• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

heads up display

J

JollyRoger

New Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
7
Location
Michigan
I have been thinking about fabricating a heads up display in my AV. I dont really know if this is possible, but it will be fun finding out. I am not talking about gauges, but a video screen. Just kickin out the idea and seeing if anyone has any input or has seen anything like this before, I think it would be an attractive alternative to indash screens. Thanks for any input.
 
I have been thinking about fabricating a heads up display in my AV. I dont really know if this is possible, but it will be fun finding out. I am not talking about gauges, but a video screen. Just kickin out the idea and seeing if anyone has any input or has seen anything like this before, I think it would be an attractive alternative to indash screens. Thanks for any input.

Sorry for the dual post but I wanted to post in the correct area. New to forum, AV owner for 1 week now and loving every second of it.
 
I saw a commercial HUD at the SEMA show that was about $400 and just plugs into your onboard computer. The projector sits on the dash. Don't remember the name but it was a smaller outfit. You could check the SEMA show web site and see it you might find them. It projected the speed and a couple of other things.

Cool but it is still $400.
 
Hmmm, Did you look at how they do it in an STS?
 
JP CUSTOMS one of our site sponsors I think sells a heads up display system.....
Or was working on one......ya might want to send them an email

here is their site http://www.jpcustoms.com/store/customer/home.php
 
The largest hurdle to get over in aftermarket Head Up Displays is "ghosting". That is, since your windshield is made up of 2 pieces of glass with plastic in between, any image that is projected to it will reflect 2. On OEM vehicles, the plasitc between the glass is thicker at the top than it is at the bottom (but not by very much).

I would think that the rest of the packaging / integration is pretty straight forward.

I would be interested in how this issue is resolved in aftermarket offerings.
 
I had the factory HUD on my Corvette. :B: One thing that I remember reading about it was that it took a specially treated windshield to project correctly. Not sure how the aftermarket guys are getting around this. I really missed it when I changed vehicles, didn't realize how much I used it.
 
Look for the more expensive HUDs if you are serious about this. The ones that are going to be made with OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) are sweet. Only wish I had that kind of money.
 
The GM HUDs are fixed-message display units -- that is, every message/graphic they want to display is mapped to a specific location on the projector. There is no overlap or re-use of space on the display. Under the right sunlight conditions, you can see the entire static layout reflected on the windshield. Probably a couple of different issues here. First, a pixelated display (like the typical video LCD) would require a fairly expensive symbol generator (a small computer) to create the messages and symbols. Since GM never intended to generate that many different messages, they went to the cheap solution. Secondly, it's very difficult to find a pixelated display that is bright enough to be read in direct sunlight. They make them (most newer aircraft use LCDs as their primary instrument displays), but the cost is several times what we mortals generally pay for our AV display toys! The only REAL automotive video display HUD that I know of is the one GM used (uses?) on the DeVille for their infrared night vision system. It's monochrome, pretty low res, and, by definition, not designed for daytime use.

Having said all this, I LOVE the HUD in my 'vette and wish GM would improve the technology to display map info in color AND make it available on the rest of their fleet rather than just a couple of cars.

Keep us posted on your quest to make your own...
 
I could have been hallucinating this weekend but I believe I read where Cadillac was going to discontinue the HUD. I don't recall if it was for 05 or 06. I'll see if I can find the source for that.
 
I believe someone on one of the Fiero forums did a HUD in a Fiero it worked ok.
Not sure how he did the data connection for the data but it worked.

I have one in my grand prix GTP and I love it. Would love to do one in the AV.
I would think it would be easy to do.
 
Here's an aftermarket one on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7911831847&category=46100&sspagename=WDVW
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top