In this day and age , digital display dashes have largely replaced the traditional analog gauges , but of course there are a variety of options available , each with different price points and different pros and cons . We're here with Scott from Haltech to talk about their IC7 range and , in particular , an upcoming fairly major firmware development .
Welcome to High Performance Academies' tuned in field report podcast series . In these special midweek episodes we look back through our archives to find the best conversations we've had through years worth of attending the best automotive events across the globe .
We've pulled the audio from these tech filled interviews with some of the industry's most well known figures and presented it in podcast format for you to enjoy as a quick hit of insider knowledge . For a start , scott , let's get a bit of an idea of what the IC7 actually is as it stands today .
For sure . So the IC7 is a 7 inch display only dash . It's got six buttons on the front of it . It can display a whole bunch of different CAN protocols from a range of manufacturers , or OBD Display only . It's been like that since we released it a couple of years ago , but we thought it was time for a birthday .
Alright , so let's just talk about what that actually means . So display only really the key there is . It's not a logger , so you're only using it as a driver display to tell the driver what's going on and maybe bring up warnings if maybe your coolant temperature goes too high , for example .
Exactly right , yeah , so think of it more like a slave device . So it doesn't exactly have a brain of its own , so it has no outputs . It's got no math channels available and stuff like that .
No onboard data logging , no onboard GPS , so it really is a display only , with no bi-directional communication between the , the dash itself and the engine management system .
How River ? That's a known quantity , that's how it's always been , and of course that comes at a benefit of a lower price point .
Spot on . So a couple of years ago , when we released it , the display only was exactly what the market wanted . There was a big hole there and this thing has filled it perfectly . The displays are really nice , it's really sharp , it's got all its auto backlight dimming and it's been a wonderful product for a long time .
But we are hearing that people want more , so that's what we're here for .
Before we go into what more actually means , let's also just talk about how the data is going from the ECU to that dash you mentioned CAN . Now , this is a Haltech product , but of course , like most dashes on the market , it's not solely limited to working with the Haltech ECU is it , of course ?
yeah , so all of the Haltech stuff . So for quite a long time all the Haltech CAN protocols have all been internal stuff . The things that all of our devices , like our CAN based wideband controllers , our thermocouple amplifiers , our IO expanders , our PDMs , our ECUs , our dashes all of that CAN information has been internal .
We've had a public CAN protocol for the display , the things that the ECU sends out to all sorts of dashes . That's changed recently , where we've released all of those internal CAN IDs to the public so that anybody can use them with whatever devices they like makes things a whole lot easier to use . So we weren't doing that to be difficult .
We were doing that from a tech support perspective , where releasing all of those CAN protocols and then having all of our tech support staff supporting the CAN communications protocols , it is a really , really complicated thing , but thanks to people like you guys , we are starting to get there , people are starting to understand this and now there is a way to learn
about CAN communication .
Yeah , and I think at the simplest level , it's nice if you've just got a drop down menu and the ECU or the dash and you select this is my ECU , it's a Haltech Elite 2500 or it's a MoTeC or an MChon or whatever that may be , and then everything's done .
When you have to actually go through and actually develop your own CAN communications template , I mean that is a difficult task , not insurmountable , but puts it out of reach of a lot of people . Do you want to take your car knowledge game to the next level ? Join us in the next free lesson at hpacademycom . Slash free and start developing your own skills .
Today , now that we've got out of the way how it communicates , how we get that data and also should just touch on you mentioned OBD2 you can actually get data from a stock ECU as well . You don't actually have to have an aftermarket stand alone . Let's talk about these updates . What's coming in the pipeline for the ICC ?
So from the beginning we've had the ICC software , which is a separate software package that we use to program the dash . So we're going away from that software and we're actually going to be programming the ICC7 dash directly out of the NSP software , just like you would an engine management system .
So the dash is actually going to be firmware updated into what we call a master device . So it will stand on its own two feet . It will have half a gigabyte of onboard data logging . It's got a bunch of outputs , it's got a bunch of inputs and all of those things can be programmed .
So let's say , for example , you've got a full carbureted car , instead of having a bunch of gauges , you just put our one dash in it . You use all of those inputs and outputs into the device . Then you can use it to control your thermofans , your fuel pumps , all of that sort of stuff . Or you'll be able to configure the dash with a PDM , for example .
So our PDM is not a standalone device , it needs a master . The dash will be able to do that . So once you join those two together , all of a sudden you'll have a huge amount of flexibility to control a whole heap of different stuff without an engine management system now just coming back to that .
Am I right in saying if this is just a firmware update , you don't actually need ? This is not a new generation of ICC7 dash , so older existing ICC7s out there firmware are updateable to incorporate all this new functionality , the dash for the people , haltech for the people .
We try and do the right thing there where it has been there . It's been the plan all along and we've kind of got to the point where the dash needs a birthday .
It's a couple of years old , so a whole bunch of new displays and a whole bunch of new functionality , because we're racers too like we want to see it happen the obvious point I'll make here is that if you are now releasing this just a firmware update , obviously that means that the hardware was there all along .
So clearly Haltech actually had this in mind from the initial release of the dash yeah , absolutely , and , as you know , nothing happens overnight .
So being able to release as a display dash , get any bugs ironed out , get the thing as a tried solid hardware product and then build on it , is always the best sort of course of action we're here recording this interview at World Time Attack right at the end of August 2023 .
Can you give us some insight into when this firmware is going to be available for public consumption ?
uh , months , weeks and months , not not years and years .
So I think hopefully there'll probably be a few spy shots from World Time Attack this weekend where we might have a laptop and a dash set up on the stand that some keen eyed viewers might see , some NSP software with some dashes where you'll be able to drop and drag things and a bit more flexibility over how the screens are laid out .
So hopefully if you come over to the stand you might be able to see it then and off the website and you'll see a heap of YouTube advertising and stuff and I'll be doing a bunch of demos of how it works , I'm going to say in the next month or so from the date today .
Perfect . Thanks for your time , Scott . It's a really interesting update and I'm looking forward to testing it out myself .
Mate pleasure . Thanks for having us . As always , it's been fantastic work , cheers .
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