Greetings guys. My turn to turn to you for help where I'm stuck. I've got a VRVD640G http://roadmasterusa.com/vr3_auto.html and I have about 7/8ths worth of DIN space in which I want to mount a hard drive underneath the unit. Here's the catch. It all had to fit in that 7/8ths DIN cubbyhole. The USB port on the front of the unit is a low-power port and will not power a pocket drive. In addition, I attempted to build a 5V power supply for the drive. The drive would spin up, but the stereo would not recognize it. My only option is to figure out how to fit a drive/power supply combo in there. I did test it with my large external drive powered off of a 12v/120v car adapter and that worked. I just need to figure out how to get it all to fit without developing heat/dust failure. (I live in Phoenix, AZ) Thanks in advance, guys.
I may be waaaaay off here, but I was wondering: Is it possible to run a HD right off of a car's 12v system? I'd like to give it a shot, but I don't want to toast my only drive.
_________________________
"Far better it is to dare mighty things than to take rank with those poor timid spirits who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt
-USMC Corporal Hess Sherrod B:6/6/84 D:4/6/09 I miss you, my brother.
TonimusMaximus, I wouldn't run it right off the car battery without some sort of regulator. What size drive are you using, and what kinda space do you have to work with, I am still a little confused about the specs here. Are you going, sans-casing? What about an external drive kit a dc -> ac converter and the typical power brick stuffed in the glove-box or something?
Either way, I think you are going to need to store something a little bulky in another location and run a wire...
_________________________
"Fix it 'til it Breaks."
Jacob - EiC & Director of Technology Mac Pro Quad 2.66 - 4GB RAM 160 GB SATA RAID 1 - 650 GB Storage Quad 19" Widescreen LCDs Accessorized to the Hilt
Ideally I would like to get the whole package to fit in 6"x7"x1.75" acrylic box. Due to size constraints, I was thinking a 2.5" pata drive. However, if I could get a 3.5" pata drive to run off of the car's power system, that would more than make up for the difference in size. The only cables I want coming out of this box would be 12v leads and a USB cable. If I find a really tiny DC/AC inverter, I might be able to make it work and keep it all in one box.
_________________________
"Far better it is to dare mighty things than to take rank with those poor timid spirits who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt
-USMC Corporal Hess Sherrod B:6/6/84 D:4/6/09 I miss you, my brother.
Yes, I'm using the USB port on the front of the head. I want a lot of storage, but SSD/CF is out due to cost more than size. My music collection is currently quite small (approx. 20 gig) but it has doubled in the last year. So ideally, I would like to put a large drive in it so I wouldn't have to replace it.
_________________________
"Far better it is to dare mighty things than to take rank with those poor timid spirits who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt
-USMC Corporal Hess Sherrod B:6/6/84 D:4/6/09 I miss you, my brother.
This is exactly what I was going to suggest. However, I would recommend against using a pata-usb adapter. I used a drive enclosure similar to this one. The case slides right off and the hard drive itself will mount directly to the PCB so you don't have to worry about things rattling loose. Without the outer cover, the assembly would only be about 1/8" thicker than the hard drive itself, and a much more stable alternative to an adapter
Previous Topic
Index
