Tell me about usability!?!?

   #1  

carboncow

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I come from the world of some pretty good diagnostic systems and I know Ross-Tech is very well respected but I'm confused on many levels! I'm familiar with Durametric (Porsche) which is very intuitive 3rd party solution. I also am VERY familiar with Vida Dice (Volvo) which is a hacked OEM solution that is complicated but still pretty obvious for those who invest the time.

When I'm looking over the posts here of the Vag-Com everything seems very "vauge" with discussion of "blocks" and "values" to make changes that the end user seems to only know by others telling them todo it!

Is it obvious to the end user on what they values and blocks are to make changes to the vehicles systems or is this getting to the root of programing and thus why it seems so vague to me? Am I missing some Vag-Com for Dummies guides...or do I just need to relax and it will be obvious when the thing shows up at my house and I start playing with it?

This is going to be for a decked out Touareg so lots of wizz bang stuff to review, fix and break.

Thanks for any constructive comments.
 
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Bruce

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I come from the world of some pretty good diagnostic systems and I know Ross-Tech is very well respected but I'm confused on many levels!
Welcome to our world. How may we help?

I'm familiar with Durametric (Porsche) which is very intuitive 3rd party solution.
And was built on our business model after they observed what we did.

I also am VERY familiar with Vida Dice (Volvo) which is a hacked OEM solution that is complicated but still pretty obvious for those who invest the time.

When I'm looking over the posts here of the Vag-Com everything seems very "vauge" with discussion of "blocks" and "values" to make changes that the end user seems to only know by others telling them todo it!
Blocks and values are the terms used by VAG. We stay consistent to their terminology so that those already familiar with it, understand it and can use it. Measuring Groups of live PIDs are referred to as Measuring blocks or Measuring Values. A group is made up of 4 blocks. In older vehicles, control modules could address up to 255 Measuring Groups each containing 4 Measuring Values (Blocks).

Around 2009, VAG introduced new control modules using a control "language" called UDS. One of the big differences is that in the UDS modules, Measuring Groups and Blocks were replaced with a list of Values. No longer were the Measuring Values grouped and no longer were restricted to 255 Groups of 4. So the terminology to refer to them evolved to just calling them Measuring Values.

What I am speaking of is VAG 101... you have to learn it to understand VAG repair terminology.

Is it obvious to the end user on what they values and blocks are to make changes to the vehicles systems or is this getting to the root of programing and thus why it seems so vague to me? Am I missing some Vag-Com for Dummies guides...or do I just need to relax and it will be obvious when the thing shows up at my house and I start playing with it?

This is going to be for a decked out Touareg so lots of wizz bang stuff to review, fix and break.

Thanks for any constructive comments.

As to it being obvious, you are most likely looking to have a book or a reference page that states the list of what group contains which value. No such reference exists outside of VAG's offices. To the best of our knowledge, nothing has been released to the public. What we did was to label the measuring values so you can scroll through and look for the values. You can also peruse the Label files for a module to find the group/block designation for a particular value. Our label file page explains how one would use the file.

So how else might we be of service?
 
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carboncow

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Thanks Bruce. I think you spoke to my primary concern...my understanding and learning curve.

I guess the good news is you and many users have been doing this a long time so there is great support in understanding needs. Thanks to that VAG engineering it is pretty cryptic at least to a newbie!

Do you or anyone have a acronym guide?
Any good webpages or forums out there that are best for discussing and documenting all the UDS "Values"?
 
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Bruce

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Thanks Bruce. I think you spoke to my primary concern...my understanding and learning curve.

I guess the good news is you and many users have been doing this a long time so there is great support in understanding needs. Thanks to that VAG engineering it is pretty cryptic at least to a newbie!

Well, if an old curmudgeon like me can learn this stuff, then I expect you can also. It just takes using a tool that has the information, studying that tool, studying the factory repair information, and time.

Do you or anyone have a acronym guide?
Any good webpages or forums out there that are best for discussing and documenting all the UDS "Values"?

I guess I was not clear. VAG does not publish this kind of information. So the best source for this information is VCDS - the tool has the information. There are lots of forums out there that can help and we have them listed on our discussion page. This forum is a place to ask.

If you have something specific in mind, please ask. We'll try to direct you to the information needed.
 
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carboncow

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Thanks Bruce.

It sounds like I understand the product well now. It appears it's all a bit vague to newbies but there is a good community for helping everyone figure this stuff out...and the product has been around forever so we know the community is strong. Reverse engineering VAG cryptic systems has to be a challenge!
 
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Bruce

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Reverse engineering VAG cryptic systems has to be a challenge!

Wondering why there are so few who have done it? Yes, it is not for the weak at heart! Can't tell you the number of people over the last years who thought our product price high and told us they would develop their own product. And how many are out there? How many other companies have taken our data and used it to make their tool?

It is a big job and our staff, Uwe, Sebastian, Eric, Yanping, and Shaun are the ones that find the way to bring it about! Then our Tech Support staff of Andy, Dana, Jef and Peter help the users use that data. The rest of us just help any way we can. RT is a team that is committed to doing their very best to keep the info flowing so users everywhere have access to it. They are great!
 
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