It has been a while since we released new functionality for the JCOM1939 Monitor software for Windows, but recent customer feedback inspired several improvements that make the software even more valuable during development, troubleshooting, and diagnostics. The latest update introduces two important features: Display of the CAN Bus network condition,…
Posts tagged as “vehicle networks”
Why We Created the J1939 Community If you work with SAE J1939, you already know that finding reliable information isn’t always easy. While the standard itself is comprehensive, applying it to real-world embedded systems, diagnostics, CAN bus monitoring, or software development often raises questions that aren’t answered by the specification…
Why the SAE J1939 Starter Kit Is the Best Choice for Learning and Developing Embedded J1939 Systems When engineers first enter the world of SAE J1939, they often ask a simple question: Should I start with a single J1939 gateway or buy the complete Starter Kit? While the SAE J1939…
A customer recently asked me a seemingly simple question: “Can I use your JCOM1939 Monitor software with my existing IXXAT CAN-to-USB interface?” Although the question was specifically about SAE J1939, the underlying issue has nothing to do with J1939. It is a problem that has existed in the CAN Bus…
Developing an SAE J1939 application has traditionally required a substantial investment—not only in hardware and engineering time, but also in software. Commercial SAE J1939 protocol stacks are often expensive, frequently licensed per device, and in many cases remain closed-source. For students, hobbyists, researchers, startups, and even experienced engineers who simply…
As heavy-duty vehicles become increasingly connected, engineers are looking for ways to integrate vehicle data into fleet management systems, cloud applications, industrial control systems, and enterprise databases. The hardware needed for such integrations is readily available. Products from companies such as Red Lion, Moxa, HMS, Sierra Wireless, and many others…
For engineers working with agricultural machinery, one question comes up repeatedly: “Is ISOBUS just another name for J1939?” The short answer is: Almost—but not quite. Both protocols share the same technical roots, use the same physical CAN bus technology, and exchange messages using Parameter Group Numbers (PGNs). In fact, a…
One of the most common misconceptions in the heavy-duty vehicle and industrial control markets is the assumption that a device using CAN 2.0B with a 29-bit identifier is automatically SAE J1939 compatible. Unfortunately, that assumption has caused countless integration headaches, wasted engineering hours, and unnecessary investments in development tools and…
Network management refers to the set of services and protocols that supervise the nodes (devices) on a CAN-based network – handling tasks like node addressing, status monitoring, and controlling node state. Two prominent higher-layer protocols, SAE J1939 and CANopen, approach network management very differently. SAE J1939 was created for heavy-duty…
