Opinions on the ostrich

[907 Chevy]

Well, bandits made off with my aldl cable that I had left in my truck along with some other stuff and instead of just buying another one, I'd like to take this as an opportunity to upgrade. Burning endless iterations of chips was getting old and I'm thinking of upgrading to the ostrich. What're your guys' opinions of it? E.g, was it worth the money? Ease of use? Durability? Etc...

Thanks!

[EagleMark]

Don't think you'll find any cons on Ostrich.

But if your going to upgrade get a Ostrich, Burn 2 and a cable all in one unit called an AutoProm!

[dyeager535]

Can certainly vouch for the Autoprom. Nice being able to do just about everything, leave it hooked up if you want, burn chip when you get a decent bin, etc.

[907 Chevy]

The autoprom is a wee bit out of my price range unfortunately. I may have goofed up though, is the Ostrich capable of data logging? I couldn't find an overview of what it actually does, but it's not looking like it has that capability...

[Six_Shooter]

No, the Ostrich does not datalog, you still need an ALDL cable for that.

The Ostrich is an EPROM emulator, that is installed in place of an EPROM, that allows for real time changes of the bin, while the engine is running, or not.

Worth every penny. I have had one installed in my car for 4 years, when I want to tune, I just plug the USB cable into my laptop, along with a datalogging cable, and go. Alternatively, the Ostrich can be used only for tuning sessions, and then program an EEPROM to use otherwise.

I prefer the Ostrich, and ALDL cable route, for a few reasons:
- Ostrich is small, and can be installed in the dash easily, with just an USB cable hanging out, or USB port installed close by, for access to bin uploading.
- Some GM code does not like to run while being used with the AutoProm, while there is no issue when using an Ostrich and ALDL cable.
- The ALDL cable can be removed while not tuning or scanning, leaving only the Ostrich in the vehicle, hidden away.

I own an AutoProm as well, that while it is nice, especially when I'm tuning someone else's vehicle, it can prove to be finicky sometimes, something I haven't experienced when using an Ostrich, other than when used with a '7747 ECM, that is simply solved by using a Socket Booster 1.0. The finicky stuff of the AutoProm requires patching the bin, that can be troublesome, especially if there is no known patch for the code you are using.

[dave w]

What he said x2!

dave w

[EagleMark]

I never had an Ostrich...... but I do have a RoadRunner!

Meep Meep!

[907 Chevy]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll probably go with the ostrich and buy another ALDL cable. Won't be for a couple months yet though, this is just the latest setback in the long drawn out clusterf*ck that has been my project truck. Gotta track down a massive oil leak and piece together a new exhaust system first

[Dewayne_S]

I have the ostrich as well and wouldn't go back to burning chips for nothing. However, if I understand correctly the Autoprom has a 0-5v input where you can hook a WB-O2 straight to it instead of having to find a place to hook it to the ECM.

[tunedport]

hi guys i'm new here,my car is a 85 corvette with 870 ecm.It is the slow 160 baud just before the 165 from 86'.I've an Ostrich 2 ,but i've never used it.Lots to learn before messing with...My question is :does the Ostrich act as an eprom in the car without the laptop connected? in other word, may it be connected to ecm socket without lap top feedback and run a bin previously edited ?

[Dewayne_S]

hi guys i'm new here,my car is a 85 corvette with 870 ecm.It is the slow 160 baud just before the 165 from 86'.I've an Ostrich 2 ,but i've never used it.Lots to learn before messing with...My question is :does the Ostrich act as an eprom in the car without the laptop connected? in other word, may it be connected to ecm socket without lap top feedback and run a bin previously edited ?

No laptop needed once the bin is uploaded to the Ostrich. Works just like the eprom.

[dave w]

hi guys i'm new here,my car is a 85 corvette with 870 ecm.It is the slow 160 baud just before the 165 from 86'.I've an Ostrich 2 ,but i've never used it.Lots to learn before messing with...My question is :does the Ostrich act as an eprom in the car without the laptop connected? in other word, may it be connected to ecm socket without lap top feedback and run a bin previously edited ?

The Ostrich 2 will not fit the 160 baud 24 pin chip socket. There are several ways to "work around" this problem. One method I've used, is to convert from 24 pins to 28 pins. Soldering is REQUIRED! Here a link to a post I did on converting from 24 pin chip to 28 pin chip for less than $10!!

http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...rsion-(27SF512)

dave w

[tunedport]

Thanks Dewayne ,thanks Dave for quick reply. i bought the Ostrich2 one year ago,don't remember well,but at the time i've done my research on it.In fact i've bought a socket booster (28 pin).Probably i'm wrong but it seems to me that 2 plus prong for bank on the S booster aren't needed and only 24 pin of 28 must match on ecm socket...Am i wrong?The socket booster from moates has a switch on it from 24 to 28 pin,but under the switch there is an advice"emulation must be in 28 pin mode".So, if ribon cable is a 28 pin,socket booster (needed) is 28 pin, but ecm socket is 24 pin, can i only leave out /cut the plus 2 pin for each bank?

http://www.moates.net/socket-booster-1-0.html

look at the pic on bottom
http://support.moates.net/socketbooster/

[dave w]

Thanks Dewayne ,thanks Dave for quick reply. i bought the Ostrich2 one year ago,don't remember well,but at the time i've done my research on it.In fact i've bought a socket booster (28 pin).Probably i'm wrong but it seems to me that 2 plus prong for bank on the S booster aren't needed and only 24 pin of 28 must match on ecm socket...Am i wrong?The socket booster from moates has a switch on it from 24 to 28 pin,but under the switch there is an advice"emulation must be in 28 pin mode".So, if ribon cable is a 28 pin,socket booster (needed) is 28 pin, but ecm socket is 24 pin, can i only leave out /cut the plus 2 pin for each bank?http://www.moates.net/socket-booster-1-0.html

The socket booster will work like you describe. You will need to remove the factory 24 pin chip holer and install a 24 pin dip socket:http://www.moates.net/d1-24-pin-dip-socket.html Moates can do the solder work for you.

dave w

[tunedport]

thanks Dave,very helpfull,i wanna post a pic of my first idea since i would a removable set up.here it is what i have a D1 -24 pin + a zif socket (sorry i have a large 40 pin) +Socket Booster + 28 pin ribbon head.Obviously all these stuff come out from the case window :I can solder ribbon head to the socket booster,and, on the other hand ,i can solder the D1-24 to the main board on ecm and solder the zif socket to the D1...or i can solder D1 + Socket Booster and Ribbon head and leave it on the ECM steady with ostrich using it as a prom

stack moates.jpg stack moates on board.jpg