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Most car stereos have Auxiliary jacks on them, so you can plug in other sound sources. Sometimes they're installed properly; sometimes the jack isn't reachable but it's still back there if you want to look for it. Portable MP3 players range from $100 El Cheapo sets to $260 Archos jukeboxes with 6GB laptop drives in them. Plug in , Turn on, Rock out. Depending on the voltage your MP3 player uses, you might want to get a cigarette-lighter adapter to power it, or hotwire from the back of the lighter, or especially for one of the lower-capacity units, just use rechargeable batteries (or builtins, if they have them.)

I know! When there's already a bunch of people doing it over at MP3Car, why would you drop $1000+ on a MP3-only system?

When I first got interested in MP3 car players, CD-R models were still new (ie. sucked), and Empeg was the only cool model out. I signed up but by the time they allowed me to buy one, I realized that building one would be cheaper (and way more fun). If you're thinking about building a mp3car, then make sure you check out MP3car's Bulletin Board.

later,
ajay

I know! When there's already a bunch of people doing it over at MP3Car, why would you drop $1000+ on a MP3-only system?

When I first got interested in MP3 car players, CD-R models were still new (ie. sucked), and Empeg was the only cool model out. I signed up but by the time they allowed me to buy one, I realized that building one would be cheaper (and way more fun). If you're thinking about building a mp3car, then make sure you check out MP3car's Bulletin Board.

later,
ajay

Goto mp3car.com and ask those guys if they want a lilo prompt in less than a second.

This case seems to fit most of your requirements. It's actually closer to a cube than anything, but a really nice use of acryllic. The entire top sorta splits off to reveal the guts of the case. However, everything is mounted in front, along with adequate cooling.

In fact, this case was the inspiration for my own clear case. However, I didn't want to spend as much time/money/energy as this guy did, so I kept the metal interior of a cheap mini-tower. Besides replacing the boring beige with clear acrylic, the real useful bit I added was a hinged side panel with thumb screws. I absolutely love it. After putting enough system cooling with it, my next project is to mount some low heat (probably LED based) lighting to the inside. I want my case to glow softly =).

But as for your connections in front - I wouldn't want that. I'd rather have the inconvenience because excessive cables are simply an eyesore. USB, firewire, video in, and headphones would be the real ports I'd want available in front. But, to each their own - good luck building this if you get into it - acryllic can be annoying to work with. One tip: though it's harder to cut, buy thicker acryllic. If you go with th thinner stuff like I did, you'll lose potential stability that the acryllic can offer.

There are many, many solutions for this. Anyone interested in running any sort of computer in their vehicle should visit the discussion forums on MP3Car

Lots of good ideas there. Palm Pilot control is just one :)

In this line of work there's also a dutch version.

As far as the LCD & GPS, both are commonly done. You'll find a wealth of resources at mp3car especially on the bulletin boards. They are an excellent resource for finding the best LCD screen.

links for the href weary:
http://www.evation.com/irman/
http://www.mp3car.com/

While this is a cool little hack, but if you are interested in going all the way to frankenstein mp3 decoding car audio system glory check out www.mp3car.com

• E-Mpeg
• MP3 Car (okay they are home made, but that's more fun isn't it?)
• Mega Car (probably out of your price range! I recall this car being worth $300,000)
• I know of others but I'd have to go find them some of which are from big name audio companies.

Have you tried a DC-DC power supply? I haven't tried one before so I don't know how well they work, but if they do I think that's the route I would go. Info on one can be found at http://www.mp3car.com/dcdc916.html. I have seen others out there too, I'm sure a quick web search will turn up a bunch of them.

www.mp3car.com is a good resource for putting MP3 players in your car. If you want net access and you have lots of cash you could go the Megacar route. My personal favorite MP3 player install is the MP3 Blazer. It's got lots of nice features like internet access, dvd movies, it's even got a cd burner in it! I wish it was mine! I also am planning on doing something similar, but I need to get me some money first!

www.mp3car.com is a good resource for putting MP3 players in your car. If you want net access and you have lots of cash you could go the Megacar route. My personal favorite MP3 player install is the MP3 Blazer. It's got lots of nice features like internet access, dvd movies, it's even got a cd burner in it! I wish it was mine! I also am planning on doing something similar, but I need to get me some money first!

It's too bad that these databases don't include the Universal Product Code. It would allow for some mildly interesting barcoding apps when combined with the CueCat barcoding hack.

I made the cuecat.mp3car.com page. Radio shack didn't even take my information. Me and my friends got four cuecat's with no questions asked, so they won't be tracking us. I also wanted to point out that on the bottom of the cuecat it says its made by a division of Radio Shack Electronics. If tracking was built into the software, it wouldn't matter anyway, the whole point of our page was to not have to use their software. And why use the thing?? Jesus, its free!!! What more could you ask for! I bet if I got it to run linux, you would want two of them!!!!

Yea, this AIWA player is kinda old news. But once again, MP3Car.Com has got the downlow on everything under the sun MP3 + CAR. Cheers

Bah. Just get a car MP3 player for less money. Linux-based ones cost less than $400 in hardware, counting an old monitor. Just slap a 486 or low-end Pentium together.

MP3Car.com has some great examples and resources. One of my friends has built a mp3 car for $0 in expenses. It runs DOS 6.22 and I've seen it - it's damn leet ;)

Bah. Just get a car MP3 player for less money. Linux-based ones cost less than $400 in hardware, counting an old monitor. Just slap a 486 or low-end Pentium together.

MP3Car.com has some great examples and resources. One of my friends has built a mp3 car for $0 in expenses. It runs DOS 6.22 and I've seen it - it's damn leet ;)

What company hasn't decided its gonna make MP3 Car hardware....
This is MooN, the owner of MP3Car.Com, and I have been following this market for three years now. People will pay for a unit that meets their needs, that is obvious. But, if you think you can get some custom pc, add some via voice, box it up and call it cool...you are wrong. People want dependable, integrated, small systems...the kind of thing a small company would have a large problem producing.

So what is coming out. We will be selling the MamboX, Pine, and Ijam portable CD players. Awia has announced an in-dash player. Hell, even D-Link (generic hardware manufactur masters) are making a portable player. How many portables do we need before someone takes the next step. Been waiting 2 years here...but I think its finally gonna happen! Yea HAW!

Sorry for the shameless plug! But we got free stickers!

check out the hardware section of MP3car.com. a whole bunch there...

These guys are always ahead of the game when it comes to making mp3s mobile. Oh and I'm on there too if you want to see a sweet car.

These guys are always ahead of the game when it comes to making mp3s mobile. Oh and I'm on there too if you want to see a sweet car.

Check out some of the hardware on mp3car.com. This link has a few MP3/CD players right up on top. Not too bad on the wallet either. ;) -capncrack

Does anybody know anything about mp3 players for your car (I've already seen the cassette adaptor, I'm talking about the real deal)?

Try mp3car.com. There's some cool stuff on there, including DIY info.

My company, www.mp3car.com, has been selling MP3/CD products for quite sometime. Our home stand alone product is called Mozart's Music Box and retails for $249.99. We are also going to be reselling two portable MP3/CD units which look very promising! Check out the website if you want to see some cool MP3 hardware. We got some kick ass homebrew too! http://www.mp3car.com

From the Empeg website

Cost: projected price US$1099 (excluding shipping) for 4Gb version.

This implies that not only is the player not available (actually it does seem to be available as beta, whatever that means) but it's going to cost more than 3 times the cost of an average MP3 player. The purpose of my post is that there should be more companies working on car MP3 players (Sony, Pioneer, Rio, etc.) instead of 1 company selling an overpriced buggy product.
PS: Check out MP3Car.com if you're interested in finding out about playing MP3s in your car.

It looks like the NetWinder would be very good for use in an MP3 vehicle. MP3Car.com has some cool vehicles, and since the NetWinder is cheap (somewhat), and uses very little power (like 15 watts) it would be ideal for sticking in a car...