CTR Electronics CANdle User manual

CANdle User’s Guide www.ctr-electronics.com 1/17/2022

Cross The Road Electronics Page 1 1/17/2022

CANdle

User’s Guide

Revision 1.0

Cross The Road Electronics

www.ctr-electronics.com

CANdle User’s Guide                 www.ctr-electronics.com 1/17/2022 
 
Cross The Road Electronics Page 2 1/17/2022 
 
Table of Contents 
Device description ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5 
1. Common Use Cases............................................................................................................................................................... 5 
2. Features ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 
3. Kit Contents........................................................................................................................................................................... 7 
4. Electrical Specifications......................................................................................................................................................... 7 
5. General specifications........................................................................................................................................................... 7 
6. Onboard LED Specifications .................................................................................................................................................. 7 
7. LED States ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 
Wiring ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 
1. Wiring Diagram ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 
2. Enclosure Wire labels............................................................................................................................................................ 9 
3. Individually Addressable LEDs............................................................................................................................................. 10 
4. Powering a Raspberry Pi ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 
5. Controlling a single-color LED ............................................................................................................................................. 12 
6. Pixel Pulse Train Control - Separate Controller................................................................................................................... 13 
7. Daisy Chain from Single Power Source................................................................................................................................ 14 
Control Methods......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 
1. Individually Addressable Control ........................................................................................................................................ 15 
1.1. Individually Addressable Control –CAN bus ............................................................................................................... 15 
1.2. Individually Addressable Control - WS2812B compliant pulse train ........................................................................... 15 
2. On board LEDs and LED Order............................................................................................................................................. 15 
3. CAN Single-Color Control .................................................................................................................................................... 15 
Mounting .................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 
1. Using the Spacers................................................................................................................................................................ 16 
2. Panel Mounting................................................................................................................................................................... 17 
External LED strip types .............................................................................................................................................................. 18 
1. Testing Recommendations.................................................................................................................................................. 18 
Phoenix Tuner / Phoenix Framework.......................................................................................................................................... 19 
FAQ ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 
1. Is there a way to tell if the device is present/powered?..................................................................................................... 20 
2. How do I control LEDs? ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 
3. How many LEDs can I drive from the CANdle?.................................................................................................................... 20 
3.1. Software limiting LED count ........................................................................................................................................ 20 
3.2. Current Draw limiting LED count................................................................................................................................. 20 
4. Is the CANdle an LED strip or LED controller?..................................................................................................................... 20 

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7.5. Do I need to set the RGB type for the onboard eight LEDs? ............................................................................................... 20

7.6. Can I power my Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano from the CANdle?........................................................................................ 20

8. Mechanical Drawings.................................................................................................................................................................. 21

9. Revision History .......................................................................................................................................................................... 22

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TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS

It is our intention to provide our valued customers with the best documentation possible to

ensure successful use of your CTRE products. To this end, we will continue to improve our

publications, examples, and support to better suit your needs.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this document, or any CTRE product, please

contact supp[email protected]m

To obtain the most recent version of this document, please visit

www.ctr-electronics.com.

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1. Device description

The CANdle is a CAN-enabled individually addressable LED controller and a 5V high-efficiency DC voltage regulator

all in one compact device.

1.1. Common Use Cases

This device allows users to:

-Produce light using the eight individually addressable onboard LEDs - controlled via CAN bus (Phoenix) or

WS2812B-compliant pulse-train. Good for dome lamp applications.

-Control external individually addressable LEDs via CAN bus (Phoenix) or WS2812B-compliant pulse-train.

-Power a custom load using a 5V high-efficiency DC voltage regulator up to six amperes.

Great for Jetson Nano and other popular development boards!

-Measure output current, 5V voltage, and V+ input voltage.

-Enable/disable 5V output programmatically. (1)

-Modulate V+ output for single-color LEDs.

-Daisy-chain multiple CANdles using a single source of power.

Note 1: Not available without field-upgrade.

With all these use cases and features, the CANdle will likely find a place in a variety of your LED and voltage control

applications.

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1.2. Features

•Eight onboard individually addressable LEDs –CANdle can be used without wiring additional LEDs.

•Supports multiple kinds of external addressable LEDs (1)

•Works with 12V RGB(W) LED strips (when +VIN is ~12V)

•Works with 5V RGB(W) LED strips (using onboard regulated 5V supply)

•5V Output can also power 5V peripherals such as Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano

•Reverse Input Power Protection

•Output Short Circuit Protection

•Output Overcurrent Protection

•Thermal Protection

•Voltage and Current Measurement

•High-Side PWM control of the V+ Output

•Polycarbonate housing prevents debris from entering inside device

•Electrically isolated heatsink allows for direct mounting to robot frame

•Auto-detection of CAN bus / CAN FD (Phoenix) or WS2812B-compliant pulse-train.

No software configuration required to choose between the two.

•Robust bootloader and reliable field-upgrade (no physical button required, no “stuck states”that

requires user intervention)

•Firmware supports several animations (Larson, rainbow, twinkle, color fades, etc.) when used with CAN

bus

•Robust embedded wire leads that will not shake loose.

•Wire leads are labeled for fast and easy wiring.

Note 1: See Section 5 for more information on what types of individually addressable LEDs are supported.

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1.3. Kit Contents

The kit contains a single CANdle and two aluminum

spacers.

Note: External LED strip is not included, however LED

strips may be purchased at ctr-electronics.com.

Note: CANdle has eight onboard individually addressable

LEDs. This means CANdle can be illuminated without

wiring additional LEDs.

1.4. Electrical Specifications

Symbol

Parameter

Condition

Min

Typ.

Max

Unit

Tamb

Ambient temperature

-40

+85

°C

Quiescent Supply Current

DC supply 12.0V

+VIN

Supply voltage

6.0

12.0

28.0

-IOUT

Current sunk thru -VOUT

IMAX

Maximum Output Current

Sunk via -Vout

ESD Rating

ESD Protection Contact Discharge

±30

ESD Protection Air-Gap Discharge

±30

1.5. General specifications

Outside Dimensions

2.7” x 1”

Weight (with wires)

1.584 ounces (44.9 grams)

Supported Communication Protocols

CAN 2.0 (1Mbps)

CAN FD when used with CANivore

Addressable LED Pulse Train

Maximum Operational Temperature @ 5 A(1)

75 °C

Maximum Operational Temperature @ 5 A(2)

55 °C

NOTE 1: This is the maximum expected temperature CANdle can reach when sourcing 5 amps continuously, without any additional heat sink attached

NOTE 2: This is the maximum expected temperature CANdle can reach when sourcing 5 amps continuously, while attached to a heat sink via the provided spacers,

shown in Section 4.1 Using the Spacers.

1.6. Onboard LED Specifications

Parameter

Min

Typ.

Max

Unit

Number of onboard LEDs

Red Intensity

700

1000

mcd

Green Intensity

1500

2200

mcd

Blue Intensity

700

1000

mcd

Red Wavelength

625

Green Wavelength

520

Blue Wavelength

470

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1.7. LED States

The CANdle features a tri-color LED that indicates CAN bus health and general status (similar to other CTR-

Electronics CAN devices). This feature can be used to confirm proper CAN bus and power wiring. The table below

shows the possible color patterns and their respective CANdle states.

LED Color

5V out / V+ out

Description

Off

Disabled

CANdle is not powered/ plugged in.

Check power cabling to the CANdle.

Also confirm software configuration has not disabled LED

explicitly. (Note 1)

Yellow/Green

(LED is never off)

Disabled

Device is in bootloader, most likely because field-upgrade failed

in middle of event.

Inspect CAN bus wiring and re-field-upgrade using Phoenix Tuner.

If device has valid firmware, turn device off, wait 10 seconds, and

turn device on to boot strap it.

In this state, the 5V and V+ outputs are off to prevent accidental

shorting.

Red/Yellow

(LED is never off)

Disabled

(…if firmware determines

this is required)

Hardware is damaged.

Slow Red Blink

Configurable/On (Note 2)

Check CAN Bus health and connection to the CANdle/Pixel pulse

train connection to the CANdle.

In this state, the output of the CANdle is determined by

configuration.

Rapid Red Blink

Off

Device has faulted and has disabled outputs to prevent hardware

damage.

Check Phoenix Tuner self-test to diagnose what fault occurred.

Check wiring to ensure no shorts across output leads.

Yellow Blink

Configurable/On (Note 2)

CAN bus detected but no commands are being received. Most

likely no CANdle object created in software.

Green Blink

Configurable/On (Note 2)

CANdle is actively controlled either via CAN or through the pixel

pulse train.

Note 1: Software configuration allows customers to turn off tri-color LED when loss of signal occurs (CAN bus or pulse-train) as some applications

may require absolutely no light when disconnected. In such a case, consider this as a potential cause of why the LED is off.

Note 2: The outputs are controlled by software configuration.

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2. Wiring

Due to the sealed nature of the CANdle, all wires leads are pre-installed. Because of this, customers can use whatever

connector solution is required for the application.

The wiring details will be determined by the desired use case of the CANdle. As a result this section documents several wiring

diagrams for each use-case.

2.1. Wiring Diagram

Color of wire

Signal

Description

Inputs to CANdle

Red (18 AWG)

+VIN

The supply input voltage (6 V –28 V, typically 12 V)

Black (18 AWG)

-VIN

The supply ground (0 V)

Yellow (22 AWG)

CANH (Note 1)

CAN Bus High

Green (22 AWG)

CANL (Note 2)

CAN Bus Low

Outputs from CANdle

Blue (18 AWG)

5VOUT

Regulated 5V for powering 5V addressable LEDs or 5V

development boards.

Orange (18 AWG)

+VOUT

Provides voltage to LEDs that are rated for supply

voltage. This can be modulated via software.

A common use case is to power CANdle with 12V lead

acid battery, and use +VOUT to power 12V LEDs.

Use +VOUT to power 12V LED strips. (Note 3)

Do not use +VIN to power 12V LED strips.(Note 3)

White (18 AWG)

DOUT

WS2812B compliant signal for individually addressable

LEDs.

Gray (18 AWG)

-VOUT

Ground reference for all outputs.

Do not use -VIN to sink load currents.

Note 1: Both CANH wires are electrically common.

Note 2: Both CANL wires are electrically common.

Note 3: CANdle safely disables +VOUT and 5VOUT during fault conditions.

Therefore, these must be used to power outputs for safe operation.

2.2. Enclosure Wire labels

Wire leads labels are available on the back of heatsink. This makes wiring the CANdle even easier.

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2.3. Individually Addressable LEDs

The output leads must be used to control individually addressable LEDs.

5V addressable LEDs must use the +5V rail.

12V addressable LEDs must use the +Vout rail.

Ground return must use -VOUT.

Do not connect +VIN or -VIN to the LED strip.

The example below demonstrates wiring an external 5V LED strip.

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