K.I.T.T.s SURVEILLANCE MODE W.I.P.

You guys are gonna love this!!

While K.I.T.T. is in Surveillance mode he can determine if someone he is talking to is NOT Michael. And then ONLY accept conversational commands.... in other words if it is NOT Michael then he will ignore any commands that activate K.I.T.T.s functions like button presses, doors, scanner, trunk popper.... you name it.

Also Unless you are Michael ONLY certain "Factoids" are accessible like for instance ONLY Michael can ask for information about K.A.R.R. or Who is Michael Long, Or Who is Wilton Knight.... and so on.

"Factoids" like "Who is Billy the Kidd" can be accessed by anybody.
While in Surveillance mode someone could come up to K.I.T.T. and say:

"Where's Michael?"

And because it is Not Michael who has asked that, K.I.T.T. will respond with:

"Michael is indisposed at the moment."

IF it is Michael he will respond by saying something like:

"Are you kidding me Michael?"
Or
"You must be Joking."

K.I.T.T. while in Surveillance mode, when motion is detected he discreetly asks for a password on his monitor, during which there is a 10 second window to give the correct password.

A failed attempt within that 10 second window and K.I.T.T. goes into an "Intimidation" mode where he runs through a sequence of inquiries at a high threat level detection.... he is ONLY in a High threat level mode because a password was attempted within that 10 seconds.
During his inquiries he is waiting for responses that are either:

Favorable Responses
Or
Unfavourable Responses.

Depending on which one was given, he responds....
During this inquiry it is possible that someone simply passed by and accidentally triggered that mode so he does a final check to see if motion is either still being detected and he is hearing vocal commands he recognizes.

If there are none and no motion is detected he then just goes back into a "Loiter" mode.
Otherwise he figures there is still a threat and his inquiries are just being ignored to which he will respond by saying:

"Well... Don't say I didn't warn you."

From here he then goes into a "Defensive mode."
Our Knight O.S. Surveillance mode is getting really tricked out

Making a Vent Cover For The Temperature Sensor

Although this is not show accurate I am making a combination Vent Cover and Compass indicator lights panel for this part of my Upper Console. I'm doing a few things different with my K.I.T.T. naturally ;) I need to put that Digital DS18B20 Temperature Sensor Module somewhere and this seems a logical as any place. My thought is that if I make a removable vent cover plate or panel then if the sensor ever goes bad it will be easy to replace because all I would need to do it remove the cover plate and unplug the sensor and replace it with a new one. The space on the panel next to the vent slits I figure I'll put 4 LEDs in there to serve as the Compass indicator lights even though the Compass sends data to our Knight O.S. Dash Software I figure what the heck, why not, gives the Upper Console some more lights that actually do perform a real function ;) 

I added the 4 LEDs for the Digital Compass and mounted the Digital DS18B20 Temperature Sensor all to a couple of pieces of Proto-Board. I tested out the LEDs to make sure they were working with the Compass Module and they seem fine, just need to ID each of the wires that I colour coded Green, Red, Blue, Yellow and Black for Ground, that way I'll know which wire is for North, South, East and West indicators. Now I need to glass in a mounting bracket to attach this circuit assembly too and hook the wires up to a Molex Connector.

I drilled the holes for the Compass Indicator LEDs to poke through the Vent plate I made. I had to make a hole template out of some thin card stock just to make sure I lined up the holes right. Once done I could test fit the combo module I made so the next step will be to glass in some sort of mounting brackets to attach the circuit module to the Upper Console. I was kind of hoping to have made the Temperature Sensor Module a little easier to remove if it ever went bad but unfortunately the header pins were soldered in the wrong way so I was not able to do it quite the way I would have liked. However if the Sensor ever does go bad and I replace it I'll make sure the header pins and soldered on in a way that I can just make it so that I can plug it into a socket. 


Then I cut out a couple of "L" shaped Aluminum brackets that will serve as the main mounting tabs. I then glassed those into place. I first cemented then roughly into place using some Bondo Glass that way they would not move around any when I used the actual Fibreglass Resin and some small strips of fibreglass matting to secure the Aluminum tabs permanently into place. once this is set I can make a piece of Aluminum that I can screw down on top of the tabs to hold the circuit assembly in place. I'll put a piece of rubber padding under the top Aluminum strap to add a little cushion.

once the top securing plate is complete the final step will be to connect up the wires to a Molex Connector like I mentioned earlier on and then our little circuit assemble will be pretty much complete. I may install the HMC5883L Digital Compass into the Upper Console too as it seems likely to be the best place, kind of hard to say though as any metal or wires close to it are likely to affect the accuracy of this very delicate Compass Module so that may well involve some experimentation.

I added the Molex Connector for the Temperature Sensor and the Compass LEDs. I used an 8 Circuit Molex which leaves one spare just in case I need an extra one like maybe an extra 5V Power or Ground wire, but at 5V it should be fine. just need to determine a length of wire needed to run across the top of the T-Top window edge and down the windshield column to wherever I'll end up installing the P.C. and Arduino so a little extra will be good just in case, I would rather have too much than too little, not that it's a big issue as I can always splice on extra if I'm too short but and ounce of prevention is good ;)

Lower Console Lighted

I hooked up my Lower Console to my Eliminator 12V power supply to see what it will look like when installed in the car. Pretty cool I must say. Took a while to finally get all the wiring done but I knew taking the extra time to wire up Molex connectors would make installing the console easier and make removing it for any future maintenance a lot easier too.

Oxygen Supply Screen Spruce Up And Trajectory Guide

I was not to crazy about the boring look of the original Oxygen Supply screen so I did a little sprucing up of it so it looks a little more dynamic. At least now I have the option to change it up to something a lot cooler looking for my K.I.T.T. monitors. Over the weekend I also managed to crank out a really decent looking Trajectory guide screen for my interactive monitors too. I did each animation frame based on screen grabs from the TV show (Episode where Michael and K.I.T.T. get buried under ground.) I made each frame in Photoshop and then animated them in Unity 3D, added sound effects and it turned out great.

Getting The Annunciator Loudspeaker Ready To Install

I have all of my wires attached to the Annunciator Loudspeaker to make it ready to install into the front nose of my K.I.T.T. I soldered on the wires, taped them and applied Heat shrink tubing to help keep out the elements. All I need to do is drill some holes for the bolts into the front nose support plate. I think some people call it a "Slam Plate" ?? Not sure why. Once I have it bolted on I can run the wires in through the Firewall. I think what I will do is see if I can run the wires for the Annunciator Sound Board in through the same rubber grommet that the Speed Sensor cable runs through for the Cyberdyne unit. I'll run the Red Power wire down the battery side of the car and see if I can run it through that hole the old Antenna wire used just behind the passenger side Air Extractor vent, it getting a little crowded that hole but I'll see if I can safely fit one more wire through there. Then I can run that Power wire to the Red wire from my Voice Projection Unit Button. The Ground Wire on the Loudspeaker will just get bolted to the Chassis somewhere.

I'm still waiting for my 100 Amp In-line Fused Breaker Switch but I'll bet considering that I have ONLY the one 100W Annunciator Loudspeaker hooked up to my 2nd Fuse Panel that I could just for now and just for testing hook up one of the Inline AGU 40 Amp Fuse Holder and run that with My Fuse Panel to the Battery, just for testing until the 100 Amp one comes.

I've heard that these 40 Amp AGU In-line Fuses can run a little hot and fail so I'm somewhat wary about that news. My initial investigations did not uncover anything like that so I'll need to clearly do some more investigation into these AGU Fuses and Holders and make sure they are safe to use. If anyone has had experience with these your comments would be most welcome below.

My K.I.T.T.s Voice Projection Unit and Switch Pods Buttons Wiring Over View

OK I know from my experience with this project that sometimes it helps to see an over view of the the whole wiring scenario. So I have have just for fun put together a compilation of my diagrams for my Switch Pods and how they are wired to part of my K.I.T.T.s Voice Projection Unit and how the Power Button is wired into the scenario as well. For many who have already wired their dash electronics the Power button located among the P.A.N.P. (Power, Auto, Normal & Pursuit) wiring will be "Old Hat" to them as it's wired the same way. This all assumes you are using the electronics from Knight Rider World.

The way I have this wired is that the Switch Pod Buttons will still make a tone through the Voice Box when pressed with the main Voice Projection Button turned off. I can even disable the fuse block for the Voice Projection Unit at the battery by tripping the breaker switch on the in-line fuse which I have rated at 100 Amps which is 5 Amps just shy of what the entire fuse block is rated for at a max. of 105 Amps, just to be that little bit extra safe. This way I can also control what functions I want my K.I.T.T. to have accessible at any car shows that I may do.

K.I.T.T.s V.B. Startup Theme Cut Off Button

I made a few very minor changes to the wiring diagram for the Voicebox to include the Knight Rider Theme Cut Off switch and also the DTMF tones request switch. I have been told that 20 or so switches can be wired to the DTMF Tone Request Terminal using this wiring method.

I made a design for an engraved switch bezel for my Voicebox Start up Theme Cut Off or V.B. Theme C.O. for short to go on the engraved bezel, black with white engraved text. I'm getting a local engraver to do it up for me as they are practically just up the street at 1843 Portage Ave.

This is my artwork for my custom engraved V.B. Theme C.O. button bezel. I made a little icon to represent the Voicebox. Feel free to use my design in your own K.I.T.T. replicas if you are wanting a similar button and you want a nice push button name plate. A hole will be included just under the text big enough to accommodate my button.

This is the type of Push ON Push OFF button I am going to use to perform the simple task of jumping the connection on the Voicebox Ground and COM terminals, by pushing the button to the ON position when the startup sequence goes through it's startup routine the included Knight Rider theme will be deactivated. If the button is in the OFF position then the theme will play during the startup sequence. Very simple but nice to have the option available at a simple button press. ;) I will mount this button right next to my Voice Projection button.

Mounting Brackets For The Switch Pods

I made a couple of aluminum shaped "L" brackets to be glassed onto the back of the Switch Pods where it gets eventually glassed into place on the Knight Rider Dash. The shape at first glance might look a little odd but when you see the below set of pictures you might see why I made them this shape. It's not that I NEEDED to make them this shape for any real important reason, it's just me being a little "over complicated" I'm sure, I just felt it fit into the available space better and it gave more of a tab to bolt onto the front part of the dash with. I like putting a bit of intricacy into my work whenever possible it somehow makes me feel like I'm doing a more complete job, lol even a lot of times of things no one is EVER going to see. ;)

Right now the mounting tabs I have made are just Contact Cemented into place, I'll let it set overnight and then I can glass then firmly into place tomorrow sometime. This gets me a step closer to getting my Knight Rider Dash done. Once the Switch Pod Switches arrive from Knight Rider World I should be able to start wiring things up under the dash and then I need to pick up a descent Booster Power Pack. The power pack will be a good investment as I can also use it to charge K.I.T.T.s battery should it ever go dead while out and about somewhere where there is no power available. I can also use it to test out the electronics.

PANP Switches Have Arrived

I love getting packages in the mail from Knight Rider World. Today was the much needed PANP switches fro my 2 TV Knight Rider Dash. Now apart from the LCD monitors we pretty much have all of the dash electronics. I should now be able to wire up the electronics, run my wire loom with the connectors to my dash and finally see my dash in action. There are some things I need to do like install K.I.T.T.s Voice Box, bezel and Countdown Indicators as well as install these PANP switches after I secure in the mounting plate and bezel for them. I so can't way to see this baby all lit up ;) I'll need to test the electronics also just to make sure I do not have any bad boards, they traveled all the way from Italy and have not yet been tested since I got them so I'm going on a lot of faith that they are all OK. One thing I need to look into is how people are testing their dashes before installing them into their cars. At this point I am not sure if they use any type of special equipment or if they simply hook up the the car battery and Bob's yur Uncle ;)

Voice Projection Button Installed

I installed K.I.T.T.s Voice Projection button that I bought from Jupiter Electronics eBay shop. I just installed it today after making a mounting plate for it out of some plastic from a TV set's outer casing. The switch is currently not hooked up to anything but I do have tentative plans to wire it up somehow to the marine speakers in the nose that run off of Brenon's LED scanner and supply the "Swoosh-Swoosh" sound that K.I.T.T.'s scanner makes. I figure I should eventually be able to wire up an internal mic to the switch for projecting sound externally through those scanner speakers.... theoretically anyways ;) Perhaps even wire up a sound effects generator through the computer. All of which will need to be figured out how to be done but can be done I am sure. But in any event the button for those functions has a place and is installed.

You can see here (right) how I have used that switch bezel or whatever they call it to mount my plastic plate on for the Voice Projection button and supplied bezel. I had to cut away a small section to accommodate for the back of the V.P. button, I also had to Dremel off a small piece of plastic from the OEM dash to make room for the back of the V.P. button as well. Minor tweaks.

Now I know I have said this before but I REALLY need to bring out my Knight Rider dash and do a test fit to make sure certain things are still going to fit right. Yeah I know I've been kind of procrastinating on doing that but that's because there just always seems to be something else more pressing to do ;) One thing in particular is I want to make sure that the new dash will not obscure my V.P. button or any others I eventually place onto this mounting plate. Tomorrow I will make a couple of aluminum "L" brackets to put across the top of my new dash accessory to give it a little more support as right now it is just attached to that black plastic button bezel across the bottom with a couple of screws.

Headlight Covers Repainting

I started painting the headlight covers since they had some light chipping along the front edges where the original white paint was starting to show through. I was going to take them right off and do both sides but then determined it would be just as easy to just mask them off from the rest of the car and prime and paint them in place.

First I needed to prep the surface of the covers by going over each one with scuff pad. I know a lot of people use the grey scuff pad for this but I find with the sand-able primer I can get away with using the red scuff pad, its a little more or a coarser grade but the primer fills in the surface really well.

Once all sanded or I should say scuffed up it was time to mask off the covers from the rest of the car. Normally I use plastic drop sheet material for my masking but for small stuff like this and considering that it was an under the hood kind of area news print is more than good enough. I'm actually using flyers which are a little thicker paper.

Once all masked off it was time to give each headlight cover a good cleaning with some isopropyl alcohol to clean up and grease and dust. Then a going over with a tac cloth.

Once the primer was dry it was time to paint. I let the paint fully dry over night before putting on a few coats of clear coat. I'll let that dry over night as well so that way the clear coat is good and set before the wet sanding.

They look pretty shiny already with the clear coat applied. They will look even shiner when they are eventually wet sanded and then polished.















With the hood open I took the time to paint the edged of the scanner bar a matt black so it does not stick out as much. I just used my fine brush and brushed on some model paint as it's just a small area and that paint is pretty durable. I may eventually make some kind of plastic covers for those end pieces just to make the ends look a little neater, I'll see what I come up with and what looks good.

Front End Nearing Completion

K.I.T.T.s front end is nearing completion. I still have a few things to do but as you can see it is getting closer and closer to being done. You know I was amazed going through my photographs the other day at just how far I have come along with this project. I mean for a guy with absolutely no prior automotive experience I feel I have done pretty darned good all things being considered. I am well on my way to achieving a life long dream of owning my very own Knight Rider car.

I took some of the rubber that was on the original GM flat hood that came stock with my '82 Trans Am and cut some to fit across the top of the scanner between the hood so it helps close up the small gap at the top of the scanner. The rubber also acts as a bit of cushion between the top of the scanner and the front of the hood.

Here is a shot of K.I.T.T. with his new Turbo Hood finally on and his scanner working.

You can see I still need to do something with those front ground effects, not yet sure if I am going to use trim fasteners to attach those to the underside of the front nose or if people just take them out. I'm still looking into that.

I think I figured out the issues I was having with how the air cleaner assembly was attached. My guess is that they must have done some kind of engine modification that bypasses most of what the air cleaners original function was as that small short hose was clearly NOT attached to the Carburetor, where it would have gone was sealed up with a short piece of rubber hose with a screw in the end. So I figured OK if it was working fine like that before why mess with something I don't understand I'll just attach the new shiny one in the same manor. I'll get someone with much more automotive skills than me to have a look at it later on when I can get a chance.

Turbo Hood Waiting

I took the precaution of wrapping up my edged and top with bubble wrap, foam padding and cardboard because the route to the garage is a little precarious and anything can happen between my back room and there. ;)

All I need now is someone to help carry it out and gel me hold it steady while I bolt it onto the car. With a little help it's a 10 minute job at best. I've been waiting out our crappy weather for a nice day to do this little job too.

On another note, my Marine speakers should be arriving today so I'll be able to hook those up to Brenon's LED scanner box after I place them into my custom enclosure that I'm making using some PVC plumbing pipe. That should be fun. Once that's done I should be able to re-hook up my batter and test out the electronics that I have installed into K.I.T.T. so far.... keeping my fingers crossed that I don't turn out to have any dodgy wiring on my hands... :/ I have tried to be a careful as possible and have checking things numerous times to make sure I have done a good job.... but even still, being new to this I can't help but be a little apprehensive about it :/

Turbo Hood Ready

Finally!! I have the Turbo Hood ready to go on the car. All the hardware is back mounted onto the hood, all cleaned up, repainted, new lift supports added that I picked up from eBay. I'm just going to let it sit for a day or so to let the paint fully cure and then I'm going to wrap bubble wrap around the edges with masking tape and cover the hood with a tarp and more bubble wrap for when it's transported to the garage. I just want to take a few precautions in order to help protect it from any potential mishaps along the way.

I'll be so happy when this is finally on the car. K.I.T.T. needs his hood in order to make him look more the part. ;) I still have a little polishing to do on the hood here and there, but that will be just as easy, if not easier on the car and out in the garage, hopefully better lighting too with the main garage door open. Dying to see how this looks now that the scanner is installed. I'm hoping it all fits well otherwise I'll have some tweaking to do.

Marine Speakers Enclosure W.I.P.

This is a work in progress of my enclosure for my 100 W Marine speakers that I'm planning to use with Brenon's LED scanner for the sound effects. So far I have just drilled a hole in the back of the PVC pipe and thread through 3 18 gauge wires for the speakers. I believe they are a mono setup but just in case I have a 3rd wire I can use for either a right or left channel. Once the speakers arrive I can.... or I should say, I should be able to mount them onto the ends of the pipe after wiring them up. If all goes well I'll work out a mounting bracket and mount this assembly under the front nose support plate.

My other thought is that this speaker arrangement could work very well for K.I.T.T.'s "Voice Projection" unit... just a thought depending on how they work out. Once the speakers are mounted my plan is to re hook up the battery and test out all of my wiring.... I'm hoping I have everything wired up correctly.... maybe I should have a water hose close by just in case lol ;)

Marine Speakers For the Scanner

I bought a set of these Marine Speakers from eBay to be attached to K.I.T.T.'s scanner that I got from Lectric Enterprises. I just need to figure out how to wire them along with Brenon's scanner. I have a cool way I want to mount them into the nose of the car and I'll go into that more in a future post. ;)

June General Updates

Some general updates for stuff I have been working on over the last several weeks just in case you were beginning to think that I have been slacking.  I patched up the antenna hole in the fender with some metal screen patch and some Bondo. I accidentally stuck my finger in it before it had a chance to fully cure so I had to skim it over with a little extra Bondo once the first application had fully cured. Primed and painted it. It just need some wet sanding when the paint has had a chance to cure. Maybe another light coat of paint after the wet sanding, I'll see where I'm at when that is done. Once wet sanded and eventually clear coated you will never know that there ever was an antenna hole in the fender.

I have decided that the whole car does not need to be painted just re-touched up here and there. I have found that the Duplicolor Universal Black seems to be a perfect match for the nice deep rich black currently on the car so I might as well just touch up where needed as it's mostly a few minor rust spots along weather stripping and a few paint chips here and there. I did have to re-do most of the rear spoiler, mostly just a few paint chips along the edges but I did discover that the underside of the spoiler was given the same kind of paint job treatment as the rear taillights compartment, just not cleaned up very well so the paint did not adhere very well to the original paint surface.

I have finally started to get the first few coats of paint on the front nose. I'm doing it with Duplicolor Universal Black in the spray cans and just wet sanding out any paint runs with 1000 grit wet dry sandpaper. .. So far it's turning out very well considering the use of spray cans... I wish Duplicolor made the Universal Black in a spray gun for but for some twisted reason they don't. .. Oh well.... I can use spray cans pretty good and I do have the clear coat for my spray guns so that is what really maters.... heck half the time you still end up doing a little wet sanding and polishing out rough spots anyways. 

I gave the nose a second coat of paint after wet sanding some of the paint runs and rough spots off tomorrow if all goes well after some more wet sanding I may be able to clear coat it and then let it sit for a full day before doing any wet sanding and polishing of the clear coat layer... if that goes well then I should be able to put the front nose on the car.

I got word From Brenon Fullbright that my scanner is done and has been shipped so the timing could not have been any more perfect. Can't wait to see Brenon's awesome work. I have seen other scanners he has done for other Knight Rider builders and they look just absolutely AMAZING!! I'm so stoked.

24 Pin Connector Installed

I have installed the first half of the 24 Pin Connector as part of my Knight Rider 2 TV dash install. Took a while to solder the wires to each of the 24 Pin Connector wires and then heat shrink tube each wire to make sure they were properly insulated. Once done with the connections I had to make new labels for each wire closer to the connector plug so I will be able to identify each wire coming from the dash. There are a few of them I'm pretty sure do not get used but just on the outside chance that one day they might get used it will be nice to know what they are so I'm glad I have taken the time to make sure that I have identified each of the dash wires.

I had to pop out to Canadian Tire to pick up some 3/4" wire protector to wrap the wires up into a nice harness. I zip tied the harness to the plastic of the dash so it will not move around much. I'm not sure where it will be best mounted from there? What I will need to do is install the other part of the 24 Pin Connector to the Knight Rider dash and see where the best location for securing the wire harness will be. For now I just have the end of it draped over the steering column till then.

Reinforcing the Switchpods

I'm not entirely sure if it is a necessary job or not but after hearing a few stories on how the switch pods tend to get in the way of your knees from time to time and with that possibly being an open invitation to getting them damaged I thought of perhaps reinforcing them with some thick pieces of aluminum. I picked up some stock aluminum and this is what I came up with. I will glass thus into place and that should add a significant amount more sturdiness to the switch pods along the bottom where they are in possible danger of being constantly bumped with my knees getting in and out of K.I.T.T.

Voice Box Bezel Arrives

Yayyyyy.  My K.I.T.T.  voice box bezel has arrived from Knight Rider World.  Awesome! So now I'll be able to get that and my VB module installed into the two TV  dash soon. I just need to get some other projects done and out of my back work room first. ;-)

I am very pleased with the quality of this VB bezel, it's solid very sturdy construction and the overlays are colourful and very well made. I can't wait to see how this will look along with my VB module that I also got from Knight Rider World.