From the Expert

CANverter Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does the CANverter work with any CAN network?
A. The CANverter works with any high-speed CAN (ISO 11898-2) physical layer network. CAN termination is not present on the hardware. It does not support single-wire or fault tolerant CAN and modal dependency with the CANDB definition.

Q. What file type to I use to re-flash my hardware and where can I get it?
A. Firmware files are Encrypted S19 Record (.ESR) files. The current version is located on the ATI Support Portal (support.accuratetechnologies.com)

Q. What if I do not have a serial port (RS-232) on my computer?
A. There are several companies that sell commercial USB-to-serial converters that will communicate to the CANverter.

Q. How was the CANverter 2.0 software modified?
A. The original codebase did not fully support the needs of ATI’s customer applications. To eliminate software limitations, the firmware and Configuration Tool (Microsoft’s .NET 2.0) were rewritten. This development was essential to provide a full feature set and field upgradeability.

Q. Do I need to upgrade my existing CANverter?
A. If your CANverter is version 1.x and your application:
       • requires more than three channels to be used simultaneously
       • requires multiple signals per CAN message
       • is experiencing firmware problems
       • requires using multiple extended (29-bit) CAN IDs
then an upgrade is advisable. Note that PWM functionality is no longer available with version 2.0. If your application requires PWM functionality, please contact your ATI sales person before upgrading.

Q. Why is PWM functionality not included in version 2.0?
A. There was a great demand for the features of version 2.0 which dictated the short development cycle of version 2.0. Limited development time and minimal interest caused the elimination of the PWM functionality.

Q. How is the CANverter upgraded from 1.x to 2.x? Can it be done by the customer themselves?
A. Unfortunately, the upgrade requires special hardware and must be done by ATI. ATI will pay for the CANverter to be shipped and upgraded at ATI.

Q. Is there a charge for this upgrade?
A. The upgrade is free. Contact Customer Support for instructions and an RMA number.

Q. What are the differences of the CANverter 2.x configuration software?
A. The improvements to the software are subtle but important. The configuration software has been made reliable and easier to use. For example, it should be much clearer for users to enter formulas, visual cues and textual descriptions have been added to indicate specific ranges and drop down menus to make selections. Other new features for the interface include field flashing and recovery.

Q. Why has the CAN message start bits changed?
A. ATI is trying to align our products from a usability perspective with consistent behavior and technical requirements which ensure better compatibility with other database editors.

Q. Can I use old configurations with the new hardware / software?
A. This is not possible. Since the entire software and hardware’s firmware were re-written the configuration files are not compatible. To eliminate confusion, the new extension for configuration files is .CCFX versus the old .CCF used in 1.X revisions.