After further digging I cannot recommend this device to 500e users and issue a warning to everyone else. There are just too many blockers and red flags at this point. I’ve made more progress in a week with python and $70 in parts than nearly a month looking into AutoPi.
Issues:
- PID and CAN only work with 11-bit IDs. Full stop, this product is useless if you want to use extended 29-bit IDs.
- Pins 1/9 connect to our CAN-B, but AutoPi can’t handle that out of the box. At first glance we could potentially wire up an adapter cable to remap 1/9 to 3/11. “Vendor” pins should be an option possibly by use of internal jumpers.
- Documentation is light and what does exist is often outdated. Old terms and UI don’t always translate to the current product.
- This product is mostly aspirational - look at what you could build - but the software/hardware/support makes that incredibly difficult.
- The more I search, the more I find no answers or suggestions you contact the company to buy support and feature development.
Worst of all, this is such a fantastic opportunity for the company yet they seem to be absent. The foundation of this product is good. The hardware is easy, the software for all it’s faults could be great. I guess I expected more for 2-3 years in the market.
I could honestly see a market build around this platform. Aftermarket car stuff is typically overpriced junk that doesn’t work together. This device could have been a platform to unify it all for people who want to add “modern” features to otherwise basic vehicles. That would sell more AutoPi by actually delivering on the aspirations. People want a weekend project, not a full time job reimplenting stuff you sold us.