I've got a PDA in need of a bit of fixing, but before I bother spending money on it, I was wondering if it's worth it?
I don't care about mobile mp3, or looking like a flash tit, but I did wonder if it might be useful for car things, like plugging into these modern piles of crap that have computerised bottom warmers? ;)
What would I need to be able to sort it out for using it to diagnose modern ecu problems, and how much would the bits set me back?
As I don't drive anything designed after 1970, it wouldn't make much sense to spend more than a few quid sorting it out, but it might make a nice gadget to have when friend's cars play up.
Or any other things I could do with it? Don't see the point spending shedloads on a GPS card for it, when a map book is 99p at The Works.
GPS, if only for the speed camera warnings. Must admit though, the vast majority of time spent on mine is reading books :) I dunno, hundreds spent on it and I use it like a paperback ;)
Three figures to stop me getting caught in a car with 60hp pulling a ton of metal doesn't seem all that useful to me! :) Plus I'd need to spend another whack getting it working anyway :(
lol
Only other thing I can think to do with mine is to make use of the IR in Curries ;)
It's probably not worth getting it fixed. I got a Zire 21 for £80, the only problem with it is that it doesn't have a backlight, it only has a USB connector and IR (ie. not the universal connector). It's pretty good though, 8Mb and 126MHz.
You may as well pay twice that and get one with 128Mb, bluetooth and 400MHz. The price of my Asus has almost halved in the couple of months since I bought mine ;(
What kind is it - PalmOS, PocketPC, or Windows CE?
You'll need the scanner hardware, which is basically the lead from the diagnostics port to a converter, then to the port on the PDA. Or via a Bluetooth antenna, if you have a Bluetooth-enabled device.
Hmm, okay well here's the rub. The OBD-II hardware that I bought wasn't especially cheap. You can get the leads for not much at all (thirty notes) and build the converter, but personally I'd rather not plug my ECU into a box I've made myself, just in case I've got something wrong. ;) I paid $200 with a nice USD:GBP exchange rate for my hardware, plus the PDA, heh...
Loads!
Although I have seven PDAs, only four are "in active duty" (one as the "business / website / Dervy" device, two spend most of their time as an OBD-II Scanner, and the last one is my 'phone) and the others are review models for my PDA site.
Car uses include making a note of when the oil / brake fluid / coolant / whatever is due, and - more importantly if you're forgetful - where the fluid is. Making a note to book the MOT, noting useful stuff like insurance policy details, garage telephone numnbers, that sort of thing. If you want to, you can log your car expenses (for PalmOS, AutoBase is my preferred application, but you can also use a spreadsheet). You can also get Adobe Reader, so if you have any car handbooks / manuals in PDF format, you can carry them around with you.
Not to mention keeping track of those important dates that blokes are good at forgetting, and noting what we bought in previous years so we don't fall into the same trap... :)
Windows of some description - Made in 2000 or thereabouts.
It's only got IR and Compact Flash, so I suppose it's a matter of buggering about with something for that then? Starting to sound complicated and expensive..
Ah - I don't have anything with an ECU, so it wouldn't be *my* ECU ;)
You want to buy another that just needs a bit of fixing? :)
I think it's worth more to me as beer tokens than a toy going by the above :(
Shame though, would be cool to keep if only I could think of a use for it - But then, if I have to think of a use for it, then that makes it pretty much useless to me. And I even have a growing collection of utterly beyond repair hoovers building up!
If I don't have the number memorised or scribbled on the back of an envelope, then it's not important :) Same goes for MOT dates and that kind of thing - I tend to lay a car up to work on it long before the MOT runs out, and by the time I've fixed it it's due for another anyway :)
When I lie awake in the dead of night, bemoaning the fact I'm single, it's the little things like remembering I don't have to remember things that makes me feel better ;)
I spend far too much time glued to this box as it is, why would I want to take the interweb with me!? :)
Hmm, mine cost me a great deal less than 80 quid, has 4 times the amount of memory yours has, a normal expansion slot, and at least as powerful a processor. So even though it needs a bit spending on it, excuse me if I feel more than a little smug right now ;p
Then again, my car cost a hell of a lot less than yours, is worth more every year, tax is free, insurance is dirt cheap, it doesn't cost 60 quid to have someone probe it's computer, it's no slower, and so far the few women who've seen it rather like it. So that's 2 smug points to me ;)
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