anyone installed a tune and datalogged with one of the new netbooks yet? Looking to get a hp netbook and a USB style cable to datalog and tune my 89 caprice with the LT1 swap

 

I have an Acer Aspire netbook and datalog with a Moates cable and it works. There is only one glitch however, and I don't know if its the software or the cable. Sometimes Datamaster will have a connection error every so often which results in some weird readings (says I'm going 155mph, 9* of spark retard etc...). FreeScan will also lose its connection and I will have to restart logging every so often.

 

I've used a normal laptop and a Fujitsu Tablet, both work the same as far as datalogging go but I do occasionally have a "glitch", what happens is when I connect the computer (either one) sometimes the mouse starts moving around selecting things, and I lose control of the mouse and buttons... it seems to keep happening until it decides to stop, usually by rebooting or physically disconnecting the computer from the car.

Using Serial port with a cigarette lighter power supply.

I would assume the Netbook would do the same thing in my situation, so I dont know if it's a serial groundthing thing or what.

 

If you are using a USB cable, it's a driver problem - serial devices are often seen as mice by Windows if the right drivers aren't installed.

If you're using a real serial port, then it's pretty strange...

 

I would be very careful if you are using a programming cable that requires a 9 pin db connector. Even if you get a USB to com port adapter....they can drop the connection right in the middle of programming and poof! You have a paperweight.

Proceed at your own risk!

If the programming cable is USB....then you should be ok.

 

The netbook I'm looking at only has USB ports...but can I tune with a datalogging cable? Or do I need a a different cable...

 

You use the same cable. The cable is just the physical interface that connects the PCM with your computer.

 

This is true for an OBD1 vehicle. This is not always true with an OBD2 vehicle.

 

Yea I remember a while back when I was first getting around this tuning stuff there was some kind of box inline with the cable.. guess that stuff is all in the past, thats cool though, I really don't want to send off my PCM and wait for it when I'm ready to start this bad boy up..lol Thanks all.

 

It's strange because it's strange, not because of a USB driver which I am not using. Also it's strange because without touching it, the mouse jerks around in spasms randomly selecting things.. bla bla

One was a Lenovo T60 with a PCMCIA serial card, thought ok, not "real", but then happened in a Fujitsu Tablet with a "real" serial port.. on that one I decided to unplug it from the cig. lighter power slot and it stopped freaking out immediately, and either have never done it when not connected to the car via serial port+Cig Power at same time. So it's something to do with serial ground vs cig power ground.

 

The OBD1 interfaces with serial, not USB. Inside the workings on a "purchased" USB interface you'll find a USB to Serial adapter.