All posts by Dave White

Version 1.0.1 rev 1 available to testers

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.

v1.0 Available Now

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.

V1.0 submitted to the app store

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.

Where does the time go ?

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.

Moving on

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.

Version 0.1r2 and Security

The second test version of MobiSquirt has been made available to testers with fixes for a couple of bugs that were found.

A couple of things came out of a request on the forum, one of which resulted in the addition of an email facility so that log files can be emailed directly from the app to make it more convenient to transfer the log files. As this was a comparatively minor amount of work this was implemented in the new test version.

Another aspect of the post was the question of security of the MegaSquirt once you have a WiFi connection to it, particularly as the WiFly unit doesn’t offer support for encryption for Ad Hoc connections. It does, however, offer a password option of up to 32 characters long which you can enter into the module. Any connection to the module is then dropped if the host doesn’t supply that password immediately on connecting. This actually tied quite neatly into another development I’ve been working for both testing and app approval reasons – a demo server. Having a similar password requirement for that should minimise the amount of spurious connections the server would have to handle.

To that end the next test version will support the WiFly modules’ password option as I can then build the same password function into the demo server. the bulk of the development required in MobiSquirt for this has now been done and been tested locally.

Thanks to those who have volunteered to test the app and given feedback, keep those ideas coming !

First Test Release

I’m pleased to announce that the first test release is now available for testers who have confirmed their UDIDs, you should receive an email shortly with the download and installation details.

If you wish to be added to the test group and haven’t received the release email, please use the contact form to submit your details and you will be added into the next available release.

Testing, Testing

As I have started making final preparations for the first test version of the app to ship I’ve been considering the best ways to resolve any problems that arise and to allow users without the suitable interface hardware to be able to try the app out in a demo mode.

To help with this I’ve added a “Raw Data” logging mode to the app which will create a shared file containing the raw data supplied from the MegaSquirt ECU. Once I’ve tested this I’ll send the first test release out to the registered testers that responded to the last email I sent out. Testers will then be able to send the files with a note of the problem encountered and I should then be able to reproduce it.

I’m also developing a simple “server” application to run on one of my web servers that will mimic a MegaSquirt connection and respond with raw data captured from the app. As well as giving an easy way to provide a demo facility it will also allow me to simulate tester’s MegaSquirts on my private server so I can review and resolve any issues reported. The demo server will be launched sometime after the test app is shipped , I’ll notify all testers by email with the details when it is available. Initially you’ll need to enter the IP address and Port number into the settings screen, in the final version I’ll probably just have a “demo” switch that sets it up for you.

As support for each version of MegaSquirt is added I’ll add a demo service for that configuration that will be used as the baseline for regression testing of the app as new versions are released.

Forum Created

I’ve added a forum to the site to make it easier to discuss any issues relating to MobiSquirt. There is a private/hidden section for testers who have signed up for the app where the app will be available for download as new test versions are released.

The first test version is very nearly ready with the logging playback facility now working and nearly all the bugs I’ve found in my own testing resolved. There are a couple more changes I’d like to make before it’s released to testers but I’m anticipating releasing it in the next few days unless I find any major issues.

As previously posted the first test release has been optimised/tested for MS1-Extra, it may work with other versions but more by luck than judgement !

Current Progress Review

As mentioned in the comments, spare time has been a bit of a luxury in the last few months as a number of paying jobs and motor sport commitments have taken their toll. Things are finally easing off a bit now though and I’ve finally managed to get some more time in on MobiSquirt and now is as good a time as any to review the progress so far and make some changes to the development roadmap.

I really want to get a version of the app out there for those interested in testing it and the reality is that the more versions of MegaSquirt I try to support in the first test version the longer it will be before I can send anything out. As a result I’ve decided to concentrate on MSnS-Extra for the first test release as this seems to be the most widely used firmware among those that have expressed an interest. Once that is out I’ll then get the MS2-Extra running, then MS2, then MS1, then MJ.

MSnS-Extra support is complete now as far as the realtime gauges/data views are concerned and the logging is working. I have a couple of UI tweaks to do still but the realtime aspect is probably 98% ready for test release 1. The log review/playback functions still need a fair amount of work to get into reasonable shape and, for the first test version, I expect to have both data and gauge log playback views functional.

I will add a “mark” facility/button for realtime logging and, for devices that support it, the “mark” will also record your location so a map can be displayed showing where you were when the mark was created. As part of that work I will add latitude/longitude fields into the log files as well as the existing acceleration/deceleration fields.

I’m going to add a forum facility to this site to allow testers/contributors etc… to exchange information, report any bugs/feedback, new feature requests and so on. Test versions of the app will be posted there too for download as and when I release them.

I won’t tempt fate by giving a timescale on the first test release, hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later !