5. Device Configuration

The ValueCAN 4-1 ships from the factory with default settings.

Default settings to consider are:

Only One CAN networks enabled

Classical CAN mode set to 500 Kbps

Normal communication mode (allows transmit, receive, and acknowledges CAN frames)

Other defaults are indicated later in this section.

Note that the settings needed for your application may not match the default settings. You can customize the settings to your exact needs. This section covers how to manage and fine-tune your ValueCAN 4-1.

5.1. Starting neoVI Explorer

5.1.1. Starting neoVI Explorer from within Vehicle Spy

This section introduces how to open neoVI Explorer from within Vehicle Spy:

Menu Item: From the top menu select “Setup” and then select “Hardware”.
Hardware Setup Button: Click the “Setup Hardware” button located in the main Vehicle Spy toolbar just under its menu (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Starting neoVI Explorer from within Vehicle Spy.

Note that you cannot start neoVI Explorer when Vehicle Spy is online (even if in simulation mode). If you attempt to do so, Vehicle Spy will prompt you to either go offline to launch neoVI Explorer or remain online with Vehicle Spy.

5.1.2. Starting neoVI Explorer as a Standalone Program

If you want to work with your ValueCAN 4-1 without opening Vehicle Spy, you can launch neoVI Explorer directly. First, if using Windows OS open the “Windows Start Menu”, navigate to the IntrepidCS folder, then under the Vehicle Spy 3 or ICS API Install Kit subfolder, and select “neoVI Explorer” as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11: Starting neoVI Explorer directly with Vehicle Spy 3 installed.

5.1.3. Connecting to the ValueCAN 4-1

When neoVI Explorer loads, it will start up with the first hardware device it can find selected in the menu pane on the left. You will be able to see your device listed here with its serial number. If you do not see the device but see other Intrepid Control Systems’ devices, be sure to scroll down to look for it. If it is still not visible, either its drivers have not been installed correctly or it is not powered properly.

To manage your ValueCAN 4-1, click on its entry in the navigation pane and then press the “Connect” button. After successfully connecting to the device, you will see a thumbs up icon next to the device’s name. Check marks icons will appear next to enabled networks in the explorer area on the left. You will also see a message in the message box on the right saying, “ValueCAN 4 Settings have been read”. The information in the upper right-hand part of the window is device- specific and described in Section 5.2. The screen as a whole should appear similar to that shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12: Typical neoVI Explorer window After initial connection to the ValueCAN 4-1.

Note

Note: The listed settings are updated when “Connect” is clicked. Any changes made before connecting to the hardware will be overwritten.

5.1.4. Writing and Reloading Settings

To avoid potential problems, neoVI Explorer will not save any changes to device parameters until you instruct it to do so. This is done by pressing the “Write Settings” button, which will update the parameters within the firmware in your device. If you make changes you do not want to keep, pressing the “Read Settings” button will reload the settings stored in the device, wiping out any modifications made in neoVI Explorer that had not yet been saved.

Settings are only saved to the device after “Write Settings” is clicked. Once clicked, the hardware configuration will be saved to the hardware. You can revert the settings shown in neoVI Explorer back to what is currently stored in the hardware using the “Read Settings” button.

5.1.5. Reloading Device Defaults

To return all settings to factory defaults, press the “Load Defaults” button. You will see messages in the message area telling you that defaults have been sent to the device and then read from it. The “Load Defaults” feature automatically performs the “Write Settings” button, so there is no need to write settings when using “Load Defaults”.

5.1.6. Disconnecting from the ValueCAN 4-1

Press the “Disconnect” button after you are done with the device settings. This step is optional, because neoVI Explorer will disconnect from any connected devices when you exit the program.

5.1.7. Searching for Devices

If you attach new hardware to your PC after starting neoVI Explorer, press the “Search For Devices” button at the bottom left of the dialog box to prompt the program to scan for new hardware you can manage.

5.1.8. Exiting neoVI Explorer

Like any Windows program, you can close neoVI Explorer by clicking the “X” in the top right corner.

5.2. System Settings and Firmware Updates

The top two entries in the explorer window on the left side of neoVI Explorer contain system-wide settings that apply to all hardware devices and information related to firmware updates.

System Settings

By clicking “Systems Settings” in the right-hand pane you will see four settings that you can enable or disable (Figure 13):

Enable Server: Turns on the neoVI Server feature, a background program that allows your hardware to be used by multiple applications at the same time.
Enable Low Latency: This is an advanced setting for applications where fast response is needed after transmission. It is not applicable for the ValueCAN 4-1 device.
Enable Slave VNET Settings: This setting has no effect for the ValueCAN 4-1.
Enable Auto Update: When enabled, both neoVI Explorer and Vehicle Spy will automatically update firmware. It is recommended to leave this check box checked. If this box is not checked, firmware must be updated manually. (See below for details.)

Figure 13: NeoVI Explorer System Settings Pane

Updating Firmware

New versions of firmware are created regularly to implement new features and correct problems that have been identified.

If you have “Enable Auto Update” on—the firmware will be updated if there is a mismatch. You will see dialog boxes on the screen showing you the progress of this operation, which takes only a few seconds; an example is shown in Figure 14. The firmware version in red means the firmware in the hardware does not match the software. Black firmware versions mean everything is up to date.

Figure 14: Firmware Download Message Box.

If you do not have automatic updates enabled, you can manually control when your firmware is updated. When new firmware is available, you will be notified in the right hand pane as shown in Figure 15 on the next page. Simply press the “Manual Reflash” button to update the firmware. You will see messages as the MCHIP firmware program is sent to the device and a message will appear in the message box on the right to tell you that the process has completed.

Figure 15: neoVI Explorer Firmware Message Box and Manual Reflash Button.

5.3. General Settings and Product Details

These two areas of the ValueCAN 4-1’s setup provide information about the device and allow you to perform a few basic maintenance tasks.

General Settings

After connecting to the device you will see basic information about it in the right-hand pane of the window as shown in Figure 16:

The device’s serial number.
The firmware versions currently in the device. It will reveal an indicator if new firmware is available.
A message showing the hardware license for the device was recognized.
A current readout of the ValueCAN 4-1’s real-time clock.

Figure 16: NeoVI Explorer VCAN 4-1 General Settings

This information can be displayed again at any time by clicking the device serial number in the explorer navigation window on the left side of the screen or the “General Settings” entry immediately below it.

The versions of the MCHIP and CCHIP firmware for the ValueCAN 4-1 each will be shown in black if they match the firmware versions within neoVI Explorer. The latest version will be shown in red if there is a mismatch indicating an update is needed.

There are four buttons on this screen.

“Load Defaults”: Loads the default factory settings for the device.

“Manual Reflash”: Updates mismatched firmware manually.

“Read RTC”: Reloads the device’s internal time clock.

“Synchronize RTC”: Sets the device’s clock to the same value as that of the PC.

Product Details

This area provides technical data on the ValueCAN 4-1’s hardware and internal setup. In general, you would need the product details of your device in order for a technician at Intrepid Control Systems to facilitate support or troubleshooting. You can use the “Copy To Clipboard” button to copy all of the information to the “Windows Clipboard”, so you can then paste it into an email or file.

5.4. Standard CAN Network (HS CAN)

This area of neoVI Explorer is used to enable, disable and configure the one standard dual wire CAN network in the ValueCAN 4-1:

One High Speed CAN channels 1 (HS CAN).

Each channel has an entry under the “CAN” group (which cannot be clicked itself). The current status of each channel is shown next to its name; a green checkmark indicates that the channel is enabled, while a red X means it is disabled. Figure 17 shows an example of the CAN channels area.

Figure 17: NeoVI Explorer CAN Group.

These can be configured using the controls in the right-hand pane; the default settings are shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: NeoVI Explorer Standard CAN Parameters with Default Settings.

Enabled

Place a checkmark in this box to enable the channel, or clear the checkmark to disable it. When disabled, all of the other parameter controls are disabled (grayed out). Note: if disabled, data will not be recieved on this channel.

Specify by Baud

This is a master control that determines whether the operation of the channel is controlled by a numeric baud rate, or is calculated from lower-level timing parameters. When the “Specify by Baud” is selected, then you can simply pick the baud rate from the pull down list. Specifying by baud rate is the default and is recommended except for advanced users with special requirements.

Baud Rate

When “Specify by Baud” is selected, choose a baud rate for the channel from the drop-down box below. The default value is 500000.

CAN Timing Settings

When “Specify by Baud” is deselected, the baud rate and sample point of the CAN channel is based on these five settings: TQ SEG1, TQ SEG2, TQ Prop, Sync, BRP-1. These settings are for advanced users and normally should be left at their default values.

Mode

The operating mode of the channel, choose from one of these three options:

Normal: Normal operation (default). This setting allows transmitting, receiving, and acknowledging of CAN Frames.
Disable: Channel is disabled.
Listen Only: This channel only receives messages with no transmissions. No error frames are generated nor acknowledgments sent. Note: this setting overrides any transmits or related settings in Vehicle Spy.

Transceiver

The operating mode of the CAN transceiver:

Auto: The transceiver is automatically controlled by the CAN logic for the channel (default).
Enabled: The transceiver is always enabled.
Disabled: The transceiver is disabled.

Bit Rate Calculator

Press this button to launch the Intrepid Bit Timing Calculator.