Article [13] ST1300 - Gear Position Indicator (Do It Yourself)
- Thread starter pdfruth
- Start date
+1. I'd settle for a single LED that lit up when in 5th and dark in any other gear. Then I could say it indicates or acceleration in excess of 3Gs or Warp Factor 2 or MPG (Mobile Pizza Guy approaching). Then I wouldn't have to listen to all the guys who say then never not know what gear they're in.
But a GPI is still much cooler.Does anyone know if this $25 GPI is using the same hardware and software as the design by pdfruth?
Mine will be here soon, and I'll find out soon enough, if I can open it up without destroying it. I was thinking that if it is using the same hardware configuration then at least the source code could be modified to make it operate a little differently (i.e. Have it remember the last gear it was in. ) Perhaps it should blink the gear indicator if the clutch is pulled in, but show the last known gear.
I wasn't really enthused about removing so many plastics from the bike to tap into all the required signals. However I'm over that now and will do it. So once I have access to those signals I can play, either with the device as designed or with new code, or a completely different device altogether. If I do anything different with the source or make a new device I'll post those modifications here.
Joel
Mine will be here soon, and I'll find out soon enough, if I can open it up without destroying it. I was thinking that if it is using the same hardware configuration then at least the source code could be modified to make it operate a little differently (i.e. Have it remember the last gear it was in. ) Perhaps it should blink the gear indicator if the clutch is pulled in, but show the last known gear.
I wasn't really enthused about removing so many plastics from the bike to tap into all the required signals. However I'm over that now and will do it. So once I have access to those signals I can play, either with the device as designed or with new code, or a completely different device altogether. If I do anything different with the source or make a new device I'll post those modifications here.
Joel
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I've got the speedohealer model one and use it daily. It's not like other farkles that you rarely use. It's great for finding neutral as you glance down, find out what gear your in and then tap-tap without starring at the green neutral light. Once you guys get one, you'll never why you waited so long to get one.
Now for the knock off one for $25, hope there as every bit as good as the homemade one and also the speedohealer GPI.
Now for the knock off one for $25, hope there as every bit as good as the homemade one and also the speedohealer GPI.
Update... It's installed along with a voltage meter... The "overhead" light is coming from my flashlight... Won't have it programmed and tested for a few weeks...
Hi Greg: Any progress to report n the $25 GPI? We're all waiting with anticipation!
cheers, Pete
My GPI arrived. I can confirm that it doesn’t have a built in clutch signal input. The box is a 5-sided ABS enclosure, and the 7-segment display is encased in acrylic or epoxy and appears to be glued into position on top. It looks nice enough, though the display is larger than I had hoped for. I’m not sure how to take it apart without causing cosmetic damage. The case and the display were the most valuable parts to me, as all the others are easily replaced or replicated. I just don’t know if it’s worth taking it apart to alter it when I might damage the most valuable part of the assembly. And I might find that the microcontroller isn’t the same device that we have source for.
So I am pondering that, and am thinking more carefully about making my own implementation. If I make my own, the electronics are straight forward enough. My only concern is the display. I’ve seen those that embedded the 7-segment display into the dash, and that looks good. Though there’s some appeal to leaving the dash untouched and mounting the display unit separately. I appreciate the “factory” look of the in-dash display, but I also see some merits to leaving it as a separately mounted item where it might potentially be in better view.
I think I’ll try it my way, and if it works, I’ll share it back here for others to replicate if they want. Perhaps there are still others who don’t already have a GPI that might like it to operate as T_C and I do.
Joel
So I am pondering that, and am thinking more carefully about making my own implementation. If I make my own, the electronics are straight forward enough. My only concern is the display. I’ve seen those that embedded the 7-segment display into the dash, and that looks good. Though there’s some appeal to leaving the dash untouched and mounting the display unit separately. I appreciate the “factory” look of the in-dash display, but I also see some merits to leaving it as a separately mounted item where it might potentially be in better view.
I think I’ll try it my way, and if it works, I’ll share it back here for others to replicate if they want. Perhaps there are still others who don’t already have a GPI that might like it to operate as T_C and I do.
Joel
Hi Joel: Thanks for the note. I am really keen to hear how (if??) this inexpensive little GPI actually works - so please do keep us all posted.
Pete
I had an idea this afternoon. I think it would be reasonable to build a device that would provide the behavior I am after, using an existing GPI. Basically, if another microcontroller were sitting in series between the VSS and IPG signals with the GPI, and monitoring the clutch switch, then the new device would do the following:
If the clutch is not pulled in, then sample the VSS and IPG and replicate it on the output side that connects to the GPI's VSS and IPG inputs. Store the current VSS and IPG, and have about 1 seconds worth of data points at all times (maybe 10-100 per second)
If the clutch is pulled in, read the oldest stored values for VSS and IPG and replicate those stored values. Send those replicated values to the GPI instead of the actual VSS and IPG. In this case, the RPM can change, and the wheel speed can change, but it won't impact the GPI because the new device is sending signals that match the VSS and IPG from right before the clutch was pulled in.
It would be a tiny device and would have three inputs (clutch switch signal, VSS and IPG) and two outputs (VSS and IPG).
At any rate, if I build this, it would allow me to use the GPI I already bought, or even interface with a Healtech GPI if I choose to buy one of those instead. At any rate, it would fix the issue with the GPI losing its mind when the clutch is pulled in.
Now I think I have a good direction to go in that might provide something useful to others here beyond myself! And as before, if I am successful with it, I'll post the project details so you can build one, too.
Joel
If the clutch is not pulled in, then sample the VSS and IPG and replicate it on the output side that connects to the GPI's VSS and IPG inputs. Store the current VSS and IPG, and have about 1 seconds worth of data points at all times (maybe 10-100 per second)
If the clutch is pulled in, read the oldest stored values for VSS and IPG and replicate those stored values. Send those replicated values to the GPI instead of the actual VSS and IPG. In this case, the RPM can change, and the wheel speed can change, but it won't impact the GPI because the new device is sending signals that match the VSS and IPG from right before the clutch was pulled in.
It would be a tiny device and would have three inputs (clutch switch signal, VSS and IPG) and two outputs (VSS and IPG).
At any rate, if I build this, it would allow me to use the GPI I already bought, or even interface with a Healtech GPI if I choose to buy one of those instead. At any rate, it would fix the issue with the GPI losing its mind when the clutch is pulled in.
Now I think I have a good direction to go in that might provide something useful to others here beyond myself! And as before, if I am successful with it, I'll post the project details so you can build one, too.
Joel
I started to design the software last night. I have to go ahead and expose the VSS, IPG, and clutch signal on my bike now so I can plug into it and look at the signals first hand. I wish I thought about tapping into the VSS for a future GPI last summer when I had to install a new VSS! It wasn't a hard thing to do, but I remember it involved removing a bunch of parts to get to the connector. I know the VSS is also available at the dash connector, but I'm not sure that is a reasonable place to tap into the signal given the wire routing. (It might be, I just don't know. I haven't thought it through fully yet).
Joel
The PnP of the GiPro appeals to me but $25 for a functional GPI has its own appeal. Looking forward to a review and some inside baseball regarding the install.
Wanting to take the easiest way out someplace outside the instrument cluster would probably be my choice but I like seeing it under glass STS.
opcorn
Wanting to take the easiest way out someplace outside the instrument cluster would probably be my choice but I like seeing it under glass STS.
opcorn
Left side of bike connector.... Pink w/green stripe is Vehicle Speed Sensor (speedometer pulse)..... Light Green w/red stripe is Neutral Light...... Tap top wire going to ignition coil for Tachometer Pulse....
Thanks for the pic. I got myself one of these inexpensive ebay units as well. Going to try to install tomorrow.
This is great - please let us know how it works out. Maybe I'm wrong, but it appears that quite a few people have bought one of these $25 gear indicator units but nobody has yet gotten one working.....
Is that correct?
Scooter
This space for rent...
Can't say with certainty but I doubt it. Ltimb has his mounted as you know but not tested as of yet. He's in Minnesota so I don't know how much opportunity he has had to get out and ride. Shoot him a PM.
I suspect that if someone got the link for that unit here, bought it, mounted it and it didn't work, they would be saying so rather quickly. Most people tend not to report good news. They rather be out riding.
Looks like that eBay seller makes these kits for other bikes also. If they didn't work I would expect to see a rash of negative feedbacks on his account by now and I don't see that. Either way, you aren't taking much of a risk for $25...
Post edited to reflect that now I have a name for the GPI I bought off eBay. It's called the "DiGi".
I'll have my DiGi installed soon. I will be trying to get it installed today, but it's a busy day. So if not today, then it will be completed within the next few days. I'll report back and confirm that it works as expected.
I just completed the software for my device and it is running on the bench the way it is supposed to. It's very exciting. Now I have some hardware to build to move it over to the ST. A breadboard isn't quite right for that. I'll also install the DiGi GPI as is first, then rewire it for my device. Good times.
Joel
I'll have my DiGi installed soon.
I will be trying to get it installed today, but it's a busy day. So if not today, then it will be completed within the next few days. I'll report back and confirm that it works as expected.I just completed the software for my device and it is running on the bench the way it is supposed to. It's very exciting. Now I have some hardware to build to move it over to the ST. A breadboard isn't quite right for that. I'll also install the DiGi GPI as is first, then rewire it for my device. Good times.
Joel
Remember there is a limited amount of time you can leave feedback on ebay. I actually bought this back in October, but haven't had a weekend where I didn't want to golf, ride somewhere, or the wifes to-do list was short enough that I had the time to try the install. So if its a piece of junk I now have zero recourse except to let others know... one way or the other. Now I have to search the garage for the little bag with the gpi in it.
I finished the hardware prototype and the software. Now it's ready for installation into the ST. It's late, so that will happen tomorrow.
Here are a few photos. The finished version will be quite small. But I used perfboard to assemble this one, so it wastes a lot of space.
Joel
Here are a few photos. The finished version will be quite small. But I used perfboard to assemble this one, so it wastes a lot of space.
Joel
As the kids used to say: bummer! I added the Bold as I agree 100%! Is this GPI resin-encapsuled? If not I would risk the investment to try to open it and reroute the wiring.
Its profile is already a little tall but you could add a minimal spacer underneath matching the area of the GPI with a notch for the wiring at the bottom or left of the spacer. The spacer would have to be thick/tall enough to allow for the minimum radius of the bend of wiring.
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I should have read this more carefully. It answers my question about encapsulation. I could live without the clutch input signal but it would be nice to have it.
What size segment does the LED use? I can begin to remember the display size on my V65 Sabre. I have no independent recollection but if its display went blank with the clutch in I'd probably would remember that. Maybe.
The 7-segment itself is 0.436" wide x 0.8" tall. The brick that encases it is 1.16" wide x 1.53" tall.
And for reference, the photocell is on the top end of the display.
I just got the plastics off my ST a few minutes ago. I plan to have this wired in tonight so I can test it out.
Joel