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From: wte@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM (Bill Eason)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Car electronics projects
Message-ID: <4763@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM>
Date: 20 Jul 89 13:21:37 GMT
References: <768@xroads.UUCP> <20556@cup.portal.com> <1170@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM>
Reply-To: wte@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM (Bill Eason)
Distribution: na
Organization: NCR Corp., Engineering & Manufacturing - Columbia, SC
Lines: 28

In article <1170@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM> greg@sj.ate.slb.com (Greg Wageman) writes:
>
>Here's one answer I've thought about building: a scrolling LED
>character display (like those advertising displays in the woodgrain
>box you see in some stores) which takes voice input from the driver
>and displays messages out the rear window.
>
>If anyone actually wants to build one of these, I want credit for the
>idea and royalties.  8-)

Two problems here: 

  1) It's already been done.  I saw one in a magazine ad within the last
     couple of months.  No voice recognition, but preprogrammed messages.

  2) According to either Ann Landers or "Dear Abby" (now there's a good
     source!), it is illegal in most or many states to have ANY flashing
     lights on a car except as a distress signal, a turn signal,  or on an 
     emergency vehicle.  This includes the little LEDs flashing in rotation 
     around your license plate or in neat patterns on your cyclops brake light.

Just my $0.02 worth - - wte

-- 

Bill Eason   (803) 791-6419    ...!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ncr-sd!ncrcae!sauron!wte
NCR Corporation		       ....!rutgers!mcnc!ece-csc!ncrcae!sauron!wte
E & M Columbia   3325 Platt Springs Rd.   West Columbia, SC  29169