FAQ

Getting Started

  • Initializing SD Cards Using a Standard SD Card Reader

    A normal SD card reader can be used to initialize SD cards for use with the Kvaser Memorator Professional.  Previous versions have required that SD cards be initialized in the Kvaser Memorator Professional itself.  However you can now initialized the cards in an off-the-shelf SD Card reader following these steps:

    1. Place the card in the card reader.
    2. Run the Memorator Professional Tool.
    3. Press the Connect button.
    4. In the Connect Dialog check the “Use a device other than a Kvaser Memorator Professional” checkbox and press Next.
    5. You will now have the option to connect to a card reader, KMF files, or no device at all.  Select the radio button titled External SD/MMC card reader and press Next.
    6. You will now need to Browse for the card readers drive location. Once you have selected the correct drive location press Next.
    7. Leave the radio button selecting Format 3.0 and press Next. This screen is for one of those changes in formats that I referred to in my last email.
    8. Press Finish and you should be connected.

  • Firmware Upgrade

    This guide describes how to upgrade the firmware on a Kvaser Memorator device. The information given here is also valid for other upgrades, since the steps are basically the same.1. Important information. If you upgrade the firmware, we strongly recommend that you also upgrade the driver package. Kvaser Memorator users should also update their setup and file conversion tool to the latest version.The table shown below includes all products that can upgraded via a PC. If you cannot find your kvaser hardware in this table, but must upgrade your firmware, please contact our Support Team.
    Product
    Kvaser Leaf
    Kvaser Memorator
    Kvaser USBcan II
    Kvaser USBcan Rugged
    Kvaser PCIcan II
    Kvaser PCIcanx II
    Kvaser PC104+
    Kvaser LAPcan II
    Kvaser LAPcan
    2. Close applications. Close all your applications and programs before you move on to the next step.
    3. Download and unpack the ZIP file. Download the latest firmware version to an empty folder. You will find it in our Software Download Area  . Unzip the *.zip file and extract the files into the same folder. You should find the following files in your folder.
    firmware_upgrade_1
    4. Execute the batch file. Double-click on the update.bat file.Remark for USBcan Rugged users. There are two *.bat files available for USBcan Rugged:”update_usbcan_rugged_c.bat”
    “update_usbcan_rugged_b.bat”Select batch file after PCB revision on your USBcan Rugged. You cannot see that on the product. Contact our Support team, if you have any doubts.
    5. View the README.TXT file. When the application has been loaded, the README.TXT pops-up. Close the README.TXT file when you have read it. Then you should see a window like the one shown below. Press any key to continue.
    firmware_upgrade_2
    6. Start programming. In the next dialog, you will see the current firmware version and build string. Press SPACE to start programming, or any other key to quit.
    firmware_upgrade_3
    7. The firmware has been upgraded. As shown in the window below, a successful upgrade finish with the following message: The update SUCCEDED. Press any key to close the application. Eject and plug in the device, i.e. power-recycle the device.
    firmware_upgrade_4
    8. Verification. Open the Control Panel. Double-click on the icon labeled “Kvaser Hardware”. Use “Kvaser Hardware” to verify that your firmware has been upgraded. If you have problems with upgrading the firmware, contact our Support Team.
    firmware_upgrade_5

  • How To: Install LABview drivers

    1. Install your Kvaser hardware. Since the VI library calls the canlib32.dll directly, you must install Kvaser’s CANLIB driver package and your Kvaser hardware. Installations instructions can be found under the headline Drivers.
    2. Install Kvaser’s CANLIB SDK. We recommend installing CANLIB SDK, i.e. Kvaser’s API to all Kvaser hardware.  Installing the SDK should not be necessary for using the VI library but provides useful documentation.  The API provides overview documentation on the order of the calls.  This is useful when looking at the VI calls since they are just wrappers for the API. Download the CANLIB SDK from theSoftware Download Area
    3. Kvaser’s VI library for LabVIEW. Do not start LabVIEW. Instead, double click on our VI library.  This will launch the kvCanTree.vi and kvCanQuickStart.vi.  kvCanTree is a list of all the VI’s in the library when you select show Diagram from the menu.  kvCanQuickStart.vi is the example program which provides a dumbed down bus monitor. This is the easiest way to see what Kvaser’s VI library for LabVIEW is capable of. Shown below is a graphical demonstration.
    This is the results of double clicking on the kvCanVI.lib file.
    labw1
    The window below shows the kvCanExample1.vi in the full screen.  This VI replaced the original quickstart.vi.
    labw2
    The window below shows the menu item to select on kvCanTree.vi to see the full diagram.
    labw3
    The window below shows the full tree diagram which shows the individual VI’s in the library that can be called (compare these functions to functions in CANlib SDK)
    labw4

  • DIAdem driver on LAPcan

    This guide describes how to install a LAPcan card under DIAdem version 7 with Kvaser’s DIAdem driver. The information given here should also be valid for DIAdem version 6.Please not that this guide is only valid for Kvaser’s DIAdem driver. If you want to use Vector’s DIAdem driver, follow the “Installation instructions for Vector’s DIAdem driver on LAPcan” note.
    1. Install DIAdem version 6 or 7. Version 4 is 16-bit, and so out of the question.
    2. Install Kvaser’s CANLIB driver package and your LAPcan card.
    3. Copy the files kcandrv.dll and kcandrv.g5d into the DIAdem program
      directory (e.g. c:\Program Files\Gfs\DIAdem.) If you can’t find kcandrv.dll, go to Windows Explorer, select View | Folder Options | View tab and make sure “Show All Files” is checked. Then go back to DIAdem.
    4. Copy the file kcandrv.bmp into the symbols directory of DIAdem
      (e.g. c:\Program Files\Gfs\DIAdem\symbols).
    5. Start DIAdem. Select Options | GPI-DLL Registration. Press the Add… button. Select the directory where you installed the DIAdem driver, step 3 above, and select the file kcandrv.dll.
    6. Now you are back in the “Registration of GPI-extensions” dialog you opened in the previous step. Press the Close button. DIAdem asks you if you want to save the list of registered drivers in the desktop. Select Yes and do as DIAdem suggests, i.e. save the settings in desktop.DDD.
    7. DIAdem will now restart.
    8. After DIAdem has restarted, press the DAC button (the one with the green board on it).
    9. Select Options | Single Value Processing | Configure Driver…
    10. Press New Entry, check the Hardware/Driver button and press OK.
    11. In the list on the left, select “Kvaser CAN” and press OK.
    12. Optional: press the Info button to make a sanity test. A dialog with driver information should now display.
    13. Press Close.
    14. Press the “Inputs(driver)” button in the vertical toolbar on the left. Somewhere on the now appearing horizontal toolbar a button labeled CAN appears. Select it.
    15. Hooray! You now have a CAN block.
    16. Double-click on the CAN block. A combined CANdb editor and configuration dialog now appears.
    17. Select a suitable LAPcan channel and set the bit rate. Assign one or more CANdb files and select the signals you are interested in.

  • Video: Quick Start Guide for all Kvaser products

  • What do the “HS”, “LS”, and “SWC” terms mean in Kvaser’s product titles?

    HS stands for “High Speed” CAN, “LS” stands for “Low Speed” CAN, and “SWC” stand for Single Wire Channel CAN.

    The majority of current applications use HS – High Speed CAN.  For more details on these different types of CAN networks, see Slide 6 of the CAN Protocol Tutorial which discusses the Physical Layers.

  • What is Galvanic Isolation? Why do I need it?

    Galvanic Isolation is a combination of magnetic and optical isolation that is used to prevent ground-loops.  A signal ground wire is often connected to prevent ground differential buildup between nodes on a CANbus.  If the nodes are connected to the same power source, this type of isolation may be needed on your CAN interface. 

  • What is Auto Transmit?

    Auto transmit refers to the ability to place a message in the unit so the Kvaser hardware handles transmission of the message periodically or in response to a received message.

  • Does Kvaser provide drivers for Real Time Operating Systems?

    Some of our customers use QNX and other RTOS. But not enough for us to justify developing and maintaining drivers for these OS environments. We find we can better support our customers by helping them develop drivers for their environment. With this in mind, we do not obfuscate our Linux driver source. We also provide the address locations for chips on our boards in the User’s Guide for the product. These documents are available on our website. We will also try to answer any questions our customer has while developing their driver.

  • Is there a Linux driver?

    Yes!

    Click here for more information.

  • Can I modify the Linux driver?

    Yes, the Linux driver is released under a dual GPL/BSD license, to allow it to be safely used in your projects.

  • Adding Virtual Channels

    The two virtual channels that comes with the driver installed are connected, working as for example two Leafs connected by a loopback cable.

    If you want more virtual channels, or channels not connected, you can use the Add Hardware Wizard to add a second pair. These will be connected to each other, but not to the first pair.

    1. Press Windows + R, and type hdwwiz and click OK
    2. Click Next, and manual install. Select CAN Hardware (Kvaser) and Next
    3. Scroll down to Kvaser Virtual CAN driver, and then Next until it finishes.

    You should now have an additional pair of virtual channels ready to use.

Back