Apollo-X User Manual Version 0.9
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The Apollo-X
’s
Sensors
Water Sensing
The Apollo-X
’s water sensor is used to detect a change
from underwater to surface. The sensor measures
capacitance between the antenna and electronics
head, based on the dielectric constant of either air or
water.
The Apollo-X will use the current state of the sensor (submerged or surfaced) to make a final
determination of whether or not the Strobe will run. It will also be utilized in conjunction with
successful or failed Iridium transmissions to begin Underwater mode, or begin Surfaced mode,
depending on the state change.
Once the water sensor measures that the Apollo-X is above water, it will immediately attempt
to collection a position and transmit. If the Iridium connection is successful, the Apollo-X will
immediately transmit a ‘surfaced message’ and enter
surfaced mode for 1 hour. After the hour
has elapsed, the Apollo-X will return to normal mode, under normal circumstances.
Timestamp: 2023-06-19T20:06:29.000Z, Voltage Unloaded: 9.73, BatteryV:
8.9, Mode: Underwater, isAlarm: true, Device Temperature (°C): 21,
Message Type: SUR, Surfaced: true
The Apollo’s water sense mecha
nism is programmatically set to operate optimally in salt water
environments. To operate the device in fresh water, the water sense threshold value must be
increased
to trigger a water sense surfacing event.
To change the water sense threshold, use the command:
$wsthresh X
Where
X
is the new value of the threshold.
The water sense reading taken by the device has to be
lower
than the threshold number when
submerged, and
higher
than the threshold number when surfaced for a surfacing event to be
triggered. Fresh water environments can vary in the reading given, therefore testing should be
done ahead of fresh water deployments to ensure proper operation.
The water sense reading can be interrogated via a Bluetooth connection via the
$viewsensor
command.
Light Sensing
The Apollo-X
’s light sensor
regularly measures illuminance. If the light level is below the set
threshold, the strobe will begin flashing according to its Strobe settings.
The light sensor can be disabled so the Apollo-X treats the environment as permanently dark
using the following command:
$switch L 0
