| | 1 | Understanding the CANbus |
| | 2 | |
| | 3 | The WAM's control PC uses a Peak CAN card to communicate with each motor controller over a two-wire differential [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus|CAN communications bus]]. This is the same technology used in many cars to connect various sensors and actuators to the vehicle's central computer. As a differential signal, it is very robust to electrical noise. And its dominant/recessive bit transmission scheme coupled with its priority-based message framing structure ensures that there is no cost penalty to message collisions between two or more nodes. |
| | 4 | |
| | 5 | For external WAM PCs: |
| | 6 | a. Make sure that the CANbus cable is plugged into the correct port on the PC |
| | 7 | a. Make sure that the CANbus cable is plugged into the correct port on the WAM |
| | 8 | a. Make sure the CANbus card is properly seated in its PCI slot |
| | 9 | |
| | 10 | CAN driver software: |
| | 11 | a. Make sure the CAN driver is installed and loaded correctly: dmesg |grep –i pcan, cat /proc/pcan, lsmod |
| | 12 | a. Check for IRQ conflicts |
| | 13 | |
| | 14 | Wiring issues: |
| | 15 | a. Check for a broken CANbus or power wire, usually in a connector or at the safety puck. |
| | 16 | a. Check for a loose CANbus or power crimp in the connectors. |
| | 17 | a. Make sure that the CANbus cable is properly terminated- there is a wrist or blank outer link attached. |
