AstroCAN Body Lights

Components

Terminology
DPL	Data Port Logics
(D)CBI	Charge Bay Indicator
CSI	Coin Slot Indicator
LDPL	Large Data Port Logics
VU	Volume Unit
UAL	Utility Arms Logics

DPL+VU (analog + digital VU)

CBI (analog)

D-CBI (digital)

LDPL

UAL

Connectors

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

AstroCAN Body Lights Connectors
Hotspot	Function	Description
1	CAN-Bus	CAN-Bus Pin Header
2	Power Supply, 5.0V	Power Supply, 5.0V. Important: 5V ONLY! Otherwise you will damage your board.
3	JTAG-Connector	Debugging Interface, Developers only
4	I2C Connector	I2C Port for connecting other dome modules.
5	ESP32 Dev Kit V4	ESP32 Dev Kit V4 (in case you have to replace it…)
6	WIFI/NOW-Antenna	Do not cover with metallic case etc.
7	CAN-Bus	Can-Bus Screw Terminal. Same as CAN-Bus Pin Header
8	CAN-Bus Terminator	CAN-Bus Terminator. See CAN Termination for Details
8	Reset Button	Press to restart module
10	USB-Connector	Connector for flashing and configuring your device
11	Pair / Boot Button	Hold for 3s to start ESP-Now-Pairing. Bridge module has to be connected to AstroCAN Shield / AstroCAN Brain via CAN-Bus to get paring information!
12	Voltage Meter	Connector for Battery Voltage. Important: Check for correct resistors matching your maximum battery/charging voltage, otherwise you will destroy your board
13	CBI (digital) Connector	Connector for your digital CBI module + = VCC S = Signal/Data – = GND
14	CSL (digital) Connector	Connector for your digital CSL module + = VCC S = Signal/Data – = GND
15	LDPL (digital) Connector	Connector for your digital LDPL module + = VCC S = Signal/Data – = GND
16	UAL (digital) Connector	Connector for your digital UAL module OUT = Signal/Data SW = UAL-Switch (Low Active
17	Left Door (DPL) Switch Connector	Connector for DPL-Door. LOW = Door Open
18	Right Door (CBI) Switch Connector	Connector for CBI-Door. LOW = Door Open
19	CBI (analog) Connector	Connector for your analog CBI module

JTAG

Light Configuration Commands

Use serial terminal to connect via USB (see above) to AstroCAN-Module. If your browser supports “Web Serial”, you also can use the terminal available in the Firmware section. Communication speed ist 115200 baud. The following commands are available for configuration and management.

Note: The light configuration parameters differ from the common AstroCAN syntax. This is due to compatibility to the Arduino Nano board with less memory.

Light Configuration Command Structure

/_module_/_param_/_value1_/_value2_/_value…_

Modules

DP – DLP

CB – CBI

DC – D-CBI

CS – CSI

LD – LDPL

VU – VUBar

UA – UAL

Optional additional moduls (available in some special releases)

TB – Top Block (= Yellow and Green Block together)

YB – Yellow Block

GB – Green Block

BL – Blue Lights

BG – BarGraph

RL – Red Lights

WL – White Lights

Parameters

CO – Base Color, 3 separate Values for R/G/B, 0-255 each

BR – Brightness, 1 Value 0-255

AN – Animation Number, 1 Value 0-255

AS – Animation Speed, 1 Value 0 – 65535

EF – Effect, 1 Value 0-255

ES – Effect Speed, 1 Value 0-65535

VM – Voltage Monitor, 1 Value 0/1

VL – Voltage Limits, 4 Values (red, yellow, green, charge)

RR – Resistor Values, 2 Values R1 + R2

Examples

/DP/BR/15 – DPL, Brightness 15 (0-15 for analog modules)

/LD/BR/50 – LDPL, Brightness 50 (0-255 for AstroPixels)

/CS/CO/255/0/0 – CSI, Base Color Red (R/G/B)

/DP/RR/10000.0/1000.0 – R1 = 10K, R2 = 1K

/DP/VL/11.5/12.0/12.5/13.0 – red = 11.5V, yellow = 12.0V, green = 12.5V, charge = 13.0V

:

AstroCAN Commands

AstroCAN Body Lights Commands
Command	Parameters	Description	Example
/HELP	–	shows usage	/HELP
/SETTINGS	–	shows all settings stored in EEPROM	/SETTINGS
/WIFIAPSSID	AP SSID	sets the access point SSID	/WIFIAPSSID R2TOCH
/WIFIAPPASSWORD	AP Password	sets the access point password	/WIFIAPPASSWORD R2TOUCH123
/WIFISSID	WIFI SSID	sets the WLAN SSID	/WIFISSID HOMELAN
/WIFIPASSWORD	WIFI Password	sets the WLAN Password	/WIFIPASSWORD HOMELAN123
/PAIR	–	auto pair module with ESP-NOW peer (connect both modules to CAN for pairing) Pairing mode depends on Dome jumper. When in dome mode, it looks for brain/shield module. When in body mode, it looks for bridge module.	/PAIR
/NOWLMK	16 byte key	sets the local master key for ESP-NOW communication. See -> ESP-NOW encryption for details.	/NOWLMK 0123456789ABCDEF
/NOWPMK	16 byte key	sets the primary master key for ESP-NOW communication. See -> ESP-NOW encryption for details.	/NOWPMK 0123456789ABCDEF
/NOWCHANNEL	Channel	sets the ESP-NOW channel number	/NOWCHANNEL 5
/NOWSETPEER	MAC Address in xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx format	set ESP-NOW communication peer MAC address	/NOWSETPEER 01:23:45:67:89:AB
/NOWCLEARPEERS	–	clear all ESP-NOW communication peers	/NOWCLEARPEERS
/NOWLISTPEERS	–	list all ESP-NOW communication peers	/NOWLISTPEERS
/RESTART	–	restart module	/RESTART
/FACTORY	–	set factory settings and restart module. All EEPROM settings will also be set to default.	/FACTORY
/ACTIVATE	CAN\|CAN1\|CAN2\|NOW\|WIFI\|ENC	acticate CAN-/NOW-/WIFI-Functionality or ESP-NOW encryption. CAN1/CAN2 only available on Dual-CAN-Boards.	/ACTIVATE CAN
/DEACTIVATE	CAN\|CAN1\|CAN2\|NOW\|WIFI\|ENC	deacticate CAN-/NOW-/WIFI-Functionality or ESP-NOW encryption. CAN1/CAN2 only available on Dual-CAN-Boards.	/DEACTIVATE CAN
/NOWSETBRAIN	MAC Address in xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx format	set ESP-NOW brain/body peer address	/NOWSETBRAIN 01:23:45:67:89:AB
Light Modules Commands as described above

Settings

Use serial terminal to connect via USB (see above) to AstroCAN-Bridge. Communication speed ist 115200 baud. The following settings can be configured (see command set above):

AstroCAN Body Lights Settings
Setting	Description	Example	Config Command
MAC	MAC Address of ESP32	12:34:56:78:9A:BC	fix, not configurable
AP_SSID	Name of the access point network, the AstroCAN module opens up to get connected by apps like R2-Touch	R2TOUCH	/WIFIAPSSID
AP_Password	Password of the Access point network.	R2TOUCH123	/WIFIAPPASSWORD
WLAN_SSID	Name of the WLAN the AstroCAN module can connect to, to be controlled by other systems within that network	HOMELAN	/WIFISSID
WLAN_Password	Password of the WLAN the AstroCAN module can connect to.	HOMELAN123	/WIFIPASSWORD
NOW_PMK	ESP-NOW encryption parameter: Primary Master Key. See -> ESP-NOW encryption for details. Only change, if you exactly know, what you are doing!	0123456789ABCDEF	/NOWPMK
NOW_LMK	ESP-NOW encryption parameter: Local Master Key. See -> ESP-NOW encryption for details. Only change, if you exactly know, what you are doing!	0123456789ABCDEF	/NOWLMK
NOW_Channel	WIFI channel to be used for ESP-NOW communication. All ESP-NOW peers have to communicate over the same channel number	5	/NOWCHANNEL
CAN1_Active	Shows, if main CAN bus is active	true – activated false – deactivated	/ACTIVATE CAN /ACTIVATE CAN1 /DEACTIVATE CAN /DEACTIVATE CAN1
CAN2_Active	Shows, if secondary CAN bus is active	true – activated false – deactivated	/ACTIVATE CAN2 /DEACTIVATE CAN2
NOW_Active	Shows, if ESP-NOW is active	true – activated false – deactivated	/ACTIVATE NOW /DEACTIVATE NOW
WIFI_Active	Shows, if WIFI is active	true – activated false – deactivated	/ACTIVATE WIFI /DEACTIVATE WIFI or WIFI jumper
NOW_Encryption	Shows, if ESP-NOW encryption is active. See -> ESP-NOW encryption for details.	true – activated false – deactivated	/ACTIVATE ENC /DEACTIVATE ENC
Light Modules Settings as described above
Peers	Description	Example	Configuration
Peer	MAC-Adress of ESP-NOW communication partner, not used in autodome module	12:34:56:78:9A:BC	/NOWSETPEER
Brain/Body	MAC-Adress of ESP-NOW communication partner placed in body	12:34:56:78:9A:BC	/NOWSETBRAIN

F.A.Q – AstroCAN Dome Lights

What is it?

The AstroCAN Body Lights / Digital Data Port Logics VU is an enhanced version of the original DPL for Astromechs.
The main difference to the classic DPL are the additional digital RGB LEDs and supports digital CBI, CSL, LDPL and UAL modules. Analog CBI modules are supported as well.
With coding you can show battery status via the digital LEDs, use it as a VU meter or whatever your creativity tells you.

Features

AstroCAN extension module
ESP-NOW Wireless Comm (Serial, CAN-Bus, I2C)
JTAG-Live Debugging
Status Leds for CanBus transmission
Everything on 1 pcb – MicroController, terminals for power and voltage sensor are integrated in the DPL – even added I2C & serial breakout
Digital VU Leds
Terminals for the other Printed Droid Body Lights
Better tracing
Improved LED alignment

Best Practice – Wiring

Firmware Installer

To install most recent firmware V1.0.3 connect the AstroCAN module via USB to your computer and click on “Connect” button.

Revision History

Version 1.0.3 (8. January 2025)

Bugfixes

–

Features

First official release

AstroCAN Body Lights