Using CAN bus with (not just NUCLEO) mbed boards

Dependencies:   mbed CANMsg

Using CAN bus with mbed boards

Two low cost STM32F103C8T6 boards are connected to the same CAN bus via transceivers (MCP2551 or TJA1040, or etc.). CAN transceivers are not part of NUCLEO boards, therefore must be added by us. Remember also that CAN bus (even a short one) must be terminated with 120 Ohm resitors at both ends. Although there seems to be an alternative solution.

Schematic

Zoom in

/media/uploads/hudakz/stm32f103c8t6_can_hello.png

Hookup

/media/uploads/hudakz/20150724_080148.jpg

The mbed boards in this example are transmitting CAN messages carrying two data items:

uint8_t   counter;  // one byte
float     voltage;  // four bytes

So in this case the total length of payload data is five bytes (must not exceed eight bytes).
For our convenience, the "<<" (append) operator (defined in CANMsg library) is used to add data to the CAN message.
The usage of "<<" and ">>" operators is similar to the C++ io-streams operators. We can append data one at a time

txMsg << counter;
txMsg << voltage;

or combine all into one expression.

txMsg << counter << voltage;

The actual data length of a CAN message is automatically updated when using "<<" or ">>" operators.
After successful transmission the CAN message is printed to the serial terminal of the connected PC. So we can check the details (ID, type, format, length and raw data). If something goes wrong during transmission a "Transmission error" message is printed to the serial terminal.

On arrival of a CAN message it's also printed to the serial terminal of the connected PC. So we can see the details (ID, type, format, length and raw data). Then its ID is checked. If there is a match with the ID of awaited message then data is extracted from the CAN message (in the same sequence as it was appended before transmitting) using the ">>" (extract) operator one at a time

rxMsg >> counter;
rxMsg >> voltage;

or all in one shot

rxMsg >> counter >> voltage;


The same source code is used for both boards, but:

  • For board #1 compile the example without any change to main.cpp
  • For board #2 comment out the line #define BOARD1 1 before compiling

Once binaries have been downloaded to the boards reset both board at the same time.

NOTE:

The code published here was written for the official NUCLEO boards. When using STM32F103C8T6 boards, shown in the picture above (on-board LED is active on 0),

  • Include (uncomment) the line #define TARGET_STM32F103C8T6 1
  • Select NUCLEO-F103RB as target platform for the online compiler.

CAN bus related information

main.cpp

Committer:
hudakz
Date:
2017-03-17
Revision:
0:1b9561cd1c36
Child:
1:6f8ffb2c2dd7

File content as of revision 0:1b9561cd1c36:

/*
 * A demo showing how to use CAN bus and the CANMsg library's << (append) and the >> (extract) operators
 *
 * Two affordable (less than $3 on ebay) STM32F103C8T6 boards (20kB SRAM, 64kB Flash),
 * are connected to the same CAN bus via transceivers (MCP2551 or TJA1040, or etc.).
 * CAN transceivers are not part of NUCLEO boards, therefore must be added by you.
 * Remember also that CAN bus (even a short one) must be terminated with 120 Ohm resitors at both ends.
 * In this demo, the mbed board is transmitting two data items to the CAN bus.
 *   counter: uint_8 value (one byte).
 *   voltage: floating point value (four bytes).
 * So the total length of payload data is five bytes.
 * The "<<" (append) operator is used to add data to the CAN message.
 * If a CAN message is received its ID is checked. If there is match with the awaited ID
 * then data is extracted from the CAN message using the ">>" (extract) operator.
 *
 * The usage of "<<" and ">>" operators is similar to the C++ io-stream ones.
 * Data length of CAN message is automatically updated when using "<<" or ">>" operators.  
 *
 * For schematic see the wiki page <https://developer.mbed.org/users/hudakz/code/CAN_Hello/>
 *
 * NOTE: If you'd like to use an STM32F103C8T6 board uncomment line 28
 *
 * The same code is used for both NUCLEO boards, but:
 *      For board #1 compile the example without any change.
 *      For board #2 comment out line 27 before compilation
 *
 * Once the binaries have been downloaded to the boards reset board #1.
 *
 */
#define BOARD1                  1   // comment out this line when compiling for board #2
//#define TARGET_STM32F103C8T6    1   // uncomment this line when using STM32F103C8T6 boards!

#if defined(TARGET_STM32F103C8T6)
#include "stm32f103c8t6.h"
#define LED_PIN PC_13
const int           OFF = 1;
const int           ON = 0;
#else
#define LED_PIN LED1
const int           OFF = 0;
const int           ON = 1;
#endif
#if defined(BOARD1)
const unsigned int  RX_ID = 0x100;
const unsigned int  TX_ID = 0x101;
#else
const unsigned int  RX_ID = 0x101;
const unsigned int  TX_ID = 0x100;
#endif

#include "mbed.h"
#include "CANMsg.h"

Serial              pc(USBTX, USBRX);
CAN                 can(PA_11, PA_12);    // CAN Rx pin name, CAN Tx pin name
CANMsg              rxMsg;
CANMsg              txMsg;
DigitalOut          led(LED_PIN);
Timer               timer;
uint8_t             counter = 0;
AnalogIn            analogIn(A0);
float               voltage;

/**
 * @brief   Prints CAN msg to PC's serial terminal
 * @note}
 * @param   CANMess to print
 * @retval  none
 */
void printMsg(CANMsg& msg) {
    pc.printf("  ID      = 0x%.3x\r\n", msg.id);
    pc.printf("  Type    = %d\r\n", msg.type);
    pc.printf("  Format  = %d\r\n", msg.format);
    pc.printf("  Length  = %d\r\n", msg.len);
    pc.printf("  Data    =");
    for(int i = 0; i < msg.len; i++)
        pc.printf(" 0x%.2X", msg.data[i]);
    pc.printf("\r\n");
}

/**
 * @brief   Main
 * @note
 * @param
 * @retval
 */
int main(void)
{
#if defined(TARGET_STM32F103C8T6)
    confSysClock(); //Configure system clock (72MHz HSE clock, 48MHz USB clock)
#endif

    pc.baud(9600);  // set Serial speed
    can.frequency(1000000);        // set bit rate to 1Mbps
    
#if defined(BOARD1)
    led = ON;       // turn LED on
    timer.start();  // start timer
    pc.printf("CANnucleo_Hello board #1\r\n");
#else
    led = OFF;      // turn LED off
    pc.printf("CANnucleo_Hello board #2\r\n");
#endif

    while(1) {
        if(timer.read_ms() >= 1000) {

            // check for timeout
            timer.stop();   // stop timer
            timer.reset();  // reset timer
            counter++;      // increment counter
            voltage = (analogIn * 3.3f) / 4096.0f;  // read the small drifting voltage from analog input
            txMsg.clear();      // clear Tx message storage
            txMsg.id = TX_ID;   // set ID
            txMsg << counter << voltage;    // append data (total data length must be <= 8 bytes!)
            if(can.write(txMsg)) {

                // transmit message
                led = OFF;          // turn LED off
                pc.printf("-------------------------------------\r\n");
                pc.printf("CAN message sent\r\n");
                printMsg(txMsg);
                pc.printf("  counter = %d\r\n", counter);
                pc.printf("  voltage = %e V\r\n", voltage);
            }
            else
                pc.printf("Transmission error\r\n");
        }

        if(can.read(rxMsg)) {
            led = ON;   // turn LED on
            pc.printf("-------------------------------------\r\n");
            pc.printf("CAN message received\r\n");
            printMsg(rxMsg);

            // Filtering performed by software:
            if(rxMsg.id == RX_ID) {
                rxMsg >> counter >> voltage;    // extract data from the received CAN message
                pc.printf("  counter = %d\r\n", counter);
                pc.printf("  voltage = %e V\r\n", voltage);
                timer.start();  // transmission lag
            }
        }
    }
}