More affordable electronics

[BryanK]

holy crap this is all going over my head. But I think it'd be the best thing since sliced bread if you made all this available to the DSM community at an affordable price. If you included all the features of a standalone and those of the AVC-R (or similar EBC) I have no doubt you'll generate quite a following in a very short amount of time. I know I for one would be camped out on your doorstep waiting my turn for one.
BryanK

 

[halvorja]

Some sort of easily removeable faceplate would be nice too.

Nothing like getting nice stuff stolen to ruin your day.

Jake

 

[ArtOfSpeed]

I tend to agree with a lot of these posts in theory, but we are looking for affordability as concern number one. Tooling for molding plactics is an extremely expensive proposition, so I think it is prudent to remember the possible limitations. Cool molded cases with custom displays and pop-off faceplates might not be among them. But the idea of a multi-line text VFD (is a graphic VFD a feasable possibility?) with the option to use it in a HUD configuration sounds like a very cool idea. Getting into real graphics with any kind of reasonable refresh with a PIC is tough. To do it right, you need a dedicated graphics controller and that gets expensive quick, let alone the cost of the Graphic VFD (in the $200 range in small quantities). My expectation is a VFD option (for a little more) in text mode or the use of 1/2 inch LED displays. LCD's are just too unreadable in daylight to be of much real use (my opinion). I would be VERY interested in a picture of the prototype, however, to see what kind of space restrictions and display options there are. As far as hiding it, I am working on a retracting fold-down AFC mount that hides in a single DIN slot. You turn on the ignition, and like your stereo or DVD machine, it motors out and pops up. Turn the car off, and it goes away. You could also use it in the AC vent pocket with a little slimming down. to get it more in line-of-sight. So something like that might be a thought.
Two more of my often valueless cents.

 

[rubbersidedown]

You think you could make a fairly small digital boost gauge w/ peak hold and a warning light/beep sound if you spike above a set boost level? Maybe it could have a digital display to show boost/vac in #PSI and underneath it a bar graph showing #bar boost. That would be a nice stand alone guage. As for the casing... maybe it could have a rectanglur type face similar to a turbo timer so it could be mounted on the steering column or on the dash... or.. if you could find a 52mm case to fit it into then maybe you could have the little buttons that you would use to set wahtever parameters on the gauge attached to it via a wire w/ a plug. So it could still be mounted in a gauge pod and all you would have to do is drill a small hole in the side of the pod and pull the wire through and plug it into the gauge... the first one would most likely be easiest but the second one i guess would be more for the sake of looks. Just a thought, becuase i don't know about anyone else but i'm always on the look out for a cheap boost gauge... and a digital one w/ added features? That would be kickass

 

[LightningGSX]

I've found several pre-fab plastic enclosures that will work nicely and true graphic VFD displays are expensive,but one VFD unit could display many guages at the same time.So add up the price of many guages and the VFD would actually be relatively cheap

 

[ArtOfSpeed]

That sounds great!
I was once looking at VFD's for an MP3 project (Atmel based HDD player) and the cost was unbelievable. I was hoping for a small unit...like that on an AFC. I gave that up REAL quick. Found some surplus graphic LCD's that fit the bill and went on my way.
Cool. Gettin all excited now!
Lol

 

[vassil]

Here is what I have been thinking about. Rather than writing a novel
I decided to make a picture.

 

[LightningGSX]

BTW does anyone know anything about speed/density calculations(I have a S/D controller in the works too), if I read any more air induction dynamics or volumetric efficiency my head will explode!

 

[ArtOfSpeed]

LightningGSX: E-mail me!
[email protected]

 

[BryanK]

Hey man I'm just wondering how all this is going. Really sounds like a promising venture. Keep us updated. Just a question... is this going to be user friendly, so you don't have to be an electrician or gadget wiz to be able to use it?
Thanks,
Bryan