Digital inclinometer

[M Rose]

MEMS accelerometers are made from silicon and not subject to magnetic fields, etc. Just waved some strong magnets around my new accelerometer and it was not affected. Once calibrated they should not need to be calibrated again.

Accelerometers are different then vehicle specific inclinometers. Maybe some of the technology has changed in components used to build them over the past several years, but the methods of crunching data hasn’t changed… I’ll stick to the old Bible method is still the most accurate…

 

[Ubiety]

Been poking at the new accelerometer and gpsd and have the basics of data collection running. The columns are GPS time, lat, lon, roll and pitch. Spitting out a new line every second, gpsd only seems to update the timestamp every few seconds. This is just sitting on my desk for now, first and last three samples are with accelerometer sitting on the desk and the middle ones are with me waving it around. The roll/pitch are floats after being calculated but I trimmed everything after the decimal point because I don't need that kind of accuracy. May use a more compressed format for the timestamp to save space on disk. Next bit is to move this code and accelerometer into the truck and then make a script to consume the data and spit out a KML with color coding goodness.

2022-06-08T11:25:50.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,0,-3
2022-06-08T11:25:50.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,0,-3
2022-06-08T11:25:51.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,0,-3
2022-06-08T11:25:51.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,40,-14
2022-06-08T11:25:51.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,75,-36
2022-06-08T11:25:51.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,77,-37
2022-06-08T11:25:52.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,79,-39
2022-06-08T11:25:52.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,80,-39
2022-06-08T11:25:52.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,18,-1
2022-06-08T11:25:52.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,-40,10
2022-06-08T11:25:53.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,-47,-4
2022-06-08T11:25:53.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,-53,-28
2022-06-08T11:25:53.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,-18,0
2022-06-08T11:25:53.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,-1,-2
2022-06-08T11:25:53.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,0,0
2022-06-08T11:25:54.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,0,0
2022-06-08T11:25:54.000Z,42.59053,-117.86828,0,-1

 

[OTH Overland]

@Ubiety, I think I see another application for this device. You are currently showing wild fluctuations in roll and pitch in just 4 seconds, yet no lateral movement, this would likely signify that you are in California and the big one just hit, time to duck and cover lol.. Mainly I am just jealous that you have the time to experiment, nice job and now my inner nerd wants to have this in my rig:)

 

[Ubiety]

@Ubiety, I think I see another application for this device. You are currently showing wild fluctuations in roll and pitch in just 4 seconds, yet no lateral movement, this would likely signify that you are in California and the big one just hit, time to duck and cover lol.. Mainly I am just jealous that you have the time to experiment, nice job and now my inner nerd wants to have this in my rig:)

Well it was just sitting on my desk and I was waving it around wildly ;) Planning on publishing the source and hardware description once I have something going end-to-end.

 

[pluton]

There is not much point knowing the exact grade or tilt of a road unless you know it ahead of time (before you drive on it) AND know the tilt limits of your vehicle as currently loaded. However, it's interesting to know how tilted your vehicle got after passing through . I have a Lev-O-Guage on the dash. It shows side to side tilt, and it doesn't take more than about one second to glance at it and make a mental note of the reading. From this, I know that my 4Runner can survive about a 30º off camber tilt. 30º is scary, BTW. So...when approaching an off-camber section of road, I can stop, go out and measure the camber (the iPhone suffices for this) and then decide if I want to proceed. Have I ever done this? No. Too much bother.

 

[M Rose]

@pluton if an American LMTV max side angle is 30 degrees off camber by military specs and inconsistently drove it closer to 45 degrees without toppling over, I’m sure your 4 runner can match or exceed this limit.

 

[grubworm]

the fact that the army gave up on inclinometers and went this route should tell you something...
as long as the soldier's head doesnt bang into and damage any equipment, the rollovers are fine

 

[Ubiety]

@pluton if an American LMTV max side angle is 30 degrees off camber by military specs and inconsistently drove it closer to 45 degrees without toppling over, I’m sure your 4 runner can match or exceed this limit.

I think 45 deg now identifies as 30 deg. Hahahaha

 

[M Rose]

the fact that the army gave up on inclinometers and went this route should tell you something...

That course was a heck of a lot of fun…

 

[DaleRF]

I had one in my FJ. I think the seat of my pants is more accurate and also has an alarm.
[/QUOI
It's funny, because it's TRUE!! Ha

 

[DaleRF]

this is my inclinometer...not particularly accurate, but HIGHLY sensitive and its audible alarm signals an immediate end of the ride

View attachment 226151

Perfect!!

 

[DaleRF]

I had one of those ones with the steel ball back in the late 70s. I ended up tossing it. 15 years ago or so, I used one on my phone app, cute, noisy little monkey. I deleted it. The very last thing anyone should be looking at during extreme technical driving is their dashboard.

Totally agree. My brain doesn't even consider looking at the dash...too busy worrying about ending the trip in the upside-down position!

 

[Desert Runner]

IMHO fewer electronics is better. Stay old skool!

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So agree! ........ I have been using this one brand & type/ style, for over 35 years. Simple, where side angle causes the most concern!

The 38 degrees I once hit while trail driving, was way over my comfort level in a stock F-150. That truck was not a military Hummer, designed to go 45 degrees.