raz wrote on 08/21/10 at 01:45:27:

It appears ECUController 1.50 will not run on Windows 98 computers (hey, that is a 12 year old operating system) so maybe we should say Windows XP is the minimum for now?

"This application needs a newer version of Windows"
my lap w w W98 SE says.

Modified version of an email I just sent to Cliff.  The website won't let me paste the whole note.
---------------------
Cliff,

Here's the current challenge.

A friend had two laptops that I could try, which I'll call Laptop A & B.

Laptop A - An HP that is about a year old, running Windows XP, and has a USB port which we would use for connectivity via a serial/RS232-to-USB adapter.
Laptop B - A older laptop (maybe also an HP) running Windows '98, and has a native serial/RS232 port.

Unfortunately, neither laptop could communicate successfully with MyECU.

Prior to using either laptop we performed the following tasks to insure functionality of MyECU, the ethernet cable, and the serial/RS232-to-ethernet adapter you supplied with the kit.

1.) Connected MyECU to the motorcycle.
2.) Connected an ethernet cable to MyECU and the Optimizer.
3.) Turned on the ignition and noticed readings, and updates, on MyECU within the Optimizer window.

So, I would think MyECU, the ethernet cable, and the serial/RS232-to-ethernet adapter are working properly.  Also, the serial/RS232-to-USB adapter, required for use with a newer laptop, has been used successfully for many years to operate VDSTS software to tune other motorcycles. 

Next we followed the communications set up directions and here are the properties we used.

Port Settings
- Bits Per Second - 38400
- Data Bits - 8
- Parity - None
- Stop Bits - 1
- Flow Control - None

Advanced Settings
- Com Port - 9

Also we rebooted both laptops as directed.

When we tried to verify the HyperTerminal on each laptop we noticed problems.  Instead of seeing an ongoing string of number values, as your directions indicate in the window, we saw the following:

Laptop A (HP, Windows XP, USB port) - A short string of letters, but stopped in less than one line
Laptop B (HP, Windows '98, Serial port) - A continuous string of letters, but no number values.   

As you can imagine, neither laptop is working.

Suggestions? 

Cliff,

I thought the Bits Per Second, or Baud rate, was 38400 regardless?  Maybe that's one of the challenges?  Can you tell me which firmware version requires 57k?  I downloaded the software from your link.

Also, Laptop A (HP, running XP, using a serial/RS232-to-USB) never indicated 2-way communication.  Laptop B (HP, running Windows '98, with native serial/RS232) indicated 2-way communication because we could stop and start the data stream by hitting the spacebar and enter.

I didn't know the ECUController defaults to Com1?  Regardless, we configured the Port to Com9 for both laptops.

Well, at the this point you've indicated I might need an adjustment to the Baud rate.  Any other suggestions?  Since I'll be troubleshooting via long distance through emails and your discussion board I want make a good list of all the things I should double check.  I think I've covered most of the instructions to the letter, but I'm probably not quite as intuitive as some of your other customers.

Thanks once again

ECUcontroller150 was the first version that ran at 57K.
You need to use the version of ECUController that I emailed you when you received MyECU.
It looks like Laptop B is the closest to working although I seemed to have lost the ability of ECUController to work on win98 with ver 150 onwards.

That will use 38K

Ensure 2 way comms with hyperterminal.
Set ECUController to use the correct comm port. That should be all.

Keep the comm port number less than 10. Your com9 should be ok.  This was because windows treats them differently above 10.

If that doesn't work try making the USB comm number
a low number < 6 by going into the usb driver's properties.

I was helping Atlanta Guzzi on this a bit.

On the XP laptop, I set the Belkin USB-232 adapter to use port 9. In hyperterminal, at 38k, we would see 3 or 4 hex characters at a time. I would press a key and the data would stop. I could not find a key that would get a restart. I tried a different generic USB-232 adapter (I recall it loaded a "Prolific" driver.) It acted exactly the same. I also tried com6.

I then tried an older laptop with Win 98. It has a native 232 port at I believe it is com3. At 38k, hyperterminal displayed a longer string of maybe 20 characters, mostly numerics. Again pressing a key stopped the data. Nothing would restart it.

In both cases, the ECUcontroller software showed no activity.
Also, when setting the COM port in the ECUcontroller software, the colon is needed, correct?

Generally, what does the data look like? I have some RS232 port monitoring software somewhere that I may try to find.