I've been working on my electronic display layouts. No offense to CB and the simple backlit displays he used when restoring the hero bike, the displays I have will be 99% accurate in layout and use real LEDs. But I could really use some feedback to move them along.

For one thing, I've been getting hung up on the functionality and materials aspects, and am wondering: how much functionality do you guys want from the electronic displays, and what grade of materials would you prefer?

Here are the minimum functions I want:

• Displays On/Off Button—This would be a single latching pushbutton that turns on all displays. I would probably assign this to the top "Power" button on the tank display. This should be an easy function.
• Power Start—This would be a momentary pushbutton run through a relay to start the bike (for those with this option on their bike). I would probably assign this to the lower "Power" button on the tank display. Alternatively, it could be assigned to one of the two offset red pushbuttons on the handlebar pods. The problem with that solution, though, is that these red buttons didn't exist on the series bike and there must have still been a button used to start the series bike away from Command Center or when Norman didn't have a connection to start it remotely.
• The "Systems Monitor" red and green 10-segment displays below the four push-buttons on the tank could be easily wired to chase in opposite directions as seen on the show.
• The led rows under and to the right side of the monitor on the heads-up portion of the forward display could also easily be made to chase, though making them all light up at once on power-up would require a special circuit.

If we really just want to display our bikes and have them look cool, this could be it. Everything else could just light up as static, non-functioning (though real LED) lights, and this would definitely keep costs down. All of the numeric displays would just be set to "000"/"000000" or some random numbers.

Here are the additional functions that could be had for extra $$$, in the order of importance to ME:

• Voltmeter—This shouldn't be rocket science to make work, using the "Power Level" gauge on the tank display.
• Slide switch that makes the "Particle Beam" LEDs light up/down as you move it, but doesn't trigger the beam door open/close, as that would be another level of complexity.
• Security On—This would result in the red "Security" light flashing when the red pushbutton underneath it is pressed, like you're setting the bike's alarm. When not pressed, the "Security" light would just be lit solid.
• Speed/MPH—This would be shown on the large 3-digit, 7-segment display on the horizontal portion of the forward display area. These digits were only shown to count down the seconds to hyperthrust on the show, but since there are three of them I think it's safe to assume that when hyperthrust wasn't counting down, they were intended to show the bike's speed. Or maybe not, since speed was indicated from within the helmet display. But I'm willing to assume that this area showed speed most of them time, and just wasn't seen on camera.
• Fuel—I honestly think it would be too difficult to install actual sender units in each of the side fuel tanks, BUT, it could be possible to have the fuel gauge bar graph run off a simple timer once the gauges are powered up, calibrated to reach the bottom at roughly the same time as you USUALLY are running out of fuel.
Odometer—This would be displayed on the "Total" and "Trip" readouts underneath "Zulu".
• Clock—This would display the time and be assigned to the obvious place: "Zulu" 6-digit 7-segment numeric display on the left side of the monitor. This could be tough to re-set though, since you usually need two buttons to set a digital clock and there is only one reset button on this display, and is probably meant to be used with the "Trip" readout. So this could instead just be used as a timer instead and run off the same timer chip as is used for the fuel gauge.
• Light Level Gauge—the "Light Level" 10-segment readout at the bottom right of the heads-up display could be made to work pretty simply using an LED that senses available light levels and a bar-graph driver to display this level on this 10-segment display.
• Sliding "Particle Beam" switch that engages the actuator operating the particle beam door on the nose.

As for the materials, I would like to have the display panels be made from aluminum, with custom-printed and laser-cut polycarbonate graphics adhered to them. To machine these panels and order the custom graphics would be expensive, though. A cheaper solution may be to create master panels in styrene sheet, then mold them, create panels in fiberglass/epoxy, cut the holes by hand, and use printed adhesive vinyl for the top graphics. Or the aluminum panels could be used, but with printed vinyl graphics adhered.

If the panels were made from fiberglass/epoxy with adhesive vinyl graphics, and LED electronics were used with only the BASIC functions mentioned above, we're probably talking about $1500 total. If aluminum panels were used instead of fiberglass/epoxy, figure about $300 more. If polycarbonate graphics are used instead of printed vinyl, figure about another $200 more. To incorporate the expanded list of functionality to the electronics, add about another $1000 in circuit design cost.

Thoughts?

Good morning Seth,

O.K. to say it absolutly clear the hole project to built up a correct Street Hawk replica did cost already so much money so it would be absolutly wrong in my eyes to save on the wrong end. Special the hole elecronic would be the absolutly moost important highlights in my thoughts.

So I would be in for 1000% for the best of materials and with all functions that are possible on any way to get done. For me personaly that would be the absolutly best as you know I also would like to order the full set of body parts from you and on this way I would have killed two birs with one stone! As I devenetly would get items that would fit together.

Greetings Guido

Wow Seth, as with everything you have given this topic a lot of thought! Funny enough I was thinking about this last night on my way home from work, what I want is it to look right over anything else at a realistic price. After all the bikes did'nt have real functions (that I know of).

We've all seen KR replicas with fully functioning electronics, even a working compass, however what strikes me with those and the BTTF replicas is , does anyone else think the displays are just TOO bright?? Obvioulsy LED technoligy has come a long way since the 80's and its the only thing available to them, but I dont want my bike looking like a christmas tree. So I'm planning on using resistors to dim the LED displays I've purchased (simple chasing micro LED bars) and the look I want is a seamless top and middle display with real segment numbers connected to on a counter up down etc (just for hyperthrust fun ) controlled by the handle bar pod momentry buttons, LED bar graph (vertical and horizontal) chasing and the system monitor lights ,chasing. Also single LED's and a amber lit reset button (I plan to use that as the display on/off)

I've got real switches for the lower systems/ weapons panel even a particle beam slider knob (Technics). The lower panel is raised in two parts which is easy to vacu form. So I was thinking of having the panels laser printed in reverse for durability on clear thick acertate and then vacu forming over a raised shape, use coloured gels and opague grey gels to hide the colour when not lit. Back lit with either white LED's or a white EL sheet (which is'nt bright at all).

Guido, thanks for the response. Sounds like you're up for the full monty.

Jon, you bring up a great point. The LEDs appear VERY bright when viewed at night, unless they are regulated in some way. The only problem is that unless you also have a way to show them at full brightness then you won't be able to see them in the daytime. Knight Rider electronics often come with a dimmer option. I wonder how much it would cost to add this option. It could be controlled using the two "Level" switches on the tank.

I forgot to add a few of my "fantasy" features—things I would love to have work but are probably too costly. One was making the suspension adjustable using air shocks in the forks and at the rear, and then using the "Level" buttons on the tank display to adjust the bike's height, as these buttons were meant to do on the show.

There are several companies that can do custom graphic overlays based on artwork you send them. So far, I like this company the best: http://www.mavericklabel.com/products/control-panels-nameplates.php.

Note that their overlays allow you to have printed area, areas that are cut out, and areas that are colored translucent. A graphic having all of these features is ideal, since in some areas the LEDs are showing through cut-outs (like the milky-white LED bars that make up most of the tank display), and in other places there is a translucent colored window over an LED, like the colored red and blue triangles at the top of the upper/head-sup display, and the yellow triangular areas on either side of the 6-digit rows on the left of the upper display.

The graphic overlays are just thin adhesive plastic, and would still need to be affixed to sturdier underlying panels, ideally made from aluminum that have large shapes cut out. Like for the tank display, the aluminum under-panel would have large rectangular holes cut out for each LED stack, whereas the overlay would have smaller holes cut for each LED.

The trick is getting the artwork and cut-outs to perfectly match the LEDs on the circuitboard. So here are the steps involved:

1) Determine correct overall size/shape of each display area (tank display, middle display, upper display). Since the electronics didn't change from the pilot to the series bike I was able to just measure the size and shape of these areas from my series nose.
2) Create an art layout of each display element using screen caps and promotional stills with all lighted areas placed in their correct positions according to these sources.
3) Determine what LED types are to be used for each and every display element.
4) Purchase all LED components.
5) Purchase a veroboard and place each LED component into the sockets of the board, approximating the art layout as best as possible.
6) Adjust the art layout to match where the components were actually placed on the board (I might have had two LEDs .12" apart but since the holes on a standard circuitboard are .1" apart, the graphic would need to be adjusted to match this.)
7) Contact an electronics engineer to design the circuits, using the veroboards with LEDs placed to indicate the layout of the display elements, and providing him with a list of the desired functions.
8) Design the aluminum underlay panels with large cutouts and custom border shapes (the tank display panel isn't just a rectangular single-layered shape. It has a bottom layer that is rectangular, with the top and bottom halves placed on top with their corners cut out.)
9) Contact someone to get the underlying aluminum panels made.
10) Send artwork to the company making the graphic overlays.
11) Purchase graphic overlays.
12) Assemble the displays (attach overlays to the aluminum under-boards and attach the circuit boards to the aluminum panels).

I had created art layouts of each display area about 4 years ago, but they need to be redone, since I have photos since then that show more detail and screen caps from the DVDs are also much better than what I had before. I do already have a list of 95% of the LED components, though, and will be trying to finish that as I redo the art layouts.

Interesting to say the least. Have you had a quote from this company Seth?
One thing we have'nt mentioned is the map, what are your thoughts on that? GPS, mobile phone screen saver or just a screen grab printed and back lit?

P.S. what are the dimensions of the panels guys? Guido are your accurate in size?

I believe the graphic overlays through Maverick would be about $200-250 each if at least 2-3 of us got them. The price for 1 set would be about $350 or so, so the per-set price really goes down when ordering multiples. Also, these prices assume that we would be ok with them arriving as one large graphic sheet from which the individual displays could be cut from (the printed graphics would have outlines or cut guides for the tank display, middle display horizontal area, two middle display angled areas, and the three sections of the upper/heads-up display to guide us in cutting these out). Ordering each display as a separate graphic already cut around its border would triple the price.

Aluminum backing panels would be about $300.

The actual size of the monitor on the screen-used bikes is 3.25" diagonally, but no one offers monitors in that size, except for Nintendo DSi replacement monitors, which have a custom ribbon that I have no idea how to interface with. So we'll have to go with a 3.5" diagonal screen size, which still fits fine. These are plentifully available, being commonly used as a rearview/backup monitor. Several even come with 2 inputs so that you can have a video feed from cameras mounted at the front/rear of the bike. Note that the FAKE screen seen on the stunt upper display that was light gray on the stunt bike, and onto which CB photoshopped the blue/green image of the map from command center, was a bit larger, with no frame/border around it. The only time we ever see something on this screen is when there is a brief shot in the pilot of the hyperthrust countdown on the middle display and you can see an image of red intersecting lines forming a street drawing on the display.

For 3.5" monitors, the key thing is to get one that is either raw/unmounted, or one that has a casing that is very narrow so that when the frame is removed for mounting the underlying circuitboard won't protrude around the screen ebough to interfere with the LED rows above and to the right of the monitor. You can find some that should work fine on aliexpress.com, like this one (which I actually kind of like the frame of): http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-3-5-AV1-AV2-TFT-LCD-Dashboard-Car-Monitor-with-Fixed-Plate/725889834.html

That one sucks a lot of juice, though (10W). Here's one on Ebay that could probably be taken apart with the screen mounted to the back of the display boards, and only consumes 2W: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-3-5-inch-TFT-LCD-Color-REAR-VIEW-Backup-Car-Monitor-FOLDED-/330745637259?pt=US_Rear_View_Monitors_Cams_Kits&hash=item4d01f9e98b.

Then there are the higher end raw monitors that have double the resolution, and options like a VGA input from, like this one:

http://www.qualitymobilevideo.com/lcd35vgan.html

Me personally, I don't know if I need a monitor that nice. I will probably be ording the second one I listed above (the one from Ebay). But it would be nice to have a small video file fed to the monitor by default which shows a wire frame model of the bike slowly rotating...

Guido's nose should have the correct display area dimensions. I don't have them handy now. I did adjust the middle display dimensions just a bit on my pilot nose vs. the series nose in one area. Also, the upper/heads up display area actually has quite an irregular upper border, and I made the upper border of this area on my nose a symmetrical rounded curve.

Plenty of food for thought there, I like the silver border on the cheaper monitor, it's not a million miles from the pilot bike. Would be nice to fit cameras to the nose and rear panels even just for youtube episodes!

I think this thread will have lots of pics and updates as the projects unfold as it's the bling of the bikes

One of the pilot bikes had a monitor with a black frame (see the power-on shot just before Jesse rides it the first time), while the other had a metallic silver border around the screen. So either one is screen-accurate .

That said, the frame the monitor comes with could be removed and the monitor mounted to the backside of the display panel, with us putting a plain black or silver frame of the correct shape on top of the graphic panel.

I found the measurements of the display panel artwork I have:

• The upper (heads-up) display panel art has a background that is 240mm wide by 89.8mm tall.
• The middle display art has a background that is 266.7mm wide by 72.39mm tall.
• The tank display art has a background that is 113.12mm wide by 174.63mm tall.

I believe that the measurements for all of these backgrounds were about 1-2mm smaller in each dimension than the actual flat area on the nose that they would be mounted to so that the panels wouldn't scrub the edges of where they mount.

Btw, I had posted the wrong link to the "nice" monitor above. I've corrected it. Check it out. $230 vs. $30 for the cheaper ones. It's nice, and you do get double the resolution, but you really don't NEED high resolution on a tiny monitor. We'll see...

Brill, thanks Seth. Something else to think about, how about a sound board for the 'turbine hum' on start up, particle beam sounds and some verticle lift whooshes??!

Wow guys,

more and more great infos and what should I say I like to get it all if possible with sound and everything.

Seth if you like I would sent you to panels I got from Chris that you could use them to ge corrected. Also let me know which dimensions you need from the nose I got and you will get everything I could give you.

Greetings Guido