[ale] need 5" android tablet / phone for obd car instrumentation

Tue Sep 17 10:20:17 EDT 2013

Hi all,

I appreciate all the suggestions thus far.  I've decided to give the UltraGauge a try.  I like the idea of a smaller dedicated device that starts up and shuts down on its own and has a wired interface.  Its capabilities may turn out to be more sophisticated than torque, other than screen size and graphical display.  Although, torque does quite a lot if you dig into the menus.

I'll let you know how it works out.  Feel free to suggest more cheap tablets, as I may want to own one of those someday anyway.

The UltraGauge price on the website is $ 60 after rebate.  To get the rebate, you have to prove you've read parts of the manual, manipulate the menus, and take a quiz.  Prior to getting the rebate, the price is $ 69.  The suction cup gooseneck windshield mount (optional) adds another $ 10.  Shipping was about $ 9.  So my out of pocket cost initially was about $ 88.

This is a wired device, (as is ScanGuage), so any potential bluetooth security problems go away.

This thing is obviously made by geeks for geeks.  I've taken a pretty good tour though the manual already.  It is a plug and play device, but you really need to read most of the manual to get some good tidbits.  Make sure you get the most recent manual for the Ultragauge EM.  Older designs are discontinued.  Here are some things I discovered in the manual.

I expect to have to tinker with the default settings to achieve maximum accuracy for the following sensors:

* Distance traveled calibration, cannot use your odometer for max accuracy, it may be innacurate, obd port gets data from the same place as car's odometer
* Fuel usage calibration
* Fuel level sensor operating mode (if present)
* Customizing alarms I may or may not want, All alarms are customizable.  One forum post was complaining about pending trouble code alarms.  He turned all alarms off.  If he'd read the manual, he'd know he can set individual high / low alarms for every sensor and turn each on and off.
* Special calibration if the car has a MAP sensor
* Setting max background lighting to 80%.  See temperature data below.  (Automatically adapts to ambient brightness.)
* Creating a small sunshade for the device.  See temperature data below.
* Putting the UltraGauge internal temperature sensor on the display

* If the car has a fuel level sensor that it reports to the obd port (some don't), the gauge can auto detect fuel fill ups.  The thresholds for this are customizable.

* On rare occasions, a car will experience battery drain with the device, because the car shuts down it's systems in a funny time delayed manner, which may trick the gauge into staying active.  There are menu options to fix this.

Almost everything about the unit is customizable via the menus.

* For example, on rare occasions, obd protocol detection fails.  It's not as standard as you might think.  In this case, you can force it to use the protocol you know your car uses.

* On rare occasions, the car will mis report whether it has a MAF sensor or not.  You can force this selection via the menus too.

Note that these last two are failures in the car's design, not the gauge's design.

Also, the UltraGauge warranty is voided if you allow the unit's internal temperature to exceed 160 deg F and the screen is damaged.  It has an internal temperature gauge which can be displayed and an alarm for this purpose.  They recommend removing it from the dash on the hottest days, but I think placing small shade over the device will probably suffice.  I'm thinking a white piece of styrofoam or aluminum foil or something.  Not sure yet.  I've had other LCD devices go all black on really hot days and they usually recover.  I don't leave my tablet in the sun.  My GPS doesn't seem to care.

Looking forward to getting the box from the postman.

Sincerely,

Ron

"Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:

>Hi Neal,
>
>You've got some good points there.  The stand alone devices do have
>some 
>definite advantages.  If I was to use a tablet, I'd start it before 
>moving the car and preset the gauges I want to see and then not bother 
>it.    Even so, while the tablet might power up automatically when the 
>car is turned on, and could be configured to run without a password; I 
>don't know if I could set it to autostart the torque program.
>
>Still doing research, but I may go with this:
>
>http://www.ultra-gauge.com/
>
>It has some very advanced configuration options documented in the 
>manual, including automatic fill up detection (if the car has the right
>
>sensors), automatic display dimming, detailed mpg calibration, and 
>odometer accuracy calibration.  It displays up to 6 gauges at once and 
>costs $ 60.  Looks pretty interesting.
>
>faq - http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/FAQ.htm
>bigger faq - 
>http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/UltraGauge_Support_LP.html
>knowledge base -
>http://ultra-gauge.com/customer_support/knowledgebase.php
>user manual - 
>http://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/Ultra_Gauge_EM_1_2_Manual_3_30_13.pdf
>product demo -
>http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/TEN/product_demo.htm
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Ron
>
>
>On 9/16/2013 10:40 PM, Neal Rhodes wrote:
>> >From a safety standpoint I'd stick with the Scanguage.   It's the 
>> simplest to place, easiest to read, and you can put it such that you 
>> can see it without taking eyes far off the road.
>>
>> I do have torque and an odb reader and never use it.
>>
>> Scanguage IIs also can calibrate to your fuel injection system and 
>> keep track of your fuel consumption, such that they can predict 
>> exactly how many miles you have left before empty.   (basically by 
>> counting number and length of each fuel injection pulse)    In the 
>> truck, which shows empty when there are 6 gallons left, this is 
>> helpful for planning gas stops accurately.    Especially when you
>have 
>> to find USLD instead of gasoline.
>>
>> I don't recall other Android ODB software doing that in a way that
>I'd 
>> trust.
>>
>> I really think the 4 button Scanguage is the way to go.   Dorking 
>> around with the UI on an Android device while driving is just too 
>> distracting.
>>
>> Neal Rhodes
>> MNOP Ltd
>>
>> On Mon, 2013-09-16 at 19:57 -0400, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I'm trying to find a good way to add obd based instrumentation to my
>>> car.  The scangauge product is an obvious choice, but they want $
>160
>>> for the 4 sensor display model.  I thought I was going to use a 7"
>>> tablet, but that's just a bit too big, and I really have no good
>place
>>> to mount it.  I'm thinking I could get away with a 5" tablet and
>mount
>>> it under my gps (also 5") in the center of the windshield.  However,
>5"
>>> tablets are almost impossible to find.  So, I wanted to see what you
>>> think.  A phone could work if and only if it can operate without a
>cell
>>> phone contract or account.  If the total parts count ends up over
>about
>>> $ 130, I'll just go with a scangauge.  I know I'll have to add an
>obd-II
>>> - USB cable from amazon for $ 20 - 30.  I want a wired solution
>rather
>>> than a wireless solution for security reasons, since the obd-II
>adapter
>>> will be permanently in place.
>>>
>>> I've tried the following websites searching for tablets:
>TigerDirect,
>>> NewEgg, Micro Center, DealExtreme, ChinaVasion.
>>>
>>> Here's what I need:
>>>
>>> Required Items:
>>>
>>> * 4" - 5" tablet / phone - required
>>> * OS: Android 4 or better - required
>>> * Google Apps, Play, etc. - required
>>> * Screen: capacitive multi touch - required
>>> * USB: with OTG Capability - required
>>> * USB Adapter: Micro to Standard - probably required
>>> * Memory Card Slot - required
>>> * WiFi Radio - required
>>> * Lack of Memory Flaw - required - All of internal flash memory
>after OS
>>> must be available for user apps and data.  Not partitioned as in 1
>GB /
>>> 3 GB.
>>> * 512 MB RAM or Better, 4 GB Flash or Better - required
>>> * Windshield Mounting System - required
>>> * External Power Adapter&  Port - required
>>>        Powering through usb would be a problem unless the obd port
>can
>>> provide enough power, which I doubt.  The obd-II - USB cable may not
>>> provide any power to the tablet at all.  Also, the obd port remains
>>> powered after the car is turned off, which could drain the car's
>battery
>>> if powering the tablet.
>>>
>>> Optional Items:
>>>
>>> * Bluetooth - desired
>>> * Gravity Sensor - desired
>>> * Accelerometer - desired
>>> * GPS - desired
>>> * 3G / 4G / Cellular Radio - optional - If present, must be
>compatible
>>> with Verizon and the rest of tablet / phone must be able to work
>without
>>> a cellular account or contract via wifi only.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts?  On the chance any of you wanted to sell me used
>>> equipment, I would have to get the obd-II adapter and confirm
>successful
>>> operation before finalizing a purchase.  I would also have to find
>>> viable solutions for providing power in the car and mounting the
>device
>>> on the windshield.
>>>
>>> Any help is always appreciated.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>>
>>>      

--

Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing on the touch screen.

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier
770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com
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