Vehicle Spy interacts with a vehicle network through Vehicle Network Hardware.  You can setup this hardware from the "Vehicle Networks" tab in the Vehicle Spy Setup dialog (Figure 1), found under Options in the Tools menu.

Simulating Hardware

Vehicle Spy allows you to simulate hardware by using a Vehicle Spy data file.  Basically, the data file is read and played back into Vehicle Spy as if it was coming from hardware.  This is useful for training or setting up VS3 files when you do not have hardware or a network.

To enable hardware simulation, first select "Simulation Mode" , then select a data file by clicking the "Browse" button.

Note: A data file that ships with Vehicle Spy is called "All Bus Traffic.csv" and is located in the Vehicle Spy 3 directory.  This is the data file used by tutorials to simulate traffic. 

Figure 1: The Vehicle Networks tab allows you to run in simulation mode or configure your hardware.

Hardware Setup

If vehicle network hardware is available, use this area to help configure it.  When the "Autodetect Hardware" check box is checked , Vehicle Spy will search to find the first supported connected device on the system.  If Autodetect is not used, the location of the hardware needs to be specified.  Use the Type drop down to select a RS232/USB or TCP/IP connection.  Use the Port field to specify the port or address the hardware is connected to. 

More than one piece of hardware can be used with Vehicle Spy.  Select "Multiple Devices" and then click the Multiple Hardware Setup to select which devices you want to use.

Here are some details regarding more hardware options at location :

• Enable Auto Update - This will ensure the firmware from the current loaded version of Vehicle Spy is in the hardware.
• Enable Bit Rate Sync - Enabling this option lets Vehicle Spy automatically notify the user of any baud rate conflicts between the hardware and the Network settings. The user then has the option to apply the Vehicle Spy baud rates to the hardware or vice versa.
• Enable RTC Sync - Enabling this option will set the Real Time Clock inside of supported hardware to match the clock on the PC.

J1850 VPW Mode
This option determines how J1850 VPW header bytes will be treated.

LIN
If LIN is to be used, check the "Enable LIN Support" and use the drop down to select which version.

OEM Specific Features
This area enables helpful features specific to Original Equipment Manufacturers or specifications.  The current options are GMLAN and J1939.

Vehicle Spy Documentation - (C) Copyright 1997-2011 Intrepid Control Systems, Inc.

Last Update: Wednesday, November 19, 2008