tunatrky

Red Devil River's bluetooth ALDL adapter looks to have a transformer attached to it [for using 120V AC?] It's quite large, actually. I imagine the circuitry, transformer, and bluetooth transmitter are embedded here.

ALDL Bluetooth Adapter

Whereas a lot of the OBD 2 connectors are compact... Like so:


Wifi OBD2 Adapter


I understand it requires external power sources in case certain pins aren't power sources on the ALDL harness. USB & AC charging for usability. I'm wondering if the bluetooth broadcasting components are also in the connected transformer box? Would there be additional circuitry to decode data as opposed to OBD2 which is simply transmitting data? I'm trying to understand the reasoning here. I wish there were a compact version

L98_383_Stroker

I believe that is a case for an arduino mega. There is probably a card that sits on top of the arduino mega with a Bluetooth module. I doubt there is a transformer. I have a similar device from 1320 Electronics. It has a longer cable so that you can locate the brain box in a convenient location. Mine is a little bigger than a cigarette pack. Mine powers off the cigarette lighter, or the company will wire it to power off any ALDL pin you like. They work great. Look into ALDLDroid App too.

tunatrky

There are other ALDL bluetooth devices? I swore I searched and couldn't find any. A longer cable would be nice to install in a remote location EG not on the steering column. I'm familiar with Arduino and Raspberry Pi. It makes sense this is an Arduino device, that's very clever actually. At any rate, I was insanely excited when I learned you can read live sensor information via the OBD1 port Everything I found was for OBD2 and it had crushed my hopes.

L98_383_Stroker

Yes, there are two devices that I know of, Red Devil River and 1320 Electronics. I guess it's just a matter of preference. I love mine. Gone are the days of using a laptop. They aren't as cheap as the Chinese OBD2 adapters, but I think they are well worth it.