WHAT IS A V-NET?

The word V-Net is an acronym for the term Vehicle Network. In trying to describe everything that the V-Net can do, it can best be summed up as a means in turning your vehicle’s electrical system into an integrated network.

This networking ability begins with the relatively new Can-Bus technology that enables the signals from all sensors to be transferred over a single cable. On the surface the benefit of this seems simply that it can eliminate a large amount of wiring from a vehicle, but the advantages run much deeper than that. Primarily, with all signals traveling a common path, it opens the door for multiple components to share signals. Additionally, this technology permits all signals that are input over the V-Net to also be output over the same path. This combination of abilities has allowed engineers to utilize electrical systems in manners never before possible. In regards to data acquisition it has allowed us to construct our recorders in a manner where they can be integrated directly into your vehicle’s electronics, sharing the same sensors with the components that require them, coordinating multiple signal activated events, while recording everything it sees.

HOW DOES IT DO THAT?

Everyone knows that you cannot put coffee, tea, and soda together in the same thermos bottle and expect to pour them out individually. They’ll all be mixed together into an awful mess. But in essence that is exactly what the V-Net is capable of doing. You can load information from various sensors (for example oil pressure, water temperature, and engine RPM) onto a common cable and deliver their signals, individually, to their proper destination or destinations. Even better than that, at the very same time that you are inputting that information from the sensors to the components (gauge, data recorder, light, controller, etc.), you can also simultaneously use the same information, over the very same cable, to perform other functions. Although this defies common logic, at least the logic we have come to accept up to this time, it is now a reality. The key to accomplishing this is in the modular connectors on each of the components attached to the main V-Net cable. Each connector is, in essence, a miniature computer. They house a microprocessor and circuit boards that either ‘conditions and labels’ the outgoing signals, or ‘identifies and retrieves’ only the proper incoming signals. That means that a gauge, or data recorder, or whatever component takes only what it needs from the V-Net cable and leaves the rest to find it’s proper destination or destinations. Think of the connector modules as a V-net filter, allowing only the signals with the proper password into the component.

WHAT WILL THE V-NET DO FOR ME?

V-Net systems get the job done more efficiently, while providing some additional benefits along the way. We’ve already mentioned the clutter you will eliminate by using the single cable wiring system, but we haven’t told you how easy it is to install one of these systems. Whether you plan to install a single gauge set up, or a full blown data acquisition system, each component is attached to the system using the modular snap-together connectors. Whenever you want to add a component to the system, just find a junction in the main V-Net cable, separate the connectors, and sandwich the new connector module in between. It is that simple. However, even better than that, next time you fire up your system, it recognizes that a new component has been added and reconfigures itself accordingly. Installation is outrageously simple, and upgrades do not require the system to be returned to the factory.

Another feature unique to the V-Net is its ability to access information from more than one source. That means that you can now trigger controls based on more than a single signal. You are already familiar with items like cooling fans that are activated when the water temperature gets too high. With the V-Net you can take that thinking a step further. You could, for example, signal a kill switch to shut down the engine when the oil pressure dropped to a predetermined level….but only when the engine was above a certain RPM. This is only one example, but by using a V-Net Relay Control Module you are now free to let your imagination conceive a list of potential automated functions that could be integrated into this system.

Gauges are yet another option of this system. The V-net doesn’t require you to install separate sensor and wiring systems for your gauges and your data recorder to essentially monitor the very same functions. V-Net lets you plug Intelli-Gauges right onto the V-Net cable. You can investigate the many features of these data acquisition quality gauges elsewhere on this website, but in the meantime don’t mistake these gauges for your common garden variety gauges. The Intelli-Gauges have the capability to recall and playback recorded data, in addition to providing real time display of your monitored functions. The playback can be viewed in real time, fast forward, fast backward, step forward, or step backward, or the gauges can just recall the minimum and maximum readings attained during the recording period. Intelli-Gauges can also act as a watchdog, triggering an alarm that will flash either the gauge’s digital display, or a remote warning light, whenever the user programmable level is exceeded.

Speaking of gauges, the V-Net Tachometer and Shift Light Module is a particularly interesting piece of equipment that exemplifies V-Net capabilities. While some of you may be under the impression that it takes a giant tach to provide recall and shift light capabilities, this small device proves otherwise. It can provide all of the replay and programmable shift light intelligence to any electric tachometer and shift light, without taking up valuable space or busting the bank. Check it out.

Here is where things really start to get interesting. As we pointed out earlier the connector modules are actually miniature computers. They won’t go so far as to download your favorite video game or e-mail, but they will store information. That is what gives the gauges their playback capabilities. It also means you can download the stored information to a PC if you wish...without a data recorder. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it. By combining the stored data with a V-Net V50 Recording/Playback Module (also detailed elsewhere on this site), and the Racepak DataLink File Viewer software, you can view your recorded information in the same graph and numerical format that is used by leading professional racers. But wait, it gets even better. These same tools will allow you to view up to ten monitored functions in real time on your computer screen. The software provides a gauge and graph screen, similar to those seen on dynamometer control panels, that displays the functions as they are actually taking place. Think of how handy this could be when warming up a car in the pits.

In short the advantages just keep coming with the V-Net, far beyond what we have mentioned here. Not only will the electrical and data acquisition systems in your street or race car become smaller, cleaner, lighter, faster, and packed with more capabilities, but they’ll also become more user friendly. And the V-Net isn’t limited to just automotive uses. It is applicable to monitor anything with access to a 12 volt power supply. V-Net achieves more…with less.