Drivers Black Box Port Devices



The concept is simple; we install a black box in your car and the device shows us how you drive. Young drivers insurance allows us to reward safe driving with monthly bonus miles. Your price at renewal may increase or decrease and will depend on a number of factors, one of them being your driving behaviours. Many people think black box insurance has a bad rep, not least because of the misconceptions people have about the products. Fears of 'Big Brother is watching' and scams to hike up premiums are often mentioned in connection to Telematics, but our products are made to reward good drivers, not penalise them. To reassign the COM port number, double click on the USB Serial Port selection to be changed. This will bring up the driver configuration dialog: Select the Port Settings tab, then click the Advanced button: This will bring up the Advanced Port Settings dialog. In this example, note COM1 through COM10 are already 'In Use' by other devices. The event data recorder (EDR), colloquially known as the “black box,” is a recording device made from an extremely durable and crash-resistant material. The point of the device is to record the moments leading up to an accident to help investigators determine the cause so that they can avoid similar events in the future.

  • The Legacy USB Driver is used only for the black communications interface, which requires a TTS USB to Serial adapter. The blue and green communications interfaces do not use an adapter, and this driver is not required.
Drivers
NameVersionSizeDescriptionDownload
Legacy HD04 USB Driver2.12.182.0 MB

Configuring the USB Driver

Drivers Black Box Port Devices

NOTICE:
Always install the USB drivers prior to connecting the USB adapter to the PC for this first time. This way, when the USB adapter is first connected it will automatically be detected and will not prompt you for a driver installation disk.

The Legacy USB drivers can be downloaded by clicking the link above titled 'Legacy HD04 USB Driver.' Alternately, these are available from the FTDI website at http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm. Select the VCP (Virtual COM Port) driver type for downloading.

Installing the USB Driver:
After the driver has been downloaded and saved, right-click on the file and select 'Run As Administrator'. This will launch the driver installation program. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the install.

Determining the USB COM Port Number:
It is necessary to know which COM port the driver has assigned to the USB adapter in order for the legacy MasterTune and Datamaster products to communicate. In some cases, it will be necessary to reassign the COM port to be between COM1 and COM16. The following sections show how to do this using Device Manager.

Windows XP Com Port Reassignment:
NOTICE: You must be logged in as an administrator and the USB adapter must be connected to the PC in order to perform the following configuration.

Invoking Device Manager:
To launch device manager in Windows XP, go to Start - Settings - Control Panel and click on the System icon. This will open the Systems Properties dialog. Select the Hardware tab and then click the Device Manager button.

Tip: A shortcut to access Device Manager is to open devmgmt.msc from the Start - Run dialog:

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This will bring up the device manager dialog. Go to the section labeled Ports (COM & LPT) and click on the '+' symbol to view the port assignments:

In this example, there are a total of three COM ports shown, COM1, 11, and 8. The USB adapter COM port will be labled as a USB Serial Port. Make a note of the USB Serial Port COM number; you will need it when first running MasterTune or DataMaster.

Changing the COM port assignment:
In this case there are two USB serial ports, COM11 and COM8. If the COM port number is greater than COM16, it must be reassigned to a lower number. The following example shows how to reassign COM11 to a new COM port number.

To reassign the COM port number, double click on the USB Serial Port selection to be changed. This will bring up the driver configuration dialog:

Select the Port Settings tab, then click the Advanced button: This will bring up the Advanced Port Settings dialog. In this example, note COM1 through COM10 are already 'In Use' by other devices.

The TTS USB port MUST be assigned between COM1 and COM16. If all these port assignments are already in use, make a new selection between COM5 and COM16. Avoid COM1 - 4 which are usually the Laptop hardware such as IR, Modem, or BlueTooth connections. - You will receive the following warning:

Click Yes to accept the new assignment. This will generally not cause any problem - however the selection can be easily changed at a later time if necessary.

Make a note of the port number you selected, and click OK to apply the changes. When you open MasterTune or DataMaster and select the serial COM port, use this port number.

Windows Vista/7/8 Com Port Reassignment:
NOTICE: You must be logged in as an administrator and the USB adapter must be connected to the PC in order to perform the following configuration.

Invoking Device Manager:
The Windows Device Manager application must be used to configure the USB serial port connection. There are two ways to invoke device manager:

Type devmgmt.msc into the Windows Search box:

-OR-
From the start menu, right-clicking on Computer and selecting Manage:

You will receive the message Windows needs your permission to continue. Click the Continue button Click on Device Manager in the left-hand tree:

The right hand pane will show a list of all devices.

Click on the Ports (COM & LPT) in the right hand pane. This will show a list of all the available COM ports:

Changing the COM port assignment:
In this example there is only one USB Serial Port, COM3. To change the COM port number assigned, Double click on the USB Serial Port open the driver properties dialog:

Next, click on the Port Settings tab:

Now click the Advanced button to access the advanced port settings dialog. From this dialog, select the new COM port number:

Make a note of the port number you selected, and click OK to apply the changes. When you open MasterTune or DataMaster and select the serial COM port, use this port number.

  • Posted on: Jul 15 2019

The black box. You have probably heard of it in reference to airplanes usually, unfortunately, after the plane has crashed. Perhaps you are wondering if there is such a thing as a land vehicle black box — specifically, do cars have black boxes? Here’s what you need to know.

Drivers Black Box Port Devices

What Is a (Car) Black Box?

The event data recorder (EDR), colloquially known as the “black box,” is a recording device made from an extremely durable and crash-resistant material. The point of the device is to record the moments leading up to an accident to help investigators determine the cause so that they can avoid similar events in the future. It has long been a vital part of airplane equipment and, yes, it is now found in cars as well.

Does My Car Have a Black Box? How Would I Know? Where Is It?

If your car is a model from this century, there’s a fair chance you do indeed, have a black box fitted somewhere within it. Black boxes have been in some of the major American car brands, like Buick, Chevy and Cadillac, since all the way back to 1994. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been using them to collect car accident data since early in the 2000s. If your car is from 2013 or later, you are almost guaranteed to have a black box. Less than 5 percent of new cars came without one in 2013, and they are mandated in all new vehicles since 2014.

If your car is from before 2014 and you’re not sure whether or not you have a Black Box, check out this list. If your car is not on it and is not a 2014 or later model, you can assume you do not have a black box.

So, if you do have one, where is it? It is probably located behind your steering wheel and dashboard, but this will not really help you. It is not designed to be easily accessed, and there is no way to turn it off. The only person who will interact with it is whoever plugs into the connections to read the data.

What Does the Black Box Record?

Who is it that will be plugging into your vehicle’s black box? That depends. The stated purpose of the Black Box in your car is to prevent future crashes, just like with airplanes. The Black Box depicts data such as how fast your car was going, the position of the throttle, brake application, airbag deployment, seatbelt use, steering angles and a range of other factors as they were about 20 seconds before, during and 20 seconds after the crash. Collecting this information can help the vehicle manufacturer know if the crash was caused by a preventable human error or a mechanical failure in their system.

Why Does My Car Have a Black Box? Who Has Legal Access To Black Box Information?

Drivers Black Box Port Devices Gigabit

The issue some car owners struggle with is the idea that others could use this information in ways that may not necessarily benefit the owner, such as the police when investigating the accident or the insurance company when adjusting your claim. Isn’t the data on the Black Box personal and private information that only you or those you authorize have access to?

This is an issue that is in question. It’s not possible for just anyone to access your Black Box data. You need a crash data retrieval system that can cost as much as $20,000, and you need to plug it into the onboard diagnostic port under your dashboard. Your car’s manufacturer has access to this equipment as does the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and law enforcement. But can they legally get access to this data at any time?

Drivers Black Box Port Devices Adapter

There’s no clear answer to this question. There are only fifteen states that have specific laws about who and when entities can pull crash data recorder information from your car. In these states, for anyone to access this data without your permission, they must obtain a court order. Insurance companies are not allowed to use the data to set your rates unless you give them your consent.

You might do this and get what is called telematic insurance if you are in a particularly high-risk group, and it could result in a lower rate. In the states where there are no clear laws on the books, you may have to put up a fight to keep your data private.

If someone does come with a court order, there is little you can do. You cannot delete the recording, disable or turn off the box. You could put a lock on the diagnostic port, but with a legal court order, law enforcement could force you to remove it.

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Keep in mind that for the most part, the black box is there for your benefit and your protection. If you get into an accident that is no fault of your own, the data could potentially help you prove your lack of liability. It could also provide valuable information about your car that could help prevent similar accidents in the future.

You may want to visit the National Conference of State Legislatures to see your state’s specific laws regarding the black box. These laws will probably evolve as more cars on the road end up having a black box and methods of data collection and analysis improve, but it can be a good idea to know where you stand with your car data right now. You should know who can look at that data in the event of a crash, who is likely to gain access to that data as well as the extent of your ability to deny them access to that data if you feel this is necessary.

For information about taking the best care of your car with reliable oil supplement, coolant supplement and radiator flush products — black box or no black box — contact Hy-per Lube today. Or, if you want to see what we’ve been selling everyday drivers, race drivers and auto enthusiasts for over five decades, check out our new product lineup.

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