RAD-Galaxy User’s Guide
3
© 2016 Intrepid Control Systems, Inc.
Version 1.2 - November 28, 2017
Upon receipt of the RAD-Galaxy package, please remove, unwrap and inspect all of its
contents. If anything is missing or damaged, please contact Intrepid for prompt assistance,
using the information at the end of this guide. Later in the document you will find detailed
instructions for creating 100BASE-T1 cables and connecting them and the other included
cables to the RAD-Galaxy and your vehicle networks.
Software
In the RAD-Galaxy package you will find a software/driver CD containing:
•
A copy of Intrepid’s Vehicle Spy Professional vehicle network software.
•
Drivers for the RAD-Galaxy.
•
An API install kit containing the neoVI Explorer utility for configuring the device.
•
Documentation materials.
Intrepid’s Vehicle Spy (often abbreviated as
VSpy
) is the “Swiss army knife” of automotive
networking tools. It allows you to easily monitor and transmit on multiple vehicle networks, and
includes capabilities for ECU simulation, data acquisition, scripting, diagnostics, data analysis
and much more.
The RAD-Galaxy and Vehicle Spy are designed to work together hand in hand, and a license
for the full Professional version is included with your hardware purchase.
It is also possible to control the RAD-Galaxy from within other software using the Intrepid API
supported by the device.
1.3 Operational Overview
The RAD-Galaxy has a multitude of capabilities and can perform a number of different
functions, many of them simultaneously. The device can function as an Automotive Ethernet
multi active tap or media converter, or both at once. At the same time it can also act as an
interface to conventional vehicle networks such as CAN and CAN FD, with support for LIN and
analog or PWM I/O lines coming in the future.
Operation as an Active Tap
Due to the high performance and complexity of 100BASE-T1, typical approaches for
interfacing to a network (such as attaching a probe to the bus) do not work. This problem is
resolved by interposing a device called an
active tap
within an Automotive Ethernet network.
The RAD-Galaxy contains 12 100BASE-T1 transceiver chips (PHYs) configured into 6 pairs
to create 6 active taps. These can be interposed between 6 pairs of BroadR-Reach nodes, or
6 nodes and 6 switch ports. The Gigabit Ethernet port of the RAD-Galaxy is connected to a
laptop PC or similar conventional Ethernet device.
