Thread: Designing a double-din case for 2003 WRX

Originally Posted by masch

Can someone snap a pic of the WRX 2003 and WRX 2004 dashboards where you guys are going to put this in? I'm curious to know why all the hard work for this.

Mine's a 2003, but the dash is currently open with the radio removed and the bezel off.

I can still take a picture of that, if you're interested.


Oh, and as for all the hard work: I love my WRX, and I'm a geek and perfectionist.

Originally Posted by masch

Well sure, I'm curious to know why one needs to design something different for WRX2004 if WRX2003 is already available..

Just because something exists and has been done before, does not mean that it cannot be done differently or better.

I'm doing it because I want to (not that I need to), and I like to build things, being a geek/engineer by nature.


Anyway, I'll take some pics of my 2003 WRX's insides later this weekend.

I was looking at my WRX's open radio dash today, and was thinking of some of the issues/problems I might run into, and thinking of some of the alternatives/solutions.

Problems:
An 8" Widescreen LCD viewable area fits DDin opening perfectly, but the LCD's are generally not yet available. Also, native resolution of 800x480 isn't PC-standard, making driving the LCD more difficult without over/under-scaling resolutions. A 7" Widescreen centers fine, but leaves a gap/border, which I don't want.

An 8.4" 4:3 aspect (non-wide) screen fits perfect width-wise, runs 800x600, but is about 3cm too tall for the double-din opening.

Such as:
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/images/ub084s01.jpg (simulated picture)
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/evd084s01-1.html

This particular screen is 8.4" 4:3, 800x600, is 18-bit LVDS (262k colors?), and as a bonus, the company is local to me, so I can go over to bug them about their products.

To fit an 8.4" screen, the climate controls would have to be removed, to be replaced by some kind of solenoid-servo control, like this:
A/C Control Electrical,Vacuum, and Mechanical

With the climate controls removed, I'd have all the room below the DDin area to fill with the 8.4" LCD, a flush slim DVD (slot/non-slot), and other ports.


One problem with using an 8.4" screen is that I'd have to almost completely re-build the radio bezel, to incorporate the larger size of the bezel and filling/re-sculpting of the climate control areas.

However, I don't think that will be terribly difficult - I'm pretty good at modeling and resin casting, so it wouldn't be difficult to make a resin copy of the original radio bezel, modify the duplicate, and re-cast the finished duplicate.

Pros:
8.4" LCDs are more available than 7" or 8" WS LCD's, come in easier interfaces (LVDS), and run at higher true resolutions (800x600 pixel-native).

Cons:
8.4" means ditching the climate controls, and re-engineering a computer-controlled duplicate. Re-designing a radio bezel to fit the 8.4" will be more difficult, but once done, making duplicates is easy.


Thoughts/comments?

I haven't had a chance to take pics yet.

did you get any prices on the 8.4", I need 2 lvds equiped screens I'll go in on a group buy with you.

Originally Posted by petesonline

did you get any prices on the 8.4", I need 2 lvds equiped screens I'll go in on a group buy with you.

I don't recall if I ever got a price, but I'll call them today and see if I can get a quote.

I'll ask for between 3 and 5 LCD's, the EVD084S01-DT (SVGA) models, with the brightness enhancement and touch-screen panel.

Note that it's just the TS panel, I think a suitable TS controller will need to be found.

Originally Posted by petesonline

did you get any prices on the 8.4", I need 2 lvds equiped screens I'll go in on a group buy with you.

I sent their VP of Sales an e-mail asking for pricing on this model:
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/evd084s01-dsc.html

It's brighter than the other model I listed before, but it doesn't say it comes with a touchscreen, so I asked about that too.

Originally Posted by Giuliano

I sent their VP of Sales an e-mail asking for pricing on this model:
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/evd084s01-dsc.html

It's brighter than the other model I listed before, but it doesn't say it comes with a touchscreen, so I asked about that too.

I received a reply from their Engineering Manager, and confirmed that these LCD's are based on AU Optronics' B084SN01, with brightness enhancements.

Original:
http://www.auo.com/english/products/...&product_id=21
150 Nits, 250:1 Contrast

Enhanced:
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/evd084s01-dsc.html
350 Nits, 250:1 Contrast


The connectors are simple, too, with only 20-pins (not flat-flex cable!), consisting of voltage, ground, R/G/B LVDS channels, and clock signal.

I'm still waiting for pricing.

I suck at this whole e machine shop thing. I was wonderin if anyone could explain to me how to get my case to come out right. It is 3.53" H x 7 14/16" wide and 7" deep. I want a shelf between the top and bottom 2" from the top, 1.53" from te bottom can anyone help?