opengauge development: gunio technical considerations

[JohnnyGrey]

Do you have a debouncer on the reset line?

[dcb]

Originally Posted by larrydag

This could be a good reference.

http://www.uchobby.com/index.php/200...facing-part-1/

Thanks Larry! That helped I've booted it 20 different ways now and am batting 1000. There was a reference to 'the “new” datasheet' there, I messed with the initialization routine after looking at it and things are looking much more solid. Need to clean it up first but will update the workspace maybe tonight.

[larrydag]

I was really wondering if it was the controller chip. I just happened to be googling different information concerning the LCD and Arduino and that link came up. That's great it worked.

[larrydag]

Here's a way to power up your *duino with nothing but solar power. This is for the hardcore eco-minded (EV maybe) folks out there.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Self...Arduino-Board/

[IHateMayonnaise]

As a lurker I have a few questions regarding the MPGuino project. First, I understand that the project is not yet "complete," but I was wondering as to what extent it is functional. To my understanding there is some working code (on page 1 of this thread), so to implement it all we should need to do is get a FreeDuino Arduino Diecimila kit as well as a 16x2 (or possibly 16x4) LCD display from the same site. Together with basic soldering skills and the know-how to implement the 4-bit Arduino LCD library as well as the accompanying code, the vast majority of this project seems to be complete (forgetting about buttons for the time being).

But how will it connect to the car? I assume not through the OBD2 port, since my understanding is that this project is geared towards people who would like to have a scanguage but do not have an OBD2 port. So how will it connect? I have an OBD2 port (and an OBD2 reader) but do not have the money for a ScanGuage. I am confident that my time and money invested in this project will pay me back after I taylor my driving habits with the instant feedback of a fuel economy guage.

Anyway, I am looking for somewhere to start. Any thoughts?

[larrydag]

IHateMayonnaise, the goal of this project is two fold: 1) Have an open source and low cost hardware fuel economy gauge 2) provide a fuel economy gauge for car owners that do not have OBDII capability (but still have fuel injection or OBD1, etc.)

The Opengauge is still not ready for primetime. Hardware is just finally getting wrapped up or so we think. There is still quite a bit of debugging to do with getting it to read electronic data from the car. Yet the cost of entry and getting involved is pretty low. We would love to have another Opengauge debugger to help with this project. The more people interfacing with different types of cars is only going to make this project better.

[IHateMayonnaise]

Originally Posted by larrydag

IHateMayonnaise, the goal of this project is two fold: 1) Have an open source and low cost hardware fuel economy gauge 2) provide a fuel economy gauge for car owners that do not have OBDII capability (but still have fuel injection or OBD1, etc.)

The Opengauge is still not ready for primetime. Hardware is just finally getting wrapped up or so we think. There is still quite a bit of debugging to do with getting it to read electronic data from the car. Yet the cost of entry and getting involved is pretty low. We would love to have another Opengauge debugger to help with this project. The more people interfacing with different types of cars is only going to make this project better.

I would love to get involved, all I should need is that protoboard and a LCD right? And how is it planned that this will connect to the car?

[larrydag]

The minimal hardware you'll need is a freeduino/arduino, LCD, and some electronic components. dcb has done a great job listing most of the hardware that will be needed. Take a look at the "realease one workplace" thread. There you will find all the information you'll need.

I'm planning to connect to my car via the ECU. As diesel_john pointed out you can connect directly to the VSS and Injector. I don't know which procedure would work better because I haven't tried either yet.

[larrydag]

I quickly mocked up a possible pcb mock up for an arduino shield to combine all of the components needed to interface with the LCD, buttons, and VSS/Injector cables. This was a quick run so it needs to be debugged. I figured I would post it and get any feedback.

My thought is that header pins could be soldered into this shield so it would just plug right into the *duino. This design I don't believe is capable using Radioshack type supplies because the traces are a little too compact. But I bet you could use Radioshack supplies if you took out some traces and replaced it with jumper wire.

I did the layout in Visio 2003

[dcb]

Originally Posted by IHateMayonnaise

so to implement it all we should need to...

We are currently calling the lcd from nkcelectronics.com the "official" lcd of the mpguino version 1 project, because we need to know the pinout and chipset to be effective in supporting it. For boards we are mainly using the the less expensive serial kit or the usb kit from nkc, depending on needs. I've just swapped in the serial board in my prototype, mainly because I want to claim the lower out of pocket cost when promoting the project, but some folks will need/want the usb board.

You do not need a LCD library, the code on the workspace has it's own LCD class that is up to date. Just download the arduino IDE from http://arduino.cc , paste the code in, hit verify, then hit "upload to board" (assuming you have built/bought a freeduino).

Connecting to the car will require the following connections (solder, tap, cut and twist, stick a pin in it, whatever you are comfortable with)
1. Ground
2. Battery +
3. an Injector lead
4. a VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) lead.

In the picture a few posts down, I will be using a blue terminal block for the other ends of the injector and vss leads and the power jack for the battery/ground.