Asking for a buddy.. His display took a crap so he ordered a new one along with a new tape. Installed just the new display and still not working BUT.. The tunes do work!
Anybody got an idea on what's going on

 

I had a partial display outage on my hydra shortly after installing and it was a faulty ribbon cable connector at the display side. I know you said he replaced it, but the connections are small and thin plastic.

 

I'll pass the word, Sous.. Thanks. Don't think he's tried the new ribbon. Will report back

 

Which brings up a question. People usually shop for switchable chips based on the number of tunes the chip can hold, or based on the tuners who use that particular switchable chip as a platform.

So for example, if I want Jody's tunes, I'd need an F6 or an Infinity. If I want Gale's tunes, I'd need a Six Gun, Big Hoss, or an Otto Mind. If I wanted (emphasis on past tense, as these are no longer available) Cody's tunes, I'd get a Phoenix, or perhaps a TS-6. If I wanted Matt's or Tony's or Bill's tunes, I'd get a Hydra...

But does anyone shop for switchable chips based on the quality and durability of the actual hardware itself? Here in this thread, we have two reports of wonkiness with the Hydra display. If one is willing to give up 16 slots for tunes, in exchange for far fewer resident tune options, but rock solid reliability of the chip/display/switch hardware... which are the switch chips of choice in strictly that regard?

 

I'd think the lighted switch **** that someone put together a few years ago, is FAR superior than what my bud gots rock'n in the truck..lets just say, its like putting bolt-ons on a chick which you would rather have alot of "night games" with....

 

It's kinda spendy but he could go with the Cyclops option and run it Bluetooth through his phone well as long as it's not apple. I like it over the switch on the dash. I have never had a problem running the Cyclops yet.

 

The primary reason for the Hydra's success is it is more like the old TS than anything else out there. Before feathers ruffle, I'll explain: Where almost everybody has been tuning on the TS for years, many of those same tuners have adopted the Hydra format. The Hydra can have tunes emailed, where the TS needs to be yanked and sent in for a reburn - leaving the driver chipless until its return. Drivers hate having a neutered truck while the chip is away.

The one problem that the TS has and the Hydra doesn't - and any new chip would need to address: Security of the intellectual property on the chip. Fat good it does to be a good tuner if a disreputable tuner hijacks the sweat of your labor right off a chip. This problem was rampant with the TS, and one big reason why tuners were quick to adopt the Hydra.

The F6 has been around with email capabilities for years, but it was exclusive to DP. DP has made the point that the F6 could be tuned by others, but I didn't see anybody pick up that format until about three years ago - about the time the Hydra "stormed" onto the market. The F6 V2 is open source, but I have no idea how secure it is from tuners ripping each other off. The F8 was available to everybody for a long time before that, but I never saw any widely-known tune providers use that format. One could be forgiven for getting the impression that any chip associated with DP is considered a pariah by the tuning world.

Back to the Hydra, one other perk for the buyer - a huge library of prefab tunes from PHP come as part of the deal. Nobody else felt compelled to do this to-date, and it was risky to try. If you think about it, you make one sale one time - and you give the customer everything you have for a stock or lightly modified vehicle. What's left to sell you at a later time? It's that incremental sales to repeat customers that has helped the tuning business for years, and the Hydra kills that market for PHP.

In answer... if you think PHP doesn't get a piece of every Hydra sale, you would be overlooking the question of why Bill's tunes are available for every chip. He took the business model of repeat customers, tossed it, and instead set up a system where he gets a "commission" for every chip sold - no matter who's name is on the invoice. I don't know how many Hydras sell per month, but that's a nice bump without the need to do anything new.

 

If I understood you right tug, its the module that's in question, not the chip/tunes themselves. Buddys' tunes came from/through JW, with the trans and damn, whatta difference. Maybe if the module was stuffed into a housing, attached to said part..(polar, 4x4 switch area..etc), then possibly, one would/could accept a defect and wait for exchange, do to its "curb appeal".

 

Unless I send out base Ford calibrations or slightly modified TS Performance calibrations, I only send out my tuning for the Hydra for the reasons Tugly pointed out.


I use a Cyclops on each of my vehicles (for 2 or 3 tunes) because I rarely switch calibrations and the main function is the no-start feature. Unless the hardware is physically pulled from the PCM, it would require the thief to have my portable electronic leash device to get the pickup to run.

 

Rich. thanks for the great explanation of the potential/possible business motives of Bill and his Hydra. And I'm not surprised to read what you explained, because from the very distant and uninformed observation post where I sit, Bill has always appeared to be an innovative, game changing, market disruptor in the chip world for 7.3s. The Amazon of retail. the Uber of taxis, the Android of cellphones, (although perhaps without the riches and fame that those other game changing market disrupters have enjoyed).

The whole Minitoaur (or however you spell it) software thing, where Bill helped provide a means for people to write their own tunes, was quite a shake up call, as I recall from 10 years ago. And prior to that market disturbance, his postings on then newly formed PSN were disruptive to the then much smaller tuning community who preferred to suppress information about tuning in a patronizing top down manner, rather than empowering customers with information and tools so as to involve their minds and infield experience to achieve a better end result in the process.

That all being said, my question wasn't about comparing the business practices of various tuners... it was simply about the reliability and durability of the hardware holding the tunes. I would want something that can tolerate baking in an all black truck roasting in 110F degree temps, with an interior greenhouse temp of 125F, without the electronics going haywire, making and breaking from thermal cycling. I would want something where the buttons or actuating ***** were big and durable, not delicate and touchy. I would want to be able to see what position the chip is in, not guess or count clicks or button presses, only to forget an instant later and have to cycle back and recount again.

Maybe it is because there really is no choice in the matter, but I never hear of any chip being evaluated on the merits and/or pitfalls of the chip selection hardware itself. This thead about the screen going out on more than one person's Hydra worried me.

I know that I would never have any use for 16 tunes, or even 6 tunes. One EXCELLENT tune would suit me just fine. It reminds me of shocks. I have nine positions to choose from on my shocks... but do I have any control over the condition of the road surfaces over which I may drive? By the time I see that the road ahead is riddled with pot holes, will I have the time or interest to stop the vehicle, and get out and adjust the shocks for a better driving experience over that anomalous terrain? Or if I'm pulling a trailer, then drop it on the outskirts of town, and tool around in town without the trailer, and then hook it up again to move onward... am I going to remember to adjust the shocks, when most brands of shocks seem to get the job done throughout the entire range of operability without need for adjustment, and inherently adjust themselves dynamically according to the immediate conditions?

Maybe shocks are an inappropriate metaphor, but in my inexperience with tunes, I'm thinking the same thing would hold true for me. Like a regular stock vehicle, I'd want one excellent tune that offers decent driveability throughout the entire range of operation, part throttle to full throttle, empty or loaded, cold weather or warm weather, winter or summer fuel... just like a normal vehicle. I'd rather not have a finicky control device just to be able to have a whole bunch of different tunes on tap. But I wouldn't object to having 16 spaces for tunes if the control device was reliable.

Is the Cyclops reliable for calibrations? This is the first I've read of the Cyclops being used to hold calibrations, rather than just vehicle security. I can't imagine relying on Bluetooth to run the truck. That can't be reliable. Drive under some high tension power lines and stall... Oh look, there's another windmill. Look out!

Yours Truly,

Don Quixote

 

​​​​​​​The Cyclops is nothing more than a Bluetooth controlled switching device. The Cyclops itself does not hold any calibrations, it simply takes the place of a hard-wired switcher. The no start feature is part of the Hydra firmware and is selectable via the Cyclops.

 

So the Cyclops becomes the switcher and I can take the ribbon and old switcher off? Does it require anything extra to program to the Hydra?

 

I am wondering the same. It must have some sort of bluetooth dongle/device that takes the place of the ribbon cable and is provided power by either the USB plug on the Hydra chip itself or the ribbon cable and is tucked under the dash somewhere.

Here is a link to the device on the PHP site.

https://store.gopowerhungry.com/en/h...2-cyclops.html

 

​​​​​​​Yes, yes, and no.

 

That helps. I was confused because I was thinking Cyclops Alarm device.

So if you lose your Phone or have it stolen, What then?