Andromeda Research Labs - In practice

I do not have much more to say on this tool. My official category for this tool is "excellent backup tool outside of legacy equipment, bios chip related issues and possibly as a valuable tool when doing circuit board repair." It should also be mentioned that they have some of the best accessories I have seen from any manufacturer in this segment. Whether or not the prices for those accessories provide a good value for the money... that is up to some debate but being able to communicate with EEPROMs and MCUs in circuit is huge functionality. Their software is not intuitive but if you wants a couple videos while you are trying to communicate with a chip you can get through it just fine. The most annoying part of their software is that you have to search for values to modify... you cannot just move your cursor around and change things.

I have sent numerous emails to the manufacturer offering to help them grow their product by offering a legit list of operations that you can perform confirmed by people that have done them, a cumulative list of every EEPROM related operation I can confirm is possible from all the other tools on the market for this kind of thing, information I have purchased from individuals/sellers related to the use of these tools and my hard won research. I asked for a list of devices people have mailed to them to repair/reprogram/clone since I know they do that kind of service, a discount on accessories they sell that are absolutely game changers in their own ways, and my ongoing help supporting their product: no response. This from the only manufacturer to tell me I could not do something with their tool that I have already proven I can.

I like to think I would make a great partner but since you have come here for what I can share from my own apocryphon I will tell you this: this tool shows its age. While they are still manufacturing new units and posting new training videos that are very useful in this line of work: it is slowly being left in the past with no new MCU support or real plan for the future. I have a new USB tool coming that can support most all of the EEPROMs this can, has a price tag less then what some people spend on coffee in a week, has a free tool that has way more options available to it, and even some tools from AUTEL and Xhorse that offer all the same functionality with the addition of being able to clone flash data as well as "virtual EEPROM."

Here are the accessories that I hope to repurpose for use with my other tools that offer support for microcontrollers:

• I bought automotive kit #2 which comes with something no other tool does: the surface mount probe set. A lot of tools connect up with similar cables and adapter boards to the tool itself so I hope to be able to repurpose it in place of having to remove MCUs from the circuit board to put into the adapters these manufacturers sell.

• I really want the precision prob set for those higher pin count MCUs but $279 seems a lot for what they are....

• Accutouch Probe - No where in any of their videos does the manufacture show having to remove the conformal coating on the PCB. This probe has, allegedly, tiny little teeth that bite through the coating with pressure allowing you to read chips extremely quickly. If it works as designed that would save a lot of mess, time, other tools, etc

• Logic probe - The importance of this in finding pins that must be lifted in order to program is a huge advantage over everyone else in this market. No one seems to even address these issues which you run into on the Jaguar instrument clusters which means it is probably a valuable tool in the long run

• Maybe DIP clip and maybe locksmith tools...

There could be a very real use for this tool when it comes to higher end vehicles and the motorola chips they employ even up to modern day vehicles. I watched a video for a 2015 porsche body control module where three seperate tools have conflicting/inaccurate hookup diagrams that maybe would not be a problem with the AR-32a tool. Encrypted chips other tools require soldering wires to the circuit board in order to be able to access data.