In a recent article, JCOM1939 Monitor Update Adds CAN Bus Diagnostics and Silent Monitoring Mode, we introduced several improvements currently being prepared for the JCOM1939 Monitor software for Windows.
The upcoming release adds improved CAN Bus diagnostics, including receive and transmit error counters, CAN controller status information, CAN Bus load, and an overall network condition indicator. It also introduces Silent (Listen-Only) Mode, allowing the JCOM1939 Monitor to observe and record network traffic without actively participating in the CAN Bus communication.
These changes work in conjunction with an updated JCOM1939 gateway firmware. We are currently updating the documentation to cover the new functionality before releasing the software and firmware update.
While we complete that work, we would like to hear from JCOM1939 users.
Our goal is to continue developing JCOM1939 into an increasingly capable and professional J1939 development environment. While higher-priced systems offer extensive feature sets developed over many years, we want to steadily close that gap by focusing on the capabilities that engineers actually need for monitoring, analysis, simulation, diagnostics, and testing. Customer feedback is an important part of that process because it helps us prioritize improvements that provide practical value rather than simply adding features for the sake of a longer feature list.
How Are You Using JCOM1939?
JCOM1939 is used in many different development environments, and understanding those applications helps us determine where future development efforts will provide the most value.
We would particularly like to know how you use your JCOM1939 system today. For example:
- Monitoring J1939 network traffic
- Analyzing messages and PGNs
- Simulating ECUs or individual J1939 messages
- Testing newly developed hardware or software
- Troubleshooting existing vehicle or machine networks
- Recording and analyzing network activity
We are also interested in applications that may not fit neatly into these categories. Real-world applications frequently reveal requirements that are difficult to anticipate during software development.
Which Features Would Help You Most?
We already maintain a list of possible enhancements for the JCOM1939 Monitor, but we would like to compare our development priorities with the needs of actual users.
The next version of the Windows software is planned to include support for DM1 and DM2 diagnostic messages, providing easier access to active and previously active Diagnostic Trouble Codes.
Beyond that, we would like to know what would make the JCOM1939 Monitor more useful in your daily work.
Perhaps you need better filtering or searching capabilities. Maybe you frequently simulate ECUs and would benefit from additional automation. Perhaps your work involves diagnostics, network testing, data logging, or analyzing large amounts of J1939 traffic.
Rather than simply adding features because they appear useful, we would prefer to focus development effort on capabilities that solve actual problems.
Some Future Features Will Require New Hardware
There are also several enhancements we are already considering that cannot be implemented effectively with the existing JCOM1939 hardware.
Examples include:
- Support of message timestamps
- Measurement and display of actual message frequency
- Replay of previously recorded CAN/J1939 traffic
- Additional high-speed data capture and analysis functions
- Incorporating support for CAN FD (SAE J1939-22 — CAN FD Data Link Layer)
The limitation is primarily the communication path between the JCOM1939 gateway and the PC. The current hardware uses a serial-to-USB converter, and we are approaching the practical maximum data rate that can reliably be transferred through this interface as additional information is exchanged between the gateway and the Windows application.
Our next-generation hardware will eliminate this bottleneck and provide native USB-C connectivity, giving us substantially more bandwidth between the CAN interface and the computer. This will create opportunities for more advanced recording, timing, replay, and analysis functions.
However, that hardware is still under development.
Our Immediate Focus Is the Current JCOM1939 Platform
For now, we are particularly interested in improvements that can be implemented with the existing JCOM1939 hardware.
That could include changes to the Windows interface, additional J1939 protocol functions, improved simulation capabilities, diagnostic tools, filtering, data presentation, workflow improvements, or other features that do not require substantially higher communication bandwidth.
This is where feedback from users can have the greatest immediate impact.
Tell Us What Would Make JCOM1939 More Useful
If you are currently using JCOM1939, we would appreciate hearing from you about two things:
1. How do you use JCOM1939?
Are you primarily monitoring, analyzing, simulating, testing, troubleshooting, or performing another task?
2. Which additional features would be most valuable to you?
We are especially interested in features that would save time, simplify testing, improve troubleshooting, or eliminate the need for additional tools during J1939 development.
Several recent improvements to the JCOM1939 Monitor originated directly from customer feedback. The new CAN Bus diagnostics are a good example: a real-world support discussion prompted us to investigate additional ways of displaying network health and controller status.
We would like to continue developing JCOM1939 in the same way—by combining our own development roadmap with the experience of engineers who use the system in real applications.
If there is something you would like the JCOM1939 Monitor to do, please contact us and tell us about it. Even if the feature is already on our list, knowing that users actually need it helps us determine which improvements should receive priority.
How to Send Us Your Feedback
The best way to share your feedback is through our JCOM1939 Forum. The forum is used exclusively for communication with customers and JCOM1939 users and is not used for marketing purposes. You will need to create an account before you can post a comment, but registration allows you to participate in discussions, share your experiences, and suggest features directly. If you prefer not to register for the forum, you can also send us your feedback through the Contact Us page on our website.
SAE J1939 Starter Kit and Network Simulator
Our JCOM.J1939 Starter Kit and Network Simulator is designed to allow the experienced engineer and the beginner to experiment with SAE J1939 data communication without the need to connect to a real-world J1939 network, i.e., a diesel engine. It may sound obvious, but you need at least two nodes to establish a network. That fact applies especially to CAN/J1939, where the CAN controller shuts down after transmitting data without receiving a response. Therefore, our jCOM.J1939 Starter Kit and Network Simulator consists of two J1939 nodes, namely our jCOM.J1939.USB, an SAE J1939 ECU Simulator Board with USB Port.
The jCOM.J1939.USB gateway board is a high-performance, low-latency vehicle network adapter for SAE J1939 applications. The board supports the full SAE J1939 protocol according to J1939/81 Network Management (Address Claiming) and J1939/21 Transport Protocol (TP). More Information…
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