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*Testing the waters* Touchscreen OBC?

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    *Testing the waters* Touchscreen OBC?

    So I've acquired a 3D printer, a moderate amount of circuit board development experience, and I have a 13 button OBC I can reverse-engineer. I've been brainstorming ideas for a modern OBC alternative for a few months now. It will definitely retain all the features of the original 13 button, but I want to hear from the community. I want to know if you guys want an accelerometer function, possible communication with other systems (head unit, DME, aftermarket accessories like radar detectors, etc.), or if you guys would even think this is a good idea. As far as I can tell, this is uncharted territory and I definitely want to gauge everyone's interest.

    If I can get enough people interested in something like this and enough opinions of what functions it should or should not have, I can start to get some definite details sorted. Let me know what you'd think of this and what you'd be willing to pay for one and with what features you'd like in that price range. There's also no reason that they all have to be the same, either; I could definitely have basic, mid-tier and high-tier units each with more features. I'm not against custom requests, either, since they have to all be hand-made anyways.
    Injectors - services, upgrades, rebuild kits and stock sets available! 14.5lb, 17lb, 19lb, 21lb, 28lb, 33lb, M20B27 injectors available https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413372

    #2
    Now that I've ripped out my sport seats and given up on keeping the interior "original" I'd definitely be interested in something like this. I've also got experience in programming and small electronics (it's my profession) so I'd be willing to help if this took off.

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      #3
      I'd be interested for $200-$300 for a unit.


      As for additional features, it would be nice to interface with Standalone ECUs like Megasquirt MS3X to display information.


      Also keeping the original look & feel would be important to me. At very least matching the display backlight/colours.

      Comment


        #4
        Whatever you end up going with, make sure you use automotive rated parts for the display. Normal LCD displays will not hold up in the 150F+ temperatures, and rapid temperature cycling that occurs inside a car. Just look at the issue Tesla had with the Model S display leaking goo and failing. They went with an industrial rated part, rather than automotive.

        Elon Musk bragged that the Model S's 17 inch screen isn't automotive grade, but now Tesla and its customers are mired in "replacement hell."

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by JRHemmen View Post
          Now that I've ripped out my sport seats and given up on keeping the interior "original" I'd definitely be interested in something like this. I've also got experience in programming and small electronics (it's my profession) so I'd be willing to help if this took off.
          Thanks man! The first few batches will probably be more along the lines of a factory OBC but with a modern display. With more features comes more difficulty and I'd definitely be interested in teaming up if I'm having some issues with more advanced renditions.

          Originally posted by Panici View Post
          I'd be interested for $200-$300 for a unit.

          As for additional features, it would be nice to interface with Standalone ECUs like Megasquirt MS3X to display information.

          Also keeping the original look & feel would be important to me. At very least matching the display backlight/colours.

          I definitely want to make later renditions be able to interface with both standalones and with head units. I'm not sure if I could squeeze both functions into one unit (would be awesome if I can though!), but generally, there isn't much overlap with guys running standalones and guys who want fancy sound system integration.

          I definitely plan on making the display customizable. I want it to be able to match colors with both the factory orange color of all the dash backlights and with any custom color one might set their aftermarket head unit to display. I have a non-touchscreen variant in mind, I don't know if I can get the button feel just right but I should be able to get the button look pretty close.

          Originally posted by earthwormjim View Post
          Whatever you end up going with, make sure you use automotive rated parts for the display. Normal LCD displays will not hold up in the 150F+ temperatures, and rapid temperature cycling that occurs inside a car. Just look at the issue Tesla had with the Model S display leaking goo and failing. They went with an industrial rated part, rather than automotive.

          https://www.thedrive.com/tech/27989/...-grade-matters
          I definitely want to get displays and parts in general that'll hold up to heat. I plan on running one myself down here in Florida, so I'm definitely in a good place for heat testing.

          The final product should hold up just fine in the heat, but they'll be covered by the same lifetime warranty that I offer on my injectors in case anything happens. I'll be personally testing them extensively before they go up for sale, so any major kinks during development will be ironed out. I have both LCD and OLED screens in mind and since I can't find a single thing online comparing the two as far as heat resistance goes, I'll test the two out myself.
          Injectors - services, upgrades, rebuild kits and stock sets available! 14.5lb, 17lb, 19lb, 21lb, 28lb, 33lb, M20B27 injectors available https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413372

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Bimmer_Baron View Post
            I definitely want to make later renditions be able to interface with both standalones and with head units. I'm not sure if I could squeeze both functions into one unit (would be awesome if I can though!), but generally, there isn't much overlap with guys running standalones and guys who want fancy sound system integration.

            I'd love both personally.

            Right now I am just running a headless amplifier and aux cord, which leaves a lot to be desired.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Panici View Post
              I'd love both personally.

              Right now I am just running a headless amplifier and aux cord, which leaves a lot to be desired.
              I'd love to integrate both, I just have to actually get started with prototyping to see what my limitations are. That's why this is in the technical forums and not classifieds; I don't want to get anyone's hopes up with promised functionalities and not deliver.

              Anyways, my idea for the head unit integration is to pretty much make it an MP3 player (possibly with MP4, 3GP, WMV, etc. support for videos). The single-din nature of BMWs makes it so we're limited to either having a regular single-din or to use one of the popout units, which I personally hate. The OBC will display the track name, artist, track image, and time elapsed. I want to have a 3.5mm audio jack and either Micro SD or flash drive integration as well. If I can get a good bulk deal on either storage solution I decide on (8gb or more, I'd like to go with 16gb though), I'll include one per unit.
              Injectors - services, upgrades, rebuild kits and stock sets available! 14.5lb, 17lb, 19lb, 21lb, 28lb, 33lb, M20B27 injectors available https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413372

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Bimmer_Baron View Post
                I'd love to integrate both, I just have to actually get started with prototyping to see what my limitations are. That's why this is in the technical forums and not classifieds; I don't want to get anyone's hopes up with promised functionalities and not deliver.



                Anyways, my idea for the head unit integration is to pretty much make it an MP3 player (possibly with MP4, 3GP, WMV, etc. support for videos). The single-din nature of BMWs makes it so we're limited to either having a regular single-din or to use one of the popout units, which I personally hate. The OBC will display the track name, artist, track image, and time elapsed. I want to have a 3.5mm audio jack and either Micro SD or flash drive integration as well. If I can get a good bulk deal on either storage solution I decide on (8gb or more, I'd like to go with 16gb though), I'll include one per unit.
                Try everything but Stromboli (bulkmemorycards).

                It's a family owned memory wholesaler that has some crazy prices, especially at volume.

                Sent from my OnePlus 7 Pro using Tapatalk

                Comment


                  #9
                  Would be cool to have multiple digital gauges that you could scroll through. Everything from oil pressure to boost to voltage, etc.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by AndrewBird View Post
                    Would be cool to have multiple digital gauges that you could scroll through. Everything from oil pressure to boost to voltage, etc.
                    Keep in mind that I have to pretty much handmake every unit from scratch and I can take orders ahead of time for custom displays, so if you have something out of the ordinary, I should be able to make it.

                    I should definitely be able to make one-off OBCs as special-orders to display certain gauges and to have the appropriate connectors to connect those gauges. If you have an AEM wideband and a Glowshift water temperature gauge, for example, I can solder a board with an AEM connector to display the wideband information and a glowshift connector to display the water temperature(if they even output data using different connectors). However, out of those two, I only have experience using AEM gauges.

                    I'd have to do a lot of research to figure out if the connectors themselves are different, and if not, if they send data in different ways, etc. Before making custom setups like that. I'd definitely want to make OBCs that can output all the available gauge readings from one company in particular (whether that's a unit that can output everything as AEM, Haltech, glowshift, insert company here, a combination of a few, etc.). I want a custom OBC to be available to eveyone in the BMW community, regardless of how cheap, expensive, generic, or one-off their build eventually ends up being.
                    Injectors - services, upgrades, rebuild kits and stock sets available! 14.5lb, 17lb, 19lb, 21lb, 28lb, 33lb, M20B27 injectors available https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413372

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by JRHemmen View Post
                      Try everything but Stromboli (bulkmemorycards).

                      It's a family owned memory wholesaler that has some crazy prices, especially at volume.

                      Sent from my OnePlus 7 Pro using Tapatalk
                      I was looking up a couple sources before looking them up, but I'll definitely keep them in mind! They're not the best price-wise per GB compared to others, but they definitely have some great companies on retainer that they're colllaborating with!
                      Injectors - services, upgrades, rebuild kits and stock sets available! 14.5lb, 17lb, 19lb, 21lb, 28lb, 33lb, M20B27 injectors available https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413372

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I do think there's a small market for OBC replacements that communicate with DMEs and head units, and can flash stand alone engine controllers.

                        I think there's a much bigger market for a DIN standard head unit that does that stuff and does Android Auto. Maybe dual boots Android Auto and Windows 10 so you can just run your engine controller's data collection and flash software natively. Or Debian if you're kinky like that. The new Pi 4s are impressively capable.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Bimmer_Baron View Post
                          I'd have to do a lot of research to
                          Hope you don't mind if I just give my 2 cents - ya gotta take it slow....And test, test, and re-test. Also, one of the thing that sucks about making anything for a car is the transient power. Meaning you can see -100(negative) volts on a 12 volt rail(power source) in a car at times. Weird I know!

                          Protecting from that is work, with double, quadruple redundancy. A good diode selection, and a burden resistor will help a butt load. The right regulator made for it will help more.

                          The e30 "innovate goods" dudes got a taste of that, and had to "recall" their product - so test, test, test, and when you think you're done testing, test it some more.

                          For example, before I sold my Interior Light Delay Unit, I set it up on a workbench, and had it cycle 30,000 times....just to be sure, before I sold a single module to anyone.
                          Last edited by george graves; 08-01-2019, 04:44 AM.
                          Originally posted by Matt-B
                          hey does anyone know anyone who gets upset and makes electronics?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            A market to look at might be an OBDII data logger for swapped cars. Of course a dedicated reader like OBDLink with bluetooth connection to a phone with the Torque app is tough to beat for convenience.

                            There's certainly some amount of adaptation that has to happen to read gauges from a number of manufacturers, and you'll need some hardware for that. You may just put your connector on it and include the mating connector pigtail shipped with the unit, leaving the wiring hookup to the installer.

                            Would you be able to put enough processing power on it to run Android, Android Auto or similar? I think the value of a generic display integrated into the OBC location is better than something that only does MP3 track identification, but also a lot more work.

                            Also, check out what these guys are doing in terms of translating back and forth between BMW and LS CAN languages:
                            Bimmerforums is the preferred online BMW Forum and community for BMW owners. At Bimmerforums, you will find technical how-to information maintenance specifics audio advice wheel and tire combinations and model specific details not found anywhere else. Our professionals are here to help make sure you find the answers you need to your questions and our community is here to help other brainstorm ideas for the future.


                            https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-(E60-E65-E87-)

                            Comment


                              #15
                              How's the pin out treating you? Got that figured out yet? That plug is a bastard.
                              Originally posted by Matt-B
                              hey does anyone know anyone who gets upset and makes electronics?

                              Comment

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