CAN broadcasting for dash loggers

[Peter Florance]

[jsmcortina]

Any feedback from the test users? Were you able to get your dashes to receive and display the data?

I'm looking to finalise the document I posted in line with a few changes I made for MS2 and then put out beta MS2 and MS3 firmwares that match it.

Once I've had some positive user feedback we can begin the process of contacting dash manufacturers and asking them about Megasquirt support.

James

[Peter Florance]

Any feedback from the test users? Were you able to get your dashes to receive and display the data?

I'm looking to finalise the document I posted in line with a few changes I made for MS2 and then put out beta MS2 and MS3 firmwares that match it.

Once I've had some positive user feedback we can begin the process of contacting dash manufacturers and asking them about Megasquirt support.

James

I need to ping on one manufacturer, who was supposed to send me a unit to test, but has gone quiet

[ashford]

i will eventually get to testing, racing season coming up fast and 2 engines/ cars to build/upgrade. just need to build another ms3 and pull dash from car.

[jsmcortina]

An updated PDF of the protocol is available at:
http://www.msextra.com/doc/general/file ... -03-10.pdf

James
EDIT: doc updated to reflect new code version numbers.

[jsmcortina]

I just posted new development codes for MS2 and MS3 that support this broadcasting. Please try them out with user-configurable dashes/gauges.

If you have contact details for dash manufacturers that you would like supported, please pass them to me and I can initiate dialogue.

James

[Matt Cramer]

Had a customer talking about how MoTec uses a template to allow communicating with a wide variety of CAN dashes. It can be set up to successfully spoof a large number of factory dash setups.



It appears you can set up formatting and parameters for each individual function. I can look into this more if you're interested in creating a similar function in MS3.

[jsmcortina]

I was planning on the dash user configuring their dash to match the MS3 data stream.

Wouldn't there possibly be copyright issues if another manufacturers datastream was copied?

James

[Matt Cramer]

I'm pretty sure a data stream format can't be copyrighted. Patented, in some cases, but that wouldn't be automatic like a copyright.

[JoseMiguel]

I dont have a racing dash, but I urge people that do to test this...

I have clients waiting for dash support without external stuff, ie. IQ3 dashes are very popular over here and It would be great to make them work without any adapters!

[jsmcortina]

IQ3 dashes are very popular over here and It would be great to make them work without any adapters!

Technically it should be possible. The RacePak website seems quite difficult to navigate to figure out what the correct manual is for configuring those products.

James

[jsmcortina]

Following my last post, I looked into the RacePak IQ3 configuration some more. In contrast to the way Motec is transmitting data (bulked together) it appears that each Racepak device broadcasts a different CAN message - this makes sense for their "VNET" concept, but is a different approach.

I had a look at their software and don't immediately see a way to apply a custom configuration to use more regular "packed" CAN messages. Perhaps there's a RacePak guru reading this that could advise?

Sending the Megasquirt data in the "sparse" way that would match what the RacePak IQ3 is expecting is possible - so long as the IQ3 can be configured to listen to external CANids (e.g. the defaults that I'm seeing for EngineRPM is internal piece of data and is expecting a pulse timer, not an RPM number)

James

[JoseMiguel]

Racepak is closely related to haltech. Maybe we can find something else there?

[thokes82]

I want to try it on race technology hardware. Here is their config utility description:
http://www.race-technology.com/wiki/ind ... figuration

I will probably need some help to be able to configure it. I do not know much about CAN

[Matt Cramer]

Racepak is closely related to haltech. Maybe we can find something else there?

More accurately - Racepak is simply making a special edition of their IQ3 for Haltech; I'm not sure if it has any differences in firmware or anything other than a different label.

[ashfaqfarooqui]

I have a race-technology dl1wp and I am currently trying to log data from an external controller. I can test this new feature out and support the development.
PM me.

[MWPau]

Im running FW 1.3.1b2 and TS 2.5.19, should i be seeing these new can broadcasting dialog/options?

The "CAN Broadcasting" dialog i see in TS is the old (?) dialog with the "0x280 rpm * 4" option, etc.

[jsmcortina]

You need MS3 1.4 or MS2/Extra 3.4.

James

[Manu]

Hi James,

2 French dash builders recently ask me for MegaSquirt help regarding CAN protocol. At this time you didn't implement broadcasting data and pooling for information wasn't something easy to do for them :

http://www.mod7ce.fr/
and
http://www.crisartech.com/


Today, I'd like to know if data frames and offsets should change in the future ? If not I'll contact them again to let them know the new protocol.

Also, my .02$ contribution : maybe time is not a so precisely wanted information that it had to be in the same packet than RPM and others. A 100Hz frequency to get time is, IMO, to high for just get it. A friend of mine working in a French OEM had the same thinking.

Regards,
Manu

[jsmcortina]

It is my desire to leave this protocol "done" as far as possible, to maintain future compatability. Please encourage those two dash manufacturers to review the specification - but do not code just yet.

I am looking into defining a .DBC specification from that document if possible, which manufacturers may be able to use as it is a standardised way of describing CAN data.

James