Looks like I'm on my own here. Sorry I brought it up.

Bottom line:

1) Its not illegal. They provide the software legitimately for free on their website. There may be a case for them lacking some business sense by doing it. Sorry to be cynical, but personally I dont reward people for being dumb.

2) I'm sorry, but dont we have a thread for cheap a$$ alternative parts for Ducatis as a STICKY??!! I dont see anyone complaining about ethics there? How many out there have chopped their air boxes with a hacksaw to convert them to an open air box??? Does anyone feel guilty about that? What about the starving italian factory workers at ducati that arent getting a raise because you didnt dish out 130 bucks for a "DP Open Air box" or a fuel filter, clutch throwout bearing, etc etc.

3) I dont want to sound slanderous here didnt we just COPY a completely legitimate DUCATI MONSTER FORUM design cuz we didnt like paying for it??? I'm sure there was some regulation in the VS contract that prevented this type of situation but here we are anyways. If they cared to do so do you not think they could shut us down?

I smell the stench of hypocrisy in the air. You guys really need to lighten up a bit.

I still want to go ahead with this. If anyone wants to lend me their cable. PM me. Sorry about the rant.

-EEL

There are successful business models for selling a software products. Including piracy protection, trial software, and licensing.  TechnoResearch has protected the professional version of their product. They issue a USB key with a registration code in the professional kit. The standard lacks any such protection.  And in any case there are better ways to protect yourself then selling the equivalent of a telephone cord for $195.

I've OWNED the Techno Research VDSTS software and cable for two years now, and it is well worth the price. It does not take much to time before you need to perform certain checks on a bike. I can do them at will. I even sent my cable back to them and upgraded it to run the software off my dell Axim hand held. That is some slick stuff to be able to do diagnostics  on a hand held. The big plus is that since the single user license applies to an ECU type, you can use it on any bike that uses the same MM ECU.

As for the whole "hacker thing", I'm on the side of Techno Research. They have provided many updates to all the different software platforms for bona fide users. We stay up to date. 99% of the companies out there charge annual upgrade/update fees. I am able to test many of the systems on the bike, reset the TPS, record various channels while the bike runs, and not have to leave my garage. (the nearest dealer is 4+ hours away)

Techno Research also has been responsive when I needed to talk to them. If you do hack the cable, hopefully they will come out with a more robust USB dongle that you can't hack, at which time every legitimate use will have to purchase one, and once again you will be disabled. I would rather you find a friend who has the tool, borrow it and keep things the way they are, if it comes down to keeping Techno Research in business and defeating a hack, I vote for keeping Techno Research in business and will gladly send them more money for such a great tool.

That's my story, and I'm stickin to it!

I have the software for my 5.9 ECU.  The single ECU version does not have a hardware dongle.  This is not the version Brad has in his shop.  I think it had a code to type in, maybe not, can't remember.

There is the cable and, if you need it, the USB adapter.

You only need the adapter if you don't have a serial port on your PC.  It is more than a $6 cable.  The adapter along with its driver software allow you to create a virtual serial port and address it so it can be used.  I've worked with lots of USB adapters, they can be very finicky.  So I followed TechnoResearch's recommendation and bought the relatively expensive brand they recommended.  It works no problem.

The cable is basically a long cable with a small chip in it.  The chip converts the signals the bike puts out to a signal that can be interpreted by a computer serial port.  It is not a simple connection.

Before buying it I looked into another option.  Some German guys have free software and rough plans for the adapter cable, they don't have it working for all motorcycles.  The do have it working for some Buells which use also use the Magnetti Marelli 5.9 ECU.  I totalled up the cost of the cable, connectors, the chip, the other circuitry you'd need to convert the bikes 12V power to a 5V supply the chip can use (it doesn't get its power from the signal lines) and though I could probably  have put it together for $60-100 I just went and bought the Technoesearch VDSTS.

I spend all day fixing broken things on computers for a living.  I don't want to spend my free time doing the same thing at home, I just want to tune my bike.  The TechnoResearch software is cool, it works, ir does what it says.  On the other side of the coin, while you can get lots of diagnostics back from the 5.9 ECU you can only make a few adjustments, basically resetting the TPS and setting the idle mixture.  $200 is a lot for that but it will pay for itself when you do your first service.  

For me, being able to do my own service whenever I want its well worth the price.  Saving a few dollars by building my own cable or buying a cheap USB adapter and then spending hours debugging and getting it working is not my idea of fun.  i like working on my bike, I don't want to spend hours on my computer before I can do that.  Hope this helps.

Scott

1+; I debated back and forth about shoud I or shouldn't  I, 257 (with all the add-ons and shipping) seems expensive, but all toll ... but in the end bucked up ... just recived the package today ... I'll let you know by next week how it performs.

Quote from: EEL on January 28, 2009, 04:33:45 PM
Looks like I'm on my own here. Sorry I brought it up.

Bottom line:

1) Its not illegal. They provide the software legitimately for free on their website. There may be a case for them lacking some business sense by doing it. Sorry to be cynical, but personally I dont reward people for being dumb.

Most places provide the software for free in case you lose the install disk etc. All the drivers for my printer are online-I'm guessing that's a courtesy, and not an invite to build my own printer.

Quote from: EEL on January 28, 2009, 04:33:45 PM
2) I'm sorry, but dont we have a thread for cheap a$$ alternative parts for Ducatis as a STICKY??!! I dont see anyone complaining about ethics there? How many out there have chopped their air boxes with a hacksaw to convert them to an open air box??? Does anyone feel guilty about that? What about the starving italian factory workers at ducati that arent getting a raise because you didnt dish out 130 bucks for a "DP Open Air box" or a fuel filter, clutch throwout bearing, etc etc.

Saving money by buying an alternative is not the same. Cutting up the airbox *I* bought is in no way taking away from what other people are making. If everyone made their own cables and downloaded this software-the company would cease to be. Ducati would still sell motorcycles if we all chopped our own lids.

Quote from: EEL on January 28, 2009, 04:33:45 PM
3) I dont want to sound slanderous here didnt we just COPY a completely legitimate DUCATI MONSTER FORUM design cuz we didnt like paying for it??? I'm sure there was some regulation in the VS contract that prevented this type of situation but here we are anyways. If they cared to do so do you not think they could shut us down?

I smell the stench of hypocrisy in the air. You guys really need to lighten up a bit.

I still want to go ahead with this. If anyone wants to lend me their cable. PM me. Sorry about the rant.

-EEL

No, the code was written by people who did not benefit from the sale-AFAIK the site was sold, not the code, and certainly not the participants, so no, they probably could not shut us down.


As far as lightening up, the majority of people in here seem to think that if you want a tool, paying for a nice one is the way to go. You might want to think about that.

Quote from: EEL on January 28, 2009, 04:33:45 PM


3) I dont want to sound slanderous here didnt we just COPY a completely legitimate DUCATI MONSTER FORUM design cuz we didnt like paying for it??? I'm sure there was some regulation in the VS contract that prevented this type of situation but here we are anyways. If they cared to do so do you not think they could shut us down?

NO.

I think you need to stop typing about stuff you don't know anything about before this thread gets locked.  The DMF is not a "copy" - it has the same free open source software (SMF) underpinnings and some of the same colors as the other board, but that is where it ends. We wrote brand new guidelines, FAQ's, and tutorials.  Also, the people that started this board didn't have any agreements with VS, and starting this board was actually more expensive for us than paying the membership dues to VS  .

If you can't see the difference between that and what you are asking to do, then you should probably just delete this thread.

mitt

Hello Moderator, PLEASE DELETE THIS THREAD.
It has provided no useful information for me. All i've gotten is "holier than thou" responses from people whom (if i was a betting man) violate their own ethics every time they turn on their IPOD.

I'll just figure it out on my own.

<End of Thread>

Naw, I think we should leave this thread as a warning to others 

And for the record, I've never pirated music or movies.

But you mod your bike to violate state regulations...

Quote from: MrIncredible on January 29, 2009, 10:54:14 AM
If everyone made their own cables and downloaded this software-the company would cease to be.

I'm no so sure I agree. Technoresearch specifically states in their FAQ:

8 Q: Which products require a hardware key?

    A:   â€¢ Professional version of Vehicle Diagnostic Scan-Tool Software (VDSTS) DOES require hardware key

          • Standard version of Vehicle Diagnostic Scan-Tool Software (VDSTS) DOES NOT require a hardware key


The sales of the professional version are protected.  NOT the standard version.  I'm not going to guess at their business model or their intent of distributing their software.  But it is clearly not an over site.  They may make enough money off of the professional version. who knows?

Quote from: MrIncredible on January 29, 2009, 10:54:14 AM
As far as lightening up, the majority of people in here seem to think that if you want a tool, paying for a nice one is the way to go. You might want to think about that.

Umm  one word:    Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh               

Thread locked, as it's getting progressively nastier.