Test-Run
 

So, I just went ahead and did a test run around my neighborhood. I have a few questions

1. When running a session and switched to Live Timer it kept saying WAITING. Not sure what that meant.

2. When viewing the screen with satellites, I clicked on the circle and I see that I can toggle between various parameters. This is good, and I could see

- altitude
- GPS speed
- OBD Speed --> Constant at 25 mph
- Coolant Temperature
- RPM --> Constant at 1925
- GPS Time
- OBD Time

and a few others. I had problems with the ones in RED. What can I do about it?

ok, the waiting usually means that you have not locked into at least 4 satellites. Usually will clear up in under 3 minutes, check you gps connection if longer.

For the other two make sure your OBDII reader is getting data by running it's own program for a lap or two. If it does, then RC should pivk up on it. If it isn't check to make sure you have the ones you want listed in either the low and high priority channels. I recommend speed and RPM to be listed in High, and the others to be listed in low.

Well, I had a lock on 9-10 satellites OR so I thought. On the timer screen it kept saying that. I'll play around and see what I find.

The key came with a CD. I was so excited that I didn't even look at it. If it does, are you suggesting that I install that on to the PDA and then use that program to verify?

Gotcha! If I understand this right there is are about 4 channels of data that RC can support. Could be bluetooth data pipe restrictions? So, I just mark what is important for me?

good idea. Also download GPSTest. It can verify that your GPS unit is working ok

yes


No real restrictions since the baud rate of Bluetooth should keep up, but yeah the free version of RC only records 4 channels

Alright, I looked up the CD and it had a bunch of programs and it didn't look like any of them were made for a mobile device?

Posting content found on another forum HERE

An update on what works and what doesn't:

EasyODBII - this is a demo. It required a manual change the the config.txt file to get it to use COM4. The Dashboard and Datalogger functions only operate for about 1min in DEMO mode. Code reading and Live Data viewing works.

ODB2SPY - it looks promising but it doesn't work. One of it's features is a terminal screen that I'm assuming would let an advanced user send commands directly to the vehicles computer and see the responses. When set to automatically find the correct COM port, it finds COM3 on my laptop when COM4 is correct. I had to set it manually. It keeps saying that it can't find the ELM chip. I'll have to do some research to try and find out what that is and if there's a way I can work around it.

ScanMaster ELM - This is a DEMO but it may well be worth buying if the price is right (I haven't checked). In the DEMO mode, the following screens work:
Vehicle Info - allows you to get, among other things, the vehicle's VIN number
System Status - an overview of the vehicles health
Trouble Codes - lists the current trouble codes or confirms that all is clear
PID Config - I have no idea what this means or does.
LIve Graphs - RPM only - all other readings say "DEMO" and a flat line
Live Data Meter - RPM only - all other readings say "DEMO"
Live Data Grid - RPM only - all other readins say "DEMO"

wODBCrazy - This one works quite well but doesn't have as many features as, say, ScanMaster. It does feature an "advanced communication mode" which is a terminal to allow an advanced user to communicate directly with the vehicle's computer.

ScanTool.net_113win - This one works although it's not as slick as ScanMaster. Some of the features are not yet implemented in v.113. I haven't gone looking for a more up-to-date version yet.
It must be manually set to COM4, 38400 Baud on my laptop.

sorry, I don't have an ELM327 disc here or I would just send it to you.

NP. I guess I'll go with GPSTest and try to define the HIGH and LOW channels and see what happens.

DOP ?
 

What does a DOP mean? While I was driving the numbers were between 0.8-0.9. When I was driving at pedestrian (5-10 mph) speeds the numbers were 1.2-1.4 range.

In the GPS system it's "Dilution of precision" or the quality of the GPS signals.

IN OBDII terms is a timing PID, but I am not sure what it means.

which menu were you in?

I was in one of the screens where you can toggle between various readings and DOP was one of them. I understand that it is talking about level of precision of the GPS signal. Is Higher the better?

I also went for another drive and here is what I found
1. The OBD readings kept stalling, they would work in the beginning when start RC. When I switched to other readings and came back all the following OBD readings were stuck at a constant
-OBD Speed, RPM and Throttle Position

However, the OBD time was running fine

2. I stopped the app, and then started it again and this time around I made sure to stay in one of the OBD Readings (RPM) and it was working fine. At this time I switched back and forth between OBD Readings (RPM, Throttle and Speed) and they all worked. I later came to a stop light and the OBD Readings stopped at previous high and didn't move again

sounds like your BT signal is dropping out

That would suck. I have read some units don't work properly with some cars. I am not sure if it's that OR if it's the bluetooth signal to the PDA.

just checked and it looks like some older PDA units have to be reconnected with bluetooth after the initial link with RC.

So start RC and both BT devices. One the link is made go into BT settings in comm manager and reconnect to the ELM327BT. Then go back to RC and see if it's running ok.

Thanks for the tip Marty. I am going to try it out Thursday. My car is at the alignment shop now till then.

Traqmate - few questions
 

I know Traqmate is a GPS system. So if you take it to a new track, do you need to map it a few runs and then use it OR can you download track profiles and apply them?

If you use Traqmate with your own camera, how do you sync the data and the video? I've seen various videos online where they used their own custom cameras.

As with almost all the GPS systems, you can start using it from scratch right away. All the unit does is record NMEA data in a file. You just can not get actual lap times until the software knows where the start and finish is.

None of the traqmate software is on the box though, so you have to down load the data to a PC and then run traqview to see the data. You can preload maps or you can download the data and add the s/f line on the map that's displayed.

To merge video you compile the run information into a merge file and use track studio to merge pretty much any digitial video file with the merge file. You will still need to sync the video up manually.