Laptop mount
01-01-2007, 08:54 PM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Dallas, TX area
Posts: 941
Laptop mount
I have used my laptop with a GPS antenna and map software for several years now when we go for a drive to unfamiliar places. I had a bench seat in my old car, so I just put it on the seat. But with the console in my '07 GT, that won't work. Best thing I can come up with is to make some kind of plywood thing that will fit over the console that the laptop will sit on - maybe cover it with black felt. But it will be hard to make it so it doesn't interefere with A/C vents, gear shift, the radio, and A/C controls. [&:]
Anybody doing this, or have any good ideas how to do it? Can't sit it in the right seat, BTW, because that's where my wife sits.
Anybody doing this, or have any good ideas how to do it? Can't sit it in the right seat, BTW, because that's where my wife sits.
01-01-2007, 09:29 PM
#2
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location:
Posts: 802
RE: Laptop mount
Problem with most prebuilt pedistal mounts is most mounts like that are gonna bolt through the floor board and take up alot of leg room for any passengers, really you are not gonna have much space, just tell the wife to suck it up and put it on her lap =P
There isnt alot of room to put it on the center console if you have 2 people in the car since you start to give up arm space at that point. Why not just invest aa bit into a little Garmin or TomTom? Then you can mount it in your field of view on the windshield.
There isnt alot of room to put it on the center console if you have 2 people in the car since you start to give up arm space at that point. Why not just invest aa bit into a little Garmin or TomTom? Then you can mount it in your field of view on the windshield.
01-01-2007, 09:47 PM
#3
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location:
Posts: 305
RE: Laptop mount
ORIGINAL: wthalliii
I have used my laptop with a GPS antenna and map software for several years now when we go for a drive to unfamiliar places. I had a bench seat in my old car, so I just put it on the seat. But with the console in my '07 GT, that won't work. Best thing I can come up with is to make some kind of plywood thing that will fit over the console that the laptop will sit on - maybe cover it with black felt. But it will be hard to make it so it doesn't interefere with A/C vents, gear shift, the radio, and A/C controls. [&:]
Anybody doing this, or have any good ideas how to do it? Can't sit it in the right seat, BTW, because that's where my wife sits.
I have used my laptop with a GPS antenna and map software for several years now when we go for a drive to unfamiliar places. I had a bench seat in my old car, so I just put it on the seat. But with the console in my '07 GT, that won't work. Best thing I can come up with is to make some kind of plywood thing that will fit over the console that the laptop will sit on - maybe cover it with black felt. But it will be hard to make it so it doesn't interefere with A/C vents, gear shift, the radio, and A/C controls. [&:]
Anybody doing this, or have any good ideas how to do it? Can't sit it in the right seat, BTW, because that's where my wife sits.
01-01-2007, 09:52 PM
#4
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: greenville
Posts: 1,268
RE: Laptop mount
ORIGINAL: 07GT
There is no room in a mustang for a laptop except your wife's lap. The interior is just too cramped. I know this wasn't part of your question but the center of the mustang dash is a great place for a gps unit that doesn't require a laptop. Unfortunately they're not cheap.
ORIGINAL: wthalliii
I have used my laptop with a GPS antenna and map software for several years now when we go for a drive to unfamiliar places. I had a bench seat in my old car, so I just put it on the seat. But with the console in my '07 GT, that won't work. Best thing I can come up with is to make some kind of plywood thing that will fit over the console that the laptop will sit on - maybe cover it with black felt. But it will be hard to make it so it doesn't interefere with A/C vents, gear shift, the radio, and A/C controls. [&:]
Anybody doing this, or have any good ideas how to do it? Can't sit it in the right seat, BTW, because that's where my wife sits.
I have used my laptop with a GPS antenna and map software for several years now when we go for a drive to unfamiliar places. I had a bench seat in my old car, so I just put it on the seat. But with the console in my '07 GT, that won't work. Best thing I can come up with is to make some kind of plywood thing that will fit over the console that the laptop will sit on - maybe cover it with black felt. But it will be hard to make it so it doesn't interefere with A/C vents, gear shift, the radio, and A/C controls. [&:]
Anybody doing this, or have any good ideas how to do it? Can't sit it in the right seat, BTW, because that's where my wife sits.
[IMG]local://upfiles/26672/8230C96437D642ED80B902DAB1D88D80.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/26672/6303E4042850401084842D0C58455FEF.jpg[/IMG]
Yea I too am a geek....
01-02-2007, 12:36 AM
#7
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Dallas, TX area
Posts: 941
RE: Laptop mount
I had thought about the stand alone GPS units, but I don't want to do that because they're expensive, and they're not as good as my laptop. I have voice command, for one thing. The screen's not very big on those things, for another. I have a 15" screen on the laptop that runs1280 X 800.
Okay, that leaves me with the wife's lap. (BTW, I won't repeat what she said when I told her to "suck it up". LOL) But that got me to thinking. Sitting with a laptop in your lap for hours isn't pleasant, expecially since I have a heavy 1.8 GHz dual processor desktop replacement. But what if I could put it just above her lap? I took a wooden TV tray thing and tried to modify it so it would fit, but that didn't work out. Then I built a "thing" out of plywood. Flat piece of 1/4" plywood on the floor connected to another piece that goes vertical beside the console, connected to a horizontal piece that will hold the laptop. Ugly, but functional. I'll paint it flat black and / or cover it with black felt. We also have a beanbag type lap tray that we may try, too, if that doesn't work out. That would at least keep the heat of the laptop out of her lap.
That monitor in the dash looks cool, but I don't want to give up the radio that I just paid big bucks for. It's the Shaker 500 that some of you don't like, but it meets my needs.
I'm a geek, too, BTW. I'm an embedded software engineer for Fluke Electronics - the yellow voltmeter people.
Okay, that leaves me with the wife's lap. (BTW, I won't repeat what she said when I told her to "suck it up". LOL) But that got me to thinking. Sitting with a laptop in your lap for hours isn't pleasant, expecially since I have a heavy 1.8 GHz dual processor desktop replacement. But what if I could put it just above her lap? I took a wooden TV tray thing and tried to modify it so it would fit, but that didn't work out. Then I built a "thing" out of plywood. Flat piece of 1/4" plywood on the floor connected to another piece that goes vertical beside the console, connected to a horizontal piece that will hold the laptop. Ugly, but functional. I'll paint it flat black and / or cover it with black felt. We also have a beanbag type lap tray that we may try, too, if that doesn't work out. That would at least keep the heat of the laptop out of her lap.
That monitor in the dash looks cool, but I don't want to give up the radio that I just paid big bucks for. It's the Shaker 500 that some of you don't like, but it meets my needs.
I'm a geek, too, BTW. I'm an embedded software engineer for Fluke Electronics - the yellow voltmeter people.
01-02-2007, 01:25 AM
#8
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location:
Posts: 802
RE: Laptop mount
ORIGINAL: wthalliii
I had thought about the stand alone GPS units, but I don't want to do that because they're expensive, and they're not as good as my laptop. I have voice command, for one thing. The screen's not very big on those things, for another. I have a 15" screen on the laptop that runs1280 X 800.
Okay, that leaves me with the wife's lap. (BTW, I won't repeat what she said when I told her to "suck it up". LOL) But that got me to thinking. Sitting with a laptop in your lap for hours isn't pleasant, expecially since I have a heavy 1.8 GHz dual processor desktop replacement. But what if I could put it just above her lap? I took a wooden TV tray thing and tried to modify it so it would fit, but that didn't work out. Then I built a "thing" out of plywood. Flat piece of 1/4" plywood on the floor connected to another piece that goes vertical beside the console, connected to a horizontal piece that will hold the laptop. Ugly, but functional. I'll paint it flat black and / or cover it with black felt. We also have a beanbag type lap tray that we may try, too, if that doesn't work out. That would at least keep the heat of the laptop out of her lap.
That monitor in the dash looks cool, but I don't want to give up the radio that I just paid big bucks for. It's the Shaker 500 that some of you don't like, but it meets my needs.
I'm a geek, too, BTW. I'm an embedded software engineer for Fluke Electronics - the yellow voltmeter people.
I had thought about the stand alone GPS units, but I don't want to do that because they're expensive, and they're not as good as my laptop. I have voice command, for one thing. The screen's not very big on those things, for another. I have a 15" screen on the laptop that runs1280 X 800.
Okay, that leaves me with the wife's lap. (BTW, I won't repeat what she said when I told her to "suck it up". LOL) But that got me to thinking. Sitting with a laptop in your lap for hours isn't pleasant, expecially since I have a heavy 1.8 GHz dual processor desktop replacement. But what if I could put it just above her lap? I took a wooden TV tray thing and tried to modify it so it would fit, but that didn't work out. Then I built a "thing" out of plywood. Flat piece of 1/4" plywood on the floor connected to another piece that goes vertical beside the console, connected to a horizontal piece that will hold the laptop. Ugly, but functional. I'll paint it flat black and / or cover it with black felt. We also have a beanbag type lap tray that we may try, too, if that doesn't work out. That would at least keep the heat of the laptop out of her lap.
That monitor in the dash looks cool, but I don't want to give up the radio that I just paid big bucks for. It's the Shaker 500 that some of you don't like, but it meets my needs.
I'm a geek, too, BTW. I'm an embedded software engineer for Fluke Electronics - the yellow voltmeter people.
Yea yea I have spent a bit of time thinking about this today.
01-02-2007, 01:38 AM
#9
6th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Nicely done
Posts: 11,881
RE: Laptop mount
Setup the laptop in the trunk or rear seat.
Setup a mini projector system (rear seat)
Project the image onto a small portable white screen, located near the shaker
-
ok the idea may suck, but i tried lol
Setup a mini projector system (rear seat)
Project the image onto a small portable white screen, located near the shaker
-
ok the idea may suck, but i tried lol
01-02-2007, 01:41 AM
#10
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: greenville
Posts: 1,268
RE: Laptop mount
ORIGINAL: wthalliii
That monitor in the dash looks cool, but I don't want to give up the radio that I just paid big bucks for. It's the Shaker 500 that some of you don't like, but it meets my needs.
I'm a geek, too, BTW. I'm an embedded software engineer for Fluke Electronics - the yellow voltmeter people.
That monitor in the dash looks cool, but I don't want to give up the radio that I just paid big bucks for. It's the Shaker 500 that some of you don't like, but it meets my needs.
I'm a geek, too, BTW. I'm an embedded software engineer for Fluke Electronics - the yellow voltmeter people.