ODB2 by obd2allinone

carabuser · 01-26-2006, 06:35 PM

The time for a OBD-2 reader has come and I'm looking at all the reasable options available. So far I have narrowed my selection down to these 3:
1. B-3: $96 (http://www.obddiagnostics.com/)
2. ScanTool: $139 (http://www.scantool.net/)
3. All-in-One: $99.95 (http://www.obd2allinone.com/)

I'm really liking the All-in-One for quite a few reasons. It uses ELM327 chip = CAN interface supported. This gives me the opportunity to keep the reader in case I get a new car (which will be '05-'06 anyway). Cost seems on the reasonable side and they have a 15-day whatever-the-reason return policy.

Now I'd like to hear if you had any experience with All-in-One or heard anything about it. Any other comments/suggestions are also welcome.

blazerdude · 01-27-2006, 01:46 AM

I have an obd2allinone unit and it is great. It worked with all the free
OBD2 scanning packages I tried off www.obd2allinone.com
CAN data was very impressive on the 2006 Toyota truck I ran it on. Ran it on
a 2001 Ford Mustang, a 2006 Acura MDX, a 1999 Chevy van and some others
also. The unit is solidly built and quite compact, shipping was fast, and
has already saved the $99 it cost. In addition to the laptop software, try
it with a PalmOS or handheld with the OBD Gauge software, and the time
interval set down to 50msec. You will be amazed.

carabuser · 01-27-2006, 02:57 AM

thanks for the input. I wonder why it's not popular around here then.

joeyoravec · 01-27-2006, 09:07 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by carabuser

thanks for the input. I wonder why it's not popular around here then.

It does use RS-232 serial which is... well... crappy. Also it uses a proprietary protocol instead of the SAE international standard J2534-1. It might be "ok" but there's better equipment out there.

carabuser · 01-27-2006, 06:03 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by joeyoravec

It does use RS-232 serial which is... well... crappy. Also it uses a proprietary protocol instead of the SAE international standard J2534-1. It might be "ok" but there's better equipment out there.

and your suggestion as to the protocol to use would be... ?

AFAIK, scantool.net uses same rs-232. So what would be "better equipment out there" in the same price range?

joeyoravec · 01-27-2006, 07:30 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by carabuser

and your suggestion as to the protocol to use would be... ?

AFAIK, scantool.net uses same rs-232. So what would be "better equipment out there" in the same price range?

For $200 my company sells the Mongoose ISO/CAN interface. The host interface is full-speed USB (12mbps) with full electrical isolation. It has a 32-bit ARM processor with plenty of buffer space so it doesn't lose packets. The device driver meets the J2534 standard so it's compatible with most controller reflash software. It's the higher-end of the price range, but you get what you pay for.

For fifty bucks less, the ELM is literally ~100 times slower (9600 baud). It uses a PIC with only a 256 byte message buffer, so expect a lot of dropped packets. Even though it's popular, the serial wire-protocol is proprietary and there's no J2534 driver. None of the implementations I've seen are electrically isolated -- better hope there's never a voltage spike that would kill your laptop's port.

shumley · 01-29-2006, 02:54 AM

I also have the obd2allinone unit and like it. I think the reason it's not "popular" on here is simply because it is a new product. It is a very versatile product at a reasonable price. It is functionally equivalent to the Elmscan5 because they are both based on the Elm 327 chip. It supports all protocols (VPW, PWM, ISO, CAN), unlike the Mongoose or BR-3 which only support some of them. The RS-232 serial interface also has some advantages over USB: 1) You can interface to a Palm or PocketPC PDA as well as a PC, and 2) Serial cables can be much longer than USB cables (i.e. you can run a cable from your car in the garage to a computer in your house). The interface speed is not as big of an issue as it might seem. There is a limit to how fast the ECU in the car can respond to ODB2 requests, and it is nowhere near 12Mbps even with CAN. The Mongoose may give faster sample rates, I don't know, but the 100x statement is misleading. The Mongoose also has limited diagnostic software support at this time (just PCMSCAN I think), whereas there is lots of software for Elm. The Elm protocol may be proprietary, but it is open so anyone can write software.

I recently researched OBD2 diagnostic tools extensively before deciding on obd2allinone. I think it's the best inexpensive general-purpose interface at this time. If you own a GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, or Mazda and have more money to spend, you might look at Autotap or Autoenginuity. They offer manufacturer-specific "Enhanced" support which can give you access to a lot of extra data that's not part of the standard "Generic" OBD2 interface. To my knowledge, the enhanced data is not available in any Elm software at this time.

That's my 2 cents. Good luck.

joeyoravec · 01-29-2006, 09:42 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by shumley

Serial cables can be much longer than USB cables (i.e. you can run a cable from your car in the garage to a computer in your house).

Agreed, USB can reach 5 meters while serial can reach 15 meters. Both should be long enough to reach almost anywhere in the car. Extenders are available for both serial and usb if you need to reach into the house.

Regarding handhelds, the Toshiba (and some other) WinCE devices can function as USB host and are theoretically compatible. Others may require a compact flash USB adapter. We could make a driver for handhelds if there's demand. Instead, we're concentrating on Mongoose CAN/J1850 which will be finished soon.

Quote: Originally Posted by shumley

The interface speed is not as big of an issue as it might seem. There is a limit to how fast the ECU in the car can respond to ODB2 requests, and it is nowhere near 12Mbps even with CAN. The Mongoose may give faster sample rates, I don't know, but the 100x statement is misleading.

If your software uses generic mode 1 requests, the ECU limits the output to ~33 responses/sec. Using rapid packet you should get ~200 packets/sec, with up to six parameters per packet. If you're sniffing the bus to reverse engineer something or reflashing, speed matters even more.

Let's put it in perspective: CAN runs at 500k baud, the ELM327 is usually 9600 but let's assume the maximum 38.4k baud. Then the host interface is a theoretical maximum 7.68% of the bandwidth of the vehicle. Now to be realistic, add in the overhead of its ASCII commands. It's like putting a drinking straw into a fire hydrant.

Quote: Originally Posted by shumley

The Mongoose also has limited diagnostic software support at this time (just PCMSCAN I think), whereas there is lots of software for Elm.

We'll have info on the others posted soon. The next version of ScanMaster works well; I'm helping to test the beta test. Also Digimoto borrowed some free equipment, and should be working on his drivers. It just happens that PCMScan was first to market and offers great software. Any developers that want to get on board should drop me an email so I can get you started.

DaveB · 01-29-2006, 10:14 AM

I have a 2004 Dodge Ram truck with the Cummins 600 Turbo Diesel. I'm having trouble finding an OBD solution, which I can hook up to my truck PC, that supports a Diesel.

Do any of the above products work with Diesels?

jyaron · 01-29-2006, 06:44 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by joeyoravec

The device driver meets the J2534 standard so it's compatible with most controller reflash software.

Currently: GM requires VPW, Ford requires PWM, DCX requires SCI-A/B--- programmable 5-20V source @ 150ma is req'd for Ford, DCX and some GMs.

$200 unit supports a small subset of J2534-1. Perhaps it's OK for some Asian, but, certainly not reflash of US domestic vehicles.

joeyoravec · 01-29-2006, 08:09 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by jyaron

Currently: GM requires VPW, Ford requires PWM, DCX requires SCI-A/B--- programmable 5-20V source @ 150ma is req'd for Ford, DCX and some GMs.

$200 unit supports a small subset of J2534-1. Perhaps it's OK for some Asian, but, certainly not reflash of US domestic vehicles.

Correct those vehicles could be reflashed with CarDAQ-Plus right now, which does all protocols and voltages for a higher cost. We'll be announcing other versions of the Mongoose for J1850 (and maybe SCI) vehicles sometime this year.

To DaveB above -- do you know if your truck is OBD-II compliant, and which protocol is uses? I thought some of the diesel Cummins actually used heavy truck (J1939/J1708) protocols. My data from Chrysler doesn't say; what do you know about this vehicle?

NickFury · 01-30-2006, 08:17 PM

joeyoravec,

can you tell me what protocol a 2004 SRT-4 uses? I can't get a straigt answer from people on srtforums. I think I've got it work under VPW, but can I use CAN?

The mongoose is looking like a good solution, I need something fast for the track.

joeyoravec · 01-31-2006, 09:33 AM

Although nobody I know owns an SRT4, I thought it's an NGC with J1850VPW diagnostic and SCI reflash. Maybe somebody else who owns one can confirm.

shumley · 02-01-2006, 11:41 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by joeyoravec

For $200 my company sells the Mongoose ISO/CAN interface. The host interface is full-speed USB (12mbps) with full electrical isolation. It has a 32-bit ARM processor with plenty of buffer space so it doesn't lose packets. The device driver meets the J2534 standard so it's compatible with most controller reflash software. It's the higher-end of the price range, but you get what you pay for.

If the Mongoose is so powerful, why can't it support more than 2 protocols? If you want to be competitive in the general DIY market, I think you need all protocols in one unit (like most of your competitors already offer). Let's see, for all protocols with Mongoose I'd presumably need 2 different units at $200 each, for a total of $400 worth of hardware. Or I could just buy obd2allinone (available today) for $100. If someone really wants USB instead of serial, they can buy from Autoenginuity, Auterra, or Autotap for around $200 and they would get support for all protocols PLUS really nice diagnostic software. I don't mean to be argumentative, but I don't think Mongoose in it's current form makes economic sense for most people.

autosvs · 02-05-2006, 12:29 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by carabuser

The time for a OBD-2 reader has come and I'm looking at all the reasable options available. So far I have narrowed my selection down to these 3:
1. B-3: $96 (http://www.obddiagnostics.com/)
2. ScanTool: $139 (http://www.scantool.net/)
3. All-in-One: $99.95 (http://www.obd2allinone.com/)

I'm really liking the All-in-One for quite a few reasons. It uses ELM327 chip = CAN interface supported. This gives me the opportunity to keep the reader in case I get a new car (which will be '05-'06 anyway). Cost seems on the reasonable side and they have a 15-day whatever-the-reason return policy.

Now I'd like to hear if you had any experience with All-in-One or heard anything about it. Any other comments/suggestions are also welcome.

It is great to see OBD2Allinone here, which systems can it works ? Do you have a carlist that it will be workable? thank you