Digital dashboard

Wanting to build a digital dashboard for my old vehicle which is currently being rebuilt.

Most indicators will be bargraph (LM3914) but I am having difficulty coming up with a decent design for a digital speedo (plus odometer). I don't want to go the micro-processor route.

One solution that came to mind was using a F/V converter feeding a 3.5 digit LED (LCD) display, fed from a sensor on the prop shaft.

Anyone got any better ideas? Or can someone point me to a web site where there may be info? Thanks

Reply to
Geocacher
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digit

You could search on 'digital speedo'. Comes up with the likes of:

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Ken

Reply to
Ken Taylor

Hunt down an old VK Calais dash, was a digital dash, and very well done .. you could adapt its circuitry to a lot of what you need..

Reply to
Lord-Data

**I guess what amuses me the most with all this digital dashboard stuff, is the enormous (and I do mean ENORMOUS) amount of trouble auto manufacturers are now going to, in order to make all the digital instruments appear like analogue ones. It would seem to me, that if the analogue stuff is in place, then use it. Just a thought.
Reply to
Trevor Wilson

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 10:04:32 +0200, " Geocacher" put finger to keyboard and composed:

I would think it would be difficult to implement a "digital" odometer without using a micro. AFAICS, you'll need an EEPROM for storage and some way to write to it.

I have a digital instrument cluster from an old XD Fairlane. It uses a vacuum fluorescent display. The odometer data is stored in EEPROM.

-- Franc Zabkar

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Reply to
Franc Zabkar

Analogue instruments cost more , usually a lot more to manufacture today.

Don't need many skilled workers to make the digital versions a few developers then unskilled labour for the rest.

Cheaper to emulate using a micro and an lcd/led screen. Use the one control board across their whole range of cars.

Also reduce the number of boards / assemblies / parts on the dash.

For existing cars would be cheaper to stick with analogue if the car is already analogue.

Reply to
Alex Gibson

**Not my point.

**And again.

**Not under discussion.
**Debatable.

**Exactly!
--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au
Reply to
Trevor Wilson

Didn't the old Holdel Calais have an all electronic dashboard?

Also why not see if you can find one from a wreckers (assuming you can) and retrofit the instrument cluster and sensors?

We had a Fairmont Ghia with electronic speedo and computers for everything except the fuel gauge and tachometer which for some oddball reason was analogue.......

Cost half what the car is worth to replace too

Reply to
Kissing Lettuce

Any chance of pics of the boards / layouts?

Reply to
Kissing Lettuce

Quote

Well no need to be amused anymore :)

Reply to
The Real Andy

I understood the old Calais dash was notoriously unreliable. If you buy the American Magazines "Hot Rod" or "Car Craft" you will find adverts for after market suppliers of digital instruments.eg:

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Blue
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Reply to
aussieblu

The retro universal kit looks good

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Blue
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Reply to
aussieblu

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 13:43:58 +0930, Kissing Lettuce put finger to keyboard and composed:

It's an assembly. I'll need to dismantle it before you can see anything useful. I have VDO's pinout but no info other than that. IIRC, it incorporates a 12V-50V DC-DC converter. Give me some time and I'll post the pix on my web space.

-- Franc Zabkar

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Reply to
Franc Zabkar

When I had my breif attempt at doing the endeavour rally, i used 2 vk calais' retrofitted with the motec ignition systems and the motec digital dash. Worked a treat.

This is not the unit we used, but

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looks neat. The stuff they sell now is much better than what was available back when i was in the market.

Reply to
The Real Andy

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:02:18 +1000, Franc Zabkar put finger to keyboard and composed:

Here are the hi-res pix:

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(1.5MB)
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(1.7MB)

It looks like there are two SMPS and two mask ROMmed CPUs.

-- Franc Zabkar

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Reply to
Franc Zabkar

Thank you for that.. I love pulling stuff like this apart if it doesn't work any more.....

Am looking to find a broken or non working video camera to have a fiddle with.

What kind of places might sell that?

Reply to
John

I worked on these little beasties as part of my final-year engineering thesis project way back in 1986!

A small EMC problem that Ford were having with those new-fangled electronic instrument clusters.

Never thought I'd see one of those again - except for the one I have sitting here in my office.

Reply to
Stuart Palmer

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