Club 80-90 Forums

Having changed to a passat B2 steering wheel I have the usual 'can't see speedo' dilema.
While not a huge problem it did get me thinking to the blank area below the warning lights and how a small lcd screen could fit giving a digital speed readout.
Never played around with these arduino units but they appear they may provide a solution- does anyone have any experience or could suggest something that might work?

You didn't do a search did you.

Oh yes, a couple of people already know about this, there's a thread http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=165436

CJH has a couple of threads like this too

You can even get a petrol gauge with a low fuel warning

937carrera wrote:You didn't do a search did you.

I searched for gps speedo but didn't really come up with anything -although I have dipped in and out of the one linked I had only really seen it relating to fuel, I'll go away and have a more in depth read.

937carrera wrote: You can even get a petrol gauge with a low fuel warning

Soon. Hopefully. The first version of a PCB based on bigbadbob's circuit now physically exists, but the samples are still in China. The nice man in the red and yellow airplane might get them to me by the weekend with a bit of luck.

A GPS speedo with Arduino is quite doable. Bigbadbob may have a working version, although I don't think he's happy with the distance logging part yet.

This is the other thread

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... &start=210

937carrera wrote:This is the other thread

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... &start=210

Cheers - will have a read but think programming may be beyond me at the moment so may have to look at off the shelf alternatives.

I was just putting you in the direction of the guys who do know this stuff, and are creating add on kits for people to install. No need to reinvent the wheel.

CJH wrote:A GPS speedo with Arduino is quite doable. Bigbadbob may have a working version, although I don't think he's happy with the distance logging part yet.

Yes, I have a working speedo solution, it went awry when I added distance logging but the speedo works fine.
I can send you parts list and arduino code but if you havn't done any programming before then maybe it won't help.



http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... &start=225

bigbadbob76 wrote: I can send you parts list and arduino code but if you havn't done any programming before then maybe it won't help.

Thanks, but as the last programming I did was with an amstrad cpc464 in the 80's, and even then it was purely as a kid playing around with making the screen a 'pretty' colour, I think I may have to shelve this for now.

Thanks for the input all the same.

Regarding the viability of GPS as a vehicle speedo, personally I don't think I'd be comfortable relying on a service that could become unusable in various situations, eg. going though a forest, a tunnel, in between tall buildings, or if Trump decides to make the US GPS service usable only by muricans or if the EU boots UK out of the EU GPS service (oh, it already did..) Plus technically it seems a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

syncroandy wrote:...or if Trump decides to make the US GPS service usable only by muricans...

Nothing is impossible I agree, but this is exceedingly unlikely.

syncroandy wrote:...or if the EU boots UK out of the EU GPS service (oh, it already did..)...

This only relates to UK use and development of the PRS (encrypted, for authorised users). The open access service will remain available to everyone.

syncroandy wrote:Plus technically it seems a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

True, but it's far more accurate than something that uses wheels of varying diameter to turn a jerky cable to swing a needle against an aged spring. And of course, you can keep that system - the GPS would be an add-on, not a replacement.

ash1293 wrote:

bigbadbob76 wrote: I can send you parts list and arduino code but if you havn't done any programming before then maybe it won't help.

Thanks, but as the last programming I did was with an amstrad cpc464 in the 80's, and even then it was purely as a kid playing around with making the screen a 'pretty' colour, I think I may have to shelve this for now.

Thanks for the input all the same.

Just use a sat nav on the dash.

bigbadbob76 wrote: Just use a sat nav on the dash.

Might resort to that if needed but had hoped for something a little more compact and neater, may have found an easy option so will report back if suitable.

Not subtle but I picked up a second hand 52mm GPS speedo for £15inc del.

Not quite as factory fit looking as I was hoping it now sits under the dash warning bulbs and can be clearly seen under the steering wheel rim. Usually picks up a signal by the time I pull off the drive and gives an easy quick glance reading.
At the end of the day my van is for using and not a VW museum piece so any mods to make it more user friendly are ok by me.

That sounds like a good buy for that price. any chance of a pic Ash?
I probably couldn't make one for that £££.