Buying Datalogit Kit And Suitable Operating Systems ?

[discopotato03]

Hi all , just about time to buy the Datalogit kit for my PFC equipt R33 GTS25T .

I tried to enquire throug JEM but it doesn't sound like they sell it here . Does anyone here in NSW (Syd ?) sell it or do I have to order direct from NZ ?

Also up for a lap top computer and am curious to know if both XP and Pista can run the software - not that I want Vista but would be handy to know .

Back to the lap tops for a sec , most late ones don't have serial ports (9 pin D RS232) so I guess that means that if you need a serial port you have to buy a card bus serial adapter card .

The reason I'm asking this is because I believe the Datalogit kit can be had in serial cable or USB cable form .

People tell me that not just any old USB cable will do as the system wants to dummy spit and not communicate with the lap top . Datalogit obviously supplies the specialised USB cable if ordered in that form .

My aim is to be able to log from the Datalogit and a Tech Edge WB3A2 (WB 02) so that the actual running conditions and AFR can be compared and tweaked .

I know it's all doable but not sure which way to go for the simplist most reliable interface - serial or USB .

Is the Datelogit kit the same but just supplied with one or the other cable ?

Cheers A .

[paulr33]

the most guaranteed and reliable way i have seen is a true serial port

almost all issues encountered when using datalogit are from mangled com ports and usb dongles

i have an old dell laptop (pentium 600mhz) and that has a true serial port and it works first time, every time

i have tried with a generic usb dongle - sometimes it works ok, othertimes logging drops out, and sometimes you cant connect

if anyone comes to me with issues with datalogit, the first thing i ask is get a true serial port and try again

look on ebay for old laptops with true serial ports if you can, will save SO much headaches, i think at least

and you can run windows 98 on it and it will run fine. my laptop has windows 98 on it and it doesnt miss a beat

i also got a new battery for it from one of the china ching chong ebay battery shops (non legit oem battery) and it works fine

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Dell-C600-Latitude-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/DELL-LATITUDE-D600-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Dell-latitude-c640-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/dell-latitude-d600-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/dell-Latitude-d600-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[wolverine]

it's the same kit disco. different cable.

i have the USB cable and it works fine.

originally there was an issue with a motorola program on the laptop and later selecting the correct com port but otherwise i have had no issue connecting since i worked it out.

i am nowhere near as experienced as paul but my experience has been fine with USB.

Edited September 30, 2008 by wolverine

[wolverine]

also disco, i think t01-100 is an australian agent for datalogit.

[STATUS]

i have sold about 20 of them over the years but no longer bring them in, best bet is to buy their bundle kit with USB as it has the least interface issues. I have used over the years all sorts of serial to USB and none work as well as theirs.

[discopotato03]

Sorry to be difficult but I want to buy a more modern lap top to do more than just run Datalogit and Tech Edge software .

I thought someone may have used a serial port PCMCIA/Card bus adapter card to get the right interface .

With the Datalogit box I gather it has USB and serial sockets on it .

I'll have to research those serial adapter cards and fingers crossed they'll work .

Cheers A .

[TiTAN]

We have sold many Aten usb to serial converters (UC-232A) to mechanics for accessing all their serial based equipment on USB, the only issue we have had so far is that you must set the dongle to come up as com2 for some of the older software to pick up that it is actually there.

Edited September 30, 2008 by TiTAN

[Duncan]

I run datalogit on a new HP laptop via USB (generic USb to serial converter) without any problems. Datalogit only has a serial port. I also have the wb02 kit but haven't got around to logging that yet, I get AFRs right on the dyno and tidy up timing on road and track.

And t01-00 on here (stuart benson) is the Aus distributor for datalogit.

[discopotato03]

Have PM'd t01-100 so the jaffas should be rolling soon .

Next question is can Tech Edge wide band 02 boxes be plugged directly to the Datalogit box and the combied data streams be logged by the laptop or PC through one cable .

Thanks for any/all input , cheers Adrian .

[Duncan]

the datalogit has 4 (from memory) inputs so if you output the afr from the tech edge you can log that.

or..the tech edge has 8 inputs so you can log those, but you loose access to all of the other parameters that datalogit captures....so, use the datalogit and send the afr to it as one of the inputs.

the main issue with datalogit is you need a laptop attached because it has no memory. the tech-edge has 1mb memory on board and does not need a laptop to log.

[BoostdR]

Mine works just fine on vista and with the USB. I would look at the LC-1 over the tech edge. Also check out Copilot, The autotune works quite well with a few tweaks. http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/

[discopotato03]

I already own a TE and the people who I follow like the PFC so the path is drawn .

If the Datalogit box can log inpit from the TE and talk to the laptop via their serial/USB cable then thats way to go I think .

Should be able to go with a reasonably modern lap top that would do other things better than a P3 era thing .

I've been looking into Toshiba lap tops - along the lines of a Core 2 Duo 2.1 (8100) with the 800 FSB and 2G of ram .

Its needs Wi Fi and Gigabyte LAN 10/100/1000 would be nice .

Vista can viss off as I already have SP3 XP to load .

Not chained to Toshiba but have been told to avoid Compac and I think Acer .

Gotta run again , cheers A .

[zebra]

This Doesnt Really help you Disco but may help others.

Datalogit & Lc-1Bundle

The Price seems allright and its it an Australian Mob

Regards

Andrew

[TiTAN]

I already own a TE and the people who I follow like the PFC so the path is drawn .

If the Datalogit box can log inpit from the TE and talk to the laptop via their serial/USB cable then thats way to go I think .

Should be able to go with a reasonably modern lap top that would do other things better than a P3 era thing .

I've been looking into Toshiba lap tops - along the lines of a Core 2 Duo 2.1 (8100) with the 800 FSB and 2G of ram .

Its needs Wi Fi and Gigabyte LAN 10/100/1000 would be nice .

Vista can viss off as I already have SP3 XP to load .

Not chained to Toshiba but have been told to avoid Compac and I think Acer .

Gotta run again , cheers A .

What kind of budget were you thinking for the laptop? and i can give you some suggestions.

[Duncan]

laptops are like religion. most people follow one and will argue its the best to no matter what the facts. personally I use HP laptops and have for 5 years. Previously I used toshiba and dell laptops but found their support appalling.

but in the end - laptop prices crashed since the budget where they abolished salary sacrifice for laptops. Right now for $800 you can get an excellent laptop for tuning purposes. Brand doesn't really matter just buy whatever you think has the sturdiest case and screen so it will last with some abuse.

BTW I forgot to mention I have run datalogit of xp and now on vista 64 without problems. FAST however is a different story it does not run on vista 64.

[discopotato03]

Price wise something up to 1-1.1g , this thing I'm using here ATM is a Toshiba Satelite Pro L300 which is pretty basic - missus bought it reasonably cheaply though its no power house .

Will have to see whats around in the HP range . I mentioned abouve what I think is a good set of specs .

BTW have pm'd Steve for payment details but yet to hear back . I refuse to move money via internet so direct deposit or express posted bank cheque is what I usually do .

Cheers A .

[Beer Baron]

toshiba is pretty good. they are japanese made which even in this day and age DOES make a difference. I like sony laptops but i'm a bit of a brand wanker and fall for things like carbon fibre frame, 1mil thick white OLED screens, 1kg total weight etc. but again, toshiba is a good choice.

[Beer Baron]

http://www.ausperformance.com.au/store/ind...mp;productId=27

that seems like good value. so correct me if I'm wrong, but if you buy this you have datalogit and wideband AFR input into that for $650? pretty cheap for some powerful tools...

[TiTAN]

Price wise something up to 1-1.1g , this thing I'm using here ATM is a Toshiba Satelite Pro L300 which is pretty basic - missus bought it reasonably cheaply though its no power house .

Will have to see whats around in the HP range . I mentioned abouve what I think is a good set of specs .

BTW have pm'd Steve for payment details but yet to hear back . I refuse to move money via internet so direct deposit or express posted bank cheque is what I usually do .

Cheers A .

If you can stretch the budget slightly (depending on which retailer you go to prices vary between $1100 and $1200) the Benq R56-BV35 is a good little unit. It Comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 2.40GHz, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD, 15.4 WXGA screen (1280x800 res), GeForce 8400M Graphics card, Super Multi 8x DVDRW, 10/100 LAN, 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless, Webcam, Windows Vista Business.

You will find a lot of the really cheap notebooks come with no where near enough ram and cheap/slow chipsets on their motherboards (this makes a massive difference to the performance of the notebook), typically the SIS and VIA based chipsets do not have the same performance as the Intel ones. If you get a chance go to a retailer and see if they will let you try out a couple of the display models to get a feel for how responsive they are (restarting the machine and seeing how long it takes to boot up to a usable state in windows is also a good way to test what it will be like opening large / resource hungry programs.

[STATUS]

ive had good results with toshiba and HP, im currently using a compaq and it is SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT.... and makes me very emotional... so i just picked up another toshiba and yoga classes to sort my shit out.

Edited October 2, 2008 by URAS