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Computer wiz.


jon L

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I know that some of you guys are computer whizzes.  am hoping that one of you will help me out.

What I would like is a complete list of the hardware that I will need to start doing better tuning.

all hardware, all software, and some instructions on how to get started. I have a laptop and some connectors 

but don't know how to begin.  Please help.

Jon.

 

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I can only give you a hint of what to look for. Everything I have software wise is TunerproRT, and it is free on the net. It allows recording and modifying files in the programming, all in English. Everything is ancient in computer terms. The laptop/notebook computer I use to make recordings is an old Gateway, running windows 95 or 97, appropriate for the era. The reason I still use it is the cable I made to connect to the ALDL connects to a serial/printer port which pretty much obsolete today. The instructions for making the cable are on the net but probably are now available purchased that connects via USB. The other reason for the serial port is the hardware for the chip is a Pocket Programmer which connects to the same port and was made by Intronics. I also have a UV chip eraser, made by Holliday Electronics. Both of the hardware items are more than two decades old which I acquired from a friend that planned to tune his Grand National which has been sitting up on jackstands with the engine out since around the turn of the century. There are a couple of other tuning sites for these vintage vehicles, Tuner Cat and Gearhead EFI, but for the actual work I have done, I use TunerProRT

 

Despite all the old tech, the most help and guidance I have received is from Ryan of GM Tuners. Originally he made chips for me and modified them based on my crude recordings from an Auto XRay. He has been a wealth of information even after I started doing things on my own and I owe him a lot. The programming you will modify, called .bins, are generally available on the sites previous listed. You also need the sort of decoder file, called an .xdf, to be able to read the .bin, also on the above sites. 

 

Today, Moates.net has all the hardware you will need. I have an Ostrich 2.0 which connects my newer laptop, running a current version of Tuner Pro, directly to the ECM via the chip socket. You can run the engine via the laptop and make changes in real time, save the file and then burn a new chip

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Moates.net used to have an all in one sort of reader, modifier and burner, I think itw as called an AutoProm, but the last I looked, it had been discontinued. Even the newest of our vintage are >30years old and a sort of orphan.

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Hoo boy, let's just say I sent Ryan all of the Reatta PROM dumps.

 

Most of my work has been done on a (now) Windows 11 desktop with a 32" monitor.

 

Understand the ALDL to USB device now comes from Red River  or TunerCat

 

 I use a Windoze tablet with touchscream for in-car display. The  following is one I programmed using TunerPro RT

aldldisplay.jpg.d774a500ba1e8a87d607231be3500025.jpg

 

Tuning info is from TunerCat who seems to have take over from Moates.net which is closed.

I have a Pocket Programmer III (USB) from XTRONICS but had trouble connecting. May have to check eBay.

 

 

 

 

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I only know enough to drive the ship but Padgett knows how to make it run as well, a big advantage. I haven't searched further, but if some of the vendors mentioned have fallen by the wayside, it will be more difficult to recreate a chip burning setup. Used on eBay or other sites might yield something usable, I just don't know what it may be. I am sure the stuff still exists, but probably only on the used market. 

Edited by 2seater
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Need a PROM reader burner that can handle a 27C256 and a 2816. I would not bother with an eraser, original UVProms are not taking erasure/reburn well thirty years out.

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There is the G1 Memcal Adapter, which is a Moates part but I see Tuner Cat has it for the same price I paid from Moates ($35). This is the item I am using now in my ECM. The stock Memcal attaches to one side of the adapter and then there is an open socket to install the 28 pin 27C256 chip separately. This bypasses the programmable part of the Memcal so the cheaper and more plentiful chip can be swapped or, the ribbon cable from a laptop adapter can be plugged in. 

 

Moates G1 Memory Adapter

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I use those adapters as well with new PROMs.Think MOATES is no longer in business.

 

Been looking at programmers on eBay but have yet to find one that can read/program both a 27C256 UVProm and a 2816 EEProm (in BCM). Would like to know if you find one.

Edited by Padgett
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