Buying the Rotax Download Dongle for 912iS Engine?

[lance]

Have any of you 912iS Owners purchased the Rotax Dongle?

If so how much was it?

While I am impressed with performance of my 912iS Engine in my new Tecnam P2008.

After 46 hours it has been very reliable so far.

The complexity of repairing it if it developed a major fault while flying  in the Australian Outback is a concern.

The nearest Rotax Engineer with a Dongle could be 800 nm away or further.

So I thought if I had a Dongle I could download data and email to Rotax Dealer for Analysis.

So when  he flew in to repair it he could bring the correct spare parts with him.

Thoughts?

Lance

[bigmo]

Are you talking about the standard serial cable to access engine info for BUDS? If so, I just used the cheapest one I could find on Amazon ($9 I think). Only tricky part wash the drivers came on CD and we have nothing anymore with a CD reader.

BUDS works GREAT and is very easy to use. I wanted to check my TPS (and reset it). Really nice to have access to all the sensor info and logs.

If you’d like I can send the exact model…but I think virtually any serial to USB adapter works.

[bigmo]

Here's the exact cable I used. Easy setup and no issues connecting to the Rotax for diagnostics.

a.co/d/bNkyvMY

[cole505]

Jul 30, 2024 4:31:32 GMT bigmo said:

Here's the exact cable I used. Easy setup and no issues connecting to the Rotax for diagnostics.

a.co/d/bNkyvMY

Here is the one that I use it works great! 😊

Ray & Lucy ✅😊🇺🇸✌️

LSRM 

Attachments:

[lance]

Many thanks for info and photos.
After checking my Tecnam P2008 I found that I have two Serial Ports.
One for Lane A and one for L and B.

So I will buy a Y version of your Cable.
Thanks
Lance

[fabricgator]

Hello lance,
I wish it were that easy...
While Bigmo talked about resetting the TP using a simple serial cable/USB converter. I do have that cable and it is all that I need for addressing my TCU on the 914 (turbo) engine, where we reset the TPS after sync'ing the carburetors.

Unfortunately, Rotax sells what is known as a B.U.D.S. dongle. The software is free BUT the dongle to connect the free software to the fuel injected airplanes ECU is in excess of $2000 USD in MAY of 2024.
While it is a simple serial port adapter, they have it locked by an encryption requiring a serial number AND a 16 digit KEY code that is specific to your particular dongle.

This whole situation is just begging for someone to hack it and share these counterfeits at a discount
THEN IT GETS even WORSE

There is a piece of software called something like the "buds code reader" that SHOULD help us to not be dependent on the stealerships BUT they will not release it anyone other than a ROTAX authorized dealer.

While I love the ROTAX engines and their advanced technology and performance, their proprietary iron fist of control is very uncool.

Does anybody remember Sony BETA Max video tapes/players... SONY made a far superior system but they tried to hold onto all of the cards where JVC allowed opensource of their VHS video tape format... aas far as I am concerned, JVC won.