Now that cars have become rolling smartphones, it's been pretty disappointing to see them copy some of the worst practices from the smartphone world. I wrote an article that talks about some of those problems. [CW: Tesla negativity] https://puri.sm/posts/locked-in-a-remote-control-car/
@ajmartinez I'm thinking of doing a similar thing down the road if the situation doesn't improve. By the time I actually need a new car hopefully there will be a few common conversion kits and I can decide which old car+kit works for me.
@kyle getting the Librem 14 was in no small part so I’d have the power to do some (mechanical) modeling and embedded programming on a system completely removed from $dayJob (my work AppVM was not and will not be part of the restore). Helping move electrification forward in a meaningful and open way is somewhere I think I can contribute.
@ajmartinez Maybe one day I'll look into a kit like this for my Ghia: https://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=220&osCsid=c60e66975fff1c66517a58bab4c4eefb
@kyle very cool, looks like AC charging only but with planning that’s not a problem really. Looks like a solid kit!
@kyle
how can i spot the cellular modem in my car?
i'd like to solder in a kill switch but have no idea how to check where its placed.
any inputs very welcome.
@pocketvj I imagine it varies with each car and what they integrate into the infotainment system, versus systems like OnStar that can control things like the engine and door locks (and therefore have a more direct connection to other car computers).
@kyle
as long as my car starts in places without gsm signal, i guess its possible to detach the gsm modem without function loss. question is: do i need a physical rf dectector device to spot the modem location or where would i get this info. i know there is something built in, since the infotainment has a page where you need to agree that data will be sent. The main idea is to kill the modem and only
enable it when giving the car to the garage when doing service....
@kyle this is a big part of the reason I will keep paying to fix my Tacoma for a long time to come. It doesn’t have GPS or an infotainment center. It does however have some surely proprietary sensors that I’m screwed if Toyota ever stops making (and one of mine breaks). In the early days of EVs many SUVs and trucks had conversion kits to electric drive, and in the future I may look at doing similar with my Tacoma if batteries ever get light and (power) dense enough.