wild bill Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 I am becoming increasingly frustrated with accessibility to my ECU and require some advice Tha car runs OK but is I believe overfueling a bit which it never used to do. In addition the rev counter is showing about 50% of actual. I could take the car to Dave at Emerald on a trailer but I have to organise borrowing a trailer and it's a 5 hour drive. So I then find out that if I have wi fi access Dave can log in to the Emerald via my laptop and do a check followed by any adjustments if needed. Brilliant ....except I have a Mac and Emerald is only Windows compatible via a very old plug in system. I have a USB adapter cable BUT my Mac doesn't have a USB port and isn't windows compatible. So I'm stumped. This must be a problem for others and not just me? Any suggestions before I have to book a weeks holiday in Norfolk. I mean I'm actually considering changing ECU's to one that more specialists can actually program because it seems no one can do it quite like Dave and frankly it's become a pain in the proverbial. Help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Can you not borrow a mates laptop that isn't a Mac ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin_T Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Cheap old Panasonic toughbook (or similar) running XP off eBay with a rs232 port …. Or beg / borrow / steal one. also need the emerald serial cable. used to map loads of these ecus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted February 27 Member Share Posted February 27 Any offers for the Loan Directory? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoisyBDR Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 You could purchase parallels from the App Store, that will allow you to run a virtual Windows 11 machine on your MacBook. Since Apple moved to ARM processors it is the only way as Microsoft OEM license ARM operating systems. The old boot camp methods can’t work unlike the old Intel MacBooks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Virtualbox 7.0 now supports ARM processors, so if a spare Windows licence can be found, Windows from XP to 11 can be installed as a client on MacOS with Vitrtualbox as a host 0, too. A Bluetooth RS232 adapter would also be needed for machines without a physical port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Where in the country are you wild bill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted February 28 Support Team Share Posted February 28 You'll have the same issue with most aftermarket ECUs - the volumes are too small to warrant writing the code for Windows and Mac. As above, buying a cheap "garage laptop" will be the best answer in the long run. There are plenty of other rolling road tuners that can work with Emerald - try Troy at Northampton motorsport, Steve Greenald at Track and Road or Dave Gemzoe depending on where in the country you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 A garage laptop is actually quite a good tool. I now have one in my garage, permanently displaying several build blogs for my current 420R project. No longer do I have to run inside to order some bolt, tool, glue or whatever from eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_h Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 I'd just buy a cheap older laptop that isn't fruit based from FB or similar. I cant think of any aftermarket, or OE ECU's I've worked with that have a program that has a native Apple IOS capability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted February 28 Member Share Posted February 28 1 hour ago, Ainsley said: A garage laptop is actually quite a good tool. I now have one in my garage, permanently displaying several build blogs for my current 420R project. No longer do I have to run inside to order some bolt, tool, glue or whatever from eBay. I suspect that there's not much overlap between the old carefully preserved laptops running the ECU software over precarious serial connections and those uses of Web access. But on the wider point: it's not that many years since I was ridiculed for suggesting a browser in the garage along with the sofa and refrigerator. I'd guess that this is now just about universal but that it's implemented on the browser/ camera/ torch/ video player/ timer/ spirit level that is known as a 'phone. I'll pick this up in a more appropriate thread. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Besides the need for Windows for tuning software, a tablet device with a drop resistant case for garage use is highly recommended. With my engine rebuild using an iPad for all documentation (stored on my Google Drive) and capturing measurement directly into spreadsheets and documents besides taking photos of the build, has made the process so much more efficient. At the end of the day wiping the oil and grease off the device is a lot easier than cleaning a physical keyboard, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiddy7 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 If you are near bristol, Dave at interpro will sort you out, he’s well versed with emeralds , I can also lend you a laptop, cable and adapter if needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild bill Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 (edited) Sorry for being Tardy but been away getting stabbed in preparation for an op. To answer some points 1) Getting parallels won't work as no usb accessibility to ECU because 2) Although I have the adapter cable it's usb (as supplied by emerald) and my MacBook does not have USB access 3) I'm reticent to buy a 'cheap laptop' for the once in 20 years its needed I have enough plastic useless crud in my life 4) Dave at Interpro may be worth a shout as he's only an hour away. However many are of the opinion that only Dave at Emerald actually properly knows his ECU. 5) I'm near Frome so anyone able to help I'd be grateful 6) I actually don't know anyone with a windows laptop because a) I have very few friends and b) my friends are either very non tech or very tech (so this is all a bit old to them) It's like a perfect storm of frustration, all because Emerald is not Mac compatible and I'm unlucky in the friends department/too stupid myself I can't see why the map would have changed so the plug in is to establish whether it's a fuel pressure issue, a duff sensor etc. I'll call Dave at interpro and see what he says. Tiddy thank you for the offer. Where are you? A run out would be useful/therapeutic once it stops blooming raining Edited February 28 by wild bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 I'm not close to Frome (Epsom)so it's not all that helpful, but I could rustle up a laptop to loan if noone else can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiddy7 Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Bill, I'm in just north of Bristol BS36 2SL let me know if you want any help. Dave did a very good job of fine tuning my Duratec which was running on an old standard of emerald and TBs, (I did the original mapping ) I have done many map corrections at home via my laptop, but as I have now sold that car and have a 160S I no longer need access to emerald ECUs except for helping other club members. your welcome to borrow the laptop for a few months. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild bill Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 Thanks all. I'll call Dave at interpro as a start rather than put anyone out. Thanks for the offers of help. Will get to Dave if this rain ever stops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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