CF-VDW07 Vehicle Mount

I just cobbled this together for our annual month in the high deserts of the West. I've been using a Garmin 256C but I can't stand being ripped off by Garmin for their maps so I decided to build a system that would fit into the rented Jeep and not be too large a pain in the a** to take on an airplane. I'll write more on the CF-07 with 20gb hdd which will power the system later, someone needed to see the mount, so here it is.


The back plate is a piece of 3/16" Polycarbonate I had Laying around. The mount is a RAM-B-101-2241U I got from GPS-City or someplace like that. The screws are 4mm 0.70 pitch I got at ACE Hardware. The whole thing took about an hour to build and is more than sturdy enough to support the display with no vibration problems. For those not familiar with this display,it is a Toughbook wireless touchscreen which controls the computer from up to 300' away using WiFi technology. The whole deal was less than $30 (no, not includung the display). Andy, enjoy.
Cap

 

Cap.

That looks really wicked, exactly the sort of thing that does the job.

The Wireless screen really is great - battery life on mine is a bit naff, need a new battery but the good thing is the touchscreen is OK for using your fingers on, don't need the stylus for much. I will be setting up a Serial GPS on the serial port rather than using the bluetooth as I can then use that for other things (like hooking up the mobile for using for downloading off GPRS for any connection I may need - saves using the PCMCIA card with a mobile data card and having it more vulnerable.

This has got me itching to sort it out, I'll post up some pictures when I have done it - handily I have a piece of Polycarbonate that will do the job fine.

Thanks
Andy

 

Andy,
I run mine off a Lind DC/DC power brick. If you look around, Horizon on eBay for one, you can find the Toughbook splitter cable which came with the CF-07 so you can power the computer and the display at the same time.
Cap

 

Cap.

Got hold of an original Panasonic Car power supply for mine, quite handy in that it has a coiled extendable cable for the supply to the screen so it keeps quite neat in the vehicle. I actually stuck one of the 4 prong universal socket mounts on the back which clips into my windscreen swan neck mount that I have for my PDA. I have ordered one of the Arkon floor mounted swan necks which I will modify to fit the 4 prong mount on as I want it mounted from the floor as the screen gets a bit cluttered in the Landcruiser.

Waiting for the CF-WEB273 vehicle mount docking station to arrive and I can then fit this in the back of the truck for the CF-28. Need to sort out a GPS program as although I use Ozi Explorer it is difficult to get maps for the UK for it and try as I might I can't capture the maps off Google Earth and convert them with enough accuracy. Probably use something like Memory Map to do the job.

I'll take some pictures when I get the Arkon Mount and the docking station (hopefully it will arrive this week).

Cheers and good luck in MOAB.
Andy

 

Finally got all the bits together. Got a Gamber Johnson Mount to fit the docking station to, a power supply for the PC as well as for the screen, got the Arkon mount fitted where I want it.

So a couple of days ago I gave it a test - admittedly didn't have the docking station mounted, just had the Toughbook on the back seat and powered up by the adaptor. I've set the toughbook to boot up without requiring a password or any interaction - this means that I can just hit the power switch and away I go. Give it a minute or so to boot up and the fire up the wireless screen. Works straight away, the picture is good. Fire up the GPS application (I am using MemoryMap 5) and the Bluetooth GPS receiver which connects automatically (apart from having to change the bluetooth serial port which had changed from 9 to 10 for some reason).

Drove over 100 miles with it working, no drop outs, smooth scrolling and generally fault free performance. Toughbooks Rock.

Next job is to fit a support for the power brick for the wireless display to the side of the centre console - I have a stand for an external hard drive which will do the job perfectly, then to bolt down the Gamber Johnson mount in the luggage area and it will be all done.

i'll post some pictures when I have installed the mount showing how it is fitted, what the screen looks like etc.

Cheers
Andy

 

Cap.

just received a Dashmount (one of the damage free fixings for Cellphone car kits. Got to pull the dash out anyway to fit my CB correctly (it's held in with mechanics tape at the moment (You can't see it but I know it's there) so will fit this up then and will have a really nice solid mount for the VD07 screen.

Going to finally get around to building my Storage drawers for the back in the next few weeks and then fitting the TB docking station. Already got power to the back so this will be the final bit of the jigsaw.

Cheers
Andy

 

Well... I gies this is the NEXT thing I need to get....

<It never ends>

 

HAHAHA OMG, I was JUST thinking that as well. I can't decide if this is NEEDED before a cf19, or after... but my guess is its NEEDED!!

hahahaha Im in so much trouble....