Rallytimer

A rallytimer is a really intresting device to improve your rating during a regularity rally. As you know, it’s quite difficult to give the notes, check the time and the distance at the same times. Furthermore, timetables are often really unpleasant to read in a rally car which is on the road or during the night.

There are some solutions to facilitate your work during a regularity rally but this kind of device is really expensive and you have to install them in the car with a lot of sensors and specific power supply. With the rallytimer you just have to powered it ( with the 12V alimentation of the car) and enjoy your regularity test.

Step 1: What You Need

To build your own rallytimer you need:

- An arduino mega

- A GPS shield (GPS Shield Arduino NEO-6M)

- 2 Breadboards

- Arduino wires

- 2 LCD screens (LCD1602 LCD monitor 1602 5V blue screen and white code for arduino)

- A 4x4 Keyboard (16 Key) for Arduino

- 7 LED’s ( 4 red, 2 orange-coloured and one green) and resistances (220 ohms) to protect the leds

- Wood panel for the case,

- PVA wood glue or PUR glue and screws to fix all the components in the casing

- 2 hinges

- To use the rallytimer, you need an usb wire and a 12V-adapter for the vehicle's cigarette lighter.

Step 2: Wiring

To make your own rallytimer, you need to wire all the component together. To do that you always have to follow the wiring blueprint.

Step 3: Programing

First, you have to download librairies:

· TinyGPS++

· LiquidCrystal

· Chrono

· Keyboard

· Keypad

After that you have to upload the software in your arduino mega.

Step 4: Instruction Manual

At the start the prgram's name is displayed on the screen.

After that, the device is directly switch on the main menu.

Main menu

Upper screen:

The choosen speed is displayed

Says to the user that he had to push on D button to be in the start menu.

Advantage : Accurate start when you put on *

Bottom screen :

Scroll menu with the pre encoded average speed.

Inform the user of the number of satelites

Start menu

Upper screen :

The choosen speed

To start the RT, you have to push on *

To go back to the main menu you have to push on #

Bottom screen :/

Operations

Upper screen:

Give the total distance in KM

Give the delay. (+ if delay/ - if advance).

Bottom screen:

Give the current speed of the car

Intermediate trip. Intermediate distance in km.

A : Start

B : break

C : Stop / zero

To echap and return to the main menu: push on #

Step 5: The Wooden Box

1. Necessary material

- 1 sheet of chipboard or plywood (1220*610*8mm or 12mm)

- PVA wood glue or PUR glue

- 2 hinges and screws (sold together)

- Some paint

- (a radial arm saw or a table saw if you have one)

- A jig saw

- A cordless driver

- A Philips PH2 bit

- A 6mm drill bit

- 1 or 2 clamps (for gluing)

- 2 hinges (30*19mm)

2. Box achievement

The box is very simple. It’s just chipboard pieces glued together which can contain all the stuff. The electronic components are screwed or stuck on the chipboard.

The box has been achieved with 8mm chipboard. It’s the cheapest material you can buy but it’s quite brittle especially if you drive screws near to the edges so be careful if you use this material in this thickness. By using 12mm plywood you can solve part of the problem but it’s more expensive. The box is made of eight pieces which are:

- Top panel : 2 x (200*155*8mm)

- Bottom panel : 1 x (200*130*8mm)

- Back panel : 1 x (200*90*8mm) with a 10° angle on the top

- Back panel allowance : 1 x (200*30*8mm) with a 10° angle on the top

- Front panel : 1 x (200*68.5*8mm) with a 10° angle on the top

- Lateral edge : 2 x (130*30*8mm) with a rabbet

The operations are:

1. Cut all the pieces out of the sheet of chipboard. You can do this operation with a handsaw but it is much easier and accurate to do that with a jigsaw or a table saw.

2. Glue the two top panels together to make a thicker sheet (16mm). Press firmly with the clamps. This remark holds for the other gluing.

3. Glue the back panel allowance on the bottom edge.

4. Glue the front panel and the back panel on the bottom panel.

5. Glue the lateral edges as shown on Fig. 1. The rabbet in the edge will allow you to plug the Arduino more easily

6. Cut the holes for the screens, the LEDs and the keypad plug in the top panel as shown on Fig.2. Use the jigsaw and the cordless drill for that. Don’t cut at the measurements mentioned on Fig.2 but always measure your components to have a good fitting.

7. Screw the hinges on the top panel and then on the back panel. The hinges allows to rotate the top panel and then to have an easy access to connect the components.

8. You can finish the box by applying some paint on it.

Step 6: Front Panel

You have to print the patern and to adapt (cut holes). When the front panel is ready, you have to stick it on the wood.