Matski

I have been in the ACT for a few months now and I must admit I have not found a computer store I’m happy with. Computer Fairs are very popular here and probably the reason its hard to find a real computer store. Most Sat and Sun you will find a fair on somewhere (check local media). In Melbs or WA its not uncommon to find stores where you purchase through the front counter, then collect your goods from some massive where house out the back. Something I am yet to find in Canberra (help wanted). HT in Fyshwick carries a range of stuff in stock. It’s pretty basic and pricy. Harvey Norman and Domain have big computer / technology sections. Stay away from HiMicro in Fyshwick tho. They have all but one blank CD in stock (let alone pc parts) and will charge you for the privilege of listening to them dribble rubbish. My number 1 for PC stuff nowadays is EBay. If you do your research (like any good purchase) you can make some real savings. To be honest I very rarely use anything else. I try to choose Sydney based vendors for expensive (warranty) type stuff and international for everything else. I could go on for hours about the savings. Time and time again I have browsed the retail stores, playing them off against each other for a lower price. Then I check eBay and find the same item $50 cheaper - delivered to your door.

I can really vouch for the guys at Discount Tyre Service in Belconnen. I had my roadworthy done there a couple o weeks ago (White R33). It failed first time due to turbo timer, faulty reverse sensor & boost controller (hey i didn’t know lol). My shifts at work stuffed me round and I rocked up the second time on the last day of the 2 weeks I had to fix it. The guys raced down & purchased a new reverse sensor, fitted it and completed the compliance that arvo. They did the work with smiles & I know I'll be back for new tyres when the time arrises.

If your stuck wif any mate I missed the initial post and would take one off your hands. Anyone who ordered one and would like to change their mind (maybe you found eMule lol) I'll cover that too.

Yes, that’s right. Announced today there are a number of concessions to the 'Ban' all of which attract a $25 fee. I’m unsure of the details of the concessions, attempting to find out more. This was announced on 10 News tonight.

This is a joke. This legislation was ONLY introduced so as the government could charge P platers, who drive high performance cars, a $25 admin fee. Another TAX in the name of safety. Even motoring groups agree its a Joke. Again safety is used as an excuse to TAX motorists. So yes you can drive your performance car you just need to pay an extra $25 a year. Interestingly enough the legislation was based on data which shows young drivers have a higher rate of crashes than those of middle age. BUT the elderly represent similar figures. Where’s the TAX for them? Nothing is being done in the case of the elderly because they are yet to find a way of taxing them gracefully. To finish I wonder if this TAX will go towards road safety or road trauma funds? I think not.

Congratz on your new R32 and welcome to SAU. You'll find loads of info on your new weapon in the forums so here's to sweet mods and happy rides. Enjoy

Ouch!

I was thinking of developing in .NET only because of cross platform (Win XP and Pocket PC 2003) portability. Either way we will need to access the bluetooth stack so its really what languages we are comfortable with. On the hardware side. The bluetooth radio chip will need a micro controller to interface with the real world. I think a PICmicro would be most suited to the application. I already have the development boards and lots of assembler code from previous projects. Ehh assembler I hear you say.. LOL.. Have some C (ANSI) also. Relay and Analogue I/O would connect to the PICmicro then the PIC would communicate via serial to the bluetooth chip. Once I get the bluetooth chip I'll post all the data. That’s my thoughts so far. Its great to see pplz interested in developing this further so I'll hand it over for your thoughts.

LOL.. I'd go that :uh-huh: Unlike my R33 SII which has some rather nice wallaby sized, ill get cosy with your intercooler, spots!

WOW.. sounds like a little social engineering in action. Its been said many times you should report this. For a number of reasons. a) You may not be the only one who has been targeted. The police may have information from other cases and yours will assist in completing the puzzel. B) It may assist if you are to make an insurance claim on your house or cars. Particularly if there is violence involved. The first thing I did when I purchased my R33 was a government approved / insurance recognised immobiliser and alarm. It also reduced my premium, which in two years would have paid for itself. The SMS notification is in the making as is Bluetooth control. Until then I have a wireless LAN camera watching over it. PC software allows you to draw a box around an area in the picture which when pixels change a sound is played and recording starts. I have that PC turned up real loud at night. Good luck with this one mate. Its $hit no one needs but it does make you think about security.

Just ordered the BR-SC11A from Blue Radios. This quick toturial will show you how easy it is to get the chip working. I currently use my IMATE Phone / PDA for GPS navigation and playing videos in my car (hooked up to an AUX input on my stereo). With the bluetooth module above I could make a simple app in .NET and control my car via my phone / pda's Bluetooth. A PC version would also be in the making. Once the chip arrives from the states I'll begin development. If all works out well I'll have a run of PCB's made and put up a post for group buys. It will operate much like the SMS controller with a number of relay inputs & outputs. These would be controlled via a Windows (XP and Pocket PC version) application. This would work well with the Navman PDA / GPS you can buy for under $500. The Blue Radio's chip can also stream audio so it would make sense to put AUX outputs on the board also. If we have any programmers / electronics wiz's who would like to develop this further it would be great to work with you? My email: [email protected] Remove the caps. Down with the SPAM bots! M@

I'm up for the cruzin. Have to work that night and start at 22:45 so I'll be out for as long as I can.

Now that’s an idea that should be developed further! I’m thinking Wi-Fi and a small PC, maybe running Linux or Windows Media Center (yet to test the boot up speeds?). When you drive within range of your home you get all your movies etc sync'd to your car. As we have climate control why not incorporate that into an application and remove the climate control head unit in the dash. More room for a 15" flat screen I say! 3M make resistive touch screen ad-on's which would fit the part really well. Watch movies, control your car (lights climate etc) & get engine stats from a 15" dash mount LCD. Now that would look sic and probably win a few awards at car shows to.

LOL.. A variation on that could be pepper spray although im guessing if you were to face court over something like that you will almost certainly end up screwed. The idea would be to hit the cab with a very short burst of spray once: a) the alarm sounds for more than 10 sec. B) a little switch behind your stereo, boost controller or any other item of value is triggered. So if the stereo was tampered with (and the alarm on) a short burst of freshly ground seasoning would incapacitate the offender causing them to be unable to see and thus unable to continue removing your $hit. I would be working on interlocks & a sealed box for the spray cos a 'misfire' might be rather nasty .. LOL :boinkcar: On more practical ideas heated seats would be a nice option. Im thinking about having the skyline re-trimmed in black Oz leather. If that comes about I'll be installing some heaters to. An SMS a few minutes before I enter the car in the morning would ensure warm seats every time. Again an interlock would turn them off if; after 10 minutes the car was not started. Go the 555 timer!

The controller will only activate the appropriate relay when it receives an SMS which matches, exactly, the text you programmed in. So if someone had your number they would also need to know what to put in the SMS text. To further security you may include a pin in the text eg. '2366 Start Engine' Unless that exact text was received it would not activate.