I have long been a vocal critic of the barely readable standards issued by SAE International. And to be fair, SAE is hardly alone—standards bodies, as a species, seem united by a peculiar compulsion: the need to prove their intellectual worth by rendering their documents as impenetrable as possible. Clarity,…
Posts published in “Misc. J1939”
When engineers, telematics providers, and fleet managers discuss SAE J1939 for fleet management, one truth becomes immediately apparent: Not all PGNs are created equal. Modern heavy-duty vehicles broadcast hundreds of parameter groups across the network, but in real-world fleet management applications, only a relatively small subset of PGNs carries the…
Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) are regulated embedded systems used in commercial vehicles to automatically record Hours of Service (HOS) data in compliance with U.S. FMCSA requirements. From an engineering standpoint, an ELD is a vehicle-connected data acquisition and logging system with strict regulatory, reliability, and tamper-resistance constraints. This report provides…
SAE J1939 defines a comprehensive framework for message formatting, transport, and network behavior in heavy-duty vehicle systems. While many Parameter Group Numbers (PGNs) are publicly standardized, a substantial portion of real-world J1939 traffic consists of proprietary messages. These messages are intentionally undocumented by OEMs and are often central to machine…
Please consider! The DEF Sensor Simulator is not an off-the-shelf device. It was originally created by a team of automotive engineers as a proof-of-concept solution for bypassing malfunctioning DEF sensors. The project consists of a parts list and open-source control code, and anyone using it must assemble and program the…
A recent internal market study by Copperhill Technologies uncovered a surprising but critical shortcoming across all commercially available SAE J1939 baud rate converters: none of them explicitly address the issue of Silent or Listen-Only Mode. This omission, whether in marketing descriptions or technical documentation, can have significant implications for system…
Controller Area Network (CAN bus) is a widely used communication network in automotive and industrial systems. It provides a robust, real-time communication method for multiple microcontroller-based devices (nodes) to exchange data over a simple two-wire bus. In industrial environments, proper network design is critical to ensure reliable performance under noise,…
Rail is in the midst of a big energy storage shift: away from lead-acid batteries and toward lithium-ion. The reasons are persuasive: lithium-ion offers higher energy density, longer life, and lower maintenance. But switching is more than dropping in new batteries. It demands visibility, safety, and diagnostics under the harsh…
One of the most common questions we receive from users involves the J1939 Address Claim process when connecting our J1939 gateways to another J1939 node. Many expect the address claim to succeed immediately, but under certain conditions it may fail. Understanding why this happens will save you both time and…
This guide walks you through the quick and straightforward process of setting up the JCOM.J1939.USB gateway board. You’ll learn how to establish the USB connection, hook up the SAE J1939/CAN bus interface, and confirm that everything is functioning properly, including LED indicators. This post focuses purely on text explanation—with bullet…
