I do try to resize mine if they are too big. I don't use the Nikon, I have an Pentax Optio I was given as a 20 year service award from Northrop Grumman. It's only a 7mp camera and it fits in my pocket.

 

Oh, you poor thing, I feel so bad for you, all the work involved in pushing those extra buttons must result in callouses on your fingertips.

This also tells me you don't pay attention to what you're doing and are not interested in the final product, you just do it and hope it works.

 

That must be it - I don't care. Actually, the size has worked for me, and I've only gotten complaints from one place. So, I don't know if there is an actual problem or a perceived one. However, I'm willing to see if I can help and have set the camera to the smaller size.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I like the big pictures. When you hit "full size" you can actually see what you're looking at.

Let's be truthful though, Gary. You like the big pictures so you don't have to wear them there coke bottles.

 

Changing the camera settings is enough to ask, we're luck Gary takes the time to post any of this. I'd rather have big pics than no pics at all.

 

But he wants me to remind him to do it (set his camera settings) as if I have nothing better to do.

 

Busted! And, what you don't know is that I have a 32" monitor on the computer.

Actually, it wasn't my intent to ask you, or anyone person really, to remind me. But, giving you license to do so if I forget. I did pull the batteries on the camera and it doesn't remember that setting when they are put back, so I'll do my best to remember. But, if I forget y'all are quite welcome to kick me - although the number that want to do so seems rather small.

Ok, so let's see how this new setting works. Are these pictures what we are looking for? They were all done at the XGA (1024 x 768) setting.

The first is of the circuit with fixed resistors instead of the potentiometer. I played around with the link that stang sent and found resistors via actual measurement that should have gotten me 5.40 volts, but instead got 5.56 volts. And, that puzzles me as even though measurements vary from meter to meter, the ratio should have been the same and should, in theory, have gotten me 5.4 volts. Oh well, we'll give that a try and, since this is only a test, I can adjust before making it final. Anyway, as you can see it is a very simple circuit.

The second pic is of the connection to the cluster. I used Bill's suggestion and remoted the regulator so it would be quick to do and to let me monitor the heat on the regulator in action. And, I cut up the terminals from an old 9v battery to get the connectors to go to the cluster. It is interesting to note that, yet again, the 1981 Truck Wiring Diagrams are wrong when it comes to the cluster. If you go back to the drawing you'll see that the input connector on the ICVR is shown to be female and the output male. However, in actuality the input is male and the output is female. Anyway, I soldered to the battery terminals (which isn't easy) after cutting them apart as the spacing isn't right, and ran wires from the regulator to them. And, I put a ring-tongue terminal on for ground and used the mounting/grounding screw for the ICVR for that duty. Then I wrapped all that with tape to ensure there aren't any shorts.

Third pic is of the module dangling in space with the heat sink having been attached, and the forth pic is showing where it is dangling. Right where I can monitor the temp and far away from any grounds.

The test will be tomorrow on another trip to Kansas to visit Dad. Not only will this be a test of the voltage regulator it'll be a test of the different jetting on the 1406 as well as of the AFR meter in the dash. Reports as soon as possible.

 

That's better. Still larger than necessary in my opinion but I'm not gonna complain, I often use 1024 x 768 myself when clarity is necessary.

As far as the group asking for this being small, well... perhaps only the group who is vocalizing it at the present moment is small, yes. However, if you hang out here for several years and get a gist of what the general community wants (and what they complain about) you will come to better understand.

Please remember that some of our best guys here still use dialup connections, and posting unnecessarily-huge pictures is a sure way to **** them off and virtually guarantee they won't read (any of? your posts.

 

That prototype is looking good Gary. With a little refining, and a box to put the stuff in and I think you will have a winner there.

 

I'm going to second this AND I think the pictures are just the right size, not that I minded the bigger ones to begin with. And yes, I'm quite sure anyone on dial-up hates waiting for pictures to load. However, I think what you just posted is a nice compromise for those of us that enjoy high speed internet connections.

 

Thanks, guys. On the box, I'm toying with installing it in an ICVR shell. I need to do some thinking about the layout, but I may not need a perforated board. If I can solder to the rivets that hold the contacts to the ICVR's base then I think I can support it on those spots. And the regulator itself would be bolted to the case with a nylon screw and a thermal spacer so the case can be both ground and a heat sink.

If that proves to be too difficult then maybe I can use a perf board and mount the battery terminals to it with screws. With little solder tabs on the top side of the screws I can support the components on them and screw the regulator to the case.

Or, maybe just find a small box and forget the ICVR.

On the pictures, the feedback helps. There are actually two parameters at play - display size and file size. I have it set to 1024 x 768 display size, but Large on file size. IOW, the camera does JPEG compression and I have it on the smallest amount of compression. I could take it to Medium and reduce the file size for those poor souls dialing in, but keeping the screen size large to make it easy to view. I'll try that, if I remember, and you tell me if the pics are too grainy.

 

The best laid plans of .....

I guess you are supposed read all the digits on a DVM. Today I discovered that the resistors I put in the prototype were giving 4.56 volts from the regulator. Not 5.56 as I thought. But, I took the truck nonetheless, and here are my observations:

• I've never, ever seen the gauges on one of these trucks behave so well. They never bobbled nor dipped, but always hung in there right where they started. Except for the fuel gauge, of course, which did drop as it was supposed to do.
• But, with about 1 volt less than expected the gauges read too low. The fuel gauge pointed at about 15/16's when the tank was crammed full, and the others pointed at N of NORMAL for 195° and 40 psi.
• The regulator ran warm. In fact, I would guess that it ran about 130° as that is supposed to be the warmest water you can hold your hands in, and it was as warm as I wanted to keep my fingers on. So, I'm thinking that it will be even warmer at 5.4 volts since the gauges & sending units will be pulling more current. Given that, I think it needs to be mounted on something metal under/in the dash, like maybe the steering column bracket.
• The voltage out of the in-line resistor and into the regulator was about 10.8 volts. But, with the higher voltage and associated current it will drop some, although I don't think it'll drop enough to be a problem. And, as someone pointed out, it actually takes some of the heat off the regulator - literally.

So, I'm glad I hung the prototype outside of the cluster as I can now easily swap resistors. Then I'll find a home for it under the dash on something that will absorb the heat and see how that works.

 

I need input, guys. It seems to me that there are two questions that need an answer:

1. Remote: I think the regulator needs to be attached to something to dissapate the heat. But, the regulator is thermally-protected, so it will gracefully shut down if it gets hot and live to fight another day. But, we don't want it to do that as the gauges will change their readings. So, my thinking is that it should be remoted and screwed to something that will wick off the heat instead of be installed in a package that will sit in the same spot as the original. Your thoughts?
2. Variable: A potentiometer could be included to allow the voltage to be varied, or fixed resistors could be used to nail the voltage down so it can't/won't change. The issue with fixed resistors is that they aren't available in just every value you want, and even then there is a tolerance % so what you order isn't exactly what you get. However, once you nail it down with fixed resistors it will not change, while it is possible that a potentiometer will change due to vibration, heat, etc. Possible, but not a given by any stretch. Radio Shack sells this one, which is a 1K ohm 15 turn unit:

The reason I'm looking for input is I'm looking ahead to the end of this quest. I am confident that the regulator solves a big problem we've had with the gauges. So, I'm sure that many people will want them. In fact, I've already had one request for me to make an FTE'er one. But, I really don't want to spend a lot of my time making these things when I think most of you could make your own if the plans were simple enough. Toward that end I would like your input on what the best approach is.

My personal thinking is:

• Remote: I think people can either cannabalize their existing ICVR for its connector or get connectors from an old 9V battery. And the components can be put in either a new box or maybe the old ICVR shell with a perf board cut to fit as the bottom of the case, with the regulator screwed to the case with a thermal blanket in between for electrical insulation. Then the box/case will be bolted/screwed to something large for heat dissapation.
• Potentiometer: My playing says that although there is a handy-dandy calculator it doesn't always give the results that are desired. And, if a 10 ohm resistor were part of the package/parts list people could calibrate the system to their gauges by substituting the resistor in place of either their temp sender or the fuel sender and turning the screw until they get the gauge showing full scale. Remember that the two sets of gauges I tested gave different full-scale readings with the same voltage and same resistor, and this would allow the user to determine if full scale is pointing directly at F or above or below.

And, I think if we show here a parts list, including where to order the bits from, as well as shots of how it goes together that would serve the majority of y'all. Then, maybe I can make a few of them for those who are afraid of soldering pens.

 

Gary, I thought about the helipots the other day, but wasn't sure you had a good source on them. Just be sure the one you use has the proper wattage for the load. They are pretty good about holding a setting and if you go to Newark Electronics or similar you can probably find one with a lock on the shaft.

For the earlier trucks and cars, the ICVR had studs with push on connections like the starter relay and senders use. If there is an interest from those groups then you might need two styles. Just a thought.

 

I'd probably give Digikey #'s for all the parts since they would have everything, and here's the pot with them: Trimmer. Down to $1.47/ea. And, being as it is from Bourns and is sealed I'd trust it. While it doesn't have a lock, a drop of paint on the screw will lock it well enough for in the truck but still allow it to be re-adjusted later. IOW, if I supply it I could set it for, say, 5.40 volts but someone could adjust it for the particular gauges if desired.

You are correct about the wattage. But we are only talking about very small values. For instance, one standard value for R1 in the circuit is 150 ohms. The value for R2 to give 5.4 volts with that resistor is 498 ohms, which is dead in the middle of that pot's range. The calc's for current and power are, then:

• Current (I) = E (in volts)/ R (in ohms) = 5.4/(150+498) = .0083 amp.
• Power(P) = IxIxR = .0083 x .0083 x 648 = .045 watt.

But that trimmer is good for .75 watt, and the smaller resistors are good for .125 watt, although we might want to go with 1/4 watt resistors so they don't heat so much and change value. In any event, we are good on power capability.

Hadn't thought about other models of cars and trucks, but going remote would allow any terminal to be put on, as desired. Good idea.