Mastervolt MasterBus FireCAN Interface

MasterBus FireCAN Interface

FireCAN is an electronic communication system allowing pumps and other equipment to be used via a central control panel on a firefighting truck. The MasterBus FireCAN Interface allows Mastervolt products to be linked into a FireCAN system.

FireCAN

FireCAN has become an industry-standard firefighting protocol since its official launch at the Interschutz Exhibition in Leipzig in June 2010.  Several major European firetruck manufacturers and their suppliers developed a ‘common language’ based on the widely used CANOpen found in most modern vehicles. The idea was to make additional firefighting equipment such as pumps and floodlights into ‘plug and play’ items, all sharing a common communication bus which could be monitored and controlled via a single panel on each fire truck.

Effective solution

The MasterBus FireCAN Interface is an effective solution for seamless data transfer between MasterBus enabled chargers and the central communication system of a firefighting vehicle. As such, this interface is a real ‘door-opener’ to the firefighting industry, allowing it to use the wide range of batteries, chargers and Combi’s in our portfolio.

Manual or automatic configuration

Each MasterBus FireCan Interface passes data about a single charging device to the main fire control panel, including input power availability, charging status, battery voltage and over/under voltage. This data is vital in an emergency situation, and helps prevent a key power source dropping out at a crucial moment, such as when driving the fire pumps. The information from each battery charging device (or charger/inverter combination) in operation is then shared on the FireCAN network. Each interface has a default ‘auto’ mode, which automatically configures FireCAN’s communication with the charging device, but manual configuration is also possible.

The MasterBus network uses a protocol similar to FireCan for the seamless control and monitoring of all mobile systems. To ensure that FireCAN can interpret all MasterBus data quickly and accurately, a single cable interface is all that is needed.

Features

• Communication interface between FireCAN and MasterBus.
• Standardized CANopen protocol for electronic applications in firefighting vehicles (FireCAN protocol DIN14700).
• Automatic configuration (set up), so plug & play.
• Manual configuration also possible. MasterAdjust is recommended for manual configuration.
• Possible charger devices for automatic mode: Mass Combi, ChargeMaster.