LeCroy Introduces New Oscilloscope Based Vehicle Bus Analyzer

With these instruments an engineer has both the full range of CAN protocol stack information ? symbolic, hex, and electrical signal ? with the ability to also view additional in-circuit electrical signals (sensor inputs, voltage levels, transients, etc.) that influence the CAN Bus, and use standard and specialized oscilloscope tools to validate and debug their designs. In addition, up to four different CAN Buses can be decoded at one time. The VBA offers exceptional value to any designer of CAN electronic control units (ECUs) or complete vehicle networks. This new capability is a breakthrough that will redefine an engineer’s understanding of their ECUs and vehicle bus networks.

The VBA contains powerful and unique features, such as:
• 400 MHz and 600 MHz model (in addition to existing 1 GHz model)
• Up to 10 GS/s sample rate
• Standard 8 Mpts memory (optional up to 24 Mpts)
• Complete CAN physical layer and protocol stack information display for multiple CAN Buses
• Compatibility with industry-standard DBC database files
• Display of associated non-CAN electrical signals
• Unique, automated timing measurements with statistical and graph views
• Ability to extract CAN data from a message stream, rescale it, and display/plot decimal values
• Pulse-width Modulated (PWM) signal analysis
• Powerful CAN and electrical signal triggering to isolate events.

Uses Industry-standard DBC Database Files & CAN Symbolic Triggering
The Vehicle Bus Analyzer provides Symbolic decoding using industry-standard DBC database files and is based on the popular WaveRunner Xi Series oscilloscopes.
The powerful and flexible CAN triggering capability previously released in CANbus TD has been extended in the Vehicle Bus Analyzer. Using the DBC database file that contains information pertinent to the operator’s CAN messages and signals, it is easy for the operator to symbolically select a specific CAN message (i.e. ID) or signal (i.e. ID and DATA), and then apply a data condition for triggering. Thus, instead of having to understand to trigger on “ID=0x410” and “DATA=3f” in the 2nd data byte, the operator can quickly pick, from a predefined list, the STRSPEED (steering wheel speed of travel) signal that is part of the LWSOUT message, and then define the data condition as desired. Therefore, trigger setup is quick and intuitive, requires little or no cross-reference to other files or programs, and results in higher operator confidence.

The Vehicle Bus Analyzer Will Reduce Time-to-Market and Costs
It is widely reported that 50% of warranty problems on new vehicles are caused by electronics
failures. With the right tools to adequately debug automotive electronics systems, this failure rate would be reduced, and parts and systems reliability would be increased, lowering costs ? an important consideration in today’s competitive automotive market.

Configurations And Pricing
LeCroy Vehicle Bus Analyzers are available in 400 MHz and 600 MHz models, both with four input channels. A wide variety of probing and bus connection accessories are also available. The VBA 44Xi 400 MHz, 4ch Vehicle Bus Analyzer is priced from EUR 17,990. The VBA 64Xi 600 MHz, 4ch Vehicle Bus Analyzer is priced from EUR 19,990.