Racelogic VBOX 3iV2, User Manual

Page 1: ...VBOX 3i User Guide Page 1 of 46 28 08 2013 VBOX 3iV2 100Hz GPS Data Logger User Guide ...

Page 2: ...VBOX 3i User Guide Page 2 of 46 28 08 2013 ...

Page 3: ...ng 12 LED Indicators 13 Memory Cards 14 GPS Antenna 15 Analogue and Digital outputs AD1 AD2 16 Digital Inputs D IN 17 Analogue inputs A In 18 RS232 Serial CAN 20 CAN Pass through 22 Dynamic Modes 24 Satellite Elevation Mask 24 VBOX Tools Version 25 USB 26 Bluetooth 26 Audio 27 VBOX 3i VBO file format 28 VBOXTools Software 29 Software Installation 29 Local DGPS Basestation 30 Enabling the DGPS mode...

Page 4: ...onfiguration 32 Hardware Set Up 34 Upgrading the VBOX 3i s Firmware 35 How to Upgrade the Firmware 35 Troubleshooting Guide 36 VBOX 3i V2 Specification 38 Connection Data 40 Analogue Input Connector 43 CAN Output 44 Contact Details 46 Document Updates 46 ...

Page 5: ...e laws of the member states relating to the type approval of motor vehicles and their trailers And has also been assessed via Technical Construction File by an independent DTI Competent Body and found to be in conformance with the essential requirements of EC Directive 89 336 EEC and amending directives Council Directive of 03 May 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating...

Page 6: ...e of the VBOX 3i an IMU02 is required Features Non contact 100Hz speed and distance measurement using GPS IMU Integration with GPS data 6 75ms Latency 4 x 24bit synchronous differential analogue inputs 50v Brake Event trigger input of 10ns resolution Voice Tagging of Data 2 x CAN Bus interface RS 232 serial interface USB Interface Bluetooth Interface Compact Flash Interface 2 x 16bit User configur...

Page 7: ... contamination NB It is important to connect the antenna to the VBOX 3i before power is connected The VBOX 3i adjusts the signal gain to the antenna based on the current incoming GPS signal strength 3 Connect the power connector to the socket marked PWR on the VBOX 3i When power is connected the red PWR LED will illuminate and all of the other LEDS will flash once then go off 4 Allow the VBOX 3i t...

Page 8: ...ture of the test surroundings may not be ideal see troubleshooting section on antenna positioning 6 Now simply drive the vehicle In the VBOX 3i s default mode it will log all data when the vehicle is moving at a speed above 0 5 Kmh and stop recording when the vehicle s speed goes below 0 5 kmh The blue CF LED on the front panel of the VBOX 3i will flash to indicate when data is being logged to the...

Page 9: ... Tools Installation CD 1 RLVBACS030 VBOX 3i Audio Headset 1 RLACS120 Optional Accessories Description Racelogic Part Description Racelogic Part Brake Pedal Trigger RLVBACS004 8 Channel Thermocouple Interface RLVBTC8 Hand held brake trigger RLVBACS009 Can to Analogue Output Module RLVBDAC01 Logging Start Stop Switch RLVBACS010 Single Yaw Rate Sensor 2 axis G Sensor RLVBYAW03 Multifunction Display R...

Page 10: ...ted to the VBOX will be at the same level as the VBOX power input Therefore when using any of the Racelogic peripherals with VBOX 3i the input voltage must not exceed 15 volts Failure to observe this could result in damage to the module and possibly the VBOX 3i When running the VBOX from a battery pack the VBOX will sound a warning tone to indicate when the battery voltage is reaching the minimum ...

Page 11: ...ed When the VBOX is logging the blue CF light flashes Do not remove the CF card or power down whilst this LED is flashing if you need to remove the card or power down whilst the CF light is flashing then press the LOG button first to stop the VBOX logging FUNC Pressing the FUNC button briefly flashes the LED s to indicate the current sample rate A slow flash once per second on all the LED s indica...

Page 12: ...cked then the VBOX will only log data to the CF card when it detects speed 0 5Km h Advanced The advanced logging option on the VBOX 3i allows any of the logged data channels to be used to trigger the logging on the VBOX This is selected and configured through VBOXsetup of the supplied VBOXTools software This facility allows a threshold value to be set as either or so that the logging will start or...

Page 13: ...f GPS Satellites currently being tracked Each flash indicates a satellite with a short pause between each sequence Flashing Red sequence indicates the number of GLONASS Satellites currently being tracked Each flash indicates a satellite with a short pause between each sequence Sequence showing 1 Satellite 1 1 1 1 Sequence showing 4 Satellites Delay 1 2 3 4 Delay 1 2 3 4 Sequence showing 0 Satellit...

Page 14: ...y and is being logged Flashing Green indicates that there is incoming Serial traffic through this socket BLUETOOTH Flashing BLUE indicates Bluetooth is switched on and waiting for a connection Solid BLUE indicates the VBOX 3i has a Bluetooth connection with another Bluetooth device CF Flashes BLUE when data is being written to the card LOG Lights solid GREEN when data is being logged to the CF car...

Page 15: ... perfect for this Please also note that when using any GPS equipment a clear sky view is important Objects in the surrounding area such as tall buildings or trees can block the GPS signal causing a reduction in the number of satellites being tracked or introducing reflected signals that can decrease the accuracy of the system Note that clouds and other atmospheric conditions do not affect the VBOX...

Page 16: ... threshold level can be set for the selected data channel where a true condition gives a 5v output and a false condition gives a 0v i e Data channel Speed threshold 40Km h When speed is 40 output 5V speed 40 output 0V A hysteresis and tolerance value can also be associated to this condition The default function of this digital output is to indicate the current logging status of the VBOX The analog...

Page 17: ...cisely the trigger event time 10nS resolution for use in brake distance calculation This period of time is called the trigger event time and is logged and used to correct the measured brake stop distance to the exact point at which the trigger was pressed A hand held brake trigger is also available to allow the user to record marker events in the VBOX 3I data file A remote logging on off switch is...

Page 18: ...an option for easy connection of signal pins Using the VBOXTools software logging of the analogue channel data can be switched on or off It is also possible to change the name of each input channel and configure scale and offset values for calibration of sensors A scale value of 1 and offset of 0 correspond to a channel reading in Volts DC This means that the value stored on the compact flash card...

Page 19: ...esirable to store a reading in Kg In this case changing the scale and offset to suit the sensor data sheet allows the data stored onto the compact flash to be in Kg When changing channel setup for an analogue channel using VBOX Tools software a live data view of the current channel is shown The value shown is the value after scale and offset is applied and can therefore be used to aid sensor calib...

Page 20: ...ximum accuracy tests performed at a GPS sample rate above 20Hz should be logged to compact flash and post processed The secondary RS232 port is used for connection to a Telemetry Radio module allowing the reception of Differential GPS DGPS data for local correction from a Racelogic Local DGPS basestation The secondary RS232 port is located in the connector marked CAN on the VBOX 3i front panel The...

Page 21: ... Database giving the user the ability to log basic CAN data from a large number of current vehicles from a broad selection of manufacturers This CANALLCAR REF file should be installed as part of the supplied VBOXTools installation CAN termination The VBOX 3i contains an active termination between 0 Ohms and 120 Ohms the active terminations are selectable via VBOXTools as shown above right NOTE Whe...

Page 22: ... identifiers Eg VBOX3i can log IMU data on one CAN bus and output the IMU data to third party equipment on second CAN bus with a user defined identifier The VBOX3i can output up to 6 CAN messages and 12 CAN channels over the secondary bus Note These output CAN channels will be in a 32 bit IEEE float format 29 bit extended identifiers optional ...

Page 23: ...e speed i e no satellite signal complete satellite drop out The VBOX3i will scale the input channel to the default speed output format of Km h according to what the units have been assigned to the substitution speed channel VBOX3i will recognise the following unit names MPH KM H KPH Knots m s ms 1 Note If no UNITS have been assigned to the input channel then VBOX3i will assume that it is KPH This ...

Page 24: ... are adversely noisier The three options are High Dynamics The High dynamics setting should be used for high accuracy Trigger Brake Stops or any test where time and distance are critical and the vehicle test incorporates highly dynamic manoeuvres Normal The Normal mode should only be used for any testing that does not involve any high dynamic manoeuvres Low Dynamics The Low dynamics mode can be us...

Page 25: ...uring the signal from satellites at low elevation Raising the mask will cause the GPS engine to ignore satellites below the mask angle so must be used carefully as it also reduces the total number of received satellites The elevation mask angle can be changed in the GPS section within VBOX Tools Setup VBOX Tools Version 2 2 2b42 and above now has an option to change the SEM value for the VBOX 3i s...

Page 26: ...ecognise the presence of new hardware and open the typical Windows install window for new hardware Follow the on screen prompts and point the Windows installation to the location of your drivers Note USB drivers are available on the Racelogic website also installed into C program files Racelogic Drivers after VBOX Tools installation Bluetooth The VBOX 3i comes equipped with a Bluetooth Radio allow...

Page 27: ...ound an audible beep through the headset to confirm that recording of the WAV file has begun Pressing the switch for a second time will then stop recording this will be confirmed by a second beep through the headset If the switch has only been pressed once the VBOX 3i will record for 30 seconds then automatically stop recording Replaying Voice tags in VBOXTools When a logged VBOX data file vbo is ...

Page 28: ...ted into third party applications such as word processors or spreadsheets The files each contain a header section before the main data that describes the channel content and information about the VBOXIII such as serial number and firmware version The Column names parameter specifies the data in each column of the data section An example of a VBOX 3i VBO file is shown on the right ...

Page 29: ...i Software Installation The VBOX 3i setup software must be installed onto the hard drive of a computer it cannot be run from the installation CD To install the software insert the CD into the CD drive of your computer The default installation language is English Press OK to continue then follow the on screen instructions to complete the installation The VBOX 3i setup software is not limited to one...

Page 30: ...SL RTK CMR 2cm correction Trimble standard message type RTCMv3 2cm correction RTCM standard message type RECOMMENDED RTCMv3 is recommended as the default RTK 2cm correction type This message format is a globally recognised type and more resilient to data loss caused by radio errors Note RLVBOX 3iR2G2 has a max log rate of 20Hz when in RTK mode RLVBOX 3iR10G10 RLVB3i SL RTK has a max log rate of 10...

Page 31: ...nfluential factors Inertial sensor measurements on the other hand are continuously available but suffer from long term drift due to the accumulation of integration errors of the accelerometer and gyro measurements As a result the IMU derived position error increases without bounds IMU s of a higher accuracy are available but tend to be large bulky and expensive These complementary properties of IM...

Page 32: ...es tab should be visible This indicates the IMU has been correctly detected by the VBOX 3i 6 If the 3 axis Modules tab is not visible click on the CAN button at the top of the window 7 Make sure that the Racelogic CAN Modules only red is assigned to the CAN port that the IMU is connected to 8 Exit setup then re enter This should correctly detect the presence of the IMU data should the ports have p...

Page 33: ...the raw unfiltered GPS data If however an IMU is connected after the VBOX 3i has begun to log data the file will contain a mix of unfiltered and filtered data 11 Once the VBOX 3i has been set up to use the IMU data it will automatically log to CF card the Speed Quality IMU Kalman Filter Status and IMU channels These channels allow Racelogic to troubleshoot any problems that may be encountered with...

Page 34: ...ed to accurately align the IMU to ensure the Kalman filter uses IMU data that is as accurately aligned with the vehicle 5 Adjust the position of the IMU while observing the resulting change of the IMU X accel and Y accel values on a live display in VBOX Tools By changing the position of the IMU in Pitch and Roll it should be possible to achieve values of X accel and Y accel very close to zero For ...

Page 35: ...How to Upgrade the Firmware To upgrade the firmware power the VBOX 3i and wait until the box has finished initialisation Insert the CF card containing the upgrade file Once the upgrade is complete the VBOX 3i will beep twice and resume normal operation Once the upgrade is complete the upgrade file will be erased and a report file will be generated If the upgrade fails for any reason the upgrade fi...

Page 36: ...en static position for at least 15 minutes See VBOX 3i not responding below Once the VBOX 3i has locked on to 4 or more satellites it will be ready for use No Communication with PC If the red LED on the front of the VBOX 3i is not illuminated then there is no power to the unit check that battery contains adequate charge or if using a cigar lighter check internal cigar lighter fuse Check that the c...

Page 37: ...ed view of the skies until the GPS LED becomes solid green Once the VBOX 3i has downloaded the new almanac it will reacquire satellites in noisy situations such as near trees buildings and under bridges much more quickly It will also acquire satellite much more quickly on power up To perform a GPS coldstart on the VBOX 3i perform the following actions Press and hold the LOG button on the front of ...

Page 38: ... with RTK DGPS 2cm 95 CEP Time Update rate 100 Hz Resolution 0 01 s Resolution 1 8mm Accuracy 0 01 s Heading Power Resolution 0 01 Input Voltage range 7v 30v DC Accuracy 0 1 Power Max 5 5 watts Acceleration Environmental and physical Accuracy 0 5 Weight Approx 900 grammes Maximum 20 G Size 170mm x 121mm x 41mm Resolution 0 01 G Operating temperature 20 C to 70 C Update rate 100Hz Storage temperatu...

Page 39: ...25Hz per Km h 0 to 400Km h Accuracy 0 1 Km h 90 pulses per metre Update rate 100Hz Accuracy 0 1Km h Update rate 100Hz The range settings can be adjusted by the user in software Inputs CAN Bus Racelogic modules Up to 32 channels from any combination of ADC02 ADC03 FIM02 TC8 Yaw sensor or CAN01 Limited to 16 with the Kalman Filter enabled External CAN Bus 16 Channels of user definable CAN signal fro...

Page 40: ...VBOX 3i User Guide Page 40 of 46 28 08 2013 Connection Data Front View of VBOX3i V2 2 pin LEMO socket 3 pin LEMO socket 5 pin LEMO socket ...

Page 41: ...n Range 1 O Analogue 1 Output 0V to 5V 2 O Digital 2 Output 0V to 5V 3 I Ground Connector 3 AD 2 Type Lemo 3 pin PIN In Out Description Range 1 O Analogue 2 Output 0V to 5V 2 O Digital 1 Output 0V to 5V 3 I Connector 4 D IN Type Lemo 3 pin PIN In Out Description Range 1 I Ground 2 I Digital Input 2 Start Stop Logging 0V to 5V 14v tolerant 3 I Digital Input 1 Brake Trigger 0V to 5V 14v tolerant ...

Page 42: ...h PORT A 4 I O CAN Bus Low PORT A 5 O V Power Same as Power Connector 6 SER Type Lemo 5 pin PIN In Out Description Range 1 O RS232 Tx PORT A 12v 2 I RS232 Rx PORT A 12v 3 I O CAN Bus High PORT B 4 I O CAN Bus Low PORT B 5 O V Power Same as Power Antenna connector Connector ANT Type SMA PIN In Out Description Range Center RF Signal Power for active antenna Chassis Ground ...

Page 43: ...ption Range PIN In Out Description Range 1 I Channel 1 14 O Vbatt Equal to Input Voltage 100mA 2 I Channel 1 15 O GND 3 I Channel 2 16 O Iso 5 V Out Isolated 5V 2 100mA 4 I Channel 2 17 O Iso GND Isolated Ground 5 I Channel 3 18 6 I Channel 3 19 7 I Channel 4 20 8 I Channel 4 21 9 22 10 23 11 24 12 25 13 Note A screw terminal connector block is available to purchase on request from your VBOX suppl...

Page 44: ...M MMMMM 0x302 10ms 4 Position Longitude MMMMM MMMMM 5 Velocity Knots 6 Heading Degrees 0x303 10ms 7 Altitude WGS 84 Metres 8 Vertical velocity M S Unused 9 Status 10 Status 0x304 10ms 11 Distance Meters 12 Longitudinal Accel G 13 Lateral Accel G 0x305 10ms 14 Distance travelled since VBOX reset 15 Trigger time 16 Trigger Velocity 0x306 10ms 17 Velocity Quality Unused Unused Unused 0x307 10ms Unuse...

Page 45: ... 0 01 per bit 7 Altitude 0 01 meters per bit signed 8 Vertical Velocity 0 01 m s per bit signed 9 Status 8 bit unsigned char Bit 0 VBOX Lite Bit 1 Open or Closed CAN Bus 1 open 2 VBOX3 10 Status is an 8 bit unsigned char Bit 0 is always set Bit 3 brake test started Bit 4 Brake trigger active Bit 5 DGPS active 11 Distance 0 000078125 meters per bit unsigned Corrected to trigger point 12 Longitudina...

Page 46: ... AM 1 29 April 09 31 34 IMU integration setup added AM 2 6 May 09 34 Change to Pitch and Roll statement in IMU integrations section KB 3 11 May 09 37 Update to GPS description of coldstart procedure KB 4 08 Dec 09 17 Update to AD1 and AD2 function 5 01 Mar 11 multiple General update of text and images SG 6 13 Jan 12 multiple Image updates LN 7 07 Mar 12 multiple Change manual from VB3i to VB3i V2 ...