New oscilloscope-based vehicle bus analysers decode CAN in symbolic format

September 2006 Analytical Instrumentation & Environmental Monitoring

LeCroy is launching two new vehicle bus analysers (VBA) which are some of the first conventional oscilloscopes that 'speak the engineer's language' by decoding CAN serial data into symbolic (application layer) text. With these instruments, an engineer has the full range of CAN protocol stack information (symbolic, hex and electrical signal) with the ability to also view additional in-circuit electrical signals (sensor inputs, voltage levels and transients) that influence the CAN bus. Standard and specialised oscilloscope tools can be used to validate and debug their designs. In addition, up to four different CAN buses can be decoded at one time. The VBA offers great value to any designer of CAN electronic control units (ECUs) or complete vehicle networks. This new capability will redefine an engineer's understanding of their ECUs and vehicle bus networks.

The VBA contains features such as:

* 400 MHz and 600 MHz model (in addition to existing 1 GHz model).

* Up to 10 GS/s sample rate.

* Standard 8 Mpts memory (optional up to 24 Mpts).

* Complete CAN physical layer and protocol stack information display for multiple CAN buses.

* Compatibility with industry-standard DBC database files.

* Display of associated non-CAN electrical signals.

* Unique, automated timing measurements with statistical and graph views.

* Ability to extract CAN data from a message stream, rescale it and display/plot decimal values

* Pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal analysis.

* Powerful CAN and electrical signal triggering to isolate events.

The VBA provides Symbolic decoding using industry-standard DBC database files and is based on the popular WaveRunner Xi Series oscilloscopes. The powerful and flexible CAN triggering capability previously released in CAN bus TD has been extended in the VBA. Using the DBC database file that contains information pertinent to the operator's CAN messages and signals, it is easy for the operator to symbolically select a specific CAN message (ie, ID) or signal (ie, ID and DATA), and then apply a data condition for triggering. For example, instead of having to trigger on 'ID=0x410' and 'DATA=3f' in the second data byte, the operator can quickly pick, from a predefined list, the STRSPEED (steering wheel speed of travel) signal that is part of the LWSOUT message, and then define the data condition as desired. Therefore, trigger setup is quick and intuitive, requires little or no cross-reference to other files or programs, and results in higher operator confidence.

The VBA is able to reduce time-to-market and costs. It is widely reported that 50% of warranty problems on new vehicles are caused by electronics failures. With the right tools to adequately debug automotive electronics systems, this failure rate will reduce, and parts and systems reliability would be increased, thereby lowering costs - an important consideration in today's competitive automotive market.

LeCroy vehicle bus analysers are available in 400 MHz and 600 MHz models, both with four input channels. A wide variety of probing and bus connection accessories are also available.

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