DrewTech’s booth at this year’s SEMA show was again showing off DashDAQ computers. This time, it was the new Series II model on display. I liked the concept of the original DashDAQ, so I was very interested what the new model has to offer. It turns out that there are some nice enhancements, which help keep DrewTech ahead of the pack.

First, let’s cover the hardware improvements. The unit now features a peppier 240MHz ARM9 processor and a vivid 24-bit color display. This new display looks great, and is well suited to just about all uses, including watching high-quality video. DrewTech now includes 6 built-in gauge themes to show off the display. Two USB Host ports are now part of the package. This greatly expands the number of 3rd party add-ons that will be available. OBD2 support has been improved and covers just about all 96+ vehicles.

Like its predecessor, the DashDAQ Series II runs the Linux operating system. This means a multitude of open source programs can be compiled for it, and it can be customized for diverse uses. Also, as with the original, the Series II has (2) serial ports, (2) analog inputs, and an OBD2 input, which allows the unit to be interfaced with various sensors and vehicle computers to give a customized dashboard view of critical components. However, the USB host ports set the Series II apart. Devices such as GPS units and accelerometers can be plugged into the USB ports, in order to transform the DashDAQ into a powerful performance analyzing tool. For instance, the unit has been tested with BlackLine’s reasonably priced, high-accuracy 20Hz GPS. Save the logged sensor and GPS data to a memory card and transfer it to a PC for full analysis.

Here are some of the possible gauge layouts, using the Classic theme:

The DashDAQ Series II is available now, for $695, and fully replaces the phased-out original model.

DrewTech DashDAQ Series II