ELMd -- OBD-II plugin via XTalk

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Currently plugin is available only for people in alpha program. Beta release within a week.

Ok this is very simple pervtalk device for interfacing with your OBD-II supporting vehicle.

What can i get ?

Currently plugin supports only:

* vehicle speed (in km/h)
* tachometer (rpm)

What do i need?

* A vehicle

made after 1996 if u r in US of A, possibly newer in EU.

* OBDII interface

based on ELM322 (VPW) chip. Other ELM OBD-II chips might work. However if u end up scorching ur vehicle and half of the neighborhood, i wont assume responsibility of anykind. Check out the [url="http://www.elmelectronics.com"]source[/url] for chips, they seem to be very DIY-friendly. Here is also link for [url="http://www.scantool.net"]off-the-shelf[/url] interface manufacturer incase u only get blisters from soldering iron.

* CarPC running MS windows.

HTPC is ok too... when car is driven on the yard

* pt environment

As with any PervTalk device u gonna need PervHub and incase u wanna interface with Xlobby u also need xPerT plugin, check instructions how to set up a environment with these software on xPerT thread. Download softs within Marb's Z1skin or from Sharps site.



Luckily documenting this plugin will be piece of cake... its so simple that theres not much to say about it. Plugin takes two command line parameters, u can set them in pervtalk's autorun.ini file as usual.

Code: Select all

ELMd alias COMx

Where "alias" is pervtalk alias which makes it possible to refer single device when u r running multiple ELM devices... perhaps u roll on towing truck listening country songs and wanna investigate vehicle on tow while getting to your junk yard IF omitted "Pervette" is assumed.

"COMx" is com port connecting to interface. surely u realise u r not suppose to write "x" there but replace it with the number of the port "COM" is literal though and required.

And finally the usage:

if u want to read the vehicle speed on your xlobby screen, u add a button or text field with following variable:

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plugin>xPerT>Variable>ID>Pervette>speed

where "ID" can be anything but it must also be the value of the ID-field of your button.

"Pervette" is pervtalk name pointing to device if u have another vehicle in tow u might wanna use the alias u gave while launching the device otherwise using name "ELMd" here might be just enough.

"speed" stands for sensor we are interested in, in this case vehicle speed (in km/h). if u want rpm, u simply replace speed with "rpm", remember to use unique ID though if u use both.


Allthough u guys already have all the info needed to use this plugin together with presentors called gauges implemented in xPerT, i will write a short HOWTO on this thread about how to use them together at time of the beta release.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

I think i got good reminder not to release anything without testing, no matter how trivial and cosmetic the changes are. It appears that Alpha build is non-worky, however i didnt had much time to ponder around it but simply replaced it with older working version for the track. Im not gonna tear the link down cause theres no reason to believe the program could cause any harm, but it might not be very useful download before i have time to fix it.

On other hand FRd (flight recorder device) was working smoothly and recorded my runs with pervette... not that im gonna publish them though, track was wet and i had old slicks under, so i drove like old lady But FRd i will try to release later today... as soon as i can pull me self out of hangover.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Apparently theres nothing wrong with code itself, but im again having problem to create a compilation which works on other computers... Damnit these microsoft IDEs are such crap bloatware, give me notepad and compiler and im a happy camper.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

I have no idea when i feel like taking round 2 with MS linker. One thing is sure though match didnt end up with K.O. just yet. However i decided to release my in-house version for those alphatesters who are just itching to beat my grandma speeds. This is exactly same version i run in p3rvette now: direct link (password required)

Keep in mind though this version is not nearly as polished as real (broken build) alpha release:

- It doesnt take commandline parameters at all: alias is default "Pervette" and its hardcoded to COM1 i think.
- It runs a console. However if u hide it once it wont pop back up.
- Some of destructors might be bit unfinalized so several runs might cause some memory leak.
- no icon

However if u have dev env (MS IDEs) set up in your OBD-II connected PC u might rather try real alpha build, cause it launches perfectly fine on my dev machine.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

When i get linkage problem solved, i am also planning to add some new variables to be fetched from the interface. Clearly speed and rpm were most interesting of the values OBD2 provides, but there sh!tload of others and i thought in meantime we could have a little poll what u would like to see on your xl-screen. Ive selected few candidates, but if u think i have dissed some other important value feel free to suggest it. U r allowed to vote for three attributes and i will be implementing few of them which get most votes. Feel free to vote as long as u have opinion on the matter, even if u dont ever see yourself using the plugin. Thanks for participation.

[Cabinetguy]

Hi,

Are you planning to use this for tuning purposes?
If so I would monitor MAP sensor to get Vacuum/boost, Fuel pressure, ambient air, intake air, also monitor the O2 sensor for fuel mixture.
These are a necessity if you are tuning for track or high performance street.


Brian

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Hi,

Are you planning to use this for tuning purposes?
If so I would monitor MAP sensor to get Vacuum/boost, Fuel pressure, ambient air, intake air, also monitor the O2 sensor for fuel mixture.
These are a necessity if you are tuning for track or high performance street.


Brian

I personally dont plan to use it for tuning, atleast not before ive made a plunge into that field. I might plugin LS1edit though, out of curiosity, and somehow try to resist the temptation to change values and see what happens

But i would like plugin to support valueset which is most valuable to both tuners and sunday drivers, so this is exactly type of reply i was hoping for, and ill make sure to include those variables.