CAN Analyzer Pro

Languages: Türkçe · English

A multi-adapter CAN bus analysis and transmission application developed for Vestel PCB test systems. It is a Windows desktop (WinForms) program that can listen to and send messages over different CAN hardware from a single interface.

• Platform: .NET Framework 4.8, Windows (WinForms)
• Architecture: AnyCPU (Prefer32Bit=false → runs 64-bit on x64 Windows)
• Version: V1.0.0

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CanBus

Table of contents

• Features
• Supported hardware
• Requirements
• Build
• Usage
• Project structure
• Architecture notes
• Troubleshooting

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Features

• Multi-adapter support: Vector XL, PEAK USB, Kvaser CAN and UT146 (serial/COM) from one interface. Adapters are used through a common routing layer (AdapterKind).
• CAN Monitor: Received (Rx) and transmitted (Tx) messages are shown live in a table. Columns:
  • Time, ID, Name, Type (Rx/Tx), DLC, Data, Cycle(ms), Count
  • Messages are grouped into a single row per ID; the counter and period (Cycle) update automatically.
• Filter / naming:
  • Add an ID + name to the list so meaningful names appear in the monitor's "Name" column.
  • Unchecking an item hides its name; re-checking restores it.
  • The filter list can be saved/loaded as a .flt file.
• Message transmission (Tx):
  • One-shot send of the selected row.
  • When Active is checked, periodic transmission at the entered period (threadpool-based timer + high-resolution Windows timer for stable timing).
  • When an ID is entered, the Data field is auto-filled with 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00.
  • Sent messages appear in the monitor as Tx.
• Export: The monitor contents can be saved as CSV.
• Statistics: Total messages, messages per second (fps), unique ID count, and connection uptime.

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Supported hardware

Adapter	Interface	Driver / library	Notes
Vector XL	Vector XL Driver	vxlapi_NET.dll (+ vxlapi.dll / vxlapi64.dll)	The channel must be assigned to an application in Vector Hardware Config.
PEAK USB	PCAN-Basic	PCANBasic.NET.dll + PCANBasic.dll (x86/x64)	The proper native DLL is selected based on process bitness.
Kvaser CAN	Kvaser CANlib	canlibCLSNET.dll (x64) + native canlib32.dll driver	x64 only; the app must run 64-bit (see Architecture notes).
UT146	Serial (USB→UART)	System.IO.Ports (COM)	CAN2UART converter; identity is verified with the FFFFFFFFFC command. CAN bit rate is 500 kbit in firmware.

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Requirements

• Windows (10/11), .NET Framework 4.8
• The driver of the adapter you want to use must be installed:
  • Vector: Vector Driver Setup + Vector Hardware Config
  • PEAK: PEAK-System drivers (PCAN-USB)
  • Kvaser: Kvaser Drivers for Windows (installs native canlib32.dll)
  • UT146: USB-Serial (CH340 / CP210x, etc.) COM driver
• To build: Visual Studio 2022 (MSBuild) and NuGet packages (referenced under packages/).

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Build

Open Can_Analyzer_Pro.csproj in Visual Studio and build. From the command line:

& "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" `
  "Can_Analyzer_Pro.csproj" /t:Build /p:Configuration=Debug

Output: bin\Debug\Can_Analyzer_Pro.exe. The relevant native DLLs (vxlapi, PCANBasic x86/x64, canlibCLSNET) are copied to the output folder during build.

Important: The project is configured as AnyCPU + Prefer32Bit=false, so it runs 64-bit on x64 Windows. Because Kvaser (canlibCLSNET.dll) is x64 only, this setting is required.

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Usage

1. Select device: Pick the adapter from the top list (Vector XL / PEAK USB / Kvaser CAN / UT146).
2. Select channel: Click "Refresh" to list channels.
   • Vector/PEAK/Kvaser → hardware channels.
   • UT146 → only the connected COM ports (e.g. COM50).
3. Select baud rate and click Connect.
4. Monitoring: Incoming messages appear in the CAN Monitor table.
5. Naming: Add an ID + name in the filter section; it appears in the "Name" column. You can save it as .flt.
6. Transmission: Enter ID/Data/Period in the Tx table.
   • Send → one-shot.
   • Active → periodic transmission.
7. Save: Export the monitor contents as CSV.

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Project structure

Can_Analyzer_Pro/
├─ Form1.cs / Form1.Designer.cs   # Main UI + adapter routing, monitor, filter, Tx logic
├─ Vector XL/
│  ├─ VectorManager.cs            # Active Vector driver (vxlapi_NET)
│  └─ VectorXLManager.cs          # (Disabled / reference — commented out)
├─ Peak USB/
│  └─ PeakUsbManager.cs           # PCAN-Basic wrapper
├─ Kvaser USB/
│  └─ KvaserCanManager.cs         # canlibCLSNET wrapper
├─ UT146/
│  └─ UT146CanManager.cs          # Serial (COM) CAN2UART driver
├─ libs/                          # vxlapi*.dll, PCANBasic (x86/x64), canlibCLSNET.dll ...
└─ packages/                      # NuGet dependencies

Each manager exposes a similar public surface: isConnected, lastError, channel listing, Connect, Disconnect, message sending, and an incoming-message event. Form1 funnels these events into a common HandleCanMessage(...) method.

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Architecture notes

• Common message handling: All adapters' incoming/outgoing messages go through HandleCanMessage(...) into the same monitor/statistics path.
• Consistent Cycle(ms): Cycle is computed from a single application monotonic clock (Stopwatch) instead of device timestamps. This prevents the different clock bases of adapters/Rx-Tx paths from mixing, avoiding incorrect (very large) Cycle values.
• Tx visibility:
  • PEAK/Kvaser: the transmitted frame comes back as Rx via hardware echo (PCAN echo frames / Kvaser TXACK).
  • Vector/UT146: since no hardware echo is delivered, the transmitted frame is added to the monitor manually as "Tx".
• Stable periodic transmission: System.Threading.Timer (off the UI thread) + timeBeginPeriod(1) for ~1 ms resolution; an Interlocked guard prevents overlap.

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Troubleshooting

Kvaser: "driver error / Access denied" or device not listed

• The Kvaser drivers must be installed (native canlib32.dll).
• canlibCLSNET.dll is x64; the app must run 64-bit. The project is set with Prefer32Bit=false. Make sure the platform is AnyCPU in VS.

Vector: no channels found

• The channel must be assigned to an application in Vector Hardware Config (application name: CAN Analyzer Pro V1.0.0).

UT146: "Cannot read COM port list / Access is denied"

• Channel listing also works via SerialPort.GetPortNames() instead of the admin-requiring WMI, so the exe lists ports even as a normal user.
• If you get "access denied" while connecting, the port is open in another program (test software, terminal) or a second instance of the app. Serial ports are exclusive — close the other program.

Vector: sent messages don't appear in the monitor

• In the current version Vector Tx is added to the monitor manually; if the issue persists, check the Send return value and that the channel is opened with init access.

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This application was developed to monitor line traffic and send test messages at CAN-based PCB test stations.