Using the CANmod with your CANedge

In this section we explain how you can use your CANmod and CANedge devices together.

Connect one CANmod to your CANedge

The simplest way to connect your CANmod to your CANedge is as follows:

  1. Load your CANedge Configuration File via the config editor
  2. In 2ND-PORT tab click the + button
  3. In the CAN CH2 tab, ensure the Mode is Restricted or Normal
  4. In the CAN CH2 tab set the Bit-rate configuration mode to Bit-rate (simple)
  5. Set the bit-rate to 1M/4M (CANmod.router) or 250K (other CANmod devices)[1]
  6. Connect the CANmod to the CANedge 2nd port[2]
  7. Ensure the CANmod CAN termination is enabled[3]

Connect multiple CANmod devices to your CANedge

You can easily connect multiple CANmod devices to the CANedge[4].

  1. Follow the same steps as for a single CANmod device[5]
  2. Configure your CANmod devices to ensure they all output unique CAN IDs
  3. Update your CANmod DBC file to incorporate the configured CAN IDs

Record 2 x CAN plus CANmod data

In some cases you may wish to record data from two CAN buses, while also recording data from one (or more) CANmod devices.

  1. Configure the CANedge to record data from the two CAN buses as normal
  2. Configure the CANmod to use the same bit-rate as the CH1 CAN bus
  3. Configure the CANmod to use unique CAN IDs (i.e. no overlap vs the CH1 CAN bus)
  4. Disable termination on the CANmod (assuming the CH1 CAN bus is already terminated)
  5. Connect the CANmod to the CH1 CAN bus in parallel with the CANedge[6]

Note

You can also consider using a CANmod.router to enable 5 x CAN logging

Decode raw CAN frames from the CANmod

The CANmod devices come with DBC files in their Docs/Introduction sections. These can be loaded together with your other DBC files in the CANedge data processing tools.

Demux data from CANmod.router

You can use a CANmod.router with a CANedge to enable the CANedge to record 5 x CAN.

The data on CH2 will by default be ‘muxed’. To ‘demux’ the data onto e.g. CAN 3-6, you can use the MF4 converter mdf2mdf. The demuxed file can be loaded and e.g. DBC decoded in other CANedge software/API tools. To enable drag & drop use of the MF4 converter with the demuxing CLI argument, you can create a shortcut as explained in the MF4 converter Docs.

Below example lets you demux data from muxed CAN ID 0x10 onto channels 3, 4, 5 and 6:

mdf2mdf.exe -m "010:3;4;5;6" -i 00000001.MF4

Alternatively, you can use the MF4 decoders to directly demux the data and DBC decode it in one step. To do this, you can use CANmod.router DBC file (found in the CANmod.router Docs) along with your other DBC files, which will ensure the data is demuxed before DBC files are applied.

Note

The mdf2mdf tool & docs are pending release, but you can download the beta version here

Use CANmod.gps time to sync CANedge RTC

The CANedge real-time clock (RTC) can be synchronized via a CAN message. This minimizes drift and can be useful e.g. in ensuring that the RTCs of multiple CANedge units stay in sync.

The CANedge Docs contain a detailed example on how to configure this. For a ‘quick start’ you can use below partial config file, which you can load via the partial config loader tool. This config assumes you’re using the default CANmod.gps CAN IDs and syncs the CANedge RTC based on the CANmod.gps Epoch signal when TimeConfirmed is true[7].

FW 01.08, RTC CAN sync 'partial config'

[1]The CANmod.router uses 1M/4M CAN FD by default on the primary CAN. Other CANmod devices use the 250K bit-rate as default, which matches the default for the Bit-rate standard field of the CANedge. If you are using a custom bit-rate on the CANmod, you should update the CANedge bit-rate accordingly. Note that the CANedge ‘bit-rate auto detection’ feature does not work if a single CANmod is connected on CAN CH2
[2]We strongly recommend to use one of our standard adapter cables, either the DB9-DB9/DB9, DB9-DB9/USB or DB9-DB9. If you use 3rd party adapter cables, ensure that the pinout is correct
[3]The CANmod termination is enabled by default, see also the CANmod Docs. The switch below the DB9 connector should be turned to the Ohm symbol
[4]There is in principle no limitation on the number of CANmod devices you can daisy chain from a CAN bus perspective - as long as you manage busload and uniqueness of the CAN IDs. However, if you use the CANedge 5V power supply, we recommend connecting a maximum of 10 CANmod devices on the 2nd port. If you need to connect more than this, we recommend to instead use an external power supply.
[5]To daisy chain multiple CANmod devices, you can e.g. use multiple DB9-DB9/DB9 Y-splitter cables
[6]This can e.g. be done via a DB9-DB9/DB9 adapter as per pictures on the CANmod product pages
[7]Using a GNSS based Epoch signal enables high-precision RTC synchronization and will result in far more precise synchronization vs. e.g. network-based RTC synchronization