TDIJetta99
Top Post Dawg
I have the one that looks like this.. The lights are super annoying at night so they get covered with tape, but it never gives me any issues.. I use it almost daily..
I ordered from Amazon. The item description is "BAFX Products (TM) - ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool - For check engine light and other diagnostics - Android compatible".So where does one buy a 'legit' ELM327? We all know how well ebay cloned VAG-COM cables work. Where is a legit company selling a legit ELM327 with support?
So far so good. I don't always have the VAG-COM with me, and it is a quick and easy way to read and clear codes as well as other things.OBD Diagnostic Interface
Part Number 1008
Controller: ELM327
Formware Revision: 1.5
Baud rate: 38400
There's no way to tell if any of those have a genuine ELM327 chip inside other than to buy one and open it up.. The one made in Canada I would think is the most likely to be a non-copy chip..
The chip datasheet can be seen here:There's no way to tell if any of those have a genuine ELM327 chip inside other than to buy one and open it up.. The one made in Canada I would think is the most likely to be a non-copy chip..
I guess I got a clone, because mine says version v1.5. I don't know how you would even know other than to buy one.There is no ELM327 v1.4a, or v1.5, or v1.5a !
Some clone makers have introduced what they call a 'v1.4a', or a 'v1.5', or a 'v1.5a' but Elm Electronics has never made one.
I am guessing that there are several other chips inside of that little box, and one of the other ones is a RS232 -> Bluetooth interface of some sort. I am half tempted to try and open the thing up and take a picture, but I am afraid that I will break the plastic case . I guess if it did, I could go and buy another, but I really don't want to reward the pirates.I've seen everything there is on ELM's website, and going by what they have in their PDFs, there's no such thing as a genuine ELM chip in a bluetooth interface.. only the RS232 interfaces..
Nice.. It's nice to know it's not a clone of some sort, but is it worth 6X the $$?ScanTool.net answered my question today via email.
My question.
I have tried some of the cheap Chinese clones out there and was dissatisfied. I am buying this one as I am under the assumption this is not a clone and is a genuine ELM327 chip inside. Is that the case here? Thanks!
Hi David,
Thanks for writing in. I am sorry to hear about your experience. But, you are correct, this is not a clone. It actually has a chip that is even better than the ELM327. After noticing some ways to improve on this chip we made our own, the STN1110. You can read more about it here: http://www.scantool.net/dev-tools/stn11xx/stn1110.html
I am sure you will be happy with this purchase.
Best regards,
Debra
At least they have a 90 day money back and 3 year warranty and are US based. There was no reasonable help on the cheap ebay clones. I will be awaiting its arrival!
That's weird.. maybe I just got a good one lolBut it connects and reconnects with multiple other BT devices without issue.