cosworth swb mk4 project....

[Gavin]

lack of progress with getting the lump in the van has got me fiddling with details again, can you guess whats going on here?



stack make the most exquisite instruments but their customer service sucks like you wouldnt believe. ive been waiting since august for a 52mm clock, no response to any communication from me, manufacturing problem is all i eventually got. gave up and swapped the order to this, as it was "in stock". still took three weeks to arrive. unbelievable.

[Gavin]

been busy with Stanley the blade



the CF sheet is being waterjet cut to suit, the guage will be mounted through and the screens will be bonded from behind, and the whole lot will be bonded to the front, theres not going to be much carbon visible though

[Luke]

looking good

and is that your kitchen table i spy a bottle of ketchup

[AlanN]

Must be new glue

[Gavin]

its the kitchen worktop, the garage is too untidy at the mo


the monitor will be hooked up to a night vision reversing camera and a dvd head unit, the only bit i'm struggling with is getting the sat nav to come on with the ignition, as tomtom dosent support this feature theres no 3rd party software that does it either, the only solution ive found on the web is someone who piggybacked a programmable PIC IC to the on off switch, but thats far beyond me toying with the idea of using a micro servo to physically actuate it, but i dont think this is gonna work.


engine is still on the stand in the garage, maybe i should concentrate on that

[Gavin]

just had to try it in place, gonna look the bollocks i reckon

[Luke]

i'm struggling with is getting the sat nav to come on with the ignition, as tomtom dosent support this feature theres no 3rd party software that does it either, the only solution ive found on the web is someone who piggybacked a programmable PIC IC to the on off switch, but thats far beyond me toying with the idea of using a micro servo to physically actuate it, but i dont think this is gonna work.

take the batteries out and wire it direct off the ign live

[Gavin]

that wont work, it resets to default settings if the battery is run down, so i'd forever be resetting my preferences or living with ones i dont like, and i wouldnt have my custom start up and shut down images


there will be a way, just gotta find it, have emailed some repair companies see if they can mod it for me

[Luke]

you could do with pointing that reversing camera the other way to get a good shot of my van at north weald next year

[johny transit]

Yeh Gavin - that's what I'm after! Like that pod. It suits your dash really well though for mine a curvier one might be best. My sat nav does the reversing camera (and mp3/4 etc) so I will only need the one screen so the pod can curve off more each side.
After advice on here though I am thinking to make it so I can snap out the sat nav easily. What are your thoughts about security? How about a smoked plastic screen infront so it looks uninteresting when it is off?
I can't wait for it to get a little warmer so I can get out and get all these nice little jobs done. (Cold weather = "research and development"...ahem.)

[johny transit]

ps...one way to get your sat nav to come on would be...
gain access to the switch connections, and assuming that it is just a single push to make, bring them out onto two wires that you then just need to connect together for several seconds, mimicing the action of holding the on button down (if that is how yours is). The connection can be made by iether a timed relay or by a little electronic circuit that when it receives its power from the ignition, just times the connection of the two wires together for a few seconds. If that makes any sense. You could prolly do it with one chip and a handfull of components - I expect the internet will give you a timed circuit like that or you could look at a 4016 analogue switch ic (prolly only 50p) which will run off 12v. Good luck.

[Gavin]

right johny...ive got no experience of electronics...but ive decided to try your idea...here goes!


the guts of my tomtom XL2...this be the switch at the top right..





guess i gotta connect the ~ to sw2? ok then, wires on! this was damn fiddly, that switch is only about 4mm wide, the wires are 0.2mm sq...




it works!




ive also designed a simple circuit using the simmulator applet on www.falstad.com using relays and a capacitors. this gives a momentary output from a continuous 12v live, and then again gives a momentary output when the live is removed, so it can come on and off with the ignition. as i said no experience in this, but it works on the simulator so fingers crossed

[transitandy]

this getting interesting now

[johny transit]

I couldn't find the thing for the circuit design but it's rather an interesting website!
Well, luckily as we'd hoped it is simply a case of making a moments connection between just two wires and not somefancy set up - so I am sure you can nail it now. Relays and capacitors will work just the same as a little electronic circuit, so whatever you are comfortable with.
I must say I am finding it a real pain setting up my sat nav each time - succer cup, plug etc - so would love to go for a permanent install. (For those times when you left it at home because you were not going anywhere new, but then you are!) and it is quite nice to have the map running anyway.
Just the nick-a-bility factor to over come then...couldn't find a circuit for that

[Gavin]

sorry heres the direct link http://www.falstad.com/circuit/


its in the paths & physics applets tab at the top of the list.

i did buy a little 555 timer circuit from maplin but that turned out to need a momentary input as well so was no good

once its built you wont be able to tell its a satnav (i'm junking the case) so i dont think theft will be an issue