

Originally posted by ebaydoug
Laptops don't kill people,
people kill people!

I kill you! :D

[ECA]

Very true Falko,
But its like cellphones, WHO pulls over to talk.
Arguements with friend, who pulls over and stops.
Iv seen both at the same time STILL 'TRY' to drive down the road.
Sorry for generallizing, but there AINT enough SMARt drivers out there.
----------------------------
Laptops dont kill ppl, But kids finding your gun(unlocked) do.

[Falko]

From what I have seen, and I drive too much, it doesn't really matter. Bad drivers are bad drivers. I personally don't believe some of these "distractions" make for bad drivers. I will admit they may be a contributing factor, but people who are that easily distracted, or more accurately, have that little focus on their driving, are that way with or without them. I will answer the phone while driving, but never get involved in a conversation to the extent of not driving properly. That means keeping the conversation short and to the point. On the rarest occations I even make a call while driving. In all cases only if the situation warrants it. If I am in heavy traffic or negotiating difficult roads, the voicemail gets it. It takes a little intelligent task prioritizing to do it right. After all a "good" drive deliberately divides his attention between necessary driving tasks. This is also the reason for the laptop mount. Without it the driver must divert too much attention to keeping the laptop under control.

Bit of background, during every major introduction of a new "distraction" some agency wants to ban it. When the car radio was first introduced it was labeled a deathtrap waiting to happen. Some even called a dashboard with too many lights or gauges a hazard. This seems to go in cycles. In my opinion, the worst distraction to a driver are passengers. You can turn that radio, cellphone, laptop off, or ignore them, but not a passenger.

[llbbl]

How is this any different than playing PS2 or watching a movie? If the car is stopped or it is the passenger using the device than there shouldn't be a problem. Now if only we could get robots to drive all our vehicles than we could play Far Cry [insert the hot new game] on our daily commute.

[Falko]

It is SUBSTANTIALLY different from watching a movie or playing a game. Those require all of your attention, and you become emotionally involved. Using navigation software is no more than paying attention to the rest of the instrumentation in your car. If you use software made for the purpose you need not even look at it. The newest stuff is even voice controlled. BIG difference. Properly setup navigation is no more than instrumentation. As for cellphone conversations, if we are talking about, say your boss calling you to redirect you to another site, that is not an involved conversion, no more so than talking to a passenger, If you are having a domestic argument with your spouse/lover/teenager/whatever, that is VERY distracting and dangerous. And of course you should not be yakkety yakking just because you can. Too many people talk on cellphones just because they can, not because they have something to say. Do not lump all activities into one category. Sure there are people who abuse this technology, but don't punish the rest of us that have some sense. Like I said, those people are going to be that way no matter what. Like the idiot that almost ran me over because he dropped his cellphone in the middle of making a turn.

[ECA]

WELL,
I saw a story on tv, about some of the software.
It was cool, trying to drive the wrong way up a one way. Finding roads that had never been made YET, planned yes, but still under construction. Roads that were completed thru streets that didnt quite make it.
Better if you know the way, and set the course yourself.
As for cellphones, plz use the headphones.
Its not your driving, its OTHERS driving.

[ebaydoug]

eheh, I have become a "Mounting Specialist"!

[Joseph Davis]

What a melodrama :/

I use one of these setups (diff brand) occaisionally, and find it invaluable if somewhat a hassle to fit it in an unfamiliar chassis. I tune cars semi-professionally, and after a car comes off the dyno it needs some time on the street tuning part throttle settings for driveability. Needless to say, I don't use the laptop until I've pulled off the road, but it saves a lot of hassle being mounted in a handy position; stowing the laptop and all attachments away safely only to turn back around and dig it out every two to five minutes over a period of two hours sucks.

All that aside, I'd rather have someone else drive and sit in the pass seat with the laptop where it belongs - in my lap.

Is this a valid usage, or am I flamebait?

[fyre]

Originally posted by sonyman
Yes, and I am familiar with maps as I have Microsoft Streets and Trips 2003 on my laptop....like I stated in a previous post...if you are interested in using your laptop as a toy or a gaming machine you may have to ask someone else this question. But am I going to use my laptop cruising down the freeway at 70mph? No. I get my directions to my destination before I get in the car. Furthermore, am I going to use my laptop as some medium to play music in my car stereo? LOL. No. But hey, whatever you want to do. Talk on the phone, use your GPS system, hook up your laptop to your car stereo, and prepare a MS powerpoint show all at one time, in the car nonetheless, while cruising your city streets? Sounds very feasible. In your hotel room or in the backseat, that is.

I realize this is an old thread, but I just couldn't resist.

I'm a cab driver. While I don't use my laptop while in motion (most of the time), I DO use it just before and just after every trip. When I receive my pickup address from the dispatcher, I enter it into the laptop and the GPS plots a route. When I drop the customer off, I enter the trip details into a manifest program I use to keep track of my finances, etc...

Add to this the other mapping programs, audio playing, and time-killing things I do while waiting on a trip, and it suddenly becomes very convenient to have the laptop mouinted and ready for use a moments notice, in the car, right beside me.

Especially since I'm in the car for about ten hours out of every day, and getting out of the cab means lost business and lost money.

I am dissapointed, though, I was looking for decent alternatives to the mount I use now (which takes up my entire front passenger seat), and came upon spam. pity.

[ebaydoug]

Hey But c'mon, this one piece of highly targeted spam, has been picked up by google, and brought Ioman and his really awesome website near 4400 google friendly relevant hits.

I think we all did ok on this one.

[ebaydoug]

The question remains, would you mount Nigritude Ultramarine in your car?

It's not safe, Ban Nigritude Ultramarine Today!

Love,
Axzar

[capnRon]

Would it be possible to seperate the LCD screen from the laptop? This is a tad bit off subject, but I am extremely close to finding out some usefull information with your help!

I would like to mount my laptop screen on my dash, and have my keboard/motherboard unit in my trunk. As im looking at my laptop right now, there is only two wires connection the screen and motherboard.... All I need is to know what those wires are so i can extend the wires around 14 feet(reasoning why so long is to hide the wires)

One of the two wires is round until it hits the back of the screen(becomes flat), im thinking serial? The second wire(6 pin) goes to a board on the lcd screen mount, which has two power wires running from the other end of the board...

If this is too off subject for anyone to assist me, please at least guid me in the right direction! I don't want to spend $2500 on a lcd panel that slides out of my receiver!

Pavilion N5310 if that helps!

[ebaydoug]

I'm sure it is possible, but not probable, that YOU could make it happen.


Why don't your try this:

1600X1200 PC-to-TV converter for iMAC or PC GXP2000 (http://corporate.auctionworks.com/store/itemDetail.asp?sid=200401131539200000000009669055&sfid=11275&id=4093606)


Hook it to your laptop, and display on one of these:



6.8" LCD (http://corporate.auctionworks.com/store/itemDetail.asp?sid=200401131539200000000009669055&sfid=11275&id=53244683)

[ECA]

Heres an idea for you...
As long as you REconnect the wires from the base to the LCD, it should work.
Be-aware, that RF has a tendancy to fluctuate with range. Make sure to twist the wires every 17 inches, to break the Flux. If its not done, you will have a good connection, but the RF field will no flow properly and you will loose all signal.
I would concider a multi-strand coax cable. Its a coax cable with more then 1 wire run threw it.. There great for video.

[capnRon]

I have included some pictures this time so you can follow me a little bit more. I took the LCD screen off of my laptop and this is what it looks like:

http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/main.jpg

Now "1" and "2" are obviously the same cable... What is the name of this cable, and how can i go about extending it by a very large amount?

"3" is the power cord connected to a small board. The board will be inside my laptop when the whole process is done. Where can I get a power cable like that, really long?

Here are two more links to different photos for a better understanding:

[url=http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/endplug.jpg][img]http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/endplug.jpg
(#2 Closeup shot)

[url=http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/cable1.jpg][img]http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/cable1.jpg
(#1 Closeup shot)

p.s. Thanks for all your help, I will make a link to a tutorial if all goes well. Then you all can see what it looks like in my car!

p.p.s. Let me know of any details I might need to know and please dont use very much jargon, it will only get me confused!


Thanks, Ron

[capnRon]

Sorry About the links not working, here are the urls for the photos:


http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/main.jpg
http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/endplug.jpg
http://home.mchsi.com/~davestack/laptoppics/cable1.jpg

[ECA]

On #2, If you open that up, you will find alot of little wires.
That is all you need to connect up. Probably about 6 wires.
Red green blue and then red gound blue ground and green ground.
If nothing else, try network wire, it has 8-10 wires, just dont use the extras.
What you REALLY need, is the plastic connectors for the ends..
Find an electronics store or radio shack and Order it.(radioshak.com??)

As for the power side...Its 2 wires. Just make sure they are Hooked to the same places as ON THE BOARD...Its DC, there is a + side and a - side.

[capnRon]

#2 actually has 16 wires in it. So I think i am going to need to get a parrallel cable right? The network cable only has 8 wires. Parrallel has what, 25?

Another thing, Where can I get a plug like #2? it has 20 pin holes. I would need a female and male.... thanks for all your help!

[ECA]

I could only give you one scource, and that would be radio shak dot com...

Unless you wish to take off the end, place your own adaptor on the LCD to connect to the cable, then place that End, on the Laptop connection.

[capnRon]

I took off the end peice, and am using a flat cable with 18 wires in it, similar to an ide cable... i am soldering the connection... wish me luck

[ECA]

Lots of luck..

[llbbl]

CAN WE RESERECT IT ??

This thead has got lots of views . Some good stuff to think about I guess. I wonder if we will still be debating it a year after the thread was started.

[ECA]

we could...
With the current style of cars, Split seats in the front, It could be a nice option. But I would consider a lock box with an extendable arm between the seats, and maybe swivel on the top.
Swivel so that passenger could use it to Nav, insted of driver.
Lock box as to make it hard to steal laptop.

[capnRon]

All is going well! I soldered total, 38 wires... 36 of them were extremely small! Well after all of them were soldered and the laptop was half way assembled, the screen does show the signal.

However, the signal is jumpy and not perfect. When I fold the flat cable in half, the picture improves dramaticly. So I decided i would fold the flat wires in half, then shield them with something, any ideas?

Thanks again, Ron

[ECA]

As mentioned,
Roll the cable, and make sure there is a full twist every 17".
Signal loss should go down... Shielding wont help much. Shielding is good when you are getting signal loss due to Energy/voltage area/motors/ spikes...

[ebaydoug]

Now if you could make an easy "kit" to remove and extend your laptops screen, you could sell it on eBay and be rich!