Charlie,

I think your assessment is correct. Look at the URC-8811. I think they are ~$20 plus shipping. You might not open the Sony until you see what the 8811 can do with a JP1 cable. Frankly, most people are astonished. It does take a little work reading the FAQ's and getting beyond the lack of a comprehensive user instructions but the tools have gotten so good that most people pick it up right away. Everything is PC based but you will need Excel use some of the the tools.(Office 97 or later with the analysis tool pak and analysis VBA tool pak installed).

Great support group, but they do expect you to have read the FAQ, JP-1 for beginners etc. There are also some really good files there for a lot of equipment.

BTW, my experience is that the WAF is pretty good.

-Jon