Topic: Go buy a DashDAQ!

[2kwk4u]

...and help me figure out how to load custom fonts and pretty up my slider gauge.

I've been having some fun with my still relatively new toy.  I put us a quick post in the monster "what did you do to your Kappa today" thread a week or so ago.  I'm still trying to tweak my custom skin some, but here's a quick crappy video of it actually running in my car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGoOANURIDA

If you're easily offended, try not to pay attention to the song playing in the background.  I didn't realize it was on until I pulled the video off my camera.  If you're curious about the song, it's by a couple of guys that call themselves "dos gringos."  Most of their songs are about being fighter pilots.  This one is not.

As I said, the video quality isn't the best.  Later today I'll explain further if anyone is interested in what you're looking at.  If you want to see a better quality video, Shabby made one some time ago and posted it to youtube and the forums as well.  Here's that one (mostly using a modified version of one of the default DashDAQ skins):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyHS4s1MZxs

... and here are the screenshots I posted in the other thread of my work in progress;









They're much more readable that what is represented in my video.  My idea is to use the white faces in daylight and to use the dark faces at night.  In strong sunlight with the top down, dark faces wash out.  I haven't had the opportunity to see how well I can read the white faces on a sunny top-down day yet.  Maybe I'll get a chance today.

I did something a little "different" with the physical install and cabling as well.  I'll post pictures of that later.

[JimmyBaja]

2kwk, that is awsome!!! I'll have to wait to get home to hear the video, I don't have sound at work.

I think I might have just changed my mind about an A-pillar gauge pod - this is a whole lot more functional. How tough is the install, it looks like it's just plug & play - not sure about mounting & could I get a boost reading from from the supercharger?

[DickW]

I am not giving a refund.

[kennysabarese]

I'd love to just remove the stock dash and put this in place of it. I don't like the mounting positions of the dashdaq, unless i put it in place of the stereo

[Kelu]

2kwk4u: man you are making me so jealous, I wanted a Dashdaq and I went with Kiwi for Iphone. I hope I will not be disappointed when Kiwi will arrive.
Yeah, show us how you mounted there, looks a nice place for Dashdaq.

[JoshMcMadMac]

If you're easily offended, try not to pay attention to the song playing in the background.  I didn't realize it was on until I pulled the video off my camera.  If you're curious about the song, it's by a couple of guys that call themselves "dos gringos."  Most of their songs are about being fighter pilots.  This one is not.

My old man burned me two of their CDs...they are sitting on my desk right now!    Sweet DashDAQ.

[NormSky]

I've got HPT and was considering Interceptor to monitor vitals when the notebook is not in the car. Is the DashDAQ that much better?


Norm 

[Gentleman Jack]

Scott,

Very nice!  That is mounted on the heater vent right?

GJ

[shabby]

I've got HPT and was considering Interceptor to monitor vitals when the notebook is not in the car. Is the DashDAQ that much better?

You can only monitor 2 parameters at a time with the interceptor, compared to the dashdaq you can monitor as many as you can fit on the screen, you can easily put 30+ with a custom skin.

[2kwk4u]

2kwk, that is awsome!!! I'll have to wait to get home to hear the video, I don't have sound at work.

I think I might have just changed my mind about an A-pillar gauge pod - this is a whole lot more functional. How tough is the install, it looks like it's just plug & play - not sure about mounting & could I get a boost reading from from the supercharger?

I'm not *sure* it could get a boost reading.  In theory it could.  Even to read/display boost in a GXP, you have to manipulate the parameters with a "rescale calculator" to derive the boost number by subtracting the atmospheric pressure parameter from the MAP sensor parameter.  I don't know if the S/C kit replaces the MAP sensor with one that is capable of 'seeing' boost or even if the stock one can read boost on an N/A car.  I'm also not sure if there is a baro pressure sensor on an N/A.  If others with S/C kits and Dashhawk can read boost through their dashhawks (I know Critterman has both) then there's no reason to doubt that you could get a DashDAQ to display it as well.

The physical install is "plug and play" but the learning curve to take full advantage can be a little daunting... but that's only because it IS so versatile.  It plugs right into your OBD-II port.  Being me, I complicated my install a bit.  More about that in a few posts.

[2kwk4u]

I am not giving a refund.

I'm just glad you aren't asking for more

[2kwk4u]

I'd love to just remove the stock dash and put this in place of it. I don't like the mounting positions of the dashdaq, unless i put it in place of the stereo

The problem with trying to permanent mount a DD is that you need to keep easy access to the sides for the mini-USB ports and the SD card slot.  You also need to make it easy to remove and reinstall for the occasional firmware update. 

[2kwk4u]

2kwk4u: man you are making me so jealous, I wanted a Dashdaq and I went with Kiwi for Iphone. I hope I will not be disappointed when Kiwi will arrive.
Yeah, show us how you mounted there, looks a nice place for Dashdaq.

I scavenged half of the mount and the plate from my Garmin GPS.  The mount that the DashDAQ comes with is rather long-ish.  I think it's the one in Shabby's video that I put in my first post.  I tried my DD in that location for a bit (lower left corner of the windshield), but I had a hard time working the touch screen with my left hand.  The Garmin came with a piano black adhesive-backed circular plate that is almost the exact size of the vent outlets in a Solstice.  I sacrificed one of my vents, but I can still easily swap it from one to the other.  The vent "cups* just pull right out of the dash.  I added some adhesive-backed velvet to the vent cup so that it doesn't spin in its socket as freely or flop around as much. 

[2kwk4u]

My old man burned me two of their CDs...they are sitting on my desk right now!    Sweet DashDAQ.

Thanks.  Enjoy the Dos Gringos!

[2kwk4u]

OK, now for the rest of my "show and tell"

It's in the video, but hard to see.  My splash screen is a pictue of my car I took when we were in CO last year for NASSM:



Below is the screen I use for datalogging.  I have it configured to log 25 parameters at once.  As Shaggy said, DashDAQ can do more.  Theorhetically the limit is 100 at once.  As far as I can tell, that's the limit of the PIDs you can monitor across all screens of a skin.  In that case, you'd just have one screen.  Some of the parameter names are funky, and there's not a real convenient way to rename them.  Here's a key for the ones that aren't necessarily intuitive:

I have all the "KNKR" ones on there because I'm still trying to diagnose my misfires the 1-2 shift when I really hammer it on a cold day.  KNKR (degree symbol) is total knock retard.  The other 4 are knock detected for cylinders 1-4 from top to bottom.

EITR = IAT2
FRP = fuel rail pressure
AAT  = ambient air temp
ECT = engine coolant temp
EOTR = oil temp from sensor
TP = absolute throttle position
BSTR - these are (1 ea) wastegate and boost bypass valve status
the lat/long are from the GPS sensor (DD can also function as a GPS, by the way).  I think it's limited to a 4Hz refresh rate, so I'm not sure how well it will plot.  Haven't tried it yet.



the gauge screens with parameters that I have assigned (the arc slider is currently set to display throttle position)











... and finally my complicated install.  I chopped the OBD-II-to-DashDAQ cable in half and installed 8-pin mini-DIN connectors on either end.  I hacked a hole forward and right of the shifter for a female-female mini-DIN socket.  While I was at it, I put in a USB socket right next to it, since the GPS sensor plugs into the DD via a mini-A USB port.  All of this to make the DD more easily removeable and "clean up" the look of the install.  I didn't like the idea of cables hanging out when I don't have the DD in place.







I might finish off the look with grommets if/when I get around to painting my boomerang.  As you can see in that last close-up, I did scratch it up a little around the cutout for the USB port

[Critterman]

Scott,
The Dashawk reads boost.  It is a GM pid,  I am running my gauge at the SC and the difference is about a pound,  DH is lower, but higher on vacumn

[DickW]

The GPS does a good job of getting you where you want to go.Pretty Accurate too

[Kelu]

2kwk4u:  man that looks so nice 

[kennysabarese]

Is there a way to make the thing make noises or light up when certain parameters go out of spec? Like say if you get some Knock Reduction?

Also are you able to log parameters even if the logging screen is not the active screen. Aka if you are in mapping GPS mode is it still logging in the background?

[shabby]

You can have audible alerts and even use your own sounds, there's no lights on it to make it light up.
The gps is its own software so either the dashdaq runs or the gps software.

[kennysabarese]

Oh... that stinks. well i guess I'll use my phone or iPad for GPS

[2kwk4u]

Is there a way to make the thing make noises or light up when certain parameters go out of spec? Like say if you get some Knock Reduction?

Also are you able to log parameters even if the logging screen is not the active screen. Aka if you are in mapping GPS mode is it still logging in the background?

Yes, it can do audible warnings at the limits you set for individual gauges.  There aren't lights per se, but you can set the gauge to flash a "warning wedge" of a different color when you reach a certain indicated point.  If you check out the video in my first post, you can see the tach flash red at my shift points when I take it to redline.  You'll also notice that my boost gauge has a grey wedge from 0 down when I'm not in boost.

You can set it to log parameters that aren't showing on the screen via a "global parameters" list (I think that's what they're called).  That's a list you can make of parameters that log across all screens whenever you start a log. 

You CAN log GPS data (but like I said, I think it's too low of a refresh rate to accurately represent differences in your line through a corner from lap-to-lap), but as Shabby said, you can't run it in GPS NAVIGATION mode simultaneously with gauges/logging capabilities. 

[kennysabarese]

Cool. sounds like a good idea. going to look into a windows 7 tablet and this

[1LILNDN]

V . nice job Scott,I like the power Band accross the top of Gauges.Just like having a 2nd dash to play with . Looks good

[TomatoSoup]

Very nice Scott.  I am definitely tempted, but would need a better mount location I think. 

Have you considered mounting it inset into the top of your boomerang? Would be almost in your sight-line, yet the bottom of the frame hidden.  You could even make a shroud to blend it in.