Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Hi all,
I was thinking this morning, of how you could control your heater when you have a screen in the middle, like Donna’s car (pic below):
Now you could reposition the heating controls...although the position controller (the one that changes the vents) is manual (I believe, it feels it anyways) and that’s gonna be a git to move. So my solution is to do it all electronically by......using SERVO's.
Yea get ready for the geek part! 
Basically you wack a servo on each controller (that have a pic on each one, so the computer can read its position)...and feed it to a computer (using a micro-processor/pic...serial interface etc). Now the computer would be one of those silent pc's (using the AMD chip...so its gonna be fanless, apart from the PSU, which you can get ones for your car..so again it'll be totally fanless). As for the hard drive, use a compact flash card (or something along those lines) and run a cut down version of win98 (its available on the net and its like 10mb or something stupid). Then you had a tv out card. Now you put all this in a small box and wack it in ya glove box (or under your seat etc).
Now for the screen, you get one of those tft touch screen jobbies (with two inputs, its gonna cost but hey), which use a serial (etc) connection. Then you connect the screen up to the computer (serial connection for control and tv out to input to the screen) and other input to ya PS2 or Xbox etc.
Now on the pc, you write ya self a piece of software to control the servo's...it would be hard to do, but not impossible (use Visual Basic or something) and get this to load every time windows loads (replace the loading of explorer.exe). You could also get it to sent and output to a relay (or something) so when the computer has finished loading (and the software has started) to switch on your tft screen.
I know it’s all very geeky but if you didn’t get it, the idea is to basically control your heater (and other things...you could even have GPS, or mp3 player etc) from a computer via a touch screen (where ya heater controls used to be).
I know there’s problems with this all over the place, but it would look MINT...being able to press a button on a screen to adjust ya heater (or what ever).
The cons to this are 1) Ya'll be a geek, but a classy geek (dunno if that makes any difference), 2) Its gonna cost...the computer will be about 400 quid (maybe cheaper i dunno), and the electronics will cost ya about 150 quid (maybe more) and 3) Its gonna take ya some time to do, since you have to programme the microprocessors/PICS (type of processor) and computer software etc.
Anyways what do you all think? MINT? Or am i a total geek and should STFU? 
Dom
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m-dot
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Registered: 17th Aug 03
Location: Warrington
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go into the kitchen, get the kettle, and boil yourself a nice warm cup of STFU
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Paul_J
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Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
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@ mdot
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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mate thats what i thought you lot would say...oh wells...back to bed i think 
Although maybe someone can give a more professional opinion to the idea?
Dom
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Adam-D
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Registered: 11th May 02
Location: Cheshire
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ask donna? how hers is done
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m-dot
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Registered: 17th Aug 03
Location: Warrington
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Its probably a really good idea, its just too early for me to read it all well done for writing it all though, whatever it means 
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Cybermonkey
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Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
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quote:
Originally posted by VisibleMan
mate thats what i thought you lot would say...oh wells...back to bed i think
Although maybe someone can give a more professional opinion to the idea?
Dom
Yes have a slice of
Dave
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Cybermonkey
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Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
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BTW invisible man, what happens when Windows 98 crashes and it goes to Air Conditioning at -10degrees?
Dave
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Adam-D
ask donna? how hers is done
Yea, shes has hers set on full blast, pointing to ya feet and window and at max temp, so you cant adjust it (i believe).
My way, although geeky, will allow you to adjust it using the screen you've installed in place of it. You get the idea.
M-dot, yea mate it is too early...but i couldnt sleep, but back to bed me thinks
Dom
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mav
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Registered: 19th Jun 01
Location: Scotland
User status: Offline
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Donnas is controlled off 2 flick switches.....
It's in another post about where to position tv...in gc
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Cybermonkey24
BTW invisible man, what happens when Windows 98 crashes and it goes to Air Conditioning at -10degrees?
Dave
Use linux then
But yea, there are loads of problems but its only an idea. Although if i ever get the cash/time i might have a butchers at it....atleast it would be original
Dom
[Edited on 29-10-2003 by VisibleMan]
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l33t corsa
Member
Registered: 14th Aug 01
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by VisibleMan
Hi all,
I was thinking this morning, of how you could control your heater when you have a screen in the middle, like Donna’s car (pic below):
Now you could reposition the heating controls...although the position controller (the one that changes the vents) is manual (I believe, it feels it anyways) and that’s gonna be a git to move. So my solution is to do it all electronically by......using SERVO's.
Yea get ready for the geek part!
Basically you wack a servo on each controller (that have a pic on each one, so the computer can read its position)...and feed it to a computer (using a micro-processor/pic...serial interface etc). Now the computer would be one of those silent pc's (using the AMD chip...so its gonna be fanless, apart from the PSU, which you can get ones for your car..so again it'll be totally fanless). As for the hard drive, use a compact flash card (or something along those lines) and run a cut down version of win98 (its available on the net and its like 10mb or something stupid). Then you had a tv out card. Now you put all this in a small box and wack it in ya glove box (or under your seat etc).
Now for the screen, you get one of those tft touch screen jobbies (with two inputs, its gonna cost but hey), which use a serial (etc) connection. Then you connect the screen up to the computer (serial connection for control and tv out to input to the screen) and other input to ya PS2 or Xbox etc.
Now on the pc, you write ya self a piece of software to control the servo's...it would be hard to do, but not impossible (use Visual Basic or something) and get this to load every time windows loads (replace the loading of explorer.exe). You could also get it to sent and output to a relay (or something) so when the computer has finished loading (and the software has started) to switch on your tft screen.
I know it’s all very geeky but if you didn’t get it, the idea is to basically control your heater (and other things...you could even have GPS, or mp3 player etc) from a computer via a touch screen (where ya heater controls used to be).
I know there’s problems with this all over the place, but it would look MINT...being able to press a button on a screen to adjust ya heater (or what ever).
The cons to this are 1) Ya'll be a geek, but a classy geek (dunno if that makes any difference), 2) Its gonna cost...the computer will be about 400 quid (maybe cheaper i dunno), and the electronics will cost ya about 150 quid (maybe more) and 3) Its gonna take ya some time to do, since you have to programme the microprocessors/PICS (type of processor) and computer software etc.
Anyways what do you all think? MINT? Or am i a total geek and should STFU?
Dom
It is very doable. I'd use an epia all in one mini itx motherboard/processor combo... you can run them completely passively with no fan, and they are tiny, and can also be run off fanless 55w powersupplies. I don't know any AMD processor that you could run fanless. see http://www.mini-itx.com.
I'd also use a version of linux, with any crap removed so it loads as quickly as possible.
I'm guessing you'd need to reverse engineer the heater controls, but my guessing is that there's nothing over complicated. You could also create a climate control program with a temp probe.
If I'd gone to all that effort, I'd also want it to work as an mp3 jukebox type thingy.
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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Every AMD chip would need a fan and heatsink. If not, they literally overheat and melt, and even catch fire after a few seconds
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by l33t corsa
It is very doable. I'd use an epia all in one mini itx motherboard/processor combo... you can run them completely passively with no fan, and they are tiny, and can also be run off fanless 55w powersupplies. I don't know any AMD processor that you could run fanless. see http://www.mini-itx.com.
I'd also use a version of linux, with any crap removed so it loads as quickly as possible.
I'm guessing you'd need to reverse engineer the heater controls, but my guessing is that there's nothing over complicated. You could also create a climate control program with a temp probe.
If I'd gone to all that effort, I'd also want it to work as an mp3 jukebox type thingy.
Thanks boss,
Yea that was the mini pc i was looking at....a 600mhz(?) epia or something.
As for the heater controls, i was thinking for my Corsa B which has manual controls (the big 3 dials)...and thats were the servo's came in, to turn them Although the fan speed and heat adjustment is done electronically, so you might beable to do something there. Obviously in my case you would leave the air adjuster (outside air, inside air thingy) there, since it would be too much hassle to add a motor to move the thing..although if your going to all of thisi suppose it wouldnt take long to do.
Although i take it corsa C's are done electronically?? If so, that would be an even bigger headache...although i would connect the computer to the original switch wires....save having to reverse engineer the heater computer etc
As for the OS, i went for win98 because you could use Visual basic (easy to use) and its easy to install etc
Dom
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Cybermonkey24
Every AMD chip would need a fan and heatsink. If not, they literally overheat and melt, and even catch fire after a few seconds
Yea sorry, its made by VIA not AMD..its too early lol Still cant get back to bed though 
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Makarus
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Registered: 25th Jun 02
Location: Nottingham/Derbyshire Boarder.
User status: Offline
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Seems far too complex to say all it is needed for is to run some fans.
The easiest way would be to run servo's and put them to a flick switch, then you flick the switch and you could lower the speed of the servo so it slowly flicks it to where you want it to be, so you can control heat grade, the speed, and then have set positions on the control for the air direction.
Explained quite simply but you get the idea, using a PC in this case is definatly going too far.
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Makarus
Seems far too complex to say all it is needed for is to run some fans.
The easiest way would be to run servo's and put them to a flick switch, then you flick the switch and you could lower the speed of the servo so it slowly flicks it to where you want it to be, so you can control heat grade, the speed, and then have set positions on the control for the air direction.
Explained quite simply but you get the idea, using a PC in this case is definatly going too far.
That was my first thinking, but it would look flasher to have ya screen display the heating controls and other things...and if ya have a computer in the car, you can also have a DVD drive in it etc etc It would allow you to do far more things than a few flick switches But yea its all OTT and what not....but still if anyone has the time/cash it might be worth looking into
Dom
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Cybermonkey
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Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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i agree with makarus.
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