"VCDS" for iPad

[CmB]

Thanks for that Gizmo. I wasn't sure as the other end of the unit, from this angle, looks like the connector.

On a side note.......who put a white led where a red one should be on the unit 2nd from bottom on the left

Edited 18 March, 2013 by CmB

[rwbaldwin]

Thanks for that Gizmo. I wasn't sure as the other end of the unit, from this angle, looks like the connector.

On a side note.......who put a white led where a red one should be on the unit 2nd from bottom on the left

+1

The other end looks like 16-pin OBD connector and the orange socket looks like the USB firmware update socket. The 'white led' looks like a grey reset button to me  

[CmB]

and, while we are on the subject, whats with the random white unit :wonder: :wonder:

[bearthebruce]

Sometimes when one is making prototype parts, not all things are equal. We evaluated two fast production methods to test the case design concept. One was black, One was white. We liked the black version better and made a bunch more. The production case will be black.

The reset button is supposed to be red. Prototype parts were ordered in gray. One of those was assembled in the pile that went out for Alpha testing. The picture shows all of them. It will be red in the production version.

The LEDs for the unit are the small translucent lenses at the bottom below the reset switch.

[CmB]

cheers Bruce

Any chance you can confirm whether or not the other side of the unit (re main photo) is the OBD connector or is there a separate lead??

(and now i have looked more closely at the photo i can see its a button and not an LED.....DOH!!)

[bearthebruce]

Yes, the other side of the unit is the standard 16 pin DLC connector. This is the only device required. The USB connector is there for... well, we just have to wait and see. Right now the guys think the only need for that will be for re-programming the interface for updates... At least that was the last word I had.

[posterboy]

Bruce, can you please expand on why RT decided to pursue the current arrangement and not the option of a dongle + downloadable mobile software?

Would the option of buying a RT licence to use with a third party dongle be available?

[bearthebruce]

Yes, I think I can indicate why... No dongle will protect our development investment from those who choose to hack a software product and illegally distribute it. There will always be someone who will spend countless person hours to defeat protections. Yet, having said that, our custom hardware makes their efforts that much more difficult. We have learned many lessons with the predecessor to VCDS-Lite and we will not go back to sending out licenses and so on.

Then there is the question of which operating system should we choose? Android, Windows, iPhone, .... and which of these will be around for more than a year or so? To make a downloadable product, we have to support every operating system for portable devices. The cost of that would be incredibly high.

Another reason is that we do not want to try to support 3rd party designs. Like the operating systems, the interface devices would require support by the software. That means that we would have to know what was going on with the hardware in each device. Been there ... Tried that.... We're done with that.... We still live with it on our VCDS-Lite product. It is simply not worth the effort.

So, our products will be supported through our technology. Our interface will be our dongle. Current product and future product will continue to be designed in this fashion. Our main goal will be to provide the most cost effective diagnostic tool that will allow us to protect our investment against illegal theft.

While we get that some desire a lower cost solution, there is no other product in the price/performance class of VCDS. I don't say this with arrogance. It's a fact. Our focus has been and remains doing everything we can do to keep the price low. We have achieved that goal as the nearest competing tools sell at 20x our price. We understand that some will view our tool as expensive when all they want to do is a few tweaks for which they see little value in our tool. They have no need of all the capabilities of the tool. So why not a phone app for $1.99 and be done with it. Well, that idea simply does not understand the difficulties involved.

The new tool has been under development for 3 years already. Constant technology change has required re-thinking of the tool several times in the process. Attacks on our existing products by thieves has made us re-think our approach. However, the decision to stay with our own dedicated protected devices remains constant.

[posterboy]

Thanks for the excellent reply.