Just got my screen kit today.
Is there a general agreement on which is the coolest
looking color for the Empeg?

brian

Yes, the one that matches your dashboard/console controls.

Speaking of, I get the impression that the Red screen would match my 1987 BMW 325e's console lights better than the Amber screen I have now. Can anyone confirm that?

My RX-7 has what I'd consider amber lights, but when I put in the red screen it matches perfect. The red screen makes the font look orange, and it matches my gauges perfectly. The amber screen makes the font look yellow. If you're looking for red font, the red screen won't do it...

I've had a number of BMW's, and the standard BMW orange is probably closer to the Empeg red than the amber, IMHO. The empeg red is a very orange kind of color.

Grrr, now i have to go get the red to match the Pontiac standard Red console. Temptations, wicked temptations.

Blue in a VW Golf matches near perfect

Now that I have a digital camera, someone remind me to take pictures of all the different screen colors in different lighting conditions and post them in the FAQ. Wait until next week to remind me, though, as I won't have a Mk2 blue screen until then.

The thing to remember about the screen colors is that the Blue and Green are the most readable in direct sunlight. Amber and Red might match your car's dash color, but the screens will be harder to read in the sun.

Even though my dash lighting is red, my favorite screen is still smoke.

I've tried both amber and red in my '98 M3. I'm sticking with red. My amber screen is for-sale, BTW.
--Andrew

Hey Tony, be sure to take a pic of the "smoked" lens if you can get your hands on one.

hey, amaximow. do you have any pictures of your install.. and your car for that matter.. im about to redo my install in my car, just got a bunch of new stuff.. just wanted to check out your setup... thanks.. and yes i too am stick with the red, matchs pretty close to the bmw red.

I quite like this option . It may not be to everyone's taste but I like it.

I'll try to snap some pics over the weekend and post them in a separate "install porn" thread...
--Andrew

Ooooh... I have read your sig a number of times, but could not imagine what it looked like. Nice! Not my personal taste for long term use, but nice!

WOW! That looks really cool!
I like that look!
How did u do it????

brian

Hey Tony, be sure to take a pic of the "smoked" lens if you can get your hands on one.

If Darkstorm will send me one, I will photograph it and include it with the other pictures, along with whatever link he wants me to put up for contacting him about sales of the item.

I've got an idea of how I'm going to present it, and it'll actually be a pretty cool thing if I can pull it off. You'll be able to see all the available lens colors in a few different lighting conditions with text on the screen. Hint: it involves securing the camera to a solid point in the car using its tripod mount.

Do you think you can get Darkstorm's colours in as well? I'm curious not only about the smoked lens, but also the contrast in colours to the SB provided ones.

Inkjet printer and OHP film. You can go silly like I have and have a multicoloured gradient or be more Conservative (or boring ) and just have a single colour. This is of course an easy way to get just the colour you want. Great for matching to your dash lighting.

Here are some pictures from my own BMW. Not the best, but they give you an idea what the colors look like:

http://www.cs.rice.edu/~dwallach/empeg/empeg1.html

If anyone who bought the screen kit is not using the green one, please sell it to me. Send me a private message. Thanks!

Steve

I like my smoked panel. Matches my Ford Escort dials better than the green. But, that multicoloured panel looks tres cool. Where do I get one from?

You get a transparent one from DarkStar and then you play with overhead transparencies and an inkjet printer... You'll also need a image manipulation program (like Photoshop or Gimp) to generate the funky gradients...

/Michael

Well, it just so happens that I do have a clear display. Could I use a standard transparency? Do I need to stick it with something or just use the clear panel for strengthening behind it?

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You get a transparent one from DarkStar ...

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If I could get hold of some anti-reflective colourless plastic about 1.5mm thick then I would have done this. However I haven't found any yet so at the moment It's just plain old inkjet transparency film. I use CorelDraw to make the screens. I find that two passes through the printer gives a good saturation of colour. With one pass it looks a bit wishy-washy. If you want the file it's here.

Not having done it myself, it's my impression that you cut it to shape, including holes for buttons and knob axle, and put it behind the transparent screen.

/Michael

get hold of some anti-reflective colourless plastic about 1.5mm thick then I would have done this

Is that as in printing straight onto the 1.5mm plastic and removing the need for the transparent screen?

/Michael

No. I think you'd have a bit of difficulty printing onto 1.5mm thick plastic with a conventional inkjet printer . What I meant was that the OHP transparency film has a glossy surface and this tends to reflect any incident light coming from the car's interior. You don't need a rigid plastic screen to give any kind of support to the film but it would be nice to get the anti-reflective properties of the standard screen. If I could make the glossy side of the film anti-reflective then I wouldn't even bother with the rigid plastic idea at all. I hope this all makes sense .

Welllll... if they can "ink-jet" the body panels of the Smart car... How am I to know what sort of gear you have...

But yes, I now see what you meant.

/Michael

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How am I to know what sort of gear you have...

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Hmmm... point taken .