Note to self: loctite destroys ABS plastic. I’ll probably have to pick up another casing for the Gauges – but the upper was pretty crappy anyway. I may machine an entire new case for it this winter.

This is my latest hardware project: MotoComp. It’s based on some work by [Bill2009] but I’ve been extending and reworking the code quite a bit. I installed gauges from a 2004ish Honda CBR 600 on my 1993 CBR 600 F2. Typically, this conversion uses a $125 product called “Speedohealer” to adjust the output of a retro-fitted speed pickup to make the speed output accurate.

My goal is to replicate the functionality of a Speedohealer (which is a very mature product, and worth the price if you need it) and add some features while I’m at it.

I’m working on for my F2. As you can see, the display will show MPH, Voltage, Ambient air temp and the current gear. The hardware is an Arduino, protoshield, DS1820 temp sensor, a transistor to handle output to the speedometer, some voltage dividers and a cap or two for filtering signals.

Gear is calculated based on the ratio of the engine RPM to wheel RPM.
MPH is calculated based on tire diameter and wheel RPM.
Temp is measured using a one-wire temperature sensor. I added it because I had the hardware sitting around.
Voltage is directly measured on the bike. Given the history of R/R/Stator issues, I find having the voltage on a display to be really, really handy.

Right now I’ve got the system mostly working, I’m just working on dialing in the speed sensor/healer functions. The cost to build one like this is about $50 for prototype parts, I’ll likely reduce the cost one I have a production design worked up.

This bike looks like a fun project. I ended up passing my XS 850 on and replacing it with this 1993 CBR 600. The bike got some front end damage when the PO slid it into a curb. It’ll be getting the GSX-R front end I had slated to put on the XS. After the front end is swapped, it’ll just be a matter of replacing the gauges and then on to bodywork/cosmetics.

The bike sat for a year. The battery had 10v and old gas in it. I charged the battery and drained the tank, then I put in some fresh fuel and some sea foam. Once I adjusted the choke (broken lever) it started right up. I’ve put about an hour of runtime on the engine and it looks strong!

Yesterday I put the bike on a stand and pulled the front end. The upper bearing popped right out, the lower took quite a bit of work. After a day of hammering on the bearing with a punch, it finally came loose. Once the new bearings show up, I should have the new front end on in no time.

If you’re interested, here’s how to swap to a GSX-R front end:

Get the right front end. I’ve got a 2006 fork, wheel and yamaha R1 brakes to go with it.

Get the bearings, the CBR and GSX-R use the same lower bearing, but the upper is a custom oddity. NGK makes one but it’s impossible to find in North America. Zoran at twfracing turns down a 48mm tapered roller bearing to 47mm.

From there it’s just a matter of parts – 50mm clipons, etc. Finding the upper bearing is really the hard part.

I picked up some used c168i cell phones off of ebay to do some integration projects. Hooking up the serial port is just a matter of connecting a 3/32″ audio connector up to a TTL USB serial cable. I was pretty amused by the two hundred SMS messages that were left inside the phones memory. I used a fake – phone number in these samples. Here’s an interesting bit: the phone actually had a pin on the messaging screen! Even without the pin I was able to pull the text messages off the phone. Judging from the content, I’m guessing that this was some kids phone.

+CMGL: 60,"STO SENT","15551111111",,,129,13
O i knew that
+CMGL: 61,"STO SENT","15551111111",,,129,19
Tell her i said hey
+CMGL: 62,"REC READ","15551111111",,"09/01/21,19:03:17-24",129,109
Lol. Im off the phone now. I just got out of the shower. I havent even had time to put my clothes on yet. Lol

Of course, I had to delete every single one with an individual AT+CMGD=62 style command. (62 is the message id).

For those interested in phones with serial ports, here’s how you can hook it up and play with it. The serial port on the c168i is actually a TTL level connection. Perfect for talking to a microcontroller. Soldering the connector is fairly painless, but you’ll want some alligator clip style helping hands and a find tip soldering iron.

Crush everything into the connector sleeve and close it up.

This is the end of a FTDI USB to serial TTL cable. It’s handy for talking to things like boarduinos, and avoids all those repetitive MAX232 circuits. You can get your own from Adafruit. Once I tested the connection, I soldered the wires onto some male header for portability.

The c168i that I bought was locked to AT&T. Since I’ve got some iPhones, I called them up and asked very nicely for the unlock code. They helpfully generated them! To actually use the code, you have to have another service providers sim card. I used T-Mobile because their pay as you go credit expires every three months vs. AT&T’s 30 days.

Anyhow, amazon has these
for about $1260.
Next up on my list – what kind of server will it take to grab data from a heavily utilized 10Gb data link.

xbench: http://xbench.com/

Remember my RGB keypad project that I originally posted in Hack-A-Day? (part 1 and part 2) I finally got around to cleaning it up a bit and designed an Arduino Shield for it. This is the first prototype, and it looks pretty good.

I did a quick build of the shield, and after a function test, I’ll finalize the design. I’m thinking about adding an optional switch input: Sometimes we just need to be left alone – this input could be used to put the keypad in lockdown: glow full red and keep everyone out!

At minimum, I will be offering a kit that includes the shield, all the parts needed, a CNC cut button bezel + spacer.

If there’s enough interest, I can make a full kit that includes everything but the Arduino. Interested? Comment here and let me know. I will take pre-orders as soon as I’m satisfied with the prototype and figure out the total parts cost.

If you comment, I will send you an email when I’m ready to take pre-orders. Cost should be between $25 and $50 depending on how complete I make the kid.