I was one of the early kiwi3 supporters and received the device a few days ago. Using it with 19.0.29 on Android 5.0 on a Samsung Note3. Have been using Harry's for a while with a generic [ebay] BT OBD adapter. Basically worked well with that device, except for occasional dropouts (no data). So I supported the kiwi3, thinking that this would be much better.
After enabling BTLE support, the device _occasionally_ connects. Most of the time, it just says "connected" in the sensor screen. Not faster than the generic unit, I'd say. Also dropouts, although the data remains stable, as opposed to dropping to zero. I have seen it connect at 33Hz and 100Hz one time each, and shortly thereafter the connection dropped.
When that happens, the only way to get it to re-connect is to cold-start Harry's.
Also, if the car sat for 30mins between runs, on restart, it does not automatically re-connect. Need to restart Harrys a couple of times, before it finally takes.
At this point, I'd say it's not usable.
Any advice?
Thanks,
Nikolaus
Kiwi3 connection unreliable
Re: Kiwi3 connection unreliable
Hi,
Part of the problem might be Android's comparable weak Bluetooth Low Energy implementation. Problems date back since the initial versions supporting BT 4.0, but they are not gone...
Beside BT communication issue, you may face some OBD protocol / bus issues too. Please follow instructions in viewtopic.php?f=39&t=1500 in case you want to trouble shoot this. Make sure to log from a successful connection beyond to what you consider a drop condition. The (unrealistic) update rates reported indicate there is some protocol issue.
For your connection issues: to not disturb other BT connections, LapTimer does not discover BT adapters when another BT adapter is connected already (e.g. GPS) and the car is at speed - just in case you have such a situation.
Another thing to keep in mind (and most probably the issue you are facing after having turned off the engine for some minutes) is, LapTimer discovers BT devices for 10 minutes only. An adapter that didn't connect within this time will not connect. The 10 minute timeout is restarted when LapTimer is sent to background. Foreground it again and LapTimer will search for BT devices for 10 minutes. It may take up to a minute for a reconnect, so please be patient.
While BT connections can exist in parallel and share their bandwidth once connected, any BT devices discovery takes most of the bandwidth. That's the reason LapTimer implements this comparably complex scheme to not disturb others.
- Harry
Part of the problem might be Android's comparable weak Bluetooth Low Energy implementation. Problems date back since the initial versions supporting BT 4.0, but they are not gone...
Beside BT communication issue, you may face some OBD protocol / bus issues too. Please follow instructions in viewtopic.php?f=39&t=1500 in case you want to trouble shoot this. Make sure to log from a successful connection beyond to what you consider a drop condition. The (unrealistic) update rates reported indicate there is some protocol issue.
For your connection issues: to not disturb other BT connections, LapTimer does not discover BT adapters when another BT adapter is connected already (e.g. GPS) and the car is at speed - just in case you have such a situation.
Another thing to keep in mind (and most probably the issue you are facing after having turned off the engine for some minutes) is, LapTimer discovers BT devices for 10 minutes only. An adapter that didn't connect within this time will not connect. The 10 minute timeout is restarted when LapTimer is sent to background. Foreground it again and LapTimer will search for BT devices for 10 minutes. It may take up to a minute for a reconnect, so please be patient.
While BT connections can exist in parallel and share their bandwidth once connected, any BT devices discovery takes most of the bandwidth. That's the reason LapTimer implements this comparably complex scheme to not disturb others.
- Harry
