so i have decided to put a pc into my 84 suburban for whatever reason. i'm buying a high wattage 110v transformer and just going to plug in a desktop no matter how inefficient it is

my question being that i am using a 15 lcd screen for the monitor so for me, fiberglassing it into the dash isn't what i'm about.

what i am about is doing away with the tape deck in the dash and installing a dvd-rw drive in that slot

my question in all of this is can i just run 20' of cable from the back of the suburban to the dash for the drive or will it loose power in all of that cableing?

Quote: Originally Posted by acornstu so i have decided to put a pc into my 84 suburban for whatever reason. i'm buying a high wattage 110v transformer and just going to plug in a desktop no matter how inefficient it is my question being that i am using a 15 lcd screen for the monitor so for me, fiberglassing it into the dash isn't what i'm about. what i am about is doing away with the tape deck in the dash and installing a dvd-rw drive in that slot my question in all of this is can i just run 20' of cable from the back of the suburban to the dash for the drive or will it loose power in all of that cableing?

The longest I've ever seen IDE cable is 4ft, and I'm pretty sure that was stretching the specifications, it would be VERY unlikely that a 20ft cable would operate properly...but then again...I've never done it, so it is possible..
I think a big issue would be managing to find on continuous 20ft long piece of IDE cable...

Quote: Originally Posted by acornstu so i have decided to put a pc into my 84 suburban for whatever reason. I'm buying a high wattage 110v transformer and just going to plug in a desktop no matter how inefficient it is my question being that i am using a 15 LCD screen for the monitor so for me, fiberglassing it into the dash isn't what I'm about. what i am about is doing away with the tape deck in the dash and installing a DVD-rw drive in that slot my question in all of this is can i just run 20' of cable from the back of the suburban to the dash for the drive or will it loose power in all of that cabling?

I am not 100% sure if it would lose power or if you can even get a IDE cable that long, but what i would do is instead of using a internal DVD writer you could use a external DVD writer kit and all you would need would be a power source and a long usb or firewire cable depending on what the external drive uses for transferring the data to the pc.

Quote: Originally Posted by ranger1033 I am not 100% sure if it would lose power or if you can even get a IDE cable that long, but what i would do is instead of using a internal DVD writer you could use a external DVD writer kit and all you would need would be a power source and a long usb or firewire cable depending on what the external drive uses for transferring the data to the pc.

Yeah but isn't 20ft even pushing the USB specifications for cable length?

4foot is even pushing the limit. I am going to say, No, 20 foot cable would not work.

http://www.cooldrives.com/usb-extension-cable-.html

Using this cable and considering the fact that data transfer is not really an issue, it should work well. What are you using for power? Running the drive off of the psu or running another source for it?

Quote: Originally Posted by unit505 http://www.cooldrives.com/usb-extension-cable-.html Using this cable and considering the fact that data transfer is not really an issue, it should work well. What are you using for power? Running the drive off of the psu or running another source for it?

Wow man, not only good find, good deal!

The standard on IDE/PATA cables says a maximum limit of 18 inches, but that isn't to say you could have a longer cable. There is no way you would get 20 feet out of one though.

On USB 2.0 (480Mbps) the range is 5 meters or about 16 and a half feet. But you can keep extending that simply by putting a hub every 5 meters. You could probably go 20 feet without a hub somewhere in the mix, but your data rate would fall below 480Mbps.

They make Usb extenders that use Cat5 cable
Hold on, I'll try to find one

HA, I win
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812101152

Quote: Originally Posted by unit505 http://www.cooldrives.com/usb-extension-cable-.html Using this cable and considering the fact that data transfer is not really an issue, it should work well. What are you using for power? Running the drive off of the psu or running another source for it?

The question where he would get a power source is a good question, because if he would go that route i was talking about with a USB enclosure he would require 12volt source because the enclosure has 12volt dc plug outlet on them, unless there is a way to hardwire it to the enclosure then run it to the PSU on the computer, but i am not sure if you can do that with a Dvd writer enclosure or he could use some sort of power inverter to get a power source.
I would say this one would work for him it is 400watts
http://www.absolutehome.com/web/cata...C9F87C9EDCD22E

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Yeah you would lose data on cables that long, the key thing to look for in a those USB extenders is the external power'd ones. The USB power'd ones draw to much sometimes and drains the internal USB power limits. Most of the time causing it to read as a non recognized device.

A smaller power inverter up front for both devices would prolly be the best way to go for the DVD and USB extender.

I really don't see losing that much throughput data transfer wise in going 3.5 feet over the cables standard, maybe 100-150Mbps loss which would put you around 300Mbps. Still faster than a PATA interface by quite a bit.

That is if you can find a range extender that is USB 2.0 compatable.

Ah here we go.....http://www.usbgear.com/USB2_extensio...ion-cable.html

But for 20 feet would need more than one cable.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lokie That is if you can find a range extender that is USB 2.0 compatable.

Is this what your talking about Lokie?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....ref=25&loc=MSY

Quote: Originally Posted by Lokie That is if you can find a range extender that is USB 2.0 compatable.

That's my whole point, get a 20 foot cable, no need for a range extender. The USB 2.0 standard says that it will keep the data throughput at 480Mbps for the length of 16.5ft or 5 meters. No need for a extender, you may see a little loss in data throughput, but not enough to cause issues.

The Problem with IDE is that its Parallel. SATA would allow for a futher range, which is why phone lines can transmit data or voice a long range away. I think USB's Max range is about 20ft, but with an extender (I think they are also called repeaters) it can go up to 100Ft.

But thats all theroetical stuff in a non-noisy enviornment. Once noise is introduced into the system, you can kiss that nice data rate out the window. However, The more expensive something is, the better the filtering is for that noise (but sometimes thats not always the case).

When a signal isnt received, the RX requests it to be sent again, then the TX has to send it again, thus lowering speed. The signal strength also decreases in range (and other factors, since resistance adds up after a couple feet)

Quote: Originally Posted by Nerdz The Problem with IDE is that its Parallel. SATA would allow for a futher range, which is why phone lines can transmit data or voice a long range away. I think USB's Max range is about 20ft, but with an extender (I think they are also called repeaters) it can go up to 100Ft. But thats all theroetical stuff in a non-noisy enviornment. Once noise is introduced into the system, you can kiss that nice data rate out the window. However, The more expensive something is, the better the filtering is for that noise.

Sooooo, build a faraday cage around it?

Quote: Originally Posted by Gzim Sooooo, build a faraday cage around it?

I edited my post (added stuff). Some wires do have this around it, its a metal jacket that is grounded. Some of the more expensive ones have this (maybe some cheap ones) but after that it also comes down to how well the cord (or device) was manufactored. Plastic is also sometimes used (like coaxial). However farady cages only go so far. You cant stop noise from within the system, or at the inputs, but you can stop extra noise from getting in (or the fact the circuitry might not be able to drive such a high resistance).

Quote: Originally Posted by Lokie That is if you can find a range extender that is USB 2.0 compatable. Ah here we go.....http://www.usbgear.com/USB2_extensio...ion-cable.html But for 20 feet would need more than one cable.

Isn't that what I posted earlier? You wouldn't need a 20ft. if you had a long enough cable on the external drive. The other thing I thought about, what about anti-skip protection. How well will this perform in an auto?

Quote: Originally Posted by ranger1033 The question where he would get a power source is a good question, because if he would go that route i was talking about with a USB enclosure he would require 12volt source because the enclosure has 12volt dc plug outlet on them, unless there is a way to hardwire it to the enclosure then run it to the PSU on the computer, but i am not sure if you can do that with a Dvd writer enclosure or he could use some sort of power inverter to get a power source. I would say this one would work for him it is 400watts http://www.absolutehome.com/web/cata...C9F87C9EDCD22E

If the enclosure has a 12 volt DC input for power, why does he need a DC/AC inverter? Just tap into the vehicles 12 volt system using a cheap DC/DC converter.