New XENARC 706TSA 7" Touchscreen LCD with DVI! "Coming Soon" - Page 2

DaveDog · 09-23-2008, 04:07 PM

please let us know how this looks in sunlight, and how about the touchscreen reflection

rodweb · 09-23-2008, 08:24 PM

DaveDog,

I posted some comments about sunlight on my worklog here.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/1253172-post10.html

Full thread here:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/work...ota-hilux.html

I only got the longer monitor interconnect cable last night and have the monitor mounted temporailly just above the gear lever, so hopefully will have a better idea soon but it ain't sunny today, so will have to wait...

Minoritydan · 10-10-2008, 03:18 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by rodweb

No, you'll have to email Richard Mulder at customcarcomputers. Use the site email contacts and He'll get back to you.

My cable extension turned up today. Yes, I am hoping to join 2 ribbons together and extend it enough to relocate the buttons. I think the soldering will be difficult, but I got an expert lined up for that part of the job now.

Did you ever join the 2 ribbon cables together to extend/relocate the buttons? I got a inch flat ribbon off ebay, but I may need more than that. How long are yours?

rodweb · 11-02-2008, 06:37 AM

Hi Guys, I have been overseas for a few weeks, so sorry I did not respond to MinorityDan, but anyway, I stripped this monitor out of its case and did a bit of a writeup with some pics on my worklog tonight here:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/work...ml#post1265643

Was really annoyed that Xenarc sold my supplier the wrong bits when he sent me the case (I was going to butcher it for the buttons) and ribbon cables, but does not matter really, the ribbon they sent over is a bit longer (about 1 cm or half an inch), has more conductors than I need but the good news is that the conductors are the same pitch so I can trim the ribbons down to make a couple if I need to. The button daughter board only has a 12 conductor ribbon...

I also found out that the monitor runs on 12-24 volts which is good news for people like me that are using a laptop requiring 19 volts, Xenarc support have told me that given a choice of powering it from 12 volts unregulated or 19 volts regulated, it would be best to run it on 19 volts regulated. This means I can strip out my laptop brick from the equation and run the laptop and the monitor from 19 volts which my Opus power supply supports...

All in all, I think this is a great monitor and it wll be interesting to finally be bale to see it in the right position while driving, but I am certain sunlight won't be an issue.

Cheers, Rod

Minoritydan · 11-03-2008, 07:30 AM

Hey Rod,

I have the 706TSA as well. I trimmed the buttons off and planned on relocating them, but the housing section that I trimmed got thrown out by accident

I still have the IR PCB though, so I will relocate that. I guess I will just leave a hole for the IR sensor and cover up the buttons since I can use the remote.

Anway, I was not sure if this helps you or not, but over in the Fabrication forum member blk02si found a 6 inch flat LCD ribbon cable for relocating the IR sensor.

I ordred it off ebay and it works great for relocating.

I think the link was on page 46 of his thread, but I can send you the link if you want.

Great to see you made some progress, I spent this weekend working on mine as well. I'll post up some photos when I get closer to completion, but I'll be out on vacation for 3 weeks as well pretty soon (Vegas and Oahu).

rodweb · 11-03-2008, 05:42 PM

Hey Dan,

You should be able to remove the sensor from the board and extend it out using some hookup wire (but I've got some ribbon cable on hand I will use).

Some of these modern boards use a really hard to melt solder and I have not tried removing the sensor yet. If I have too many troubles, I'll just snip the legs off as they are plenty long enough to still solder on to. Make sure you use a heat sink when soldering. If I don't relocate the buttons, I was just going to put a cross brace from one side of the LCD Frame to the other behind the monitor and mount the daughter board off it.

I'll be catching up with a mate who is interested in seing my setup who is an electronics engineer in the next week or so, it would be good to find out if it is possible to extend the LCD on the power button as well to give a visual indication of what is happening, that is way out of my league, but one of his employees is a wizard at fine soldering he tells me, so maybe I will be able to call in a favour.

It would be good to post the link to ebay on this thread for others to find.

Have a good holiday, I'm planning my next one

Archy88 · 11-04-2008, 01:46 AM

I would love to see how these monitors look with direct sunlight on them. I am considering one of these on an ebay purchase with the cashback program from live.com(I know, not smart...but only way I can afford it).

Or do a Lilliput 629 & upgrade it to transflective in the future.

Keep me posted!

rodweb · 11-04-2008, 03:47 AM

So far so good, my monitor is mounted high in the dash and it has been readable all of the time, but have not driven around midday yet. Has been fine with filtered sunlight on the screen.

Minoritydan · 11-05-2008, 12:16 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by rodweb

Hey Dan,

You should be able to remove the sensor from the board and extend it out using some hookup wire (but I've got some ribbon cable on hand I will use).

Some of these modern boards use a really hard to melt solder and I have not tried removing the sensor yet. If I have too many troubles, I'll just snip the legs off as they are plenty long enough to still solder on to. Make sure you use a heat sink when soldering. If I don't relocate the buttons, I was just going to put a cross brace from one side of the LCD Frame to the other behind the monitor and mount the daughter board off it.

I'll be catching up with a mate who is interested in seing my setup who is an electronics engineer in the next week or so, it would be good to find out if it is possible to extend the LCD on the power button as well to give a visual indication of what is happening, that is way out of my league, but one of his employees is a wizard at fine soldering he tells me, so maybe I will be able to call in a favour.

It would be good to post the link to ebay on this thread for others to find.

Have a good holiday, I'm planning my next one

I'm not even going to attempt to remove the sensor. I'll just mount the IR PCB and drill a hole that lines up with the sensor behind the lower part of my trim under the LCD.

The buttons will be hidden, but I'll still be able to use the remote.

I am still fabbing my dash, but I will post pics when I get this Giant mess completed.

I've been having a ton of issues with the software portion of it (RR with DFX 4.0 skin) - but that is another story...

Hope there is 40+ foot surf when I get to Waimea Bay

Link to

FFC FPC flat ribbon cable 12 pins .5 mm pitch 6" L SS

http://cgi.ebay.com/FFC-FPC-flat-rib...713.m153.l1262

I bought this one and confirm it works. Extend a little further than the one supplied with the monitor

Maheriano · 11-05-2008, 12:46 AM

the native resolution is still 800x480, I see no need for a DVI connection on such a small screen. What's the point?
Also, it comes with a windshield mount? It's hard enough for the idiots on the road to see around their 2.5 inch Garmin, you think they're going to be able to navigate around tight streets with a 7 inch screen suctioned to their windshield?
And it comes with drivers for DOS........DOS? This hasn't been used since Windows 98, where would someone even find DOS? Be good for point of sale terminals I guess. And it comes with Linux drivers, that's cool, I like that.

rodweb · 11-05-2008, 03:30 AM

Granted, DVI is of no use for me, but in the future maybe. Who knows what the next standard will be after we get sick of analog VGA? Maybe it might be DVI.

And no, there is no Windscreen mount. What you see is a copper base complete with peel off self adhesive you can screw down on anything.

DOS and Linux might interest somebody, but not me, very happy with the support for Windows XP and the touch screen.

Oh and, yes, I am using an extra input for a reversing camera and the separate contol box made it very easy to mount in my configuration with the optional 5 metre cable.

Some of us like the idea of a real automotive grade monitor that has been futureproofed so don't knock it just for the sake of knocking it.

Archy88 · 11-05-2008, 09:47 AM

For those looking into this monitor...how would it compare to a 700TSV? 500NIT less brightness, with no external box. I'm curious if the 700 would be better for a n00b, instead of dropping $500 on this one. However, if its sunlight readable...it's certainly a toss up!

Minoritydan · 11-05-2008, 09:54 AM

I havent turned mine on in the sun yet. I am still working on the installation.

I got my 5 metre cable the other day though, so hopefully I'll get it all installed soon and can get back to you.

rodweb · 11-12-2008, 06:23 AM

Hi guys, just thought I'd give an update. Had enough time driving in full sun (and we are going into summer over here) to say that you won't have visibility problems with this monitor in sunny conditions. The one time I thought it was a bit dim, I checked and the brightness was set to minimum, a couple of clicks on the remote and everything was real easy to read and have not had an issue since. There is also a brightness control on the backlight as well to play with.

Dan, thanks for the Ebay link, I have just ordered one of those 6" extension ribbons. I think I have worked out where to mount the buttons (at the top of the screen). Hope you are getting everything fitted, I've just got a DVD (and these buttons to go).

I think having access to the power button would be handy as the monitor is very bright at night time, but bearable. Whilst you can turn it off with the remote, the button would be within easy reach while driving...

Minoritydan · 11-12-2008, 10:02 AM

Hey Rod,

I had actually finished my bezel to hold the monitor, equalizer and IR PCB yesterday. I had finished sanding/painting ( I probably spent 15+ hrs on it). I had it drying in the sun in my driveway as I ran some more cables in my car - and it was promptly backed over/crushed by a family member - it was smashed to pieces.

So I don't think I will finish anytime soon. LOL. And I'm on vacation for several weeks soon so it may be ugly for a while.

Good to know you got that link working - good luck with relocating your IR PCB.

Are you using your button housing you trimmed off? I still have the PCB - but my button housing that I trimmed off the bottom was thrown out by accident after I cut it off and set it aside.

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