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Automotive Power Management IC with LIN and CAN-FD Interfaces
The SPSB081 by STMicroelectronics is a power management chip providing electronic control units (ECU) with power management functionality. It supports CAN FD and, optionally, comes with LIN transceivers. The SPSB081 operates at various standby modes with programmable local and remote wake-up capabilities to minimize power consumption. The chip has a low-drop voltage regulator to supply the host microcontroller [...]
Standard IoT Gateway with ARM i.MX8M Plus Quad-Core Cortex-A53 Supports Two CAN FD Ports
Aaeon, a manufacturer of reliable and high-quality computing platforms, introduced their SRG-IMX8P IoT gateway solution with two CAN FD interfaces, bringing extended connectivity and utility across vertical markets. It is powered by Arm NXP i.MX8M Plus quad-core Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M7 processors with 8 GiB of onboard DDR4, the device reduces object detection time to 13 msec [...]
Compact and Robust Joystick Supports SAE J1939, CANopen Interfaces
Genge & Thoma AG introduced its series of joysticks for industrial and mobile applications with CANopen and SAE J1939 connectivity. The products address applications, including off-road vehicles and vehicle body applications. The SK 60 joystick is a versatile product with several options with various haptic characteristics. The product is available in numerous configurations, with up to three [...]
ESP32 DC Motor PWM Speed Control (Pulse Width Modulation) - The Hidden Facts
Lately, I have worked on two projects requiring DC motor control per PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). What both projects had in common was a profound lack of documentation regarding PWM control, specifically the side effects that have a significant impact on the programming. This post aims to point to these quirks that may cause considerable headaches [...]
ESP32 Development Board with NMEA 2000 & NMEA 0183 HAT
The ESP32 processor, integrating peripherals such as UART, CAN Bus, WIFI, and Bluetooth, allows a wide range of applications, and the low price adds to its popularity. There are various ESP32 development boards available in the market, such as the ESP32-WROOM-32, as shown to the left. However, compared to popular systems like the Raspberry Pi or [...]
Thomson Electrac HD Linear Actuator - Fatal Error Flag at Low Speed
As part of a customer project, I was asked to develop a hardware system to control a linear actuator, specifically the Thomson Electrac HD model with SAE J1939 interface. The Electrac Linear Actuator is a great product, and it is always rewarding to see the application literally move. Yet, working on this application was at [...]
Thomson Electrak HD Linear Actuator - Multiple Actuators in the Same Network Will Empty the Batteries
Back in April 2022, I published a post, Thomson Electrak Linear Actuator with SAE J1939 Interface for Railway and Industrial Applications with the intention to use the gained knowledge and publish it in form of an application report. However, after months of working with this product (time frame, not efforts), I still discovered what I call [...]
SAE J1939 Diagnostic Device Includes a PGN, SPN Database
The handheld PCAN-Diag FD device from PEAK-System supports diagnosing communication on a CAN (FD) network. In addition, a separately available extends the functionality to analyze SAE J1939 data traffic. The SAE J1939 Standard describes communication in utility vehicles via CAN Bus. The standard specifies messages and data for transmitting diagnostic and control information using PGNs (Parameter Group Numbers) and SPNs [...]
Extending ESP32 Functionality by Using Raspberry Pi HATs
The ESP32 processor, integrating peripherals such as UART, CAN Bus, WIFI, and Bluetooth, allows a wide range of applications, and the low price adds to its popularity. There are various ESP32 development boards available in the market, such as the ESP32-WROOM-32, as shown to the left. However, compared to popular systems like the Raspberry Pi or [...]
ESP32 Triple CAN Bus Application Through Adding Two MCP2515 Ports
The first question that may arise when talking about accessing the MCP2515 CAN Bus controller per ESP32 may be, "Why would you need an MCP2515 controller when the ESP32 comes with an internal CAN port?" Yes, I found this question in one of the online forums while researching this particular topic. The answer is easy: [...]