Skidtron

iTrader: (1)

And both of those suck because you can only view a small portion of a fuel or timing map at once. The power FC is quite possibly one of the worth things out there why would anyone want to make something "like it".

Its hard to use and slow to tune the car with.

I'll tell you what find someone that tunes hondata and watch a car be tuned in 35 minutes on a simple boost setup. There is NO comparison to anything else. Make it more like Hondata with similar options and you'll sell a lot more.

Boot up? you cant wait like 10secs for a computer to boot up. Oh let me guess its because you could have made a pass down the 1320 in that amount of time......

REDFC3S86

I have a tmobile g1. Id be thrilled to see a program for android. i voted for android and laptop..... put the app on the android market for users to download. I guess you'd just have to fit the ecu with a usb connection instead of the serial port used for the current pda set up...im not sure if you've had a chance to tinker with the g1 (like with a software developer kit) but others have done amazing things with it!

Rotorious7

iTrader: (1)

What platform would a blackberry curve 8350i

REDFC3S86

I think Blackberry would be a good platform bc they're real popular.....And as i stated in my previous post, id like to see an android platform. I think the best way to go for everyone would be a windows pc based platform....everyone has a pc, so there wouldn't be a need to go out and buy new equipment

chatchie

iTrader: (22)

Any word on when this new interface is coming out?

turbo2ltr

iTrader: (1)

The problem with most mobile platforms is that there is no easy way to connect it to the ECU.

USB is not an option due to the way it works (You plug a phone into a PC which is a USB Host, you cant plug it into a non PC device without specific hardware on both ends..and we cant tell apple to add this to the iPhone)

The other option is wireless. Some platforms have bluetooth. Its a bit slow, and consumes tons of battery power (which isn't that big an issue if you have a car charger). The biggest issue is not all mobile platforms support the "serial" bluetooth profile, as well as the cost associated with the hardware needed on the ECU side to connect to BT. But even with all those cons, it's still a viable option if there was nothing else, and cheaper than the next solution...

Theres wifi, which is more so something I'd rather have. It's much faster and more and more mobile platforms, as well as just about every laptop come with it. There's still a power consuption issue, but there are no issues with compatibility/support of specific options. If it has wifi, it can talk TCP/IP on a network so interoperability is very high. This would be the best solution for covering the most devices. The downside is the cost on the ECU side. We are talking adding over $100 to the cost of the ECU, probably closer to $200. An ethernet network connection could be added for about $100, but would rule out mobile devices that dont have a ethernet jack.

So are people willing to spend another $100-$200 so they can use their mobile device or laptop or is it better just to make eveyone use a Palm, which could be had for as little as a few dollars? (Yes, someone told me they bought one for $0.99 (plus $5 shipping) on ebay a few months back)

One of the big advantages we have over full standalones was price. We've had to increase our prices recently, and I really do not want to have to do it again.

The other issue is one of support and upkeep on the software side. The more individual platforms we support the more work it is to keep them all updated. It's not like we are selling millions of Rteks, so we have to be selective of where we spend time. Time spent on a new interface (which is months of work) is time taken away from added features like the much asked about AFM removal (which by the way I hear we've made some positive headway on). But the main issue is: are we going to sell that many more Rteks *because* of the new platform support that it makes economical sense to spend months developing?

So it's a multifaceted problem with no simple solution.

If there are any serious programmers out there that want to work on a solution, contact me. Maybe theres a possibility to open the API up to developers under a license agreement and see what you can come up with.

Nick_d_TII

iTrader: (6)

So far besides inputting all the cells for the map based timing, the palm has worked excellent for me. (an app/program for using excel to enter stuff that would be awesome or something along those lines)

I like being able to use the PLViewer to view logs on the computer and the palm is easy to carry/install/hold/mount and cheap ($5). I personally feel that the 'AFM removal' is more valuable than changing the 'Interface'. I think you're right about an additional $100-200 dollars pushing people to Full Standalones. The reason I purchased the 2.1 was $$ and how easy it looked and is to use. No fussing to get it started, no wiring to worry about, and drivability is enhanced even on a stock rx7. Just my .02cents.

Agree with Skidtron also.

REDFC3S86

If there's that much time and money involved in developing a new platform, its probably not worth it. Much easier for us to buy a Palm device with the cable. Its nice b/c like u said, palms are cheap. I'd rather u guys spend more time on developing new features/options for the rtek rather than a new platform

WingsofWar

I find PALM OS to be very convent and very cost effective, but the fact remains is the questionable future of a progressively dying breed of the software might be someday force development to hit a brick wall. At this point i don't believe you need to rush development on a new interface platform but it should be on your schedule of things to develop in the future. While more focus by your company should be where it is now, hardware development. WIFI options doesn't sound at all something that is necessary. The major reason why i went rtek and not standalone was not because of cost, but simplicity+versatility and if you keep those items as your primary marketing more people will seek your product. Potentially opening up doors and employment opportunities and then you can do whatever you want with quicker development. Stick with your guns, i think you guys are still on the right path. Also thanks for keeping us in the loop.

turbo2ltr i pmed you.

solareon

iTrader: (1)

For those that are against the palm and want to use their windows based laptop you can simply download the Palm OS Emulator (see link below) an rom image for the Palm IIIc (google again) and then the rtek software from the site. Set the POSE software to link your serial port to the palm and use a cisco router console cable (blue one) to a db-9 to rj-45 adapter (also used with cisco routers). Then presto you have a windows laptop connected to your rtek.

I just tested this now and got an even better rate on that than my Tungsten T. Now granted it is kind of a kludge hack but it does work.

Link to POSE. Can't link to the ROMs though
http://download.cnet.com/Palm-OS-Emu...-10111408.html

After you download POSE and want to hotsync (so you can use PLViewer) follow the guide on the link below
http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1012986

Rotorious7

iTrader: (1)

I found this info while doing a search. hope it helps:


The Palm OS emulator can be an invaluable tool used while developing applications or for demonstrating applications on a laptop/desktop computer to large groups of people. A Proxima projector can be connected to a laptop and used to display on a projector screen. In this article, I will describe the steps needed from installation to utilization of the program. There are Mac OS versions of the files, but I do not own a Mac. I will be using only the Windows version of the files. These files are NOT to be used with actual devices.
I will ask you to download the emulator files and ROM images from the Palm OS site. You will need an unzip program like WinZip. You can think of the emulator files as the "hardware" and the ROM images as the "software" or "operating system" of the emulator. Since most programs support or will need to support the Palm 4.0 OS (and greater), we will use the ROM images for the Palm OS 4.1. This is the Palm OS version being shipped in devices at this point and time. Palm has available the emulator files and ROM images for the Palm OS 5.0 version. I will not cover this version, but feel free to download these files if you wish to work with the latest Palm OS version. Which set of files you download is not dependent on the type of device you are currently using, I repeat, you will not be using any of these files with your actual device.
Palm requires that you join the Palm OS developers program to gain access to ROM image files. You do not need to belong to download the emulator, but you need the ROM images for the emulator to be of any use.

1) Go to www.palmos.com; click on "Developer Programs" and choose the Palm OS developer program option. You will now need to click on "Join." I signed up over two and half years ago, so I am not sure what the registration process is like now. I have basic level support.

2) Once you have successfully joined, log in, then this should take you to the Resource Pavilion.

3) We will download the ROM images first. Click Palm OS Development Seeding Area.

4) Scroll down until you see EMULATOR ROM's.

5) Click Web Clipping ROM Image Files and agree to the license agreement.

6) We are using the Web Clipping ROM image files because these are the images for the Palm OS 4.1 version. You will see that there are several files to choose from. We are going to focus on the English version of these files. This narrows our choice down to two: Debug and Release. If you are developing actual programs, Palm encourages developers to use Debug ROM images so you can find errors in the programs. If you are just using for display/demo purposes, you can use the release ROM images. I will show you that these images are easy to interchange when using the emulator, so if you wish, you can download both versions. Save these zip files somewhere on your computer. I created a folder named "Emulator41."

For the Palm OS 4.1 download:
· All English Platform ROMs (release) 4.8MB zip
· All English Platform ROMs (debug) 4.9MB zip

7) We will now download the emulator files. At the top of the page that we are on, click the link to Palm OS Emulator. Scroll down to where it says "Download the Emulator." Choose the Windows option for the Emulator application 3.5. The zip file is 2.84MB in size. It is OK that we are downloading the 4.1 version of the ROM image and the 3.5 version of the Emulator.

8) We will now download the Skins. The Skins are optional files that you can use to make the "outside" of the emulator look like an actual device. I will give more detail later. Choose the Windows option for Emulator Skins* 1.8 (1.9MB in size).

9) There is one more thing we want to download for those of you who wish to replicate the use of the storage cards that come with some of the newer devices. We will need the HostFS Tool. HostFS is an implementation of a file system on Palm OS that works in conjunction with the Emulator's "Host Control API" to mount a local directory on the desktop as a volume/card in Palm OS. This is an optional download and is not needed to run the emulator; however, if you wish to display or develop with several programs this file is needed. Otherwise, you will have 8MB or 16MB of memory to use with the emulator. HostFS can be found if you scroll down to the bottom of the Emulator page (we are now on it). Download the Windows version. The size of the file is 5KB.

You should now have these files saved on your computer:
· Emulator-win.zip
· Emulator-skins-18.zip
· enUS_release_41roms.zip
· enUS_dbg_41roms.zip
· HostFS_emulator.zip

10) Unzip all of the files. I would unzip them to the same folder you created to save the zip files. I used "Emulator41."

Now you can complete the installation of the emulator program onto the computer.

11) Open the folder where you unzipped all of the files. Double click on the emulator.exe. You may see a dialog box that states that you need Skins. Just click OK.

A small dialog box will pop up asking if you want to "add the emulator to your start menu." Click "OK." What this will do is add the emulator to the Start menu, so when you click Start it will show up as a menu item. This is an easy way to restart the emulator for future use. You will then see another dialog box for a new session.


Click "New." In the drop down box for ROM file, click the down arrow and chose "Other." This will allow you to browse on your computer to where you saved the ROM images. I have mine in the Emulator41 folder. There are several ROM images to choose from. I have chosen the Release ROM image of the Palm m505 (platform41_m505_en.rom).


This automatically changes the Device drop-down box to display Palm m505.

The Skin drop-down box comes with a default of Generic. If you want to change the Skin (or what the outside of the emulator looks like) to look more like the actual device, you need to rename the Skins_v1.8 folder to Skins. Emulator looks for the Skins directory in the same directory as the Emulator executable file. Renaming the folder to Skins will enable a new item in the drop-down box of Skin: Standard-English. This chooses the appropriate Skin for the device.

If we had chosen the Generic option, the emulator would look like this:

But when we choose the Standard-English version which looks like this:



Congratulations! You now have a working emulator. You can use your mouse to tap on the screen just as you would do with a stylus and a device.

Now we want to install some application files. Open a folder where you have one of your medical applications stored. I have opened a folder where I have files for The Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. We have pulled all of the procedures from the print version. There are two ways to transfer files onto the emulator:

1) Drag the files onto the emulator. An easy way to do this is to hold down the ctrl key while you highlight the files with your mouse, then simply drag the highlighted files onto the emulator. You will see a dialog box stating that the files are installing.



2) The other way is to right click on the outside of the emulator. Menu items will display. Choose the "Install Applications/Database option," then choose "Other" to browse to where your medical applications are saved on your computer.

As you can now see, once the files have installed, the program icon (AvantGo) appears on the home application screen.


And when we tap on the AvantGo icon it takes us to the LWWMobile home page where the LMNP Procedures is listed:




Any applications you want to move over onto the emulator should work exactly like they do on the device. The picture below displays information on Buck's Extension in the LMNP-Procedure application.


I want to now show you how to save an emulator session, how to save as an executable file, and how to exit a session.

There are various reasons for why you may want to save an emulator session; the main reason being that you do not want to have to go through the trouble of starting a new session and transferring files.

1) You will need to right click on the outside of the emulator.
2) Choose the menu option "Save".
3) A dialog box will pop -up, prompting you to name and indicate where to save the file

I named mine LMNP.psf and I saved it in the Emulator41 folder. When you next start the Emulator program it will default to the last known session that you were working in, but if you save your session you can open it back up at any time by right clicking on the outside of the emulator file. Chose the "Open" menu option and locate the specific .psf file that you wish to open.

I will now show you how to create an executable file that can be very helpful, especially if you are giving a presentation. Creating a Bound Emulator will create an executable file. This exe file can be saved anywhere on the computer, for example, on your desktop. When you are ready to start giving the presentation, all you have to do is double click on the exe and it will immediately open the session that you saved.

Please note: You must be running Windows NT or Windows 2000 to create a bound emulation session. You cannot create a bound emulation session on Macintosh or on Windows 95, 98 or Me.

1) Right click on the outside of the emulator.

2) Choose the "Save as Bound Emulator" option.


3) Click the radio box as above and then click "OK."

4) You will be prompted to name and save the file. You, of course, would want to rename the file to something specific, but we cannot do this yet. Save the file just as it is named: Emulator_bound.exe.

5) Go into the folder where you saved Emulator_bound.exe. I saved mine in my Emulator41 folder. Right click on the file Emulator_bound.exe; choose the "Rename" option. Now you can name the file anything you want. I named mine LMNP_Demo.exe.

6) You can now move this file anywhere you want (for example, to the desktop), or you can burn it onto a CD if you need to display on another computer.

To exit is easy. Just right click on the outside of the emulator and chose the "Exit" option.

References:

Article on using Palm OS emulator can be found here: http://oasis.palm.com/dev/kb/papers/1311.cfm
Using and installing skins: http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/do...cedTopics.html

Heather can be contacted by email

turbo2ltr

iTrader: (1)

Ideally you want to use the PalmOS *simulator*, which is for OS 5 and up (Hi res screen). Though I've had a tough time getting mine to work again after switching from a win2k machine. And it's not nearly as friendly to use as the emulator.

ninjaracing13

so would this work with vista? kinda interested in trying it out

sharingan 19

iTrader: (16)

Any word on this one way or the other?

I've got a Tungsten and it works out pretty well, although I will admit its a little tedious filling in cells. That being said, I'd rather take the time to fill out cells than waste it scouring the internet for some emulator and following 54 steps to try and make it work.

lastphaseofthis

iTrader: (8)

I used the same software with a winxp laptop that was old enough to still have a DB-9( serial cable) i bough a female to female serial cable and hooked it into the ecu with the rtek software loaded on the emu.... BUT no connection, so i took the cable back and gave up for then..

whats this about a db-9 to a rj45? rj 45 is ethernet i beleive, have you tested this on an actually rTEK2.1 ecu? or do you just think you could do it that way, and the reason for the rj-45 is cause the computer you have didn't have a db-9...?

got a link to said cable i will get one and try this TODAY>

SMKNRX7IL

Sorry... had to vote for windows system. doesnt necessarily have to be a laptop, but something windows compatible gives you much more flexibility.