[WORKING!] Hacking the GA-NET (IEBus) to get touchscreen coordinates
10-11-2007, 02:25 PM
#201
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Schematics
Angry... sorry to hear about the hand!!! That totally sucks!
Can you send me the eagle pcb schematic you have? I was thinking about doing a surface mount version and having a local fab doing me up a couple dozen. I would likely get them for a better deal than whats out there on the net. Anyway, let me know. Until then, I'll keep plugging away at the navi install.
One other thing I thought I'd mention. I have a few manuals you might be interested in. Albeit, they are for the Accord - the general technology is the same. For example, I have found out that the touchscreen sensor on the front of the LCD is an infrared type with 20 vertical and 9 horizontal infrared rays to produce 180 sensing points. The display unit transmits the signal from each button and the touch screen command to the navigation unit using the GA-NET bus (which I think we already knew).
Anyway, I have to go through all the data I have to find some useful info. There is a lot of crap to weed through that doesn't pertain to my attempt to install the navi, or the GA-NET bus in general.
~J
Can you send me the eagle pcb schematic you have? I was thinking about doing a surface mount version and having a local fab doing me up a couple dozen. I would likely get them for a better deal than whats out there on the net. Anyway, let me know. Until then, I'll keep plugging away at the navi install.
One other thing I thought I'd mention. I have a few manuals you might be interested in. Albeit, they are for the Accord - the general technology is the same. For example, I have found out that the touchscreen sensor on the front of the LCD is an infrared type with 20 vertical and 9 horizontal infrared rays to produce 180 sensing points. The display unit transmits the signal from each button and the touch screen command to the navigation unit using the GA-NET bus (which I think we already knew).
Anyway, I have to go through all the data I have to find some useful info. There is a lot of crap to weed through that doesn't pertain to my attempt to install the navi, or the GA-NET bus in general.
~J
10-11-2007, 06:15 PM
#202
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not necessarily true
Originally Posted by angrycamel
Yes, in the TSX the touchscreen has a limited resolution of something like 10x16 or something like that. I am ok with that since any in car software that I will be using will have buttons large enough to work with it.
If you were to use your PC as a normal PC with a mouse and all that, its going to be a bit more difficult because you would need more resolution on the touches.
If you were to use your PC as a normal PC with a mouse and all that, its going to be a bit more difficult because you would need more resolution on the touches.
I'm guessing what you're saying here is that the TSX touchscreen only sends coordinates on the IEBus on a limited resolution grid.
As you know, I am running my carpc with my custom touchscreen module that I hacked into the back of the oem lcd to install. When interfaced with my carpc, I don't have a specific grid in which coordinates are sent on. I get full resolution out of the screen (if that makes sense).
Again, it might not mean anything because if the acura system only reports touches on the specific grid then we're SOL.
Great progress guys! And if/when you're ready for testers, I'm am willing to provide help in anyway possible.
Mike
10-11-2007, 06:46 PM
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You guys are correct. A touchscreen packet transmits a limited X and Y coordinate from the touchscreen to navigation computer. This is limited to maximum values of X: 0x14 and Y: 0x09 (20 x 9 grid).
A sample touch event from the defined events in IEBus Studio for my 04 TSX:
Where the checksum is calculated as follows:
The interface that Met did is a direct interface to the 4 wire resistive touchscreen module before the dashboard controller unit gets it and "dumbs" it down to be sent to the navigation computer. I imagine they do this to lessen the potential for errors. It makes sense at least.
PS - Geekeng, I will put everything needed for a DIY on my site once its all finalized.
A sample touch event from the defined events in IEBus Studio for my 04 TSX:
Code:
37:31:D:0:1:3:%X:%Y:0:0:0:0:0:0:%Checksum
Code:
%X + %Y + 0x82
PS - Geekeng, I will put everything needed for a DIY on my site once its all finalized.
Last edited by angrycamel; 10-11-2007 at 06:49 PM.
10-22-2007, 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by angrycamel
After I get this project completed and have a working touchscreen solution, I will be working towards that goal. To design a board that can facilitate the integration of a carpc as a drop in replacement of the stock navigation unit.
10-22-2007, 09:54 PM
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Honda/Acura Navi Connectors
I'm not sure what happened to our faithful leader... he hasn't said much in the past couple weeks. Anyway, I'm still blazing a trail as I gather all the necessary parts to mod my non-navi accord so I can join in on this wonderful IEBus hackfest.
Anyway, for those of you who have modded your non-navi car, I think I might have found the supplier of the connectors used by Honda/Acura. Having said that, I'm in the midst of communicating and arranging to purchase a few of these. Depending on the min. qty. required I will either publicize the source OR I'll offer to sell the excess via. ebay or my website. Wiring diagrams for dummies to follow... maybe
Keep on hackin' boys!
Anyway, for those of you who have modded your non-navi car, I think I might have found the supplier of the connectors used by Honda/Acura. Having said that, I'm in the midst of communicating and arranging to purchase a few of these. Depending on the min. qty. required I will either publicize the source OR I'll offer to sell the excess via. ebay or my website. Wiring diagrams for dummies to follow... maybe
Keep on hackin' boys!
10-23-2007, 05:27 PM
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Still here...
Hey guys. I am still here, but busy.
Work has been taking its toll lately as this time of the year usually picks up with a LOT of requests. I am a Senior Engineer for a software company so I requires a lot of my time.
I have not stopped my work, but what little time I have had lately has been spent working on the hardware trying to get my schematic right. I have had some troubles with printing my own PCB and getting it to work properly.
So hang in there, all good things...
Later,
AC
Work has been taking its toll lately as this time of the year usually picks up with a LOT of requests. I am a Senior Engineer for a software company so I requires a lot of my time.
I have not stopped my work, but what little time I have had lately has been spent working on the hardware trying to get my schematic right. I have had some troubles with printing my own PCB and getting it to work properly.
So hang in there, all good things...
Later,
AC
10-24-2007, 09:33 PM
#211
Originally Posted by met152
I know this was posted a while ago, but I'm just catching up now on all of the great progress.
I'm guessing what you're saying here is that the TSX touchscreen only sends coordinates on the IEBus on a limited resolution grid.
As you know, I am running my carpc with my custom touchscreen module that I hacked into the back of the oem lcd to install. When interfaced with my carpc, I don't have a specific grid in which coordinates are sent on. I get full resolution out of the screen (if that makes sense).
Again, it might not mean anything because if the acura system only reports touches on the specific grid then we're SOL.
Great progress guys! And if/when you're ready for testers, I'm am willing to provide help in anyway possible.
Mike
I'm guessing what you're saying here is that the TSX touchscreen only sends coordinates on the IEBus on a limited resolution grid.
As you know, I am running my carpc with my custom touchscreen module that I hacked into the back of the oem lcd to install. When interfaced with my carpc, I don't have a specific grid in which coordinates are sent on. I get full resolution out of the screen (if that makes sense).
Again, it might not mean anything because if the acura system only reports touches on the specific grid then we're SOL.
Great progress guys! And if/when you're ready for testers, I'm am willing to provide help in anyway possible.
Mike
Hey Mike, I just ran into your post over in mp3car forums http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...tegration.html
Very nice job, I must say.. I think I'm missing something though, so what exactly is angrycamel's solution providing in addition to what Mike's solution provides?
10-24-2007, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by supraken
Hey Mike, I just ran into your post over in mp3car forums http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...tegration.html
Very nice job, I must say.. I think I'm missing something though, so what exactly is angrycamel's solution providing in addition to what Mike's solution provides?
Very nice job, I must say.. I think I'm missing something though, so what exactly is angrycamel's solution providing in addition to what Mike's solution provides?
This would allow me to use buttons around the navigation screen to control windows. Like I could press the "map/guide" button when ACs module is in "computer mode" and have my computer bring up my Iguidance navigation screen.
At least that's my understanding right now.
Am I right AC?
10-26-2007, 01:51 PM
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I think it will be a lot more than that...
If I recall correctly, this all started with an attempt to use the touchscreen to control a carputer. Now the goal is to be able to do anything from the screen. Then, you could come up with your own carputer/touchscreen based interfaces to do nearly anything to any of the systems controlled via the Bus.
To be honest, all I was looking for was the aforementioned touchscreen/carputer interface. But AC's work on intercepting all Bus events has led me to contemplate all sorts of ridiculous things...like controlling the carputer from the buttons (using the ffwd/rwd buttons to controll iTunes, etc.) as you pointed out.
It would be great to have a list of all the systems that are controlled via the Bus. I mean, let's just say that the sunroof is controlled from it...this would obviate the need for the "1-touch Sunroof Module" that some have hacked into their cars (since you could just create code to replicate the open/close sunroof button hold-down). I imagine that, in the future, all vehicles will have centralized networks which provide control for all components, this is just an early version of it.
Ok...that was a nice little ramble that provided little value. Oh well.
To be honest, all I was looking for was the aforementioned touchscreen/carputer interface. But AC's work on intercepting all Bus events has led me to contemplate all sorts of ridiculous things...like controlling the carputer from the buttons (using the ffwd/rwd buttons to controll iTunes, etc.) as you pointed out.
It would be great to have a list of all the systems that are controlled via the Bus. I mean, let's just say that the sunroof is controlled from it...this would obviate the need for the "1-touch Sunroof Module" that some have hacked into their cars (since you could just create code to replicate the open/close sunroof button hold-down). I imagine that, in the future, all vehicles will have centralized networks which provide control for all components, this is just an early version of it.
Ok...that was a nice little ramble that provided little value. Oh well.
10-26-2007, 03:15 PM
#215
Ok, that makes sense. Basically we're trying to decode the IEBus signals so that we can tap into the GA-NET and send these predefined signals to control various things that's on the GA-NET. This is in addition to getting touch screen coordinates (which itself is part of the network)
As a side quesiton, and as a temporary solution in the meanwhile, Is there a way we can close the loop on the GA-NET when the DVD unit is not present? I want to be able to still control the HVAC and audio unit with the hard buttons, when the DVD unit is not present. As I understand it, the current way it works is that when the buttons are pressed, signals go through the IEBus, to the DVD unit, then relayed back to the audio/HVAC units (also to the screen for display). Anytime the GA-NET is opened, the hard buttons and touch screen will be disabled by the 'brain' on the Nav display unit.
Would there be a simple way to close the loop on the GA-NET, such that the hard button signals are looped and relayed to the HVAC and audio unit?
As a side quesiton, and as a temporary solution in the meanwhile, Is there a way we can close the loop on the GA-NET when the DVD unit is not present? I want to be able to still control the HVAC and audio unit with the hard buttons, when the DVD unit is not present. As I understand it, the current way it works is that when the buttons are pressed, signals go through the IEBus, to the DVD unit, then relayed back to the audio/HVAC units (also to the screen for display). Anytime the GA-NET is opened, the hard buttons and touch screen will be disabled by the 'brain' on the Nav display unit.
Would there be a simple way to close the loop on the GA-NET, such that the hard button signals are looped and relayed to the HVAC and audio unit?
10-26-2007, 07:10 PM
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A Recap
Sounds like a good time for a recap of what this is all about. Thanks guys, for spuring the conversation. Below I have pasted a copy of what was sent to one of the admins of this site when I was asked what the product was and what it could do.
What is this module, and why would I want it?
This device is an IEBus controller/sniffer. The IEBus is another name for the GA-NET II protocol that Acura/Honda/Pioneer/Toyota/Lexus use to communicate from multimedia device to multimedia device. For instance, in your car, when you turn the volume up, that instruction is being transmitted to the controlling unit from the dashboard via this comm bus. My hardware will interface with this bus, reading signals as they are transmitted over it and handle communicating those IEBus messages/events to a PC via a USB or Serial connection. This includes, but is not limited to, the touch event information sent from the dashboard to the navigation system (the original driving force of my research into this was to control my carpc via the stock touchscreen). It of course can be used to drive other events that go over this bus like the HVAC controls, Radio/Stereo/CDChanger controls, Navigation controls, etc. All of these types of things are transmitted over this communications bus and therefor can be picked up and understood by a PC with my hardware/software combination. The reason a person would use this is as a tool that will allow them to gain access to these types of stock controls for integration with their personal carpc. The possibilities are endless for this device since its up to the user to decide what he/she wants to try to accomplish with it.
What are IEBus Events?
An event that occurs on this bus is unique. For instance when you hit the map/guide button a unique packet of information denoting that event is sent over the bus from the dashboard to the navigation computer. In order to have your carpc do something with that event, it will have to know what that event looks like when it goes over the bus. This is necessary so that when the hardware sends the message/event to the PC, the PC will know how to interpret it. This is accomplished by defining a library of events for a particular Model/Make/Year, then subsequently building a dynamic link library (DLL) to be used in software to act upon the events. This is why I have created IEBus Studio. The following paragraph goes into good detail, so to put it simply, IEBus Studio defines IEBus events so that it can abstract those events to software events in a DLL. If you would like to learn more, please read the following paragraph.
IEBus Studio in Detail
IEBus Studio is open source software currently available on sourceforge.net that a couple of friends of mine and I have developed together over the past couple of months. It handles interfacing my hardware (described above) in order to deceive events from the car's IEBus and it also provides the user with an interface for discovering and defining events for their year/make/model vehicle. They store these defined events in an IEB file that (from IEBus Studio) can be exported out (converted) into a DLL. This DLL consists of code that defines each described event from the IEB file as a software event that is triggered when that actual event happens in the car. This means that the DLL can be used in any software language (that can reference a DLL) to be coded to do whatever the user wants with those events on their application. All that is needed are simple software event handlers for each of the events you defined in IEBus Studio (subsequently, in the DLL), and the coding of them can be fairly simple. To aid in the simplicity of programming using the generated DLL, the names of the software events in the DLL are defined just as they were in IEBus Studio, verbatim. Meaning when you discovered/defined a touchscreen touch event in IEBus Studio, you actually named it "touchEvent" that contains an X position and a Y position on the screen grid. Therefore when you are referencing the DLL event created from that discovered event later on, you will see it in your IDE as touchEvent(X, Y).
So that is what the product is and as you can see, it will have a much further reaching audience than just Acura/Honda model vehicles; anything that utilizes the IEBus protocol should be compatible.
What is this module, and why would I want it?
This device is an IEBus controller/sniffer. The IEBus is another name for the GA-NET II protocol that Acura/Honda/Pioneer/Toyota/Lexus use to communicate from multimedia device to multimedia device. For instance, in your car, when you turn the volume up, that instruction is being transmitted to the controlling unit from the dashboard via this comm bus. My hardware will interface with this bus, reading signals as they are transmitted over it and handle communicating those IEBus messages/events to a PC via a USB or Serial connection. This includes, but is not limited to, the touch event information sent from the dashboard to the navigation system (the original driving force of my research into this was to control my carpc via the stock touchscreen). It of course can be used to drive other events that go over this bus like the HVAC controls, Radio/Stereo/CDChanger controls, Navigation controls, etc. All of these types of things are transmitted over this communications bus and therefor can be picked up and understood by a PC with my hardware/software combination. The reason a person would use this is as a tool that will allow them to gain access to these types of stock controls for integration with their personal carpc. The possibilities are endless for this device since its up to the user to decide what he/she wants to try to accomplish with it.
What are IEBus Events?
An event that occurs on this bus is unique. For instance when you hit the map/guide button a unique packet of information denoting that event is sent over the bus from the dashboard to the navigation computer. In order to have your carpc do something with that event, it will have to know what that event looks like when it goes over the bus. This is necessary so that when the hardware sends the message/event to the PC, the PC will know how to interpret it. This is accomplished by defining a library of events for a particular Model/Make/Year, then subsequently building a dynamic link library (DLL) to be used in software to act upon the events. This is why I have created IEBus Studio. The following paragraph goes into good detail, so to put it simply, IEBus Studio defines IEBus events so that it can abstract those events to software events in a DLL. If you would like to learn more, please read the following paragraph.
IEBus Studio in Detail
IEBus Studio is open source software currently available on sourceforge.net that a couple of friends of mine and I have developed together over the past couple of months. It handles interfacing my hardware (described above) in order to deceive events from the car's IEBus and it also provides the user with an interface for discovering and defining events for their year/make/model vehicle. They store these defined events in an IEB file that (from IEBus Studio) can be exported out (converted) into a DLL. This DLL consists of code that defines each described event from the IEB file as a software event that is triggered when that actual event happens in the car. This means that the DLL can be used in any software language (that can reference a DLL) to be coded to do whatever the user wants with those events on their application. All that is needed are simple software event handlers for each of the events you defined in IEBus Studio (subsequently, in the DLL), and the coding of them can be fairly simple. To aid in the simplicity of programming using the generated DLL, the names of the software events in the DLL are defined just as they were in IEBus Studio, verbatim. Meaning when you discovered/defined a touchscreen touch event in IEBus Studio, you actually named it "touchEvent" that contains an X position and a Y position on the screen grid. Therefore when you are referencing the DLL event created from that discovered event later on, you will see it in your IDE as touchEvent(X, Y).
So that is what the product is and as you can see, it will have a much further reaching audience than just Acura/Honda model vehicles; anything that utilizes the IEBus protocol should be compatible.
Last edited by angrycamel; 10-26-2007 at 07:14 PM.
10-26-2007, 08:06 PM
#217
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We make and design boards for all of our products where I work. Unfortunately, I'm not a electrical engineer but I have access to alot of components or parts you guys may need in your search for the hack. Let me know if I can help.
11-13-2007, 06:28 PM
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I waiting on a new Mobo for the carpc to come in the mail. I will be doing some tests with the mouse control application once I get that new board up and running.
I made a video showing a recent test that I did with the latest version of the mouse control software. The software shown in this video will cause the mouse to move to the touch event's coordinate and click. This is triggered by the touch event handlers in a DLL which was produced by IEBus Studio. The grid application shown in this video is merely there to provide a visual representation of the clicks.
Here is an excerpt of the log file that I used:
A video of an earlier version of the mouse control app can be see here. It's a test that was actually performed in the car, live.
And here is the video of the test working perfectly with the IEBus Emulator. I see no reason why this won't work perfectly in the car once I get the new motherboard for the carpc.
I made a video showing a recent test that I did with the latest version of the mouse control software. The software shown in this video will cause the mouse to move to the touch event's coordinate and click. This is triggered by the touch event handlers in a DLL which was produced by IEBus Studio. The grid application shown in this video is merely there to provide a visual representation of the clicks.
Here is an excerpt of the log file that I used:
Code:
~01013101830F0F37310D0001030A0600000000000092 ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030A0600000000000092 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103000000000000000082 ~01018301310F08590D3102012101BE ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030A0600000000000092 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103010100000000000084 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103020100000000000085 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103030100000000000086 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103040100000000000087 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103050100000000000088 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103060100000000000089 ~01013101830F0F37310D00010307010000000000008A ~01013101830F0F37310D00010308010000000000008B ~01013101830F0F37310D00010309010000000000008C ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030A010000000000008D ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030B010000000000008E ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030C010000000000008F ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030D0100000000000090 ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030E0100000000000091 ~01013101830F0F37310D0001030F0100000000000092 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103100100000000000093 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103110100000000000094 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103120100000000000095 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103130100000000000096 ~01013101830F0F37310D000103140100000000000097
And here is the video of the test working perfectly with the IEBus Emulator. I see no reason why this won't work perfectly in the car once I get the new motherboard for the carpc.
12-03-2007, 06:57 PM
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any more updates on this at all.
12-04-2007, 03:37 PM
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Its moving forward just slower due to a pretty busy schedule. I didn't hear any replies from the last test results tho so I figured everyone is just waiting for the "all is done" update. 
I will update when I have more news.
I will update when I have more news.
12-05-2007, 12:38 AM
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C Connector Harness
Guys,
I may be able to get some of the C connectors (8 pin) for the back of the navigation unit. Would anyone be interested in a harness to gain access to the wires on that plug without damaging anything?
So far I have had one person request it and have been thinking about doing it for myself to get to ACC, Power, and Diagnostics in the trunk. With a simple little harness for this you could make any solution involving those wires, plug n' playable.
Let me know if it would be worth it for me to order some. It has to be a bulk order, therefore it would be quite an investment on my part, so if you care, please leave some feedback. Below is taken from a reply I added to this thread on page five where I posted diagrams for all of the navigation unit connectors.
The reference to the "C" connector is from my 2006 ETM. Click on the thumbnail below to see a PDF with an image of the connector.
Connector C (8-Pin Navigation)
Thanks,
AC
I may be able to get some of the C connectors (8 pin) for the back of the navigation unit. Would anyone be interested in a harness to gain access to the wires on that plug without damaging anything?
So far I have had one person request it and have been thinking about doing it for myself to get to ACC, Power, and Diagnostics in the trunk. With a simple little harness for this you could make any solution involving those wires, plug n' playable.
Let me know if it would be worth it for me to order some. It has to be a bulk order, therefore it would be quite an investment on my part, so if you care, please leave some feedback. Below is taken from a reply I added to this thread on page five where I posted diagrams for all of the navigation unit connectors.
The reference to the "C" connector is from my 2006 ETM. Click on the thumbnail below to see a PDF with an image of the connector.
Connector C (8-Pin Navigation)
Thanks,
AC
Last edited by angrycamel; 12-05-2007 at 12:43 AM.
12-05-2007, 08:15 AM
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Originally Posted by angrycamel
Its moving forward just slower due to a pretty busy schedule. I didn't hear any replies from the last test results tho so I figured everyone is just waiting for the "all is done" update.
I will update when I have more news.
I will update when I have more news.
12-05-2007, 08:20 AM
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Originally Posted by angrycamel
Guys,
I may be able to get some of the C connectors (8 pin) for the back of the navigation unit. Would anyone be interested in a harness to gain access to the wires on that plug without damaging anything?
So far I have had one person request it and have been thinking about doing it for myself to get to ACC, Power, and Diagnostics in the trunk. With a simple little harness for this you could make any solution involving those wires, plug n' playable.
Let me know if it would be worth it for me to order some. It has to be a bulk order, therefore it would be quite an investment on my part, so if you care, please leave some feedback. Below is taken from a reply I added to this thread on page five where I posted diagrams for all of the navigation unit connectors.
The reference to the "C" connector is from my 2006 ETM. Click on the thumbnail below to see a PDF with an image of the connector.
Connector C (8-Pin Navigation)
Thanks,
AC
I may be able to get some of the C connectors (8 pin) for the back of the navigation unit. Would anyone be interested in a harness to gain access to the wires on that plug without damaging anything?
So far I have had one person request it and have been thinking about doing it for myself to get to ACC, Power, and Diagnostics in the trunk. With a simple little harness for this you could make any solution involving those wires, plug n' playable.
Let me know if it would be worth it for me to order some. It has to be a bulk order, therefore it would be quite an investment on my part, so if you care, please leave some feedback. Below is taken from a reply I added to this thread on page five where I posted diagrams for all of the navigation unit connectors.
The reference to the "C" connector is from my 2006 ETM. Click on the thumbnail below to see a PDF with an image of the connector.
Connector C (8-Pin Navigation)
Thanks,
AC
12-05-2007, 11:08 AM
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I would definitely use a harness. I'm usually game for hacking into most any wire, but the last thing I wanna do is start hacking at this $2k Navigation unit. Can't wait to see the results of this little project.Thanks for all your hard work!
12-05-2007, 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
How would this work for those that do not currently have the navi system. I had planned on just purchasing the main screen piece part up front and using it to control my carputer system so it appeared stock. I am in for this harness if it will help with that.
Sounds like you have a bit of work cut out for you with your project, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Originally Posted by defjukie
I would definitely use a harness. I'm usually game for hacking into most any wire, but the last thing I wanna do is start hacking at this $2k Navigation unit. Can't wait to see the results of this little project.Thanks for all your hard work!
Last edited by angrycamel; 12-05-2007 at 10:09 PM.
12-09-2007, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by angrycamel
The back of the stock screen assembly for a navi dash has an AH-20 cap just like in the back of the navi unit. However as far as I can tell from my 06 ETM, that is the last of the similarities with the caps in the back of the navi unit.
Sounds like you have a bit of work cut out for you with your project, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Sounds like you have a bit of work cut out for you with your project, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
If this is not your intentions guess I better get started on a custom screen install.
12-09-2007, 01:07 PM
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You are talking about a system that completely removes the stock navigation system from teh car leaving only the screen assembly. I do not have any immediate plans for that which is why I said you have some work cut out for you.
Its a completely doable project with the IEBus module, in my honest opinion, but like I said, I am not planning to do so at the moment. For now, my carpc and stock navi computer will live in harmony. :P
Hope this helped explain.
Its a completely doable project with the IEBus module, in my honest opinion, but like I said, I am not planning to do so at the moment. For now, my carpc and stock navi computer will live in harmony. :P
Hope this helped explain.
12-09-2007, 01:10 PM
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8 Pin - C Connector Harness
Forgot to mention. The order has been placed for the C type connectors (8 pins). They should arrive middle to late next week.
12-09-2007, 03:56 PM
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Carpc Installed!
I have completed the build and install of the carpc, mostly. All that I have left to do is wait for the C type connectors so that I can get to the ACC line without having to cut the wire going into the back of the nav unit. This will allow the PC to startup/shutdown when I turn the key.
The machine is a VIA M10000 II with 1G of low desity RAM (maximum allowed). The case is black, designed by Mobile Computing Solutions and resembles an amplifier with the cooling fins all over it. It has a clean (from the PSU) 12v DC output as well as 4 USB ports. A wireless card will soon find its way into the PCMCIA slot which will allow me to do installs and file syncing from my desktop or a laptop over the network (since the stock screen is not well suited for it). The mobo also sports a nice flash card reader, so I plan to have main applications installed onto a 4G CF card I recently purchased with the 40G laptop drive being used as media storage, OS, and caching/config files for any installed software. I am currently looking for a miniature wireless mouse and keyboard combo that I can keep in the glove compartment incase anything requires it while not near my house.
Of course the first application to go on the PC is the mouse control drivers for the IEBus project! This means that I will finally be able to start taking this thing on the road and doing some real world testing with it to determine what needs to be done next before I make it available to anyone else.
I will post again when I have the connectors and can begin testing the mouse control from the stock touchscreen.
-AC
The machine is a VIA M10000 II with 1G of low desity RAM (maximum allowed). The case is black, designed by Mobile Computing Solutions and resembles an amplifier with the cooling fins all over it. It has a clean (from the PSU) 12v DC output as well as 4 USB ports. A wireless card will soon find its way into the PCMCIA slot which will allow me to do installs and file syncing from my desktop or a laptop over the network (since the stock screen is not well suited for it). The mobo also sports a nice flash card reader, so I plan to have main applications installed onto a 4G CF card I recently purchased with the 40G laptop drive being used as media storage, OS, and caching/config files for any installed software. I am currently looking for a miniature wireless mouse and keyboard combo that I can keep in the glove compartment incase anything requires it while not near my house.
Of course the first application to go on the PC is the mouse control drivers for the IEBus project! This means that I will finally be able to start taking this thing on the road and doing some real world testing with it to determine what needs to be done next before I make it available to anyone else.
I will post again when I have the connectors and can begin testing the mouse control from the stock touchscreen.
-AC
12-16-2007, 04:48 PM
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It Works! - In car tests of full setup successful
Well its been a long time coming but when I finally received the 'C' connectors this week, I made a harness from them to gain access to the ACC for starters. I had installed the PC in the trunk already but was waiting on these parts so that I could hook up the ACC line to have the PC start when I turn the key.
Once it was all hooked up, I connected the IEBus development board, started the Mouse Control test application on the carpc, started up Media Engine (a carpc front end application) and got my wife to test it out with me while I rolled the video camera.
Needless to say, everything is working well together. The firmware is translating the IEBus signals to text and transmitting over serial to the PC, the DLL (built from event discoveries in IEBus Studio) catches those signals and makes them available as software events. The Mouse Control test application has defined event handlers that will move the mouse and click on the location that came over the IEBus when I touch the screen.
I have put together a quick video of it that you can see here:
Here are a couple pics of the setup:
Once it was all hooked up, I connected the IEBus development board, started the Mouse Control test application on the carpc, started up Media Engine (a carpc front end application) and got my wife to test it out with me while I rolled the video camera.
Needless to say, everything is working well together. The firmware is translating the IEBus signals to text and transmitting over serial to the PC, the DLL (built from event discoveries in IEBus Studio) catches those signals and makes them available as software events. The Mouse Control test application has defined event handlers that will move the mouse and click on the location that came over the IEBus when I touch the screen.
I have put together a quick video of it that you can see here:
Here are a couple pics of the setup:
Last edited by angrycamel; 12-16-2007 at 04:50 PM.
12-16-2007, 11:26 PM
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Fantastic! I'm (hopefully) getting my Mac Mini for Christmas, so I'll be a Dom's (and Carnetix power supply, I guess) away from taking part in additional testing for you, once you have a unit or two to sell!
I've been following this closely since you started looking into this a long time ago, AC, and it is quite exciting that you've succeeded. Wish I could have worked on it, too, but that's what I get for going into information theory instead of electrical engineering...
Os.
I've been following this closely since you started looking into this a long time ago, AC, and it is quite exciting that you've succeeded. Wish I could have worked on it, too, but that's what I get for going into information theory instead of electrical engineering...
Os.
12-17-2007, 11:35 AM
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Sounds good Os. I will let everyone know when I have a couple available. I have been putting it off becasue for some odd reason, I could never get one of the homemade PCB's to work! (Thats why you still seee the breadboard in the trunk) As soon as I can get one of the breadboards to work without any problems, then I will have a couple made up and get more folks involved.
Right now, my wife is a great 3rd party tester, because she has no technical background at all. So she just tries to use it without any careful considerations, just hits the screen and expects it to work and tells me when it doesn't andwhat exactly she did. Its perfect for now.
I have zero background in electrical engineering. Everything I have done in this project has been learned along the way. I hope it inspires others to take their ideas and run with them. You'll never know what you can achieve, until you try! <-- that sounds really corny, but its true.
Right now, my wife is a great 3rd party tester, because she has no technical background at all. So she just tries to use it without any careful considerations, just hits the screen and expects it to work and tells me when it doesn't andwhat exactly she did. Its perfect for now.
Originally Posted by Osmodious
... but that's what I get for going into information theory instead of electrical engineering...
12-17-2007, 09:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Masterpoolcat
So are you able to switch back and forth from the stock navigation and the car pc?
Originally Posted by Masterpoolcat
Does it disable the navigation events when using the screen for the car pc?
Open to suggestions for a solution, if anyone has any?
12-17-2007, 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by angrycamel
Currently I switch the video using a switch controlling Dom's unit. However this will be replaced with an electronic switch controlled by one or multiple stock dashboard buttons. (Holding down the CD/AUX button for 2-3 seconds maybe) The audio is an FM transmitter until I get the IEBus line-in hack working (I have an 04, so there is no jack in the center console)
Still working on disabling the touch events to the navi. In the video it is switched to the test grid screen under the diagnostics menu. That way it only hits the test buttons as far as the navigation is concerned, but I really would rather have a better solution than that.
Open to suggestions for a solution, if anyone has any?
Still working on disabling the touch events to the navi. In the video it is switched to the test grid screen under the diagnostics menu. That way it only hits the test buttons as far as the navigation is concerned, but I really would rather have a better solution than that.
Open to suggestions for a solution, if anyone has any?
Great work. Haha. I love the comment about being an electrical engineer. I'm an EE and I'm not sure I would have been able to pull this off. The programming is probably where I would have been held up.
Let me know when you have a few modules ready for testing (and hopefully a harness). I'm ready to test as soon as they're ready. Blocking the touch events and button presses aren't really an issue for me. I rarely use the stock navi software, and if I do, it's easy enough to get it back to normal.
Mike
06 TL with custom carpc and touchscreen controller.
12-20-2007, 11:54 PM
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W00t W00t
While my little sideshow isn't completely on topic, it does relate.
I have managed to source the connector manufacturers for ALL the connectors used on the Acura/Honda navigation systems. I will be posting a walkthough for Honda Accord owners to add a navi to a non-navi car, which will be nice for anyone wanting to do AC's carputer/stock-navi mod. I should have it all available sometime shortly after the new year.
Yes... this means the infamous navigation wiring harness that appears to be so incredibly difficult to make and so ridiculously expensive to buy will become slightly easier to create and won't ruin your Christmas budget.
Having said all that, I don't intend on competing with AC -- If you're building AC's mod - buy parts from him. If you're in need of a harness for a non-navi to navi install... I'll have what you need.
Happy Holidays!
I have managed to source the connector manufacturers for ALL the connectors used on the Acura/Honda navigation systems. I will be posting a walkthough for Honda Accord owners to add a navi to a non-navi car, which will be nice for anyone wanting to do AC's carputer/stock-navi mod. I should have it all available sometime shortly after the new year.
Yes... this means the infamous navigation wiring harness that appears to be so incredibly difficult to make and so ridiculously expensive to buy will become slightly easier to create and won't ruin your Christmas budget.
Having said all that, I don't intend on competing with AC -- If you're building AC's mod - buy parts from him. If you're in need of a harness for a non-navi to navi install... I'll have what you need.
Happy Holidays!