Thanks for your reply Vitaliy

Vitaliy wrote:
> Dave Wheeler wrote:
>   
>> I am starting development of a hobby project which will read a vehicle
>> speed and do some stuff (Alarms for example) the project will eventually
>> be
>> PIC based but to get an understanding of 'real' things going on I am
>> trying to find a Scantool to help. There are lots of ELM327 clones
>> available from China but
>> my research has helped me in deciding to keep clear of them. Other tools
>> available in the UK vary in price (dramatically) and although my time
>> for this application is free, I still don't want to waste a lot of time
>> with inferior hardware.
>>     
>
> Good idea. The problem with Chinese clones is not in that they don't ever
> work; the problem is that you never know what you're going to get. Some
> units work perfectly, some work marginally, some work on one protocol but
> not the others, some don't bother powering up and some power up and catch
> fire. I'm not exaggerating:
>
> http://forums.fluxmedia.net/obd-ii-auto-diagnostics/6982-dealexteme-obd-usb-thoughts.html#post51292
>   
I had seen similar comments on other forums, I can't see the point in 
spending more time getting the tools to work than developing my 'gadget'
>
>   
>> The ELM327 (V1.3a) based tools seem to be entry level and only
>> upgradable by chip change, there
>> seems to be some 'compatible' tools that are flash based and easy to
>> upgrade (generally free).
>>     
>
> The only devices with a bootloader that I'm aware of, are OBDPros and 
> OBDLink (www.obdlink.com).
>
> In my recent post, I alluded to the fact that ScanTool.net LLC is 
> considering bringing a claim against OBDPros' founder, Jay Shroff. While the 
> outcome of such situations is never certain, I would definitely consider 
> this fact when choosing a vendor.
>   
I did see this post and have looked at the scantools on their site with 
your post in mind :-)
>
>   
>> The Elmscan5 seems like a good contender but the UK prices from
>> distributors is high compared to direct, obviously the direct route may
>> attract some import duty and the
>> dreaded VAT.
>>     
>
> My opinion is necessarily subjective, but I would get the OBDLink instead of
> the ElmScan 5. One reason is upgradeability, and the fact that any real
> problems you encounter will be fixed much quicker than with an ELM327-based
> option. We've been selling ELM327 products for over seven years, and I'm
> sorry to say that Elm Electronics has been very slow in implementing
> customer requested changes, and fixing bugs.
>
> The other reason is cost: Elm Electronics is not at all flexible when it
> comes to pricing.
>   
As I'm only interested in CAN support it looks like an 'out of the box' 
solution would be the OBDLink CI which on your site is a similar cost to 
the
Elmscan 5, Its a shame there is such a cost difference between the 
OBDLink and the OBDLink CI as 'Murphys Law' states that once I start 
'playing' I
will wish I had other OBD protocols available :-)
>
>   
>> Any suggestions, recommendation's or 'keep well clear of's'   will be
>> greatly received
>>     
>
> Take a look at the microOBD module:
>
> http://www.scantool.net/scantool/downloads/44/microOBD-ProductBrief.pdf
>
> It's based on the same firmware as OBDLink, and includes all necessary
> drivers. We also have a nice development board that it plugs into, we plan
> to post photos and descriptions of both on our website sometime next week.
>   
Looks nice but by the time I add connectors, cables, RS232 level 
converter I guess the cost would be about the same as the OBDLink CI
> Another option is to incorporate the STN100x chip into your device. The
> downside is that it can sometimes take a while to work out the bugs in the
> (deceivingly simple) driver circuitry.
>
> Vitaliy
>   
Going well OT now but do you ship to UK end users  ? If so, any idea of 
shipping costs ?

Thanks Again,
Dave
 
>   
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