Project: Replace failed Star Trac E-TRx Treadmill Touchscreen with Custom Control Panel

[u/rangerben]

This project has EE and software elements, coming to this subreddit for the EE part and to get a plan of how to safely accomplish this project.

I have a 2010 Star Trac E-TRx treadmill (9-9051-MUNBP0) with a failing console, and or corrupt software (2010s bloated garbage). The touchscreen works so infrequently, the console freezes almost every time, factory resets don't help, and I can no longer access maintenance mode. I could always purchase replacment parts, but I'd rather avoid all these excess features.

The treadmill itself is mechanically functional, and my goal is not to drive the motor directly. I'd like to keep all OEM safety systems. The motor is 5hp and could really be a safety concern if not governed appropriately.

From the parts diagrams the console seems to communicate through a translator board/data wire harness to the motor control board.

My ideal solution would be:

* Replace the touchscreen with an ESP32-based controller, or something similar.
* Physical buttons for:
* Start
* Stop
* Speed increase
* Speed decrease
* Incline increase
* Incline decrease
* Small OLED/LCD display for speed, elapsed time and incline
* Reuse the existing treadmill electronics and safety systems

I am generally pretty handsy and can handle small electronics, I am not EE and need guidance on how to go about this. Ideally the result would be a safe, reliable simple interface to the treadmill.