Does it do mobile diagnostics?
if you are just sitting in your garage, you should be able to hook it to
a desktop unit and getting a serial port should not be as much of an issue.
On 12/07/2017 2:00 PM, Dan--- via Mercedes wrote:
The only thing "special" about the laptops for running the Xentry software is a
requirement for a serial port, something that hasn't been on a laptop for some years.
There are a couple of Compaq and IBM models that are ideal. Also, the age of these means
they probably have PATA hard drives, which means their capacity is at best 100 GB. The
Xentry virtual machine is closer to 200 GB, meaning it's got to be on an external drive.
That's the only thing that's unique about the laptop. Kaleb can confirm, but I
believe there's a later version of Xentry that runs on wifi, negating the need
for a serial port. You still need the multiplexer and cables, which will set
you back around $300, plus the laptop.
-D
On Jul 12, 2017, at 2:37 PM, Floyd Thursby via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
wrote:
If I understand correctly those computers you hook to Benzes have to be some
special sort of laptop, you can't just get a laptop and the software and load
it and run it. You have to buy the whole package for $500 or so. I don't
understand that.
The other thing I was thinking about is dealing with all the electronics can be
a total PITA, I get that. I'm not sure I would have the tolerance for it. But
then I was thinking that if you are kinda into electronics and computers and
diagnosing things and fixing them, like a TV or computer or something, dealing
with a computerized car is sorta the same. Would have to be a labor of
interest, kinda like doing that sort of thing with other devices. A hobby, not
something to do because you need to get it fixed right now if it is your daily
driver. So there's that.
I got to thinking about this yesterday when my laser cutter just quit. It had
power but nothing was going. i thought maybe the power supply gakked, and was
going to check that when the Greenlee voltage detector also wouldn't work...
So I just sat and looked and it and decided to start at the beginning. I
discovered pretty quickly the problem was with the on/off switch, which is one
of these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Uxcell-LA38-203-22-mm-Panel-Mount-NO-NC-DPST-2-Position-Rotary-Selector-Switch-/192240018031?epid=1239211828&hash=item2cc265e26f:g:y64AAOSwIjJZXn1l
which I am thinking every cheepchinee laser cutter uses. So since I didn't
have a spare and needed to keep working, I tried to fix the switch. I managed
to do that with some super glue and small piece of plastic (that rotary knob
has a cam sort of thing under it that presses on the two pole switches to make
contact, one was not being pressed far enough for some reason). It worked for
awhile then quit again. This is like the second or third thing I have had to
track down on the machine, cheep switches or bad connections. It seems like
with about another $20 worth of parts it would be a decent machine, so I guess
I will be working on that. Anyway, this is not quite the same problem as I
needed to get some stuff done, but it sorta illustrates the same approach.
--
--FT
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