I need to have a little rant here.

I'm SICK of scan tools. there, I said it. I hate them. It'* a silly concept, if you think about it.

What stirred this up, is I'm thinking about purchasing a Tech2 w/in a year or so, and every time I think about it, I gawk at the prices - a used model on ebay runs for over 2k easy, more depending on what accessories you get with it.

And what'* the point? I mean really? Why should diagnostics be tied to a hardware based tool? The electronics in our vehicles are already operating on a LAN system, communicating (with set protocols) to each other.

So why the heck do we have an OBD2 port? Why not thrown on a RJ45 connector, and let someone plug into the car lan with a standard ethernet cable? even my dsl modem at home can be accessed by quickly typing 192.168.0.1, and provides a software based interface to the hardware. WHY can't we have that on cars? Why??? It would be great if GM set up their cars so that any laptop user could plug in, and by typingin the IP of the car, quickly get an overview of what'* going on in their car. And if they're worried about canabalizing sales of their hardware, make a software suite for sale, that allows advanced programming and trouble shooting! And then offer a slimmed down version for the home user! Heck, why stop there? Make it an 802.11g connection, and wirelessly stream data to your laptop for real time logging while trying out new mods...

Does anyone out there share my frustration?

I guess I just don't see the need for dedicated hardware. I mean, a tech2 has a 16mhz processor, a monochrome screen that isn't even quite 4x3 inches, 32 megs of flash ram, and a serial port - but a kit, new from vetronix is $3,595.00. Does something seem a little off here? sure, it'* built fairly tough (though I've seen two broken ones - one with a cracked screen, and one with a *very* finicky serial port), but I can buy a *lot* of cheapo laptops that are far more powerful (or a $100 palm pilot, for that matter) for $3500. Imagine a real time plot (which the tech2 can do, but only up to 3 parameters) of any combination of parameters. Imagine having a mini-control panel setup on your laptop that you can use to test any electronic device on your car. Or even if they just gave basic functionality, where you can plug in your laptop, and quickly type in the IP in any browser, and see your gas mileage history, any error codes (and REAL ENGLISH EXPLINATIONS, instead of P0xxx), time between oil changes, etc.

Well, I think I can end my rant now. Just frustrated, is all.

Can you not get software and a special cable for a laptop already?

you can, but none of the software suites are as complete as using a tech2. sadly. and you have to pay a fair amount for the software, and put together a cable for communications.

so basically, you can get a less than fully functional scan tool (there are some params that GM admits are only accessable via a tech2) running on a laptop. but imagine how nice it would be to take *any* laptop, and just throw an ethernet cable on your car to get a quick overview of what'* going on with it. or not have to worry about aquiring a serial connector that will mate up to the OBD2 connector.

but I guess my biggest beef is that there are functions that can only be done with a tech2 right now. and the gui'* that I've seen on some of the programs out there leaves a ton to be desired. it would be awfully nice to have a GM supplied solution that just works (ask the guys on here who have tried the laptop route... there'* usually a bunch of configuring that needs to happen to make it work right).

that would be your linksys router and it'* 192.168.1.1 lol

nope, the linksys only comes out for special occasions - the dsl modem is 192.168.0.1, and provides connection information, as well as line diagnostic tools.

modem is 192.168.0.100 and router is 192.168.0.1 unless you changed the default

not to take us even more off topic than what we already are, but my modem, by default, is 192.168.0.1. Seriously. Really. I'm not lying.

And I rarely have the router hooked up. When I do, it usually defaults to 192.168.1.1.

192.168.1.1.
is the default on my router as well