Shep
09-08-2014, 08:11 PM
I'm building a plug-and-play DeLorean clock that has the following features:
- GPS powered; syncs up within 1 second in most conditions, 3 if weather is bad (indoors, have not tested outdoors; keep in mind a GPS "fix" is not needed to get accurate time, only location/speed/direction/etc, so the few minutes you wait for GPS navigation to kick in are eliminated entirely)
- Time zone is user-selectable via UTC offset (as an example, Eastern is either UTC-4 or UTC-5 depending on whether it's DST or not)
- Minutes cannot be set -- these are automatically set by GPS signal.
- Every 60 seconds without a signal, the minutes increment by one until it receives a signal. This way, the clock is no more than 60 seconds off once it receives at least one sync.
- ZERO power draw with the ignition off
- Battery backup available for those that intend on using in parking garages, leaving abandoned in tunnels, etc. where no satellites can be reached at all for extended periods of time, although I suspect this will be wholly unnecessary.
- Interchangeable displays! Want OEM green for your concours judging, but large futuristic Blue for the ride home? Done and done.
- TONS of customizable settings, including 12-hour/24-hour, trailing LED dot on AM only, PM only, leading zero on/off/AM/PM, hell even colon can be set to be disabled, steady on, or blinking. All with two simple buttons, just like stock.
As if that wasn't enough, an OLED display will also be available that will unlock tons of new features, including:
- Sensors! Want to see the alternator voltage? How about interior temperature and humidity? How about exterior temperature and humidity? Barometric pressure? Anything else not listed that you want (because believe me, I'll add it as an option if I see at least one person wanting it!) All visible on the OLED screen.
- Adjustable display formats! Want the time to be displayed on the left, and sensors on the right? What about sensors on the bottom, with time on the top? Or vice versa? All user-adjustable
- All settings listed above apply to both LED and OLED displays, and will automatically apply to both.
So how does it work? Simple, there are up to four categories of parts (wait, for a simple clock? Yes, but trust me on this!)
1) GPS Clock Base Unit
- this one has the GPS unit built-in, and includes plugs to attach sensors and a display to it.
2) Display
- Your choice of color, size, and type (LED vs. OLED). Displays can be swapped at will, but the base unit is useless without a display! For LED units, I'm looking into three possible sizes -- OEM, Medium, and Large. OLED will come in at least two sizes.
3) Sensor Add-On Board
- Can be daisy-chained to allow for more available sensors.
4) Sensors
- All the possible sensors added above are included in this category. Temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, etc. are all included!
So, what do you need to replace the OEM clock? Simple: one Base Unit, and one OEM Green Display. That's it. Nothing else is required -- it's all just extra flair that can be useful to some!
Final price should be in the $100 to $300 range, but most definitely cheaper than the $600 gone-in-a-flash functional OEM clocks I've seen floating around (and have one of myself). So how can I keep costs so low? Simple, R&D is not included in the price. Quite literally, I was tired of the shitty Chinese knockoff Flux3D sold me for 10x the price he paid for it (proof here (http://vin559.com/?63)) and not having any other options, so I designed and built my own. I originally wanted to do a one-off type deal, but as I told more people about it, more people became interested about it in their cars. Not just DeLoreans, but even daily driver beaters! So I decided to get it as top-notch as possible, bring it to as much fruition as possible, and post it here. Already have the Base Unit functional, and am working on the display now. Will keep everyone posted!
So who's interested? And of those of you that are, does anyone have any questions or requests they'd like to see?
PLEASE NOTE: this product has ZERO affiliation with DeClock (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10194-DeClock-dashboard-clock-replacement-offered), and is not intended to "one-up" his work. "DeClock" was announced after I had already completed a working prototype Base Unit. Looking at it, it's quality work, and had it been available a year or two ago, the GPS Clock would not be a reality today!
- GPS powered; syncs up within 1 second in most conditions, 3 if weather is bad (indoors, have not tested outdoors; keep in mind a GPS "fix" is not needed to get accurate time, only location/speed/direction/etc, so the few minutes you wait for GPS navigation to kick in are eliminated entirely)
- Time zone is user-selectable via UTC offset (as an example, Eastern is either UTC-4 or UTC-5 depending on whether it's DST or not)
- Minutes cannot be set -- these are automatically set by GPS signal.
- Every 60 seconds without a signal, the minutes increment by one until it receives a signal. This way, the clock is no more than 60 seconds off once it receives at least one sync.
- ZERO power draw with the ignition off
- Battery backup available for those that intend on using in parking garages, leaving abandoned in tunnels, etc. where no satellites can be reached at all for extended periods of time, although I suspect this will be wholly unnecessary.
- Interchangeable displays! Want OEM green for your concours judging, but large futuristic Blue for the ride home? Done and done.
- TONS of customizable settings, including 12-hour/24-hour, trailing LED dot on AM only, PM only, leading zero on/off/AM/PM, hell even colon can be set to be disabled, steady on, or blinking. All with two simple buttons, just like stock.
As if that wasn't enough, an OLED display will also be available that will unlock tons of new features, including:
- Sensors! Want to see the alternator voltage? How about interior temperature and humidity? How about exterior temperature and humidity? Barometric pressure? Anything else not listed that you want (because believe me, I'll add it as an option if I see at least one person wanting it!) All visible on the OLED screen.
- Adjustable display formats! Want the time to be displayed on the left, and sensors on the right? What about sensors on the bottom, with time on the top? Or vice versa? All user-adjustable
- All settings listed above apply to both LED and OLED displays, and will automatically apply to both.
So how does it work? Simple, there are up to four categories of parts (wait, for a simple clock? Yes, but trust me on this!)
1) GPS Clock Base Unit
- this one has the GPS unit built-in, and includes plugs to attach sensors and a display to it.
2) Display
- Your choice of color, size, and type (LED vs. OLED). Displays can be swapped at will, but the base unit is useless without a display! For LED units, I'm looking into three possible sizes -- OEM, Medium, and Large. OLED will come in at least two sizes.
3) Sensor Add-On Board
- Can be daisy-chained to allow for more available sensors.
4) Sensors
- All the possible sensors added above are included in this category. Temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, etc. are all included!
So, what do you need to replace the OEM clock? Simple: one Base Unit, and one OEM Green Display. That's it. Nothing else is required -- it's all just extra flair that can be useful to some!
Final price should be in the $100 to $300 range, but most definitely cheaper than the $600 gone-in-a-flash functional OEM clocks I've seen floating around (and have one of myself). So how can I keep costs so low? Simple, R&D is not included in the price. Quite literally, I was tired of the shitty Chinese knockoff Flux3D sold me for 10x the price he paid for it (proof here (http://vin559.com/?63)) and not having any other options, so I designed and built my own. I originally wanted to do a one-off type deal, but as I told more people about it, more people became interested about it in their cars. Not just DeLoreans, but even daily driver beaters! So I decided to get it as top-notch as possible, bring it to as much fruition as possible, and post it here. Already have the Base Unit functional, and am working on the display now. Will keep everyone posted!
So who's interested? And of those of you that are, does anyone have any questions or requests they'd like to see?
PLEASE NOTE: this product has ZERO affiliation with DeClock (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10194-DeClock-dashboard-clock-replacement-offered), and is not intended to "one-up" his work. "DeClock" was announced after I had already completed a working prototype Base Unit. Looking at it, it's quality work, and had it been available a year or two ago, the GPS Clock would not be a reality today!