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The Logi usb dongle is a non-Unifying but is programmable with the Logitech Connection Utility program to connect to a non-Unifying device. I know because I use it and works. 😊 Less e-waste.
looks like maybe a cop car computer, more or less. Video in is probably composite input from a dash camera, probably starts recording when you switch on the cop car lights, which might be switchable based on the serial inputs, and the power outputs probably turn on the lights no the car. Swappable SSDs or HDDs probably for the dashcam storage, If I had to guess. Guessing the battery is to handle gracefully shutting down the computer when power is cut. Pretty awesome little guy you got there!
@@brofights3138 that one question " modern truck" who ripping IT tech from a modern modern truck, I can like cop car, mobile security, like money moment vans etc. from bank to back, wages etc, may if that thing what it is?
You are correct; these are designed for use in commercial vehicles. This particular one looks like it was configured for use on public transit (buses). The two laptop drives would be used to record video, a GPS receiver would be connected to one of the serial ports, and the logging data (including the GPS) would be relayed back to the company over the WWAN (Wireless WAN, aka cellular). You had two SIM card slots for redundancy over different providers.
EU buses sure have a ton of cameras, both inside and outside. I've been told by a friend who went through driver training that they use some local boxes for public surveilence and swap HDDs at the end of every shift to dump recordings.
You think it was capable of providing wifi to riders? Some buses in some cities have "free wifi", and it looks like a gizmo that can funnel that kind of traffic around at a low QoS...
@@Mr.Leeroy There are no direct inputs for cameras (BNC or something like that). Only one input using VGA or Serial port. Ok, it may be special port for 15 S-video analog cameras too. Hard to say.
Many years ago before the invention of smart phones, I wanted to build a car pc so I could play music with winamp while driving. This would've been perfect pc back then.
there was a commercial product in the shape of a normal iso radio running Linux for this purpose, almost bought one, unfortunately do not remember the name.
I was trying to do that too a long time ago, and did put together a working "carputer" as they were sometimes referred to back then. I got hold of a Wyse terminal for free that ran on 12V, added a hard drive to it along with various other parts and upgrades, bought a rubber keyboard and small mouse for it, got a 6 inch display screen (which was not very good at all), bought a USB GPS receiver, got it running Windows XP just fine - but then I never got around to actually installing it into my car. I still have it somewhere, out in my garage. Smartphones came along and got better and better, and there was just no need for a carputer any more. It was still pretty cool though.
This was used in police vehicles. The 2 SSDs are to record the dash cam of the patrol car. Each night the SSD were taken out, and the drive dumped onto Datacenter system at the precinct along with the officers mobile video recorder. They were also installed in fire trucks and transit public buses.
If you've ever wired up a head unit inside a car (I guess it's not that common anymore given the way modern car dashes are designed, but when I was a teenager that was always one of the first things I'd upgrade), then you know there are 3 main wires: 12V, ground, and ignition. The 12V wire is constant power from the battery, while the ignition wire actually turns the head unit on and off when the ignition is turned on, so that the radio doesn't stay on while the car is shut off. "ACC" in car speak means "accessory," which is the key position between off and the starting position. When the key is in that position, the accessories inside the car, like the stereo, are powered on. So that's just an indication of the state of the accessory wire. "Accessory" and "ignition" are often used interchangeably. The only thing I can think of for "UPS" is uninterruptable power supply, which I suppose you might want to have to prevent improper shutdowns (ie if the driver turns the key off, you probably wouldn't want the computer to just immediately power off).
The battery is for the system to be resilient to engine ignition. As you said, the IGN (ACC) wire is used so that, in computer language, the devices enter 'power saving' mode, consuming zero or almost zero energy so as not to discharge the car battery when it is turned off (however, you need a direct connection to the battery for greater current and/or to maintain memories (such as those of the FM radio)) (perhaps this computer even performs a soft power off when it loses the ACC signal). However, if you imagine the sequence of turning on/starting a car, you turn the key, the ACC is turned on and then you have the starter motor, which consumes a huge amount of energy, and often makes everything turn off for a period of time while it is running due to the voltage drop, then they probably put this battery in to have this resilience to engine start.
As another comment mentioned, this is likely for emergency vehicles. The dc power 9v-32v power output would work perfectly with either a gasoline or 24v deisel setup like they might use in a firetruck or other heavy equipment. The wwan card would provide (probably 3g due to the age) internet as well as gps data which would make tracking vehicles, time a date stamps very easy. Its basically an i3 low power laptop. Also, the "ign" would use an "ignition on" power wire, a 12v source that would turn on with the key. That way it would aitomatically power on and off with the vehicle, like the car stereo does. This is a repurpoused generic motherboard built for industrial applications, think cnc or other equipment. That is probably why it has all the antiquated serial poet connections and multiple lan ports.
I use something similar in my RV as a Router/Firewall/Plex server. Runs off of 12V and the internal battery allows for a graceful shutdown when power is turned off.
Get some mini birdbox POE cameras, place them in convenient places around your car and wire back to the box. Install Frigate with a Coral AI card in one of the M.2 slots and suddenly you have a sentry camera system like a Tesla, only much better as it will be able to detect people, animals, etc.
Oh, hey, I interviewed at Logic Supply back in 2012. I didn't get the job, but they were super-nice to me. Not that this has anything to do with your video, which I enjoyed.
These are often used in coaches and buses. The drives are used to run an OS and store video from cameras on the vehicles which are either connected via old school ports as you eluded to or USB. The SIM cards are used to provide tracking information to the operating company and provide onboard wifi to customers on the bus. Usually 1 sim slot for each. The display ports are sometimes connected to screens on the bus which display information on the next stop etc for mass transit or can provide onboard entertainment such as movies which would be played from the internal or a USB storage device for things like private coaches. Due to the nature of the way these buses and coaches run, the engine is often switched off at terminuses or bus stations to save on fuel costs and cut down on emissions but you still want your cameras working. So when the ignition is off the battery runs the system down to a certain battery level like any other laptop works before shutting down. This also protects the system in the event of any power surges such as a vehicle battery failure or the vehicle stalling.
I would say that the wifi is provided with external AP device plugged via LAN. The small antenna attached wouldn't be sufficient for bus for smooth coverage.
You can shove this pc in the spare wheel compartment, run a display cable to one of those cheap-ish fold down roof displays and have a media center for the kids in the back seats.
ACC is Accessory. It's when the key is turned to the position before the starter kicks in, electrics are on but the car engine hasn't started (or after the starter is engaged it's the position the key returns to)
In terms of "janky car PCs" I've seen, this is elegant. I set up a gaming PC off a power inverter wired through the glove box (DC port was corroded) and had the PC in the back with a second battery in parallel and the display was on the dash (car couldn't move). This is downright beautiful comparatively.
I would have loved this 12 years ago, when I had car PC in my Volvo C70. I had an Intel D410PT board with 2GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD (SSDs were expensive), all in an ITX case, to which I managed to cram in a Sound Blaster LIve as well. All was powered by an M1-ATX automotive power supply, I had a 1 DIN folding 7" touch screen and the computer ran Windows XP with Centrafuse on top of it. I even had GPS with a special version of iGO 8 compiled for x86 I found randomly on the internet. The only thing I had to buy was the touch screen and the PSU, everything else I already had at home, so it was quite a cheap, but really well usable build. At least until the HDD died a year and a half later :D
Generally an IGN terminal is used to apply 12v to a device to tell it to turn on. Like in a car amp they have a "remote" from the radio that does the same. It's literally connected in some way to your Ignition/Acc so the Ignition being on turns on a relay which sends power to other relays as needed like the fuel pump radio or car computer
In order to use it on an OBD2 connecter in a vehicle you would need what is called a Pass Through device. Its a small box, some simpler ones are even made into the OBD2 connecter, that goes between the PC and the cars CAN network. We use them for getting a laptop to communicate with a vehicles computers to reflash updated software or to program a replacement module. A professional grade Pass Through device can be pricey, $1,000- $1,500, but you can get very inexpensive ones online. Then you would need the software that works with whatever Pass Through device you are using, there are different protocols that they use depending on the device.
As someone who works with a ton of UART devices on a daily basis due to my job I looked really confused at you breakout adaptor and was wondering why didn't you just solder a DB9 connector...then later realized that before working at this job I just thought these were VGA connectors so... yea... As for the battery, you can tell a lot about it just by measuring it's voltage(assuming it's not completely dead). It's hard to believe that it is Pb acid and it seems kind of old for LiIon. I would rather think it's NiCd so aspect a multiple of ~1.2V. If you believe it's worth it you could replace it with NiMH equivalent, or if you are lucky and it is a multiple of 3S NiCd you could even replace them with LiFePO4. As for uses? I guess server for running all kind of gadgets with some home automation and stuff in ca camper van?
I tend to deal with some of these in the pharma industry, we normally call em thin clients since they're usually fixed systems without being able to swap out components. Main use cases for me is for automation.
Usually a "thin client" is a simple PC that uses the resources of a central server rather than having its own. For example it could act as a way to interact with a virtual desktop on a server. A machine like the one in this video isn't a thin client because it doesn't work like this.
I used to use a similar form factor (non car version) PCs for digital signage. The RS232 ports to control things like TVs and peripherals. They also make great telescope PCs as you can run windows on it, control the mounts and cameras. Being rugged they can be mounted to the tripod or telescope post/pier and don't mind being outside. ;)
I used to work for an e-waste recycler and we had a client that brought in these machines for disposal, not exactly the same but very similar. They were used in trucking applications and would be used for data logging with temperature and humidity probes hooked up to the GPIO ports for when they carry certain cargo such as refrigerated goods as well as CCTV/dashcam use through the video input ports (the ones I saw were 4-8 channel composite inputs depending on spec). The IGN wire was used so that when the truck was not running, the system would standby/suspend and the internal battery would keep it's current state while in standby mode to stop the system draining the vehicle battery, once the truck starts up again everything would resume as before. Sometimes the cellular/sim slots were used for sending logged data back to the trucking company. The 12v outputs on the back would link to the sensors or cctv cameras which usually ran at 12v. The hotswap drives in our case would also be used for archiving of video and logger data after each journey, when the truck returned to base they'd drop off the drive at the office and collect an empty one for their next assignment. I think your issues with SSD and OS errors were likely power related, these units can draw a reasonable amount of power (about 4-8 amps) and the barrel jack pigtail you had hooked up looked too thin to handle the current, try it again with thicker wires and see if the errors persist.
Just a heads up ING is ignition, meaning switched, on cars that can be anywhere from 9v - 15.5v on a car given whether or not the battery is dead or actively being charged by the alternator, on most semis/buses they run on 24v systems again with the same fluctuation as cars, basically what I'm saying is the resistor is unnecessary to run it
Computers like this are amazing for RVing, also if you are a HAM / Amateur radio operator, you would love one in your vehicle for SO many uses. (Logging contacts, APRS location and tracking, AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Digital Network), and so much more. I am actually going to take an HP T620 (another pure thermal and FLASH based pc you did a video on awhile back) and use that in my vehicle for the same reasons outlined above. I bought several T620s and I am going to use one for a mobile PC, one for a mobile NAS, and one for a mobile AREDN node. 73 to any fellow HAMS reading this. WW1ZRD (My HAM call sign.)
I like the idea of using this machine as a very versatile router. It can also be used as a travel router. What a great idea. Wonder where I can find the model with the better processor.
I wire ( patty wagons ) . We use use to use them for dvr severance up to 10 prisoner cells. the Ing. wire is just that . like a car radio, no need for resistor. the big battery on the main board is UPS so when the IGN wire is low . In our case the DVR will continue to record for the amount of time we set it to.. Personal use? 4 cameras around your car ( Dash cam * 4 ) and it could keep an eye on your car when your shopping or driving . Sorry about my spelling .
Back in the Day, when i was a truck driver, we had these in our semi trucks, running navigation an special software for the tour data. This software was from a company called M.I.T. from germany. We called the System D.O.R.I.S.
That's a damn useful box for a remote site with no wired connections, esp with 2 SATA slots for RAID and the serial ports could connect to other devices for management/data. The built in UPS just adds to the functionality.
this would be an ideal pc for a workshop to a) be able to google something quickly without beeing limited to a mobile phone and b) use it to prepare files for 3d-printing, carving, milling, that sort of stuff. GPIO-capabilities and real serial-ports might also come in handy to this. You can even mount this directly into a DIY-CNC-Mill as controller of some sort. Beeing passively cooled is a bonus in this case.
I'm looking at that and thinking it could be interesting as a reasonably versatile in car entertainment system. It could play MP3's and DIVX files, run navigation software with a cheap USB GPS receiver puck, Maybe run an extra screen to play films in the back on a headrest monitor. If that video in port works it could be setup as a dash cam, and the SIM card slots could also provide moble internet. With a Bluetooth adapter and an OBD2 dongle it could also be used to display car info, like extra virtual gauges for stuff like oil temperature, fuel economy, or boost pressure. The only down side I can think of is that you'd need an OS that still boots fast on older hardware. If you ran something like windows 10 on that, you could already be half way to the local supermarket before the thing had fully woke up.
I've seen similar units in commercial OTR trucks used for inventory control in product deliveries. They weren't anything fancy or any sort of "new high tech" trucks, but rather an IT add-on put in to a variety of different trucks. I've been wanting to get my hands on one to use for other purposes, like building a digital dash with detailed OBD data displays (or custom digital gauges), like using an OBD to USB adapter to view realtime injector duration graph, fuel mixture settings in the ECM, and to trade out the ambiguous "engine" light for a much more useful OBD code display translated in to readable text of what the code actually means... etc., as well as to run GPS, media/music, and a few automated systems. The power connector looks like common/standard radio power plug matching automotive and truck CB and commercial radios. The "12v" is your primary power that can remain always connected to the battery along with suitable fuse, and it should be a thick enough wire gauge for whatever the wattage consumption of the unit would be. The "IGN" wire goes to your "accessory" circuit to only deliver 12v power when the key is turned to "acc" in your car, which only acts as a digital on/off switch when it senses power.
In most vehicles, there are two types of power lines: one permanently connected to the battery and another only connected to the power when the generator is working. Old digital car stereos from the time flash, EEPROM and SRAM were too expensive utilize both types of power lines: continuous for the rtc and CMOS register of stations memory and the one only working with the engine started to actually work as a car stereo system. So, I'd guess ignition input is the main power line and the other is for some auxiliary functions.
back in the early days of car A/V, people had full PCs in cars. I remember a circuit that interfaced with the ignition via a relay and a COM port to safely shut down windows
You could make a multi cam dashcam or car security system out of this. With the OBD you can get speed and stuff. You could add GPS for navigation and tracking. DAB receiver for radio. There are so many possibilities
I love your videos. I don't care that I would never buy one of these, I just like watching something I've never seen before. Looking forward to the next one dude!
Aside from the battery/automotive power features, this machine is remarkably similar to the $150 fanless N100 firewall I just got on AliExpress. I won't be messing with the GPIO pins, RS485 serial port, or the SIM slot, but they are there.
The corrosion is from leaking electrolytic capacitors. There are plenty of replacement videos. I would recommend Adrian's Digital Basement as he has covered replacing caps many, many times.
I have worked on similar PCs in South-African that are in use by the Police, traffic and some Long distance trucks. A few different brands names but I have only noticed 3 versions across all the brands and the look like the same case and layout, just newer hardware inside. I have only worked on a lot of Trucks one and 1 Traffic Vechile one (removed HDDs after a crash) Motherboards in them are MSI or Gigabyte branded. Older Intel i3 CPU , 8GB+ Ram (slot supports 8GB some had 8GB onboard and 8GB in the slot) , A SMALL SSD for the OS and a HDD for the recordings. The ones on the Trucks are used for 4 network CCTV cameras around the truck, Mostly 720p , some are 1080p / 2K. (Check if your one is normal or POE ports) For some vehicles 2 of the USB ports are used to supply power to a ~8" Monitor that runs on the HDMI port. Others have a 19" Display port linked monitor that is hooked up to the vehicles battery via a lighter port like charger. I also know of some that send and receives data via the DIO port and serial ports. Mostly used to add if the GPS data , Vehicle Speed and Temperature (freezer / fridge transports) and Driver alcohol levels when blowing the detector to start the vehicle. One even had a distance sensor linked to the driver that would send out a notice when the drivers cellphone / keys or tracker is beyond a pre-set distance (I had to up that distance due to one food court being to far away from the parking). Most Linux Distros run fine on them and the ones I have worked on have Recording software on them with Remote access and auto-send if there is a crash or the driver presses one of 8 panic buttons around the truck of about 5 mins of video with sound. Wifi and Simcards are for a Internet connection in failover mode and oddly enough SIMCARD 2 was set to the main one in most of the ones I worked on. SIM2 - WIFI - SIM1... The slots for the HDD are hot swap ones (The are seen as External USB drives on Linux and Network drives on Windows) "UPS" Battery in them was able to run the system for ~30 mins with 4 Cameras pulling power from the POE ports and monitor off. And The Mic and Speaker port can be used for a 2 way radio between convoy trucks sharing the same wifi. One group even used Discord for this with a push to talk button on the steering wheel.
I wonder the same thing, it could be a neat off-site router with a backup connection with the modem. I'm thinking something like a detached garage with security cams.
Every computer nerd that is also into car audio is screaming at the acc wire. Lol you figured it through great job. I didn't know something like this existed and I have a project coming up you just made a lot simpler thanks.
Eyy its the one-man-operation city bus ticket pc!! Saw that thing on the bus lower front wall everytime i got up onto my city bus, thought it was the infamous 'black box' wahaha😁
Lately, I've been using AI to help find technical information about devices. You should also try searching to find out what a specific connection does on this device. that what the AI give me about the IGN connector: The "IGN" port on your RT130-i3 device is likely an ignition or ignition sense input. This type of port is often used in automotive and industrial devices that require a DC input voltage range, like 9V to 32V, as in your case. Here's how it generally works: 1. Power Control: The IGN port detects when the ignition (or a similar trigger) is turned on and can power up or control the device accordingly. 2. Battery Management: In automotive or battery-powered settings, this port allows the device to turn on or go into a specific operating mode when the ignition is active, conserving power when not in use. 3. Input Signal for Startup/Shutdown: In some devices, the IGN signal may enable the device to start up or shut down based on the voltage status.
Generally speaking, it's not recommended to plug something other than a scan tool into ODB2 ports. Not every company that manufacture dongles follows the OBD standard, I'd advise using caution when using the port for anything other than diagnostics.
As others here have pointed out, pretty obviously some sort of commercial fleet system or public safety system. However this would have also worked for an RV or something similar. Nice find!
that's a really good industrial computer for being a control hub for different machines... If its setup well and the extra sata slot is a fail-overdrive the 2 sim card slots are basically for failovers too, its super rare to see one even tho i wanted one in the first place cuz im lazy to diy....
These machines, and other mini-PC-like setups, are generally great for learning unattended Linux, you know? They pack a punch for a small system, have a lot of I/O if you know how to do it (or are willing to learn) and can keep it small - and give you a power-efficient machine that is _not your dekstop PC_ to tinker with and learn embedded, IoT, and remote Linux. They're great if you want to "upgrade" from a desktop PC to something more hardware-centric without having to learn complicated things like Bitbake/Yocto, and these industrial variants work _great_ with simple UPS setups (like "car battery + charger" sort of "simple"). Perfect if you need something to put _inside a wall_ that won't make noise (recessed on-wall touch UIs, anyone?).
Ive saw similar looking devices in Police cars that were bought at an auction. Usually they will remove everything Police related, but some may not have everything removed and I have saw a few that still had the lights, compartment divider and radios still in place. You would need something like this for the dash cam to record onto. Ive never took a close look at the devices though, just saw similar things in the cars, so could be something different.
That is a very cool little computer, especially with the 2 x SATA. I picked up something similar a little while back, a Polywell HM170L4 for $79 CAD shipped (~$57 USD). It doesn't have all of that I/O but it's got a 6th gen i3 embedded CPU, 8GB RAM, 4 x USB 3.0 and 4 x GbE ports. It also has internal SATA and NVMe. I couldn't find much info on it other than the company that made it, but the page for this device has multiple different devices listed and all kinds of different specs. It is listed as a "Smart AI Security PC with Multi-LAN Deep Learning PC" with applications being "Set Top Box, Digital Signage, POS/Kiosk, Surveillance, Network Security Gateway, Deep Learning OpenVino etc.". I'm not sure what I'm actually going to use it for yet.
I can tell by the design it's meant for industrial environments. (Looks similar to a Dell Embedded Box 5000.) Multiple LAN ports, SIM slot, and terminal strip suggest some kind of gateway device. Nice little find.
I have 5 AC powered industrial PC's left at work. We got rid of a whole lot of them. Apparently previous controls engineers were using them for kepware databases. I use them for logging data. or running scada. most of the time though they are turned off and in a drawer in my desk.
I have one very similar. I previously intended on using it as a router, but now it's my web server. Mine has a Core i3-4110u, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD.
I had one that I turned into a WinXP retro gamer because it didn’t have any wireless antennas to be used as a router. Have it tethered to a wireless bridge that gets disconnected when not in-use for added security
Those are used in digital signage/kiosks and industrial vehicles or manufacturing machines sometimes. The BIOS sets the initial low/high state of the GPIO pins and software controls it later or could not be fully enabled with that bios version. Sometimes they are outputs only driven by custom software in concert with a COM port on signs and machines. Those boxes are very flexible for custom installs but sometimes features work one way while others won't depending on the firmware because 2 ports could share an interrupt or bus address and only able to use one or the other but not both at the same time. I would check the pins with voltmeter with them set hi and low in bios and see if they do anything on/after boot. Those are sold under many names or bundled in digital sign/kiosk/ATM systems that you might find a US vendor that has a manual in English and firmware for it that is reliable. Those compute bricks are also off the shelf for industrial controller mobos which is likely what it's a knock off of, and you might be able to find them separately but have to be sure on the pin order that has a few order standards. I would replace the RAM, those things always have junk RAM or mostly compatible RAM that got it past the factory QA in Shun Zun.
Might be a used PC for use in a Caravan or Motorhome (RV). They tend to run off of 12v batteries and that one would be fairly easy to mount inside a cupboard or under a counter/table.
This seems to me like an early E-Log for truckers with video input for a cab or dashcam. Seems like it could be a decent choice for a backseat plex server for road trips though.
This would be great for long road trips. Slap omsc or any os running Kodi. Copy your media to it and add a couple of display to the back of the headrests and you are set!
Would be a great addition to my camper. Central video recording for dash cams or reversing camera, retro gaming emulator, movie player. Would like to know if the different display ports could be split for multiple screens/projector. A 4G or 5G sim card ford regular updates and fairly quick internet, especially if used in conjunction with an iPad or Android tablet that uses the system as a router. Lots of possibilities.
You should look for some used Sophos firewalls to try out. The SG and XG series have either VGA or HDMI ports and most have standard SSDs and RAM. I've used multiple versions as Proxmox and XCP-NG hosts. I currently have 3 x SG230 with RAM upgraded to 32GB running as a XCP-NG cluster. In the SG210 and SG230 the CPU can also be upgraded. The SG125 and SG135 are smaller and great for smaller clusters.
Well, the bright side of using the removable processor package is not only is maintenance radically otherly-capable, you can swap to a more capable CPU, possibly with newer RAM, by swapping that _industrial_ processor cartridge!
I don't know if the power rating is right, but a bunch of printers I've disassembled had similar contacts, they are also green I think. I'll look into it and get back here.. EDIT: I was wrong,, it had another color and it has pointed plastics like those on the power connectors from the power supply, also it was 16V/38V. The company Teltonika makes routers/modems using these rugged systems. Could be cool to look into to maybe find out if the software they use is possible to use on it. I could be wrong about it, but I would be careful using a ultrasonic bath for a card that has corrosion, since the components literally can fall off from the vibrations.
So, to me, I wouldn't do this, but you could easily configure it as a mobile router. Personally I would use the internal SATA for one of those tiny server boot drives, then use the two 2.5 bays to set up a NAS. Load it up with movies, and then set this up as a "vacation" router, with mobile internet and stored movies. Would be great for those getaway trips.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
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The Logi usb dongle is a non-Unifying but is programmable with the Logitech Connection Utility program to connect to a non-Unifying device.
I know because I use it and works. 😊
Less e-waste.
How long until you potentailly face lawsuits for that ad?
it's from a truck
@@soundsparknever. But I agree VPN ads are morally wrong.
Mmm, I love my data being harvested!
looks like maybe a cop car computer, more or less. Video in is probably composite input from a dash camera, probably starts recording when you switch on the cop car lights, which might be switchable based on the serial inputs, and the power outputs probably turn on the lights no the car. Swappable SSDs or HDDs probably for the dashcam storage, If I had to guess. Guessing the battery is to handle gracefully shutting down the computer when power is cut. Pretty awesome little guy you got there!
The battery for sure is for shutdown.
Could also be from modern trucks which have a lot of remote monitoring
@@brofights3138 that one question " modern truck" who ripping IT tech from a modern modern truck, I can like cop car, mobile security, like money moment vans etc. from bank to back, wages etc, may if that thing what it is?
@@dh2032 ever heard of parts being replaced or upgraded and old parts sold on eBay?
Otherwise, what the fuck is your English?
I was just thinking the same cop or emergency vehicle
Obviously you have never been in a cop car, they all use Panasonic toughbooks
6:46 You expected another COM port but it was me, DIO!
Like a rainbow in the dark
I was waiting to see a JoJo reference.
Reddit is down the hall and to the left.
posm?
@@JulesArchinova Like a Holy Diver!
You are correct; these are designed for use in commercial vehicles. This particular one looks like it was configured for use on public transit (buses). The two laptop drives would be used to record video, a GPS receiver would be connected to one of the serial ports, and the logging data (including the GPS) would be relayed back to the company over the WWAN (Wireless WAN, aka cellular). You had two SIM card slots for redundancy over different providers.
It's a mobile media player. That said, there are tons of things you could use it for including your suggestion
EU buses sure have a ton of cameras, both inside and outside.
I've been told by a friend who went through driver training that they use some local boxes for public surveilence and swap HDDs at the end of every shift to dump recordings.
You think it was capable of providing wifi to riders? Some buses in some cities have "free wifi", and it looks like a gizmo that can funnel that kind of traffic around at a low QoS...
@@CarcinogenSDA Woah hey carci! Fancy seeing you here buddy
@@Mr.Leeroy There are no direct inputs for cameras (BNC or something like that). Only one input using VGA or Serial port. Ok, it may be special port for 15 S-video analog cameras too. Hard to say.
Many years ago before the invention of smart phones, I wanted to build a car pc so I could play music with winamp while driving. This would've been perfect pc back then.
I remember those days. I was trying to get a hold of a Linux yellow dog briQ for this purpose.
Had the same idea :)
I still want one, even it doesn't make sense. I was in the time period with you as well.
there was a commercial product in the shape of a normal iso radio running Linux for this purpose, almost bought one, unfortunately do not remember the name.
I was trying to do that too a long time ago, and did put together a working "carputer" as they were sometimes referred to back then. I got hold of a Wyse terminal for free that ran on 12V, added a hard drive to it along with various other parts and upgrades, bought a rubber keyboard and small mouse for it, got a 6 inch display screen (which was not very good at all), bought a USB GPS receiver, got it running Windows XP just fine - but then I never got around to actually installing it into my car. I still have it somewhere, out in my garage. Smartphones came along and got better and better, and there was just no need for a carputer any more. It was still pretty cool though.
This was used in police vehicles. The 2 SSDs are to record the dash cam of the patrol car. Each night the SSD were taken out, and the drive dumped onto Datacenter system
at the precinct along with the officers mobile video recorder. They were also installed in fire trucks and transit public buses.
If you've ever wired up a head unit inside a car (I guess it's not that common anymore given the way modern car dashes are designed, but when I was a teenager that was always one of the first things I'd upgrade), then you know there are 3 main wires: 12V, ground, and ignition. The 12V wire is constant power from the battery, while the ignition wire actually turns the head unit on and off when the ignition is turned on, so that the radio doesn't stay on while the car is shut off.
"ACC" in car speak means "accessory," which is the key position between off and the starting position. When the key is in that position, the accessories inside the car, like the stereo, are powered on. So that's just an indication of the state of the accessory wire. "Accessory" and "ignition" are often used interchangeably. The only thing I can think of for "UPS" is uninterruptable power supply, which I suppose you might want to have to prevent improper shutdowns (ie if the driver turns the key off, you probably wouldn't want the computer to just immediately power off).
The battery is for the system to be resilient to engine ignition.
As you said, the IGN (ACC) wire is used so that, in computer language, the devices enter 'power saving' mode, consuming zero or almost zero energy so as not to discharge the car battery when it is turned off (however, you need a direct connection to the battery for greater current and/or to maintain memories (such as those of the FM radio)) (perhaps this computer even performs a soft power off when it loses the ACC signal).
However, if you imagine the sequence of turning on/starting a car, you turn the key, the ACC is turned on and then you have the starter motor, which consumes a huge amount of energy, and often makes everything turn off for a period of time while it is running due to the voltage drop, then they probably put this battery in to have this resilience to engine start.
"It's a car PC and it works in cars... Like it's supposed to...!" 😅
Love this.
Liking the the HardwareHaven flavored episode of "Little Guys"
Literally my first thought. It's a Little Guy!
Just wanted to comment this 😂
As another comment mentioned, this is likely for emergency vehicles. The dc power 9v-32v power output would work perfectly with either a gasoline or 24v deisel setup like they might use in a firetruck or other heavy equipment.
The wwan card would provide (probably 3g due to the age) internet as well as gps data which would make tracking vehicles, time a date stamps very easy.
Its basically an i3 low power laptop. Also, the "ign" would use an "ignition on" power wire, a 12v source that would turn on with the key. That way it would aitomatically power on and off with the vehicle, like the car stereo does.
This is a repurpoused generic motherboard built for industrial applications, think cnc or other equipment. That is probably why it has all the antiquated serial poet connections and multiple lan ports.
I know it's a typo, but I love the result "serial poet!"
@@LymanPhillips I like the implication that this PC committed acts of poetry at least thrice.
I use something similar in my RV as a Router/Firewall/Plex server. Runs off of 12V and the internal battery allows for a graceful shutdown when power is turned off.
what are you using in your rv? I'm looking for something like this for my van.
Get some mini birdbox POE cameras, place them in convenient places around your car and wire back to the box. Install Frigate with a Coral AI card in one of the M.2 slots and suddenly you have a sentry camera system like a Tesla, only much better as it will be able to detect people, animals, etc.
The same can be done with any SOC or small factor computer... Motion software can do this on any device.
Wham baam semicam anyone?
Oh, hey, I interviewed at Logic Supply back in 2012. I didn't get the job, but they were super-nice to me. Not that this has anything to do with your video, which I enjoyed.
These are often used in coaches and buses. The drives are used to run an OS and store video from cameras on the vehicles which are either connected via old school ports as you eluded to or USB. The SIM cards are used to provide tracking information to the operating company and provide onboard wifi to customers on the bus. Usually 1 sim slot for each.
The display ports are sometimes connected to screens on the bus which display information on the next stop etc for mass transit or can provide onboard entertainment such as movies which would be played from the internal or a USB storage device for things like private coaches.
Due to the nature of the way these buses and coaches run, the engine is often switched off at terminuses or bus stations to save on fuel costs and cut down on emissions but you still want your cameras working. So when the ignition is off the battery runs the system down to a certain battery level like any other laptop works before shutting down. This also protects the system in the event of any power surges such as a vehicle battery failure or the vehicle stalling.
I would say that the wifi is provided with external AP device plugged via LAN. The small antenna attached wouldn't be sufficient for bus for smooth coverage.
The antenna is most likely for the cellular connection not the wifi
You can shove this pc in the spare wheel compartment, run a display cable to one of those cheap-ish fold down roof displays and have a media center for the kids in the back seats.
ACC is Accessory. It's when the key is turned to the position before the starter kicks in, electrics are on but the car engine hasn't started (or after the starter is engaged it's the position the key returns to)
I paid nothing for this Hardware Haven video and it's top quality content!
U paid something WiFi
U paid something WiFi
You didn‘t watch a second of it
@Tamay. It's Hardware Haven. I know it's gonna be good.
You paid with your data, your (watch) time and with your attention.
In terms of "janky car PCs" I've seen, this is elegant. I set up a gaming PC off a power inverter wired through the glove box (DC port was corroded) and had the PC in the back with a second battery in parallel and the display was on the dash (car couldn't move). This is downright beautiful comparatively.
I would have loved this 12 years ago, when I had car PC in my Volvo C70. I had an Intel D410PT board with 2GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD (SSDs were expensive), all in an ITX case, to which I managed to cram in a Sound Blaster LIve as well. All was powered by an M1-ATX automotive power supply, I had a 1 DIN folding 7" touch screen and the computer ran Windows XP with Centrafuse on top of it. I even had GPS with a special version of iGO 8 compiled for x86 I found randomly on the internet.
The only thing I had to buy was the touch screen and the PSU, everything else I already had at home, so it was quite a cheap, but really well usable build. At least until the HDD died a year and a half later :D
Generally an IGN terminal is used to apply 12v to a device to tell it to turn on. Like in a car amp they have a "remote" from the radio that does the same. It's literally connected in some way to your Ignition/Acc so the Ignition being on turns on a relay which sends power to other relays as needed like the fuel pump radio or car computer
Now buy a cop car to plug into this computer
Let's go
Woop woop!
In order to use it on an OBD2 connecter in a vehicle you would need what is called a Pass Through device. Its a small box, some simpler ones are even made into the OBD2 connecter, that goes between the PC and the cars CAN network. We use them for getting a laptop to communicate with a vehicles computers to reflash updated software or to program a replacement module. A professional grade Pass Through device can be pricey, $1,000- $1,500, but you can get very inexpensive ones online. Then you would need the software that works with whatever Pass Through device you are using, there are different protocols that they use depending on the device.
As someone who works with a ton of UART devices on a daily basis due to my job I looked really confused at you breakout adaptor and was wondering why didn't you just solder a DB9 connector...then later realized that before working at this job I just thought these were VGA connectors so... yea...
As for the battery, you can tell a lot about it just by measuring it's voltage(assuming it's not completely dead). It's hard to believe that it is Pb acid and it seems kind of old for LiIon. I would rather think it's NiCd so aspect a multiple of ~1.2V. If you believe it's worth it you could replace it with NiMH equivalent, or if you are lucky and it is a multiple of 3S NiCd you could even replace them with LiFePO4.
As for uses? I guess server for running all kind of gadgets with some home automation and stuff in ca camper van?
I tend to deal with some of these in the pharma industry, we normally call em thin clients since they're usually fixed systems without being able to swap out components. Main use cases for me is for automation.
Usually a "thin client" is a simple PC that uses the resources of a central server rather than having its own. For example it could act as a way to interact with a virtual desktop on a server. A machine like the one in this video isn't a thin client because it doesn't work like this.
I used to use a similar form factor (non car version) PCs for digital signage. The RS232 ports to control things like TVs and peripherals. They also make great telescope PCs as you can run windows on it, control the mounts and cameras. Being rugged they can be mounted to the tripod or telescope post/pier and don't mind being outside. ;)
Love this channel. I am no where as proficient has this guy is. But i love the variety of systems and positivity at having a crack at things.
I used to work for an e-waste recycler and we had a client that brought in these machines for disposal, not exactly the same but very similar.
They were used in trucking applications and would be used for data logging with temperature and humidity probes hooked up to the GPIO ports for when they carry certain cargo such as refrigerated goods as well as CCTV/dashcam use through the video input ports (the ones I saw were 4-8 channel composite inputs depending on spec). The IGN wire was used so that when the truck was not running, the system would standby/suspend and the internal battery would keep it's current state while in standby mode to stop the system draining the vehicle battery, once the truck starts up again everything would resume as before. Sometimes the cellular/sim slots were used for sending logged data back to the trucking company. The 12v outputs on the back would link to the sensors or cctv cameras which usually ran at 12v.
The hotswap drives in our case would also be used for archiving of video and logger data after each journey, when the truck returned to base they'd drop off the drive at the office and collect an empty one for their next assignment.
I think your issues with SSD and OS errors were likely power related, these units can draw a reasonable amount of power (about 4-8 amps) and the barrel jack pigtail you had hooked up looked too thin to handle the current, try it again with thicker wires and see if the errors persist.
Just a heads up ING is ignition, meaning switched, on cars that can be anywhere from 9v - 15.5v on a car given whether or not the battery is dead or actively being charged by the alternator, on most semis/buses they run on 24v systems again with the same fluctuation as cars, basically what I'm saying is the resistor is unnecessary to run it
Computers like this are amazing for RVing, also if you are a HAM / Amateur radio operator, you would love one in your vehicle for SO many uses. (Logging contacts, APRS location and tracking, AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Digital Network), and so much more.
I am actually going to take an HP T620 (another pure thermal and FLASH based pc you did a video on awhile back) and use that in my vehicle for the same reasons outlined above. I bought several T620s and I am going to use one for a mobile PC, one for a mobile NAS, and one for a mobile AREDN node.
73 to any fellow HAMS reading this.
WW1ZRD (My HAM call sign.)
Vehicle mount and have it display "Danger To Manifold"
Also cut a square hole in the passenger feet, to increase dramatic output
I like the idea of using this machine as a very versatile router.
It can also be used as a travel router.
What a great idea. Wonder where I can find the model with the better processor.
I wire ( patty wagons ) . We use use to use them for dvr severance up to 10 prisoner cells.
the Ing. wire is just that . like a car radio, no need for resistor. the big battery on the main board is UPS so when the IGN wire is low . In our case the DVR will continue to record for the amount of time we set it to..
Personal use? 4 cameras around your car ( Dash cam * 4 ) and it could keep an eye on your car when your shopping or driving .
Sorry about my spelling .
Back in the Day, when i was a truck driver, we had these in our semi trucks, running navigation an special software for the tour data. This software was from a company called M.I.T. from germany. We called the System D.O.R.I.S.
You always find the most interesting systems to look at. I don't have a specific use for a computer in my car but I wish I did after this. Thank you!
The best way to use an in car computer is for backseat entertainment.
That's a damn useful box for a remote site with no wired connections, esp with 2 SATA slots for RAID and the serial ports could connect to other devices for management/data. The built in UPS just adds to the functionality.
this would be an ideal pc for a workshop to
a) be able to google something quickly without beeing limited to a mobile phone and
b) use it to prepare files for 3d-printing, carving, milling, that sort of stuff.
GPIO-capabilities and real serial-ports might also come in handy to this. You can even mount this directly into a DIY-CNC-Mill as controller of some sort.
Beeing passively cooled is a bonus in this case.
Nice shout out to CRD! He loves lil guys, and I'm glad you do too 🥰
I'm looking at that and thinking it could be interesting as a reasonably versatile in car entertainment system. It could play MP3's and DIVX files, run navigation software with a cheap USB GPS receiver puck, Maybe run an extra screen to play films in the back on a headrest monitor. If that video in port works it could be setup as a dash cam, and the SIM card slots could also provide moble internet.
With a Bluetooth adapter and an OBD2 dongle it could also be used to display car info, like extra virtual gauges for stuff like oil temperature, fuel economy, or boost pressure.
The only down side I can think of is that you'd need an OS that still boots fast on older hardware. If you ran something like windows 10 on that, you could already be half way to the local supermarket before the thing had fully woke up.
I've seen similar units in commercial OTR trucks used for inventory control in product deliveries. They weren't anything fancy or any sort of "new high tech" trucks, but rather an IT add-on put in to a variety of different trucks. I've been wanting to get my hands on one to use for other purposes, like building a digital dash with detailed OBD data displays (or custom digital gauges), like using an OBD to USB adapter to view realtime injector duration graph, fuel mixture settings in the ECM, and to trade out the ambiguous "engine" light for a much more useful OBD code display translated in to readable text of what the code actually means... etc., as well as to run GPS, media/music, and a few automated systems.
The power connector looks like common/standard radio power plug matching automotive and truck CB and commercial radios. The "12v" is your primary power that can remain always connected to the battery along with suitable fuse, and it should be a thick enough wire gauge for whatever the wattage consumption of the unit would be. The "IGN" wire goes to your "accessory" circuit to only deliver 12v power when the key is turned to "acc" in your car, which only acts as a digital on/off switch when it senses power.
In most vehicles, there are two types of power lines: one permanently connected to the battery and another only connected to the power when the generator is working. Old digital car stereos from the time flash, EEPROM and SRAM were too expensive utilize both types of power lines: continuous for the rtc and CMOS register of stations memory and the one only working with the engine started to actually work as a car stereo system. So, I'd guess ignition input is the main power line and the other is for some auxiliary functions.
Please we need more videos like this.
Thanks from Saudi Arabia
Nice little guy!
Your videos give me peace, thank you! Every time I press play on one of your videos I feel relieved. I mean it thank you
back in the early days of car A/V, people had full PCs in cars. I remember a circuit that interfaced with the ignition via a relay and a COM port to safely shut down windows
You should really do something with the SIM support. A wireless router with 4G cellular backup seems like it would be pretty useful.
I've worked on similar devices in police cars and ambulances to run their cameras, sirens, lights, etc. in an integrated way.
You could make a multi cam dashcam or car security system out of this. With the OBD you can get speed and stuff. You could add GPS for navigation and tracking. DAB receiver for radio. There are so many possibilities
I love your videos. I don't care that I would never buy one of these, I just like watching something I've never seen before. Looking forward to the next one dude!
Aside from the battery/automotive power features, this machine is remarkably similar to the $150 fanless N100 firewall I just got on AliExpress. I won't be messing with the GPIO pins, RS485 serial port, or the SIM slot, but they are there.
Duude having the computer to program your cars computer build in to the car is such a great idea, why didn’t I think of this earlier 👌🏽
The corrosion is from leaking electrolytic capacitors. There are plenty of replacement videos. I would recommend Adrian's Digital Basement as he has covered replacing caps many, many times.
I have worked on similar PCs in South-African that are in use by the Police, traffic and some Long distance trucks.
A few different brands names but I have only noticed 3 versions across all the brands and the look like the same case and layout, just newer hardware inside. I have only worked on a lot of Trucks one and 1 Traffic Vechile one (removed HDDs after a crash)
Motherboards in them are MSI or Gigabyte branded. Older Intel i3 CPU , 8GB+ Ram (slot supports 8GB some had 8GB onboard and 8GB in the slot) , A SMALL SSD for the OS and a HDD for the recordings.
The ones on the Trucks are used for 4 network CCTV cameras around the truck, Mostly 720p , some are 1080p / 2K.
(Check if your one is normal or POE ports)
For some vehicles 2 of the USB ports are used to supply power to a ~8" Monitor that runs on the HDMI port.
Others have a 19" Display port linked monitor that is hooked up to the vehicles battery via a lighter port like charger.
I also know of some that send and receives data via the DIO port and serial ports. Mostly used to add if the GPS data , Vehicle Speed and Temperature (freezer / fridge transports) and Driver alcohol levels when blowing the detector to start the vehicle.
One even had a distance sensor linked to the driver that would send out a notice when the drivers cellphone / keys or tracker is beyond a pre-set distance (I had to up that distance due to one food court being to far away from the parking).
Most Linux Distros run fine on them and the ones I have worked on have Recording software on them with Remote access and auto-send if there is a crash or the driver presses one of 8 panic buttons around the truck of about 5 mins of video with sound.
Wifi and Simcards are for a Internet connection in failover mode and oddly enough SIMCARD 2 was set to the main one in most of the ones I worked on. SIM2 - WIFI - SIM1...
The slots for the HDD are hot swap ones (The are seen as External USB drives on Linux and Network drives on Windows)
"UPS" Battery in them was able to run the system for ~30 mins with 4 Cameras pulling power from the POE ports and monitor off.
And The Mic and Speaker port can be used for a 2 way radio between convoy trucks sharing the same wifi.
One group even used Discord for this with a push to talk button on the steering wheel.
I remember it from the episode Homer finds out trucks have autopilot.
My NUC is passively cooled, love that.
with some more modern CPUs this might be a good little firewall running OPNsense or PFsense. Good video! Enjoyed it like always!
you can replace the compute module with a different COMExpress compute module and essentially upgrade the system
I wonder the same thing, it could be a neat off-site router with a backup connection with the modem. I'm thinking something like a detached garage with security cams.
Those were used in cop cars for dash cameras, the serial ports were used to detect sirens, lights, etc.
Ty for actually disclosing the 20$ shipping. The amount of videos like "omg you can get xxxxxx for only 15$!" Doesnt disclose the 20$ shippong
I did the PO for OnLogic computers for an "Edge computing" application. It was my last job before retiring.
Every computer nerd that is also into car audio is screaming at the acc wire. Lol you figured it through great job. I didn't know something like this existed and I have a project coming up you just made a lot simpler thanks.
You could always knock out a couple of the less useful ports, and do SATA to eSATA and have them become eSATA external ports.
Eyy its the one-man-operation city bus ticket pc!! Saw that thing on the bus lower front wall everytime i got up onto my city bus, thought it was the infamous 'black box' wahaha😁
Looks like a great option to adding a Smarthome server/router for like an RV
If I had the spare time and money, this could honestly be a really cool setup for a vehicle
Thanks Colton for another fun and entertaining video. You always find such interesting little machines.
This machine would serve as a camera recorder for a truck/bus/motorhome, as well as an Internet hotspot for passengers. Cool!
Lately, I've been using AI to help find technical information about devices. You should also try searching to find out what a specific connection does on this device.
that what the AI give me about the IGN connector:
The "IGN" port on your RT130-i3 device is likely an ignition or ignition sense input. This type of port is often used in automotive and industrial devices that require a DC input voltage range, like 9V to 32V, as in your case. Here's how it generally works:
1. Power Control: The IGN port detects when the ignition (or a similar trigger) is turned on and can power up or control the device accordingly.
2. Battery Management: In automotive or battery-powered settings, this port allows the device to turn on or go into a specific operating mode when the ignition is active, conserving power when not in use.
3. Input Signal for Startup/Shutdown: In some devices, the IGN signal may enable the device to start up or shut down based on the voltage status.
Love your videos. This video is classic Hardware Haven and it's awesome.
Thanks for making all the videos you do, keep at it!
This one has HUGE potential!
Generally speaking, it's not recommended to plug something other than a scan tool into ODB2 ports. Not every company that manufacture dongles follows the OBD standard, I'd advise using caution when using the port for anything other than diagnostics.
You are really one of a kind for videos like this, love it! 😍
These were used a lot in trains and signage, I use to do images for them as train pcs back in the day
I would totally buy something like this as well if I saw a listing online.
As others here have pointed out, pretty obviously some sort of commercial fleet system or public safety system. However this would have also worked for an RV or something similar. Nice find!
Thank you for purchasing all the weird random computers so I don't have to. You're providing a very valuable service to me.
that's a really good industrial computer for being a control hub for different machines... If its setup well and the extra sata slot is a fail-overdrive the 2 sim card slots are basically for failovers too, its super rare to see one even tho i wanted one in the first place cuz im lazy to diy....
These machines, and other mini-PC-like setups, are generally great for learning unattended Linux, you know? They pack a punch for a small system, have a lot of I/O if you know how to do it (or are willing to learn) and can keep it small - and give you a power-efficient machine that is _not your dekstop PC_ to tinker with and learn embedded, IoT, and remote Linux. They're great if you want to "upgrade" from a desktop PC to something more hardware-centric without having to learn complicated things like Bitbake/Yocto, and these industrial variants work _great_ with simple UPS setups (like "car battery + charger" sort of "simple"). Perfect if you need something to put _inside a wall_ that won't make noise (recessed on-wall touch UIs, anyone?).
Ive saw similar looking devices in Police cars that were bought at an auction. Usually they will remove everything Police related, but some may not have everything removed and I have saw a few that still had the lights, compartment divider and radios still in place. You would need something like this for the dash cam to record onto. Ive never took a close look at the devices though, just saw similar things in the cars, so could be something different.
Great as always, Colten!
That is a very cool little computer, especially with the 2 x SATA. I picked up something similar a little while back, a Polywell HM170L4 for $79 CAD shipped (~$57 USD). It doesn't have all of that I/O but it's got a 6th gen i3 embedded CPU, 8GB RAM, 4 x USB 3.0 and 4 x GbE ports. It also has internal SATA and NVMe. I couldn't find much info on it other than the company that made it, but the page for this device has multiple different devices listed and all kinds of different specs. It is listed as a "Smart AI Security PC with Multi-LAN Deep Learning PC" with applications being "Set Top Box, Digital Signage, POS/Kiosk, Surveillance, Network Security Gateway, Deep Learning OpenVino etc.". I'm not sure what I'm actually going to use it for yet.
You can simply connect the + to the ignition input. The ignition lead in a vehicle would deliver 12v (or 24 in a truck) anyway
I can tell by the design it's meant for industrial environments. (Looks similar to a Dell Embedded Box 5000.) Multiple LAN ports, SIM slot, and terminal strip suggest some kind of gateway device. Nice little find.
I have 5 AC powered industrial PC's left at work. We got rid of a whole lot of them. Apparently previous controls engineers were using them for kepware databases. I use them for logging data. or running scada. most of the time though they are turned off and in a drawer in my desk.
I have one very similar. I previously intended on using it as a router, but now it's my web server. Mine has a Core i3-4110u, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD.
I had one that I turned into a WinXP retro gamer because it didn’t have any wireless antennas to be used as a router. Have it tethered to a wireless bridge that gets disconnected when not in-use for added security
Seems perfect for a drive-thru menu ordering app appliance.
Hell yeah, a car Little Guy!
I like that retro tech youtube has just accepted that random smallish PCs are now Little Guys
Those are used in digital signage/kiosks and industrial vehicles or manufacturing machines sometimes. The BIOS sets the initial low/high state of the GPIO pins and software controls it later or could not be fully enabled with that bios version. Sometimes they are outputs only driven by custom software in concert with a COM port on signs and machines. Those boxes are very flexible for custom installs but sometimes features work one way while others won't depending on the firmware because 2 ports could share an interrupt or bus address and only able to use one or the other but not both at the same time. I would check the pins with voltmeter with them set hi and low in bios and see if they do anything on/after boot. Those are sold under many names or bundled in digital sign/kiosk/ATM systems that you might find a US vendor that has a manual in English and firmware for it that is reliable. Those compute bricks are also off the shelf for industrial controller mobos which is likely what it's a knock off of, and you might be able to find them separately but have to be sure on the pin order that has a few order standards. I would replace the RAM, those things always have junk RAM or mostly compatible RAM that got it past the factory QA in Shun Zun.
Might be a used PC for use in a Caravan or Motorhome (RV). They tend to run off of 12v batteries and that one would be fairly easy to mount inside a cupboard or under a counter/table.
Put it in a car (campervan, or when camping scenario) as a router+modem. It has LAN, no need for a separate Switch, but probably needs AP.
This seems to me like an early E-Log for truckers with video input for a cab or dashcam.
Seems like it could be a decent choice for a backseat plex server for road trips though.
This would be great for long road trips. Slap omsc or any os running Kodi. Copy your media to it and add a couple of display to the back of the headrests and you are set!
seems great for a dashcam. put some cheap old 2.5 inch HDD in it. the no power button feature is the best honestly
Love this stuff! Ideal unit as a media player in a vehicle. Very cool
Would be a great addition to my camper. Central video recording for dash cams or reversing camera, retro gaming emulator, movie player. Would like to know if the different display ports could be split for multiple screens/projector. A 4G or 5G sim card ford regular updates and fairly quick internet, especially if used in conjunction with an iPad or Android tablet that uses the system as a router. Lots of possibilities.
You should look for some used Sophos firewalls to try out. The SG and XG series have either VGA or HDMI ports and most have standard SSDs and RAM. I've used multiple versions as Proxmox and XCP-NG hosts. I currently have 3 x SG230 with RAM upgraded to 32GB running as a XCP-NG cluster. In the SG210 and SG230 the CPU can also be upgraded.
The SG125 and SG135 are smaller and great for smaller clusters.
Well, the bright side of using the removable processor package is not only is maintenance radically otherly-capable, you can swap to a more capable CPU, possibly with newer RAM, by swapping that _industrial_ processor cartridge!
I don't know if the power rating is right, but a bunch of printers I've disassembled had similar contacts, they are also green I think. I'll look into it and get back here..
EDIT: I was wrong,, it had another color and it has pointed plastics like those on the power connectors from the power supply, also it was 16V/38V.
The company Teltonika makes routers/modems using these rugged systems. Could be cool to look into to maybe find out if the software they use is possible to use on it.
I could be wrong about it, but I would be careful using a ultrasonic bath for a card that has corrosion, since the components literally can fall off from the vibrations.
So, to me, I wouldn't do this, but you could easily configure it as a mobile router. Personally I would use the internal SATA for one of those tiny server boot drives, then use the two 2.5 bays to set up a NAS. Load it up with movies, and then set this up as a "vacation" router, with mobile internet and stored movies. Would be great for those getaway trips.
Thanks for the video. Another interesting find!
6:46 "you thought it was dio port but IT WAS ME, DIO BRANDO"
I have an OnLogic computer out in my garage. It was the Industrial version rather than the car one however.