Argent Data Systems Tracker4, Manual

Page 1: ...Tracker4 APRS Tracker TNC Gateway MANUAL Version 1 02 Revised 8 2 2018 ...

Page 2: ...etup 6 Accessing the Console 6 Alternative Setup Method 7 Web Interface 8 Home Screen 9 Settings 10 File System 10 Info 10 Introduction to APRS 11 Command Reference 13 APRS Commands 15 Radio Commands 15 Network Commands 17 Debugging Diagnostics 20 Configuration Parameters 22 Resetting to Defaults 25 Logging 25 Firmware Updates 25 Disassembly 26 Application Setup 27 APRSdroid 27 APRSISCE 32 28 FCC ...

Page 3: ...ort no PC required Simple browser based configuration Telnet server for remote access BASIC interpreter for powerful scripting RS 485 interface with Modbus RTU support DTMF encoding and decoding WAV file playback 24 MB of internal file storage for data logging scripts etc Preliminary Documentation This is the first public release of the Tracker4 and this manual Please check www argentdata com freq...

Page 4: ...included Interfaces Interfaces are provided on various connectors on the front and rear panels of the tracker Radio Interface Rear DE9 Female 1 Audio out to radio 5 Audio in from radio 2 Unused 6 Ground 3 Push to talk PTT output 7 Power in optional 4 Unused 8 Unused These pinouts are compatible with all prior Argent models using DE9 radio connectors as well as other common TNCs including the Kantr...

Page 5: ...s in Device Manager to find the COM port number assigned to the tracker by Windows The CDC serial port defaults to console mode You can access the console using a terminal program like PuTTY or Minicom The baud rate setting is ignored You should see a banner and command prompt immediately upon opening the connection If KISS packets are detected on the CDC serial port the port will enter KISS mode ...

Page 6: ...er from 0 to 15 The default SSID is 0 which is not displayed For example two trackers operating under the callsign W1AW could be set with SSIDs of 1 and 2 which would be represented as W1AW 1 and W1AW 2 W1AW alone is equivalent to W1AW 0 Identification laws vary by country but in most cases the callsign field is not required to be a legal callsign as long as appropriate identification is provided ...

Page 7: ...cal APRS operation on the 2 meter band a proper TX audio level setting is one that results in an FM deviation of about 3 0 to 3 5 kHz Ideally this should be set with a service monitor or deviation meter If you don t have equipment to measure the deviation directly use another radio to listen to the tracker s transmitted packets Start low and increase the TX audio level setting until the apparent l...

Page 8: ... password When it s rebooted the tracker will then connect to the specified network If the create network option is set the tracker will fall back to creating its own network in WiFi Direct or Access Point mode depending on settings if no known network is available This can be used to switch between independent operation for example in a moving vehicle and fixed location operation Accessing the Co...

Page 9: ...s for the sake of consistency and compatibility with earlier Argent trackers and also with TNC2 style devices For example MYCALL is equivalent to show aprs_callsign and MYCALL W1AW is equivalent to set aprs_callsign w1aw The tracker accepts many familiar MS DOS style commands like dir type and move It also accepts their Unix style equivalents like ls cat and mv Keep in mind that the tracker s shel...

Page 10: ...this There are a number of status icons that may appear on the right side of the title bar These are No GPS lock Connection to tracker lost KISS interface is active Watchdog timer error The icon will appear at startup but should disappear as soon as the GPS receiver gets a valid fix Make sure the GPS antenna has a clear view of the sky indicates that the web app has lost contact with the tracker T...

Page 11: ...com and describe the circumstances in which it appeared The icon in the upper left corner toggles the visibility of the menu bar on the left side of the screen On a mobile device with a small screen this lets you free up more screen space for content Home Screen A set of status panels are displayed on the home screen These give the status and statistics for various features Each has a toggle switc...

Page 12: ...ker Save Config downloads the tracker s entire configuration as a JSON file which may be edited locally Use Upload Config to upload the JSON file When a configuration JSON file is loaded the settings are loaded only into the settings forms and are not immediately sent to the tracker You can review and save each section individually or you can use the Save All Settings button to save everything to ...

Page 13: ...al other countries a network of digital repeaters digipeaters usually on a common nationwide frequency provides a transport for APRS packets Most APRS stations operate on one of these common channels but not all The APRS Internet System APRS IS is an Internet based adjunct to the radio network Internet gateways IGates often simply home PCs with an Internet connection and a radio pass traffic from ...

Page 14: ...te for local coverage The APRS protocol hardware and software can be used independently of the national networks as well Local or temporary networks may be set up to cover special events or to fill the needs of a particular organization Some uses may not require digipeaters at all high altitude balloons for example often use APRS to transmit position and telemetry data on a dedicated frequency dir...

Page 15: ...update process Downloads and installs new firmware if available SET parameter value Sets a configuration parameter Parameter names are listed in the configuration parameters section of this manual SHOW parameter Displays a configuration parameter SAVE Saves the current configuration to non volatile memory Unlike previous trackers in the series the Tracker4 doesn t immediately save most settings to...

Page 16: ...tion data will be erased UPTIME Displays the time elapsed since last reboot VERSION Displays the firmware version ECHO string Echoes text back to the command console PS Displays information about running processes This includes the process ID task name state priority CPU time in 1 300 second ticks and free memory REM Comment does nothing Use for batch files EXIT Exits shell Only useful for telnet ...

Page 17: ...ition mode and beacons will be sent with the entered coordinates POSITION GPS puts the tracker in GPS mode MONITOR on off When MONITOR is on all packets transmitted or received will be displayed in the console MYCALL callsign Sets the tracker s callsign This is equivalent to set aprs_callsign and is provided for backward compatibility IGATE hostname port Without parameters IGATE reports the status...

Page 18: ... If FS is added the tone will be produced at full scale for testing deviation otherwise the tone will be at 50 of full scale PLAY filename Plays a WAV file over the radio port This can be used for voice announcements DTMFSEND digits Sends a string of DTMF Touch Tone tones over the radio port PTT on off auto PTT ON keys the transmitter and PTT OFF ends the transmission PTT AUTO enables automatic PT...

Page 19: ...ecuted immediately rather than simply altering saved settings WIFI CONNECT ssid password Connects to a WiFi network with optional password If no SSID is given the default saved network is used connects to the first available network WIFI DISCONNECT Disconnects from WiFi network WIFI SCAN Scans for available networks WIFI CANCEL Cancels an ongoing scan WIFI WPS Starts WiFi Protected Setup scan WIFI...

Page 20: ...ATE command Use WIFI LOAD to manually load a specific local firmware file WIFI MODE client ap direct Sets operating mode CLIENT sets client or STA mode and requires the device to be connected to an access point AP sets Access Point mode and DIRECT sets WiFi Direct mode WIFI GROUP name Sets the network SSID to be used for AP or Direct mode WIFI CHANNEL 0 13 Selects the WiFi channel for AP or Direct...

Page 21: ...aved with that name otherwise it keeps its original name File Commands The tracker s file commands work similarly to the equivalent MS DOS commands and can also be accessed using their Unix style aliases CD directory Changes working directory or displays the current working directory if a new directory isn t specified PWD can also be used to print the working directory COPY src dest Copies a file ...

Page 22: ...ll in testing and should be used with caution RENAME old new Renames a file MOVE file destination Moves a file to the specified directory Also accessible with the alias mv REMOUNT Forces a remount of the file system This may be needed if files have been modified by a USB host MKFS Format file system and erase all files Debugging Diagnostics These commands are provided for troubleshooting and debug...

Page 23: ...s the contents of the specified record in non volatile memory NVMWRITE record 0 254 data Sets a non volatile memory record NVMDEFRAG Consolidates non volatile storage NVMFORMAT Erases contents of NVM NVMDUMP Dumps contents of NVM NVMERASE record Erases an NVM record SNOOP port off Displays data from the specified port on the console Use this to verify that peripherals like weather stations are sen...

Page 24: ... APRS position beacon interval aprs_symbol k 2 characters APRS symbol table and symbol code aprs_comment 63 characters Comment status text for beacon packets aprs_timestamp false true false Send timestamp with beacon packets aprs_hms true false Use HHMMSS for timestamp instead of DDHHMM send_velocity true false Send course and speed with beacon packets send_dao false true false Send DAO extended p...

Page 25: ...etwork server network_name Tracker4 32 characters SSID of WiFi network to create in AP Direct mode enable_igate false true false Enable APRS IGate gate_to_rf true false Allow gating from APRS IS to RF gps_autosave true false Periodically save last GPS position double_pkt false true false Send each beacon twice fixed_position false true false Transmit fixed position coordinates not GPS enable_smart...

Page 26: ...network if not in client mode wifi_channel 0 auto 0 11 WiFi channel for AP Direct modes 0 auto ip_address 192 168 100 1 IPv4 address IP address for static configuration or AP mode netmask 255 255 255 0 IP4v netmask Subnet mask for static configuration or AP mode gateway IP4v address Default network gateway ap_password 64 characters WiFi password for clients when in AP mode wifi_ssidn SSID of saved...

Page 27: ...is set with remote_log_level Both default to level 5 notice The network log destination is set with the parameter syslog_server For Windows users a program like Kiwi Syslog Server from SolarWinds Inc can be used to receive messages Of course syslog messages can only be sent to a remote server when the network is up Firmware Updates The Tracker4 s firmware can be updated over the network or from th...

Page 28: ... interrupted update but this process may take several minutes Disassembly It should not be necessary to open the tracker s case in the course of normal operation but you may need to open it to replace the real time clock battery or to set the safe mode jumper To open the Tracker4 s case remove the four case screws from the rear panel and the two hex screws from the DE9 connector on the front panel...

Page 29: ...sed as a starting point APRSdroid APRSdroid can connect to the Tracker4 using KISS over TCP First make sure KISS over TCP is enabled on the tracker The setting can be found under TNC Settings in the web app The default port number is 8001 The screenshot to the right shows an example of a properly configured APRSdroid installation The tracker in this example is at IP address 192 168 1 119 ...

Page 30: ...ialog select Device to select the COM port If you re not sure what COM port number Windows chose for the tracker press Windows X and select Device Manager from the menu and find the tracker under Ports COM LPT In the tracker s TNC Settings menu you can select Enable KISS over USB to place the tracker s USB virtual serial port into KISS mode Alternatively as soon as APRSISCE 32 tries to transmit a ...

Page 31: ...stallation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by tuning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circ...

Page 32: ...duct Damages excluded include but are not limited to the following lost profits lost savings lost data damage to other equipment and incidental or consequential damages arising from the use or inability to use this product In no event will Argent Data Systems be liable for more than the amount of your purchase price not to exceed the current list price of the product and excluding tax shipping and...

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Page 34: ...gent Data Systems PO Box 579 Santa Maria CA 93455 800 274 4076 Fax 866 302 6890 www argentdata com Copyright 2008 2018 Argent Data Systems Inc All Rights Reserved Tracker4 APRS Tracker TNC Gateway MANUAL ...