[help needed] Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Hardware inside and outside of the ECU
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V8Volvo245
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Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by V8Volvo245 »

What exactly do I need to build a working RusEfi?

Do I need a main board, a discovery board and a shield?

What is a discovery board?

What is a shield?

Are there boards available with just the SMD stuff populated?

Do I need an external MAP sensor?

Are there any more questions I should be asking? :lol:

This is for a COP supercharged V8
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AndreyB
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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by AndreyB »

Just added this to https://rusefi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=212
For simplicy of troubleshooting I like to split the ECU hardware into two pieces - a board with just the CPU (brain board), and the input-output board, also known as main board.

discovery is an off the shelf brain board. rusEfi also has it's own brain board, both are the same thing

Main board is also known as "discovery shield" if you look at the main board as something which allows a discovery board to act like an ECU.
Yes we use external MAP sensors. I am expecting to get assembled boards back in stock in about three weeks.
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V8Volvo245
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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by V8Volvo245 »

So this would be like the Speeduino, that uses an Arduino Mega as it's brain?
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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by AndreyB »

V8Volvo245 wrote:So this would be like the Speeduino, that uses an Arduino Mega as it's brain?
Mostly yes.

Theoretically we have https://rusefi.com//forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=381 as our own brain board and theoretically you can avoid the brain board altogether but very few people go this route.

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V8Volvo245
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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by V8Volvo245 »

Are the only differences between Frankenstein and Frankenso the size of the board? i.e. do they have the same capabilities? The only reason I'm asking is because my car has Bosch LH2.4 and I have several spare ECUs kicking around that I could use for the case and connector.
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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

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Very limited telepathic abilities - please post logs & tunes where appropriate - http://rusefi.com/s/questions

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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by kb1gtt »

Has Speeduino run a V8 with COP? I think you are limited in your IO, and might not have enough to do it. If you go speeduino I would double check that you have enough IO before you go to far. The discovery board uses a 32 bit ARM chip which is a much faster bit pump than the 8 bit AVR used by Arduino's. As well ARM processors consume about 70% to 80% of all embedded applications. This is mostly caused by cell phones and tablets. So they are going to be around for a long time. I understand the AVR's used by Arduino's have been ported to ARM based chips, so if something happens to AVR's you'll most likely still have options. However most ARM's are 3.3V not 5V, so porting over might be a hardware bugger.

Frankenso was updated such that it could provide 8 channels of ignition signals. However Frankenstein did not get this updated, and can only do 6 channels of ignition. I fear you would either not have enough ignition channels with Frankenstein, or you would have to wire them simulating wasted spark. You can avoid this kind of drama if you use a Frankenso board.

I would suggest a Frankenso. I know it has enough IO to do what you want with a V8. The salvage yard ECU's are reasonably low cost to obtain. It has 12 low side channels, which is handy as you can have 8 injectors, plus 4 other devices. Think radiator fan, fuel pump relay, idle solenoid, tach signal, etc.
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V8Volvo245
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Re: Shopping list for the hard of understanding

Post by V8Volvo245 »

Frankenso it is, then. Thank you for explaining it all to me. The donor Jag arrives today, so as soon as Christmas is out of the way I can start to strip it and get the engine mounted in the Volvo :D
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