"Transmission Oil Temperature" is supported on J1708/J1587 Allison 3000/4000 Series Transmissions built before 1998.

"Transmission Oil Temperature and Gear Selected/Gear Obtained" are supported on J1708/J1587 Allison 3000/4000 Series Transmissions built from 1998 to 2005.

In 2005, Allison changed the electronics in the 3000/4000 Series Transmissions to ONLY support J1939, which VMSpc does not support.

It is my understanding that in 2008, Allison has added back in the J1708/J1587 support to their 3000/4000 Series Transmissions.

Allison 2000 Series Transmissions are non electronic, and do not support J1708/J1587 or J1939.

What the "Recent MPG" and "Rolling MPG" look like in the Parameter Editor.

What the "Recent MPG" and "Rolling MPG" will look like after you change them in the Parameter Editor.

What the "Recent MPG" and "Rolling MPG" look like in VMSpc, after the changes in the Parameter Editor.

The enhanced understanding of my motorhome’s operation I gained by using VMSpc on my laptop was so great that I undertook building a dedicated system into my 1996 Safari Serengeti. I picked the VIA SP13000 mini-itx motherboard since this would make a compact installation and would provide the ability to display the VMSpc data as well as GPS data and rear view camera data.

In addition to the motherboard I purchased a M1ATX power supply that is designed to power a computer from a 12V DC supply, a 100 MB laptop hard drive, a DVD R/W, a WXGA 15.5” LCD display and a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 TV converter. The VIA SP13000 has pretty capable video and sound chips as well as a wide assortment of I/O ports including a serial port for the VMSpc. I didn’t want to deal with a USB to serial converter. To lessen the vibration input to the system I mounted the computer on a plywood base which I isolated from the motorhome with a soft foam suspension system. I replaced the existing dashboard with one I fabricated from 1/8” aluminum with the display occupying the entire center section. I chose to retain the speedometer, fuel, oil pressure and turbo boost steam gages and put them on the side as backup in case of a computer failure somewhere down the road. Since I had to fabricate the new dashboard I elected to include a Smart Tire system and a variable speed wiper control. I also included a switch and indicator lamps for the computer power and hard drive activity. I installed the DVD in the dash as well as RJ-45 LAN and USB ports. The USB port allows me to plan a trip on my laptop and transfer it to the dashboard for display. I am an active digital photographer so I included a CF card reader for dumping photos into the computer. I installed a track ball on the console beside the driver seat and use a wireless keyboard for setup or if I want to use the computer when we are in camp. The Hauppauge unit includes a remote and lets me display TV and record video on the hard drive to give a “TIVO” capability. I have made provisions for driving a remote display. I intend to remove the existing TV and replace it with a flat panel monitor driven by the computer. Sound data is passed to a Panasonic radio and amplifier system. Internet access is via hot spots and a Linksys wireless router into the RJ-45 port. I also had to purchase a new rear view camera as the original one did not provide a mirror image and the computer did not have enough capability to flip it.

I purchased some wood veneer which I used to cover the aluminum dash. Since the new dash is almost three inches taller than the old one I had to fabricate a new cover for the dash. I used aluminum and fiberglass to build it and covered it with foam and vinyl. Without question this was the hardest part of the installation. The cover provides a small sun shield. The display washes out somewhat in direct sunlight but is still quite readable. For night driving I reverse the streets colors and turn the display brightness down.

I am running Windows XP Home as the OS with VMSpc 2.2, WinTV and Street Atlas which I just recently upgraded to 2007. I have arranged the VMSpc data across the top and down the right side of the screen. Street Atlas 2007 fits beneath and to the left of the VMSpc data. I run the WinTV always on top but with no controls visible and have positioned the window over a non-critical part of the Streets display.

I originally provided a relay system that would power the computer up when the key was turned on or by a switch on the panel. I have since disabled the key activation and just turn it on before I start up the engine. The display runs from 12 V DC. I wasn’t able to get any data on allowable input voltage range so I regulate the voltage to the panel to 12V to make sure I am not supplying to high of a voltage to it. I am running the computer from the house batteries to avoid any transients from the starter. I have had the system installed for over a year and 7000 miles now and the only problem to date has been a faulty hard drive cable. I had used the circular cables rather than the flat ones but switched to the flat ones after the failure.

I have attached photos of the installation and the screen layout. My only regret is that I waited so long to do it.

I have successfully added a 7" LCD monitor to my laptop to display the VMSpc software. The wife used the laptop screen to use the GPS software and I didn't want to "infringe" on her space. The 7" VGA monitor worked great using the dual monitor option in Windows XP.

Now I have a seperate monitor on my side to continually display the VMS, the picture quality is great, and I can monitor all of the related gauges without taking my eyes too far away from the line of sight while driving. I mounted the 7" LCD screen on the top left corner of my dash display.

Pictures are available on request!

Marty

Cruise Status for VMSpc 2.x Step-by-Step setup
(Originaly Posted on 25-JAN-2003, by Herb Petersen)

I assume most of you use the Cruise gauge to tell you what speed the Cruise Control is set at.
Here is a little enhancement you may wish to try.

Enter the VMS Edit program.
Hit New.

Call the new guage "Cruise Status".
I call the abbreviation "CS".
Set the PID to 85.
Set Gauge Minimum to 0.
Set Low Red Line to 1.
Set High Red Line to 150.
Set Gauge Max to 150.
Set Low Yellow to 2.
Set High Yellow to 150.
Save the settings.

Start the VMSpc program.

Make a new Simple Guage.
Select Cruise Status.
Select location as Center.
Check only the Show Warning Lamp, box.
Set the color to Black.

Size the guage so all you see is the round indicator lamp in the square.

Place this square next to your Cruise Guage.

Now, when the Cruise Control is turned OFF, the guage will be RED.
When the Cruise Control is ON and active it will be GREEN.
When the Cruise Control is ON but NOT active it will be YELLOW.

Enjoy!

Herb

Herb Petersen
608-538-3394 home
414-403-7747 cell

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MarkO re-posting Herb Petersen

===================================================================
Mark D. Overholser
Engineering Technician
SilverLeaf Electronics Inc.
2472 Ferry Street SW
Albany, OR 97322

888-741-0259
541-967-8111
541-967-8988 (fax)
http://www.silverleafelectronics.com/
( http://www.simply-smarter.com/ )
===================================================================

Here is a little tool for editing a trip odometer file. This program lets you adjust the starting point for your current trip - even allowing you to create a "trip" that is the entire coach history.

To use it, you first must figure out the name of the trip odometer file. Right-click on the odometer, then click "View History". At the top of the history file window will be the name of the history file, something like "Odo31415926.odo.txt". Remember that name.

Next, start OdometerEditor.exe, and open the file with the same name you just remembered, but without the ".txt" extension. The program will then show you the starting point for the current trip leg on that odometer. You can adjust those values however you like.

For example, to create an odometer that shows your totals and averages since the coach was born, simply set all the start values (fuel, time, and miles) to zero. That's all you have to do.

To install the program, just download it into your VMSpc directory. That's all. To run the program, click on the Start menu, select "Run ..." or "Run Program", click Browse, and browse to the VMSpc directory and click on the program icon/name.

Is there a way to set up the VMSpc screen so that it is always on top of the screen? Every time I click on my Delorme GPS map, the VMSpc screen disappears. Thanks, Larry