After some wait I have recieved my new scantool. The Ottotest by Blue Streak electronics. I have been using the Blue Streak BDM scanner and have been quite happy. I actually got a chance to test drive this scanner last May and was really not impressed. Since then Blue Streak has done a ton of updating and I have been monitoring the updates. I feel confident that this tool by far will be the best "bang for the buck" scanner. The shortfalls of this scanner is it's European specific coverage. Since I really don't delve into European diagnostics that much, save the ocassional Volkswagen this fits my needs perfectly. The upsides are many. One being that this is also a J-2534 tool which will allow me to flash vehicles.
The scanner consists of a VCI that plugs into the data link and a tablet PC. You can connect the two via usb or wifi wireless. It is updated via the internet along with online feedback from user to engineers to make the tool better. I always like to test new equipment on my own vehicles and get comfortable with them before using them out in the field. I really don't want to learn the tool thoroughly when it is on someone else's dime. Some of the highlights with this unit is it's ability to configure GM Body Control Modules. No other tool other than the GM Tech2 will do this. Another nice feature is DTC health check. This is where it will scan all the modules in a vehicle and report if there any codes and also clear all in one step. I am sure there will be a steep learning curve here. It is a Windows based operating system that uses a touch stylus so I am not totally clueless. I had a little problem setting up the wifi and customer service was very helpful and got me going.
In the coming weeks I hope to show some the highlights of this tool.
