| Author | Message | ||
     Oldog |
After hearing some less than stellar reports  I had some questions about the technoresearch software package I decided to purchase it from American Sport Bike any way as I want to be able to test and maintain the efi system on my 01-X1, When the ddfi acts up it is not intimidating to me only annoying. (besides I have this board to discuss the problems with too)  I build and trouble shoot electrical equipment for a living. Because something like 8k or more of the original ddfi bikes were built its suprising that more interest has not been expressed. I would like to share the experience of first use with others here who may be considering purchase of the software (Message edited by oldog on July 26, 2005) (Message edited by oldog on July 26, 2005) If any of you have the palm version of this product please add your comments i could see road testing and logging (it logs data) would be easier, not to mention a top shelf palm is about 1/2 of the price of a laptop (Message edited by oldog on July 26, 2005) | ||
| Oldog |
the soft ware (pc version) is packaged in a small blue box containing a serial cable and a CD  the cable has an electronic device called a "dongle" [GEEK FOR KEY] in line that registers the product for use and it may also convert signal levels, The disk has the manual and the software program. Setup was un eventful, and quick. I am using a refurbished Dell insperon600m WITH a built in "com port", (9 pin socket)  | ||
| Oldog |
when the soft ware starts you get a splash screen with launguage selection  on the first start up you will get this box  with the bike on and the cable connected press Cntrl+c (connect command) and the dongle will get read and copied to the box, If you need this for any reason its under [view]-> [SCM] if you leave the computer alone for a few seconds it will poll the dongle (read) (Message edited by oldog on July 26, 2005) Remember You must turn the key on and turn the runs stop switch on as well ..... (Message edited by oldog on July 26, 2005) | ||
| Oldog |
I am going to attempt to post the screen shots from the software, once connected it seems to work well perhaps I can save someone some time when runnning a page appears with a blank back ground and the usual style menu and tool bar the tool bar choices are a little confusing this is the meters screen it seems to be easy to read and follow  from top left engine temp, tach, speed (grayed out), and air temp throt position graph and read out the two rows top left to bottom right tach, throt pos, front spark dwl, rear sprk dwell, battery volts, air temp, engine temp, o2 sensor signal, trigger, tach, the line at the bottom that shows com1 vdo-efi will indicate connected and frequency of reads ( mine is about 6 hzs ) the "clock face" tool button opens this screen use ctrl + c to connect to the ecm under options you may be able to re arrange this screen | ||
| Oldog |
Here are the 2 other presentations of the information from the first screen.  the bar graph screen is a personal preference as digital indication is part of the page (right end of the bars) here is the strip chart  the chart recorder function will be usefull for replaying things that you may not be able to watch for while working, I don't think that this will take the place of an o'scope if you need one but it might give you an idea if there is a problem with say the tps pot, there are adjustments for the logfile setup and file name, the instructions are quite sparce but the software is not too complicated. | ||
| Oldog |
the soft ware will allow you to read present and historic trouble codes here's the box I'ts opened by clicking the "engine button" on the tool bar or selecting dtc errors from the menu  I tested this by pulling the intake air sensor and it coded and read back with an english message it indicated IAT short to battery?? for unpluging it but it indicated a fault of the IAT sensor like it should. This is the test page for testing certain devices these include, tach, injectors, coils, fuel pump  i did the the tests you can hear most of these items working, the tach goes to just short of 3k rpm, the fuel pump runs a while when testing ( I stopped the test with the key ) the injectors you can hear, the coils may buzz as well I did not put my timing light on them to see what was happening. the tps zero, code reset, and adaptive fuel value page looks much like this its accessable from the menu. I will be posting more later. my read its the screw driver to adjust the ecm that I needed, with the pc3 i can adjust it, Now if CCHD would get one of those eddy current dyno thingies i could dial it in (here in town) (Message edited by oldog on July 26, 2005) | ||
| Hotrodsportster |
Olddog: Thanks for the input. We are planning on purchasing the software in the near future. We will be using an iPaq as the tool of choice, so we can compare notes. Keep us informed, Thanks again | ||
| Oldog |
hotrod: Is the Ipaq the hand held? I would be interested in your results as well | ||
| Essthreetee |
Oldog...thanks for the posts..I am anxiously awaiting my software and race ecm...I was under the assumption (you know about those) that the software would work on both computer & handheld...guess that was my mistake. I assumed this mostly because no body asked me which version I needed... | ||
| Hotrodsportster |
Dog: Yes, the iPaq is a handheld that uses WIndows OS for its base. Am going to call Dave S this AM and place the order. Will keep you in the "loop" as they say. Ride Safe Tom | ||
| Oldog |
S3: which version did you get? there may be an issue with USB/serial converters and the "dongle" Ryker77 was having a problem with it, don't know if he was able to resolve it. Wes had indicated that the laptop he was using had been upgraded, to win xp, I have never had much luck with up grades in the OS area There may have been a conflict interms of system resources, some one in the computer world seems to think that the com ports were no longer needed on laptops, There is a company [ B&B Electronics www.bb-elec.com/ ] that sells a pcmcia card that adds com ports to a laptop, had one when I was in "corporate america" it worked well, I don't have one to try now but I may get one as new laptops do not have com ports. If you go the "plam" route please post, in that I must have a laptop to work I have one to use for this, other wise I would go with the palm device, with the logging feature putting a palm in a tail bag (Pocket) and going for a ride to check for a intermitting fault sounds good, (Message edited by oldog on July 27, 2005) | ||
| Daves |
The new version will work with a laptop or palm. If you are using a palm you just have to get a cable at the comp store to fit. I guess different palms use different cables so they do not include it in the package. The original ones were PC or Palm specific. | ||
| Hotrodsportster |
Socketstore.com sell several PCMCIA to Serial Port Adapters. Most of the NASCAR teams use the ruggidized one for their computers. You can also get a USB to Setial Adapter from keyspan.com. Not quite as rugged, but it serves the bill. Either option will add one or two serial ports to your laptop. Ride Safe | ||
| Oldog |
Daves: my version came on a cd, to use the palm version you load it how?, pc down to a cradle? Hotrod, I will check there, I'm not a big fan of the USB for this. | ||
| Tom_b |
During some of the tests when the engine is running about 30 seconds into it i get an " ECU Not Responding" warning and then I have to start all over again. Is this a common problem or am I doing something wrong. i can reset TPS,DTS ans Air fuel value, but any that require engine to be running don't last more than about 30 seconds. What gives? | ||
| Oldog |
Tom_b: Don't know if I can help I need some info to start with 1. what are you using palm or laptop? 2. what manufactuer & model 2. what Operating system are you using? 3. ANY changes to the computer? (OS up grade?) 4. Are you using a "USB" adapter? or the com port Tom some times the seemingly most trivial things can cause problems, the problem with making something like this is trying to cover all of the possible hardware setups and confirm hardware compatiblilty. Just guessing at this point,  depending on setup it might be a time out due to connection problems or a resource issue, does the program crash or just stop comunicating? using control + c ( windows copy command ) should re connect the install does not look like a microsoft launguage product standard install ( I do light VB work every so often ) The most important thing here is to be methodical, and patient you may want to inquire with the manufactuer at this point as well I stand ready to help if I can from the desk, The Ol'Dog  | ||
| Oldog |
all: If like me you are using a laptop and you are having problems this may help http://www.bb-elec.com/product_family.asp?FamilyId=23 this takes you to the B&B site to the card, the socket store is $165.00 BB Is $119.00 your note book must posses the correct socket and the driver must be loaded. I have used this poduct and can tell you that it works with most windows apps there are usb to db9 socket adapters, these run about 30.00$ I can't say how well they work, if I understood the clerk this is the connecting method for the "palm" type devices (Message edited by oldog on July 30, 2005) | ||
| Hotrodsportster |
Dog: We use both the Socketstore PCMCIA and Keyspan adapter every week at the track on varied PC, Dell, Gateway, IBM, Compaq, and etc. The USB Keyspand adapter comes with software that will allow the user to manually determine which Serial port the adapter is to be: ie Comm 1 Comm2 .. Comm 10. Dave S shipped our software on Thursday of last week, so we should be receiving it Monday or Tuesday. Will load the software on the iPag and give us an update. Thanks | ||
| Reepicheep |
If anyone wants a decent Palm to do this, with the best port (the palm 3 style serial port), send me a shipping address and it's yours. I think it is a palmIIIx, a nice little unit. As another datapoint, laptops that have a pentium II 333 or better can be found for $200 or less, and provided they have 64MB of ram, they will run windows well enough to do this sort of stuff. Those older laptops are much more likely to have a built in serial port as well. | ||
| Oldog |
Reep: I think that the pda has to be running windows ce not sure. that was generous though ryker77 had the disconnect problem Hp note book vintage ?? user upgrade to win 9x?/ xp? as a soft ware engineer you know more about this type of thing, than I would. serial data com can be a hassle the techno soft ware has a slider to set comport# i "GUESS" that the out put(spd, par,stop) is fixed in software or in an INI file, Just thinking out loud here, I wonder if the Uart setting, or rescources settings - if non standard could cause problems. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Last I heard they had a palm OS version of the software. | ||
| Essthreetee |
reepi...it has to have the Palm OS 3.25 or better...Yeah I would be up for it. I have a Handspring Visor, it has Palm OS 3.1 and I can't find an update for it.... I will send you a PM.. Jason | ||
| Oldog |
Palm compatible version, yes (just dug out the manual) helps to read the docs [ thx Reep ]  [ hoping you would get involved ] for hand helds palm os 3.35, palm os 4.0, windows (mobile) - CE? the palm uses its db9 serial adapter to the provided cable assm and of course the PC version one last thing on the palm stuff the doc says that you must start the communications with in 15 sec key to ecm or you must power down the ecm , key off & on, this is a "power saver" feature of the ecm the thing thats got me Bill ( like s3 above ) where the thing hooks up and then disconnects, if you try to "page" one page to another it must stop and start, each page might be considered a "programette" it sure acts that way oh yeah the new versions is what American Sport Bike sells all versions were on the disk that I have Tom_b did your copy freze up or just go "quiet" ?? (Message edited by oldog on July 31, 2005) (Message edited by oldog on July 31, 2005) | ||
| Essthreetee |
I think you mean Tom B...He was the one whos software kept shutting down after 30 seconds. I should be recieving my copy of the software tomorrow  ...I have my bike apart in my garage waitning to install the race ECM and reset the TPS as soon as it arrives...I was planning on using the Palm that I have (Old Handspring), but it does not have the correct version of the OS... I will let you (and all of Badweb) know how it works as soon as it gets here!!! | ||
| Oldog |
sorry s3 good luck | ||
| Oldog |
Blake: can this be moved to the KV? | ||
| 5liter |
Just got the software today. Installed easily on my Gateway laptop running XP Home. I hooked it up to the bike ater setting the com port. It never connected and I was in kind of a hurry so I shut it down. I have a PCMCIA serial card I can use, but I used a USB serial connector this time. How long should it take to connect to the ECU??? Ignition switch was on. Start switch was on. | ||
| Oldog |
5liter: it takes 2 may be 3 secs some checks,  in windows what is your comport address? 1,2,3 etc.. that goofy slider could move if you have your "web wheel" active (been there done that) Yes you can use the pcmcia card to connect If the driver is loaded and works. Do you have any thing else to check operation of the port with?another diagnostic scanner or similar.  Ryker77, tried it with the USB thingy no luck, I have been told it works, I have seen them quit mid session on a PLC device, It should work, [shudder] I have uttered those words while scratching my head before,  Please try the built in db9 socket (if present) first, then the pcmcia second, With the software running ( polling for device )then key & ignition, theres a power saver in the ECM that may have gotten you. keep us posted. | ||
| 5liter |
Com port is 8 on the usb Com ports are 4&5 on the card Tried a short session this morning on com 8 and it just said connecting and sat there. Going to try the card this evening. I work midnights so it's off to bed for me.  | ||
| Oldog |
Those are odd numbers, there may be issues connecting the software through those ports. Please install the PCmcia card try com 4, even thought the port numbers are listed the resources may not match for the usb device. what you are describing is a no connect with a hung loop in the software, the program flow of excicution can't continue because the needed data is not comming in. Originally there were 4 comport addresses, on a P.C. 1-4 these have specific memory locations, and resources and "should" always work. When software is developed most companies make reasonable efforts to test the common configurations. The usb "should" be the most common. With so many different computers and hardware manufactuers there may be a tweek in the OS or drivers for that system that don't match up with the targets for the software. If windows were truly generic you could load any copy from one machine to another with no issues and that is not the case. As I posted above this is not the first instance that I am aware of where the USB adapter not working with the software. Its a shame that the PC manufactuers have decided that one of the oldest and most robust comunications interfaces is no longer needed what do I know!, perhaps the next version of ddfi will have an eithernet port on it. please keep us posted there are undoubtedly others that will run into this. (Message edited by Oldog on September 07, 2005) |
