Copilot Download available for Power FC users

[Anonymous]

http://www.spyderchat.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=28719&

This is a program I wrote, with invaluable advice and testing provided by Tem.  The original goal was to have a program that would add "auto tune" capability to Power FC and it does this and quite a bit more.  For example, it has some neat instruments/gauges and you can replay what happened as you were driving.  It works with both 1ZZ-FE and 2ZZ-GE versions of the Power FC.

I'd like to find out how well it works on computers in other countries.  I had trouble with that in another program I wrote and hope it isn't a problem with this one, but it could very well be.  It could affect .csv files (my Excel expects commas as delimiters, not spaces) as well as floating point number input and output.

Anyway, please try it out and let me know what you think.  It is free and will always be free (donations will be accepted later on... don't worry about that yet... or at all if you don't want to).

[kanujunkie]

good timing Kevin, once i've sold my unichip i'm getting the power FC, perfect timing

[aaronjb]

good timing Kevin, once i've sold my unichip i'm getting the power FC, perfect timing

While this is still a great bit of kit (top job, Beanie  s:) s:) ), it's worth remembering that this will still only get you a base map, and you'll need a wideband O2 to use it  s;) s;)

Having said that, it's great for anyone with an engine that's vastly different to standard - plug in your target AFR, generate a base map, drive to the tuner of your choice in total safety with no risk of blowing up thanks to a borrowed map..

Also an excellent starting point for any amateur tuners, of course  s:) s:)

At least that's my understanding of it - I'm sure Beanie will correct me if I'm wrong  s;) s;)  It's basically letting your PFC do what things like the MoTeC can do (but they're two to three times the price of the PFC..  s;) s;) )

[roger]

Just a quickie, and sorry but CoPilot is the name of the Sat Nav I use.

I guess the ALK Corporation won't be too happy if this gets in the public domain, they must have it registered.   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

[Tem]

good timing Kevin, once i've sold my unichip i'm getting the power FC, perfect timing

Woohoo! Great to see someone in here getting a PFC and breaking the eManage frontier  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Anonymous]

The program will recommend changes to the Base map and not the Inj map for good reason.  The Inj (Injector Correction) map is *supposed* to be used to command different AFRs, but in practice, people use the Recalculate Base function in FC-Edit to put everything in the Base map and set Inj to 1.0.  As I said in the post on Spyderchat, my answer to the question, "How to treat the Inj map?" is to leave it up to the user.  Here's how it works:

Copilot will analyze actual, logged AFRs that were sampled under the conditions you specify and recommend changes to the Base map, no matter what the Inj map is (it will take that into account when recommending changes, though).

You can at any point copy your Target AFR "map" (not a Power FC map, but should be) into the Inj map.  It is not a straight copy because the source is AFR and the destination is Inj.  You'll see a message box that says this:

You are trying to Paste one or more AFR values into the New Inj map. Is the New Base map set up for 14.7 in those cells?
Click No to convert AFR to Inj (Inj =14.7/AFR) and adjust New Base Map cell(s) to compensate for the Inj cell(s) change.  The product Base * Inj will be unaffected.
Click Yes to convert AFR to Inj (Inj = 14.7/AFR) and NOT affect the New Base map.
Reminder: Protected cells in New Base and New Inj maps will never be changed.
Click Cancel to cancel the Paste.
If you do not understand these options, please consult the User's Guide.

Note: I need to explain that in detail in the User's Guide... on my to do list.

It is your choice whether or not to leave everything in the Base map or use the Inj map as it is supposed to be used.

All this is good, but the other things, like instruments, LC-1 digital interface support, adding an accelerometer for $60, and replay are the cool things in my book.

Thanks for the positive feedback.

About the name: It doesn't matter what other programs are called.  This is not a commercial product.  We are not charging anything for it... strictly donations.

[Jap GT300]

Looks like a very well written program.  Great work Kevin!

Does the datalogit connect to a PDA or would you consider the screen size too small anyway?

[Anonymous]

Screen size would be too small.  I didn't have any hardware when I started, so it's not like I targeted what I had.  I determined that 800 by 600 was the minimum resolution to show a complete map.  It could go a little smaller, but it wouldn't be a commercially available size.  There are other reasons for wanting a PC platform.  Development and testing is much easier, better performance (compute and graphics), ability to run FC-Edit on the same hardware, anyone with FC-Edit and Datalogit already has the necessary hardware, availability of other interfaces, etc.

Quite a while ago Tem and I talked about making a data logger that runs on a PDA or whatever.  So that could happen.  It is up to Tem, since he's the expert in that area.  Something I said I'd do: make Copilot capable of using a log created by FC-Edit (or whatever program produces compatible output), so I'll do that sometime.

Maps are stored in Power FC command/data format, including checksum, so anything that takes data from the Power FC (sends map read commands and gets responses) and just saves it in a binary sequential access file would work as far as reading/writing maps is concerned.

[Tem]

Quite a while ago Tem and I talked about making a data logger that runs on a PDA or whatever.  So that could happen.  It is up to Tem, since he's the expert in that area.

I'm sure I'll do it, hopefully even during this year  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Already started on it last year and got it to communicate with the FC-box through bluetooth (serial-bluetooth adapter on the box). I'll get on with it again when my car wakes up, but don't hold your breath waiting for it.  s8) s8)

[Anonymous]

Well I sure don't want to buy a PDA anytime soon!  It would be very cool, though.

[Tem]

Well I sure don't want to buy a PDA anytime soon!

Already have one and I'm looking for another one  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Used ones can be had for pocket change these days. For example the iPAQ series have been going for under $50 with accessories in eBay. Great value for money, even if they are missing some of the recent fancy stuff.  s8) s8)

You can find navigation software for free, as well as speed camera locations as datafiles to download into most of them...  s;) s;)  Not sure how popular they are in US though.

[Anonymous]

Well, since Spyderchat is still down, I'll post the latest info here.

The latest version is 1.0.4.  I also uploaded some data files that people can use to evaluate the software (you can replay a log).  No special hardware (just a PC) is needed to replay.

Here's a zip file that you download and install.  http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/Copilot_1_0_4_Package.zip

and this is a zipped up directory that you unzip and copy into the AutoTune folder within the folder you installed the application in.  http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/phase3.zip

To replay:
Start --> All Programs --> Copilot --> Copilot
Select Auto Tune
Check Replay
Click OK
File --> Open Auto Tune Folder  (You should see "phase3" in the list of folders.  If not, make sure you copied it to the right place.... probably C:Program FilesCopilotAutoTunephase3).
Exit the program and restart it, select Auto Tune, Replay, OK.  This is just to make sure it starts up correctly using the phase3 folder and it's contents.

Click Open Log and open the .csv file (in phase3Datalogs).
On the I/O tab, uncheck the "Use LC-1 data from" checkbox (I didn't have the USB cable for the LC-1 digital input connected when I made the log).
Select the Fuel Inj/AFR tab, then select Logged AFR option.
Select the Ign/Knock tab, then select Logged Knock
Now you will be able to click either of those tabs and watch samples being acquired.  You can also select the Dashboard tab to watch gauges.  There are a lot of things you can look at.

There is a combo box to control the speed and Play and Stop (pause) buttons.  Click Play.

The log starts out with the car warming up for a few minutes... not much to see.  Then I went out for a drive and found a road where I could open it up.  The intention was just to get a lot of samples in different load/RPM combinations.  There were a couple of times when I was actually in the best gear and got it up to over 8000 RPMs.

Just a demo to let people who do not have the hardware (Power FC, Datalogit, wideband O2 sensor) know what the program can do.

I hope the "how to" is correct.   s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Latest version: http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/Copilot_1_0_8_Package.zip

[kanujunkie]

bloody hell, what happened to 5,6,7  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

i'm working on the wife still for all the bits, cant wait to use this for real, looks like a great bit of kit. BTW did you know that if you install the next release over the top of the previous it adds it as a seperate program in the program list. I had 4 entries for it  s:? :? s:?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I thought of that.  I assumed people would uninstall, but even so, I don't include any data files except for some default files and a sample target AFR map, incidental stuff.  So any files that you create will not be uninstalled, per usual.

Latest version: http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/Copilot_1_0_9_Package.zip  This one has 3D plots, but nobody has tested the installation of that yet.  There's a new DLL that could be trouble.  It should be installed in the application directory, not a system directory.  If 1.0.9 has problems due to the new DLL, you could try this:

Open a command prompt window.
CD to the directory Copilot is installed in.
Type: regsvr32 ntgraph3d.dll

The latest two versions were also focussed on auto tuning ignition timing.  I tried it on my car and it seems to work.  I only did one phase of that, so it only adjusted cells by either -1 or +1.  That's how it works... one degree at a time... for safety.

The manual (User's Guide) is still very lacking.  I'd rather put time into the program and worry about the manual later, besides, I'm adding features all the time that would change the User's Guide.

This is a screenshot before I added Zoom and Pan buttons.



It still needs some work to make the "surface", which is the base map here, more intelligible.  Eh, it's a free ActiveX control that I snagged.  Can't complain.

[kanujunkie]

 s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  holy shamolies you guys have been busy  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

I cant wait to get all the gear and try this out now  s:? :? s:?  but i've still got the datalogic and LC-1 to save up for  s:( s:(  aaahhh bugger expensive life  s:( s:(

[Anonymous]

I'd be very interested in the progress - i have a GT4 ST205 with a power-fc.
I notice your site is down - is there any other method of getting the demo?

Cheers
Rob

[Tem]

I'd be very interested in the progress - i have a GT4 ST205 with a power-fc.
I notice your site is down - is there any other method of getting the demo?

Cheers
Rob

It's just a link to old version, check the dir for latest:
 m http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/ m

I don't think it'll work with 3S though.  s:? :? s:?

[Anonymous]

Well wouldn't you know that Spyderchat would become read-only just as as I was going to post that a new version of Copilot is available.  Version 2.0.6 Lite:  m http://www.mr-s.org/copilot/Copilot_2_0_6_Lite.zip m

What's in it:

1.  Dealing with Airflow data (the scaling factors, curves, what curve is selected).  This includes the same kinds of things as is done for other Power FC data, such as maps:  reading from and writing to Power FC, saving to files containing just this kind of data, opening these files, displaying, editing.  There is an Airflow Curve Editor similar to the map curve editor.  Airflow data is not currently used by Copilot to do any tuning calculations, but that should change at some point.

2.  Changed what is in the "other" display option list on the Fuel tab, adding some new display options and renaming some.  Display "Logged Corr Factors" and "Logged Inj mS" instead of the redundant Curr Injector % and New Injector % (the ones replaced are redundant because you can display the Current or New Base map as a percent of the max injector ms).   "Logged Corr Factors" displays just the extra injector ms that is not in Base*Inj.  This is the product of all injector correction factors.  "Logged Inj mS" includes the correction factors... it is the actual injector mS and therefore includes interpolation from up to 4 cells.  Added the word "Logged" before "Injector %" for one of the "other" display options.  Added the word "Logged" before "Airflow %" for one of the "other" display options.  Added two more display options which will just say "<Lite Version>" in the Lite Version and nothing will be displayed (sorry!).  Added a "Base from Formula" display option.  It displays a base map that is calculated from what you have set in 3 sliders.  It gives you a nice, smooth base map.  You can copy this into the New Base Map (or any part can be copied).  Use the "Formula..." button next to the "other" drop-down list to get to the sliders.  The formula "magic numbers" are saved in the Registry.  Note: this "Base from Formula" map is only as good as the slider settings.  Trial and error would have to be done to see if it works.  You can visually compare to the Current or New Base map by switching back and forth.  Later I will add another display option or two that displays the differences between the Base from Formula map and Current (or New) Base maps.

3.  Instead of charting RPM Increase Rate, chart TPS %.  Made the AFR plot twice as thick.  Renamed the Graph tab to "Chart".

4.  Added a Chart Settings form.  For now all you can do is change the time scale so more information can be displayed at once (squashed in time).

5.  Made it so Map Reference is accessed via a button on the Advanced Settings window (which did nothing before) instead of the main window's Function menu.   The new Airflow window is accessed by another button on the Advanced Settings window.

6.  Fixed a few minor bugs.

7.  Support for an I/O board (Phidgets 8/8/8, which is a board with 8 Digital Inputs, 8 Analog Inputs, and 8 Digital Outputs with a USB interface to a PC/laptop).  I've had this thing lying around for about a year and decided to put it to use.  I've hacked a Microsoft joystick (physically took it apart to use just the hand controller, rewired the board inside to provide 8 switch inputs to the DIs on the Phidgets 8/8/8 board.  There's a HAT switch with 4 buttons and 4 other buttons including a trigger.  Copilot is set up to do certain things when the buttons are pressed.  Pull the trigger and a new menu pops up, move around the menu using the HAT switch, pull the trigger again to select a function.  You don't need to hack a joystick... just connect 8 switches to a Phidgets 8/8/8 board and you can use the menu.  Put the switches anywhere.  If you don't have the switches or USB board, you can still access the popup menu via the "Functions" menu.  What appears in the menu depends on the current conditions, but basically you get:

Load Dataset 1 (This loads all the files in a "Dataset1" folder and if connected to the Power FC at the time, loads the data into the Power FC.  I will use my Dataset 1 for a performance files and Dataset 2 for economy files)
Load Dataset 2
Save As Dataset 1
Save As Dataset 2
Backup Working Folder
New Data Log, Save (saves the current log, starts a new one)
New Data Log, Discard (discard the current log, starts a new one)
Stop (or Start) Acquisition (the name of this menu item is set based on whether or not data is being read periodically from the Power FC... this is the data that drives guages, is used in tuning, is logged, etc.)
Turn On (or Off) O2 Feedback
View G Forces (you need a Phidget accelerometer for this to work... it is a separate window showing lateral Gs)
View Message Log
View GPS Data (you need a GPS antenna that outputs NMEA sentences on a Com port for this to work.  GPS data has been in the program for a while... it is just logged, displayed, and replayed for now but there will be a replay of the car's position on a map sometime)

Other functions are dedicated to other buttons (not in the "Buttons" menu), so you would need the Phidgets card to access them.

---

I'll post some pictures/screenshots that are worth 1000 words sometime in the coming week.

[Anonymous]

Warning: I have not tested writing Airflow data to the Power FC.   It reads the Airflow data fine, at least when I tested it.  I've tested everything else pretty well, especially what you can do when working offline.  ALWAYS back up your Power FC data using FC Edit and backup your Copilot folder (where the program is installed on your PC) before playing with a new version of Copilot.  I hope it works well.  I'll be testing more myself this week... I've been very busy lately.

[Tem]

I'll post some pictures/screenshots that are worth 1000 words sometime in the coming week.

I think these should really get some people's attention.  s:D s:D

[Anonymous]

hacking a joystick in order to be able to read the buttons
shows the Phidgets I/O board, which I now have in an enclosure
total damage: under $200 not including the joystick which I was not using


installed (temporary... I just need to drill some holes to mount the aluminum bracket I made which goes up inside the hand controller


"Buttons" menu -- pops up when trigger switch is pressed
It also shows the Base from Formula "map" and sliders that defined it
Note: I had to change the code to get this particular menu to appear because some of the items are not available in Replay mode (it is replaying a log).  I just wanted to show the menu items available when Copilot is connected to the Power FC and logging data.


Dragging a point in one of the airflow curves

[Anonymous]

Can anyone think of a use for analog inputs (0-5V range)?  I already have an oil temperature sender connected to one of the 4 Datalogit analog inputs.  Something going to the ECU/Power FC?  Anything?  How about a potentiometer that controls something?

[kanujunkie]

theres no stopping you is there?  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[Anonymous]

Not anytime soon.   s:) s:)  

I remembered the Phidgets interface kit price wrong.  It is only $90 (USD) so it only cost about $120 to do this (interface kit plus enclosure).    m http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/ ... 8-8-8.aspx m  

The only things I can think of at the moment for the Analog Inputs are to move the three analog inputs I have connected to the Datalogit (wideband O2 takes up two of them since one is supposedly analog ground, the other is an oil temperature sender) over to the Phidgets board and to connect the knock sensor to it as well (it would still going to the ECU also).  The Phidget interface kit's AIs are 10-bit vs 8-bit for the Datalogit and can be read up to 65 times a second.  The board sends a change of state message to my program whenever an input changes.  This means I don't have to read AIs from the Datalogit (freeing up time for the other types of message I get from that, so they will be updating faster) AND get the analog inputs more often/more accurate.  Everything will work faster and better.