Most of us have used a guitar tuning app to measure our belt tension but I found this is less than ideal because the app seems to be looking for a sustained note, not the dull thunk we tend to get from plucking a belt. I got a really sore thumb from trying to get the guitar app to register a frequency. There was a recommendation on here for an app called gStrings but it's only available for Android, so I tried doing a search on best app for Ducati Belt Tension. Well, it turns out that Gates do an app and it's free!! The app is intended for bicycle belt drives but seems to work perfectly at picking up the frequency of a thunk as opposed to a ding or even a dong. The app is called Gates Carbon Drive - get it at your App Store now... The app is easier to find if you do a search on "Gates Corporation" in the App Store
Thanks for that, I just installed the Android version. It looks it will be a lot easier to use than gStrings.
I used the Ducatitag free software with my laptop and a cheap microphone I got from e bay for 99p inc p&P. Very easy and accurate and you don't have to worry about trying to get your phone messed up especially doing the vertical cylinders belts! Worse thing was getting blisters on my thumb, took ages to heal up.
Exactly. The great thing about the Gates app is that it will even give you the frequency when you click your fingers or tap the cover of your iPad, so hopefully no more sore, blistered thumbs The Gates app is free, so you don't even have to spend the 99p...
Yes, the fact that it's not looking for and doesn't need a sustained note should make it enormously easier to use. I found getting a reliable frequency the hardest part of the whole job when I did my last lot of belts.
Am I the only person left to still just give the belt a twist Might need to get with the programme in the next 5-10 years or I'll just be out of touch.
I have the Ducatidiag tensioning software too and it works very well, but it's a lot less hassle to use the phone. It will also work with an external if you need to get in tight.
I downloaded it for my Iphone but it doesn't seem to work, there is no microphone pickup it seems. Has anyone tried it using an Iphone? Worked well enough on my Android tablet though but it's a bit big to use when working on the engine. Useful app by the look of it though.
you may need to give the app permission to use the microphone in 'settings', works fine on both iphone and ipad for me. Yes, go to settings and scroll right down the list on the left side. Carbon will be towards the top of the last subdivision, which is apps. Tap on it and then enable the microphone.
I downloaded the Gates carbon drove app, but don't have a pretty sine wave, I have a horizontal bar instead !
I downloaded the Gates carbon drove app, but don't have a pretty sine wave, I have a horizontal bar instead !
Same here and as above it doesn't go above 120db, although not a problem in itself. The Android app seems better to me.
What advantage is there in a pretty sine wave and why do you need a frequency higher than 120 Hz? What I like about this app is how easily it picks up a frequency. If gStrings does that just as well and has a prettier display, then use gStrings. Those of us without Android don't have that option.
