Using the Komodo CAN Duo Interface with CANtrace to Decode J1939 and CANopen

CANtrace 4.3 from TK Engineering Oy now natively supports the Komodo CAN Duo Interface, enabling engineers to decode J1939 and CANopen directly with this hardware. Existing Komodo users can take advantage of higher-layer protocol analysis without needing new equipment, while new users can access a cost-effective solution for CAN bus decoding.

CANopen and J1939 in Modern Systems

CANopen and J1939 are widely used higher-layer CAN protocols that define standardized message formats, device behavior, and network management on top of classical CAN. CANopen is commonly used in industrial automation, embedded control systems, and medical and robotics equipment, where structured device profiles and network management simplify system integration. J1939 is primarily used in heavy-duty vehicles and industrial machinery, including trucks, buses, agricultural equipment, and construction vehicles, where standardized parameter group numbers (PGNs) enable interoperability between electronic control units across complex vehicle networks.

About the Komodo CAN Duo Interface

The Komodo CAN Duo Interface is a powerful two-channel USB-to-CAN adapter and CAN bus analyzer that allows users to send and receive CAN data, capture raw CAN frames, detect bus errors, and verify timing. Users can actively transmit on one channel while passively monitoring bus traffic on the other, or use both channels to simultaneously capture CAN traffic from two separate buses. The interface provides 8 configurable GPIOs, independent galvanic isolation per CAN channel, and supports Fault Tolerant (125 kbps) and High Speed (1 Mbps) CAN.

Total Phase Komodo CAN Duo Interface

Used with Total Phase’s award-winning Data Center Software, the Komodo CAN Duo Interface enables real-time CAN analysis where users can capture and display CAN data in real time, apply real-time filters and searches, and analyze detailed packet-level information, including CAN ID, DLC, data payload, error codes, as well as bus timing and statistics per device or bus. This low-level visibility is critical when working with higher-layer protocols, which rely on correctly formatted CAN frames, proper arbitration, and reliable bus timing.

Decoding Higher-Layer CAN Protocols Using CANtrace and Komodo CAN Interface

With CANtrace, decoding higher-layer CAN protocols such as J1939 and CANopen with the Komodo CAN interface becomes seamless. CANtrace features a user-friendly interface to trace, decode, and visualize CAN messages and signals in real time or from logged data. Signals are decoded using your existing CAN database, in the commonly used DBC format. Users can connect a separate database to every CAN interface channel, making it easy to monitor, log, and plot data while using familiar engineering units.

Decoding CANopen and J1939 Networks

CANtrace supports both classical CAN (2.0A and 2.0B) and CAN FD standards, as well as higher-layer protocols including CANopen and J1939. In the trace view, CANopen messages and J1939 Parameter Group Numbers (PGNs) are decoded into a human-readable format. Using built-in protocol parsers alongside connected DBC databases, CANtrace decodes both headers and signal values, giving engineers a complete view of network traffic.

CANopen, widely used in embedded systems for automation and control systems, is supported with features such as node scanning and NMT master commands. The included CANopen node scanner provides an overview of all CANopen nodes present on the bus, allows users to view node status, and start, stop, or reset individual nodes directly from CANtrace.

J1939, essential for heavy-duty vehicles and machinery such as trucks, buses, and cargo equipment, is supported with native decoding of standard 8-byte messages and long transport layer frames, and can both send and receive signals embedded in transport layer frames.

These decoding capabilities apply both to live CAN traffic and to recorded data, allowing engineers to analyze higher-layer protocol behavior during development, testing, or post-capture review.

CAN Log Playback

In addition to recording log data from multiple channels, CANtrace can also play back log files directly to the CAN bus. Any log file in ASC format can be used to generate data on the CAN bus. This feature can be very useful for simulation, testing and bus traffic generation.

Trace and decode CAN messages in CANtrace

Plotting and Exporting CAN Signal Data

CANtrace also features a powerful graphing tool that enables real-time plotting of signal values. Users can easily plot multiple signals, switch between single and multi-view presentation modes, adjust the signal presentation, and manipulate the color-coded signals using user-friendly controls. Data cursors can be used for precise measurements, exporting CAN messages and signal values from graph sections, and creating figures of your graphs for reports and documentation. Exported logfiles can be further analyzed by CANtrace, and the exported signal lists can be utilized by modern data analysis tools.

Multi-view presentation modes in CANtrace

CANtrace data export

Extensive Python Scripting Environment

CANtrace provides users with an extensive Python scripting environment, featuring a wide variety of common Python modules. User-created scripts can be run in real time and used to modify, filter, or create incoming and outgoing messages. This feature enables customization of analysis workflows, automation of repetitive tasks, and extraction of more profound insights from CAN data.

Conclusion

CANtrace 4.3 now lets existing Komodo CAN Duo Interface users take advantage of J1939 and CANopen decoding on familiar hardware they are already using in their workflows, while giving new customers a cost-effective way to get started. Engineers can capture CAN data using the interface, and use CANtrace to decode messages into a human-readable format, scan CANopen nodes, and analyze signal-level traffic for a clear, real-time view of network activity and higher-layer protocol behavior.

Learn more about the new CANtrace 4.3 release and how it supports Komodo CAN interface here:

• TK Engineering Oy Announces the Release of CANtrace Version 4.3 that Now Supports Total Phase’s Komodo CAN Duo Interface
• CANtrace 4.3 Expands Compatibility with Total Phase Komodo CAN Interfaces

For more information on using the Komodo CAN Duo Interface for CAN bus analysis or CAN bus decoding, please contact sales@totalphase.com.