I'm looking for a scangage-type device, but one that can download the captured data to a PC for later analysis.

- not palm-based.

- not just a cable that goes to my laptop to capture.

- scangage (http://www.scangage.com/) is exactly what I want, but with the ability to download to a PC.

- about the price range of scangage.

Does anyone know of such a device? OR has anyone popped open a scangage to see if there's an easy way to add a RS232 or USB dongle and talk to the onboard flash?

I'm pining for a similar device. What I'd like is a computer that interfaces with my car's OBD system and collects real-time data at the same time that it logs lat/long/elev from GPS. My system would have bluetooth or wifi to transmit the collected data to a computer in my house whenever my car was detected in bluetooth or wifi range.

A friend of mine has been experimenting with a Gumstix computer and an equally small GPS computer-on-chip (sorry don't have the url handy). If we could couple that with the AutoTap USB, and then figure out how to decode the data coming off of the ODB, we'd have such a wealth of data that the challenge would be to figure out how to analyze it effectively.

Imagine... you've got a database with a record for every .5 seconds with columns that log your lat/long/elev, along with your throttle position, various fluid temps, engine rpm, wheel rpm, etc. Again, the challenge, once we figure out how to implement this device, is to figure out how to use the massive amounts of data.

So, I hereby extend the scope of this thread by asking the following of you... Do any of you have experience with gathering and decoding real-time data off of the OBD?

Well, if you're looking for Windows software, you may as well start over at http://scantool.net/ but the software only works with an OBD-II cable and signal box that keeps the PC from receiving signals from the OBD-II port that could damage the USB port. If you click on "third party software" you'll get links to many more OBD-II software packages for palm and PC devices.

There are dozens of software collection & display tools, often bundled with the transcoder. They pretty much all generate some sort of tabular file and display in any of various ways. Assuming you have timestamped everything, appending GPS data to that after the fact is easy- doing it at the same time with two different pieces of hardware is not. Especially when I cannot find a portable OBD scanner that will export its data. I've seen portable GPS receivers that do, so that half is solved.

Right now, I just want the OBD2 tool that will let me see results locally (while driving) and store them, just like scangage, but also let me export them to a PC. I don't want to lug the laptop in the car. Maybe I'll need to just scrounge up an old palm from somewhere and use it just for this.

edit:
found this: http://www.smarthome.com/9251.html
comes close, but only captures a small subset of data (not fuel) and has no realtime feedback.