• Registered: 2010-08-10
  • Posts: 4

Topic: I put it in my car...

I wired a pure sine inverter to my car battery, and then i'm running n apc battery backup off of that.  the battery backup is for when the car starts, the starter nabs all the juice and the infocast dies and reboots, the apc senses a drop in power and switches to a deep cycle battry tht it charges when its not needed.  i hvnt tested the durtion of a full,y charged apc on an infocast, yet.  a modified sine wave inverter didnt work, the battery backup couldnt read consistent power.  I tucked these in my glovebow after i connected the infocast to the apc.  then I installed a double din dash kit with a standard size mp3/aux enabled cd deck, and would you believe me if i told you that infocst slides perfectly into the space leftover at the top of the opening.  the only hangup (literally) was that the 1/8" stereo in interfered with the unit getting slid all the way back, so i opened it up, and soldered the cables with an ethernet cable, and moved the audio input to the rear.  the power is ran through the dash so there are no exposed wires except for 2 inches of wire that you see coming from behind the unit into the stereo.  its all hooked up to pro sound, i especially like driving and listening to anchorman.  but with a wifi hotspot enabled phone, i have all the network media anywhere i go.

  • Registered: 2010-02-08
  • Posts: 22

Re: I put it in my car...

I think I speak for everyone here when I say:

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

smile

  • From: Somewhere on or near Earth
  • Registered: 2009-12-16
  • Posts: 774

Re: I put it in my car...

MartinN wrote:

I think I speak for everyone here when I say:

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

smile


+1

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

BoloMKXXVIII's Website

  • From: Australia
  • Registered: 2009-04-20
  • Posts: 119

Re: I put it in my car...

lol - pics or it never happened! :-)

  • Registered: 2010-09-28
  • Posts: 6

Re: I put it in my car...

yeah, pics needed!

  • Registered: 2010-09-16
  • Posts: 28

Re: I put it in my car...

I haven't thought much about making my Infocast mobile yet but I know I''m going to want to.

It seems to me easier to approach this problem by adding a rechargeable battery on the Infocast side and then getting whatever DC-to-DC converter is needed to keep the battery charged from the car electrical system (think of the Infocast as an oddly shaped laptop). This way, I can use my mobile Infocast away from the car.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards,
Kent

  • From: USA
  • Registered: 2010-12-28
  • Posts: 8

Re: I put it in my car...

Does anybody know what kind of plug the infocast 3.5 uses?

8 Reply by caster121 (edited by caster121 2011-01-30 07:55:17)

  • Registered: 2011-01-23
  • Posts: 4

Re: I put it in my car...

speedywheelz123 wrote:

Does anybody know what kind of plug the infocast 3.5 uses?

It is an in between size plug that radioshack versaplug thing doesn't carry.

You might try wrapping the closest one with a little aluminum foil. Then a little electrical tape/heatshrink tubing/glue to keep it in place.

or just try a little bit of scotch tape at the bottom of the lug to make it fit tighter.



However I reamed out my power connector to fit. I DON'T RECOMMEND DOING THIS!
I'm planing on buying another 3 inch as I kinda broke my first one.

Then again I now have another  reason to mount my 3 inch in a new case.

On a more positive note:
The 8 inch Infocast works with the H Size Versa Tip (it has an orange tip) and RadioShack carries a 5v 2.5A DC adapter for your car that works perfectly.

  • Registered: 2011-01-23
  • Posts: 4

Re: I put it in my car...

speedywheelz123 wrote:

Does anybody know what kind of plug the infocast 3.5 uses?

jokes on me...

I bought a $6.95 versa tip from radio shack that almost works with a infocast 3.5. At the time I bought the tip I was also going to find a tip for my $8 Motorola c139 cellphone.

And it appears they use the same size tip. I assumed they used a similiar size and I would need to shim something to make it work.

Nope. SAME EXACT SIZE.

if you can get a USB to C139 Charge Cable and a USB car charger that supports 2 or more amps you can run your 3.5 in a car.

Motorola C139, C168i, C155, C257, C261 all use the same charger. A few older Nokia phones also use this tip.

Tried running off my normal car charger. 3.5 starts booting then fails as the screen goes all white. Brownout. Not enough power.

I will try to find another charger for my phone and hack a USB charger out of it. Maybe sacrifice one of my ac chargers?

Shimming the almost fitting plug with scotch tape works until the unit moves. Then it dies.
May try shimming with aluminum foil later today. If that doesn't work I'll try copper sheet from a craft store. Metal duct tape is also a possibility.

  • Registered: 2011-01-23
  • Posts: 4

Re: I put it in my car...

My current approach only works until I start my car...then it dies.

Solution?

Standard DC Auto adapter plug wires to input on ER1 photo frame battery.
Battery wired to a Car Outlet Adapter. DC/DC adapter plugs into Car outlet adapter. Other end plugs into infocast.

As a bonus i can unplug from the car and power it off the battery. A little bit clunky looking though.

ER1's are on sale at Walmart for $20.
DC/DC adapters are $25 at Radio Shack.

  • Registered: 2011-03-01
  • Posts: 8

Re: I put it in my car...

This seems like a good step.  I want to actually mount mine in the dash.  Really hoping there is some way to get a GPS working with it though.  It may need to have a different OS running for it to go that far. Researching!