PLX MultiGauge Link TrackAddict Support?

[libertyforall1776]

Any chance we could see PLX MultiGauge Link support in TrackAddict? This would allow us to pull in NON-OBD sensor information like AFR and Aux sensors for fluid temp, etc. and it uses the same BLE that Kiwi 3 does, so adding support should be relatively trivial.

http://www.plxdevices.com/ProductDet...e=897346002931

[Shane Hewitt]

Interested to hear the response to this as I have one of these on order also.

[Weston@HPTuners]

The short answer is that we'll most likely have to take a "wait and see" approach for this...

I share your desire to add non-OBD info, especially wideband data, but unfortunately, they don't appear to have published any developer info on this, and don't seem to be advertising any capability to use it with 3rd party apps. So, although it may use a similar BLE chip as the Kiwi 3, that piece only means that we could probably establish serial communications with it... It's not communicating using OBD-II, so wouldn't just plug into our OBD core like the Kiwi 3 did, and we'd have spend time figuring out its serial communications protocol and then creating entirely new code to support that. That's probably not rocket science, but it does require taking a small leap of faith and investing development time into this one specific product.

Most likely, we'll be overhauling how we handle OBD and sensor data within the app over this winter, and one benefit is that it would also be much cleaner for us to plug in additional non-OBD data sources. That could be a good time to take an overall look at what hardware options are available, and determine which ones are the most practical and beneficial to invest our development time into... I have some ideas for that already, and by then maybe there will be further info available on this PLX product too.

[libertyforall1776]

This would make a nice New Year's present (adding this functionality), hint hint, in fact I finally received my MG Link!

As for the developer info, it sure would not hurt to reach out to PLX directly...

[Shane Hewitt]

Keeping my fingers crossed too!

[libertyforall1776]

Any news on this? My Dad and I both have MultiGauge Links, and both are paid Track Addict users, and yes also paid HP Tuners users as well! TIA!

[libertyforall1776]

So it will be two years in a few months, any news on TA developing connectivity for Multigauge Link??

[Weston@HPTuners]

Unless I'm missing something, I don't believe anything has changed regarding the MultiGauge and 3rd party app support... I still don't see any SDK or developer info for it on their website, nor do they list any 3rd party apps that support it.

Even for the Kiwi 3, which they seemed to want/need 3rd party apps to support, it was a bit difficult to get information out of them at the time, so I ended up running out of time/patience and just figuring it out myself instead (somewhat easy once I knew what BLE chip they were using, and the rest is a typical ELM327 compatible). That particular device has a large number of users and continues to be a good choice for iOS users, so it's mutually beneficial for both of our companies, and it became an easy decision to invest the development resources there.

I don't have any metrics for how many people are using their MultiGauge, other than how many users have asked us to support it, or how often I've seen it in people's cars in person. Based on the information I have available to me, it's hard to make a case for diverting development time from our other projects to support this PLX product. If they were to make it open and easy for apps to support their product, such as by openly publishing the protocol (assuming it's reasonably straight-forward) or an API or SDK, then that would certainly reduce our time cost and cause reconsideration.

[libertyforall1776]

I submitted a question asking PLX what is the deal w/3rd Party support.

It seems it may have the same chip ad the Kiwi 3, they do publish these:

Tech Specs for MultiGauge Link:
Voltage: 3.3V
Power Consumption: 0.1 Watts
Wireless: Bluetooth 4.1
Serial Interface: 19200 Baud 8N1
Range: ~50ft line of light
Operating Temperature: 0 - 80 Deg C
Firmware Updatable: Yes, OTA (Over the Air)
Module dimensions: 0.2" x 0.6" x 1.2" (3mm x 15mm x 30mm)
Cable length: 2.5"

[libertyforall1776]

Very disappointingly, PLX says:

"Only our MultiGauge App will work with the MultiGauge Link Adapter.
We are not offering third party developers access to the MultiGauge Link Adapter.
We are keeping that in house.


Track addict has allowed their software to work with the Kiwi.

They were issued a developer kit when they reached out to us for allowing their app to work with the Kiwi 3. The "Kiwi 4" will work with the same third party apps that work with the Kiwi 3 as it will be backwards compatible. Next year we plan to have an SDK that we can make to new developers who wish to allow their apps to work with the Kiwi. "


As for Multigauge Link: I would have to hope PLX uses similar methods as the Kiwi and TA can reverse engineer connectivity. Think of it as a fun hacking experiment if nothing else. Until that time, the Multigauge Link is just a one trick pony. Otherwise I have to go buy yet ANOTHER device to be able to bring in my non OBD data into TA.