Chat Heads up display £23

Hi,

I love gadgets and even though the Heads up display that you can get cheaply now are fair from pleasing on the eye they are interesting and so I thought that I would get one to see how bad they are.

The first problem is knowing if they are compatible with the A2, they SEEM to be but you can never be sure.

But at £23 I thought it would be worth the risk to be a guinea pig for anyone else that might be interested.

The pleasant surprise is that this unit below IS compatible with the A2 and it basically does what it says it will.

Some of these units are in KMH and don't have a MPH option, but this one does give you MPH figures.

Unfortunately the fuel consumption figures are in Litres per 100 Kilometre, but if you have DIS you don't need it. If you don't have DIS then I guess that it is better than nothing.

I like the battery power reading, useful to see if the charging circuit is ok.

The Speedo reading on it was spot on.
The RPM was reading a little fast but the unit is easy to adjust to correct that. (the same adjustment can be used on the speedo readout etc.)

So for £23 it is not bad!!!

You get the sticky plastic mat that holds it in place nicely and a clear plastic square that you put on the windscreen to improve the reflected image.

There are two problems that will put many people off.

Firstly, it is a bit ugly, the readings (even when off are a bit "in your face") so looking in from the outside you see this on the top of the dash (also that might mean that some idiot might think it is worth stealing and break your glass to get at it)

Secondly the display in daylight is not ideal, you can see all of the icons that are not lit, because they are so brightly coloured even with the unit off.



It is ugly when off even, I am thinking of getting a plastic cover made up that will go over it when it is off, but it is best removed in case some prat thinks it is a mobile phone.

It just plugs into the OBD Diagnostics port and the flat cable can be fed around the side of the dash and up to the unit.

The features it has includes
Digital speedo
Circular Rev Counter
Fuel consumption displays
Engine speed Alarm (when over-revving or to indicate when to shift)
MPH warnings
Auto Brightness
Fuel in Tank
Battery Voltage

Etc.



As I say, it is an interesting item, but too ugly for many.

I will report back when I have tried it out properly, especially at night.

It was delivered the day after I ordered it too!

Steve B

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281776542745?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Any night pics of this yet Steve? How are you getting on with it?

Been too busy to try it out, unfortunately.

Lots of work to do in my day job and I am struggling to find time to finish off my second headlamp unit with the DRLs and Xenons.

If I get chance I might try it out tomorrow night.

Steve B

Hi Steve,

On the listing it says that this would only work on post 2003 cars. I have a 2001 A2. Does that mean that I do not have OBD2 and that this device will not work?

Steev

Hi
i didn't even think it would work in a 2003 A2 that is why I bought it to make sure in case others wanted to try.

I am not well enough informed as to the OBD / OBD 2 versions used on the A2.

But since VCDS works on all years with no visible difference in info retrieved perhaps it would work.

Any OBD experts out there that can tell us if the OBD on the A2 prior to 2003 is a different version?

steve B

If you have an Android phone there are Bluetooth units that plug into the obd port and apps that you run on your phone that will do something similar.

Simon.

sco said:

If you have an Android phone there are Bluetooth units that plug into the obd port and apps that you run on your phone that will do something similar.

Simon.

Click to expand...

yes, I have one of those set ups but they are no use when driving. The display is to small and nowhere to put it. plus you have to keep disconnecting it when you get out. (By the way you can get them for iPhones too they font have to be an android.

This unit provides a heads up display of a decent size. And can be left in place if you want to.

Steve B

A2Steve said:

Any night pics of this yet Steve? How are you getting on with it?

Click to expand...

I haven't tried it on the move yet, but I popped down to get a picture tonight.

Just a sample.




The reason for the double vision is that I haven't stuck the special plastic patch on the screen. It is clear and so can't be seen but it is designed to get the proper reflection. So you will have to imagine it without the double reflection sorry. I can only imagine that the double vision will be less with the special pad on, But the sharp rake of the screen on the A2 may well be the cause of this (and I couldn't put up with it if it doesn't go with the pad on).
Sorry that this is not a proper test run for anyone, but I am focussing on prep for ADI and just finished the headlamps, got to fit them tomorrow morning (the only time I will have before ADI !!!
The "15" is the Litres per hour (you can switch it to litres per 100K)
The "13.5" is the battery voltage
The rev counter was spot on, you can see that it is exactly 1000 RPM because the "1" is illuminated, the smaller segments light up as the revs increase
As you can see the speedo readout can be in MPH (not all do that)
There are lots of other pieces of info you can select using the "scroll wheel" on the unit.

Steve B

Thanks for taking the time to do this Steve, it sounds like you are very busy so thank you.

A2Steve said:

Thanks for taking the time to do this Steve, it sounds like you are very busy so thank you.

Click to expand...

Hi Steve, it only took a few minutes, next week I will stick the clear pad on and see what happens, I only hope it reduces the double reflection or I won't be using this.

Steve B

Birchall said:

Hi Steve, it only took a few minutes, next week I will stick the clear pad on and see what happens, I only hope it reduces the double reflection or I won't be using this.

Steve B

Click to expand...

Hi,

I saw this a while ago. Not the same unit as yours but a similar idea. It didn't turn out too well in the review, the plastic stick on screen was a bit naff.

http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2012/1...hud-that-plugs-into-your-cars-obd-socket.html

Will be interested to see if your one fairs better. Also, how much a distraction having the piece of plastic stuck to the windscreen in front of you is during the day.

regards

Andrew

Watching this with interest, been thinking about getting the following similar item, which also comes with a remote for toggling through the various readouts

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=400959379615&alt=web

Hi Steve

Out of curiosity where are uou planning to place the unit?

Directly in front of driver behind the clock cluster or mid dash?

Cheers

Daz

Hi,

I plan on mounting it behind the speedo binnacle so that it is directly in my eye line (at least just under my eye line) so that I don't have to look away to view it.


But I am still not sure on that display, if I can't get rid of the double vision the only place it will be located is back in the box!!

Steve B

Haha, cool that sounds good, keep us posted

Birchall said:

Hi,

I plan on mounting it behind the speedo binnacle so that it is directly in my eye line (at least just under my eye line) so that I don't have to look away to view it.


But I am still not sure on that display, if I can't get rid of the double vision the only place it will be located is back in the box!!

Steve B

Click to expand...

Steve, just a thought, try a clear CD case and reflect display off this, the hinged cover also gives you an adjustable angle for your display.



Cheers
Sarge

Any update on this Steve?

Darren Moody said:

Any update on this Steve?

Click to expand...

Just got back from taking two very active and excited grandchildren to Eurodisney.#


Three LONG days.

Half of the time in queues, half of the rest of the time walking between rides and the other time actually on the ride.

But it was great fun, we are completely tired out, we walked 20 miles in the three days (pretty accurate watch measured that, so it is no exaggeration)

I need a holiday now just to get over it.

So no time to play with the Heads up unit.

Now the project is going in for the rear disc conversion tomorrow.

So I will try it out properly soon and report back.

Steve B

I bought one of these to cope with the 20mph speed limits around here.I found that I was spending more time watching the speedo than the road.
I am not having any trouble with the blurry image even though I have not yet fitted the plastic sheet to the windscreen.
I can now concentrate on the road instead of the speedo.For the price it is a fairly impressive (if ugly) bit of kit.The fuel usage toggles between litres per 100k when on the move to litres per hour when stationary,sadly no miles per gallon.The display automatically brightens or dims to suit day or night driving and also when going through tunnels and the speed readout seems more accurate than the vehicles speedometer,possibly because I have 15inch wheels and the speedo is under reading.I got mine for £21 as I put in an offer on Ebay rather than pay the full asking price which had increased since this article started and that also included carriage.