WeAct CAN485 – A low-cost ESP32 board with CAN Bus and RS485 interfaces

WeAct CAN485 is a low-cost ESP32 board with CAN Bus and RS485 interfaces implemented through transceivers with 2.5kV isolation from Shanghai Chipanalog Microelectronics Co., Ltd. or Chipanalog for shorts.

The board supports WiFi and Bluetooth LE through the ESP32 microcontroller and also features a microSD card slot, three switches for 120 Ohm termination and pull-up/pull-down resistors, Reset and User buttons, a USB-C port for programming, and a 2-pin terminal block taking 5 to 36V DC input power.

WeAct CAN485 specifications:

• Wireless SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-DOWD-V3
  • CPU – Dual-core processor @ 240MHz
  • Memory – 520 KB SRAM, 16 KB SRAM in RTC
  • Storage – 448 KB ROM
  • Wireless – WiFi 4 and BLE connectivity
• Storage
  • 8MB flash (W25Q64JVSSIQ)
  • MicroSD card slot (SPI); note: the card needs to be removed when flashing the firmware.
• USB –  USB Type-C port for power and programming ( via CH343P USB to TTL bridge)
• Serial
  • 3-pin RS485 terminal block up to 0.5 Mbps; Chipanalog CA-IS2092A RS-485 transceiver with 2.5kV Isolation
  • 2-pin CAN Bus terminal block up to 1 Mbps; Chipanalog CA-IS2062A CAN transceiver with 2.5kV Isolation
• Misc
  • Reset and user buttons
  • WS2812 RGB LED
  • 120 Ohm resistor switches for CAN Bus and RS485
  • PCB antenna
• Power Supply – 5 to 36V via 2-pin terminal block
• Dimensions – 69 x 38 mm

WeAct shares all resources for the CAN485 board on GitHub, including the datasheets for the main components, PDF schematics, and Arduino and MicroPython code samples. Six Arduino sketches are available: analog read, blink, CAN TWAI, RS485 Echo demo, SD test, and WiFi access point. For MicroPython, you’ll find basic code for the LED, microSD card, setting up an access point, and recording RS485 data to a file on the microSD card. WeAct focuses on hardware design and inexpensive manufacturing, so don’t expect too much from the samples.

It’s not quite the first ESP32 board with CAN Bus and/or RS485 interfaces, and alternatives include the ESP32-S3-based LILYGO T-2CAN with two CAN terminal blocks, DFRobot Edge101 IoT controller (complete solution with metal enclosure), M5Stack StamPLC adding relays and isolated inputs, and others.

The WeAct CAN485 board mainly shines due to its low-price, and it’s listed for $9.28 on AliExpress plus shipping (for me). It ships with an acrylic case, a few nuts and bolts for assembly, and terminal block adapters for RS485, CAN Bus, and power interfaces. Its closest competitor is probably the LILYGO T-CAN485 launched for about $11.5 in 2021, and now sold for about $17.

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