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Tue Nov 13 08:16:38 EST 2012


button, you may feel that the buttons are broken if there is no
response.  They're probably not broken.  In fact, they're pretty
sensitive.  If it's busy updating gauges, it may not respond to a short
button press.  Just hold the button for a second or so.  It will work.<br>
<br>
If an alarm goes off that you don't like, you have lots of flexibility
to control them.  You can turn all alarms off.  You can turn the
audible alert off.  You can enable / disable each individual gauge
alarm separately as well as enabling / disabling pending trouble code
alarms and trouble code alarms.  You don't have to give up using the
alarms because one is annoying you.  The first time one goes off, it
may startle you.  Just calmly assess the situation.  The  current alarm
can be suspended by pressing the down key until the next time the car
is turned off.<br>
<br>
You really NEED to read the manual to get the most out of this device,
and to some extent, to even get it to work accurately.  It's not hard,
but there are many options.  The manual is clear, but doesn't always
explain exactly when you need to do things in what order in an obvious
way.<br>
<br>
Here's what you must do, in order, to make the device work accurately. 
Many of these would probably apply to ScanGauge or Torque Pro.<br>
<br>
1) Enter your engine size<br>
<br>
2) Enter your fuel tank size<br>
<br>
3) Properly set the fuel injector cutoff.  Almost all non diesel cars
with fuel injectors cut the fuel off when coasting above a certain
speed in gear.  There is a parameter you need to set for this to work
properly, unless your car doesn't have this feature.  (Note, this is
for the gauge to work properly.  The car should work properly
regardless, whether you can measure it or not.)<br>
<br>
4) Distance traveled calibration.  This is important.  Your car's
odometer may not be accurate.  This was the case in mine, and it was
reading low.  So, if I went 7.5 miles, it would read 7.4.  Not huge,
but it will screw up all your distance and MPG readings.  In my case, a
mileage correction factor of 1.008 was installed.  Find a mile marker
where you can STOP to set up the test.  Go to another at least 3 miles
away and STOP to complete the test per instructions in the manual. 
Don't use your odometer as a reference as it's what you're trying to
correct.<br>
<br>
5) MPG calibration.  Also important.  You will track how much fuel you
add at one or more fill ups and let the device know.  It will apply a
correction factor to the calculations.  (Not stated in the manual, but
I think winter fuel blends may change the accuracy.)  (This IS in the
manual: Switching between blended and unblended fuel will result in
inaccurate fuel usage for vehicles which have a MAP sensor and no MAF*
sensor.)<br>
<br>
6) Not really mandatory but recommended.  Go to the version screen and
note the firmware version and date, fuel sender type, mpg sensor type,
and protocol.<br>
<br>
7) If you have a fuel sender (I don't), you may have to tweak it's
usage mode by the Ultra-Gauge.  If you have a fuel sender, the gauge
can auto detect fill ups under certain conditions.  If you don't you
must notify the unit when you fill up using the buttons.  (In my case,
obviously, the car has a sender in the tank, but it's not reported to
OBD.)<br>
<br>
8) If you have a MAP sensor rather than a MAF sensor, there are extra
calibration procedures.  Mine is MAF.  (Don't ask me what that means.)<br>
<br>
9) Make a sun shade for the device or be prepared to remove it from the
dash on very hot days.  This is important.  The warranty is voided by
damage from temperatures exceeding 160 degrees F.  I think I'll try a
styrofoam cup (maybe with tin foil) and cracked open windows.  One of
the gauges you can bring up on the screen is the internal temperature
of the device.  By default it has an alarm set to go off if this
temperature exceeds 145 degrees F.  I want to avoid dismounting the
device if possible.<br>
<br>
This will get you up and running.<br>
<br>
Once this is done, you will probably want to:<br>
<br>
10) Reduce the maximum back light brightness to 80%.  This reduces heat
build up.<br>
<br>
11) Customize the different screen pages of gauges to what you want.<br>
<br>
12) Disable some pages, or set other page settings<br>
<br>
13) Enable / disable / customize the alarms subsystem.<br>
<br>
14) Make sure the device activates and deactivates automatically when
starting or shutting off the car.  Otherwise, see battery drain in the
manual.<br>
<br>
15) Deal with any (unlikely) problems like forcing the protocol
selection or MPG sensor usage.  On mine, everything was recognized
automatically with no problem.<br>
<br>
16) If your car has one of a couple of slow protocols (as my Hyundai
does), optionally optimize for a faster refresh rate.  You must reset
this if you move the device to another vehicle.<br>
<br>
17) Possibly use the device to poll and clear any trouble codes.  There
are much better code scanners, but this does the basics.  However, if
you have a real or persistent trouble code or check engine light on,
let your mechanic look at it or talk to him before clearing it.  You
may be erasing important evidence he needs to troubleshoot your problem.<br>
<br>
Well, that's it for now.  I definitely recommend this device (caveat -
after 1 day of use) to anyone in need of a small but versatile OBD-II
monitoring gauge / alarm system / code scanner for your car.  Read the
manufacturer's policies regarding returns, warranty, and support; and
know the limitations.  But, I think it's a good deal.<br>
<br>
Hope this is helpful to anyone interested in the topic.<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
<br>
Ron<br>
<br>
<br>
On 9/17/2013 12:45 AM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:5237DE57.7050806 at techstarship.com" type="cite">
  <meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type">
Hi Neal,<br>
  <br>
You've got some good points there.  The stand alone devices do have
some definite advantages.  If I was to use a tablet, I'd start it
before moving the car and preset the gauges I want to see and then not
bother it.    Even so, while the tablet might power up automatically
when the car is turned on, and could be configured to run without a
password; I don't know if I could set it to autostart the torque
program.<br>
  <br>
Still doing research, but I may go with this:<br>
  <br>
  <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
 href="http://www.ultra-gauge.com/">http://www.ultra-gauge.com/</a><br>
  <br>
It has some very advanced configuration options documented in the
manual, including automatic fill up detection (if the car has the right
sensors), automatic display dimming, detailed mpg calibration, and
odometer accuracy calibration.  It displays up to 6 gauges at once and
costs $ 60.  Looks pretty interesting.<br>
  <br>
faq - <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
 href="http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/FAQ.htm">http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/FAQ.htm</a><br>
bigger faq -
  <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
 href="http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/UltraGauge_Support_LP.html">http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/UltraGauge_Support_LP.html</a><br>
knowledge base -
  <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
 href="http://ultra-gauge.com/customer_support/knowledgebase.php">http://ultra-gauge.com/customer_support/knowledgebase.php</a><br>
user manual -
  <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
 href="http://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/Ultra_Gauge_EM_1_2_Manual_3_30_13.pdf">http://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/support/Ultra_Gauge_EM_1_2_Manual_3_30_13.pdf</a><br>
product demo -
  <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
 href="http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/TEN/product_demo.htm">http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/TEN/product_demo.htm</a><br>
  <br>
Sincerely,<br>
  <br>
Ron<br>
  <br>
  <br>
On 9/16/2013 10:40 PM, Neal Rhodes wrote:
  <blockquote cite="mid:1379385614.4408.4336.camel at t4.mnopltd.com"
 type="cite">
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
    <meta name="GENERATOR" content="GtkHTML/3.28.3">
&gt;From a safety standpoint I'd stick with the Scanguage.   It's the
simplest to place, easiest to read, and you can put it such that you
can see it without taking eyes far off the road. <br>
    <br>
I do have torque and an odb reader and never use it. <br>
    <br>
Scanguage IIs also can calibrate to your fuel injection system and keep
track of your fuel consumption, such that they can predict exactly how
many miles you have left before empty.   (basically by counting number
and length of each fuel injection pulse)    In the truck, which shows
empty when there are 6 gallons left, this is helpful for planning gas
stops accurately.    Especially when you have to find USLD instead of
gasoline. <br>
    <br>
I don't recall other Android ODB software doing that in a way that I'd
trust. <br>
    <br>
I really think the 4 button Scanguage is the way to go.   Dorking
around with the UI on an Android device while driving is just too
distracting. <br>
    <br>
Neal Rhodes<br>
MNOP Ltd<br>
  </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- 

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier
770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com
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