Testing Journal
Last Update June 1, 2003

In this section I will be providing my experiences with testing out each component of the CarPC as the project evolves. This section will be updated as more and more products are tested and new information is obtained so please check back often.

Deluo USB GPS
For initial testing I connected the GPS to the computer via USB. I installed the USB com port emulator, which allows the software to connect to the device via a com port address even though it is connected to the USB. In my case it was com port 3. I fired up the StreetAtlas software and setup the appropriate rates and parameters to access the device. Initial placement of the GPS was in my front window on the passenger side. I quickly found after testing and haven spoken with Deluo Tech Support that the best place for the device is on the outside of the car. However, the device worked very well being placed in the window. However, there were points at which I would lose some satellites and drop from 3D to 2D mode. Since the Deluo GPS has a built-in magnet placing the device on the outside of the vehicle is very simple. After doing so, obviously there was better tracking with the satellites than on the inside. I did experience a few problems initially, but I worked with the Deluo Tech Support to resolve this. The problems I initially experienced were when I setup the StreetAtlas software to auto start the GPS. Upon doing so, the device would sometimes cause the dreaded blue screen of death. The device would also sometimes appear as though it was working but it would never pick up any satellites. In these cases, I would try to stop the device to restart it again, however, the computer would automatically reboot. After speaking with Deluo Tech Support, they informed me there was an update for the USB to COM driver for the device which resolved my problem. The updated can be found at http://store.deluo.com/xp_ser2usb_patch.zip.

Via EPIA-M Motherboard
Overall the motherboard seems to be working great. Haven't had any problems with it at this point. The overall system is very quiet and is doing well performance wise. I guess the only thing up to this point that I have to say negative about the board is the very poor TV-out quality that is produced from the RCA/Composite port. Connecting this to a LCD device results in very low quality picture which forced to me to go with the Xenarc which supported VGA input.

Xenarc 700TSV 7” LCD
If you have read this article to this point you know that I went through several LCD's before finally ending up on the Xenarc 700TSV 7” LCD. Overall I think this LCD is great. The picture quality is superb, nice and crystal clear. I especially enjoy the auto-turn off/on feature of the LCD. It senses a signal on the inputs and turns the LCD on and off appropriately. Also great is the ability of the LCD to sync to the various resolutions and frequencies. I currently have mine set at 800x600 and was able to run the LCD at a frequency up to 75hz, when I attempted 85hz I lost sync. The only thing I have to comment on the LCD is that since it is a backlit LCD, it is very difficult to see when the sun is shining bright. If someone made an active matrix version of this LCD with a VGA input, I believe that would solve the problem, but I have been unable to locate one so far.

Belkin USB Flash Drive
I have been playing around with this item and absolutely love it. It is very compact, lightweight and is a great alternative to a floppy or zip drive. It's great for storing documents, mp3's, small videos, or pictures. I have mainly played around with this device on 2000 and XP machines and I have had no problems at all with recognition of the drive when inserted into a USB port. The OS instantly recognizes the drive and installs the appropriate driver. Once installed the drive can be accessed just as you would a floppy or CD-ROM drive.

BlueLogic Bluetooth Car Keyboard (Added June 1, 2003)
Upon first receiving the keyboard I was dismayed to find that when I plugged it in, it did not work. The Bluetooth receiver was not being detected properly and was coming up as unknown device. I contacted the company immediately and after several days of troubleshooting the problem was resolved. The problem was that the USB Bluetooth receiver was not being properly detected on my VIA USB chipsets motherboards due to a discrepancy with the USB timing in the USB Bluetooth receiver. The company immediately corrected the problem and sent me a new USB Bluetooth receiver and now the keyboard works without a hitch.

Hauppauge Win-TV USB (Added June 1, 2003)
I have been playing around a little bit with the Win-TV USB, and so far I am satisfied with the device. Installation of the device was painless as well as the installation of the Win-TV software. The only real problem that I have is with the Win-TV software. While it has some nice features, all of the buttons and fonts are so small that it is almost impossible to read on my LCD. I may have to look elsewhere for some type of TV viewing software with bigger fonts unless I can figure how to work with the Win-TV application.

D-Link DI-900AP+ Airplus Enhanced 2.4Ghz Wireless Access Point (Added June 1, 2003)
After initial installation of the access point and setting it up as a wireless repeater, everything seemed to be going ok. I installed the repeater in my garage which is a very short distance from the DI-614+ base station access point. I then tried to connect with my wireless card from the garage, and I found the signal was very weak. This problem was caused because the card was automatically connecting to the DI-614+ and not the DI-900AP+ for a good strong signal. Unfortunately the software does not include any way to select which access point I want to connect to. I called D-Link support, and we walked through some steps with no avail for a couple weeks. Finally after they did some internal testing, they discovered the same issue I was having. They have since released an update to the 900AP+ which seems to have corrected the problem.

Wireless USB Bluetooth Adapter DBT-120 (Added June 22, 2003)
Installation of the Bluetooth receiver was painless. Simply install the software, drivers and plug in the device. Unfortunately, I do not have a Bluetooth enabled device to test the Bluetooth reciever. I thought that the Bluelogic Keyboard might be able to interoperate with it, but it will not. Bluelogic states that the keyboard will only work with its receiver. I am hoping to locate something soon in order to test this product.

AutoTap OBD-II Diagnostic Scanner (Added June 22, 2003)
I finally got a chance to play around with this great device. I plugged it in, started up the car and was able to access all types of information on the car in real-time. Its really great to be able to monitor the performance of the vehicle in real-time as well as log data. This is definately a great troubleshooting tool as well as a perfomance monitor.

**Stay tuned-- This page will be continually updated as I have a chance to test out more components. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions concerning this project, please feel free to e-mail me. **