Seeing Dez sign his post ++dez made me wonder... how many of us are in Information Technology?

Originally posted by sco
Seeing Dez sign his post ++dez made me wonder... how many of us are in Information Technology?

I even considered trying to hunt down the plate RX 1000 - pretty sad huh :D

525838 would have been completely lost on all but a few...

I'd say that there's a solid wheighting towards RX8 owners being geeks, even if not by career choice.. there's just something different about people who drive a rotary..

Funny that you [ kev ] should mention you too hunted out a binary -> decimal plate.. I actually did a stint at the RTA cleaning up some heavy iron [ Sun's etc ] and I used to pass my time searching for curious stuff in the MYPLATES server logs ( some stuff was just plain weird! ) and plus there was bugger all to do for lunch at sunny old Flemington baring belting golf balls at the local driving range at poor saps in those ball pick'er uper carts..

Almost all of the folk I've met in the past four weeks are geeks, technical, or have some hacker ethic build in through natural selection!

base 2, 8, 10, 16 - most of the RX8'ism are done and done bugger it.

++dez;



#!/bin/local/bin/rotary -

if( undef MAX_TANK ) MAX_TANK=AUD$55;

fuel=MAX_TANK; /* yea ha! */
rpms=0; /* got to start somewhere */

&start_up(true);

while ( fuel != 0 ) {
(drive?far|wide);
if( **fuel-- != -) {
rpms++; /* DCS will save ya! */
}
}

exit(via_suicide_doors=false);

Funny, the RX8 has revived the evil "GOTO" in me :D

BTW - If you're really quick, RX8SUB is available!

Whilst on IRC setting up the UK owners club* we discovered well over half of us were in IT. But then maybe its just non-geeks don't do IRC.

* It is now an owners club, not just a pre-owners club, as someone actually has taken delivery!

Cheers
---Dave

I can see this degenerating into a 'how programmers change lightbulbs' type of thread. How about a higher level version with a database back end?

procedure drive-it (input car, input year) :

define variable cash as decimal init 0.
define variable petrol as decimal init 10 /* litres */
define variable revs as integer init 0.
define variable gear as integer init 1.

#SCOPED DEFINE MIN-PETROL = 10.
#SCOPED DEFINE MAX-REVS = 9000.
#SCOPED DEFINE MAX-GEARS = 6.

run get-cash (output cash).

find first engine-ctrl
where engine-type = car
and build-year = year no-lock
no-error.


if type <> "rotary"
then do:

run sell-car (input car, input year, output cash).
run buy-car (input cash, output car, output year).
run drive-it (input car, input year).

end.

run get-petrol (input car, input-output cash, input-output petrol).

run start-car (input car).

run disable-dsc (input car).
run disable-tc (input car).

repeat :
do while revs < MAX-REVS :
run accelerate (input car, input-output-petrol, output revs).
/* pedestians, speed traps, corners, kangaroos etc. */
run check-for-obstacles (input car, input-output revs, output gear).
end.

if gear <= 5
gear = gear + 1.

until petrol < 10.

end-procedure.

<------- RX8:)

Originally posted by Kev
I even considered trying to hunt down the plate RX 1000 - pretty sad huh :D

525838 would have been completely lost on all but a few...

He he... why didn't I think of that

I am not IT in profession but I use HTML with dreamweaver and Flash. Anyone making their RX8 in their homepage?
I will take more pic later on to put on it.... will show you guys by site next month and see if I am up to scratch with my knowledge.

Btw. I am a doctor during the day

Originally posted by Kev
I even considered trying to hunt down the plate RX 1000 - pretty sad huh :D

525838 would have been completely lost on all but a few...

52582D38 <----- Fixed :D
BTW Not in IT but still use binary & hex most days :)

-pete

Originally posted by rpm_pwr
52582D38 <----- Fixed :D
BTW Not in IT but still use binary & hex most days :)

-pete

That won't fit on a number plate! :)

I'm not now in IT, but I do have a long association with computers.

Bought my first PC about 20 years ago and set myself up as a "computer consultant" for a while. In those days you just walked in to a business, said any sentence containing 3 or 4 words like "Dos, floppy drive, CPU, and memory" and the managers' eyes would glaze over and they'd hand over all the manuals for their hardware and software, and mumble something about what they needed.

You'd then dash home, make a large pot of coffee and read the manuals so that you could become an instant expert and answer all the questions the next day, and then develop or set something up for them. Seat of the pants stuff. :D

I still build all my own machines (largely used for gaming, household accounts etc.).

I don't have a personalised plate but the one I got randomly seemed appropriate to keep. A group of my friends (all over 50) loosely refer to themselves as belonging to the "BOFs" club - which stands for Boring Old Farts. So my number plate caused some amusement..

1 BOF *** ;)

> Kev:
> Funny, the RX8 has revived the evil "GOTO" in me

hee hee, yea - I can see it:

10 print "Wake up neo!"
20 $DRIVE=$DRIVE+1
30 GOTO 20


> dbb
> run check-for-obstacles ( ... )

full kewl on that little ditty.. but your check-for-obstables() module should have predefined constants like "wife", "child", "sleep", "food", "charlie-ash", and the null pointer value for "350z_owner_envy"

hee hee..

oh I'm so lame!


> sco
> <------ RX8 ;-)

that's not sco as in sue your ass off if you're running linux is it?

anyone else shit a brick this morning when they got a pithy little email from Red Hat about the supposed discontinuation of Red Hat Linux per se 7.x and the forced move to Enterprise or WorkStation "linux" ( what w*nker at Red Hat decided that they owned the term Linux and came up with Linux 9 I wonder - more power to them I guess - wish I got shares when I could )


> takahashi
> Btw. I am a doctor during the day

doc of what?

body parts or science?

I'm figuring the former as apposed to the latter?

Perhaps you could become the defacto drive meet medico for heart palpatations, respitority recovery issues, and adrenachrome overloads * grin *


This is very much becoming an IRC like thread * yikes *

Nice to see geeks are well represented but let's not fall into that all time geek trap of inverting so much that we miss out on the greatness of knowing the rest of the world * sigh *

( ironic sort of thing to say while I sit here pounting away on the keyboard like a wide monkey )

++dez;

by the way - has anyone ( ducks for cover having not yet finished reading the FAQ ) managed to suck data from their car with a laptop in any way?

I'm dreaming of wardriving for Wifi while watching a Java midlet stream real time telemetric data to a database as well as a nifty little graphs, dials and histograms gui / web page / meta-refresh thing-a-ma-bob!?

++dez;

ps: there are officially 110 wireless networks between Sydney and Newcastle that can be detected at 120km p/hour with a non-modified 15" Mac PowerBook G4 running KisMAC ( MacStumbler isn't as quick so misses a lot of packets and hence networks ) - I've now done half a dozen runs there and back ( to Mayfield ) from the Sydney end of the trip, and each time I've clocked up exactly 110 LAN's, and * LOTS! * don't have WEP enabled - and I know a guy who said he can stop at a certian place and pick up his email on the way on a free wifi DHCP allocated IP address with 1.5 Mb via some DSL link * tsk tsk * - if you're into that sort of thing!

Anyway - would love to share any experience on sucking data from the RX8 systems..

++dez;

Originally posted by Dez
by the way - has anyone ( ducks for cover having not yet finished reading the FAQ ) managed to suck data from their car with a laptop in any way?

I'm dreaming of wardriving for Wifi while watching a Java midlet stream real time telemetric data to a database as well as a nifty little graphs, dials and histograms gui / web page / meta-refresh thing-a-ma-bob!?

++dez;

ps: there are officially 110 wireless networks between Sydney and Newcastle that can be detected at 120km p/hour with a non-modified 15" Mac PowerBook G4 running KisMAC ( MacStumbler isn't as quick so misses a lot of packets and hence networks ) - I've now done half a dozen runs there and back ( to Mayfield ) from the Sydney end of the trip, and each time I've clocked up exactly 110 LAN's, and * LOTS! * don't have WEP enabled - and I know a guy who said he can stop at a certian place and pick up his email on the way on a free wifi DHCP allocated IP address with 1.5 Mb via some DSL link * tsk tsk * - if you're into that sort of thing!

Anyway - would love to share any experience on sucking data from the RX8 systems..

++dez;

There's a bit of gumf about the ECU on different threads, but I don't think the style of the ECU's implementation lends itself to being dynamically variable.

I'm assuming you're thinking parameter tweak on the fly?

Some of the more sophisticated engine management systems like the wolf 3d would be a complete ecu repacement, but their relative lack of sophistication surprises me ... serial connections, etc.

Piggybacks like the Link and things like the Canzoomer thread are partial ECU hacks/overrides to fuel and ignition ... a bit ho hum for on the fly fun.

Makes you think what could be down the track though and where hacking could ultimately go ... Imagine being able to kidnap a person by hacking into their cars computer system and hijacking control - is this a plot for a book?

I think the odd notice of open wireless network locations could be good for a giggle. It's even funnier when there internal network is also completely open!

Hmm! Am very concerned about this thread and the tragic confirmation it gives of IT personalities and interests :D

However, have found it all, thus far, very interesting.

I suspect a psychologist (any out there?) would probably suggest a close correlation between IT as an interest/profession and the RX-8 due to the quirky but highly functional and effective spec and technology :D

> Kev:
> I'm assuming you're thinking parameter tweak on the fly?

actually what I'm really all wet and excited about is not on the fly mods as much as just "viewing" the real time data.

imagine if you will that I'm sitting in a 747-400 on the way to Japan, and I've got the G4 open reliving my most recent drive to say the Blue Moutains by just replaying the data I sucked from telemetry as it were * hmmm *

like I said - I've got issues!


> timbo
> Am very concerned about this thread and the tragic confirmation it gives of IT personalities

indeed! I can only think that Lev Vygotsky has been rolling in his little russian grave!


> timbo
> However, have found it all, thus far, very interesting.

hee hee - we aim to please!


as for any correlation between geeks [ as apposed to nerds * see below * ] I recently saw the following wisdom on http://saniweb.com/techtalkforums/showthread.php?p=3967

> Forget computers, being cool, and people sucking up.
>
> Women will always prefer guys with fast cars.


I for one can confirm that a fast car has done nothing for my sex life, well, actually, if anything it's reduced it ( let's face it - your wife isn't going to be making love to you at 11pm if you're out fanging about the streets in a little blue RX8 right!? ).


Definition:

nerds: these are the guys that got 100% on all exams and sat in corners at parties

geeks: we were the guys who walked out 20 mins into a 3 hour exam knowing we'd gotten a 51.5% grade point average after scaling had been applied - we were the party * grin *

girls: the one thing that geeks and nerds both agree rule the world.. second only to the recent creation by God ( read as Mazda ) of the RX8 !

Who's up for a group wardrive one day then? Better find a place to attach the antenna!

++dez;

ps: links for the bored


Head shrinking the color issue:

http://www.informit.com/isapi/product_id~%7B608C5BFE-33D2-4F43-A627-A72BA1034262%7D/content/index.asp

Beer and fast cars!

http://www.spz.tu-darmstadt.de/projekt_ejournal/jg_01_2/beitrag/schulz1.htm


Being there or watching?

http://www.holah.karoo.net/loftusstudy.htm


For those into a bloody good read:

P. J. O'Rourke's "Essays and insults of a republican party reptile" - in particular the essay titled "How to drive fast while getting your wing wang squeezed and not spill your drink"

I love the reference to "..you'd have to watch the entire mexican air force crash land into a petrolium plant to beat that.."

Am/was/is/sort of still in I.T but my main line of work has changed. I.T. did buy the car tho.

Originally posted by Dez

> sco
> <------ RX8 ;-)

that's not sco as in sue your ass off if you're running linux is it?



Actually it is a nickname I got while at Uni... there was no pun in intended... although if you knew who I worked for you'd probably find it mildly amusing.

Originally posted by sco
Actually it is a nickname I got while at Uni... there was no pun in intended... although if you knew who I worked for you'd probably find it mildly amusing.

A) Big Blue
B) Apple
C) Other

???

oh, ok d) microsoft

He he... no comment.

Originally posted by timbo

I suspect a psychologist (any out there?) would probably suggest a close correlation between IT as an interest/profession and the RX-8 due to the quirky but highly functional and effective spec and technology :D

I'm not a psychologist, but I've been married to one for over 21 years, so I'm going to claim that I've absorbed some of the knowledge by a sort of proximal absorption method... :p

My guess is that most real computer enthusiasts tend to be individualists rather than team types. So not so interested in joining big groups like the Ford or Holden gangs, no matter how hot the car. And the RX8 is certainly a unique, smart, individualistic and precise car (which... ahem ... is probably how IT types like to see themselves.... :eek: )

And the precision and techy aspects would certainly appeal to the slight streak of ..... cough.. cough.. control freak.... that I see in some computer buffs..... not us of course... :D

BVD

My wife is also a psychologist , she would like to know whether your wife is in private practice and if so would she like a new patient? Her patient is moving to Perth either just before or just after Christmas to West Perth. Please send details.by way of e-mail or private message me.

So BVD + L&L ...

Do you look upon yourselves as husbands or long term challenges :)

Originally posted by Kev
So BVD + L&L ...

Do you look upon yourselves as husbands or long term challenges :)



Both! :D

And no, we didn't meet because I was a client.... :)

I'm actually now a professional tax deduction and house-husband as I took on the care of our son when he was born, while my wife continued her career.

She was earning more than me. :) She still is too. She's now a manager in our state health dept (so not in private practice).

I had been building and renovating houses + doing some computer work. I also designed and built the house we now live in (single handed - right down to hand making all the door and windows, in the old fashioned way). So now I'm resting on my laurels...

Originally posted by BVD
Both! :D

And no, we didn't meet because I was a client.... :)

I'm actually now a professional tax deduction and house-husband as I took on the care of our son when he was born, while my wife continued her career.

She was earning more than me. :) She still is too. She's now a manager in our state health dept (so not in private practice).

I had been building and renovating houses + doing some computer work. I also designed and built the house we now live in (single handed - right down to hand making all the door and windows, in the old fashioned way). So now I'm resting on my laurels...

Don't tell me you made your own laurels to rest on too :D

That's great though. I took a loop north recently with the thought of rural ... hinterland in from Noosa or further south, such as Byron hinterland, etc.

It's too much of a change for me at the moment - that sort of move's probably still 5+ away - but that doesn't mean I won't make a grab on a spot if I see something nice.

My sister and parents live in Brizzie now and sis has a little place up at Montville.

But for me, I need to be close to the coast.

Originally posted by Kev
So BVD + L&L ...

Do you look upon yourselves as husbands or long term challenges :)

BOTH:

Funny enough i am in a similar position to BVD,we have 3 sons our youngest just turned 6 ,when he was born we also decided that i would become the house husband , bvd i use the term ( DOMESTIC ENGENEER /DEVELOPER ) to descrive myself .

The wife returned to work earning the steady income while i got involved in development ,unlike BVD i havent been blessed with his talents instead i have a great team of builders and trades people helping to develop properties as a team .

Now that the property prices are way to high imo to speculate i am sitting on the fence before i commit to my next project,sometimes there is greater profit in selling the development site than in actually developing it.

My last car was a V1000 ;)

I thought I was a rare IT guy with a V8 Commie until I got onto the LS1 forums.

I too am interested in tapping in to the ODBII port under the dash. If what they say about the engine dyno is true, then tuning these will be difficult unless a engine dyno is used. My prefered method of tuning would be to re-map the ignition and fuel tables, rather then "trick" the computer via a piggy back. But that is best left for another thread...


Cheers,
Hymee.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hymee
My last car was a V1000 ;)

I thought I was a rare IT guy with a V8 Commie until I got onto the LS1 forums.

I too am interested in tapping in to the ODBII port under the dash. If what they say about the engine dyno is true, then tuning these will be difficult unless a engine dyno is used. My prefered method of tuning would be to re-map the ignition and fuel tables, rather then "trick" the computer via a piggy back. But that is best left for another thread...


Cheers,
Hymee. [/QUOTE

Seems mazdaspeed have gone down that path - from a babel fished go at their site!

... ODBII port under the dash ??

happy happy happy, joy joy joy - I've been dreaming of hacking my own car.. oh telemetry data here I come!

<--- goes down to the parking and sticks head under the dash armed with Powerbook G4 and USB -> DB9/25 cable and Null Modem and pocket full of terminal emulation and data sucking tools.. ( where exactly is that port? )

++dez;

Mazdaspeed.com

you've got to love any RX8 / Mazda company smart enough to build their web site, shop, and portal with iSeries WebShpere / Java !!

For the java / websphere / ibm phreaks:

http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/nodeuk/ukarchive/index.cfm?fuseaction=PrintArticle&CO_ContentID=7741

++dez;

Originally posted by Dez
...
I've been dreaming of hacking my own car.. oh telemetry data here I come!

ahhh you computer nerds! :)

Not so fast - the processor is a Renasis (Hitachi) SuperH running most likely OSEK. Assuming that it runs OBDII (there's no reason why OZ-spec or the Euro3 spec deriviative would have it) you'll also need to get hold of the OBDII protocol layer.

The interface is second generation CANBus so you'll need a canbus i/f card. Do they even make those for apples?

At best you'll only be able to emulate an OBD scan tool (which can't even read fuel maps anyway, just a CRC) at worst you've got a lot of work ahead guessing the mazda/ECE protocol. You've got a much better chance using the ICD port on the processor.

Be honest - you were thinking it was going to be ANSI terminal serial didn't you?

-pete

Originally posted by Dez
... ODBII port under the dash ??

happy happy happy, joy joy joy - I've been dreaming of hacking my own car.. oh telemetry data here I come!

<--- goes down to the parking and sticks head under the dash armed with Powerbook G4 and USB -> DB9/25 cable and Null Modem and pocket full of terminal emulation and data sucking tools.. ( where exactly is that port? )

++dez;

I get the impression you'll need something a little more interesting than a serial cable...

dez was going to store fuel and ignition maps on his iPod. Upon selection of a particular play list, the first track would be intercepted and downloaded as a new ignition and fuel map setting.


oh, dez - can't you leave anything alone??? :D

So BVD + L&L ...

Do you look upon yourselves as husbands or long term challenges



Ha ha hah he he ROFL :D

Kev -- that was great!

I too am interested in tapping in to the ODBII port under the dash. (hymee)
and
dez was going to store fuel and ignition maps on his iPod. Upon selection of a particular play list, the first track would be intercepted and downloaded as a new ignition and fuel map setting.
(kev)


I'd just like to loop my iPod into the stereo system without using (a) an FM transmitter (crap) (b) one of those ugly tape arrangements (don't have a tape head unit anyway) or (c) the butchery I have seen elsewhere to wire in an input (still requires a tape head unit, in any case.

:mad: Why don't modern cars have industry standard USB, Firewire or even standard serial ports?

:mad: When will the motor vehicle industry catch up with the IT industry, or even the consumer electronics industry?

:mad: And while I'm at, fitting a mobile STILL involves way too much butchery, too!

There, I feel better now:D

Originally posted by timbo
and


I'd just like to loop my iPod into the stereo system without using (a) an FM transmitter (crap) (b) one of those ugly tape arrangements (don't have a tape head unit anyway) or (c) the butchery I have seen elsewhere to wire in an input (still requires a tape head unit, in any case.

:mad: Why don't modern cars have industry standard USB, Firewire or even standard serial ports?

:mad: When will the motor vehicle industry catch up with the IT industry, or even the consumer electronics industry?

:mad: And while I'm at, fitting a mobile STILL involves way too much butchery, too!

There, I feel better now:D

I feel your pain brother...

We made it to DIN standard dash openings a number of years ago, but then nobody with any sense was buying a high spec sound system pre-installed ... so the car makers did a job on us!!!

The other annoying thing is, I do like the integration in terms of use and appearance - it's just that it's locked in time and only of average quality.

I think though, that you need to copmare laptops with cars and desktops/servers with houses. Try and upgrade you sound card in a new laptop :)

But truly, how hard would it be to offer up a couple of RCA's into the head unit eh?

Dammit, I'm so annoyed I think I'll have a little break and float about in the pool for a while with a nice cold beer :D

...and here I am, slaving over a hot keyboard!

(Adopts a philosophical air...) perhaps one of the most positive outcomes of this type of forum -- if we can ensure the mfrs read them -- is to start to get them to address these issues:?

(Shoulders slump...) ah, what f*^k! It'll never happen. Pass me a beer!

rpm_pwr, where did you suck that little packet of a gem of knowledge?

If the RX8 really is running a Hitachi SuperH, then that puppy will run Linux!

http://linuxsh.sourceforge.net/

The Mazdaspeed.com site has a little black box type gadget that they claim:

"Plugs directly into your car's factory ECU harness and sensors Windows_-based software (2000, NT, 98, 95, ME) makes copying, viewing and manipulating data..."

If I ever hear back from Mazdaspeed.com ( the penultimate sin in my mind is having an email address contact for your web site and NOT replying within 24 hours! ) - I'm hoping I can just buy one, jack in, and suck suck suck that data..

As for OBD II:

http://www.obdii.com/connector.html

Cables:

http://www.aeswave.com/products/Product.asp?i=319

Ok, this link confirms that the ODB II interface is on the RX8:

http://www.import-performance-parts.com/actron_obdii_computer_code_reader.html

And there's a most nastly gadget I don't think we'll be plugging into my little blue car!

My searching travels also found this little gizmo - I wonder if it's claims are tested by anyone?

http://www.import-performance-parts.com/venom_performance_control_module.html


Hey Kev, are you a mind reader ? Hee hee - ok - I wasn't quite pack'in an iPod but I'll admit that I wasn't quite expecting it to be a clasic DTE port willing to talk to me at 9600 8N1 but I was thinking it would be do-able..

I have though found the exact gadget that my next AMEX abuse is going to buy, and iPod be dambed, this puppy lets me plug my palm pilot right into the OBD II port and suck data!!

http://www.nology.com/pdadyno.html

If I can get it to talk to my palm pilot, I can get it to talk to my mac! ( hey, emulate a palm on a mac and bob'd your uncle! )

There's data in dem packets man..

I got side tracked the other day and haven't had a chance to stick my head anywhere under the hood / console / dash yet - but I've booked time this weekend to give some serious staring if nothing else!

If I get it working - I'll do some homeword on ow much anyone interested could get an eBay / Sold / Yahoo second hand Palm Pilot, the pdadyno software and cables, and start tinkering with telemetry from your little 8's!

I found a device at Mazdaspeed.com that I've emailed them about, to check if it will talk to the RX8 - nothing back yet..

Let me just say now, for the record, that if there's data in there, I'll find it.. it won't happen over night, but it will happen..

I haven't found a device yet that I can't eventually convice to yeild it's inner sanctum given time..

Anyone with hands on with anything close to this, I'd be most grateful for any PM's available.

I'll compile the inputs and my findings and publish a draft FAQ on sucking data from your RX8 if I get enought results of interest.

I hope atleast some of this is of interest.

Njoy.

++dez;

Hey Dez

Being from the business side rather than IT I'm struggling to understand your post .. of course we business people always play dumb to try to get a price reduction based on sympathy - its the famed 'dilbert ploy' ! - sadly the IT side understands this ploy all to well and it rarely works ...

enough bs ....

Are you saying that given time you can help us plug our palms into the 8 and tweak on the go .. is this the thinking mans response to fast and funious??

Or ahve I over read this

My Tungsten is twitching !!

R

Hey Rob,

ah yes, the old dilbert ploy.. I've seen it many times.. you've applied it smoothly and stealthily here.. you are indeed a professional * grin *

I've spent a bit of time over the past two days now, looking into currently avaliable tools etc, you can actually already get that trusty tungsten of yours [ or my iPod - just kidding Kev! ] jacked into your RX8 and do a range of things - mostly "watch" - but a couple of the tools seem to be capable of on the fly tweaks.

But my first aim is to find a stable, solid package I can build with off the shelf "bits" to monitor and log data - with the goal of being able to analyse, and replay time periods, or "drives" as it were.

Have a quick look at these:

http://www.nology.com/pdadyno.html

http://www.carsoftwares.com/auterra/

http://www.ecu-blaster.com/index2.html

I'm aiming to do enough homework to buy something this weekend and publish back this thread and the forum the outcome with data, pix, a howto and costs etc..

Oh, and find a place to mount the thing so that it's not just laying on the spare seat * smile *

But as I said earlier.. I am going to pull from the OBD v2 spec and Mazda design to hopefully then be able to suck the data into any tool I like.

Once I've got a clear picture of what I'm going to get from the data port, then it would be easy to knock up something in Java for example to run as a "midlet" in my sony erricson p800 mobile phone ( it runs java ) so I can use the nice big color screen on my mobile phone and it's 1 gig sony memory stick to capture and log data and let me analyse, replay and trap any errors or such.

I'm initially interested in simple results such as what the car's running line on fuel from different providers, outlets etc, as I'm pretty sure that Optimax from a station I use is giving me less performance than a tank full I got at a station just outside of Newcastle for example - and I'd like real data to prove my gut feeling rather than just more "gut feeling " from a heap of dollars on a heap of miles on a heap of tankfulls of optimax from all over town.

Small steps Ellie ( from Carl Sagans "Contact" ).

Cheers,

++Dez;

now here's a gizmo that needs investigation!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/washpost/20031104/tc_washpost/a60005_2003nov3

++dez;

Originally posted by Dez
rpm_pwr, where did you suck that little packet of a gem of knowledge?

See the tech section. One guy opened the ECU and read the part #'s for me.


If the RX8 really is running a Hitachi SuperH, then that puppy will run Linux!

And a million other (IMO) better OS's. But the fact remains that you would be starting from scratch, so that option is a no-go.


The Mazdaspeed.com site has a little black box type gadget that they claim:

"Plugs directly into your car's factory ECU harness and sensors Windows_-based software (2000, NT, 98, 95, ME) makes copying, viewing and manipulating data..."


Now where did you get that from? Sounds like an Apexi PFC type ECU to me. Very interesting!


As for OBD II:


You're still under the apprehension that OZ-spec cars are OBD-II compliant. Of course the US versions are (they have to be!) but I'd be wary of handing over money for an OBD2 scanner if I wasnt sure it was implemented here.

-pete

Pete,

indeed - my first order of business this weekend when I sit down and start to figure it all out is:

1 - is the AU car infact OBD2 or not?

I've emailed US sites with their scanner gizmos for sale, and none of them have a clue as yet, some have gone off to do some home work for me.

more as it comes to hand.

++dez;

Anyone running anything on 240 volts via an inverter in their RX8 yet?

Laptop doing "stuff" while on the road - needs more than a few hours running busy - am thinking of an inverter plugged right into the very nicely placed cigarette lighter plug..

Curious about makes, models et al..

++dez;

One for the crusing crew..

Dick Smith outlets seem to have a neat little two radio [ CB ] set currently for $99 - I got a set, they are tiny, cute, and they work up to around the 3k mark line of sight type thing..

Really neat if you've got a couple of cars on the road and you don't want to wind up the mobile phone bill just making sure the car in front takes the correct turn off the freeway etc.

Could be worth grabing a set each for the sake of $99 and we could have preset channels for "fly in" get togethers for drives etc ?

Just a thought.. unless you all have beafy handsets already of course..

++dez;

Dez, i've been using the Uniden unit, costs about $100 and is a touch better than the cheaper ones.

They make cruising a party! So easy and so so fun! They say you get 5km, but really you can get about 1.5km, after that things like buildings get in the way and it must use line of sight.

If i'm correct tho, you can change the output of the unit by soldering in a few more resistors as a hand held unit is only allowed (legaly) to put out 1.5amps or however they rate it ?

Originally posted by Dez
If the RX8 really is running a Hitachi SuperH, then that puppy will run Linux!

Its just a shame its running a nasty little SH4 when it could be using a decent ARM variant.

Cheers
---Dave

UHF radios are great for a cruise. Uniden have a handheld model that will output 2W.... which is the one I've got.

BTW.. Legal maximum is 5w

oh there you go, 5W. i knew it was something low.

druck: [ dave ] yea - well I guess you have to look at where the car is created and manufactured and where they might look for a cpu [ their own back yard ] - I agree that the ARM is a nice CPU, but frankly I'd be conserned about it's support and end of live timeline - where as Hitachi has never had an issue supporting their chips and ain't going away fast.

Frankly for my money, it should be the new IBM PPC970 or at least the new UltraSPARC4, shit, even a transmetta would do but that's far too close to the dark side [ intel ] for my money - I'd never buy a car that would in theory be able to run Microsoft CE - imagine going into a tight corner under breaks and getting the blue tacho of death!

kaz / sco: hmm.. now of course I'm going to have to go buy a bigger on - the whole penis envy thing will get me otherwise..

although the little guys I have are pretty fine for what I use them for, and if I'm more than 1k from the car I'm with, then it's time to pull out the mobile phone I guess.

++dez;

Given the pervasiveness of mobile phones.. you'd probably be pretty safe with a .5 watt handheld. I got the 2 watt because I got a good price and because I wanted something with a better range for the odd trip up north that I do where occasionally mobile phone coverage is pretty poor.

Originally posted by Dez
druck: [ dave ] yea - well I guess you have to look at where the car is created and manufactured and where they might look for a cpu [ their own back yard ] - I agree that the ARM is a nice CPU, but frankly I'd be conserned about it's support and end of live timeline - where as Hitachi has never had an issue supporting their chips and ain't going away fast.

I can guarentee you an ARM variant will be around long after the Hitachi SH series has bitten the dust. Its the worlds most popular processor by a huge factor, out selling Pentiums by 100 to 1, its manufactured under licence by 50 different firms, including all the major Japenese players. We even use the 600MHz XScale version as desktop processor, running our own OS, and Linux as well.

I think thats spoddy enough, I want to get back to talking about the car again :)

Cheers
---Dave

not so fast chip boy..

what exactly is "..our own OS.." - linux I'll give you, but what's this desktop OS you're running?

++dez;

ps: linux isn't an OS of course.. it's a kernel. and a pretty blody ordinary one at that, but don't get me started on threads and pre-emptive behaviors..

Originally posted by Dez
not so fast chip boy..

what exactly is "..our own OS.." - linux I'll give you, but what's this desktop OS you're running?

Its RISC OS. You had quite a few of the older machines down there in education back in the 90's. A few people still remember them, as I found out when I was down in Sydney.

Cheers
---Dave

I know RISC OS..

you're writing it as such? so you work for RISKOS Ltd or similar?

when a Darwin port is stable on it - I'll look at running an ARM again * smile *

++dez;

Dez, check pm.

did you get it ?

got it!

++dez;