Firstly bump on the question above and an update on progress!
Touch cable arrived from Lilliput, an error had been made and it wasn't in the box like it should have been. They allowed me to pay the extra and get the long version so I can run it to the boot.
Did some research and will most likely be getting this USB soundcard to feed into the amplifier:
Creative SBXFI-S51-PRO Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Sound Card - available for $70 from MSY
Updated the 1st post with items received and costs.
Also edited the 2nd post to contain some links which may be useful for anyone doing anything similar.
I am at the stage now where I need to start trying to figure out how to mount the screen behind the dash... the rest will be relatively easy compared to this
Any ideas on some bog/glue I could use to hold it to the dash from behind?
Send me a picture with what you got and I can look into something with my mods dash(what I use when I'm making guage pods etc for them) email it to qcustoms@xtra.co.nz ok bud, then I can see where we can go with this, and if the PCM works great and the mount is good, I may buy a PCM kit fom you ok
Update! Progress has been slow as work has been crazy, but got a bit done over the last few days.
Pulled the screen apart and started to figure out how to attach it to the console.
Firstly machining the back of the console so the screen sits as flat and as far forward as possible. Hopefully this will make it look like a factory install. You have to remove all the little plastic tabs poking out and the top metal brace. The viewable area of the screen fits perfectly in the double DIN cutout!
The I needed to attach the screens electronics to it somehow. Made up 4 perspex blocks (drilled and tapped with M3 threads) to go in each corner. Araldited these to the back of the screen and then screwed the PCB to the blocks. Perfect! Reason for such a strong bond is the HDMI cable which will be hanging off the side of the PCB is pretty heavy so I needed to make the blocks pretty big to ensure a solid grip on the back of the screen.
Then for the buttons from the screen... scratched my head for ages on this one. You need to keep a bit of the frame or the button caps will fall off and you wont have any labels. In the end chopped the fame as shown, used a block of perspex+araldite again and then screwed the assembly inside the sunglasses holder. Neat!! Well I think so
Now to attach the whole lot to the console... I am thinking of using Sikaflex-227 all around the edge of the screen, do you think this will be strong enough??
It's going to stall for a bit longer as well as I just bought rims... and I need another $1k for speakers and amp!
Looking at:
Morel Tempo 6
Morel Tempo Coax 6
ARC Audio KS125.4Mini
So spending on the car has been restricted by the Minister of War and Finance for a while
Or as I refer to the position 'the fat controller'...
They take it the wrong way tho, don't understand why...
I was looking for this thread after someone posted that new evo droid thingy for evo scan. I was remembering something about dash lights being permanently on...hmmm
What are peoples opinions regarding the audio out from the fit-pc3... I will be going to an amp, but should I look at a USB soundcard with coaxial output, or would the headphone out of the fit-pc be fine?
Postage is STUPIDLY expensive (more than the cost of the parts) as they use Fedex which are nearly as big a rip-off as Telstra, so make sure you do one combined order from them if you do order anything.
Cool supply. Handles cranking spikes, wide input range, selectable voltage outputs (I will only need 12V) and has a pulse output to turn the PC on/off automatically with the ignition.
It's been a while since I was on the car audio scene so I'm certainly no pro, but I'd be inclined to use something with output power closer to the high end of the accepted input range of the amp ie 4v.