Operation Carbot

its working!!!

2009-09-07T17:53:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures finally of it working.

Mounts

2009-08-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

I spent all weekend trying to figure out how to mount everything and made some progress...

I made a bracket for the PC where the stock amplifier was originally. I used the stock bracket from the amp and unscrewed the amp from it, then welded a frame out of some angle iron and flat stock and riveted it to the bracket:

And I'm trying to figure out how to mount the amplifiers still. This is what I've mocked up. It allows me to fold down the back seats still all the way and the amps are then flush with the seat.

almost done! no really!!!

2009-08-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Big status update i guess...

I got the HORM working and everything A OK, but i decided to switch from igo8 to sygic drive and it is soooo much prettier. I need to test the GPS with hibernation because igo8 didnt like coming out of hibernation. but im sure itll be fine.

Im taking the car to my dads shop this weekend and am going to string all the wires and try to get everything mounted sans LCD screen. then come home and wait til my screen bezel paint looks perfect. the actual cutout is a bit chunky on the paint so i need to wet sand it down hopefully and then thats it.

i have a hard deadline of august 21st. so ill do it.

almost done!

2009-05-28T09:57:00.001-07:00

i've got carbot in its case. everything functioning properly as well. i'm getting excited cuz i might get it in this weekend! woohoo. i still need to copy some music to it though.

So, the only REAL thing left right now is to figure out why my HORM (hibernate once, resume many) isn't functioning properly. and if it continues to be annoying, i'll just say eff it. enable ewf on its own and boot up. oh well.

New paint + SSD mount + GPS + newsetup

2009-05-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

So first off, the SEM classic coat didnt match. so scratch that. waste of 15 dollars. i bought some black plasti-dip aerosol ($6 @ home depot) today and will try that out when i get a chance. its supposed to be a decent match. otherwise im gonna go to SEM color coat satin black and give that a shot.

I was able to get some scrap aluminum sheet about 0.08" thick from the scrap at work. i work for a local government agency and our sign guy had a bunch of 12"x3.5" pieces of scrap so he let me have one. I'm gonna bend up the sides and mount it to the same platform taht the pc will be on. and mount the hdd inside of the U shape.

I got a new skin for iGo8 that Spawn from Digital car put together and what a world of difference. the only problem im having is that only california maps seem to work. which luckily for me i live in california, but i go to reno and tahoe sometimes and always seem to get lost. so hopefully ill find some better maps.

I've also connected the m2-atx power supply to the system with my 300watt PSU supplying the 12v line with a toggle switch emulating the ignition. This allowed me to get all of the cable tied and squared away as well as organized and ready for the top of the case to be put on.

i'm very tempted to reinstall windows on the hdd because its running a bit sluggish. but im not sure. its kind of hit or miss. i'm gonna see what happens once i get a codec pack on there and videos working better.

Oh, and I'm still waiting on Lilliput factory to get back to me regarding the flipping of my screen. I may have to get a newer 629GL to do so. I have the right model, but hte firmware is from 2007 instead of 2009 like the new one. when i tell it to flip, it just stays normal. its strange.

Pics of RideRunner

2009-05-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my front-end software RideRunner actually running with iGO8 embedded into it...

Bezel at 95% completion

2009-05-17T14:21:00.001-07:00

Bezel: It's painted. Some dust got on it after i wet sanded down the first coat and ill have to sand it back down and throw another coat on it. I need to wear gloves next time because im apparently allergic to something in the SEM Classic Coat paint that makes my skin break into hives. SWEET!!! Here's a pic after the first coat:

GPS: I switched from DeLorme Street Atlas to iGo8 and WOW. What a difference. iGO outperforms delorme by a mile (no pun intended)

Bezel nearly done; GPS update

2009-05-15T23:58:00.001-07:00

Here's the bezel after a lot of primer/filler and spot putty, and even more sanding! this was after 600grit wet sanded. I'm experimenting with colors and spray techniques to match the dashboard in the car right now on some other pieces of plastic i have. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have it all done and ready.

GPS: I got my GPS antenna to work finally! Took some random commands in sirfdemo and now it works, so no complaints here, other than that I've got DeLorme Street Atlas and its terrible. I'm switching over to iGo right now and then possibly purchasing iGuidance if i'm not happy with iGo.

GREAT PROGRESS!!!

2009-05-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

I decided it was time to buckle down and I got A LOT done... (my camera is broken and didnt have access to one so I couldn't take pictures of my fabrication)

I've got windows XP nLited, installed, drivers up, software installed (sans navigation software as I'm having install issues) but other than that software is good. I found an awesome saab 9-3 bootskin so it looks super slick when booting up.

My external DVD had an epic failure and doesn't seem to want to work, which is strange because it was just working a month of so ago. I'm not sure what happened with it. But its ok, i suppose I dont NEED dvd quite yet anyhow.

Once my navigation software is installed, I can finish configuring Ride Runner and get it all up and going, set my hibernation state, and go from there.

I'm 90% done with the screen bezel. The 2nd coat of primer-filler is drying right now and I'm gonna spot putty it after and sand some more, one more coat of primer (hopefully) and then paint! i pray it looks good when finished. even though its upside down. haha. it'll work.

I'll post pics when i can find a camera!

Part Listing

2009-03-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

***UPDATED 03/09/2009***

LCD: 2008 (LED) Lilliput 629GL-70NP/C/T - $250
Mobo/CPU: Jetway J7F5M1G5D-VHE - $140
RAM: 1GB Kingston DDR2 533 - $20
OS HDD: 32GB Patriot SSD SataII - $73
***OLD - 1GB Flash IDE - Logic Supply - $45
Storage HDD: Western Digital 160GB 2.5" SATA- $80
Bluetooth: Cirago Mini bluetooth dongle - $15
GPS: USGlobalSat BU-353 - $45
HD Radio: Visteon HDZ300 - $60
Mitch's HD Cable - $25
DVD Drive: Slim Slot DVD/CD-RW Combo drive w/ext adapter - $40
Case: Mo-Co-So raised pci case - $80

Amp: JL Audio a6450 6ch - $315
Ch 1/2 - Dash: Boston Acoustics S35 3.5" - $40ish
Ch 3/4 - Doors: Boston Acoustics SL65 6.5" - $145
Ch 5/6 - Rear: Boston Acoustics S45 4" - $50ish

Amp: JL Audio a1200 mono A/B - $100
Sub: Jl Audio 10w1v2-4 10" - $80

Wiring/Accessories:
Power cable: Kicker - 4awg (15ft) 4awg(4ft) 8awg(8ft) - $100
Ground cable: Kicker - 4awg - came in kit
Distroblock: Stinger SHD4MAX - $26
Fuses: Kicker ANL 100A & MAXI 60A - 30A - 20A
Bass Control: JL RBC-1 - $35
RCA: 4 Pair P3 Gold RCA plugs - $20
Mini Stereo: 4 Neutrik Nickel Mini stereo plugs - $4
Firewall Bushing: Streetwires 4AWG - $7

Fabrication:
Double Din Fascia Kit: - $45
Double Din LCD Mount: ByByte ABS LCD enclosure - $40
Lots of Fiberglass stuff: a lot of $$$

Dash Fab (pt 2.)

2009-02-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

I married the bybyte lcd frame with my dash kit with the epoxy putty. looks good. except that i effed up and put it in upside down. how to fix this?

options:
1) tear out and do again - NEVER!
2) use windows to flip screen - Will work but might be annoying that bios screen is upside down
3) mess with pin38 on the lilliput ribbon - I think this will rotate the screen 180degrees.

other than that, it looks fine. will start filling and sanding down more tonight. will post pics later.

Dash Fab

2009-02-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

I picked up some loctite epoxy putty from lowe's last night and am going to start cutting up the dash kit tonight. I'm going to fit in the bybyte lcd frame and tack it up with some super glue, then use the epoxy to fill in the voids. sand it down. and then add some body filler after. sand it down. and hopeflly itll fit.

im still not sure what im gonna do about the dvd drive. i was going to add it to the dash, but i think i might just throw it in the center console, the smart slot, or the glove compartment.

Software

2009-02-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

I put everything up in the spare bedroom. so i can start working on some stuff.

I put the new roadrunner (now renamed RideRunner) on the PC. I updated to winamp5. I had to mess with some stuff, but I got HD working out of the box. which was sweet.

i bought an xmdirect box at circuit city for 10 bucks this weekend.

ive run into a sound card issue. which is i only have 3 jacks. i thought i had 5. this presents a problem. for 1) the audio outputs i planned were three outs and 2 ins. so i need to do something. I'll either get a pcmcia or usb soundcard, or possibly the MJS line-in selector. Which may be the better option. Much more expandable and I think the quality of the on-board will be fine.

I'm ordering some epoxy putty to fab the dash.

All moved... almost

2009-02-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

OK. So I will officially be all moved in tonight (probably). I moved in December, but left a lot of stuff at my parents. I unfortunately do not have a desk or table to put everything on so I will have to figure that all out...

But I have the fascia kit and a the bybyte kit. and im gonna try to figure that whole dilemma out. So i'll get that worked out.

then the whole software doings.

i jailbroke my iphone so i can tether it now. so thats good.

ill update soon hopefully.

Doctor's Orders

2008-10-01T10:11:00.001-07:00

So I think I'll have a lot of time this month to work on stuff. I went to the cardiologist yesterday and he told me not to do any strenuous exercise until I can get tested at the end of the month. Sooo... I have all my parts. So I will finish my sub box and make the amp racks and configure the PC this month. Wooo....

To Do list and some progress

2008-09-16T14:12:00.001-07:00

So here is the deal...

I installed XP sp3 on the jetway last night. runs great. tried putting minlogon on it, no dice. i have to disable windows file protection, will do that this evening. im creating an nlite install to reinstall a smaller footprint to fit on my flash drive. i will take all unneccesary drivers out and throw in the drivers i need as well as take out features that are unneeded.

As far as fabrication goes... im going to order a double din dash kit along with a bybyte 629 housing. Bybyte says that an ABS version that doesnt require the double stick tape will be out by the end of October. I opted to not create the dash because the abs i was working with warped a bit and it just didnt seem to want to work like i wanted it to. So that gives me plenty of time to do all of the other work. Which is this list:

TO DO:

Software:
nLite XP sp3
Install nLite XP sp3
configure minlogon (done) and EWF
configure boot skin
depending on boot time configure shell to load front end
install roadrunner and gps (delorme)

Hardware:
finish fiberglassing sub box
mount motherboard and peripherals to rack
create amp case for trunk floor
bring power to back
bring monitor and usb to back
wire amps up
replace door 6.5"

It's been a month

2008-09-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

and nothing new has happened. I got my RMA'd mobo back. I was moving along pretty well with the fascia plate, but alas, god hath not mercy on me. I left it out in my shop for the month and it became a different shape. warped. so i guess it was better it happening in the shop then in the car with my screen attached to it. so what now?

i'm probably going to buy the actual fascia kit and either make it myself out of the screen bezel or solicit someone (nexson, turbocad) to do it for me. Or I might front panel express it and use anodized aluminum. It would only cost about 30bucks to do that. where as buying the fascia, and having someone make it would be about $250.

also, i have plans to move to london now. which means i must sell my car. so is this work really worth it? maybe... we'll find out.

RMAAA!!! WOOOO!!!!

2008-07-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

SCOREE!!! my mobo doesn't work!!! YES!!!

For one reason or another I start it up, boot to xp install then it gets to a ponit and shuts off. weird right? So i try a couple more times. then different hdd. then different cd drive. then im like ok somethings weird. go to the bios... oh there it is... i dont think it should be running at 89degrees Celsius, 29degrees out of its operating range. WTF....

I RMA'd it and am sending it back to newegg tomorrow.

XP SP3 install

2008-07-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight (hopefully) I will install XP onto a dummy ATA drive. I just need to scrounge an old ATX PS and the old hard drive. Shouln't be too hard with all the crap I've got scattered about.

I plan on installing XP SP3, then using nLite to strip it down to all the necessary files. I am going to run it with EWF (Enhanced Write Filter) and HORM (Hibernate Once, Resume Many). I'm going to run roadrunner and haven't decided on the GPS software I will use for navigation. Probably either Delorme Street Atlas, iGuidance 2009, or Garmin Mobile PC.

My main objective right now is to get XP installed and everything running without EWF, HORM, or nLite. This shouldnt be too hard. I then plan on reducing the size from there (under 512mb ideally)

Sub enclosure

2008-07-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much more work to the enclosure. Currently I need to sand the sucker down, a bunch. I added a lot of body filler to smooth it out for the next coat of fiberglass. I think itll take about one or two more layers of fiberglass before its ready for the front to be fiberglassed. The front piece of MDF that will hold the sub itself is ready as well, just needs to be mounted, stapled with fleece and coated. and we should have a pretty little enclosure.

We'll see....

Bezel update

2008-07-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

So I have made great strides on my bezel. I have cut it from the ABS and mounted the screen opening into it. My next step is to mount the screen frame on the back side and spot putty the whole thing up and sand and test fit. I do need to create the mounting brackets for it still, but that shouldn't take too long (hopefully).

I decided to not place the opening for the dvd drive in yet. I am unsure if I am going to integrate this right away or wait. It was kind of what was holding me up in the first place with the fabrication so I ignored it. Unfortunately the bezel was designed to fit it, so there is some space in the bottom of the bezel now where I can either add it later or I will have to create a new one at another time. Maybe I should just purchase the drive and get it over with?

Door Speakers.. WOOO!!!!

2008-06-24T14:45:00.001-07:00

I bought some 6.5" Boston Acoustics SL65's this afternoon off ebay. $145 shipped. Hopefully I wont have any problems mounting them. The installation of these will probably be one of my last steps since they are 4ohm rather than the stock 2ohm.

Order of Work (of final install) - long time yet
I plan on building the sub enclosure and amp rack (false floor) and getting those in and all the wiring ran through first. Then I will install the PC and not give it power. Then I will remove the stock EHU and place the LCD/DVD head into the dash and tap the speaker wires that need to be tapped (unless I decide to run new wire for those too).

Then after all the wires are tapped I will give everything oower, toss in the SL65's, and spend the rest of the day EQing/tweaking.

Fab and other stuff

2008-06-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

I went up to Reno this weekend and got the car serviced. They also replaced the damaged wheel well and undercarriage cover for me, which was awesome.

I just made a couple of big orders from Parts Express and Ebay. I goto the distro block, some ABS sheets and a lot of miscellaneous accessories (wiring etc...).

I should have everything by Friday which will give me next weekend to really try and bust out the dash pieces.

Fabricating the dash

2008-06-05T12:52:00.001-07:00

My last resort is going to be to buy a fascia kit from italy and modify it for my lcd. i realize this might be the easiest way, but i cant justify spending the money like that. id rather spend money and mess up something from scratch and learn from my mistake then buy a 120 dollar piece of plastic just to mess it up and end up in the same boat i was before. so here is my idea...

16 guage (or thinner) aluminized steel. cut as a frame for the lcd. bent into a U shape with the screen opening milled out. mounts for the screen and the circuit board placed on it with some stand offs and support bars.

then taking a piece of styrofoam and tracing my full scale autocad mockup of the fascia kit. ill then scrape out the styrofoam and use as a mold and start dumping in some duraglass. eventually once i get the duraglass strong enough, take it out of the foam and clean it up and get it ready for the cage. mount it to the cage.

i will need to fabricate some steel mounting brackets to actually mount to the car as well. this shouldnt be too tough. i will just replicate the mounting system currently in use.

i am going to make it so the cage mounts to the mounting points of the vehicle with some slots to get it adjust correctly. and then the fascia will mount to the cage with a series of of slotted screws so I can adjust the fascia to line up perfectly as needed.

i think i covered it.

Dash fabrication

2008-06-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

I'm having a tough time figuring out the best way to fabricate the dash panel. But I think I might have it figured out now.

I've tried fiberglassing from scratch.

i've tried plastic.

i've thought of aluminum.

i just dont know what the best route to go is. i'm thinking about using a bybyte frame for my lilliput 629 and then molding around that with some duraglass. I think it may just work....

but i'll try the bondo-glass on some test pieces first.

Audio Decisions

2008-06-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided on the amp and sub. I'm going to be purchasing a JL 10W1V2-4 and power it with a JL a1200. The a1200 is a 175w RMS @ 4ohm amp, 500w Max monoblock A/B amplifier. It's a good match for the sub and its not too big and doesn't require a lot of power, but has had great reviews. As for the sub, i've read nothing but great things about them. So I'm stoked! I'm gonna MDF/fiberglass a sealed enclosure on the passenger side of the trunk in the spot where the cubby is. That will come out and i will match the contours of the other side of the trunk to make the trunk symmetrical (because im weird like that).

Mid-bass Door 6.5"

i still havent decided what 6.5" door speakers im going to get. i'll probably just go with some of the phoenix gold ti-6 by morel that i spoke of previously.

Amp purchase

2008-05-28T14:19:00.001-07:00

Amp Purchase

So with the replacement of the stock dash and deck speakers, I decided to replace the amp. This was a bit tricky because of the nature of the Saab audio system, but I finally figured it out.

I purchased a JL Audio a6450 (6ch x 45w @4ohm RMS amp) that allows me to do exactly what I need. I will be passing ch 1/2 to the dash speakers on a high pass filter, ch 3/4 to the rear deck with a high pass and then using the combined signals (pre-high pass) to send to ch5/6 where I will most likely sum them and send them to the 6.5" door speakers as a mono channel with a low-pass.

Door Speakers

I am going to replace the 2ohm door 6.5" speakers with some 4ohm 6/5" mid-bass drivers. I am looking at the Phoenix Gold ti-6 which are supposedly decent speakers and affordable ($140US for the pair).

Mounting the amp

The a6450 will be mounted in a false floor in my trunk. I haven't decided if this floor is going to be full floor or only half and have a 'step up'. The only reason for this is because I would like to keep access to the spare tire.

I plan on leaving a second amp 'chamber' for an additional sub amp that will power a single 8"or 10" JL w3v3. I haven't decided on the amp or sub yet. I think I will use a JL a1400 (500w class D) or a JL a1200 (300w class A/B).

Sub

The sub will be mounted in a custom fiberglass enclosure on the passenger side of the trunk. There is currently a small area which is apparently for golf clubs cut out in the side, which if I take off the panel, leaves a nice sized chamber for a single sub. I will hopefully render both the floor and the sub enclosure soon

Speaker Upgrade

2008-03-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

First step in getting a better multimedia experience would logically be to replace the speakers. So this was my first step. Thanks to the tutorials from some other guys on the forums at SaabCentral.com (thanks Wulf), I was able to replace the dash speakers easily with some boston acoustic s35's. I then went a little bit more on my own as there isnt a tutorial for the rear deck to replace the rear 4" speakers with some boston acoustic s45's. This was MUCH easier than the front speaker replacement.

Seeing as that there are already tutorials for upgrading the dash speakers available on saabcentral forums, I decided I would simply document the rear speaker upgrade.

First off, I had to think about how I wanted them wired. I went down to radio shack and bought some wire splicers, but then when I got home a light bulb turned on over my head. Here's what I did.

I got some red U hooks or whatever they are called and I snipped off one side of it. I needed two for each speaker. Hence the four I cut.

Then I crimped them onto the cables and hooked them up to my speakers, very easy to do. (sorry about the poor pictures, I'm terrible at taking these close ups while trying to do the work also. haha.

My next step was to get the shelving off the rear deck. this proved to be MUCH easier than anticipated. Fold down the rear seats, this will expose three black interior pins. If you have a pin removal tool, congrats. If youre like me and couldnt find it, just use two small screwdrivers and place on either side of the pin, and pull up together. They should pop right out. do this to all three.

Then lift up just a tad bit to get some leverage and pull back. There are 2 squeeze type connectors that just need to be yanked on a little. Here is a pic of my shelf on my roof.You can't see the squeeze connectors, but oh well. It was very easy to do. Just be sure that they snap back in upon reassembly.

Then use a torx, I'm pretty sure it was a T-25 to get the speakers out. I then disconnected them and just plopped in the BA's. The tabs end up getting bent down a bit, might have been better to get some rubber spacers but oh well.

I apologize for the bad picture taking again, but here is what my connectors look like in the stock harness. I wrapped both of them in heat shrink tubing and then taped them so they wouldnt touch and short out.

So that is the install for the rear deck speakers.