mad_pete Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Given how fast keyless Land Rovers are getting stolen you should get Land Rover to endorse it and pay you to sell them :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Yay...wow..you quit your job...yikes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Yay...wow..you quit your job...yikes!! I liked a lot of it - but the company is failing with big losses this year (and most previous). They needed to change - and one of the reasons I was appointed was to facilitate the change & get things moving. Unfortunately it turned out that the directors were the ones resisting change and the MD seemed powerless to do much about it - I had no chance! We've just come to the end of one big new product development which is about 2 years overdue and are about to start on the next. I had hoped that seeing the failings in the process of the last one, they would be willing to go a different way. Sadly though, history is repeating itself and it's going the same way with the same people in the driving seat. I decided all I was getting out of it was stress & I was getting board of banging my head on the wall! At least, if its my company, I only have myself to blame! Si 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacr2man Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I liked a lot of it - but the company is failing with big losses this year (and most previous). They needed to change - and one of the reasons I was appointed was to facilitate the change & get things moving. Unfortunately it turned out that the directors were the ones resisting change and the MD seemed powerless to do much about it - I had no chance! We've just come to the end of one big new product development which is about 2 years overdue and are about to start on the next. I had hoped that seeing the failings in the process of the last one, they would be willing to go a different way. Sadly though, history is repeating itself and it's going the same way with the same people in the driving seat. I decided all I was getting out of it was stress & I was getting board of banging my head on the wall! At least, if its my company, I only have myself to blame! Si Things dont change Had the same experience 3 decades ago , they ended up being bought up and asset stripped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffield Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 One security idea I saw some time ago, but have never seen any thing made of it featured a sensor fixed to the underside of the vehicle, and a responder fixed to a piece of steel plate. When the vehicle was parked the reponder was placed under the vehicle immediately under the sensor, and the device activated. The two talked to one another, and knew just where each was, and importantly, just how far apart they were. Any attempt to move either would set off the alarms. How ever the vehicle was moved, even lifted off, the alarm would sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanco Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 The responder is the cumbersome element there, what about a digital measuring device(s) like the estate agents use? no need to put anything under the vehicle then, and no risk of forgetting to deploy or collect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 That's a good idea! How about, as an alternative, an ultrasonic rangefinder (parking sensor) mounted under a vehicle. When it's armed, it measures the distance to the ground and triggers if this changes outside certain limits. This will detect the vehicle being lifted, sat in, rolled, pulled on to a trailer. I guess it could also be triggered by high winds or flooding - but in that case you've probably got better things to worry about! It could be tied in to the regular car alarm - or via a pager of some sort. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Wind effects? Passing lorry or bus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Wind effects? Passing lorry or bus? Filtering? Wind (mostly) or a passing lorry will only give a short duration displacement - whereas someone sitting in the vehicle will likely have longer duration. Rolling on a smooth surface will give a high frequency variation in distance, higher than wind effects. If you used a notch filter to remove everything between the two extremes, it could be accurate. You could use two sensors - one on either side. Wind will only ever cause the vehicle to roll so the suspension on one side will compress as much as it expands on the other - since the mass has not changed. Sitting in will cause both sides to compress (as will lifting etc) - or at least the compression / elongation will not be symetrical. How to notify the owner is harder! Phone seems the most obvious. You could de-power the cellular transceiver until it is needed (which would stop it being scanned for) though it would introduce a delay while it fires up & tunes in. I wondered about using the PMR 446MHz radios as a pager (you can buy a 446 voice pager for about $30). You could almost get it to speak the location. I have (somewhere) a postcode to Lat/Long database - you could get it to continually speak the closest postcode! At least this way, it's hard to jam and has a range of 5-10km. Another option I quite like is just tying it to blue flashing lights on the back. Nothing will get you pulled over faster than lights that mimic a police car! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 How about something nice and easy?!! X-mirror mount! For people of about 6' or so the standard interior rear view mirror is much too low and blocks the view of the screen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Being 6'7" it's a problem I know well! Unfortunately, there aren't many other options for where to put it (other than in the bin!). I use a reversing camera with a 4" display which doesn't seem to get in the way too much. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Si, like the idea with the pager (did not realise the range was so large), not to be a smart a__e... what about mud & road grime on ultrasonic sensors... (although not really applicable as it will create complexity to a simple height measuring device... along my merry trails I came across a suspension height measuring device that is located within an air spring, I think it was for TEIN like a laser distance measure (LIDAR), alternative could be two offset magnets sort of an encoder principle attached to the shocks as a small device (or radius arms on an older vehicle, sealed for life type device, waterproof etc etc, battery powered in sleep mode, pulse to enable, pulse to disable sort of thing [think that is how the in-tyre tyre pressure monitors work, and give long life battery (could integrate a magnet and a coil to charge it's self over time with up and down vehicle movement to prolong battery life). Think, "X", "Y" and "Z" etc are banned letters under copyright, or whatever the term is..., but the principle is there to design whatever is needed Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Being 6'7" it's a problem I know well! Unfortunately, there aren't many other options for where to put it (other than in the bin!). I use a reversing camera with a 4" display which doesn't seem to get in the way too much. Si Mounting it an inch or so higher would make all the difference I reckon (well it would for this 6' shorty!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 How about a comprehensive set of seal drivers made of a resilient plastic. Long one for fitting a diff seal (to cope with the pinion). One for fitting the caliper piston seal retaining ring (needs to go outside the piston but inside the caliper body) Hub seals (might as well) - need to be sized to avoid the outer lip but fit inside the hub) Various engine crank seals. Front & rear transfer box seals (again have to go over shafts). As a starter, I'll have a crack at measuring up what I'd see useful when I get home if you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Si, like the idea with the pager (did not realise the range was so large), not to be a smart a__e... what about mud & road grime on ultrasonic sensors... (although not really applicable as it will create complexity to a simple height measuring device... along my merry trails I came across a suspension height measuring device that is located within an air spring, I think it was for TEIN like a laser distance measure (LIDAR), alternative could be two offset magnets sort of an encoder principle attached to the shocks as a small device (or radius arms on an older vehicle, sealed for life type device, waterproof etc etc, battery powered in sleep mode, pulse to enable, pulse to disable sort of thing [think that is how the in-tyre tyre pressure monitors work, and give long life battery (could integrate a magnet and a coil to charge it's self over time with up and down vehicle movement to prolong battery life). Think, "X", "Y" and "Z" etc are banned letters under copyright, or whatever the term is..., but the principle is there to design whatever is needed Rob How about using EAS height sensors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddychris300tdi Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I like the idea of a sensor/alarm but what if next doors cat decided to have a wonder around under my motor? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I like the idea of a sensor/alarm but what if next doors cat decided to have a wonder around under my motor? Chris Doh! Didn't think about that! Perhaps they need to incorporate Wax-oil jets to deter it the next time! OK what about using one of these which should be largely immune to dirt / mud. It will still detect cats - but if you used the same scheme as PIR alarms where you need two or three triggers inside 20 sec it would improve the resistance to cat triggers. I quite like the idea of seal guides - over the years I've made my own for most LR things. For hub seals, one side drifts in the bearing outer and the other sets the seal to the correct depth. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 +1 seal guides set... (Advanced order name down with your distributing supplier) Microwave.... Can travel though most things.... Hence why normally used with a pir in security applications to create a dual tech sensor as the pir plus microwave cuts down on the false alarms .... Not sure how it would work if you left a dog cat child in a car or in a multi story carpark or if someone walked past it.... Suspect those proximity sensor alarms probably use microwave to analyse spherical disturbance Could use a gyroscope.... Many low current chips about. Edit.... You could consider a 9-axis chip...that way using a kalman filter you could cut down on noise and have a more stable gyro in a box with a pager and GPS and gsm if required Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 +1 for seal guides. Or basically any LR special tool you can make cheaper! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 +1 for seal guides and Any other special tools 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Could use a gyroscope.... Many low current chips about. Edit.... You could consider a 9-axis chip...that way using a kalman filter you could cut down on noise and have a more stable gyro in a box with a pager and GPS and gsm if required That's a technology I know pretty well through my Segway Experiments! At least you could easily differentiate tipping (due to wind) from a translation (lifting or moving). I've used the 6050 which is 6 axis (you don't really need a magnetometer - and they are too easily confused!). By integrating the Accelerometer output you can have a reasonable 'dead reckoning' gauge of the distance moved and direction from the Gyro. Thus, even if the GPS were out of signal / jammed it could make a stab at the location as a vector sum from the last known position. I tried the Arduino Text to Speech library this evening - which works OK (Stephen Hawking on a bad day!). I quite like the idea of it speaking the location / postcode via a UHF radio pager or via text messages. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Just finished printing! Si 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Si, is there a reason you're not going to continue with the X-eng name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I would imagine he no longer has the rights to it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Well I wasn't sure that the name was sold.... only the rights to distribute it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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