lodestar®
MANUAL
REVISED 1/08/19
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Introduction
The Lodestar family of hardware interfaces provides remote connectivity for multiplexed automotive and
automation communication networks. These products use an Ethernet or USB connection to the user’s
PC to provide a high-speed user interface for applications such as diagnostics, monitoring, and
troubleshooting, as well as for custom applications. An embedded Linux operating system and standard
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) services ensure inter-connectivity with many
existing PCs, workstations, and network hardware systems.
The
LODESTAR
®
includes the following features:
User interface
Web-page interface
LCD and Keypad
Hardware
Processor: ARM Cortex A8, 1 GHz core speed.
RAM: 512 Mbytes SDRAM
NAND Flash Memory: 512 Mbytes
Internal storage: Micro SD card, to 64 GBytes
One RJ45 Ethernet connector
Two USB Type A Host connectors on the front of the unit for USB peripherals
One USB Device Type B connector on the front of the unit for connection to a Host PC
6 Channels of High Speed CAN / CAN FD
1 Channel Single Wire CAN
1 Channel Fault Tolerant CAN
2 Channels LIN
Software
Linux OS
On-board Web server
TCP/IP support of standard services into the LODESTAR
®
(FTP, SSH, etc.)
Module drivers and applications
Users can utilize one of DG’s existing PC programs, or write their own client based or stand-alone
applications for communication with the hardware.
The LODESTAR
®
utilizes the Gryphon
®
Communication Protocol, which is a client/server
communication protocol specification that defines the format of messages passed over a TCP connection
between the LODESTAR
®
and a client.
