Coffeejolts

The Java Media Components jar from the JavaFX SDK preview is available from the nightly builds. Without the native dlls, this is of little use. However, I managed to at least get a list of the supported formats from the package. I built it into a web start app. I'm especially interested to see what those of you running MacOS or Linux see when you run this.

Sun has posted some slides from a presentation on Java Media Components on the JavaONE website. Unfortunately, the demos weren't included, but the source code in the slides hints at a very simple to use media API.

For example:
class SimplePlayerDemo extends JFrame { MediaPlayerDemo() { JMediaPlayer mp; try { mp = new JMediaPlayer(new URI("movie.mov")); } catch (Exception e) { System.out.println("Error opening media" + e); ... } add(mp); pack(); setVisible(true); mp.play(); } ...
I am SO looking forward to the SDK pre-release.
http://dsc.sun.com/learning/javaoneonline/2008/pdf/TS-6509.pdf

After a bunch of wrangling, I have fixed (hidden) the audio noise problems by using a ground loop isolator. With that taken care of, I started work on creating a proper trunk installation for the car PC.

I wanted everything to be easily removable, so I chose to build a shelf out of 1/2" MDF and hang it using threaded rods. I covered the shelf in black carpet to match the trunk, and mounted a bracket on it to secure the computer to.

Everything seems to fit nicely. The computer is secure, and the trunk is still usable. I'm debating removing the carpet and replacing it with black Veltex, which is the fuzzy side of Velcro. Doing so would allow me to keep the cables secure, while at the same time easily movable. The next step is for me to take some pictures, which I should have done during the install.

 

Netbeans 6 has great Maven 2 support. Unfortunately, my company is still using Maven 1, and there's no change in sight. There are mevenide builds for Netbeans 6 available, but the plugin has trouble finding MAVEN_HOME, at least on Windows.

I scoured Jira, and found a fix. Assuming that you have already downloaded and installed the correct version of mevenide,  add the following entry to the netbeans_default_options variable in netbeans.conf: -J-DEnv-MAVEN_HOME=\"YourPathToMavenHome\". That's it!

So, I finally got navigation working right and then I notice this morning that the GPS receiver can't get a lock. I did a bit of Google-ing, and found some posts saying that removing the battery can fix this problem. I took the GPS receiver apart, only to find that the manufacturer glued the battery to the prongs.

Miraculously, after I put it back together, the GPS started working again. My guess is that it resets itself after a certain amount of time passes. The important thing is that it is working again. I'll keep my eyes open for new receivers in case this one dies again.

I upgraded the grounding point last night. Or, maybe I should say that I hope that I upgraded the grounding point last night. I had it grounded to the trunk pan, which was causing a lot of noise in the audio. So, I took out one of the bolts that hold the back seat in, sanded all the paint off of the surfaces, and grounded the system to that.

I couldn't actually test it last night, since my DC-DC power supply is still on its way back from Opus Solutions. I sent it back to them to have it modified because it was powering USB devices even when the car was turned off. The PSU should be waiting for me when I get home from work. I can't wait to hook everything up and see how it works now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my ground loop noise is gone.

UPDATE

Moving the ground point did help a little, but I still had some noise, especially when the computer read from the hard disk. I then tried re-routing the audio cables away from the power cables, which did not help at all. So, I finally broke down and bought a ground loop isolator. I don't notice any signal degradation, and all of the noise is gone. With this noise problem solved, I'm finally ready to build the trunk installation and post some pictures.

Here are the tasks I have completed on the car pc so far. I should have taken pictures to document, but I was in a hurry.

• Map pocket modified and installed.
• I took the map pocket apart and installed a hinge to mount the LCD to. I also drilled a hole in the back to route the power cables through.
  
• AuxMod installed
• I removed the stock head-unit and installed the auxmod module into it.
• Lots and lots of cable routing done
• Routed power, audio, video, and usb cables throughout the car.
• Installed distribution blocks for power / ground.
  
• USB hub installed
• All software installed and configured on the PC.
• Performed power button modification hack so that the PC turns on and off with the car, via the Opus PSU.

I went hunting for more information on Java Media Components, and found that there are two sessions scheduled for JavaOne that should shine some light on the new API.

https://www28.cplan.com/cc191/session_details.jsp?isid=296509&ilocation_id=191-1&ilanguage=english

https://www28.cplan.com/cc191/session_details.jsp?isid=296511&ilocation_id=191-1&ilanguage=english

I found a page documenting the tile naming schemes of the various online map providers today. With that information, and the JxMapViewer component from swingx-ws, I was able to hack together a Yahoo Maps mash-up in under an hour.

The code still has a bug in it: latitude / longitude do not translate correctly. The marker on the map should be placed on London. I'll have to do some more tweaking to see if I can finish this up. The code needed to do this is surprisingly short:

public class YahooMapFrame extends javax.swing.JFrame { TileFactoryInfo yahoo = new TileFactoryInfo(0, 17, 18, 256, true, true, "http://us.maps2.yimg.com/us.png.maps.yimg.com/png?v=3.1.0&t=m", "x", "y", "z") { @Override public String getTileUrl(int x, int y, int zoom) { int yp = ((int) Math.pow(2, 18 - zoom)) / 2 - y; String url = new StringBuffer(baseURL).append("&x=").append(x).append("&y=").append(yp).append("&z=").append(zoom).toString(); return url; } }; TileFactory factory = new DefaultTileFactory(yahoo); /** Creates new form YahooMapFrame */ public YahooMapFrame() { setLook(); initComponents(); mapKit.setTileFactory(factory); mapKit.setZoom(17); }

I've added a page to document my Car PC install. You can view it at  http://coffeejolts.com/site/car-pc.html