iMac Desktop Computer “installed” in Car with a Jackery

Hey I have no idea if this is interesting to anyone or not, and it’s fine if it’s not.

However I’m interested in this lol as a personal pet project that I was messing around with, for a while.

Strangely I might be the first person to put an iMac in a car, or maybe others have done it, without mentioning it online…? I’ve looked and I only found a vid from a guy who installed an iMac in his van.

So I kinda wonder if I’m the first to do it but whatever lol, I just wanted my iMac in my car, and I eventually got it set up nicely, recently, so I made a short vid showing it.

And I guess it’s worth being mentioned online, for people who will definitely think about the idea (of bringing their home iMac with them in their car), and so then when they look it up, like I just did, they’ll have at least one nice example of it being done already.

Anyway, there’s basically nothing to it, for the hardware aspect:

In 2021, I had already bought a wall-plug adapter for my car cigarette lighter… because I wanted to be able to plug my iMac into my car.

Funny enough, the original motivation was to try to fix things with my computer software / upgrade it, etc., following my iMac’s giant meltdown in early 2021, which I caused by several reasons, and while my Mac was freezing for several hours, I destroyed her with some manual shutdowns, very regrettably.

So anyway the idea at that time, was that I could maybe fix my iMac’s software, better… if I could use a better wireless internet connection, somewhere (because it’s just a rather weak internet that I typically use from my iPhone’s hotspot).

So that’s why I first got the wall-plugs adapter, to see if I could catch a much stronger wireless network, elsewhere, and fix things up better.

So since 2021, I can run my Mac in my car, plugged into the wall plug adapter, plugged into the cig lighter.

But there was a problem till recently, that prevented just running the Mac continuously: My car’s cig lighter loses its electricity for about one second, when I turn the key, to start the car. And so power cut-outs can obviously harm a computer, and so I really couldn’t just leave my Mac running very much, during the day: I do deliveries all day so I’m always turning the car off and on.

I’ve been at the new job about 3 months and I just started keeping my Mac in the car, when I started the job, even though the total usage was cramped, and I wasn’t running my Mac, most of the time.

Then I tried a UPS: United Power Supply brick, to cover that moment of my car’s power cut-out, and it was not quite the right product, though it was the right concept, and it did work somewhat for the situation. I then tried a new wall plug adapter that promised more power delivery, thinking it might help the UPS work out better, but nope. Turns out the cig lighter is pretty consistent with its output, and the promised greater power would come from theoretically connecting this weird wall plug thing, DIRECTLY into the car battery… which it turns out that absolutely NOBODY wanted to touch such a ridiculous pet project, of installing some giant thick power cables, from the battery, then somehow run from there, into my car’s interior, which would require hacking through the dashboard and apparently drilling through a thick metal wall that divides everything between the hood and the dash / interior. Then probably cold air would be blowing in from the holes, plus I’d worry about the thick power cables getting overheated and destroyed just from the OTHER heat that’s already under the hood… PLUS the damn risk of just having giant thick power cables just hanging inside my passenger floor (for the stupid wall plug). So eventually I realized that that idea was a dead end lol.

Finally I just found a Jackery for much cheaper than expected, I thought they were like a thousand dollars but I got one for $250 and it’s perfect. It’s always recharging itself from the cig lighter, so it mostly keeps a mostly full charge as a portable power supply, and it can easily power my desktop computer all day like this (or maybe half the day, like 10 hours maybe before the Jackery starts getting low, but I’m happy with the situation).

I’m not sure quite why it doesn’t just keep recharging itself for more than like 10-12 hours but apparently the Mac is taking a slight bit more power than it’s refilling itself with, so eventually it does run low, but it’s all good. I’m also guessing that temperature in my car might be a factor in how much it’s recharging (i.e. probably less recharging if it gets too warm). Also maybe, I’ve wondered if the Jackery might recharge itself less according to the car battery status, maybe (or maybe not).

There is also the variable amount of power actually pulled in by my Mac, as the Jackery has an LED screen that shows power in and power out. So for example, if I decrease my Mac’s brightness, then it can dramatically decrease power consumption.

^So I expect that I’ll eventually figure out how to keep her running, without running out the Jackery faster than it recharges itself.

But even if not, the current situation is great for my Mac riding shotgun all day as I do deliveries, I leave waterfall video clips playing, for example.

The Jackery also renders the iMac portable, too, though not the original purpose of the project, it’s nice to know that I can carry my Mac and Jackery with me, somewhere, if I really want to, without interrupting its running already in the car (tho it’s really not a situation that I can imagine happening lol but I’m sure that I’ll try something someday, maybe bring my Mac on a picnic or something).

Really it’s just for the sake of the car-office though. I play nature sounds or maybe relaxing music (rarely). I could watch YouTube videos but I am mostly sick of watching videos in general lol. But it’s just a nice presence in my traveling office. I’ve briefly played chess, and other stuff like Doom, Virtua Racing, etc. tho it’s really not much, but a few minutes of exciting gameplay can be nice at times. I have a nice gamepad of course, but so it’s more just nice to know that I have the ability to play games if I really want to, the idea more than actually doing it much more than a few short minutes here and there. I’m also a big fan of digital books so I enjoy having these glowing books floating around on my Desktop lol and sometimes I highlight quotes and have my Mac read it to me while driving.

Well there is probably no interest in the topic and it’s all good. I’ve also been putting little plants in the car too and it’s a great little office to drive around and run deliveries.


Also the Mac herself is only just wedged in the right spot, hanging a bit off the edge of the seat, and screen propped between the dash and the door, so that it’s really just gravity holding her there, because it’s pulling her down, into the spot she’s in. Pulling down toward the front corner of the passenger area, basically, so it’s very secure, without any actual attachments to hold there, only gravity.

a reply to: JamesChessman

They sell them. Look into travel trailers, buses. Computers of a 1,000 rock bands tour buses...and they have their own interrupted power supplies....you can purchase them easily, with many hookups.

My tour buses always had incorp systems...can run independent of battery on or off...👍

a reply to: mysterioustranger

interrupted power supplies.

The correct word is "uninterruptible"

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: JamesChessman

They sell them. Look into travel trailers, buses. Computers of a 1,000 rock bands tour buses...and they have their own interrupted power supplies....you can purchase them easily, with many hookups.

My tour buses always had incorp systems...can run independent of battery on or off...👍

Is it just me or is this trolling me in the very first comment of the thread, lol!

Anyway it’s not even clear what exactly you’re saying that “they sell them.”

Although yes of course, they do sell portable power sources like the Jackery I mentioned that I’m using in my car.

Anyway thanks for the comment lol, have a great day.

a reply to: JamesChessman

Yes. There are systems to buy premade.

(Course, I'm telling you because these tour bus systems out there can give you great ideas!)

Good luck

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: JamesChessman

Yes. There are systems to buy premade.

(Course, I'm telling you because these tour bus systems out there can give you great ideas!)

Good luck

Haha ok sorry then fit taking it wrong, I just had described the Jackery and then it sounded like a similar thing you were describing lol but I guess I just need to look more into it.

I did know that a guy installed his iMac in his VAN, but I haven’t seen anyone post about an iMac in a CAR.

Also I would rather expect that vans and tour buses obviously must have extra whole set-ups for extra electricity to always be available through the bus, I’m just saying, I’m unfamiliar with buses but it seems obvious that they must have extra electrical systems that smaller vehicles don’t…





…ALSO in case I need to clarify what exactly is unique here, for anyone who might not understand:


Apple iMac is a DESKTOP computer, meant to be a piece of furniture on a desk, at home.

It’s not really meant to be moved around much, it’s NOT meant to be in a car (lol), and it’s not meant to be PORTABLE either (which the Jackery renders it a portable computer, plus car easy-“installed”).

So essentially the Jackery upgrades an iMac… more than it’s originally MEANT to be.

I even called Apple Support and asked about such products for an iMac to be portable and/or car-installed, and they actually had NO suggestions because it’s entirely outside the scope of the intended use of an iMac.
😎

a reply to: JamesChessman


Ummm...why would you want your iMac in your car...?

I mean...I have multiple of the 27" pro's but never once thought to have one in my car...

What are the advantages...if you don't mind...?



YouSir

a reply to: YouSir

When I signed up to ATS I was an over the road truck driver. Had a PS2 hooked up to my laptop playing online games or watch over the air TV/Cable (if I had a hookup) at night and used the laptop as a giant GPS by day having it strapped down in the passenger seat secured in an aluminum briefcase.

Sprint gave me unlimited, unlimited (no throttling ever) 3G access (2005-2006) to show other drivers my setup. They even gave me the PC Card 3G antenna for free. The problem came when I needed to switch to a USB antenna because even employees didn’t have my bandwidth plan and it took hours of calling to get someone high enough up to approve it. And to explain why I had it. I demonstrated it to around 100 drivers because hotspots at truck stops were $5 a day for the password back then and you had to be close enough (usually inside) to the building to receive it.

Easy for you to do .
My PC , that I would use , stands 33" tall and weighs approximately 65 lbs .
Also , it takes a 1000w Power supply.
So that is a definite : DONT TRY

But I did build a PC in a desk drawer once upon a time .

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: JamesChessman


Ummm...why would you want your iMac in your car...?

I mean...I have multiple of the 27" pro's but never once thought to have one in my car...

What are the advantages...if you don't mind...?

YouSir

I should have mentioned that my iMac is the smallest model, so it’s just 21.5 inches, and it really fits quite perfectly when I get it right, wedged between the dash and door, and the base hanging off the seat, so it’s always falling into being stuck in place.

I guess the bigger sizes would be a different situation; my Mac already seems almost portable from the start, I can hold her with one hand (like 22 pounds or something), and really just slightly bigger than a big tablet or big laptop (but with the screen always standing up lol).

So far I’m mostly just enjoying waterfall video clips that I collect and then loop on my Desktop, while I’m doing about 11-hour shifts delivering Chinese food, and sometimes I have my Mac read highlights from the Bible Book of Proverbs.

So mainly nature video clips in practice, so far, which goes great with my new hobby of collecting little plants everywhere, my car is a lovely traveling office right now.

But of course it’s just a general use computer so I can do anything I want. I should get back into the Spanish learning digital book that I was practicing/ learning Spanish with. Probably a good format to learn and practice words while I’m driving around all day. I was also learning the Chinese game Go so I need to get back into that too.

I have a neglected project of data recovery also that I need to get around to and I can probably let that run by itself in my car now…

a reply to: Gothmog

Yes. Thank you.

a reply to: JamesChessman

One Scenic Cruiser tour bus I was in had 1 hard drive in each section, and in the main bedroom and bunks...plus overhead tv....and all ran independently or multiscreen. Really cool stuff before laptops.

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: JamesChessman

One Scenic Cruiser tour bus I was in had 1 hard drive in each section, and in the main bedroom and bunks...plus overhead tv....and all ran independently or multiscreen. Really cool stuff before laptops.

Interesting, well so what was the usage of the TV’s and computers, watching music videos? Movies?

a reply to: JamesChessman

Yep. Band had 1st VHS....then High Speed Internet and dvds. Multiple channels on a same time all throughout the bus.

Web watching, games etc.....

^Cool thanks for the description, I never thought of such a situation on a bus lol. What kind of music were you guys making?

a reply to: JamesChessman

I'm the last member of "Johnny and The Hurricanes"... Red River Rock...and in Rolling Stones Top 100 Instrumental Groups of all time.

I was a child entertainer at 13...w a Union Card, Local 5....I've spent much of the 60s, 70's, 80's, 90's into the Millennium ..on tour buses.

Thnx for asking!👍

^Idk what the above post said.

Re: the main topic, I did stop having my Mac in my car, once it was a completed pet-project, then it didn't really last, just on its own merits. An iMac really seems meant to be a permanent desk fixture, at home, so there's that main role that it's missing if it's in the car, and I don't want to always be moving it from the car-to-the-house, and back again, though completely doable, I'd rather not deal with it much. (I mean it's a few minutes, and a couple / few short trips, each time, to gather up everything, and set it up again, in both places.)

Nature vids were nice in my car, as a relaxation during work, but honestly if I can manage to relax without it, then it's probably just more practical / pragmatic, to just leave it home. Like it's a relatively small set of benefits during work, so if I can manage other ways to be relaxed and positive-minded, then it seems better to leave her safe at home. Theft is not a huge concern for her in my car, not necessarily, but I dislike always thinking of the possibility, everytime I park at random spots during the day. I'd cover her up with a towel, so she would vanish, but still, I'm glad to not have to think about it, my glowing waterfall Desktop, catching someone's eye, to be curious about it etc.




-- There was also an uncomfortable interaction with a guy who basically thought it was BUILT-INTO the door, meaning he didn't seem to understand that it was just a desktop computer, that I just made slightly-more-portable... but rather, he seemed to think it was a ridiculously extravagant car upgrade, which was FLAUNTING my wealth, like a drug dealer or something.

AND I UNDERSTAND that, but it's also NOT what I wanted to look like so that kind of killed it for me. (The realization that some folks will automatically see it, and assume the driver is a drug dealer, flaunting his wealth by installing TV systems in his car, lol. No thanks, that's not at all, what I wanted.)




-- I also had to appreciate that our smartphones are really intended to be more physical, more clumsy devices. More for throwing into the car, getting dropped, lost, scuffed. I never loved smartphones, but I see now, more clearly, that phones are clumsy and physical, on purpose, because that's the current best estimation, of what such a device SHOULD BE.

For contrast, an iMac / full-size computer, is NOT MEANT for the same situations.

So for example, if u drop ur phone, it's probably going to be locked and nothing will happen, if it gets knocked around, a bit.

But every time I'd drop my mouse, in my car, the on-screen cursor would go crazy (of course), because every contact is moving the cursor. With a full computer, this runs the risk of actually DOING something, unwanted, like it could possibly delete a file, if the mouse was dropped and took a few contact inputs, in just the right way.

(That is, it could theoretically be dropped, and with a few random smashes... it just MIGHT do a right-click, and next, the cursor just MIGHT be moved onto "delete," and it just MIGHT select that. Because every drop, would entail SEVERAL random touch-inputs, to the mouse, before I'd find it on the floor, or under the seat, and it was surprisingly chaotic / unpredictable, WHERE the f*ck it would tumble down to, every time, lol.)

So while nothing ever happened, from dropping the mouse in my car: It certainly COULD do something unwanted, and it was something that I'd have to THINK ABOUT, every time I dropped the mouse, and then I'd need to CHECK that nothing happened.

So it's something that I'm glad to NOT have to think about, or look into, anymore. Because it wasn't the MOST unusual thing to drop the mouse, especially given how I'm always active in my car, moving stuff around and hopping in / out, to make deliveries. I'd end up dropping the mouse probably at least once, every few days, and it just seemed like an inevitability, that I'm glad to avoid. (Plus imagine... realizing much later, that u must have randomly deleted something important, just for dropping ur mouse, in ur car, at some point!)

Again, phones are comparatively BETTER for the inevitability of getting dropped occasionally, or lost / mixed-up with other stuff in the car.

(Or falling when u get out the car, bc it was on ur lap, and u got distracted with other things before u got up.)

It was more painful to drop my beautiful magic mouse, rather than the phone, which I think by now, we all just accept it that phones are disposable, and they always get beat-up, over time, before we replace them, on the next free upgrade that the phone store offers us.

But my magic mouse is considered more permanent, and I don't want THAT to get beat-up, like our phones do. (And leaving it at home, on my desk, I really NEVER drop the mouse anywhere, so that really was just happening BECAUSE of the car setting, with all the different surfaces, and all the different stuff, different activities etc.)

(Also, while phones are often locked, and otherwise unlikely to do anything when dropped... There's also the fact that we don't usually store important stuff on our phones, and if we do, it's probably backed-up on the cloud. So there's almost no risk, even if someone did have the very unlikely loss of phone photos etc. Myself, I don't actually use iCloud, I never got into it as an extra payment plan, and so it's actually a big difference that I don't store much on my phone, while my Mac DOES have important stuff saved, and I'm glad that I'm no longer endangering my files, every few days, by dropping the mouse randomly in my car, while I'm delivering food, or while I'm eating or something, lol.)




--Another thing was that I ended up wondering if it looked bizarre to actually just sit and use the computer, I'd wonder if the full-size glow was lighting-up myself and my car interior... because that MIGHT look really weird, and again, I'd rather not catch people's attention for no reason... Whereas there's basically NO CHANCE of the same weirdness possibly happening, to just use the phone, because THAT'S normal (and a full-size display in the car, is NOT).

So if I got self-conscious enough, about the whole scene, then that kills it too (if I consider it to look strange and attention-grabbing, then forget it, lol. I'll just look at my phone instead, and NOT look weird).




--Plus, while I don't love phones, I do have basically unlimited web access, so I can watch whatever videos / documentaries etc. that I might want... so that's mainly how I'm rolling now, just catching documentary-style vids, from the phone, during the day.