Argent Data Systems OpenTracker USB, User Manual

Page 1: ...sed 2 25 2013 Argent Data Systems Inc PO Box 579 Santa Maria CA 93456 0579 USA 800 274 4076 1 805 619 4515 Fax 866 302 6890 www argentdata com Copyright 2007 2013 Argent Data Systems All Rights Reserved APRS is a registered trademark of Bob Bruninga WB4APR ...

Page 2: ...8 10 Authentication 10 11 OTWINCFG Configuration Program 11 11 1 Overwriting an Invalid Configuration 11 11 2 Turbo Mode 11 11 3 Auto detect ports 11 11 4 Warm Boot vs Cold Boot 12 11 5 Working Offline 12 11 6 Main Configuration Window 12 11 7 Configuration Profiles 13 11 8 Loading and Saving Settings 13 11 9 Basic Configuration Options 13 11 10 Tuning and Diagnostics 19 11 11 Access List 20 11 12...

Page 3: ...ncoming positions and plot them as waypoints on the screen of a GPS receiver selecting appropriate symbols and setting comment text and other waypoint details if supported by the receiver KISS Mode The KISS protocol defines an interface between a TNC and its host typically a PC This mode allows the tracker to be used with PC based APRS programs like Xastir WinAPRS and UI View32 It can also be used...

Page 4: ...20v inputs and two digital input output pins Temperature and voltage readings can be reported in status packets and the other readings can be reported in an APRS telemetry message Scripting To automate a variety of tasks and increase the device s feature set the OpenTracker USB includes a simple user programmable script system ...

Page 5: ...E data terminal equipment to allow direct connection to a GPS receiver Connection to a PC requires a null modem cable 3 2 RADIO Connector Pin Assignments 1 Audio out 2 COR Squelch input 3 PTT out 5 Audio in 6 Ground 7 Power in 7 to 24 volts 8 PTT in 9 AUX IO GPIO1 Power relay output 3 3 Internal Header CN4 1 5 Volt power 2 1 Wire data bus 3 Analog input 1 4 Analog input 2 5 Analog input 3 6 Analog...

Page 6: ... and Alinco handhelds but not Kenwood Puxing and Baofeng Vout Selects GPS output voltage on pin 4 of the serial connector This is set to 5v by default Valid positions are horizontal for 5v and vertical to pass the OTUSB s unregulated supply voltage typically 12v straight through to pin 4 Use the 5v setting for all GPS receivers supplied by Argent Data Systems If you don t expect to use a 12 volt G...

Page 7: ...d settings particularly for the digipeater path 5 1 USB Operation The USB port can be used for configuring the tracker with the otwincfg exe utility accessing the command prompt and connecting to a PC in KISS interface mode When the USB connection is in use the tracker draws its power from the host system no other connections are required for configuration of the unit Note that the OpenTracker USB...

Page 8: ...soon as the last valid fix is 30 seconds old that position is saved and the device enters fixed position mode As soon as another valid fix is received it switches back to GPS mode This is useful for portable weather stations that will have a GPS receiver connected only briefly during deployment 7 Port Modes The OpenTracker USB has two serial ports that share the same physical connector A Y adapter...

Page 9: ...plain text packet when a carriage return is received Pressing control C twice will exit TEXT mode FLOW Valid only for port B this setting causes the port B pins to function as CTS RTS flow control signals for port A The USB port has two modes controlled by the USB KISS option in otwincfg exe or the USBKISS ON OFF option from the command console When USBKISS is ON the USB port will operate in KISS ...

Page 10: ...deed been reset 9 Safe Mode Starting with firmware build 56294 the OpenTracker USB includes a safe mode option to place the device temporarily into its default configuration The safe mode entry condition is checked only when the tracker first powers on or resets It should always be possible to recover from an invalid configuration using a cold boot procedure over the serial interface This procedur...

Page 11: ... removing the jumper used to enter safe mode The use of the default configuration is temporary Normal operation will be resumed when safe mode is exited To overwrite the active configuration with the saved defaults use the RESET DEFAULT command The tracker need not be in safe mode to restore defaults ...

Page 12: ...f the command message For example if the next valid password is SBCY the message CMDSBCY VERSION will execute the VERSION command While it should be virtually impossible for someone to determine the next password without knowing your pass phrase the system is not foolproof Be sure not to use the same pass phrase on two different devices because an eavesdropper who hears a password used on one devi...

Page 13: ...ult configuration settings without attempting to read the existing configuration first This is particularly useful if the tracker has an invalid or missing configuration 11 2 Turbo Mode By default the configuration program will attempt to connect at 115 200 baud If you have trouble connecting use the Disable Turbo option to force the program to connect at 19 200 baud 11 3 Auto detect ports Selecti...

Page 14: ...n mode If the firmware has been corrupted i e by a failed upgrade it may fail to enter configuration mode You can correct this by performing a cold boot power the unit off and power it on again after clicking Connect 11 5 Working Offline If you need to edit a configuration without connecting the tracker click the Offline button You will need to have a saved configuration file to work from 11 6 Mai...

Page 15: ... The radio callsign to use when transmitting Tactical callsigns may be used but FCC and ITU rules require periodic identification If the actual callsign is not used here be sure to include it in the comment field Baud Rate For normal VHF operation this should be 1200 300 baud is commonly used for HF The mark and space frequencies are 1600 and 1800 hz respectively in 300 baud mode Path This specifi...

Page 16: ... quiet time to zero causes the tracker to ignore detected traffic Text This is a freeform text field Anything entered here will be displayed in the comment portion of the transmission or in a separate status packet as selected Keep comments as brief as possible to avoid wasting channel capacity or use the Every __ Transmissions option to reduce how often the text is sent Altitude Course Speed Time...

Page 17: ...nutes or so consider using the SmartBeaconing options detailed below Special events with many trackers and short transmission intervals should be operated on a separate frequency not on the shared APRS channel An interval of zero will disable timed transmissions SmartBeaconing Originally developed for the HamHUD by Tony Arnerich KD7TA and Steve Bragg KA9MVA the SmartBeaconing algorithm allows the ...

Page 18: ...er to slot 5 The first tracker would transmit at 12 00 00 12 00 10 12 00 20 and so on while the second would transmit at 12 00 05 12 00 15 and 12 00 20 Position The tracker can operate in GPS or fixed position mode When entering a fixed position enter degrees in the first box and decimal minutes in the next box Click on the buttons next to the coordinates to select North South and East West Don t ...

Page 19: ...irst and if further truncation is required characters are dropped from the left first This prevents stations with different SSIDs from conflicting for example with a limit of 6 characters KB6YUO 12 and KB6YUO 6 would be truncated as 6YUO12 and B6YUO6 respectively Use Custom Symbols Enables the use of custom symbols if they have been uploaded to a compatible Garmin GPS receiver using the Garmin xIm...

Page 20: ...tion noise TX Delay All radios require a certain amount of time to stabilize on their transmitting frequency and receivers also require time to lock on This value specifies the number of milliseconds the tracker should wait after the start of the transmission before it begins sending data Allowable values are 0 to 1023 milliseconds Setting this value too high will keep the channel busy longer than...

Page 21: ...ics button From this screen you can exercise the tracker hardware and set the audio level The top row of buttons controls the red and green elements of the ACT LED the PTT output and the power relay and the second row allows AFSK tones to be sent either with or without PTT on When both tone buttons are on the tracker sends alternating mark space tones at the specified baud rate The Sensors pane sh...

Page 22: ...e access control list 11 12 Profile Switching To access the profile switching setup click on the Profile Switching button from the main configuration screen The conditions to test are selected using the checkboxes to the left of each condition The comparison can be either greater than or less than or ...

Page 23: ...e jumper setting refers to the state of the CFG input on the accessory port CN4 pin 7 The input is Off when the CFG pin is pulled to ground as through a toggle or pushbutton switch The GPS Fix is considered invalid if it has been more than 20 seconds since the last valid position was received from the GPS unit The selected tests are run once every second If the conditions are met the new profile i...

Page 24: ...ther return values are documented below in italics 1WIREWX Enables 1 Wire Weather Station mode The TAI8515 weather station should be connected to the 1 wire pin on header CN4 ABAUD 1200 2400 4800 9600 19200 38400 57600 115200 Sets baud rate for the primary serial port Default is 4800 baud Return value 99 invalid setting 0 7 300 to 115200 baud ALTITUDE on off Report altitude in position packet ALTP...

Page 25: ...d BBAUD 1200 2400 4800 9600 19200 38400 57600 115200 Sets baud rate for the secondary serial port Default is 4800 baud Return value 99 invalid setting 0 7 300 to 115200 baud BEACON text local only If no beacon text is specified a position beacon and weather beacon if applicable will be queued for immediate transmission If a text string is entered that text will be transmitted as an AX 25 text pack...

Page 26: ...itted when the ENTER key is pressed Hit CTRL C to exit The command K may also be used to enter CONVERSE mode COUNTER on off Transmits counter value in status text CUSTSYM on off Enables the use of custom symbols if they have been uploaded to a compatible Garmin GPS receiver using the Garmin xImage utility CWBEACON text local only Sends text as a Morse code beacon DAO on off Enables transmission of...

Page 27: ... RAM contents are displayed DUMP CONFIG displays configuration memory contents and DUMP ALL displays everything EXTSQL on off Enables external squelch input EXTTEMP on off Enables temperature reporting from an external DS18S20 temperature sensor connected to the 1 wire data bus FAHRENHT on off Reports temperatures in Fahrenheit when temperature output in the status text is enabled FILTER on off Wh...

Page 28: ...BAUD 1200 300 Selects transmission baud rate Note that the reception baud rate is fixed at 1200 baud HEADERLN on off Breaks MONITOR packets into two lines with header and payload separated INFO Displays general system and diagnostic data including number of packets heard buffer overruns and frame check sequence errors detected INTERVAL 0 65535 seconds Sets the interval between automatic transmissi...

Page 29: ... corrupted packets PASSLIST n local only Generates a list of the next n one time passwords to be used based on the pass phrase entered with the SECRET command Default is 144 PATCH hex string The patch command allows direct modification of the contents of the tracker s flash memory This command should only be used as directed by the manufacturer Improper use of this command may render the tracker i...

Page 30: ...ut formats are GPWPL and PGRMW With PROPWPT ON PKWDWPL GPWPT and PMGNWPL are output PTTINPUT on off Enables PTT input for mic encoder opration A position packet will be transmitted when the mic PTT is released PULSE 0 255 seconds Activates power output for specified duration PWAUTH on off Enables one time password authentication QUIET 0 255 Time channel must be free before transmission can occur i...

Page 31: ...ds a text message to the designated recipient SHAREDPTT on off Controls PTT line behavior for mic encoder mode If enabled PTT output is not asserted until the PTT input is released SLOT 0 65535 Time slot for transmission if TIMESLOT is on Slot position is counted in seconds from the start of the hour SMARTBCON low speed high speed low rate angle time Configures SmartBeaconing The SmartBeaconing al...

Page 32: ...hange of direction in degrees that will cause an immediate transmission time specifies in seconds the minimum time required between transmissions regardless of speed or turns SNOOP hex local only The SNOOP command outputs on port A each character received on port B until another key is pressed Use this command to troubleshoot GPS and weather station connections on port B Make sure port A s baud ra...

Page 33: ...mp mode to hour minute second when enabled Default is day hour minute TIMESLOT on off Force position packets to be transmitted only in designated time slots expressed as the number of seconds from the start of the hour to the first transmission TIMESTAMP on off Report time information in the position packet TRACE on off local only When trace is on each received raw packet is output in hexadecimal ...

Page 34: ...the position in the absence of a valid GPS signal TXONCHG on off Causes an immediate transmission when switching configuration profiles VELOCITY on off Enables transmission of velocity course and speed information in the position packet VERSION Displays firmware version number VOLTAGE on off Enables reporting of supply voltage in status text WAYPOINTS on off Enables output of waypoints from receiv...

Page 35: ... format T sss aaa bbb ccc ddd eee 76543210 The sss field is a sequence number that increments with each report Fields aaa through eee encode five channels of analog readings from 0 to 255 and fields 7 through 0 are binary bits either 0 or 1 representing digital inputs The aaa field represents the tracker s supply voltage and fields bbb through eee correspond to inputs A1 through A4 respectively Al...

Page 36: ...4 1 Script Editor Scripts are created in otwincfg and uploaded to flash memory in the tracker When the SCRIPT option is enabled the script is executed 8 times per second If the Quick command is used in the script the script will execute again in one timer tick 1 1200 second on the Tracker3 Scripts cannot be remotely edited directly but the script editor can generate a list of PATCH commands that w...

Page 37: ...ing show the amount of script memory used Commands that accept one or more parameters use the values in the A B C T X Y area corners and flags fields A and B allow selection of three general purpose 16 bit counters that are used only within the scripting engine as well as a number of other system variables C allows entry of numeric constants T is for text entry the area corners allow a geographic ...

Page 38: ...e once for each time that the condition becomes true This makes it very useful for ensuring that a command is not executed repeatedly The Do Once command can be used at most 16 times in one script Macro T Macro Out The following block is executed when the command named in T is entered at the command line through the FMI interface or by APRS message The Macro Out command responds to the macro throu...

Page 39: ...On GPS Fix Executes the following block whenever a valid GPS position fix is obtained Set A B Sets a counter to the value in another counter Set A C Sets a counter to the value specified in box C Increment A Decrement A Increments or decrements the specified counter by one Port A Print Port B Print Sends a string to the specified serial port Execute T Executes the text in T as if it was entered at...

Page 40: ...ing resolution is required Peek C X Y Reads the contents of memory location C performs a logical AND with X and compares the result to Y Use of this command requires knowledge of the tracker s memory map Poke C X Y Sets the contents of memory location C with the value in X using Y as a bit mask Set Flags Toggle Flags Clear Flags Sets toggles or clears the selected flags If Flags Executes the follo...

Page 41: ...m 0 to 3599 Pulse Count This counter is used by the event counter function described elsewhere in this manual Last Digi Seconds elapsed since the tracker last heard one of its own packets repeated by a digipeater Last Fix Seconds elapsed since the last valid GPS position fix was received Altitude Current altitude reported by the GPS receiver Units are 2 56 meters and 0 indicates an altitude of 10 ...

Page 42: ...been accomplished In this example port A has been set to KISS mode at 9600 baud using the tracker configuration utility The console commands AMODE KISS and ABAUD 9600 produce the same result The baud rate selected in the UI View32 Comms Setup screen must match the rate selected for the port in use Select host mode KISS and be sure to choose the correct COM port for your PC Click on Setup to contin...

Page 43: ...t KISS field avoids a bug in UI View32 that prevents it from exiting properly when the option is left blank If you would prefer to have UI View32 automatically reconfigure the tracker for KISS mode each time the program is started use the following settings This configuration will only work with port A as the command console is not available on port B ...