ProLink Suggestions

[homermandy]

Been thinking of getting a ProLink for my 6V92TA DDECII and Allison ATEC.
Are there any models or manufacturers to avoid?
Also, what is the connector size I need to make sure I have?
Thanks

[plyonsMC9]

Any luck with this homermandy?

Any ideas for homermandy busnuts?

Heck, I don't even know what the ProLink is!!!   Guess I could use some education on this.

Best Regards, Phil

[lloyd]

A prolink is just a hand held reader for electronic engines/transmissions. Prolink is a brand name. You will need to buy the cartridge fro DDEC II and Allison trans. Prolinks will work fine for reading faults and performing some diagonsis.
Hope this helps
Lloyd

[rv_safetyman]

When I got close to getting the Series 60 and Eaton AutoShift ready for wiring and installation, it became obvious that I would need a Pro-Link to check the wiring and to make changes for various parameters.  One of the great folks from this group (and other boards – James Maxwell – sadly now deceased) and I did a lot of looking and talking about Pro-Link sources.  We watched Ebay every day, and there were lots of units out there, but they all went for a ton of money (close to retail).  While watching the auctions, I ran across the following company:

USAtoolwarehouse.com

I ended up buying the Graphic unit.  I am away from my records (on way to BusN USA), but I bought a kit similar to:

http://www.usatoolwarehouse.com/usatoolwarehouse/mpi-604001c.html

That kit has changed a bit since I bought mine, but it is close.  I bought the DDEC III/IV card and I was good to go.  The card that comes with it can read just about any engine/transmission code, but can't recalibrate any application.   I needed to reset several variables on my engine, so I needed to get the card. 

I really did not want to spend that much money, but I figured when I was done with it, I would put it on Ebay and recover some of my money.

I am not impressed with the graphic option.  Maybe I did not spend enough time playing with it, but the display does not do much for me.  I have the Silverleaf VMSpc and it does all of the graphing that I need and does it very well.  If you are only looking for picking up codes and graphing of functions, maybe the Silverleaf would be a better option:

http://www.silverleafelectronics.com/.

Besides, the VMSpc is a really fun toy!  Maybe I should not call it a toy, since I would not drive the bus without it being on the dash giving me all kinds of necessary information.

Now, back to Pro-Link

I really used the unit a lot during my installation.  Still use it today every once in a while.  Have used it on some other folk's buses and it is always fun to help them.  I am not ready to sell the unit yet, and may never sell it, as it has a lot of value to me.

The Folks at USA seemed to be good people to work with.  Their Ebay price is lower than their website price.  I bought it directly from them and they gave me the Ebay price, but would not give me the free shipping.

There is some confusion with "cartridges" and "cards".  I think the early Pro-links had cartridges for each application.  Today they seem to favor one cartridge that has a slot for what looks like PCMCIA cards and then use cards for each application. 

I looked for other technologies in the market and could not find any other players.  Nexiq seems to have a corner on the market.  They do a good job and are used by almost every dealer that I know of. 

Not sure if that helps or not.

[c-coop]

chec e-bay I bouught a brand new one with the ddec 3&4 and allison cartrige for only 700$ Chris