[AT] OT modern computer controlls

Thu Mar 23 10:19:03 PDT 2017

I am dealing with a similar issue currently with my truck.
The radio is broken.  It plays but the display panel doesn't
light up 70% of the time and some of the buttons don’t work.
I bought a remanufactured and upgraded unit from a place in Richmond VA for
a reasonable price.  I can install it myself, it's easy, but in order
to get it to function I have to take it to a GM dealer and pay them
to hook their computer to my truck and tell the anti-theft system that it's 
ok
for that particular radio chassis to work in my truck.  The basic hourly 
shop rate
for the dealers around here is about 1/3 to 1/2 of the price I paid for the 
radio.
THAT is if I can find one that will do the job for the minimum rate of 1 
shop hour.
It's ridiculous.  When I bought the reman radio I knew that was the case but 
I thought
there was a way around it.  Turns out, there is a way around it for SOME GM 
radios but
apparently not for the one in my truck.

That's not nearly as bad or as expensive an issue as trying to fix a JD 
tractor but it's still
ridiculous.  I had an air bag impact sensor go out recently.  All I needed 
to know was which
one to replace.  My tire dealer (A FRIEND OF MINE) charged me 60 bucks to 
hook his scan tool
to it and tell me which sensor is bad.  That's almost as much as the sensor 
costs.   I understand
that he has to pay for his scan tool but it's RIDICULOUS!

Charlie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Thomas Mehrkam
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2017 8:41 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] OT modern computer controlls

They should be required to make the tools available at a "reasonable cost". 
There are already laws guaranteeing owners the right to repair their cars. 
If you want access to the dealer documentation or tools you have to purchase 
them.
Of course what is reasonable to a third party repair facility is usually not 
reasonable for an individual.  That is why many third party scan tools can 
only decode the standard codes and functionality required by law and do not 
have access to dealer codes.

      From: Dave <rotigel at me.com>
To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2017 5:20 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] OT modern computer controlls

Like it, or not, the algorithms are the property (work) of someone other 
than anyone on this list, and owned by that person (or the company that 
employ them). As such the owner SHOULD have the right to give/rent/ sell 
them as they wish!
    Dave

> On Mar 22, 2017, at 5:00 PM, rlgoss at twc.com wrote:
>
> Uhh, yeah.  The algorithms for the electronic communication (among other 
> things) with those devices are copyrighted and a typical application has 
> to go through that firewall and pay for the privilege.  One of the things 
> of that nature that has been with us for years is full-fledged PDF format. 
> Everyone has been using it for years as the default format for items on 
> the Internet, and there are lots of programs out there that will give the 
> appearance of following its rules, but an APP that does it all the right 
> way has to go through Adobe, one way or another. That's just one example. 
> The codes for communicating with the electronics of a motor vehicle are 
> similar, and are patented.  A former colleague holds the patent on the 
> algorithm that allows communication between a number of dissimilar devices 
> that used to need special "black boxes" in order to communicate or had to 
> be hard-wired together. Those are no longer required because of his 
> invention.  Like it or not, we end up!
  p!
> aying such royalties.
>
>
>
> Larry
> .---- Mike M <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:
>> Copyright?? Wow that's a stretch. So if your equipment goes down, you
>> are at the mercy of the dealership as to when and how it gets fixed? I
>> see a boom in used machinery.
>>
>> Mike M
>>
>>
>> On 3/22/2017 2:20 PM, Don wrote:
>>> I read this morning that John Deere is going after some eastern European
>>> hackers who are distributing hacked software to allow users to fix their
>>> own tractors.  The article indicated that if someone other than the
>>> dealer were to replace say a transmission it is necessary to call out a
>>> John Deere tech for several hundred dollars to spend a couple of minutes
>>> with a computer to make things work.  Many companies such as John Deere
>>> and GM are hiding under the DCMA to prevent users from repairing their
>>> own equipment.
>>>
>>> John Deere and many others are fighting "Right to Repair" laws all over
>>> the country.  These laws would require manufacturers such as John Deere,
>>> Sony, Apple to provide tools, parts, and documentation to allow people
>>> to repair their own equipment.boom
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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