Reference

The identifiers a box carries

Every BLOC 8 v2 answers with four identifiers. They are read-only.

Parameter	What it is	Value
ProductId	the finished product	010020008
HardwareId	the board	990010072
SoftwareId	the application program	990050032
SoftwareVersion	the version of that program	6.0

muxen-uds -i can0 -d <address> readconfig --only-name ProductId \
                                          --only-name SoftwareVersion

Product ID	Product	Software ID	Version
010020008	BLOC 8 v2	990050032	6.0

The version is the one in the source tree at the time of writing; the box itself is always the authority.

How a device is addressed

A MUXEN device is a function (what kind of thing it is) and an instance (which one). A BLOC 8 is function 1. The address used by muxen-uds -d is the two packed together:

address = function × 64 + instance

so the bloc set to instance 0 is at 64, instance 10 at 74, and so on. The same device can be reached by name:

muxen-uds -i can0 -F 1 -I 10 readconfig

Instance	Meaning
0…62	a real address
63	the parking address — "no address of my own", and also the broadcast instance
255	the factory value of InstanceNum, meaning the box has never been addressed

A box whose InstanceNum is 255 parks itself at 63. It runs, it drives the panel, it answers requests addressed to 63 — and it publishes nothing periodic and holds every output off, because several unaddressed blocs would all be answering as 63 at once.

Platform settings

Everything that configures an output — trip levels, delays, modes, dimming, equations, names, the supply window — is in the application manual. These are the ones that belong to the box itself:

Parameter	Default	Meaning
InstanceNum	255	the instance number — nothing is published and no output is released until this is set
EnAnalogPwr	1	power the analog sensor supply 0 — disabled 1 — enabled
GenIoMaxSendingPeriod	5000	how often the input frame is repeated when nothing changes, in ms 0 — publish on change only
EnCurrentPeriodic	0	publish the per-output currents continuously 0 — disabled, on request only 1 — enabled
StartupDly	0	delay before the box begins driving its outputs, in ms

What the box publishes

Identifier	Frame	Carries	When
1	life	the eight output states, the four virtual signals, the total current, a rolling counter	every 500 ms, and immediately on any output change
2	inputs	the six dry-contact inputs and the three analog inputs in mV	on change, otherwise every GenIoMaxSendingPeriod
4	currents 1	outputs 1 to 4, in amps	every 500 ms when current publishing is on
5	currents 2	outputs 5 to 8, in amps	every 500 ms when current publishing is on
7	supply voltage	the box's own supply	every second
10	output levels	the actual level of each of the eight outputs, 0 to 100 % — see below	at startup, then on change, at most every 500 ms
1365	boot	that the box has just started, and how many times it has restarted itself	at startup, and on request
3840	UID	the board's unique factory identifier	on request

Every one of them can also be asked for individually at any time; the box answers even when it is parked at 63.

An "input frame on change" means any of the six dry contacts moving, or an analog input moving by at least 100 mV.

The output-level frame carries one byte per output: the level the output is driven at right now, 0 to 100 %, a ramp in progress included — an output that does not dim reads 0 or 100. 255 means there is no level to give: the output has tripped (short circuit or open load), or the box is parked at 63. A change is sent at once; further changes within the next 500 ms are held back and the latest one goes out when that window ends, so the final level of a ramp is always sent. Nothing repeats it periodically: a listener that starts later asks for it.

What the box accepts

One command frame, addressed to the box, carrying:

Field	Meaning
channel 0…7	the output to act on, with a request to turn it on or off and an optional dimming level of 1 to 100 %
channel 8	start or stop the continuous publication of the per-output currents

A direct command is given 5 seconds of validity, so a momentary output cannot be left held on by a Brain that stops talking.

The box also listens to the Brain's own status frame for the boat's degraded power mode. Each output has a level at which it is shed; the mode lapses 5 seconds after the last frame from the Brain, and everything comes back.

Output states

The value each output reports in the life frame, and the state its cell shows on the panel:

Code	State
0	off
1	on
2	short circuit — overcurrent, output latched off
3	not connected — open load, output latched off

The panel adds three states of its own that are not circuit states:

Cell	Meaning
board fault	the whole bloc is in safety — supply out of range
configuration error	this output's logic could not be read
no address	the bloc has no instance number

The bloc status shown on the panel

A bit field — several can be raised at once.

Bit	Meaning
1	supply above VBatMax
2	supply below VBatMin
4	at least one output or virtual signal has an unusable equation
8	the CAN bus is not working

Bit 8 is latched: it is set as soon as the bus misbehaves and cleared only by proof that it works again — a frame received, or a frame the box sent and another node acknowledged.

Fault codes

Reported to the Brain and listed on the panel's error screen.

Code	Meaning
0x0001	supply above maximum
0x0002	supply below minimum
0x0n01	output n: unusable equation
0x0n02	output n: overcurrent
0x0n03	output n: open load

n is the output number, 1 to 8 — so output 3's overcurrent is 0x0302. The list is published once a second.

E-paper name zones

Each of the twenty cells and labels the panel prints is an image uploaded from the Brain, 155 × 40 pixels, one bit per pixel. They are sent by a single routine, each carrying the zone it is for; a zone is kept by the panel until it is replaced.

Zone	What it names
16…23	outputs 1 to 8
24	the bloc itself, in the panel header
25	the dry-contact input page
26…31	dry-contact inputs 1 to 6
32	the analog input page
33…35	analog inputs 1 to 3

LED codes

Rate	Meaning
1 Hz (on 500 ms, off 500 ms)	running normally
≈5 Hz (on 100 ms, off 100 ms)	running, supply out of range, every output held off
≈25 Hz (very fast flicker)	the firmware could not confirm itself — power-cycle, the previous version returns
steady on	stuck during startup
off	not running at all

Timings

Control cycle	50 ms
Supply out-of-range decision	about 1 s of agreement either way
Life frame	every 500 ms, plus on change
Output-level frame	at startup, then on change, at most every 500 ms
Supply voltage frame	every 1 s
Fault list	every 1 s
Input frame	on change, otherwise GenIoMaxSendingPeriod (default 5 s)
Current frames	every 500 ms when enabled
Panel output states	refreshed continuously
Panel status, instance, inputs	one of them every second, in rotation
An instance asked for from the panel	acted on within about 4 s
Direct command from the bus	valid 5 s
Degraded power mode	lapses 5 s after the Brain stops sending
Switch-on fault check	sampled 10 ms after switch-on, retried after a 20 ms off pulse
Dry-contact debounce	10 consecutive readings

Routines

Routine	What it does
1	restore parameters to their defaults — see Common mistakes
2	identify: the panel flashes all eight cells three times, outputs untouched
16	upload one e-paper name image