Head Up Display

[tarquin]

Just did a test with the iPhone , Its not that good in the daytime but very useful for speed camera's which is what the TNS510 lacks.

I have looked and accessed the HUD unit and when I get the right one I reckon I will be able to make it blue

David

[sweet-dentist]

Just did a test with the iPhone , Its not that good in the daytime but very useful for speed camera's which is what the TNS510 lacks.

I have looked and accessed the HUD unit and when I get the right one I reckon I will be able to make it blue

David

Thank you!! David... for your nice overview of that "****ty" stuff... What a load of "####" indeed... :ffs: Thát kind of quality for thát amount of money... pff..

Especially you ... of all people! I think you would have built it yourself in a much better way...

Can you return it??? Or do they not replay on any mail of you???

Great idea this iPhone App... ha ha ... Very NICE!!!

With a CVT the revs are not really important I think.

Peter

[tonyishuk]

I recived a reply from HUD saying that the unit can display KPH.

It took a few days for the one liner email to arrive and several days after I got the answer on this thread.

Reading between the lines that the product is useful but could do with some Dragons, backing!

Rgds

PS for our non UK readers, Dragons refer to a TV program where possible good ideas for productd are given the backing, or the boot, by four millionairs who have built their business from nothing.

[tarquin]

Hi Tony

The problem for me and I suspect others is, I have a very nice dash board and the last thing I want is a big ugly plastic box on it with a big thick lead with an RJ45 plug in it.This is what i intend to do.

First I will test it works! As soon as thats been established, I will take it apart. The display is quite a bit smaller than the perspex screen you see on the out side. I will look at the LED's and look to changing them to blue.

I might not bother with the rev counter section and instead of using individual LED's I might look to using Jumbo 7 segment display.

I am looking to build it in the rear of the Satnav so that all you would see is a small opaque screen. All cables will be hidden. Have to check the distance between the back of the unit and the screen to see if the display can be seen clearly.

I spoke to the company and it seems they sent me out a "K" model instead of a 'CAN" version . I have sent it back and they are replacing it.

David

[sweet-dentist]

David...

We await your findings... with trembling feelings...

Peter

[tarquin]

David...

We await your findings... with trembling feelings...

Peter

Hi Peter

I have found some 1inch, 1.5 inch, 1.8 inch and 3inch Blue segment displays They are what is called common Anode. I suspect the LED's on the unit, individually will be daisy chained together to make up a single segment of a 7 segment display so converting it will be simple I am looking for a bezel to hold them which would finish off the project very neatly

David

[tarquin]

Well the replacement unit arrived and tested fine. The front cover came off very easy with just the use of my thumb nail. Under that was a sheet of black foam with cut-outs for all the LED's.Peeling this off revealed the circuit board. There are 4 screws, one in each corner. Removing the released the circuit board complete.The pillar's that the board are screwed to in each corner fell apart as i un-screwed them. The glue was broken.On first look at the board it will be easy to replace the red LED's for blue ones. The only problem is they were machine fitted so are very accurately placed on the board.This is not easy with the naked eye and the shakes.I will have to devise a jig so they are all straight or look deeper in the circuit to see if i can use a seven segment display. Anyway first looks

David

[FinniQ]

I also ordered hud display, wondered if it can be used with Scangauge using offered splice cable.

Now I can tell You, that it performs fine with both displays connected. Scangauge also works as before.

The hud dsiplay IS kinda bulky when in front of window, but you cannot have it all...

I put it as front as possible to near left corner (LHD!!) so it do not block air canal to front window.

And yes, it shows speed either in mph or kph, and "sensitivity" to engine revs is adjustable.

FinniQ

[tarquin]

Hi there,

As you can see from the previously posted pictures I have stripped mine down and intend to either use jumbo 7 segment displays, as in my latest pic (they are only half an inch) or if when i examine the circuit, they don't use a standard common Anode or common Cathode configuration, I will change the one's on the circuit board for blue ones. I intend to mount the circuit board in the Satnav cover with just the perspex cover showing. Hopefully I can use the & segment one's so all I need to mount there is the display and the circuit board can be mounted under the dash. The OBD 11 plug is rather large and that is because it house's the RS232 interface. I may juggle that around also. It all hangs on if the circuit is normal or not. I may not use the Rev counter section as I have a multi-drive so probably not get a lot of benefit from it.

David

[tarquin]

A bit of an update on the HUD unit. Still waiting for some 7 segment displays from China. Although, having reverse engineered the circuit, I found that the unit will not support common Anode or common Cathode 7 segment displays. The only options are : To keep it the same but change the LED's to blue, Build another printed circuit board with just the blue LED's on and leave the Rev counter off, which would be a lot smaller to accommodate in the area in the satnav cover and connect to the original circuit board by ribbon cable. Still not sure. Here are some pic's of it working. One little niggly thing is because of the triple windscreenl display, displays twice. Strangely, when I tried the iPhone app on it, it didn't display twice.

David

[tarquin]

Working on a possibly new display

David

[tarquin]

This is what it looks like when one segment is illuminated

David

[tarquin]

Have decided against the individual ultra bright LED approach. So have changed all the 49 smt LED's on the original HUD unit. Which looks good and am pleased with. Looking under the satnav top cover, there isn't a lot of room to fit the display so may fit the smt's on a separate printed circuit board. Because of the design and no commonality, it will require a 32 way ribbon cable to connect the display with the original HUD unit.

Pic is of it shinning on my windscreen at tick over .

david

[barrycoll]

wow, that looks great David.............I have just ordered a kit today, and now I am wondering, if it will be bright enough, especially against night time tail lights, and with bright sunlight.......

the other question, is how to route the cable up to the unit on the dash, in the neatest, BUT SIMPLEST way???

any ideas folks??

cheers BarryC.

[tarquin]

wow, that looks great David.............I have just ordered a kit today, and now I am wondering, if it will be bright enough, especially against night time tail lights, and with bright sunlight.......

the other question, is how to route the cable up to the unit on the dash, in the neatest, BUT SIMPLEST way???

any ideas folks??

cheers BarryC.

Hi Barry

Have you got the standard cd player or satnav

David

[tarquin]

The other thing Barry, I hope you ordered the right model You need the CAN model I wasn't paying attention and ordered the wrong one and had to send it back. It works ok in daylight although I havent tried my blue ones yet. Actually it doesn't matter which CD unit you have , You can easily remove it with a few tugs and 4x 10mm bolts. You can thread the cable down to under where the existing OBD11 socket is.. Then all you will see is a short black cable coming out from under the edge of the radio/CD surround going to the display box..One thing to mention is that, the angle that you offer the box to the windscreen is all important. A few mm in one direction can make all the difference so be prepared to support it at the appropriate angle with the likes of blue tack or plasticine.

David

[barrycoll]

Very impressed with the new head-up-display.........I thought that the units would be indistinct, and difficult to read on the screen, but not at all..

...the difficult bit now is deciding where to place it for best vision, without distraction...

...is it better in the line of sight, and through ones sight line, or off to one side or the other, or (as I presently have it, pushed up against the screen, so the numbers are directly ahead, but below the sight line....at this stage of novelty, it IS a bit of a distraction, especially as it is reading a more 'satnav' type figure than the analogue display....and with it next to the screen, there is a long cable run to the unit across the top of the dash, but maybe I will just live with it for a while for any definitive fitting

the M5 BMW I drove with a factory HUD, had it actually in the sight line, but with paler figures than this after market unit....but the cost of this BMW optional extra doesn't bear thinking about...

cheers barryc.

[tarquin]

Hi Barry

Well having taken mine back to bare circuit board, i will remove the RJ45 socket off the side and hard wire it do the circuit board this will make it even lower profile. My plan then is to mount it inside the top cover of the sat nav housing with just a perspex window showing. So it would be shining on the windscreen off to the left and at dead centre. At the right angle you can see it clearly under the rearview mirror. All cables will then be internal. Btw. The black cable from the RJ45 to the OBD 2 plug is only 4 way so you could use a much thinner cable like alarm wire.

David

[barrycoll]

you put the rest of us to shame David.......maybe you could offer a ££ fix it service for the 5 thumbed brigade??

as it happens, I wrote a quick mail to Ian of e-HUD, saying how pleased I was, and he says that he is now offering an in-dash installation kit, that doesn't involve any soldering at all..

he is going to add it to the website, when he updates it this weekend

cheers barryc

[tarquin]

you put the rest of us to shame David.......maybe you could offer a ££ fix it service for the 5 thumbed brigade??

as it happens, I wrote a quick mail to Ian of e-HUD, saying how pleased I was, and he says that he is now offering an in-dash installation kit, that doesn't involve any soldering at all..

he is going to add it to the website, when he updates it this weekend

cheers barryc

Gotta see that I have spoken to Ian a few times. Its funny how he answers the phone, kinda not sure wether to or not in case he gets abuse.But as soon as you start to taik about an order and he can hear all is well he becomes "Normal" lol It is probably going to turn out to be a pod like thingy already set at an angle cos its gotta fit all cars. actually it can't be in-dash as we all have one of those lol

David

[tarquin]

Barry,

Just spoken with Ian incidentally , you can cal him on 01226 756206 and save yourself the 08545 cost He said the new unit is going to be a bare panel with a cable with 4 wires that go to the OBD2 socket which can be crimped/scotch/sleeve soldering however you fancy. The panel is approx 65x45 and has the required brackets etc and a non reflective perspex cover. Now here is the bit you won't like, you have to cut a hole for it in the top of your dashboard. OUCH!!!!! cost is £104

It might be useful for me as the surround might be good for my consul mod. He says it will be up on the site Friday night. Keep your eyes peeled.

David

[tarquin]

The NEW HUD is on the website. The web site is rather poor. The new kit shows the circuit board which i can see has a built in RS232 interface. making the need for only 4 wires to connect to the OBD2 socket. There is no installation instructions to download so people can make an informed decision before purchasing. I can see many pit falls in fitting this kit in cutting a hole in the dash,getting the right angle to the windscreen,and making it look professional . priced at £104 from www.hud-e.com

David

[barrycoll]

best not to be a fuss pot David, and ignore the small black box on the dash board........

I had my first night time use yesterday, and its absolutely great after dark.....it is very difficult for the eyes to re-focus on to the speedo at 70+ mph, and a cinch to see all the information with just peripheral vision

I am wondering if others can see the readout from outside the car??

cheers barryc.

[tarquin]

Ha, you see I don't do visible wires .Glad your happy with yours. Speaking of the display, not sure if mine being blue is going to be harder to see because blue tends to look defused.maybe I will demo it in box form to see if i can get on with it first

David (electronic snob)