Just for kicks on the highway

[ICE_9]

I want to put the Intel D201GLY board with a jump drive and a wireless usb adapter in my car and have it fold. It won't do SMP but it should do a regular client. Any suggestions on how to go about this.

Things needed:
PC to run for extended periods of time (2 days on battery possible)
Dedicated wireless to run a USB stick to sync FAH data when parked in the garage
Linux on USB
A case and wireing to make it look good in my Cavalier

Attempt to stay below $200 on costs as well. If this works good, I can have two cars folding on the road. Suggestions? Comments?

 

[mavalpha]

I want to put the Intel D201GLY board with a jump drive and a wireless usb adapter in my car and have it fold. It won't do SMP but it should do a regular client. Any suggestions on how to go about this.

Things needed:
PC to run for extended periods of time (2 days on battery possible)
Dedicated wireless to run a USB stick to sync FAH data when parked in the garage
Linux on USB
A case and wireing to make it look good in my Cavalier

Attempt to stay below $200 on costs as well. If this works good, I can have two cars folding on the road. Suggestions? Comments?

M2-ATX, and ignition-switch tie-in so you don't drain your battery while the car is off.
Don't really understand "dedicated wireless" &c, do you mean an 802.11g USB stick so you can sync up while you're parked under your window? Shouldn't be TOO difficult, except (a) you'll have to tell it when it's connected manually, and (b) goes without saying, but make sure you pick a NIC that is *Nix friendly. There aren't many of them in the USB form factor, from what I've seen.
As for a case, this is the one I'll be picking up in a couple of pay cycles. Let me know how it does, since I'll be putting an MII in there- I was considering the same board as you, but decided the CF reader and PC Card slot were worth more than the extra horsepower for a media-centric carputer.

The only thing is that you'll have to monitor deadlines carefully. A 1.33GHz Cel-M isn't exactly a power-house to begin with, and your car will (presumably) be off at least half of every day- probably more unless you drive for a living.

 

[ICE_9]

How long can a car battery hold up a 27W system like that?

 

[mavalpha]

Not as long as you'd think. Even if it'll run the system by itself for 18-24 hours, you won't have enough voltage to turn your starter after 10 or so. No offense, but that's especially true in a Cavalier- they put an absolutely puny battery in there, from what I recall. Besides, that constant 2A draw will greatly cut down the service life of your battery- get one with a damn good warranty.

 

[FLECOM]

if you get a pair of 12ah gel cells that should in theory run it for about 8 hours or so assuming the continious 2a draw

 

[mavalpha]

if you get a pair of 12ah gel cells that should in theory run it for about 8 hours or so assuming the continious 2a draw

?
Pardon me, probably still early in the morning. I know I'm forgetting something, so take this with a grain of salt...
Pair of 12A*h cells = 24A*h
24A*h / 2A = 12H

 

[FLECOM]

ya but when the cells get to a certain % two things happen, one, the voltage will drop till the machine will no longer run, two, if you drain the batteries completely they will be pretty much ruined and will not charge back to 100% capacity (at least with lead-acids - you cant drain them past a certain voltage)

 

[ICE_9]

Figuring a 2A draw? I was thinking it would be more like .25-.4A draw. I I getting .38A on a T7200 pulling 56W on a MoDT board.

 

[mavalpha]

Figuring a 2A draw? I was thinking it would be more like .25-.4A draw. I I getting .38A on a T7200 pulling 56W on a MoDT board.

.38A on 110V AC = 45W
2A on 12V DC= 24W. It'll actually be more like 2.5A (30W)- you said 27W, plus the PSU will need to do a little converting.

Good morning, sleepyhead! (Yeah, I'm still half asleep myself. )

 

[ICE_9]

.38A on 110V AC = 45W
2A on 12V DC= 24W. It'll actually be more like 2.5A (30W)- you said 27W, plus the PSU will need to do a little converting.

Good morning, sleepyhead! (Yeah, I'm still half asleep myself. )

AZ. Just got off my 12 hr night shift run. 1 more night and I get 3 days off.

 

[mavalpha]

AZ. Just got off my 12 hr night shift run. 1 more night and I get 3 days off.

Damn, that's rough. I used to work nights, when I was at Best Buy. (Retail during the day, and needed cash so I did stocking at night.) I feel your pain!

 

[Mayhem33]

I would use separate batteries to power the setup. a pair of Optima red top batteries carry a lot of power and they charge faster than the yellow tops. if you car sits for 2 days at a time you could use a trickle charger with auto regulation to keep the batteries going during those 2 days. you would also have to wire this into the charging system to keep them running on the road.

of course this shoots the hell out of your 200 dollar budget.

 

[FLECOM]

I would use separate batteries to power the setup. a pair of Optima red top batteries carry a lot of power and they charge faster than the yellow tops. if you car sits for 2 days at a time you could use a trickle charger with auto regulation to keep the batteries going during those 2 days. you would also have to wire this into the charging system to keep them running on the road.

of course this shoots the hell out of your 200 dollar budget.

for deep cycle you would want blue tops, not red tops, he is going to be deep cycling, not starting anything

 

[Mayhem33]

for deep cycle you would want blue tops, not red tops, he is going to be deep cycling, not starting anything

yellow is the auto deep cycle but they like to be charged slowly over longer periods of time.
blue is marine really the same as yellow.
red handles the faster charges that an alternator would put out on a drive to work and back with out the shedding that is experienced with the fast charge on yellow or blue.

deep cycle would be nice but the fast charge is not good for them.