15 replies to this topic

[SpeedView]

Hi folks,


I'm Marko and I've just started a company called SpeedView Displays. I sell a little gadget that projects speed onto your windscreen.

They’ll fit pretty much anything with a 12V battery, even if it has a mechanical speedometer. I think they’re dead flair, and probably the biggest plus for you boys and girls is that it’ll read spot-on no matter what combination of engine/gearbox/gears/tyres you’ve put together. It pulls the speed signal from the car not a GPS receiver so it actually works all the time, and the display is over 10x brighter than the screen on an iPhone 4 so you can read it in the daylight too. (Don’t worry, it automatically dims at night!)


Quick video and a couple of photographs:









I’d like some photos and a quick “how to” for fitting this to each model of car. For the first two people to do this I’m offering a big discount as a thank you for being a stupendous badass. £69.99 retail. £60 to the forum. £40 inc post if you’re the ones who snap the photos and add a “how to” to the speedview.co forum. (and this one too!)


The install instructions are here:
http://www.speedview.co/help/download


Just in case you think I’ve had a sudden attack of the daft and are asking “where on earth do I get the speed signal with a mechanical speedometer” I’ll answer that in a reply to this post.


If you think you’d like to give it a go, drop me a line at [email protected] or ask on here, thanks!


More info on myself and the company here:
http://www.speedview.co/

Or just ask and I’ll try to explain more here. )


--
Marko@SpeedView

Edited by SpeedView, 20 December 2011 - 02:27 PM.

[Beej123]

How much of the device needs to be protruding from the dash? I would be interested but I would want to recess it into my dash so it's almost hidden.

[SpeedView]

Crikey! I'll have to learn to type fast on here!

If you don't want to use the "speed alert" feature or you're happy with only one "speed alert" then nothing needs be above the dash. The digits/symbols are 45 mm x 15 mm, so a 50 x 20 mm "window" in the dash for these to project through would be the absolute minimum. The unit itself is ~75 x 50 x 20 mm so should be too difficult to find space for underneath.

[Beej123]

I'll have loads of space for it under the dash and I would only really want the speed display so that's great. I would offer to do the how to vid for you but it won't be installed until the end of January!

I'll take one after Christmas (having a project and a Mrs leaves me pretty poor before then) with whatever relevant bits I need to fit it to the mini!

[SpeedView]

A follow-up on the options for providing the electronic signal, ranging from quick right through to fiddly:


Converter
Pop a converter on the end of the speedo cable, and it will generate electrical pulses as the speedometer turns. If you find one that has a pass-through, you can keep your original speedometer too, for the odometer functionality for servicing etc.

Generic one:
http://www.merlinmot...oduct_info.html

Advantages:
very quick
very easy
very slick

Disadvantages:
the converter costs almost as much as the head up display itself
you still need a speedo cable in good condition


Inductive Pickup
An inductive pickup can "see" moving iron or steel. If you point one of these at a driveshaft with some nuts that turns as the car moves, or the vanes on a vented brake disc, teeth of a gear wheel, hole drilled in a disc attached to something that turns etc it'll generate the electronic pulses. If you can use an ABS ring and an ABS sensor this will work fine.

Careful - some of these are pure "VR" sensors (like ABS or crank sensors; they'll have two wires) and will need another signal conditioning board to turn their sine-wave output into a digital VSS signal. Others are a VR sensor and the conditioning board all in one, and generate a digital VSS signal straight away. (these will usually be 3-wire and need earth/power)

3-wire VSS inductive pickup:
http://www.merlinmot...oduct_info.html

Converter for a 2-wire pickup:
http://jbperf.com/du...R/v2_0.html#Buy
Discussing how to make one:
http://www.miataturb...ighlight=LM1815

Advantages:
very slick
very robust
no moving parts and no speedo cable

Disadvantages:
the converter costs almost as much as the head up display itself
you'll need to fabricate mounting brackets and find somewhere to point it, which might not be easy on a Beetle


Convert your speedometer
Mechanical speedometers work by "dragging" the needle around using a magnet:

http://www.explainth...eter-works.html

A reed switch is a little switch that turns on and off when a magnet passes over it. If you attach a reed switch near the spinning magnet inside a mechanical speedometer, it will generate electronic pulses as the speedometer cable turns. OEMs used to do this in the late 80s and early 90s. Here's an example from a Mk1 MX5 on the SpeedView Tech Support Community:

http://www.speedview...=7&pid=12#pid12

The little circuit is a "debounce" circuit to clean up the output from the mechancial switch. The primary advantage of this method is that it isn't expensive! (a reed switch and all the bits to make that board cost less than a pound; add some araldite and you're basically there)


Advantages:
cheap
easily hidden in an 'original' looking dashboard

Disadvantages:
can be fiddly and takes time
you still need a speedo cable in good condition
non-infinite life (about 250k miles before the switch wears out)

[SpeedView]

Hi there Beej123,


There are a few options for bits to make it work, ranging from quite spendy but very easy through to dirt cheap but needing some skills - see above.


I'm offering two units for each "model" - where "model" means there is something different about the install instructions. I think for the mini I'm going to offer 2 units for pass-through converters, 2 units for inductive pickups, and 2 units for the converted speedometer. The install for the 16v / bike engined people that have a gearbox with an inductive pickup built in is much the same as the aftermarket inductive pickups.


Google found this for converting the original speedometer (the least expensive option)

http://www.duckmanton.net/VSS.php

http://www.16vminicl...read.php?t=7856

[Beej123]

I will be having a digital dash so it will have a converter for cable to electronic so I will try to branch off that for this display.

[SpeedView]

In which case you will need zero extra bits

[Beej123]

Result!

[SpeedView]

Indeed. Cheating though, buying a converter, when you can make it yourself using only a reed switch, some solder, and two small aubergines...

Drop me a line at [email protected] when you're ready.

[SpeedView]

Hi folks,


I've been doing some research and have added a few more converters/senders to the list of probable candidates - prices for these are from £25 + post, which almost makes the cheap but fiddly £1 reed switch solution redundant:

http://www.speedview...read.php?tid=34


Adding VSS (electronic speed signal) to a car without one
http://www.speedview...read.php?tid=32


Adding a VSS output to a Mechanical Speedo (reed switch)
http://www.speedview...hread.php?tid=7


Test pilot spaces still open.

Cheers,

--
Marko

[SpeedView]

Afternoon all,


No takers on these for a Mini yet so that £40 offer is still available for those who can be tempted! ;)


As my pennance for the thread bump, here's an extract from a 'How To' for making electrical connections:





















It continues here:

http://www.speedview...cal-connections


I've also made some 'comic book' style install guides

http://www.speedview.co/installguide/
http://www.speedview.co/setupmph
http://www.speedview.co/setupkph
http://www.speedview.co/userguide

Including how to add that reed switch to create a vehicle speed signal from a mechanical speedometer:

http://www.speedview...chanical-speedo
http://www.speedview...converter-board


For questions and temptation, you can find me here! :)

[Criptix]

i must say it does look very nice and sleek, i like the way you present the product and in the near future when i overhaul my mini i will be considering this to replace the actual speedometer.

i do have two questions,
do you or are you planning on doing a version that can replace the tachometer?
And does it support kph ? if not are you planning on making a version for kph?

[SpeedView]

Hi there Criptix,


First off, thanks!


Tach: I'm considering including a tach for future products - only because so many people think they want one - but I really don't think it's info you want on a head-up display. More info as to why on the FAQ page:

http://www.speedview...how-engine-rpms


Kph: Yes. It will take you 30 seconds to switch back and forth, but there's plenty of time for that on the ferry.

http://www.speedview...lay-work-in-kph

http://www.speedview.co/setupkph
http://www.speedview.co/setupmph


Cheers,

--
Marko

[SpeedView]

Evening all,

This is a cheeky "the sun has got his hat on; you must have rolled the car out the garage by how; do you fancy adding a new toy" bump. ;)

--
Marko