RPC Electronics YagTracker, User Manual

Page 1: ...YagTracker Mobile APRS Terminal and Tracker User s Manual Firmware V1 45 REV A ...

Page 2: ...Beacon Histograph 5 Interface Connections a Power b Radio c GPS 6 Getting Started a Powering up for the First Time b Mobile Setup c Home Fixed Setup 7 Modem Setup a Transmit Audio b Receive Audio 8 Messaging a Initiate a Message b View a Message c Message Chat 9 Advanced Features a Station List Sorting and Filtering b GPS Data View and Waypoint Output c Track Back d Map Callsign View ...

Page 3: ...e Friend List f SmartBeaconing g Fill In Relay Digipeater h KISS Modem Mode i NMEA KISS Dual Mode j System Information k Map Screen Range Rings l Map Screen Detailed Information 10 Firmware Updating ...

Page 4: ...ed into a robust and feature rich device suited for even the most demanding mobile APRS user that wishes to have a visual presentation of the APRS network activity at their fingertips The YagTracker compares in many ways to the Kenwood RC D710 and is a great alternative at a much smaller price 2 Package Contents Upon opening the package you will find the following items YagTracker APRS Terminal CD...

Page 5: ...ff and at the same time stays out of your way to avoid accidental switching The LCD Display is a 128x64 pixel graphical display utilizing the industry standard KS0108 controller The Beacon Escape button is a quick way to fire off a position packet when in any screen or use it to exit out of pop up and setup menus The Rotary Encoder is a detent less no clicking rotary control that is used to switch...

Page 6: ...mentary switch is used for selecting items in menus or giving OK to a menu selection or setting When using the rotary function there are two basic methods 1 Rotate Normally This is typically used when going through menu choices adjusting settings and or scrolling through things like the station list 2 Rotate with the Button To do this you must push in the knob and then turn it while holding the kn...

Page 7: ...res of the YagTracker including screen views menus and other major features useful to the user a Screens There are currently five screens implemented in the YagTracker firmware These screens are Home Station List Tracking Chat Messaging Map Plot Raw Packet Monitor ...

Page 8: ...y encoder to select an item then click the rotary encoder button one time to select the item You may exit the menu by pressing the Beacon Escape button momentarily Full Screen These menus are accessed by first using the Pop Up menu method on any of the main screens and selecting the Main Menu item in the pop up menu This will bring up a full screen menu with Icons Selecting an icon and clicking th...

Page 9: ...n keyboard works you should find it fairly easy to enter text into the YagTracker When scrolling around the keyboard it will automatically jump from one line of keys to the next Using this to your advantage you can navigate the keyboard very quickly To jump from one row to another quickly hold in the rotary encoder and turn the encoder The cursor will jump up or down one row depending on which way...

Page 10: ... display shows the last sixteen packets for each Your History Other s History The digipeat count is based on the pixel width of each row Zero Pixels No Digipeat Received One Pixel Single Digipeat Received Three Pixels Two Digipeats received Five Pixels Three Digipeats received Seven Pixels Four Digipeats received Each packet will shift the graph up one row The bottom row will be replaced with a bl...

Page 11: ...nsmit data to GPS 5 GPS Receive Data Receive data from GPS 6 5VDC Switched Switched 5VDC output controlled by power switch 7 VIN Switched Switched input power output controlled by power switch 8 Voltage In Input for supply power to YagTracker 9 Ground Ground connection common shared for all devices Warning Pin 6 is a voltage OUTPUT Do not apply external voltage to this pin Doing so will cause dama...

Page 12: ...a Power b Radio c GPS ...

Page 13: ... powering up the YagTracker for the first time a Powering Up for the First Time When you power up the YagTracker for the first time you will be presented with the station setup menu This menu is used to set the Callsign Path Icon Comment and other settings pertaining to your station ...

Page 14: ...te the rotary encoder to move the arrow on the left next to that item Click in one time to select it You will be taken to a window and the on screen keyboard will be available Here you can edit this setting Select the return button on the keyboard to confirm the edit and return back to the station setup menu c Home Fixed Setup This mode allows for the YagTracker to be operated from a non mobile en...

Page 15: ...he settings are in dB Rotate the rotary encoder to set the level Pressing the rotary switch in will activate several functions These functions are activated in a cycle of three total clicks 1 One Click Force Transmit no tones 2 Two Clicks Force Transmit with 1200 Hz tone 3 Three Clicks Force Transmit with 2200 Hz tone While in the third click function a fourth click will dekey the transmitter and ...

Page 16: ...ew left side to watch incoming audio If you are running an open squelch setup you will have a constant wave fluctuation shown by the noise coming from the radio If you are running closed squelch you should have a flat line in the middle Only when you receive a packet should you see anything on the scope display Adjust the coarse and fine settings to achieve a peak of 70 80 when receiving a live pa...

Page 17: ...e a Message Select the Send icon You will be taken to the station list menu Rotate through the station list until you find the station you want to send a message to Click the rotary button in to select the station The next window will be a message input box along with an on screen keyboard Click the return button on the on board keyboard to confirm the message b View a Message Select the Inbox ico...

Page 18: ...ge Chat The message chat window will allow you to view all message between you and a station Clicking the rotary encoder button will present a pop up menu to initiate a message view messages or clear the Inbox ...

Page 19: ...u the option to modify the sorting method The station list can be sorted based by distance time and alphabetically Nearest is based on valid GPS data In order for this to work a GPS must be connected and feeding the YagTracker with valid and locked GPS data The station list can also be filtered based on station type By selecting any of the filter parameters all stations pertaining to them will be ...

Page 20: ...ncoder to change from one screen to another This screen shows current GPS satellite status It will show you the satellites currently being tracked their signal strength and position in the sky relative to the GPS receiver This screen shows the current Fix Status Date Time Latitude and Longitude This screen is live so it can be left up to display this data in real time ...

Page 21: ...ck Back Track back is used to track back to fixed or meet up with a mobile APRS station By selecting the station from the station list you are given up to the second information on how to get to that station ...

Page 22: ...osest to you Rotate the rotary encoder clockwise to switch the label from the closest out through progressively further stations A line will always connect the info box to the plot on the map to indicate which station is being view currently If the station is out of view click the rotary encoder knob to bring up the pop up menu Choose Return to go back to the normal Map Plot view Change the range ...

Page 23: ...ture that allows for quick recall of those stations you message track and view regularly Adding a friend to your list is easy by using the pop up menu when viewing a station and selecting the Toggle Friend option Friend is shown on added station detail ...

Page 24: ...r beacon rate is increased When you slow down or come to a stop the rate is decreased Two main parameters of this aspect are Slow Rate and Fast Rate Slow Rate This determines the max beacon rate delay when moving below a certain speed or completely stopped Example 5 MPH Beacon once every 30 minutes Fast Rate This determines your max beacon rate when you have reached a top speed or have exceeded it...

Page 25: ...the N to Y Set the alias to a name that will be used in the alternate device s UNPROTO path NOTE When using this feature if the alternate device has the ALIAS ONLY in it s path it will be digipeated by the YagTracker and will not be digipeated by any other stations If you wish for the packet to go through a WIDE area digipeater a path such as ALIAS WIDE1 1 or ALIAS WIDE2 2 is suggested ...

Page 26: ...ISS modem for both transmitting and receiving using an external computer or other portable computing device Selecting the Serial Mode setting will bring up a port mode pop up menu Selecting the KISS Modem selection will put the serial port in KISS mode ...

Page 27: ...Selecting the Serial Speed setting will bring up a pop up menu to select the port baud rate ...

Page 28: ...rred for a more detailed display but tracking mode through the YagTracker is still desired Using this mode is very useful for those who would like to connect a mobile computing device on the run without having to reconfigure the YagTracker everytime In this mode the external device is transparent since it s not sending any data to the YagTracker simply using the KISS output from the YagTracker as ...

Page 29: ...j System Information The system information screen shows you the overall use of the system s memory transmitted packets and received packets ...

Page 30: ...show stations at the displayed range outer ring and half range inner ring The range distance shown in the top right of the screen is the current outer ring range distance Clicking in on the rotary encoder will bring up a pop up menu Select the map options selection to enable the range rings ...

Page 31: ...s the bottom center Top Left Rotating compass rose Always shows orientation of the map Top Right Current range being viewed Bottom Left Digipeat Histograph Bottom Right GPS Fix Status Locked Sats Count Bottom Center Last digipeater to beacon your own packet The pop up menu is used to toggle the corner info objects off on ...

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Page 33: ...e serial port will NOT power the YagTracker 4 Connect the YagTracker to power and the serial port of the loading computer 5 Ensure the YagTracker is turned off 6 Set the terminal program to 115200 baud rate no parity 8 data bits and 1 stop bit 7 Ensure the port is open and power on the YagTracker 8 You should get a single character in the terminal window 9 Within 3 seconds of seeing this character...