One plug turns it into the whole system.
Helm Commander does plenty on its own, straight off the CAN bus. But when a build needs more than the bus carries, the Expander gives the dash hands and senses — a plug-in board that reads your sensors, watches your switches, drives your relays and solenoids, and — on the Pro — adds wheel-speed, a 6-axis IMU and a dedicated extra vehicle network. It brings its own processor and full automotive protection, so all that extra I/O never slows the dash down.
An optional upgrade — the Expander is fitted with your Helm Commander, not sold on its own.
Real vehicle I/O, properly protected.
Dash, or dash plus more.
Helm Commander is complete on its own — it reads, tunes, logs, diagnoses and commands straight off the CAN bus. When a build needs more than the bus carries, add Expander Standard — the core vehicle-I/O board — or Expander Pro, which adds double the outputs (one a PWM solenoid channel), wheel-speed inputs, a 6-axis IMU and a dedicated third CAN bus. Both are the same 6-layer board — the Standard is the Pro with the motorsport blocks left unpopulated.
| Capability | Dash only | + Standard | + Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM CAN — tune · log · diagnose · command | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vehicle CAN buses | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Local I/O processor (STM32G474) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wi-Fi / OTA | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analog sensor inputs (16-bit) | — | 8 | 8 |
| Switch / digital inputs | — | 21 | 21 |
| Aux voltage input | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Protected high-side outputs | — | 4 | 8 |
| Resistive-sender support (SW pull-ups) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| GPS / GNSS | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wheel-speed (VR) inputs | — | — | 2 |
| CAN keypad support | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| PWM solenoid output | — | — | ✓ |
| 6-axis IMU (g-force + yaw) | — | — | ✓ |
Every analog input and output is assigned in the dash — nothing is fixed-function, so a channel can be any sensor or any driver you set it to. Both boards carry all 8 analog channels, and four of them (the two fuel-level, cruise and tap-shift channels) have software-selectable pull-ups, so they read 2-wire resistive senders as well as voltage-output sensors — no external parts. The board also reads its own battery / supply voltage, and a dedicated aux voltage input (0–~20 V) monitors a second, independent source — a house or second battery, an alternator or a trailer feed. Handy for dual-battery 4x4s and campers. (The dash can also pull system voltage straight from the GM CAN broadcast with a custom OS flash — no expander needed.)
Both boards support a CAN keypad for hard buttons — always-on, protected keypad power sits on the CAN connector and the keypad runs on CAN2, so it doesn't use up an output. (The Pro's on-board third CAN bus is a separate, dedicated bus — for a Nissan Patrol or other extra-vehicle network.)
Wi-Fi and over-the-air updates come from the Expander's on-board ESP32 — the dash on its own is CAN-connected, with no wireless of its own. Fit an Expander (Standard or Pro) to bring the dash online to the owner portal.
Engineered in Australia.
