It draws between 90 and 100 mA, at least with my ESCapes.
It’s a cheap TFT display so you can’t expect miracles on direct sunlight. It should still be better than OLED. Unfortunately, the brightness is not configurable with this particular one.
Maybe @mmaner or @moon could do some clever sunlight shielding on the enclosure. What do you guys think?
It’s definitely a good idea. I’m adding it on my todo list. The priority now though will be to make the kits, get the gadgets among people, test and fix any problems such that the basic functionality is working correctly. Then we can start adding more features. I hope that someone else will help with FW development. I’m currently between jobs with a plenty of time on hands but I’m starting a new job in November and then my time for this is limited.
After more thinking about the kits, here’s my plan. I will get all the parts but the display. A few reasons for that. First, everyone can get the display from China with free shipping. We don’t save money if I get them and distribute. It currently looks like there will be around 30 kits. I don’t think that’s enough for negotiating a bulk discount. Second, if I order 30 displays, that would be ~$150 and there’s a risk I get hit by import taxes. Third, it will bring the kit cost down to ~$5 and I don’t mind paying $150 for 30 kits without collecting advance payments, which will make things easier. I would be more reluctant to pay $300.
I hope this is OK. So if you’re interested in the VeGa kit, please go ahead and order the display now. Here’s one source. I haven’t actually purchased mine from them so I can’t give any references (I got mine locally for a much higher price). If anyone knows about a better source please let us know.
What would be the best way to go about the cables and connectors? Everyone will need a different cable length so some DIY will be necessary. An 8 pin JST PH connector is required for the VESC and I think I will use a 4 pin JST PH connector at the VeGa side. Only 4 wires (5V, GND, TX, RX) are needed. I could add the connectors to the kit, but I’m not sure about the wires. Would everyone be able to crimp their own wires? I could probably get pre-crimped wires and people can then extend them without crimping by cutting in the middle and soldering on an extension wire. Is that a good idea or am I overthinking this?
There are many displays available. I chose the 2.0" one because I liked the size and it’s cheap. And it works. I suggest that we don’t complicate things by trying to support other displays, at least for now. At the very least, the 2.2" one wouldn’t fit into the enclosure that @mmaner and @moon are about to design for the 2.0". Also, I think the LED pin on the 2.2" would need to be connected to VCC while the corresponding N/C pin 2.0" does not connect to anything in the current PCB design.
Note that the 2.0" is also available on Amazon.
I’ve just accidentally done some science. If you reverse polarity on the display you get the magic smoke. Tested for you. Now I have a new display to order. 
you posted this yesterday. when’s the group buy happening cmon fellas @mmaner @thisguyhere lol. I really want one of these and i feel like it wouldn’t be too difficult to design a pcb you can buy with all the parts so you can put it together yourself. An electronics store in here in australia does heaps of these solder-it-yourself kits. I think that’d be cool?
And you would be incorrect 
I do live in England though.
could you please double check the new name… It´s not DAVE… you think VeGa will work non the less or people will refuse to buy it as they think it is vegan food?
You’ve lived there far too long then.
I’ve discussed this with my extensive marketing team and they agree that Dave is still the best name for this device
Schematic?
@akhlut Here’s the schematic and a draft of the PCB layout (the “PCB v0.1”). Any comments are welcome. My background is not in electronics. I’m a pure hobbyist so there’s likely a lot of room for improvement in the design.
Same. I just like to play.
Where can I find/buy/know what gaskets that will be good for this little project?
I’m not sure yet, I haven’t started yet, need measurements and it’s likely to be a couple of weeks before the display and parts get to me.
Once I have aRough XYZ values I can get an idea of what prr-made gaskets will for without much modification and then design the enclosure around that.
It may be easier to make a change in the enclosure for a silicon bead instead. Still too early to tell.
Is the display available on Amazon? I don’t mind paying a bit extra just so I don’t have to order though a Chinese site and wait for shipping.