CL2000: CAN Bus Logger & USB Interface (+RTC)

The CANedge1 is the 2nd generation of the CL2000. While it does not support real-time streaming via USB, it's designed to be a superior CAN bus data logger. Below we list some of the key changes in the CANedge1.

Generally we recommend the CANedge1 for medium and large scale logging use cases - if in doubt, contact us.

Mechanical

• Extractable SD: The SD can be extracted to transfer data at 80 MB/s (vs 0.5 MB/s for the CLX000 via USB)
• Industrial SD: The CANedge uses an industrial SD card, improving performance and life time
• Channels: 2xCAN channels, which enables logging from 2 CAN buses in parallel
• Aluminum enclosure: New enclosure is far more robust, while still extremely compact
• Power out: Power external modules via the 2nd port e.g. using a DB9-DB9/USB adapter

Log files & software/API

• MDF4 log files: Popular binary MDF4 format - enabling high performance and fast processing
• Configuration: Open source configuration editor can be used either online/offline via your browser
• JSON Schema: Config files are based on the standardized JSON Schema concept, supported by many open source tools
• asammdf GUI: Enables user-friendly MDF4 log file editing, DBC-conversion (incl. OBD2/J1939), graphical plots & more
• Python API: Easily process your data at scale and automate the creation of e.g. reports/databases/dashboards
• Converters: Open source C++ converters enable drag & drop/CLI conversion of MDF4 files into e.g. *.csv, *.asc, *.trc

Data logging

• Lossless: The CANedge can log extreme bus loads with zero message loss (the CLX000 is limited to ~1000 frames/sec )
• Advanced configuration: More advanced filters & transmit lists (e.g. up to 128 filters vs. 8 on CLX000)
• Precision: 20x higher RTC resolution (50 micro seconds) - with advanced WiFi RTC sync
• Boot time: Much faster boot time vs the CLX000 (~1 sec vs. ~10 sec)
• CAN FD: The CANedge supports CAN FD (Flexible Data-Rate), making it future proof
• LIN bus: Supports LIN bus data logging (slave mode)

The 8GB SD card provides an enormeous capacity for the CL2000 CAN bus data logger. While space consumption varies depending on your application, 8 GB will provide many weeks worth of continuously logged data. As most vehicles are not running continuously, this typically corresponds to months of data.

If you need to log data for very long durations, you can either upgrade to a 32 GB SD card - or pre-sample your data to a lower frequency (e.g. logging only every 10th or 100th message). Finally, you can add filtering to restrict your logging to certain CAN IDs or J1939 PGNs. For more details on this, see the product manual.

The CL2000 CAN bus analyzers can record data from any high speed CAN bus application (ISO 11898-2). In practice, this includes raw data from almost all vehicles (cars, trucks, tractors, forklifts, buses, motorcycles, ...) - as well as various production machinery, EV batteries and more. Most planes and boats also use CAN bus. In terms of protocols, this encompasses e.g. J1939, CANopen, NMEA, FMS, OBD2 and more.

For the specific case of OBD2 vehicle data, the CL2000 can transmit up to 20 custom CAN messages periodically, which means it can be used as an OBD2 data logger. Note, however, that you need to verify that your car uses CAN as basis for the OBD2 communication (this is the case for all US cars produced after 2008 e.g.). Also, note that all cars differ in the amount of OBD2 parameters they support - and the CLX000 is of course only able to record the supported data.

The CL2000 CAN logger can be powered via the DB9 connector. In cars, you'll typically need a DB9-OBD2 adaptor, while for e.g. trucks you may use a DB9-J1939 adaptor.

Once connected, the CLX000 will start recording data - and due to the extremely low power consumption, you can simply leave it in your vehicle. In most vehicles, the CLX000 will power off when the vehicle is powered off. If this is not the case, the power draw of the logger itself is still not an issue in regards to battery drain. However, if you're requesting e.g. OBD2 data in this scenario, the polling may wake up the car's ECUs. In this case, you should avoid leaving the CLX000 powered on in an unused car for more than a few days.

Note that the CLX000 can also be powered via USB when it enters 'mass storage device mode' - this lets you configure the logger on your PC without a separate power source.

The CL2000 CAN bus analyzer includes a real-time clock with battery backup. This means that your CAN bus data will be "timestamped" - i.e. every CAN frame logged on the vehicle network will get a timestamp so that you can link the observed CAN data patterns vs. real-time events.

This is vital in applications where you're comparing your CAN bus data vs. physical events (e.g. weather conditions, time of day, physical interaction with the vehicle, ...). Also, as soon as you're logging data across multiple days, it can be a mess keeping track of your data if you don't have the date and time recorded. In practice, we therefore always recommend to go for a CL2000/CANedge CAN logger if your aim is to primarily log vehicle/machine data, rather than stream it in real-time.