Adding OBD Port Channels
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1.
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Connect to the vehicle you wish to define channels for (but do not start scanning). |
NOTE: If you have connected to this vehicle before, VCM Scanner will have created a vehicle profile for it. Selecting this profile allows you to add channels for the vehicle when you are not connected.
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2.
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If the Channels list is not already open, click the tab on the left edge of the screen to display it. |
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4.
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Browse or search for the channel you wish to add. Channels received through the OBD-II port are at the top of the list (all groups except External Inputs). |
Keep the following in mind when selecting a channel:
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Channels whose names have a BLUE background have already been added. |
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If the icon to the left of the channel name has a GREEN background, it is a broadcast channel. These channels are preferred because adding them will not slow down the retrieval of scanned data. |
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5.
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Double-click on the channel you wish to add. The channel should now appear in the Channels list. |
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6.
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If the channel is a polled parameter that you do not need frequent updates for (perhaps because the measured value changes slowly), consider reducing the polling frequency to reduce the overall burden on the system. To do this, right click on the polled channel and the select Polling Interval. |
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7.
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If desired, you can adjust the units for the new channel or the number of decimal places displayed for it by right clicking on the channel and selecting the corresponding menu item. |
Scanner Performance Of Polled Parameters
Polled parameters are parameters that VCM Scanner must ask the vehicle controller to provide. Each one of these you add, creates additional processing burden on the system and may slow down the rate at which data is reported to you.
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In the Channel Selector window, the icons associated with polled channels have a WHITE background (not a GREEN one). |
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Once a polled parameter has been added, the  icon will appear next to it in the Channels list. |
Broadcast parameters do not suffer from this drawback. These are parameters that the vehicle is always sending and require no additional overhead in collecting. Given the choice between a Polling and a Broadcast parameter, you should chose the Broadcast one. However, not all vehicles support broadcast channels.
Channels based on external inputs (Pro Link, Serial Port, etc...) also do not affect the rate at which parameters are gathered from the vehicle.
Improving Performance of Polled Channels
To improve performance, lower the interval on polled channels that do not require great resolution. For example, setting Engine Coolant Temperature to 10 seconds might be more appropriate than .1 seconds. This frees up bandwidth space for a parameter that might require higher resolution, like Spark Advance.
To do this, right click on the polled channel in the Channel display and the select Polling Intervals.
icon in the Channels list. The Channel Selector window appears.