[Reidion]

Hi all, just felt like letting you know of a little project of mine. I've been working slowly (I'm in no rush, winter here isn't going anywhere!) and so far have the front panels all off the bike.

My plan is to wire up an Arduino to the left button panel (I don't have the audio module, so I'm using its buttons!) which will control lights that I'm going to put on the undersides of the panels. This will give the bike a nice red glow undernieth everything! It will be dimmable and have various modes too (for show when stopped, only steady on when riding).

I'll post some photos of the work in this thread (hopefully) as I get more work done!

 

[sleepngbear]

Sounds like a fun project. Definitely looking forward to pics!

 

[Reidion]

I've gotten the panels off and boy does she look pretty neat under all that plastic. And since I have the standard model, there's quite a lot of dummy plugs

 

[bob]

I've gotten the panels off and boy does she look pretty neat under all that plastic. And since I have the standard model, there's quite a lot of dummy plugs

Sounds like a good project.
Even the Deluxe model has a few dummy plugs. They are wired to the fuse box with fuses in place on mine. If you check the electrical diagrams in the service manual to see what connections are to options you won't install you can use those for your purposes if within the designed load for that circuit. Check out my profile messages for links to a few places where you can get the pins for those plugs. One side of the plugs is wired with pins, the other side is the dummy to seal the connector from weather. That side is still the real plug shell just without the pins.

 

[kniterider]

I am planning on adding amber leds lights at strategic places along bike frame to enhance night time see me points. Can not use red or blue here without getting vehicle impounded. only emergency vehicles may display red lights to the front of vehicle and blue may bot be displayed at all. Purple have been recently allocated for funeral director cars leading a funeral procession

 

[Miks]

Although the owners manual shows how to take some of the panels off, they leave a lot to be desired with the photos/diagrams as to what tabs work which way etc. Just getting to the battery, I read the horror stories, so I was thinking most likely something would break and I would have to deal with the issue. Once I had the panels off in that location, including the lower panel, I found it wasn't too bad, but somewhat tricky not knowing what to expect.

I am hoping that there will be a sequence shot with better detail, or a video showing the taking the panels off the bike. I don't really plan on doing much to the bike, but I occasionally like to take stuff apart out of curiosity.

 

[Reidion]

Although the owners manual shows how to take some of the panels off, they leave a lot to be desired with the photos/diagrams as to what tabs work which way etc....

They weren't all that difficult to take off, mostly grommets. I only broke one tab and that was because I was being stubborn and didn't see which way it was going! (there was plenty of slack to see which way the tab/panel pulled away from the bike)

Also for an update, I've gotten some soldering and wiring done! The left button panel has been wired up (not on the bike yet) and works perfectly for how I'm going to use it. I've also got the transistor array wired for powering the LED strips, as well as the strips cut and wires soldered on. (everything is just in a pile right now, waiting on my arduino to come in the mail so I can breadboard things!)

The "Bug" Transistor Array
and
What a mess...

So far everything works, and yes, those LED strips (bought at RadioShack) are BRIGHT! Each LED square on them is 3 lights, so for each strip that's 3x 6 LEDs!

On the button panel I have a reset (just in case the Arduino locks up) as the big left button, a mode (to switch between various lighting modes) as the middle-up button, and the rightmost separate buttons are +/- which will be used for max brightness and fade speed settings.

I'm currently waiting on slightly warmer weather so I can put the LED strips on the bike (it's been far too cold to stand outside and work) as well as waiting on orders. I need to order some of the weatherproof sockets for the wiring too.

 

[Reidion]

Well, kind of discouraging when I have to buy about $60-70 worth of plugs and sockets! Anyone know where I could get 6+ pin sockets for the bike that are sealed? (both male and female!) The one site that is linked somewhere here only has the female 6-pin connector... would be nice to not have to buy 5 or 6 3-pin connectors...

 

[csdexter]

(all below are complete kits with contacts and seals, cheapest version listed, all from EasternBeaver)

Sumitomo MT 0.090", 6 position, 8USD for both or 5USD for male and 3.5USD for female
Sumitomo HM 0.090", 6 position, 7.5USD for both or 4.5USD for male and 3USD for female
Yazaki 62-Z 0.060", 6 position, 5.3USD for male and 3.3USD for female

or, if you have something against the Japanese:

AMP EconoSeal 0.070", 6 position, 6.3USD for male and 8.3USD for female

Hope this helps.

 

[Reidion]

(all below are complete kits with contacts and seals, cheapest version listed, all from EasternBeaver)

Sumitomo MT 0.090", 6 position, 8USD for both or 5USD for male and 3.5USD for female
Sumitomo HM 0.090", 6 position, 7.5USD for both or 4.5USD for male and 3USD for female
Yazaki 62-Z 0.060", 6 position, 5.3USD for male and 3.3USD for female

or, if you have something against the Japanese:

AMP EconoSeal 0.070", 6 position, 6.3USD for male and 8.3USD for female

Hope this helps.

Any links?
Those are great prices actually ^_^

 

[Reidion]

Another update! Got my Arduino in the mail today, and got everything breadboarded and it worked PERFECTLY! And thanks to csdexter I got my connectors ordered too (only $40 instead of $70!)

Once those come, I'll be hoping for semi-warm days so I can wire everything up on the bike

 

[Kookopelli]

If you bought the connectors and pins from EasternBeaver they are tricky to use unless you already have experience with them. Be very careful to put the correct pins in the connector they are meant to go into and that you orient them the proper way. I thought I was putting the correct pins in and had a lot of trouble. Finally figured out that I had put the male pins in the female shell and female pins in the male shell. It wasn't easy to do, but I managed to do it somehow. Had a heck of a time getting them back out to install them correctly.

If they are hard to install then you are probably putting it in the wrong shell or you are upside down. When you are doing it correctly the pins insert easily.

There is very little help on the Sumitoma website, but I did find a cutaway drawing showing the pins installed in the shell. With a little studying, I figured out the proper way to install the pins and the little rubber seals.

EasternBeaver website also has some information that is useful if you are new to building your own connectors.

I seriously doubt that this information helps you, Mr. Reidion because it looks like you are pretty experienced with electronics, etc already, but hopefully it will help someone else who wants to tackle things like this but haven't necessarily ever put a connector together.

 

[richroiz]

Hi all, just felt like letting you know of a little project of mine. I've been working slowly (I'm in no rush, winter here isn't going anywhere!) and so far have the front panels all off the bike.

My plan is to wire up an Arduino to the left button panel (I don't have the audio module, so I'm using its buttons!) which will control lights that I'm going to put on the undersides of the panels. This will give the bike a nice red glow undernieth everything! It will be dimmable and have various modes too (for show when stopped, only steady on when riding).

I'll post some photos of the work in this thread (hopefully) as I get more work done!

Keep us informed! Im planning on same with a parallax "propeller" board !

 

[Reidion]

Keep us informed! Im planning on same with a parallax "propeller" board !

I've seen those... What's the price on them? The Arduino Pro Mini board I'm using has plenty of in/outputs as well as power, and for only $10 ($9.95, but I round up). It's also very small, which helps! I'm just waiting for the connectors so I can hook everything up.

 

[richroiz]

I've seen those... What's the price on them? The Arduino Pro Mini board I'm using has plenty of in/outputs as well as power, and for only $10 ($9.95, but I round up). It's also very small, which helps! I'm just waiting for the connectors so I can hook everything up.

Propeller is several board choices but the proto board/proc is $25 ( you can get free samples )
It has "cogs" that run parallel routines so its good for sensor control .. never completely "hangs" and keeps timing constant for control systems. Worth a look. small footprint. any radioshack has em
It also has cheap accelerometer and orientation and even a gps that can be attached.

 

[Reidion]

Propeller is several board choices but the proto board/proc is $25 ( you can get free samples )
It has "cogs" that run parallel routines so its good for sensor control .. never completely "hangs" and keeps timing constant for control systems. Worth a look. small footprint. any radioshack has em
It also has cheap accelerometer and orientation and even a gps that can be attached.

Any RadioShack except ours! They just have Arduino boards...

Also the connectors came in the mail yesterday! So now the real work can start! Just need to have a warm day that I'm not busy doing work XD

 

[Reidion]

Finally got to work on it today... it's been frigid and snowy here so the shed had about 3 feet of snow in front of the door XD

Got all the light strips stuck to the panels! Next day I can work on it comes wiring and testing! Should be soon, since it's supposed to be warm like this the rest of the week!

 

[Reidion]

Yet another update! Slow work due to temps, but I'm about 60% done! Just need to finish putting the panels back on, and wiring up the lights to their proper places!

Middle and Rear lights!

 

[Reidion]

Finished completely, youtube video for everyone!