I’ve had some positive feedback around the previous test version and have been working on the iPad views for this new version, particularly clearing up some issues around the log replay views for the iPad.

I think the iPad version is now functionally at the same point as the iPhone version so assuming nothing comes up from the testing of this version it’s looking good for a hybrid iPhone/iPad release to the app store in the next couple of weeks.

Build 261 has been released on TestFlight for evaluation by the registered testers. There are some testers who are signed up who currently don’t have any devices registered, please make sure you register your devices – once you are signed up simply visit the testflightapp.com from your device browser and log in, you will be given the option to register the device at that point. You can’t load or run the test versions of the  app on devices that aren’t registered.

As an interim update I’ve added a new test build to TestFlight which registered testers can access. If you’d like to be added to the list for future test releases you can sign up to TestFlight here… http://bit.ly/vS78u9 – Don’t forget to add your devices so they can be included in the next test build.

The iPhone aspects of the app should be considered as a “Release Candidate” but the iPad views still need a bit of work. The main areas that require testing are the new connection functions and the MS2-Extra support. As per my previous post the connection architecture has undergone a major rebuild and on my test setups I’m seeing massive improvements in the time taken to establish a connection.

The MS2-Extra support was almost working in the previous release version but the logging wasn’t implemented properly and many of the gauges were hit and miss. This latest test version should resolve those problems and both record logs correctly and replay them on the iPhone/iPod platforms.

If the response to this test build is positive and the iPad version looks like it will drag on for more than a couple of weeks then I’ll release an interim version to the app store.

I finally completed the work on the MS2 Extra logging and I’m almost ready to send out a new test version.

I have been undergoing a bit of a code review too. In particular I’ve been re-looking at the architecture I implemented to handle the connections to different versions of MegaSquirt. At the time I first implemented the various classes and their structure it seemed to make sense but the downside seems to be a, sometimes lengthy, delay in establishing and initialising a connection.

As a result of this review I’m in the process of changing the architecture around connection handling and it’s looking very promising with connections being established much more quickly and reliably – typically in around 20% of the time the previous way of doing things took. There are a couple of outstanding things to resolve but on the whole it’s looking good for a new test release and subsequent app store submission in the next few weeks.

The few spare hours I’ve had in recent months have been spent modifying the app to be a “universal” app, running with native views and controls for use on an iPad as well as the iPhone/iPod supported by the current release version.

The iPad version uses slightly different navigation between the various screens and functions. The tab bar used on the iPhone version has been whittled down to 3 options on the iPad as settings have been moved to the realtime gauges view. The extra screen space on the iPad allows the data view to be viewed at the same time as the gauges.

Due to the way the iPad is used it is more important that the app supports different orientations so all the views in the iPad version can be viewed in any orientation.

The first release version is likely to be more “functional” than “pretty” as the extra screen size tends to be less forgiving to my pretty poor graphic design skills. Hopefully someone will volunteer something a bit slicker once it’s out there and users have the chance to see how it works.

The MS2-Extra logging functions should also be fixed in this version as well as the various fixes and additional functions that have been added in the test versions since the v1.0 release.

There have been a few issues/requested features since the release of the app to the App Store. This test release resolves some of the issues raised so far.

One encouraging element from the release feedback has been the MS2-Extra support seems to be working for some people too which is good to know as the first release was focussed on MS1-Extra support. While i had started working on the MS2-Extra support it had had very little testing.

I’ve added support for TestFlight into the test versions of the app in the hope that it will make it simpler for people wishing to try out test versions to register their devices and receive updates as they are released. You can request to join the beta testing program here.

V1.0.1r1 contains the following changes since V1.0..

• Increased communications timeout values to try and resolve a reported issue with page data being truncated.
• Added an AFR Gauge type – currently this supports Narrow Band  AFR
• Fixed a problem that could cause the app to crash if a connection to the adaptor couldn’t be completely established.
• Fixed a problem with the MS2-Extra module that results in spurious values being displayed in the throttle position.

I’m pleased to announce that v1.0 of MobiSquirt has passed the review process and is now available as a free download from the App Store.

As per my last post, this version is aimed at MegaSquirt with MS1-Extra firmware only and may work with some MS1 versions although MS1 has had very limited testing compared to MS1-Extra.

Download the app and try it out, please post any bugs, feature requests and suggestions in the forum area. Feedback is always welcome and helps keep the project alive.

I’ll update the user manual over the next few days to take in the newer features.

I’ve tidied some of the user interface issues up and submitted v1.0 of the app to Apple for review. Fingers crossed the app will be approved and, once it is, it will be available as a free download from the App Store.

The UI changes are mostly just a bit of “tarting up” but there are a couple of more useful changes such as the connection status panel that becomes visible when the app is trying to connect or negotiating a connection with the specified host. The original “progress bar” to show connection status has also been moved to this panel to free up some screen real estate.

The “demo” mode is also available in this release and is designed to allow the user to experiment with the interface and see what to expect when the app is connected to a MegaSquirt ECU. Log files can be recorded from the demo server data and played back. The demo server is delivering raw data, logged by using the app’s raw data mode, from a road test of a 5.7 litre V8 – shame there is no sound !

I’ll post an update on here when (hopefully) the app is approved and available for free download from the app store.

Time’s ticking away and I’m still beavering away with the MS2-Extra functionality. I’ve set up a “demo” server that pretends to be a connected Ms1-Extra ECU and delivers realtime data based on a log file. If nothing else it will serve as an easier way for me to maintain and test against multiple versions of MS as I can load it up to mimic any of the supported versions.

With the demo server available and a distinct lack of feedback from the MS1-Extra testers I’ve decided to release the  first version to the app store. It will only work with MS1-Extra (well it may work with MS1 but it’s not been tested as extensively) but will allow prospective users to play with the app and see it in action against the demo server if they don’t have a compatible MS/WiFi setup.

I’m going to see if iCloud support for the log files is practical in this version and I’ll include it if it is as i suspect that will be very useful as an easy way to transfer log files from your iOS device to a Windows PC or Mac.

It seems from the testing feedback that the MS1-Extra functionality is working now on all the firmware versions it has been tested on. I will be sending out another test version that incorporates the changes I’ve needed to make to resolve issues with older MS1-Extra firmware.

Once that is done I’ll take another look at the signed up testers to see which is the next most common MS firmware in use by the testers and concentrate on that version for the next release. I suspect it will be a close call between MS1 or MS2-Extra as there don’t seem to be any MS2 “vanilla” users signed up at the moment.