I've been lurking on the board the past couple of days and you guys seem to know your stuff when it comes to tweaking the Intrepid.
I have a 2000 Intrepid ES and am planning on putting a custom-built PC in the car using PC104 technology - http://www.pc104.com/whatis.html - and was curious as to if there was a way I can control the car's climate functions via a PC. The reason for this is that I plan on completely removing the stock in-dash climate controls, the stock in-dash deck, and the stock in-dash CD changer in order to accommodate a touchscreen LCD display that will interface with my PC. Originally I thought about moving the controls to the bottom of the center dash console where the CD changer is, but then I got the idea to actually control the functions with the PC.
I would like to be able to control it either via the PC's serial port (RS-232) or Parellel port (any IEEE 1284 standard) but can deal with any interface. I think it would be a cool addition to the system and is the last piece of the puzzle that I need to have an answer for before I begin the building my prototype.
FYI - I am aware that there is a law prohibiting TV/Video screens from being within view of the driver, however, I will only be using the screen for audio feedback and GPS navigation and, when used solely for this purpose, it is legal where I am. Besides, I plan on using voice commands for all functions where possible.
I have a 2000 Intrepid ES and am planning on putting a custom-built PC in the car using PC104 technology - http://www.pc104.com/whatis.html - and was curious as to if there was a way I can control the car's climate functions via a PC. The reason for this is that I plan on completely removing the stock in-dash climate controls, the stock in-dash deck, and the stock in-dash CD changer in order to accommodate a touchscreen LCD display that will interface with my PC. Originally I thought about moving the controls to the bottom of the center dash console where the CD changer is, but then I got the idea to actually control the functions with the PC.
I would like to be able to control it either via the PC's serial port (RS-232) or Parellel port (any IEEE 1284 standard) but can deal with any interface. I think it would be a cool addition to the system and is the last piece of the puzzle that I need to have an answer for before I begin the building my prototype.
FYI - I am aware that there is a law prohibiting TV/Video screens from being within view of the driver, however, I will only be using the screen for audio feedback and GPS navigation and, when used solely for this purpose, it is legal where I am. Besides, I plan on using voice commands for all functions where possible.