Taking the "Mini Plunge"

[Simon Paine]

So I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I want to try and incorporate a Mac Mini into my cart.

So here's a preliminary shopping list:

1 - Mac Mini. (2.0 GHz with superdrive and max out the Ram)

2 - Touchscreen monitor (still narrowing down the choices, maybe the Ikan V8000T) Or suggestions ?

3 - Power adaptor. Thinking of this PSU: CarNetix P2140  http://www.carnetix.com/P2140/CNXP2140.htm

4 - Keyboard / Mouse. What are people using ? What would fit nicely on a cart ?

5 - Mac Mini mount. looking at this one : http://h-sq.com/products/minimount/index.html

Some questions I have for those already running a mini on there cart. What kind of screen resolution are you running and how is it working out ? Are you running apps easily with a touch screen ? How has you Mini held up ? Not just software stability wise, but physicaly also ?

BTW, I know there is previous topic on this subject, and I read through it, but it's been a while since anything new has been posted in it, so I figured I would start a new one.

[Darren]

One for the Mini, one for the camera feed.

http://www.cooltouchmonitors.com/EN/products/RX-702TA.html

[Darren]

4 - Keyboard / Mouse. What are people using ? What would fit nicely on a cart ?

New metal Apple Wireless Keyboard is very compact.  Apple wireless mouse is nice as well.  I always wanted a trackball, but never found one.

[davidm]

I'm running a Carnetix P2140 with my Mac Mini.

Pro's: It will run from 12 volt Gel Cells and 14.4 volt Lithium Ion's. The Lithium Ion's have a fresh charge voltage of up to 17 volts and that is higher than the 12 volt only P1900 will accept (according to Carnetix). There's also a small OS X application that will monitor the P2140 via the USB port called "PSU Moni" which can be found by searching the Carnetix Support Forums.

Con's: The fan is noisier than the P1900 (IMHO). It has some sort of pulse drive with feedback and so it makes more noise than a straight DC fan. The direct mounting to the frame doesn't help. I tried other fans but they didn't sound any better. You can disconnect the fan sensing system with "PSU Moni" or the PC equivalent but Carnetix say you must have cooling and the regulators will shut down above 60 deg C. My P2140 is in a rack case and I mounted the fan with some rubber rings to reduce the mechanical transmission from the fan to the chassis. My P2140 gets up 55 deg C on very hot days. I keep the P2140 load low by running my monitor from a different supply. I suspect it's designed to be operated in an air conditioned vehicle.

I have a 1.8MHz Mac Mini with 1GB RAM. CPU usage running Metacorder and a few utilities is between 12 and 18% of that available.

David M

[Simon Paine]

Info for anyone using a Mini, or thinking of doing it.

I just got this mount for my setup. It features a USB plug and wire that places it in the front of the computer. So you don't have to try and reach around the back every time you need to plug something in. Perfect for a flash memory or even a dongle for those using Metacorder.

Link to website: http://www.cinnamon-peripherals.ca/products/cinnamount-mini/usb-edition/

[RPSharman]

I just bought a MAC MINI from a friend, and need to buy a DVI to DVI cable - I have found these cheap on line, of course, but they have DVD-I and DVD-D and Single Link and Dual Link cables.

HELP!

This is a basic G4 Mini and a not very premium monitor with a DVI input.  What kind of cable do I need?  Looking at both ports, it appears they are both able to accommodate the DVD-I Dual Link cable, so I may have answered my own question.  Just want to be sure.

Robert

[Marc Wielage]

There's much confusion with DVI cables, vs. HDMI and the new DisplayPort connector. There's also mini-DVI connectors, just to add more uncertainty. The DVI signal should definitely look sharper than an equivalent SVGA signal.

The bottom line is that you can adapt anything to anything if you have the right cables. The signals themselves are identical. One caveat is if you had to play a copy-protected Blu-ray disc (unlikely in your case), in some cases the player will shut down if it doesn't detect the "HDCP" (high def copy protection) protocol with the HDMI cable. That can happen even if you just use an extension cable. It drives home theater people crazy.

Good info on different kinds of DVI cables on wikipedia.

[Richard Lightstone, CAS]

Robert,

My Intel Mac Mini has the standard DVI connector and the original Mac-Mini also had a standard DVI port. In fact the Mac-Mini comes with a neat standard DVI to mini DB 15 adapter.

There are many varieties of DVI to whatever adaptors. DVI to Mini DVI (pictured below), DVI to mini DB 15, DVI to S-Video.

http://www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=Mac+DVI+adapters&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

What monitor are you trying to connect to? I use the 7" Extreme Audio touch screen.

RL

[RPSharman]

Both the Mac Mini output and monitor input look like the standard port pictured above.

I guess if I get the DVI-I Dual Link cable it will cover all bases.  Is that accurate?

Robert

[Richard Lightstone, CAS]

Robert,

What is the monitor your are going to use?

For example the Extreme Audio touch screen has a cable that connects to the mini DB 15 of the Mac - Mini DVI adaptor.

The dual adaptor has both an S Video output and a standard RCA video out.

It all depends on what the input requirements are of the monitor you intend to use.

RL