Since all I drive is GM vehicles I figured I should own a GM scanner under $300. I have done some research online and found a working Tech II clone with positive reviews.
I just ordered a Tech2 Chinese clone latest night. I didn’t pay extra $55 just for the stupid plastic box.
Here is the unit I purchased for reference:
https://www.obdii365.com/wholesale/gm-tech2-gm-diagnostic-scanner-with-32mb-card-tis2000.html
Shipping was free and fast. The package shipped from Hong Kong on Monday and arrived at my door on Thursday. Amazing! Everything appears to be as advertised, except I didn’t receive all of the stickers. Not a huge deal. Here are a few pictures I snapped with my phone. The tech2 clone has 2 pins on the top middle row that stick out a hair further than the others. I saw a youtube video of a guy who noticed the same thing, but he said it worked fine.
Apparently there IS a medium duty truck option. I will take the Tech 2 to work on Monday and try hooking up to a GMC 5500 Duramax. They have a medium duty diagnostics port AND an OBD2 port under the dash. I have used a Snap-On scanner on these medium duty trucks before, and now I am excited to try the Tech 2!
Here is some engine data from my 2.2L beast. I started the engine and watched everything live. I also recorded some “snapshot” data and re-watched it. Pretty cool. I know most modern scanners can also do this.
http://blog.obdii365.com/2021/11/15/gm-tech2-china-clone-review-on-gmc-duramax/