Upgrading an old IBM ThinkPad for use in Car

[toviaheli]

I thought I'd throw this out there for some ideas.

I have an old IBM Thinkpad. It works great, just outdated. I do have XPsp2 Installed and can update to Sp3 just fine if I need to do so.

It has 2 PCMCIA Card Slots, but it is the original PCMCIA.
No USB/Pre-USB.

I can hookup an ps3/mouse to the back.
It also has a serial port and external monitor port.
Serial port (and it also has the reverse looking port -- whatever that is called).
CD-ROM/DVD player and Floppy

In order to use it as a Carputer I would need to do something to make it USB2/3 compatible.

I plan on using my TouchPro for Data, gps, etc.

Any ideas?

[Laos101]

PCMCIA to 4USB is a necessity for one of the PCMCIA's

Costs about 10$

Here are your options

1. you MUST get a SSD. No way is a HDD gonna last in a simple thinkpad without proper suspension (like in a toughbook) Depending on size: a few hundred $

2. Get a GPS and Delorme, and have the ultimate GPS unit, some software i think lets you do that with your TP too. About 65$ for a full kit [that's a USB btw]

3. If you intend to use it as a media center unit, then buy a PCMCIA MCE remote system, that lets you change the music and etc by remote. I wouldnt suggest it be a movie player for obvious reasons, this is about 10$

Don't forget to a car adapter/inverter (at least 100-200 watts) if you don't have one already. close to 50$ depending on quality

4. Depending on your resources, you can get a Line-in cable to your car's audio system to boost the power of any music or audio you want [Surround sound Turn-by-turn directionality anyone?]

If you need a stereo adapter for this, that will run a few hundred unfortuantly . But then you don't need any crappy Laptop speakers!

P.S. If you want to save on SSD costs, download orb and keep it all on your PC and just connect via your TP's Data.

Also, for the second PCMCIA, get a WiFi, you won't regret to have a WiFi

A good mic (for text to speech)

If you get a camera for your dash, you can transmit the audio digitally to your PC"s storage.

Lots of opprotunity! Good Luck! Remember to find something to give it a good mount to the car, and that SSD or some sort of suspenison for the drive

[toviaheli]

Update

Thanks for the feedback. I've done some more research. this old notebook pc is not pcmcia. It has two 16bit pc cards. I believe the card slots have to be 32-bit in order to support usb2.

Are there any other options for connecting a touch pro? Is there some kind of conversion from usb to ? that will allow the two devices to communicate?

[Laos101]

Originally Posted by toviaheli

Update

Thanks for the feedback. I've done some more research. this old notebook pc is not pcmcia. It has two 16bit pc cards. I believe the card slots have to be 32-bit in order to support usb2.

Are there any other options for connecting a touch pro? Is there some kind of conversion from usb to ? that will allow the two devices to communicate?

Nah you're out of luck, that thinkpad is too old to be useful for any current PDA/GPS projects TBH.

[toviaheli]

Mmmm....not so sure. Port Replicator?

Expansion options Option part number (P/N) Field replacement unit (FRU) P/N Important information
Enhanced Port Replicator 11J8997 (withdrawn) 11J9000 2 PCMCIA slots (is not compatible with the 380Z).
TP 560 Port Replcator 46H4209 (withdrawn) 46H4107 No PCMCIA slots.
Port Replicator with Advanced EtherJet 05K4872 (withdrawn) Port Rep. 05K6161
Cover unit 05K4875 For use with the TP 380Z only.
Port Replicator 84G1316 (withdrawn) Port Rep. 84g1320
Cover unit 84g1321 Not for use with TP 380Z.

It looks like I was wrong about the PCMCIA I.
This comes with 2x PCMCIA II slots
The port replicator comes with PCMCIA II/III compatable!

And a USB-a port, which seems to be upgradable to USB2 with a driver update?

This may well be possible after all with this old computer.

Now, about suspension?

[Laos101]

Originally Posted by toviaheli

Mmmm....not so sure. Port Replicator?

Expansion options Option part number (P/N) Field replacement unit (FRU) P/N Important information
Enhanced Port Replicator 11J8997 (withdrawn) 11J9000 2 PCMCIA slots (is not compatible with the 380Z).
TP 560 Port Replcator 46H4209 (withdrawn) 46H4107 No PCMCIA slots.
Port Replicator with Advanced EtherJet 05K4872 (withdrawn) Port Rep. 05K6161
Cover unit 05K4875 For use with the TP 380Z only.
Port Replicator 84G1316 (withdrawn) Port Rep. 84g1320
Cover unit 84g1321 Not for use with TP 380Z.

It looks like I was wrong about the PCMCIA I.
This comes with 2x PCMCIA II slots
The port replicator comes with PCMCIA II/III compatable!

And a USB-a port, which seems to be upgradable to USB2 with a driver update?

This may well be possible after all with this old computer.

Now, about suspension?

Switch to an SSD, it'd be hard to get a proper HD that can be suspended as needed without failing on you.

[shaggylive]

i'm supprised the card slots aren't 32bit capable, it has dvd..

anyway you could look for 16bit cards, or I have some old 16bit cards I think.

also I've seen some combo wifi/bluetooth cards (32bit)

@Laos what do you recommend for ssd? do the cf cards work, or are ya better off spending the extra bill for a real drive?

[toviaheli]

It looks like they had two or three versions of the machine. The one I have was once used in a classroom setting, until the school replaced them. So it is the low-end version. Thus 16bit cards. It doesn't look like 16bit cards were made that can do wifi/bluetooth, usb, etc.

However, I did find a $20 expansion/doc for the thing. It has 2 PCMCIA II/III slots and usb-a.

I am very interested in the idea of an inexpensive ssd for it. Although cf would be better!


Edit: Found this:

How to Convert a Laptop USB to a USB2
ds_quinte12667 Contributor
By Quinten Plummer
eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (1 Ratings)

Vamp up your USB data transfer rate by upgrading your old USB 1.1 drivers to USB 2.0. USB 2.0 allows you to move data between your computer and peripherals at rates up to 40 times faster than standard USB connections. USB 2.0 transfers at a maximum of 60 megabytes of data per second compared to the 1.5 MBPS transfer rate of USB 1.1. Most newer computers will come with the drivers pre-installed, but if you have an older computer you can do the upgrade yourself. Read on to find out how to get the most out of your USB ports.

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Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Laptop

1.
Step 1

Download a copy of the USB 2.0 drivers from your computer motherboard's software and driver CD, or download a copy of the drivers online (see link in Resources below). Create a new folder on your computer's desktop and then copy the driver to it.
2.
Step 2

Launch the "Start" menu and then click the "Control Panel." In the "Control Panel," click on the icon labeled "System." Under "System," navigate to the "Hardware" tab, and then click on the button labeled "Device Manager."
3.
Step 3

Scroll through "Device Manager" and locate your the "Universal Serial Bus Controller" heading. Under the heading, your "USB Host Controller" should be marked with a yellow exclamation mark. Click on the host controller.
4.
Step 4

Click on the host controller's "Driver" tab, and then click the button labeled "Update Driver." Select the option labeled "No, not this time" to bypass the Windows update. Click "Next."
5.
Step 5

Select the option labeled "Install from a list or specific location" on the next page. Click "Browse" to locate the folder to which you copied the USB 2.0 driver. Open the folder, select the file and then click "next" to install the driver.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5266662_conv...p-usb-usb.html

[shaggylive]

yea, that's kinda generic info for hardware that came out right before the switch to 2.0
although I'm sure if it's possible you should be able to find for that specific model.
I've always liked the thinkpad line.

I'm not sure it's worth messing with, unless it just happens to be easy.
get a card anyway you'll be better off. if anything just use the built in one for your wireless mouse nano adaptor.

All I can say is be careful when trying the ide-cf way, some adaptors don't work (the one I bought of course ;b ) and not all cf cards are equal or will work.
I wonder if the pccard way works on 16bit? cuz I think thinkpads will let you use cf in pccard slot for a hdd.

[Laos101]

Originally Posted by shaggylive

i'm supprised the card slots aren't 32bit capable, it has dvd..

anyway you could look for 16bit cards, or I have some old 16bit cards I think.

also I've seen some combo wifi/bluetooth cards (32bit)

@Laos what do you recommend for ssd? do the cf cards work, or are ya better off spending the extra bill for a real drive?

Depends on how much you want to spend. CF drives are cheaper and slower. SSD drives are faster and cost an arm and leg.