If you were out at POG in Austin you may have heard that I'm working on an iPad/iPhone based product which works somewhat like a Pro Driver, or Silveleaf Glass dashboard.

This product comes out of my own desire to more easily be able to get at DDEC error codes. This type of functionality will be provided, along with the ability to monitor engine parameters wireless on-the-fly.

It is still very early in the design, but I do actually have a program that last Saturday I plugged into two buses at Steve Bennett's shop, and was able to wirelessly view the data streaming from the DDEC on my iPad. (My bus is in Indio, 2 hours away, so Steve was a lot closer!).


So, I am going to need some beta testers to help me work this application out. I don't want people who will simply try and say "it didn't work", and give up. I'm looking for constructive feedback in what should be in the application, how it should look, how to make it better.

Here's the rub. Although beta testing is free, you will need to purchase the hardware interface that provides the wireless connectivity to the DDEC. Because most of our busses are pre-2006, the hardware needs to speak an older protocol. This limited the few hardware vendors that could provide such an interface.

I'm working with a company called Cubic Labs, and they will provide you with the interface at my discount. Even with this discount, this runs about $675. With large quantity purchases this price can come down, but in the start of this, it's pricey, I agree.

But, when you consider that a similar setup, provided by DD, purchased through Nexiq would run about $2500, I think ultimately this is going to be an attractive product.

Anyway, at this point, I'm looking for names of people who are willing to take the risk a bit with me, purchase the hardware, and provide testing. We don't need to purchase anything quite yet, as I've got a lot of re-writing of the application to do first. But, at least first pass significant testing shows basics are working.

If you're interested in participating, let me know. I will conduct conversations about the testing via regular email. I'm not making any money on this at the moment, but ultimately, I'd like to see this product.

Thanks,
Ray