At 10:34 PM 6/8/99 , you wrote:
>Take it one step further...
>
>Get a retired IBM Thinkpad 365XD laptop and a MODAT pedestal (the laptop
>holder that cops use in their patrol units). This gives you a color LCD
>display, and fully functional keyboard and you can run a GPS via either the
>PCMCIA slot or serial port. Use one of those cassette/CD playback modules to
>put the sound into the tuner. Just have to figure out how to get 16vDC to
>the laptop so the battery won't crap out (yes most laptops use a 16vDC
>source). Or for those who have the bucks get a Sony VAIO 500 laptop (It is
>smaller and uses a 12vDC source and can slip under the seat when you park
>the truck).
Yep, I've been doing almost exactly that (as a test) with my laptop, but
I want a system that's built into the truck... I wouldn't feel
comforatable leaving my laptop in my truck... An integrated solution is
harder to steal, and easier to use, IMHO. (A lot more initial work
though.) I'll have a 6" LCD for my system, and I'll be using a good FM
modulator hardwired into the antenna for the sound. (I'll just set one of
my radio station presets to the computer frequency.) That'll let me use my
radio without having to eject the cassette, or have that wire hanging there
all the time. For the power, I got a 300W continuous 500W peak power
inverter for about $50 from Damark. They do have DC->DC power supplies
available, but they aren't cheap.
>Or if you have patience wait for Sony or Kenwood's CD/MP3 head
>unit to become available stateside...oops did I say that??? Seems RIAA is
>throwing fits about MP3 ( I know I work in the music industry and I hear all
>the execs pissing and moaning about lost profits and the like). BTW do you
>know that most artists see only a very small percentage of the profits from
>the music companies and most of the money the artists make are from live
>performances? Yep...No wonder Ozzy keeps touring... Now you can see why RIAA
>is having a shitfit over MP3. Also many moons ago RIAA also had a hand in
>keeping direct CD2CD out of American homes! Yup those CD2CD units you see on
>the store shelves today are NOT direct digital to digital (DD), they are DAD
>(Digital Analog Digital). RIAA and the software arm called SIAA almost kept
>the CD writers we come to know and love out of our hot li'l hands for the
>sake of keeping thier profits,and ivory towers in LA or NYC (or both take
>your pick).
I've heard some stuff about this, but have been sort've ignoring it for
the most part. :-) I'll admit that I do have a few songs that I
downloaded off the Internet;
(maybe 20-30?) but the vast majority of mp3's in my system are ones I
encoded from my own CDs. I just encoded the songs I like, so I don't have
to have all the "fluff" in there too; can't do that with CD's. :-) (OK,
unless you've got a CD-R...) I've currently got just under 600 songs which
takes up about 3GB. I encoded all my mp3's at 160kbps, so that's about 40
hours of music. (over one and a half days of playing music nonstop without
a repeat) :-) I've got about 5-6GB free still, so if I wanted to I could
stuff another 1100-1200 songs in there and have enough music to play for 5
days straight without a repeat. (Need more? Keep buying hard drives.)
:-) Immediate access times too; can't do that with a CD-changer. :-)
Plus, with the software I wrote, I can restrict the songs to a certain
genre or even a certain artist. I've got sequential, "true random" (but
without the repeats), and one song play with repeat or "one time though"
play capabilities for all three. Plus, if I feel like adding another
feature, I can just fire up the compiler and write it in. :-) I think
this is finally going to be the end of my incessant "channel flipping" in
the Dak! I hear a lot of people (magazine audiophiles mostly) complaining
that mp3 isn't truly CD quality, but if I get FM quality, I'll be happy!
Its gonna be in my truck playing through the stock system fer cryin' out
loud! :-) I'm listening to the system right now as a matter of fact, on
my 120 watts/channel Kenwood surround sound receiver, and I can't tell the
difference between them and CD's... More capability, flexibility, and
cheaper than a CD changer + head unit! Where do I sign? ;-)
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ------------------------------------.
| Affiliations: DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA. RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT CC (14.58@93.55), '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
`----------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
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