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Smart Watch instead of Dumb clock?


nzarano

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Has anyone done anything cool besides adding a boost, afr, etc gauge in hole for the clock which is usually broken in most datsuns? Ive read its about 2 1/16" which is roughly 52mm which is on the very large end for watches, maybe thats a personal opinion? either way there aren't that many smart watches that size but i was looking into fitting a samsung s2 watch in the hole which is just about the right size.

 

Considerations / ideas

1) of course what watch and what functions would be coolest to have in the car (blue tooth, hands free, gps, G-FORCE METER other apps seems pretty cool!)

 

2) mounting, probably the most important part of all of this and really what im most interested in seeing what people have to say. Would like something slightly better than duct tape... was thinking of maybe finding a way to attach the straps behind the dash some way? or use some form of a plate that i can super glue the back of the watch to and find a way to adapt to the original clock, there's a sort of L shaped bar that is attached to the back of the clock which is what im assuming is how the clock mounts could be possible to make a bar like that? I have not spend that much time behind the dash :/ 

 

3) The watch has the ability to charge wirelessly was wondering how people would go about trying to integrate that into the car? of course i could just plug it into the 12v cigarette lighter but want something a bit more integrated and I also use that for a radar detector haha Maybe just connect the charger to the battery through a fuse and a switch maybe? wont draw much power but would like to have the ability to turn it on and off. Also like to hear peoples idea on mounting on this? I was thinking just under the leather covering the side of the trans tunnel

 

4) if anyone knows of any other screen that size that can be hooked up to anything would be really interested! 

 

link to the watch -  http://www.samsung.com/us/explore/gear-s2/?cid=ppc-

 

Added some pics of a stock clock and a random dash i did a quick photoshop to spark some interest, thanks!

after looking it over i might switch the order of the gauges to have a better view of it 

 

 

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Edited by nzarano
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Interesting concept. What features do you expect to have?

Blue tooth or hands free are not very useful because you buried the mic.

GPS could be good

G-FORCE METER for sure but remember it would be biased by not being mounted at the centre of mass.

 

I dont know what ECU you are running but have you considered a CAN based gauge?

xrattiracer built himself a rather cool one here: http://www.msextra.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=56565

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Forgot to mention its a 240z, still carb'd so no ecu! (for now maybe turbo build in the future...) kind of puts CAN based guage out of the question

 

Good point about bluetooth, but could still use speakers on watch to send notifications from phone or other data exchange....Even then would be interested how good the mic would be as its a watch so im assuming they gave it something pretty decent so you dont have to be shouting with your hand to your face? 

 

G-Force meter might not be super accurate but would still be cool to have / compare g's its showing in different situations since at least it'd be in a constant location

 

I do like his idea of using a screen and an arduino, could find a way to code something that would have a g-force meter, tell the time, and possibly a few other neat things, the watch just has alot of it already in it and packaged rather nicely with alot of support

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  • 2 weeks later...

Keep in mind that your photoshop isn't quite proportional.  The area inside the hole for a stock Z clock is around 3.125" in diameter, and the display diameter of a Gear 2 is only 1.2".   I think that would be too small to be practical.  Instead, you may wish to look at the 2.8" touch screens for the Raspberry Pi.  They're REALLY cheap. (Link Here).   Instead of putting it in the housing of a gauge, you might consider holding it in place using the stock points.  This way, you get less bezel and more screen.

 

I would also strongly recommend swapping gauge locations and putting your creation into the oil pressure/temp gauge hole instead.   The less distance your eye has to travel to see the display, the less chance you'll have of crashing into something.   

 

**Correction made to size of clock hole

Edited by RPMS
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good point! i was just thinking of the outside diameter of the watch which fits the hole much better rather than the screen which is a bit tiny.... dont think there are bigger smart watches out there but ill keep my eyes out....

 

I actually originally wanted to go with the rasbery pi as i already have one (b+ model so no built in bluetooth) but couldnt find a good screen option and thought designing an interface or a way to have all the kind of apps i wanted on it could be complicated.... Main functions that i think would be cool and necessary to invest the money are clock, gps, g-force meter, and maybe bluetooth, the rest will be cool little add ons

 

I like the screen you posted but not sure it would fit that hole that well, would want to make a way for it to look nice... any circular screens out there?

 

I agree about moving the gauge order around too

 

Maybe a collaborative effort on the code? I know you can buy gps and i think accelerometers  and bluetooth adaptors for the pi and it takes relatively little energy so it really is possible its just about making it a nice package which is why i originally was interested in the watch ( and that alot of other people have done the leg work for the coding! blech ) The packaging and usability is key for making this look nice and cool i think. Could maybe 3d print a cover for that screen then glue the screen to it and then have an adapter on the cover going behind the screen that will allow usage to the original mounting holes and stuff.....

 

might even be able to wire it up to the tach for a shift light, as its an analog output if im not mistaken? ( this is more for arduino i think but would be cool if it could be hooked up to the pi)

 

edit: could also wire it up for a rear-view camera / maybe even an alarm theres alot of potential with that little pi...

I also have an arduino that can help deal with alot of stuff but i feel like might not have the same computing power / functionality 

Edited by nzarano
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I have a similar thought several months ago about using the raspberry pi option. My thought was to have the apps full screen and having a small joystick in the center console to swipe left or right to select your app and push down to click enter. Similar to what some of the newer cars have today. This way the apps would take advantage of the full face of the gauge.

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if its a touch screen and someone has the skills maybe just have it so you can swipe left or right for different apps? my coding is pretty bad but i'll try and get my hands on some of the parts and compiling some of the code to try and get it running for the summer

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