[xcritic]

Ok I tried to brighten the screen, I replaced the red led with a bright white and added a second white led on the other side of the screen. Although it overcast outside right now it does appear that is more visible and since my screen is behind smoked plastic I think it would be even better for you guys that just have in the clock opening. Here are some picks I took while doing it.

[sti robot]

Good work! Did the general coloring of the LCD change to look whitish when you put in the new LED's?

I like the buttons you used. They look much nicer than the crappy Radioshack specials I've been using. Where did you get them? I don't like your button placement from a UI standpoint. While using the buttons your hand will occlude the screen itself.

[xcritic]

Yep, the screen now has a white tint to it. I got the buttons from radio shack. The button placement is what it is, not particularly the best placement. But I was able to use existing holes from the original clock buttons. i also made the mistake of not checking the button placement within the pod prior to enlarging the holes for the buttons. I would have preffered if they were more to the right.

I still think it can be a little brighter if I go back and remove the velum from the top of the screen and mask out the leds with electrical tape to keep light from escaping the screen. I also did get to test it in full light conditions yesterday, when I had the single red led I had 0% visiblity during full light, with the 2 white leds its to about 50%

[sti robot]

I'm wondering how your lighting solution compares to the other color combinations that sparkfun sells. In particular this one: SparkFun Electronics . In theory that color combination should have the most contrast and show up best even in high ambient light situations.

The reason the red/red lcd isn't as good in daylight is because it is backlit red with the lettering in a brighter shade of red. The sti cluster, on the other hand, is bright red on black.

[valtersboze]

had a lot of time messing with the arduino vs Nokia and eventually got mad at it and put 5V+ to GND and Arduino light went out. after that i found i had made a huge mistake in my arduino code that made all sensors give out identical data also restarting my nokia USB port revived the board, so i guess the USB over current protection is working
got my flash to read the boost voltage and show on simple linear bar at about 30fps! I also removed all stuff and made a 1K code that just outputs all 6 analog-in`s to the serial port every 10ms. human eye cannot read faster than 40ms, so 10ms should be enough for the wire/cpu and other losses. now i need to start coding the interface for gauges and think about multiple UI mode switching. LOT of work. I put the car in garage today, left arduino in glove box, need a week to refill my wallet
while I am able to read RPM, speed and stuff like that, i think i shouldnt put them on the small 800x480 display, also thinking about relocating the nokia stand from centre air grills to the corner between the steering wheel and mirror, since i cannot see the road through there anyway, but its much easier to look at it there instead of center console while driving.
Does anyone know some aftermarket digital display gauges? just sneed some examples of the UI..
P.S. this also provides nice data logging, nokia can have up to 6gb sdhc cards

[valtersboze]

oh, one more thing! do you know HOW the drift angle is detected in package like DriftBOX? I have a suspicion that its related to GPS :? I have GPS in my nokia and probably could program it to work for this, just an idea for now..

[sti robot]

Nice work! I believe the drift box uses accelerometers and gets drift angle by using trigonometry and the measurements from the x axis and y axis of an accelerometer. Or perhaps a gyroscope, which would give more accurate measurements and would be easier to calculate.

I would love to see pictures of your setup as it progresses.

[sti robot]

autometer oil temp sender added as a cheaper/easier to obtain alternative:

oil_temperature [robotmeter]

[valtersboze]

thanks! i received autometer temp and press gauges yesterday, but now i have no idea how to connect them. sandwitch plate that i bought is for external oil cooler, i guess i have to buy and WAIT for another adapter or relocation kit..

[sti robot]

Surfing the youtube before bed and I found some interesting stuff:

SSM + video overlay thing from japan using the openport cable --> YouTube - WinSSM Snow Driving in Highway

lcd boost and temp gauge (for the megasquirt ecu): YouTube - Gauge software test LCDash Digital Touchscreen Dash / Display for MegaSquirt DIYAutoTune.com

digital boost gauge: Digital Boost Gauge