04-10-2009, 01:15 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Engineering first
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Mounting 3d party GPS
Hi,
I recently bought a Garmin GPS and have been pleasantly surprised: - Accurate speed and distance measurements
- Alternate, fuel efficient routes
- "Where did I park the car?"
- How to get there from here
- Car manufacturer GPS are often not as good as COTS units
If you have an off-axis instrument cluster like a Prius or Echo, this approach makes it easy to mount the GPS where it doesn't block the driver's view; is easy to operate; yet provides full functionality:
Bob Wilson
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2019 Tesla Model 3 Std. Range Plus - 215 mi EV
2017 BMW i3-REx - 106 mi EV, 88 mi mid-grade
Retired engineer, Huntsville, AL
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Today
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04-10-2009, 01:18 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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NightKnight
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Why not mount on windshield? Not saying you should, just curious why you chose not to...
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04-10-2009, 03:44 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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aero guerrilla
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Hey Bob, what model is that? I got a Nuvi 250W last month and it looks exactly the same I'd love to mount mine somewhere other than the window, but that will wait.
You said your's has a fuel efficient route option? Mine only has fastest and shortest. The latter can take you straight off the highway and into someone's driveway and through their yard, so I input the fast route, but go my own way when I know a shortcut.
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e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be
What matters is where you're going, not how fast.
"... we humans tend to screw up everything that's good enough as it is...or everything that we're attracted to, we love to go and defile it." - Chris Cornell
[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread
Last edited by Piwoslaw; 04-10-2009 at 04:49 PM..
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04-10-2009, 04:04 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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needs more cowbell
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My parental unit puts hers in the windshield. It blocks so much of the view that I have to take it down whenever I drive.
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WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!!!
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04-11-2009, 11:18 AM
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#5 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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alot of states do not allow anything to be mounted to the windshild, or to hang in front of it, fuzzy dice are illeagle to hang from the rear veiw mirror.
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04-12-2009, 01:49 AM
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#6 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryland
alot of states do not allow anything to be mounted to the windshild, or to hang in front of it, fuzzy dice are illeagle to hang from the rear veiw mirror.
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I know it used to be in CA, so I used to mount it in the drivers window at the very front corner where all it obstructed was the base of my mirror, and a little of the body
Now I think CA lets you mount a GPS in a 5x5 inch square on the drivers side corner of the windshield, so now I mount it there...
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04-12-2009, 11:46 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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Engineering first
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Both the Prius and Echo have the speedometer and displays located in the center of the dash, between the driver and front passenger. So the area in front of the steering wheel is available and easily reached. However a ham posted this photo of his instrumentation setup and now I'm designing proper instrumentation mount:
But I wanted to share something I found with the Garvin nuvi. When mounted as a USB drive, there is a file: GARMIN\GPX\Current.gpx A text XML file, it includes not only way-points but also a history of your driving. Using an excel hack, I was able to parse the trace and overlay it with a Google Map:
Within the limits of a quick hack, the graph traces exactly the route I drove that day.
I then went to my favorite 'flat tracks' and set way points: - Coast 01
- Coast 02
- Coast 03
- ...
This will significantly improve the data capture quality as well as make it easy to characterize the performance of other vehicles. Yes, there is the problem of GPS 'wander' but the same problem exists with manual data capture. The solution is multiple runs and averaging out the error.
One other thing, my Prius does not have a way to adjust the calibration of the speedometer. But the GPS speed and trip duration matches exactly the calculated tire diameter difference. I am seriously thinking of blocking the existing speedometer with electrician's tape and using just the GPS indicated speed. But when I record my mileage, I'll still adjust the distance per the difference between the GPS and tripmeter.
Bob Wilson
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2019 Tesla Model 3 Std. Range Plus - 215 mi EV
2017 BMW i3-REx - 106 mi EV, 88 mi mid-grade
Retired engineer, Huntsville, AL
Last edited by bwilson4web; 04-12-2009 at 11:59 PM..
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04-13-2009, 02:19 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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Hi,
Any permanent mount puts you at a very high risk of having someone smash your window and grab the unit! Right here in our parking lot at work, we have had 3 or 4 GPS units stolen during the day, while we were all here! I'm told that even the circle mark from the suction cup on the windshield is enough to get tempt a thief.
The best method I' ve come across is to use a "beanbag" weighted base on the dash -- and always, always, always remove the unit and the base.
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04-13-2009, 02:53 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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Engineering first
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
. . .
Any permanent mount puts you at a very high risk of having someone smash your window and grab the unit! Right here in our parking lot at work, we have had 3 or 4 GPS units stolen during the day, while we were all here! I'm told that even the circle mark from the suction cup on the windshield is enough to get tempt a thief.
The best method I' ve come across is to use a "beanbag" weighted base on the dash -- and always, always, always remove the unit and the base.
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I have been thinking of enabling the password access. But the next instrument mount will be more subtle to anyone wandering by the car.
Bob Wilson
__________________
2019 Tesla Model 3 Std. Range Plus - 215 mi EV
2017 BMW i3-REx - 106 mi EV, 88 mi mid-grade
Retired engineer, Huntsville, AL
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