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PostPosted: August 1, 2011, 5:16 pm 
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This is my 3rd attempt on the Speedo…….

Thru the good generosity of a fellow Locoster, I have obtained an angled drive unit off a Toyota. It is not the gear-driven unit but a tube with flex drive. Presumably, since it is original equipment and meant to be bent this sharply, it should last pretty long. It is used on many Toyota’s from mid ’80s onward. I believe it is Toyota P/N 83770-22100. I’m not absolutely sure though since I got mine 3rd hand. It fits perfectly. For other Locosters using the Miata transmissions, I think this drive should work for you too since it is the same thread (M22-1.5). I purchased a new Dorman speedo cable at the same time, much less expensive than the OEM version. This one is a bit longer than the OEM cable. I did not spend any time shortening this cable at the moment. If it breaks again, then I won’t have the extra time invested. If it works out, then I'll shorten it later.

The angle drive seems to fit just perfectly. If I had the gear driven one, I don’t think it would have fit at all. The routing is back up above the frame rails. I also drilled a new hole for the cable to pass thru the firewall. This has a much improved straight shot at the speedometer input. I have tested it all while on jack stands and it seems to work well. Time will tell…….
Attachment:
angle drive.JPG
Attachment:
angle drive 2.JPG


I still have to locate the Mazda 626 22 tooth speedometer drive in order to get the calibration correct. That can be done later. One thing I did find, that is not mentioned in may other places, although the RX7 and Miata transmissions are of the same Mazda family, Type 2 (or M), I believe the speedo gears may not be interchangeable. I believe that the earlier Mazda trannys used a LH gear and the Miata’s use a RH tilted gear. This is not mentioned in the http://www.solomiata.com/Drivetrain.html referenced in my thread over here http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=7695&hilit=rt+angle+drive&start=15. Compare the Miata drive assy in the photo below and compare it to my RX7 drive gear assy a few posts above. Note the different angle direction of the teeth. Fortunately the Mazda 626 gear angles in the correct direction (LH). Now I need to find one.

Miata gear (photo liberated from http://the-mite.com/mite36.htm)
Attachment:
miata gear.JPG

RX7 gear (mine)


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PostPosted: August 2, 2011, 5:51 pm 
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Looks like a good solution. Its almost like it was meant to be there.

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PostPosted: August 2, 2011, 8:27 pm 
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a.moore wrote:
Looks like a good solution. Its almost like it was meant to be there.


I wuz like, Wow... Totally Cosmic, Doood, it was just -like- meant to be there, ya know??

:rofl:



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PostPosted: September 4, 2011, 9:12 am 
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Not much happening..... I manage to get a few minutes here and there on the car. It sure helped to have a deadline. it helps focus efforts.

I have made some mods to the Megasquirt firmware. I changed the operation on the BAC (IAC) from PWM warmup to PWM closed loop. This keeps a fixed RPM at idel regardless of any electrical load. I set it for 900RPM. Now as I turn on the headlights, the idle RPM stays the same. It also has the warmup RPM vs temp. I'll have to wait for Winter to get that curve set right.

The local annual british car show has accepted my application for my Locost, even if the only British things on my car are a few lights and a wiper system. That will be next Sunday. British Car Festival in Des Plaines IL on Sept 11th. Stop by and say hi if you are nearby.

I'm thinking more about adding some sort of shield to the leading face of the rear fenders. They take a beating from road sand and pebbles. I may end up w/ stainless. But still thinking things out.

I am starting a "Change this" list for Winter. This could become addictive. I guess there is no end to the build.

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PostPosted: September 25, 2011, 12:04 pm 
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After a year or so working on the Master Bath, I hereby declare that job to be finished. The last major task was to build a couple of corner cabinets and hang the towel racks. Still have a few little decorator touches to add but we have officially moved back into it yesterday. That job took longer than expected but then again; I wasn’t planning on being the cabinetmaker. It turned out great if I do say so myself. The foreman and chief decorator approved of the finished product.

I had been thinking about the Logo contest and thought what would be more appropriate than to use Chet’s photo as inspiration for the Logo? So I printed out the thumbnail found at the top of every page and with the help of a light table, penciled in the important lines. I made up some to fill in the detail as I felt necessary. Then, I traced over the pencil lines using a pen and sharpie. Scanned that “original” into the computer and cleaned up the design and filled in some space using MS Paint. I then used MS Publisher to import the photo and played with some text until I got something I liked. That was design posted yesterday on the Logo Contest page.

Today I printed out the design on some clear film and taped them to my car to see how they would look. Here are the photos of them on the car.
Image
Image

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Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

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PostPosted: September 25, 2011, 12:22 pm 
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rx7locost wrote:
Not much happening..... I manage to get a few minutes here and there on the car. It sure helped to have a deadline. it helps focus efforts.

I have made some mods to the Megasquirt firmware. I changed the operation on the BAC (IAC) from PWM warmup to PWM closed loop. This keeps a fixed RPM at idel regardless of any electrical load. I set it for 900RPM. Now as I turn on the headlights, the idle RPM stays the same. It also has the warmup RPM vs temp. I'll have to wait for Winter to get that curve set right.

The local annual british car show has accepted my application for my Locost, even if the only British things on my car are a few lights and a wiper system. That will be next Sunday. British Car Festival in Des Plaines IL on Sept 11th. Stop by and say hi if you are nearby.

I'm thinking more about adding some sort of shield to the leading face of the rear fenders. They take a beating from road sand and pebbles. I may end up w/ stainless. But still thinking things out.

I am starting a "Change this" list for Winter. This could become addictive. I guess there is no end to the build.

For your rear fender guards, you might consider textured stainless. Just a thought.


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PostPosted: September 26, 2011, 12:03 pm 
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Nice work on the decal. Chet looks kind of like The Stig.

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PostPosted: September 26, 2011, 12:11 pm 
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Chet looks kind of like The Stig.


Hmmmm :?: Chet....? Stig.....! Stig.....? Chet.....! Have you ever seen them together at the same time? Makes one wonder.............

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PostPosted: September 29, 2011, 12:39 pm 
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Great job, just read it from start to finish and I'm hoping I would be able to use such a great resource as you when I start my build. I have nothing but research and ideas, budgets and price lists but once I decide a route I'll def drop you a PM to maybe pick your brain so to speak. Amazing seven btw.

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PostPosted: October 1, 2011, 7:27 am 
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Feel free to pick my brain when you are at that point. At least, what's left of it. If you get to the Chicago area, you are welcome to come take a look at the car in person. We can talk and I can give you dozens of pointer of what not to do. I've done them and then had to do them over. I think we can all lay claim to that part of the build.

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“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

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And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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PostPosted: October 29, 2011, 7:46 pm 
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My recent activities have been working on a wireless connection to my Megasquirt. Here are the gory details:

How I Bluetooth’d My Megasquirt Using Locost Philosophy (SORRY FOR THE LONG POST)

So far I have been using a serial to USB adapter cable for tuning the Megasquirt. Although this works well, it is a nuisance to connect the cable under the dash. Once connected, the cable is in an awkward location on my laptop and gets in the way while tuning and driving. I feel that at some times, the cable will rip the connector off in my laptop and then I’ll be in deep $ # ! T

I looked for other alternatives. Bluetooth was the natural choice. According to the MS manual, their only suggestion was to use an RS232 to Bluetooth adapter made by SOCKET. This alternative is not very Locost at $100 to $150. Being from the electronic business, I was looking for something more integrated. There are a lot of serial-Bluetooth modules available for under $8 on eBay. Most of these include a PCB mounted antenna and require a 3.3V TTL signal source. While it sounds do-able, 1) the antenna would be inside the shielded chassis and the signal would not be able to get outside; 2) it would require the removal of the MAX323x signal level converter inside the MS. This would eliminate any chance of future cable connection; and 3) would require the addition of a 3.3V regulator.

I came across one module that appeared to have everything I wanted in an adapter. It was a RS232-bluetooth adapter with true RS232 level input and output. It uses one of the above mentioned modules soldered to a second adapter board to implement a few other features. It required 5V external power (I can eventually get that directly from the MS). It had an onboard 5v-3.3V regulator. And most importantly, it had a DB9 male and DB9 female adapter. It is roughly 1.25” wide and 2.5” long. Presumably, this should plug into the MS’s serial port and just hang out there in space. I just had to try it.

Attachment:
as purchased.JPG


I purchased this adapter from the seller in China for around $14 delivered. In 2 weeks, I had the unit at my doorstep. As received, many of the DB9 connector pins were not soldered to the PCB. I took care of that in quick order. Now was time to test it out. Needless to say, any reasonable facsimile to a user manual or instruction sheet was non-existent. I managed to find some quasi-documentation to other similar products on-line. In order to talk to this module using Hyperterm, a freeware communication program, I had to temporarily connect 5V to the module for it to have any power. A battery holder with 4 AAA cells and a few jumper wires were put to service. I had to jumper one of the ports on the module to +3.3V to set the module into command mode. This required the removal of the heat shrink sleeving. I jumpered a resistor to the appropriate pins and went to town. Now is when I have to admit, while I am good at electronic things in general, I’m not well versed in terminal programs. Trying to get my laptop connected to the serial port required the USB-serial adapter cable. It has been years since a laptop had a real serial port! I had been using this cable with the MS so I didn’t have to purchase anything new. No matter what I tried, I could not get any communications going. I tried several baud rates, I/O configurations, null modem cables and such. All to no avail. I checked the voltage level on the previously jumpered pin. It was not very high at around 1.7V. I don’t know what the chip needs. SO I shorted out the resistor taking that port directly to 3.3V. Still nothing.

Attachment:
setup jumper.JPG


I have to admit that some, if not most of the problem was me trying to micro analyze the communication thing. Since I was talking thru a USB-Serial adapter, my brain was going in circles. So I got out my old desktop with a true serial port and plugged directly into the desktop’s serial port. Powered up Hyperterm and adjusted a few of Hyperterm’s parameters. BINGO! I enter “AT” in Hyperterm and the module responds “OK”. NOW I’m talking to the module!

I managed to change the default 9600 baud to the 115,200 required for the MS communication. I entered “AT+BAUD8”. It responded: “OK115200”. But I am still sans anything closely related to a manual. I cannot follow all the pin assignments on the DB9M connecter, the one that will go to the MS. Pin 1 and 9 get powered from the MS with +5V. I can see that pin 1 on the BT board is not connected to anything. But pin 9 is and goes somewhere ……..I don’t know. I contacted the seller and he sent me a manual for my unit (presumably). Upon inspection, it is for a different RS-232/bluetooth adapter. It is close on everything except my 2 DB9 connectors are replaced with a single row header. This won’t help me at all.

I need to find out how to safely bring 5V into this module.

I removed the jumper I had added earlier during the setup of the module. I lifted pins#6, 7, 8 & 9 off the pcb and added an insulator to prevent an accidental short. I also added a jumper from DB9M-pin9 to the 5V node on the PCB. I now get powered from the MS2 when plugged into the communication port. I removed the extra DB9F connector since it will not be used in my application. Then I wrapped it all up in a heatshrink sleeving.

Attachment:
5V jumper-removed DBF.JPG


The first effort to check it all out on the car was a bust. I could establish Bluetooth connection to the module but not communicate with the MS. Something must be wrong. So I took it out and tried several things to communicate with my Desktop computer. Nothing. I then found out that some other program had latched on to the serial port of the computer. Once that program was stopped, communications started up again, only at 9600 baud. Somehow I had set it to the 9600 baud rate. "AT" sent- responded with "OK" Trying to do some AT additional commands proved faulty. Once the first AT was entered, it immediately responded OK. I couldn’t get past the AT, all commands start with AT and then more characters. More research and I found the answer. Enter the full command into Notepad. Then copy paste into Hyperterm. It seems that the unit needs to see the full command in less than a second. I can’t type that fast. Copy/Paste gets around my slow typing. I told it to work again at 115200 baud (AT+BAUD8)and it accepted the command (OK115200). I then went out to the car to check things again. Turned on the computer and started up Tunerstudio. I set the com port and turned on the car. VIOLA!!!! Success. I now have Bluetooth communications between the Megasquirt and my laptop. I started the car and saw the RPM etc wer all responding correctly. I didn’t run the car more than a few moments just to check out the system. I hope to have continued success as I work further on the tune. Now I don’t have to worry about destroying my laptop. And all it took was about $14 and several days of messaging to the seller, and messing with the module/ computers/ soldering iron etc.

From what I can tell, the module is made by Shenzhen Jiayuan Electronic Co. Ltd. It uses an HC06 Bluetooth processor and is only capable of performing as a slave module. It is not user changeable. Slave mode is required for the MS controller. So I’m in the clear. edit: I have since noticed that there is at least one other similar module that requires handshaking and may not work following these directions. make sure the one you buy needs only the 3-wire serial communication.

One thing I have not mentioned yet is that, if I used the “SOCKET” Bluetooth adapter per the Megasquirt manual’s suggestion , I would have to add some jumpers on the MS to allow for the handshaking that the SOCKET” requires. This eBay module does not require the handshaking so no modification to the MS is necessary. After the modification of the module for power and setup, this now just plugs in and goes.

Attachment:
finished.JPG


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“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


Last edited by rx7locost on October 31, 2011, 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: October 30, 2011, 8:08 am 
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That is my story. Here is the short, instruction-only version:


1] Purchase a true rs232 level, dual DB9, 5V, Serial - Bluetooth module (slave) from eBay for ~14 bucks. (see above photo)
2] Carefully cut away their heat shrink sleeving
3] Solder a temporary jumper from 3.3V to PIO11 for setup of baud rate (the mfgr recommend 10K resistor but I tried a 4.7K and it was too high a resistance. I just shorted the two terminals together)
4] Plug DB9-F into a true computer serial port (a USB to serial cable might work) and apply a temporary ~5V (I used 4 AAA batteries) to the +V and –V terminals on the 4 pin header.
5] Send AT command “AT+BAUD8” via any terminal program to set module to 115200 baud rate. (I used Hyperterminal)
6] Remove temporary jumper from step 3
7] If not already done, de-solder pins 6, 7, 8 & 9 (from the DB9-M connector)
8] Insulate under pins 6, 7, 8 & 9
9] Add jumper wire from DB9-M pin 9 connector to +V on 4-pin header. (optional: remove the DB9-F connector)
10] Add heat shrink or wrap in insulating material.
11] Plug module into the Megasquirt serial port.
12] Turn on MS and laptop. Search for new Bluetooth devices.
13] Enter default pairing code “1234”
14] Determine the com port the module is using by viewing Bluetooth devices, right click the Bluetooth icon “Linvor” and then “Services”. It will tell you which com port has been assigned to the Module.
15] Open TunerStudio’s “Communication” then “Settings” tabs and set the Com Port to the match.
16] Done. You should now be connected.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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PostPosted: October 31, 2011, 10:36 am 
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Woah very nice work Chuck.

It seems pointless to have to deal with a serial cable or port in 2011 and eliminating one more thing from the cockpit is for the better.

What kind of range does it have (IE could someone be following in a car and monitoring from there?)

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PostPosted: October 31, 2011, 3:09 pm 
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It has about 15 feet range. It is only a class 2 Bluetooth radio so on a good day it can reach 33ft. The installation of my MS is up and under the dash, so metal in all directions except downward to the footwell. There is at best, 1 inch end of the module to the wideband harness which is getting a high current PWM heater. Can't imagine that is a very nice environment electrically. but it is good enough signal to tune while standing next to, behind or while sitting in the car. I suppose that someone following real close or next to you could hack into it. They would have to get past the pairing code of the bluetooth. Not too difficult for a real hacker I suppose, not me though. They would have to know that I had a MS and a bluetooth device to start with.

This was probably not a worthwhile exercise as I don't have much more tuning to do. I posted this for others who may follow. It was a challenge and I do need challenges now and then. Heck, I built my own car I ought to be able to do this:cheers:

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“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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PostPosted: November 30, 2011, 12:12 pm 
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rx7locost wrote:
This was probably not a worthwhile exercise as I don't have much more tuning to do. I posted this for others who may follow. It was a challenge and I do need challenges now and then. Heck, I built my own car I ought to be able to do this:cheers:
Well, can I say a HUGE Thank You for bothering to do it and to post about it!!

After reading your post, I just bought one. I simply hate cords and ports all over the cabin! I'll have the computer built-in so I'll be using it a bit differently. I'll modify and use it to transfer data to and from the built-in Toughbook to the Desktop or Laptop depending on need. As for the range, you could always used a DB9 ext cable and get it to a more environmentally friendly place for signal.

Thanks for bothering!

KS

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