Nice! The privacy screen thing really helps. And I agree about the blue background. I thought you were just stuck with blue and thats why you were using it, but if you can change it, black would definitely work much better.
Nice! The privacy screen thing really helps. And I agree about the blue background. I thought you were just stuck with blue and thats why you were using it, but if you can change it, black would definitely work much better.
I've been playing with the vacuum fluorescent display I have (white numbers in a black background) and I actually found a great place for it right between the clock and the instrument cluster. The data is projected almost below the retrovisor mirror, so if I need to put some dark tint (or even a small piece of mirror glued to the windshield), it will not affect the vision of the road, but it will still be in your peripheral vision.
I also have been looking at the HUD images in the net, and I found that those pics taken in the real life are always taken against a shadow, or in a cloudy day, or at night. So not even the OEMs are strong enough to reflect properly in a shiny day.
I decided to keep working in this HUD thing when I found the one-side mirror I was looking for. I found it at Autozone and its made of plastic that can be cut to any size using standard scissors.
But also when I was programming the VFD, I did something that made the numbers displayed ultra-bright for several seconds, so I will try to understand how it works and hack it to make the numbers brighter than normal.
The disadvantage is that it will be text only, but wtf, I saw one OEM's HUD with GPS that instead of displaying a fancy 90 degrees arrow, it displayed TURN LEFT. Same thing at the end.
My night time only HUD...
The gosthing can be avoided by adding a small piece of tint to the windshield.
Like this...
And this is the little guy that projects the image to the windhsield. I wish I can bury it into the dashboard, but for now I am going to put it above the dash and cover it with something.
that does look great. Nice work. With the angle that its biult at, can it lay in the crevase between the gauge cluster and windshield
Once you make the first hole in the dash, everything else is easier.
So... in the name of the science...
Due to the curature of the windshield, the projector needs to be placed in this funny angle
Since that little cover does not longer fit where it was, it can be used to hide the projector from the driver
That was the plan, but as you can see the Display needs to be tilted ~30 degrees, so if I didn't make the hole in the dash, the right side would be too high in the air, almost hitting the windshield.Originally Posted by mykwikcoupe
Next step is to create big numbers with the little 6x8 squares.
The big numbers would look like these...
But since the speed is only 2 1/2 digits (I don't think I will ever get to 200 MPH), there will be 9x4 free squares to make bar graphs, or put the RPM with the standard font, or whatever.
Sooo sick (Y)
Pics of what I tried to say with words... Right now its only a fixed image, I'm working in copying the code from my vertical LCD.
A closer view of the projected image. Perfectly horizontal regardless of the tilted position of the projector.
A direct view in the mirror of the projector. Kind of.
How the driver (me) sees the information. Sorry but during the day the camera has a different refresh rate that conflicts with the display's refresh rate.
A quick fix in paintbrush gives a better idea of what our eyes see in reality.
Last edited by Buzo; 07-15-2012 at 06:45 AM.
I'm liking where this is going.
We are all ricers, it just depends what flavor rice you are.
Minitrucker by heart, CB7tuner by coincidence.
And wait to see the video...
Here's a screenshot while the video uploads.
Last edited by Buzo; 07-15-2012 at 08:16 PM.
To be available in a few minutes.
http://youtu.be/tQLU1cH7WhU
That is freakin awesome. One of the best uses of aftermarket thinking in a long time. I love it. I believe you said you can choose what you want it to display correct? Might make a great use for the guys that want gauges but dont have the places to put them. If you decide to market, Ill be a tester.
Thanks and I appreciate it. I have several designs that I really want to put out for sale specifically for our cars, and for this community. I need to sit down and stop doing new things and just complete what I already have validated in my own car.
For instance, just updated my HUD so now it displays (with big numbers) the RPM whenever the MPH=0. As the car starts moving, it automatically switches to MPH, and will switch back to RPM while in a stop light.
It can display anything, either digital signals like RPM and Speed or any Analog signal like AFR, Temp, Fuel level, Battery voltage, etc. There are plenty of inputs into the microcontroller for all the gauges in the cluster and even extra things like boost gauges.
I don't know if you guys noticed but there is another video that I made that same day, the difference is that the car is not moving and I did rev the engine up so the RPM increment can be clearly seen. I think I also made a close up of the assembly and captured why the tint is needed, though.
Still want to add the RPM bar to the left of the big numbers. Just to be closer to an OEM HUD, even though I am limited to horizontal bars with this Display, it would be better than nothing!
http://youtu.be/u_JBakzIHZM
Last edited by Buzo; 07-17-2012 at 08:52 AM.
Another rad solution from Buzo!!
During my daily testing I found that the HUD could not be seen at all if the sun hits the glass of the Display directly.
So I made a little plastic box around the HUD out of an old console I have. A plastic that will survive the exposure to heat and UV light.
The results were beyond expected, now I can see the info of my HUD even when the sun is in front of me.
I found a little loss of image when the sun is entering through the drivers window, but hey, I solved the problem for the remaining 350 degrees!
Words without pics are only words...so here you are...
Last edited by Buzo; 07-17-2012 at 05:20 PM.
It was a nice and cloudy morning today and decided to remove the little piece of tint from the windshield, and found that the HUD looks pretty good without it. I know as soon as the sun raises in the sky I won't see anything, but I like what I have for my morning and night drives.
Note: I'm not over-speeding. I changed the scale to km/h...
Just sharing some night pictures
Just thought this mite help u . 89-93 240sx have oem hud maybe u can get the parts at a local junkyard iv seen it and they use a bronze mirrror tint for displaying windshield
Last edited by b20a86lude; 08-02-2012 at 01:26 PM.
rhd restoration 2nd gen prelude
WOW that HUD is coming along great, wish I had your skills!
Remember when I said this?
Well, This is what I meant:
I was able to increase the brightness by increasing the voltage of the grid.
I am sure this is going to help a lot, since I don't like very much the tint foil in my windshield.
We'll see! Still need to create the 60V out of the 12V from the battery, but I am almost there for adding this new feature to my HUD @ daytime-drive.
oooo... I want!
By reading this post https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78549 I got an idea for the unused section of my HUD.
Using the same technique OldSchool is using in his thread, print some color icons in an acetate, cut, glue them to the HUD location and light up the corresponding 5x7 bloke behind the icon.
Here is a quick simulation in paint of how the low fuel warning light, high beam, batt and temp would look like. Each Icon can have its own bar graph in the same color, since I have 4 rungs and 9 columns free. This just opens a new set of colorful possibilities for my HUD.
This just keeps getting better and better!
I love the fact that I am new to the site. I just read the entire thread and now I am excited to see what's next. Its like Christmas coming to think of this as a finished product.
1989 LXi Hatchback - Napster
1989 LXi Sedan - sold 😒
1988 LXi Coupe - Old Skool
1984 Nissan 300ZX A.E. - 50AEZX
2019 Subaru Forester Touring - snow mobile
2023 Chevy Bolt EUV - DD
This is too cool! Who needs a new car when you can have this kind of technology put into your 3gee!! Your next project should be those rain sensing wipers that some new cars have.
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