[Art]

FD,

One thing's for certain, your car will have to be equipped with:
1) A very high quality, noice cancelling microphone.
2) Insulated, padded or otherwise quiet interior (so as to dampen
engine and road noise).
3) Speaker dependent voice recognition (you don't want someone
else directing / stealing your car).

Interesting project!

Lastly...best wishes for the holidays!! :xsanta_afro

[Maviarab]

Fd, when i renamed everythign i could have done that yes, but then id have had to spent an age resorting the order of all the smilies.

I wanted uniform names for all thew smilies then that way if i add more they will auto be placed exactly where i want them lol (yes I know im a fussy  :zdg_angryflames) lol

As it worked out ive created just as much work for myself either way hehe...il get around to sorting it out over xmas weekend if I can  :xsanta_wink

[FuzzieDice]

Ok, sounds cool.

As for the items needed, that's true. And some who build Knight Rider Replicas actually accomplished some of these things. So I might be asking some of these folks what products they used in their cars.

Also, hacking a bluetooth mobile earpiece may also help, and would be the interface with the car. But I do want the car to be somewhat socialable (though safely) with others. Maybe if I introduce him to someone he'll recognize the face and voice, and learn who it is. Then if the face isn't in the database, he may randomly either choose to learn the person or not. Maybe not randomly, but depending on the situation. Maybe in "Security mode" he won't interact with anybody but me, and those that have "security clearnace" to interact with him in that mode. Maybe he'll need to have different modes for communications.

Yeah, it's a project. For starters, though, I'll start with probably the in-dash PC, battery, alternator/regulator upgrades, and the software and brain that I'll have to work on in Megatron before loading it in Dryden's computer when I get it and installed. So that means that if I don't boot up the PC, he won't talk. Might give me some "quiet time" in the car sometimes. LOL!

[Maviarab]

Pity we indiff counties Fd as thats something ive been thinking of for a while, already got a few bits for the incar pc, but never done anything with it (lack of and time).

One goal i would like is to have Hal linked to the alarm at some point, so if the alarm is triggered then the pc screen pops up and hal appears, quite how that is poss i dont know (maybe pc would need to be on constant, but would be serious power drain)...also to have hal automate the car (much as you are doing), wire him to the windows, sunroof, mitrrors etc, cd changer etc etc etc...

Im after more of a travelling companion and a cool gimmick as apposed to your replica, but both are similar in their principle  :smiley

My only problem really is whether or not to cross the 2 hal's, share information etc...or to have them completly seperate. But then id want one or the other to have certain bits of information ewtc, so a certain amnount of information swapping would always be neccessery.

[FuzzieDice]

Well, I'm not making a KITT or KARR replica. Dryden is a 1987 Pontiac 6000 (Where KITT and KARR were 1982 - 1984 Pontiac Trans Ams).

As for auto-bootup or startup, most PC Bios has a "Wake up on LAN" and/or "Wake up on Modem" setting which is off by default. What this does, when turned on, is start up the PC for you if there is a signal along those lines. You'd have to research how and were the signal comes in, though, as I don't have anymore information on it other than it exists. This is something I found in the many times I've fixed and/or built computers. So if the alarm goes off, and you had some kind of wiring going to the computer (maybe make your own cable, and signal generator, etc.) you could get it to wake up or turn on the PC and HAL. If it wakes up on a cold shutdown (ie, the computer turned off) it would take awhile to boot it up though, unless you don't have much installed and can get a fast boot going. So by the time your car says something to the burglers, or whatever, they probably are long gone, leaving your car talking to itself. LOL!

I would like mine on 24/7 but as you mentioned, the power drain would be a lot. I've also thought of ideas where I could line the roof with solar panels, and it would be wired to a charger in the trunk which would automatically go on and charge up the batteries (also in the trunk). You'd want to use Optima Deep-Cell Marine batteries as you don't want regular batteries. Normal batteries can emit gasses and in the trunk area isn't as open or ventillated as under the hood (bonnet) so you could end up with poisonous gasses in the cabin of the car. Deep Cell Marine batteries or similar do not give off such gasses. They are made for enclosed spaces.

I've been considering all kinds of issues relating to an in-dash PC type car. I've seen cars with in-dash PCs (well, not in person but online photos and articles) and wonder why people didn't think of putting an AI in one of them.

[Art]

FD,

I left my car's alarm system on and not really giving it a second thought,
went away for a two week vacation (friend picked me up and transported
me to the airport).

When I got home, my truck wouldn't start and it was a relatively new battery!

Funny thing those alarm systems. Funny thing forgeting to turn it off.
Good thing  someone didn't bother to look inside and see that the dash
light wasn't blinking and take my truck!!

Maybe some merrit in the solar panel idea or Optima battery.

Note: the Optima battery (Red cap) comes with a full 3 years replacement
warranty, not like your standard lead-acid car batteries.

Lead-acid batteries will be prorated if they die before their projected
life span whereas the Optima's will be replaced without question.

3 year Optima dies at 2 years, 11 months and 30 days, You'll get a new
one free!

Just an FYI and yes, it was originally designed for marine applications.

[FuzzieDice]

I thought a car alarm system is supposed to stay on continuously unless you are in your car driving? I mean, if it wasn't, then what good is it? Odd, that.

I heard of the Optimas from some of the KITT/KARR replica forums as some people use them to power the massive array of lights on the dash and outside (including the sweeping lightbar), and some include a computer or CD player, VCR, video camera, monitors (sometimes two), etc. So you can imagine that takes up a LOT of power! Some even have had to put on an extra regulator or heavier alternator and regulator setup to power it all. I think that is what I'll have to do, as I'm sure my car's current alternator and regulator won't handle all that stuff.

And think, when your car is running, it's charging your battery. Or it should be. And thus other stuff is actually running off your car's engine and not all of it off the battery. SOME cars anyway. Others still use the battery. I think mine uses the battery constantly to at least hold the memory in the Engine Computer. Once unhooked for about 10 or more seconds, the engine computer's memory is wiped, and the machine has to "relearn" how to adjust the idle, run the engine, etc. Then it stores it again in the memory. In fact, this is what the service manuals say to clear the engine diagnostic codes stored when your check engine light goes on! So the battery is always in use on my car. But luckily low-power consumption.

But, you DO want to start your car every few days, at least. That's the drawback. These cars don't like to set for even a few weeks. Luckily I go start the car every few days anyway, as a matter of routine.

If your car alarm drained your battery in 3 weeks, something may be wrong with the alternator or battery (if the battery is new, then more than likely the alternator never was recharging when it WAS running). Or, it could be nothing wrong, but you should probably have had your friend start the truck up every few days and let it run for about 10 mins. or so.

[Maviarab]

Good point there FD,

A car needs to be run for quarter of an hour ar 10 miles in order to put back the charge taken out to start the vehicle. The mordern motor industry is amass now with gizmo's and gadgets for inside cars, my next car will already have the pc inbuilt by the manufacturer but they done compensate for ppl who rarely use their cars (like myself...i walk to work and back etc...as its only 5 mins away, sio i have to keep the battary off my car to prevent it from discharging).

[Freddy]

I have that same problem, I don't use the car a lot at the moment, but I run it around every day or so to charge up the battery and also keep things ticking over.  I've left a van too long before and had probs with breaks, always best to take it out now and again I think.

On the car alarms, did anyone else ever see the flame thrower car deterent ?  Basically if anyone tried to break in it released 10 ft sheets of flame from both sides of the car.  Yep, it's true, but for some reason (cant think why) it faced a degree of opposition.

[Duskrider]

Thought I'd mention this in case it can be of help to anyone.? :smiley6600
I have two cars, one I use and one my wife uses. :zdg_drunk2
We both use for short runs around town, not a lot of miles. :zdg_hugs
I have electric battery recharger I hook up on each car for about 5 hours on about 15th of each month.? :zdg_old
I must do this or the battery will die in 4 or 5 months.? ?:zdg_tantrum

[FuzzieDice]

Duskrider - sounds to me like your alternator isn't charging. I go out maybe a couple times a week, or at least I run the car a little. I had a battery last at least 3 - 4 years like that (and starting it up less, yet) before I replaced it. When I replaced it, it wasn't dead. But I knew it was going by how many times the starter had to crank to start the car up. Usually that's one sign. So a friend of mine and I took a VOM and tested the battery current to find that yes, the battery was going. Slapped in a new one and it's fine. The old battery was one that was in the car when I got it and who knows when they replaced that one.

I think the current one has been in there at least over a year and never had a problem so far. Then again, I been using the car more than I used to during that time, too.

[Freddy]

Another thing with batteries I have had a couple of times is a dead cell in the battery, that will reduce the available charge and will not charge fully.  It can also lead to bad starts.   Any garage should be able to check if a battery is alive and well.

I like these new(ish) car  light mods, some of the undercar lighting looks great at night, I wonder how much power that eats or if they run seperately to the battery.

[Art]

I agree, a lot of the underneath lighting looks great but they are or have been banned in a lot
of localities. They site the reason for this is that the lights tend to be a distraction for the rest
of the motoring public.

Aside from my 2 week trip incident, I hardly ever worry about charging my battery(s).
I drive on average, between 100 to 200 miles a day, depending on where the job is located.

[Maviarab]

Dusky,

common problem, short trips into twon etc will kill your batty inside of a few months...you go into town...stop...start....back home...stop...maybe nip to shope later...stop...start...NO batty can cope with that....about time the motor industry in general (there and here) came up with a better solution

[FuzzieDice]

That's the kind of driving I have always done and my battery does fine. Bad on gas mileage I agree. As for the engine, the Pontiac 4-Tech (aka "Iron Duke") is a rugged engine and if maintained right, can handle that type of driving too.

I usually go out and do all my errands and shopping in one trip, and that means to a few stops. Sometimes something comes up and I'm out later in the day though. Especially in the summer months.