GS911 Bluetooth thoughts...

[runnr548]

Thanks for all of your thoughts! Dave, that is some of what I am wondering also. Keep the comments coming...it will make my purchase easier. :-)

[garthw]

First of all, Hex Code, while they support Bluetooth, their website says that they do not officially support Bluetooth and they seem to recommend quite strongly against it. Rather, they seem to strongly recommend the USB cable approach.

Secondly, if you configure your device so that it only works on a mobile device, you will not have the complete functionality of the GS 911. You will be able to read and clear your fault codes, but you will not be able to do any service work. So if you want to get full use of the GS 911, you will need to run it on a PC and not on a mobile device. I bought myself an Acer netbook, and it seems to work fine.

I see the BT option for reading fault codes on the road or in an emergency as being the main use. Like I said earlier the fellow we were with had his fault codes read, trouble diagnosed and fixed, and back up and running in a few minutes and all he had to do was pull out his phone and the 911

Totally agree if it were me doing maintenance in the shop the notebook is the only way to go.

Most folks travel with a phone and a netbook of some sort. Should note that none of it works with Apple ipads or iphones. Not sure about an apple laptop but very much doubt it. To me for the extra $50 I think the BT version is well worth it.

[bogthebasher]

I see the BT option for reading fault codes on the road or in an emergency as being the main use. Like I said earlier the fellow we were with had his fault codes read, trouble diagnosed and fixed, and back up and running in a few minutes and all he had to do was pull out his phone and the 911

Totally agree if it were me doing maintenance in the shop the notebook is the only way to go.

Most folks travel with a phone and a netbook of some sort. Should note that none of it works with Apple ipads or iphones. Not sure about an apple laptop but very much doubt it. To me for the extra $50 I think the BT version is well worth it.

Yes, re Apple Laptops: The only way to use my MacBook Pro is using PC emulation which many people do have in place so is technically possible while not strictly iOS. Nope no Apple Apps for iPhone or iPad variants.

[Lee]

First of all, Hex Code, while they support Bluetooth, their website says that they do not officially support Bluetooth and they seem to recommend quite strongly against it. Rather, they seem to strongly recommend the USB cable approach.

I've never seen that mentioned on the Hexcode site.
On the road Blue-tooth will let you read fault codes to diagnose a problem and at home you can connect with a USB to have full functions and reset service reminders.
When you have a Bluetooth model you can do everything a USB model will do when connected to a USB cable.

[141987]

I've never seen that mentioned on the Hexcode site.
...

Following is excerpted from the User Manual on Hexcode's website.

"The Setup window has 4 functions:

Select connection method

This is USB by default, and we recommend that you keep it that way. The only reason to choose a COM port, would be to set up a Virtual COM Port for your Bluetooth connection. Please Note that although we give you this ability, connecting the PC-based GS-911 application to a bluetooth enabled GS-911 interface is NOT officially supported. The reason for this is simple - there are a myriad of bluetooth drivers, and most of them are very buggy, and we just don't have the spare time to support any or all of these drivers! However, if you are a power user and have the ability to set up a Virtual COM Port, then it is a formality to get it connected to the GS-911 application - just choose the correct Virtual COM Port!"

Dave

[garthw]

Following is excerpted from the User Manual on Hexcode's website.

"The Setup window has 4 functions:

Select connection method

This is USB by default, and we recommend that you keep it that way. The only reason to choose a COM port, would be to set up a Virtual COM Port for your Bluetooth connection. Please Note that although we give you this ability, connecting the PC-based GS-911 application to a bluetooth enabled GS-911 interface is NOT officially supported. The reason for this is simple - there are a myriad of bluetooth drivers, and most of them are very buggy, and we just don't have the spare time to support any or all of these drivers! However, if you are a power user and have the ability to set up a Virtual COM Port, then it is a formality to get it connected to the GS-911 application - just choose the correct Virtual COM Port!"

Dave

connecting the PC-based GS-911 application to a bluetooth enabled GS-911 interface is NOT officially supported

So they are not recommending (and not supporting) is creating a com port using Bluetooth in your PC to connect the PC only based application to a bluetooth enabled GS.