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Know OBD2 Before You Start That Development Project

We at Copperhill Technologies offer a variety of CAN (Controller Area Network) devices for developing automotive and industrial embedded systems. In that capacity, we receive frequent inquiries regarding OBD2 (Onboard Diagnostics).  OBD2, or Onboard Diagnostics Second Generation, is a vehicle diagnosis system found in modern cars and trucks. The OBD2 system collects data from sensors and [...]

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ESP32 with Dual CAN Port Controls Thomson Linear Actuator

The above image shows part of a hardware setup for a customer project to control and synchronize two Thomson Electrac linear actuators. See also my posts: Thomson Electrak Linear Actuator with SAE J1939 Interface for Railway and Industrial Applications Thomson... Electrak HD Linear Actuator - Multiple Actuators in the Same Network Will Empty the Batteries... Thomson Electrac HD [...]

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Ultrasonic Sensor for Object Detection with J1939 Interface

The  XX Ultrasonic sensors (formerly Osisense) by Telemechanique Sensors perform contactless object detection. In addition, they provide an SAE J1939 interface, making them suitable for use in mobile machines. Reliable object detection is feasible regardless of light conditions, the target’s shape, texture, color, or transparency. The sensors can resist harsh environments and operate in diffuse, reflex, and thru-beam [...]

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espBerry Project: ESP32 with CH9102F USB-UART Chip

I have a project that involves the ESP32-DevKitC development board where the application requires the fast transport of data per USB. The onboard USB-UART bridge chip provides transfer rates of up to 3 Mbps. In addition, the ESP32 has three UART interfaces, i.e., UART0, UART1, and UART2, which provide asynchronous communication, communicating at a speed of [...]

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SAE J1939 250k/500k Baudrate Converter with Arduino Due

The introduction of 500 Kbps (see SAE J1939/14) as an alternative to 250 Kbps, required clarifications on how to solve problems that come with incorporating devices supporting different baud rate settings in the same network. One solution comes with automatic baud rate detection. The SAE J1939/16 document outlines the methods used to detect the baud rate [...]

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Programming Thomson Electrac Linear Actuator - Sleep Mode

This post represents an excerpt of  Thomson Electrac HD Linear Actuator Motion Control per CAN Bus. The application note is available in eBook and Kindle format, and it includes a free downloadable source code. More Information... In this post, I am explaining the actuator's sleep mode, which, if not fully understood, may cause some headache during the development [...]

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Programming Electrac Linear Actuator - ACM, AFM Data Frames

This post represents an excerpt of  Thomson Electrac HD Linear Actuator Motion Control per CAN Bus. The application note is available in eBook and Kindle format, and it includes a free downloadable source code. More Information... In this post, I am explaining the Actuator Control Message (ACM) and Actuator Feedback Message (AFM).Thomson Electrac Linear Actuator - ACM Design The [...]

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SAE J1939 Display Units for Off-Highway Industrial Engines

The  Enginemonitor displays by B-Plus are expansion tools, especially for industrial engines with SAE J1939 interfaces. They enable users to retrieve information from mobile machines and communicate commands directly. Thanks to their robust housings and protection level, the devices can operate directly in the cab and the outdoor area of mobile machines. Due to various device versions, the [...]

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LIN Bus Simulation Device Controlled by Windows Software

The Baby-LIN-II by Lipowsky Industrie-Elektronik is a compact system for controlling a LIN BUS network via USB. The PC works as a LIN monitor, LIN Master, or LIN Slave. The system also supports operation in stand-alone mode and allows the execution of continuously running sequences without a PC. In addition, the galvanic isolation guarantees interference-free data transmission. The [...]

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ESP32 Development Board Controls Dual Isolated CAN Bus HAT

I am following up on a series of posts I wrote on the topic of connecting an ESP32 processor to Raspberry Pi HATS. The result of this development is the espBerry. The espBerry DevBoard combines the ESP32-DevKitC development board with any Raspberry Pi HAT by connecting to the onboard RPi-compatible 40-pin GPIO header. The purpose of the [...]

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