Torque Pro

[sav]

I have STILL not received my ELM devices but I do have Torque running on my camera.

[Vic_RSA]

Which camera?

[sav]

Samsung Galaxy Camera. Strangest gadget to date...

[Ninjin]

Oh man, that's a great idea for using the torque built-in video recording with data overlay. I haven't used that feature yet because my phone's camera isn't very good compared to my gropro. The Galaxy Camera seems perfect for this.

[Vladror]

you're the first person to make me see the point of the galaxy camera

[sav]

Haha yeah I think it might be a bit bulky for mounting on the dash. Would be cool if you could hook a GoPro up to it.

Other than that it's actually extremely useful. Nice wide angle lens with 21x zoom and the ability to edit and share your photos immediately. Should be great for holiday snaps.

[riyal]

hi guys,


i've been running Torque Pro now for just over a month. Its brilliant frankly, however like you sav i like things to be subtle and preferably out of sight.

My quick fix for using the Track Recorder function is two rubber bands and holds my phone perfectly on the rear view mirror. Not the most eloquent solution but works for now. Other than that when i use torque i put it in dashboard mode with the screen in HUD mode, which is ok other than a little double image on the windshield and its pointless during the day.

For now, Im in the process of building my own car computer. with an external touch display running android. Gonna be using a Raspberry Pi, and a couple of odds and ends. Will let you know how it goes once I start the build.

[sav]

Hi

Cool, that sounds like an awesome project!! Please keep us posted.

[brian_c_m]

Originally Posted by riyal

Gonna be using a Raspberry Pi, and a couple of odds and ends. Will let you know how it goes once I start the build.

Raspberry Pi is a neat little PC. Looked at getting one myself but stock is never available and ordering online was a mission. Let us know how things go.

[sav]

Another nice option would be an Android mini PC. You can get them for around R500 but I'm not sure about hooking up an external touch display?

[riyal]

The Android PC does seem like a better option mainly due to the fact that Torque is native to droid, but Im not sure if a touch display would work. Remember though the Android PC was developed as a cheap solution to making computing accessible, with little room for tinkering. Plug it in and it will work simple and quick. The Raspberry PI is somewhat easier and more flexible with different peripherals. Sadly for now i have to bide my time because the android 4.0.3 build is still to be released.

Right now the biggest problem I've encountered is finding the screen. There are very few touchscreen suppliers in SA and most of them are for point of sale systems. Im looking for a screen between 7inch and 10inch. Anyway I still have a few buddies in KZN that I need to get in touch with, hopefully something will turn up.

My plans for the build are:

1. Always ready pc that will run in the background logging data and uploading. (using the torque built in data logger) So you dont need the screen to do data logging. What frustrates me is that to make use of the fuel log function in Torque means you have to have the app running every time you use the car. As simple as this may sound its annoying to have to switch torque on all the time, this way when the car starts the pc willl boot and log in the background.
2. Include a camera for recording. Use the Track Recorder function, with an out of the way mount. (Thinking behind the rear view mirror.
3. GPS module for navigation etc.
4. Bluetooth: not sure if its possible to make it like a Bluetooth handsfree but I know just streaming the audio to the unit will be possible.
5. Wired touch screen panel. Im still pondering on the final mount/usage of the screen. Deciding between making a magnetic mount or using a normal windshield dock. Or buying a new Sun Visor and hacking it.
6. Audio Output: apparently the RPi's audio output isnt the best quality, a lot of people advise using a usb sound card. Will get to that at a later stage, for now I plan on wiring the audio output to the standard head unit via the AUX port.

My overall objective is to have the unit as constant data logger and to use Torque features. The optional use of a media center is a bonus, so you can treat it like a "normal tablet" with the apps you like etc.

There are a few other benefits like the ability to run different OS systems for specific functions already around for Raspberry PI and its still a basic PC. I really only started the research and plans for the build as I come across more ideas I include them (any more ideas guys?). Lol! I better stop at some point the poor RPi wont handle so much.

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew but I'll take my time hopefully all works out. I will definitely keep you all posted on it, but i can only really start when the Android OS is released for RPi (interweb says soon but how soon is a mystery). Oh well gives me more time to find the parts and stay within a decent budget.

[riyal]

Originally Posted by brian_c_m

Raspberry Pi is a neat little PC. Looked at getting one myself but stock is never available and ordering online was a mission. Let us know how things go.

check here: www.za.rs-online.com/

order mine from here, the waiting list is now a thing of the past and all units now have 512mb RAM. I bought mine last week sometime got two for +/- R650 shipped from the UK.

[sav]

@riyal I reckon that's going to be really awesome. Are there any versions of Android running on Pi yet?

[riyal]

@sav yup but none are hardware accelerated yet. Apparently the Android 4.0.3 is already running in some Broadcom lab, its just they too busy with real work to compile the OS and release it.

Check here: http://androidpi.wikia.com/wiki/Android_Pi_Wiki

There is download link for Android 2.3 and a video of 4.0.3 running on RPi.