I've been Googling to find a business that sells USB to OBD-II interfaces. For the last several weeks I've been silently reading the forum and from numerous posts to this forum, I've gathered that the generally practiced solution is to use an RS232-to-USB converter. I would rather not use the converter, but I will if I have to. Here are the most promising leads that I've uncovered:
A German site (I don't speak German):
http://www.diagnose-system.de/obd-usb.html
Ross-Tech sells adapters that incorporate a dongle for exclusive use with their VAG-COM software:
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/hex-usb.html"This interface requires a special driver to be installed on your PC. It does not emulate a COM port. That means this interface will not work with any other software besides VAG-COM. "
Sensolutions makes the connectors, but I don't know if they sell them directly:
"One of our adapter designs (TWIN-COM) is licensed to Ross-Tech, home of the VAG-COM Diagnostic Software, on an exclusivity basis."
I've submitted a request for information to them regarding availability and possible driver issues.
Does anyone have any knowledge concerning the existence of a USB connector for OBD-II, or shall I drown in a torrent of "just use the serial-to-USB adapter" replies
? Is there a fundamental timing or driver issue that is preventing the migration to USB?
-Stephen Wilcox