Skpang cable review

[aceman]

OK guys I have just received my VagCom cable and PCMCIA serial card from Skpang see here

The one in question is the X-Two which I thought was the best buy as it is only £10 more than the basic cable and gives functionality for the latest VAG vehicles. The whole thing came well packaged via Royal Mail special delivery and very fast at that as I only ordered it on Sunday afternoon so taking that into account it has only taken 24 hours to deliver :thumbsup: .

First impressions are of a quality product and I am in the electronics trade so I can spot poor quality products in that respect. The PCMCIA serial card is what you would expect and worked straight away using the latest drivers from the manufacturers website (url provided by Skpang). So having installed everything off I go with laptop under arm to the car to try it out.

Deep breath and I plug in the the OBD-II cable into the Diag port and launch VagCom (Beta 401.2) which Skpang say is compatible with the cable. I go to the options screen and set up the com port etc. and press the test button and "interface not found" is reported. Several attempts later I am unable to get it to work so armed with a previous verson (310.0) I try again.

:dance1: Success everything seems to be working now so I proceed to see if any fault codes have been logged and all is fine zero faults logged which is amazing considering some of the reports I have read elsewhere. Anyway I have left it at that for the moment having proved that the cable works and considering the weather is non too good at the moment.

So to conclude this appears to be a good quality product backed up by a fast and efficient service so I would certainly reccommend this product to anyone considering delving into the VagCom world. All I have got to do now is learn how to use VagCom.

 

[aceman]

OK peeps it seems I may have been a little hasty in saying that the cable doesn't work with Vagcom Beta 401.2 as it appears there is some kind of incompatibility with my laptop. I have tried it on another laptop and it works fine.

Many thanks to Sukkin who has been extremely helpful in trying to resolve the above problem.

 

[Uwe@Ross-Tech]

Let me do some quick math. You spent £118.00, right?

According to http://www.xe.com/ucc/,
That's $220 USD..

And all you have for that is the shareware version of VAG-COM....

For $249 you could have gotten our KEY-USB interface, which inlcudes the full version of VAG-COM and acts as a "dongle" for the software so there's never any activation codes to deal with.

So tell us again why you think the stuff you bought is in any way a bargain?

-Uwe-

 

[PeterS]

Uwe - I've been looking at importing the USB "dongle" version as well. The $/£ rate is really in our favour - however, when shipping and UK import duties (VAT) are added, it starts to look less attractive.

Peter

 

[aceman]

Originally posted by PeterS
Uwe - I've been looking at importing the USB "dongle" version as well. The $/£ rate is really in our favour - however, when shipping and UK import duties (VAT) are added, it starts to look less attractive.

Peter

That would be my point as well and if I was to use the official Ross-Tech importer (http://www.vag-com.co.uk/ ) they charge £229 so it still works out cheaper to do it the way I have.

I take your point Uwe but there are obviously other factors to consider. Many thanks though for the information.

 

[PeterS]

I want the ability to do the high sample rate logging - thus need either the hex-com or hex-usb interface.

The hex-com interface is $279. Shipping I think was $35. Using an exchange rate of 0.529190 £/$, thats £166.17, add on VAT and its £195.24. Still way too much money for me.

Peter

 

[Uwe@Ross-Tech]

Still way too much money for me.

Compared to what? You're not going to get HEX-COM capabilities with a generic atfermarket interface. I'm sure you've heard the expression: "Speed costs money..."

-Uwe-

 

[PeterS]

Originally posted by Uwe@Ross-Tech
Compared to what? You're not going to get HEX-COM capabilities with a generic atfermarket interface. I'm sure you've heard the expression: "Speed costs money..."

-Uwe-

Uwe - no disrespect, its a great product, and I'm tempted. I'm a software engineer and can respect the effort involved in developing it. No, there's no competition for the same product, that I'm aware of . My comment refers to how much I am willing to pay for what I get. I simply feel I can better spend the money on other projects I am working on (not car related!), and simply do without it at the mo.

Regs
Peter

PS: FYI, I would be willing to pay tops £140/£150 for it, but not beyond that (and I am referring to the dongled high speed logging product, serial or USB).

 

[wasco]

hi aceman im thinking of buying the vag cable etc but havent a clue where to start done search etc but confused could help me

 

[wasco]

i have 51 plate leon cupra t 180 bhp managemnt light keeps comming on costing me money

 

[aceman]

Your best bet is to get one of these from Rosstech which works out around £190, expensive yes but if you plan on staying with VAG cars then it will be compatible with the newer cars that have the CANBUS interface. Remember this also acts as a licence dongle for the software that you have to pay $99 for on its own without a cable.