Tips & tricks

Below we’ve collected tips & tricks on data logging based on user experiences:

Set a manual bit-rate

The CANedge is plug & play with auto bit-rate detection. However, it is recommended to use a manual bit rate when possible to reduce boot time and improve performance.

Use the default real-time clock timezone (UTC)

The CANedge lets you modify the timezone by offsetting the RTC by a number of hours vs the default timezone (UTC). However, we generally recommend to keep the default UTC timezone to keep things simple. First, the offset will not accomodate daylight saving time. Second, most of the data processing software supports viewing the data timestamps in your local PC time (incl. asammdf, the MDF4 converters, Python APIs and dashboards).

Take care when transmitting data

If you intend to transmit data into the CAN bus, make sure you know what you are doing.

There are two cases to be particularly aware of:

Custom frames: If you transmit custom CAN frames into the CAN bus, make sure you understand the implications to avoid inducing unintended behavior into e.g. a vehicle
Battery drainage: If the device transmits data while a vehicle is off, it may wake the ECUs and cause battery drainage. Use the control signal to control transmissions in this case

Use both channels

The CANedge has 2xCAN + 2xLIN channels. In some applications you’ll directly require multiple channels. In other use cases, you can e.g. use Channel 2 to add extension modules. For example, you can use the CANmod.gps to add GNSS and 3D inertial sensor data - or the CANmod.temp to add thermocouple temperature sensor data.

Consider an advanced bit-rate

The CANedge supports a range of standard bit rates, which are optimized for most CAN based applications. However, you may be able to optimize the logging performance if you optimize the bit rate for your specific setup (cable length etc) via an advanced bit-rate.