Hey guys I'm jumping on this thread pages too late (!) but anyway
Dave wrote:
The TunerCode firmware will run on any16bit daughter board, including Nistune's daughter board. You just can't program it onto a Nistune daughter board without having the Nistune Base Image Programmer.
This is because the hardware architecture of the Nistune boards is different from Calum's RT boards.
This is correct because the calum boards have an onboard micro which programs the memory on the board via the USB connector, all changes are made through via micro which looks like a moates emulator to the laptop.
Our Nistune boards use the base image programmer to upload the entire memory initially to get the ECU program (with modified consult code on there)
After that the modified consult implementation allows for data changes on the board. I usually restrict the changes in the firmware to just the map area so nothing gets screwed up in the ECU code area. There is a special firmware version to change any value on the board, but only to those who know what they are doing :-)
We preferred to keep our boards simple for cost wise, as a next step up from an EPROM board without the extra cost and complexity of fitting other components. The NVsRAM board ideas used previously on Hondas were a great idea to start from and have proven to be effective with even 16 bit Nissan ECUs
It also works well for workshops since they just use the single cable on multiple ECUs via the standard port.
You may not even be able to do this anyway because Nistune may depend on the bin file being in .ENT format to program on the Nistune board.
Any functional BIN file can be converted to an ENT file, hence my previous posting about emailing the BIN file (before being informed of tunercode licence conditions which were not explicitly available in writing at the time of making that post)
There is two parts to the ENT file processing, one is to modify the 0xc9 Rom Read consult command to a Nistune command to allow writing, burning and pin locking on the board. The other bit is the scrambler
As long as the consult code has not been modified where my autopatcher cannot recognise and repatch the firmware, then there is not a problem. However I believe some parts of tunercode may have modified consult so it may not patch without reverting the consult code back to original implementation. If that can be worked around then it can be patched and run like other custom BIN files done in the past
Another incompatibility is that even if you program TunerCode onto a Nistune daughter board, you do not have real time tuning capability. You would have the TunerCode features and data logging, but you would have to remove the board and reprogram it using the Nistune Base Image Programmer every time you wanted to make a change.
Probably not totally true, you still would have realtime tuning capability through Nistune software on your laptop, but any special consult tricks would have to be removed to get it to an ENT would have to be replaced with something equivalent
Dave has posted on the eccs forums that he is still working with calum on something. So thats good news, given he has invested a great amount of time on that project.
Reverse engineering and rewriting ECU code is not a small task by any means. Being able to strip down and recompile to something more tuneable like a PowerFC is a fantastic idea, but at the same time its a lot of work and each ECU approached would be a custom job. I wanted to make a one fits all approach with the firmware/patcher so I could throw it at anything and it would work. Just different ways of doing things
Like calums work Nistune started as a hobby but I've worked it as a business, and provide as much support as humanly possible whilst still having a life, family and full time day job. Its a tough mix but having others working with myself such as PLMS who builds our boards, and distributors like Andy from AVP has made things more manageable without burning out just yet... but I'm hoping to be full time by the end of the year and it would be great to work with Dave when hes free up to do a Nistune equivalent of tunercode
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Originally Posted by lynchfourtwenty 
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