I've had this on my to-do list for a long time now. What'cha think?





I had a buddy of mine de-solder the commander boards (which is a total PITA) and I added a few feet of wire between the button board and the display board. The commander will sit in the glove box with the wide band. So far, so good.

More pics here: http://dave.newbern.org/gallery/album12?page=2

 

Turned out pretty sweet! Pretty crafty way to tackle the problem!

Dale

 

So you have to reach into the glove box to use the Commander? I like your display solution but not having access to the buttons would be a no go for me.

 

Another thought is where the ashtray goes, you could implement the buttons into there, not sure if you are handy with fibreglass or not. Its something I plan on doing in the near future.

 

someone on the forum integrated the buttons into the center console....just can't find the pics/thread at this moment.

 

I was initally planning on putting the commander buttons just below the display but what I came up with didn't look very good. And honestly, how often are you playing with buttons? All of my tuning is done via laptop, I never really play with boost settings but if I did I'd find a fog light switch to be my switch.. The commander has just become a multi-function gauge for me.

 

Yeah, that's been done before. I would hit buttons with my arm, I'm sure. No thanks. Spyfish put the display in the empty din panel and moulded the buttons into the console somewhere.. a long time ago.

 

I did the project below many years ago based on Spyfish007's original idea. I enjoyed having the display and controls in those locations, but I used 24 AWG computer ribbon cable for the connection between the two. Ever tried to solder stranded wire that small to a circuit board? It wasn't pretty, especially with my lacking soldering skills, and my display would flicker because of poor connections. I've recently put the commander back to "stock", though if I were to ever do it again I'd use some sort of solid core wire.

FWIW, the controls were somewhat recessed, so I never had any trouble hitting them with my arm.

-Scott

 

Yes. Tin them first and use a low heat iron. Much easier.

I believe the additional length of wire introduces timing problems that the commander was never designed to deal with. I am getting a few artifacts and pixel shifts on the screen when it first turns on. After a minute though it's all back to normal.

I don't remember seeing these pics but it looks like you did a good job. I like how the commander sits in the ash tray. I may have to move mine there if I have enough cable length.

 

Thanks. I always thought it would be very trick to somehow mount the controls inside the ashtray so you could slide back the cover to reveal them, but there didn't seem to be enough room. Another idea that I always wanted to try was to use a jspec ashtray/armrest, as I understand they flip up to reveal a compartment. I like trying to maintain a clean, stock look.

 

I like the "lighter holder" The only problem with that one is you cant charge your phone or run a radar detector, etc,etc, if you have the commander here.

 

I had my buttons in the red circle below. and the screen on my steering column as well. I loved it.