April 2010
Written by Bayle Emlein
PC Community Main Meeting
7:30 - 10 pm Friday April 2, 2010
Calvary Baptist Church 28924 Ruus Road, Hayward California
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 pm by President Chuck Horner. Chuck called for new members and then introduced Hamid Nekrawish to talk about Computers in Our Cars.
Presentations:
Because of previous time commitments, Hamid Nekrawish made his presentation before general PCC business was discussed.
Hamid started with a brief review of how automotive computers work and of general internal combustion engine functioning. Computers help auto manufacturers meet government fuel efficiency standards and consumer power demands. Computers were first introduced to address automobile emissions. Long ago, CO2 emissions were considered good because they represented greater power.
Because General Motors used to lead the world in auto sales, GM terminology is used generally throughout the automotive repair industry.
To date there have been four major diagnostic systems. The current diagnostic system, CAN BUS, was designed by Bosch. They have a research center at Stanford.
CAN=Controlled Area Network
BUS=Bi–Directional Universal System
CAN BUS is very fast, eliminates redundant use of parts, has greater reliability and reduced connections; reduced size of wiring harness; uses fiber optics (no wiring necessary); flexibility in system configuration.
The Drive Cycle enforces proper smog check. It takes 80 to 100 miles for the computer to learn the driving patterns of a driver. Then the computer will check all systems for emissions control.
Why care? Improved safety; sealed black box keeps operation records; fuel efficient; more power; precise adjustment on-demand; longevity–greater service intervals.
Want to know more? Here are a few resources
www.mobilediagnosticsgroup.com (The experts experts hang out here.)
www.sae.org (Sets the standards.)
www.smogservice.com/CE.htm Our speaker’s site has some concise information for consumers.
After his formal presentation, Hamid spent several minutes answering audience questions. He no longer serves consumers directly, but supports mechanics. If your mechanic is having trouble fixing your car, suggest that he call Hamid for expert advice at 889-0543
After the break, PCC business continued:
SIG Announcements:
Mobile SIG meets in the same place as the Main Meeting, 3rd Monday of the month.
The Hardware SIG meets tomorrow at the Smiths’ at 8 pm.
The Spectacular Linux SIG is planning to meet on April 24. They will look at Ubuntu 10.04 beta.
Other Announcements:
The Clubhouse is open Wednesday evenings. The next Saturday that it will be open is April 17.
Andrew Tews announced that www.spokeo has a directory of personal information. At the site there is a way of removing oneself.
There were a number of (older) software packages free for the taking on the back table. (Someone had cleaned out a rather large closet.)
New Member Drawing
Inland headphones-Ravello Montanez
General Drawing
|
Snack pack |
Dan Peterson |
|
Cengage lighted magnifier |
Tom Smith |
|
Fellowes Premium Underdesk Keyboard Manager |
Ruth Churchill |
|
HKTDC highlighter set |
Andrew Tews |
|
Inland Headphones |
Paul Rogers |
|
Kate’s Computer Clinic Remote Technical Support |
Chuck Horner |
|
Kuder compass |
Bob Sorensen |
|
MailWasher Pro from FireTrust |
Richard Churchill |
|
Otterbox 1000 protective case |
Jan Fagerholm |
|
Pepcom bag |
Stan Sorensen |
|
ShowStoppers Built gear bag |
John Cordeniz |
|
Silicon Mechanic tee shirt |
Ravello Montanez |
|
Zenex commuter cup |
Verne Perry |
Raffle Prize
|
FireLite XPress portable USB drive, courtesy of Andy Marken |
Don Odle |
Thanks to George Kornbluth for taking care of refreshments.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:21 pm.
The next meeting will take place at the same location on May 7, 2010.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayle Emlein, Secretary
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