Steve's address is sboese@uwyo.edu

  You don't need to build anything to use it.  You need to connect your
  PC RS-232 interface to the signal in and out pins on the EC2, plus the
  +5V pin ground pin.  Steve makes the connections with a triple
  connector that he plugs in between the EC2 and the Cable.  It would be
  fairly easy to add the wires needed right in the EC2 cable.  It would
  conflict with use of the EM2.

  You do need to buy a converter to change the 5V ASCII signals to
  RS-232 levels.  I also found a converter that accepts 5V signals and
  converts it to directly to an RS-232 port by plugging into a USB port.

  The program is a compiled NSBASIC program that runs as an exe under
  Windows.  I haven't used it yet since my EC2 isn't operational, but
the
  program seems to run fine.

  Bob W.

 From what Bob is saying and from what I am gathering from other sources
the way Steve Bose's system works is this. I think.

Tracy has three computers in effect. The first is the primary computer
and the second is a back up. Call those the EC2 A and B. The third
computer
is the engine parameter monitoring computer mounted on the instrument
panel
with a display. We will call that one the EM2 for now. I suspect the
primary
computer EC2 A communicates bi directionally with the  EM2. I am not
totally
sure about the bi directional part yet.

Steve's equipment intercepts the data and sends it to a web book
ideally so it can be recorded. What ever shows up on Tracy's EM2 can be
captured
and recorded I think. Pretty stright forward. Tracy's serial hard ware
uses
zero and five volts. Most RS232 computer serial interfaces use zero to
12 volts
to reduce sensitivity to noise. Unfortunately RS232 interfaces are
disappearing
from note books and web books being replaced by USB serial interfaces. I
am not sure
what voltage range USB uses but I guess zero to five volts... the same
as Tracy
is using. So far I have not seen a schematic of Steve's interface. This
highly
desireable system would be needed for those people with an EM2.

Now from the looks of this screen capture Tracy has added that feature
to
the EM3 at extra cost of $300 for a total of $938. Instead of a note
book or web book  the data is stored on a USB stick every second.

Here is a list of what is displayed and recorded as far as I can tell.

RPM     
Coolant pressure
Oil pressure    
Air/Fuel Mixture
Oil Temp    
% of power
Coolant Temp    
Inlet Air Temp
System Voltage    
Horsepower based on fuel flow and [assumed] BSFC
Bar graph display (in addition to digital readout) on select functions
EGTs (up to 8) auto display highest or all    
CHTs (up to 8) auto display highest or all
Unused CHT or EGT channels can be used for general purpose temperature
measurement

Performance - Air - General Data
Outside Air Temperature (OAT)     
Flight Timer
Oil Hours Timer     
Hobbs Meter
General Purpose Timer (standard)

Fuel Management
Fuel Flow in GPH (standard on efi engines.
Flowscan sensor fuel flow is optional)    
Fuel Pressure (standard)
Total Fuel Used (or remaining) (standard)    
Fuel Level - right and left (standard)

Optional (Additional Cost) Features
Flowscan sensor fuel flow     
Pressure Altitude (up to 32,000)
Airspeed (TAS)     
Vertical Speed (VSI)
Manifold Pressure     

All this is very similar to OBD II installed on all cars made currently.
It is not a system where you can use the note book computer to set
the mixture table numbers like is possible with Megasquirt and many
other after
market EFI systems unfortunately. However it is still highly desirable
and I do recommend it if you can afford it.

What I have in mind is more basic and what is recorded is the actual
pulse
width of the injectors as a function of RPM and manifold air pressure
for trouble shooting purposes. Also the exact time when the injectors
are fired
relative to the e-shaft position can be determined. The data can be
sampled
thousands of times per second instead of only every second. It will also
work with ANY EFI system. EC1, EC2 or EC3 or other brands it matters
not.

I am mostly guessing here so if any of you see any errors please let me
know.

Paul Lamar


Paul,

Concerning the EXCEL file I sent you yesterday, check with Tracy before
publishing the actual data because I don't think it represents a typical
properly operating controller of his.

The program I developed allows one to do any or all of the following:
capture, archive, manipulate, and load a mixture correction table back
into the controller.

This is a separate function from the program's ability to rapidly
display the parameters that the controller is using and/or log those
parameters to a file once per second.

The archive of controller parameters does not contain everything that
Tracy's EM3 can display and log, particularly flight data (airspeed,
altitude...).

I have versions of the program that can run with a PC or with an IPAQ
with an RS232 serial interface.

I tested the interface that Bob mentions which connects the controller
directly to a PC with USB port and it works fine.

The ability to capture the ignition and injector signals exists off the
shelf.  Attached is an example image of such data.  The time resolution
of this data can be increased from the setting used in that image if
needed.  It was captured using a Labview and USB module setup that I
described in Contact Magazine.  This setup is not inexpensive, however.
The connections needed to do this are available in the same connector
that is inserted between the controller and the rest of the existing
wiring.  One just needs to make connections to the desired pins.  This
is all intended for testing on the ground since compromising the
integrity of the original wiring is possible if the added connector is
not secure.  As Bob mentions, the necessary connections for
communication with the controller can be incorporated in the original
wiring which is actually what I did.  The use of the added connector is
just a convenience for those with existing installations who want to do
some troubleshooting or monitor mixture table tuning without making
permanent wiring changes.

Steve Boese

Thanks Steve.

Paul Lamar