LaunchPad
Well-Known Member
- LaunchPad Well-Known Member
I am interested in what kind of electronic do-dads and gizmos the community has put to use in for their Goblins or tow vehicles- as well as which ones to stay away from. things like dash cams, go-pro ish cams, gps nav systems, sound systems, racing intercoms, wi-fi hot spots, car PCs- pick your poison!
Regardless, of the item. . . . one thing I would really like to hear from each person is the "longevity for the buck"- electronics tend to exponentially fade in value over time and drive constant vehicle changes or hokie vehicle modifications to accommodate. I really don't want to end up with 12v accessory cords zip tied all over my car as just one example of what I am talking about or replacing a system every 2-3 years.
Here are some of mine. . mostly to stay away from:
I had a Banks big hos power pack installed in my tow vehicle ~2017 running many thousands of $$$- it ran on a Windows CE micro tablet thing and had gobs of "cool features" everything from real time systems monitoring, excel spread sheets to track stats/mileage, a nav system, rear camera, code reader and more. . . Banks discontinued support ~2018 and all nav features became inactive- MS also discontinued support since then and it cannot be serviced or repaired- or even allowed to connect to the internet least it becomes a total brick. the dang thing has been flaky from the get-go and locks up frequently or refuses to sleep when the truck is parked thereby draining the truck battery to levels that the truck cannot be started. Banks now has gone full circle and only sells "gauges" as replacement to the very most basic function of the original of course for thousands more $. most of the features I actually never ended up using once it was seen how much delay flipping between aps took - but to rip out one install and go to yet another AGAIN just really doesn't cut the mustard with me. a notebook log and paper map and the old autometer gauges would have been MUCH better and cheaper!
Other electronics seem all the rage but I have constantly been disappointed and then end up not even using these things after a bit. Another personal example was my Go-Pro Hero 4 black. . .so this is a bit dated model now-a-days and all but kind of exactly what I was going on about above. . . I paid premium prices for it when I got it but out of the box it was a major disappointment. I have a host of complaints about it and how it functions but toping the list is tiny screen size with my now elderly eyeballs- the batteries are ALWAYS dead when I want to use it. . .if I do put fresh batteries in then it never lasts long enough for a drive. The set up I have for it does not allow direct powering. . . no way to be sure it is even recording while underway. . . and long off the support of the company and accessories. . . one must spend more premium money for the newer models. . .I attempted to record videos with it at the last Goblinfest but it shut itself off mid-drive most times unbeknownst to us while driving.
Another thing I once-upon-a-time dropped a whole lot of hard earned money on (2005ish) was a dynamic dynamometer- a lil electronic dohikie which you programmed the weight of your car into and it would be able to give you actual horsepower rates/ best shift points based on a sample of your driving. it also would map via gps your tracks with turn entry and exit info available after a run and if you mapped insides and outsides of the track it could also help you find the best lines - I think I used it 2-3 times. soooooo not worth the money I spent! these days those sorts of features CAN be obtained on a cell phone app. . . .
. . . . .which I won't use. . . I worked as Space and Cyber (attack) most of my Air Force career and actually did a lot of spooky things with cell phones. . . I won't use them for anything besides a phone call for a whole lotta good reasons. . . .even beyond resisting the affliction of zombification most folks seem to have succumbed to.
feel free to throw those apps on here none-the-less because someone else might find 'em useful!
Regardless, of the item. . . . one thing I would really like to hear from each person is the "longevity for the buck"- electronics tend to exponentially fade in value over time and drive constant vehicle changes or hokie vehicle modifications to accommodate. I really don't want to end up with 12v accessory cords zip tied all over my car as just one example of what I am talking about or replacing a system every 2-3 years.
Here are some of mine. . mostly to stay away from:
I had a Banks big hos power pack installed in my tow vehicle ~2017 running many thousands of $$$- it ran on a Windows CE micro tablet thing and had gobs of "cool features" everything from real time systems monitoring, excel spread sheets to track stats/mileage, a nav system, rear camera, code reader and more. . . Banks discontinued support ~2018 and all nav features became inactive- MS also discontinued support since then and it cannot be serviced or repaired- or even allowed to connect to the internet least it becomes a total brick. the dang thing has been flaky from the get-go and locks up frequently or refuses to sleep when the truck is parked thereby draining the truck battery to levels that the truck cannot be started. Banks now has gone full circle and only sells "gauges" as replacement to the very most basic function of the original of course for thousands more $. most of the features I actually never ended up using once it was seen how much delay flipping between aps took - but to rip out one install and go to yet another AGAIN just really doesn't cut the mustard with me. a notebook log and paper map and the old autometer gauges would have been MUCH better and cheaper!
Other electronics seem all the rage but I have constantly been disappointed and then end up not even using these things after a bit. Another personal example was my Go-Pro Hero 4 black. . .so this is a bit dated model now-a-days and all but kind of exactly what I was going on about above. . . I paid premium prices for it when I got it but out of the box it was a major disappointment. I have a host of complaints about it and how it functions but toping the list is tiny screen size with my now elderly eyeballs- the batteries are ALWAYS dead when I want to use it. . .if I do put fresh batteries in then it never lasts long enough for a drive. The set up I have for it does not allow direct powering. . . no way to be sure it is even recording while underway. . . and long off the support of the company and accessories. . . one must spend more premium money for the newer models. . .I attempted to record videos with it at the last Goblinfest but it shut itself off mid-drive most times unbeknownst to us while driving.
Another thing I once-upon-a-time dropped a whole lot of hard earned money on (2005ish) was a dynamic dynamometer- a lil electronic dohikie which you programmed the weight of your car into and it would be able to give you actual horsepower rates/ best shift points based on a sample of your driving. it also would map via gps your tracks with turn entry and exit info available after a run and if you mapped insides and outsides of the track it could also help you find the best lines - I think I used it 2-3 times. soooooo not worth the money I spent! these days those sorts of features CAN be obtained on a cell phone app. . . .
. . . . .which I won't use. . . I worked as Space and Cyber (attack) most of my Air Force career and actually did a lot of spooky things with cell phones. . . I won't use them for anything besides a phone call for a whole lotta good reasons. . . .even beyond resisting the affliction of zombification most folks seem to have succumbed to.
feel free to throw those apps on here none-the-less because someone else might find 'em useful!
