Quick Explanation / TL;DR: / READ ME If you have called to ask for help, one of the things we often ask you is, “Are you using a power inverter to power your laptop?  Do you have your laptop plugged in to the wall?” There is a reason for this, and we see product get […]

Introduction The ‘Data trace’ feature of our emulators is probably one of the most misunderstood features.  Trace is intended to give you some idea of what portions of an emulated ROM are being used by the target system as a last resort when you don’t have a way of establishing communications for logging.  Trace is […]

If you receive the dreaded “Verification Failed” message after trying to program a chip with the BURN2, there are only a few possible reasons. Fake chips.  There are lots of fake 27SF512 chips floating around.  We have a whole article about this.  If you didn’t buy your chips from us, you need to seriously consider this. […]

Currently shipping QuarterHorses differ from the original in two subtle ways: There is a circuit to keep the QH’s memory using power from the Keep-Alive-Memory voltage supplied to the ECM with the key off. This should decrease the amount that the QH’s own battery is used in cars regularly driven. The BR2331A solder-on battery has […]

Introduction Many of our products have physical switches on them to change device behavior.  Unfortunately, we’ve noticed quite a few problems related to these switches.  Over time, sometimes switches fail to behave as you would expect them to.  We suspect this is due to oxidation on the contacts, dust or another slow-acting cause.   Affected […]

Intro This is intended to provide a brief overview of the steps required to get up and running tuning an OBD1 GM vehicle.  It is deliberately vague.  Instead of providing an exhaustive guide here, there are a series of links to smaller tasks and explanations.  94-95 LT1 vehicles are going to be an exception not […]

Introduction Logging a wideband in TunerPro RT can be a little complicated because it requires simple algebra and a basic knowledge of how ADCs and widebands work.  While there are a few steps, it’s fairly straightforward.  The steps to do this are going to be virtually identical for all vehicles that TunerPro works with.  This article […]

Introduction Emulation cables link our emulators to a target device.  The Ostrich, Ostrich2 and APU1 all use a similar style emulation cable.  The design of this cable has not changed in many years.  Four standard “shelf” cables are available: EMUC2818 is the standard cable supplied with the Ostrich, Ostrich2 and APU1 emulators.  It has a […]

Introduction: Firmware Update There has been one major firmware upgrade for the QuarterHorse.  There is minimal impact for EECIV users (i.e. Foxbody, 94-95 GT) but EECV users will see a much bigger difference.   What changed? EECV 2 bank operation completely changed (affects 96-98 vehicles ONLY) Fix to data presentation and corruption during large numbers […]

Introduction On some vehicles, the QH doesn’t work well due to an excessive amount of electrical noise or ground potential differences.  In these cases, the optoisolator module we sell provides electrical isolation between your laptop and the QuarterHorse.  While not a solution to electrical noise issues on the vehicle, it certainly can help. The main […]

Introduction The check sum routine is a piece of the ECU code that checks to make sure the program is valid.  When you use the “Save” or “Save As…” commands in TunerPro, TunerPro updates the checksum automatically.  This is why this is not a concern when burning chips – the checksum is updated when you […]

Intro All electronics will fail with age.  A significant chunk of the failures are due to electrolytic capacitor failure.  These components are virtually guaranteed to fail eventually, even under normal use circumstances.  There are even calculators that can help you estimate how long a given capacitor will last! So why do manufacturers use these components […]

We get asked, “How long will the battery on the QuarterHorse last?” Unfortunately, we can’t give you a straight answer to this.  It’s not because we’re trying to be difficult – it’s because there are a LOT of variables. Some things that impact battery life: How much the QH sits vs. the car runs.  The […]

Introduction Please take a moment to check that you have this arrangement correct for your combination. We’re talking about four pins and colors, you can do this! For TTL-level communications, we use 4-pin latching interconnect cables.  Because of the variety of devices which can be connected, and because we don’t control all of the different […]

Introduction This note only applies to older QuarterHorse hardware version 1.3 (fw ver 1.6) units which have the battery soldered to the QH.  Production of this style QuarterHorse stopped around 2016 and was replaced with the current model that features a circuit to draw power from the keep-alive 12V power supplied to the ECM and uses […]

The ALDU1 is a simple logging cable.  It attaches to the USB port of your PC and to the ALDL logging port on your vehicle.  It allows your PC to communicate with your ECM. Basic Connectivity The ALDU1 uses a USB connection to talk to your PC.  It uses the same FTDI drivers that all […]

A lot of the questions we get either via email or on the support line boil down to, “how do I program a chip?” You asked, we deliver!  This tutorial is going to picture the BURN2 but it applies equally to the BURN1 and APU1/AutoPROM as well. Step by step: Get out your burner and […]

The Demon and Ostrich can sometimes get stuck in an odd state.  This utility will allow you to reset them to a known state. Download link  Download link 2 In order to get a device back into a sane state, you need to CHANGE the vendor ID (which software it is set up for).  Once […]

Introduction The AutoPROM is a complex device and it can be confusing to get up and running.  This guide is intended to get you to the point where you are connecting to a vehicle and able to use its functions.  Before continuing with this guide, make sure you have the computer that you wish to […]

Introduction Among other things, TunerPro RT brings a new definition format, the ADX.  This is an extended version of the previous file format, ADS.  The file formats are NOT compatible, but you can convert between them fairly simply.  Unfortunately, the automatic conversion utility in TunerPro isn’t perfect so this guide exists to help you achieve […]

We’re Seeing Lots of Fake Chips! TLDR: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.  If the seller is in China and the chips cost less than $3 each, they’re probably fake. Update March 2014:  This is now totally out of control.  Less than 10% of the […]

Ostrich Here’s how you install the Ostrich:  (Much of this will apply to the Ostrich 2 as well but pictures will be different.) 1) Get on the website here in the ‘software and drivers’ section and download and unzip the ‘USB Drivers’ file. Remember where you put it. 2) Plug the Ostrich into the USB […]

Introduction If you’re completely new to burning chips, you may want to take a look at the Beginners’ Guide before reading the rest of this article.  You will probably still need to read this guide in order to choose the correct programming parameters unless you’re in the situation where you’re programming a chip that is the […]

The following is something which can be applied to anyone trying to troubleshoot a BURN1, BURN2, or APU1 with respect to chip programming. It is also useful to get the USB device drivers correctly configured. It is unlikely that your chip or burner has failed, such events are actually quite rare. All devices are fully […]

Binary Editor 2010 In order to issue you a license for Binary Editor, you must first download and install the software. ( http://www.eecanalyzer.net )  Once you have downloaded and installed the software, go to the “Register” menu at the top of the screen and select “Register Binary Editor” Next, you will be presented with a […]

Moates.net F.A.Q Last updated 2-03-06   GM tuning Frequently asked questions You can use the ALDU1 and CABL2 together for both datalogging and reprogramming. Just get you a free trial version of TTS DataMaster and then get you a copy of TunerCat with the proper definition. Do I need an adapter to get the chip […]

General Troubleshooting Procedure The first thing you should do if you are having trouble with the Ostrich is to follow the instructions in the “USB Troubleshooting Guide” which you can find here – for the rest of this guide, it is assumed that your Ostrich has been assigned a COM port and you have selected […]

FTDI provide a utility called “FTCLEAN” that forcibly removes drivers from your computer.  WARNING: THIS WILL BREAK ALL DEVICES THAT USE FTDI DRIVERS, NOT JUST MOATES HARDWARE. Do not attempt this procedure unless reloading the drivers has failed to restore your devices to full functionality.  You should not be thinking about doing this unless you […]

About Moates USB Products Almost all Moates.net products have a USB interface to connect to a computer. (ALDU1, HULOG, Hondalog, BURN1/2, Ostrich 1/2, Roadrunner, Quarterhorse, Jaybird) Fortunately, all Moates.net products with a USB interface use the same USB support chip so they can all use the same drivers. This makes it easy for you – […]

USB Drivers are needed for almost all products.  You only need one driver package for ALL Moates USB products.  One for all and all for one?  🙂 As a rule of thumb, the WHQL drivers which will be downloaded automatically will work fine.  However, it is recommended that you use the drivers from our site with […]

About Firmware Updates and a Warning Periodically we release new firmware for our products. We generally recommend AGAINST updating firmware unless you have a very specific reason for doing so, as there is always the chance something will go wrong during an update leaving the device bricked in a state where it has to be sent […]