Is there a « cheap » way of adding OBDII telemetry to a race car? It’s for ice endure ice-racing and snow cross. In this case, not a Fiero but same idea and I would probably use it in my 3800SC Fiero during the off season.
I’d like something like Android Torque and having the phone re-transmit the data to another phone. I understand there would be some lag, but it’s better than nothing. Is there such a solution available?
Basically I would like the pit crew to monitor the car while it is on the track. wifi and bluetooth would probably not hold connection on the entire track.
No, not really. All the solutions I've ever seen for that are a few thousand dollars.
If you have the skills, it would theoretically be possible to build a cheaper solution, but reliable connectivity is a hard problem. All the pro race solutions use localized radio to solve that problem, rather than relying on cellular connectivity or the like.
I wonder how hard it would be to code a repater for torque? The andoid device connected to the OBD dongle would simply be transmitting the data via cellular to another android device that would be the client.
I wonder how hard it would be to code a repater for torque? The andoid device connected to the OBD dongle would simply be transmitting the data via cellular to another android device that would be the client.
I wish there was an app already in place.
I don't know if Torque supports streaming or uploading the data to a server anywhere or not. There's nothing to do to "repeat" the data. A custom app that uploaded the data to a server would work, but could be slow, and cellular network connectivity can be unreliable, especially in areas where racing cars on ice tends to occur.
And unless you've already got all the hardware, and can write the app yourself, the costs can add up pretty quick, especially when buying things at retail prices, buying 2 unlimited data plans, and hosting a server somewhere for the data.
easy answer.... Raspberry Pi device (or similar) setup as a serial over Ethernet controller (cheapest route) or a device such as a perle IO LAN, to connect to your ECU, then a high powered wifi card, such as a 2Watt alfa card, or similar with a high gain antenna mounted on the roof, should give you about ~1mile open air range to receive the data....
could also run like a netbook with the high powered wifi.... then just "RDP" or VNC into the device to get 'live' data...
easy answer.... Raspberry Pi device (or similar) setup as a serial over Ethernet controller (cheapest route) or a device such as a perle IO LAN, to connect to your ECU, then a high powered wifi card, such as a 2Watt alfa card, or similar with a high gain antenna mounted on the roof, should give you about ~1mile open air range to receive the data....
could also run like a netbook with the high powered wifi.... then just "RDP" or VNC into the device to get 'live' data...
WiFi might be possible with powerful enough antennas on both ends, and a fairly clear line of site between the antennas, with minimal obstructions. The wave amplitude is fairly small and reception is problematic when there's plenty of interference, either from other racers with the same idea, or from physical obstructions like trees, grandstands, or pit garages. A good solution with WiFi will have a large dependency on course layout and other people not doing the same thing.
just be careful, "real time" to them might be a delay of xxx seconds...
