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GSatMicro Operations Manual
Specifications
o Dimensions: 45mm x 45mm x 34mm including battery, modem and antenna
(OEM version).
o 45mm x 45mm x 20mm including battery and modem
o SiRFstarIV GPS with an amazing -163dBm sensitivity
o AES 256-bit encryption supported (optional)
o Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery (2.4 Ah, up to 1000 position reports)
o Integrated omnidirectional helical antenna (high gain ceramic patch antenna for
OEM model)
o Over the air configuration of terminal
o USB, RS-232 and Bluetooth connections for programming
o Full 2 way communications network
o Bluetooth 4.0 (LE) smartphone connectivity for messaging and configurations
o Truly global coverage with the Iridium satellite network.
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Interfaces
o DC Power (6V to 36V DC) @1A max
o USC Interface (Power, Serial Console/Logging, Firmware Update)
o RS232 Interface (Serial Console/Logging)
o
Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy
o 2 Relay Outputs @ 250Ma (Open Drain)
o 2 Analog Inputs (0V to 30V DC)
Getting Started
Out of the box, your unit should be in off or storage mode. In order to power it up
and start transmitting you will need to hold down the power button until power and
GPS lights "fade up" (dark to bright). When you release the button it will start a
position report cycle. The states of which are described below:
While the unit is powered on, it will go through progressive stages of acquiring,
transmitting, and sleeping, as indicated by the Power and Message LED's.
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1) Upon power up or wakeup from sleep, the Power LED will "fade up" until
initialization is complete, after this the LED will indicate battery state (flashing up to 5
times if the battery is full).
2) Next, when GPS is enabled the GPS LED will fade up until satellites are acquired, at
which point the number of flashes indicates the number of satellites acquired (up to 5)
until a fix achieved, then the LED will stay on, solid.
3) Next, the Iridium modem will be enabled and the Satellite LED will fade up until
signal is acquired. Once iridium signal is acquired, the LED will flash 1-5 times
indicating signal level. The LED will stay on solid once a transmission has been
successful.
4) If only one report or message was pending the unit will then sleep until the next
transmission. On battery all LEDs will turn off. If plugged into an external power source,
LEDs will reflect last state achieved. The last status can be displayed by briefly
pressing the power button if the unit is on
battery.
If transmission was successful your unit should appear on the map at its current
location.
See the "Terminal Behavior" section below for more details on button and LED
behavior.
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Button
Description
<1 second: flash LEDs showing last state before sleep
the mode is selected)
Check-in
Set the check-in bit for next transmission.
Hold for >=10 seconds (message LED will fade up) to enable
mode to disable pairing (led will fade down)
Configuration
If ALERT mode is disabled, enable (Alarm will flash), transmit
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Terminal Behavior
The front interface panel has three buttons and 5 lights. Behavior is described below.
Button Behavior
Power
>=1 second: From off/storage, resume transmit/sleep (Power
and GPS LEDs will "fade up" to indicate this will happen when
button is released). From sleep or wake, enter off mode
(power and GPS LEDs will "fade down")
>=10 seconds: From any mode. Enter storage mode (Power,
GPS, Satellite and Message LEDs will "fade down" to indicate
Configuration
!
Bluetooth pairing. Hold for >=10 seconds while in pairing
immediately. If ALERT is enabled, disable.
Check-in+
When you depress the Power button for more than 1 second, the unit will either turn
Off if it is currently On and go into a deep sleep without transmitting, or if it is
currently sleeping, will wake the unit and immediately transmit a position.
When you depress the Check-In button WHILE the unit is on, the next successful
transmission report will contain a bit flag indicating that it is a Check In message. This
mode will be cleared once a successful transmission is made. The MSG light will begin
flashing slowly.
When you depress the Configuration + Check In button together for ALERT mode, the
unit will IMMEDIATELY begin transmitting it's current location (even if it was sleeping).
The MSG light will begin flashing rapidly. The unit will also use change the sleep
interval to the value specified by "ALERT sleep" time in seconds indicated in the
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Power
Description
1-5 flashes
1: 0-19% battery
>=95% power LED will be solid on.
Fade up
Powering up
Fade down
Powering Down
Off
Off
GPS
Description
Slow flash
Powered, no fix
1-4 flashes
1-4 GPS satellites
5 flashes
>=5 GPS satellites
On
GPS fix acquired
Off
Off
Iridium/ Satellite
Description
Fade up
Radio on, no signal
1-5 flashes
Iridium signal acquired, flash count
better signal
On
Transmitted message
Off
Off, or powered with no radio
GPS
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"settings" function below. To exit ALERT mode, depress the Power + Check In button
together again and the MSG light will turn off again.
LED modes
2: 20-39% battery
3: 40-59% battery
4: 60-79% battery
5: 80-100% battery
When charging between flashes LED will
glow with diminished brightness. When
not charging, LED is off between flashes.
When on external power and battery
corresponds to signal. More flashes,
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Alert (!)
Description
Fast Flash
ALERT mode, cleared on successful
transmit
Off
Not on ALERT mode
Message
Description
Medium Flash
Check-in mode, cleared on successful
transmit
Off
Not in check-in mode
Fade up
Bluetooth pairing enabled (overrides
check-in)
Fade down
Disabling Bluetooth check-in
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!
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Lua Functions
These options can be sent to the terminal via the "Send Command" function within the
tracking platform, or entered through the RS232 serial connection, or the USB cable
via CDC mode.
NOTE: Commands sent from the tracking platform will not show command output
anywhere other than on the serial console. However, messages can be composed using
the tracking platform’s functions and the Iridium transmit function can be used to send
them.
GPS functions¶
// GPS Power
gps.setpower( {mode} )
NOTE: Iridium modem must be powered on for GPS to get signal
mode:
1: on and initialize
0: off
// Get GPS Time
{second}, {minute}, {hour}, {day}, {month}, {year} = gps.gettime()
{epochseconds} = gps.getunixtime()
// Get Position
{latitude}, {longitude}, {speed}, {altitude}, {course}, {hdop} = gps.getpos()
Messaging functions¶
// Encode position report in Palmer format
{string} = gsattrack.encposition({latitude}, {longitude}, {speed}, {course},
{battery percent}, {minute}, {altitude},
{epochseconds} )
// Encode email/text message
{string} = gsattrack.enctext( {destination}, {message} )
// Encode settings report
{string} = gsattrack.encsettings()
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Iridium functions¶
// Power Iridium Modem
iridium.setpower( {mode} )
mode:
1: on
0: off
NOTE: Must be called with mode 1 to enable signal for GPS functionality
// Enable Iridium Radio
iridium.setradio( {mode} )
mode:
1: on
0: off
iridium.transmit( {string} )
string: arbitrary string to transmit over SBD
Example:
iridium.transmit(gps.encode(lat,lon,speed,course,batp,min,alt))
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GPIO functions¶
{ variable } = gpio.wakereason()
values:
gpio.UNKNOWN: no matching wake reason
gpio.POWERUP: unit was just powered on
gpio.RESETPIN: unit was reset using the reset button
gpio.WAKEPIN: unit was woken using the wake pin
gpio.RTC: unit was woken by RTC
gpio.POWERCONNECTED: unit was woken when power was connected
Compass functions¶
// Compass heading in degrees
{ variable } = compass.getheading()
// Monitor compass and accelerometer values
{ variable } = compass.setmonitor( {mode} )
mode:
1: on
0: off
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Example output:
A#51,-120,-157,-213,-288,48,17168
A#<heading>, <mag. field x>, <mag. field y>, <mag. field z>, <accel x>, <accel y>, <accel z>
Accelerometer functions¶
// Temperature in degrees Celsius
{ variable } = accel.gettemp()
// Unit orientation
{ variable } = accel.getorientation()
values to compare with:
accel.UP_SX (0x44): Y-low
accel.UP_DX (0x42): X-high
accel.DW_SX (0x41): X-low
accel.DW_DX (0x48): Y-high
accel.TOP (0x60): Z-high
accel.BOTTOM (0x50): Z-low
accel.NA (0x00) : ??
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NOTE: need to add diagram here showing orientation of unit and maybe change the
names of these to be more intuitive.
Battery functions¶
//Battery percentage integer value from 0 to 100
print(bat.getpercent())
//Battery voltage in millivolts IE: 4000 = 4.0V
print(bat.getvoltage())
// Enable/disable periodic battery state logging
bat.setmonitor( {mode} )
mode:
1: on
0: off
Settings functions¶
These settings can be configured through the "Send Command" function on the GSatTrack site
(found under the down arrow menu for the GSatMicro asset of interest). The "Get Parameters" function
from this screen can request the current parameters stored on the device. Sending parameter
requests
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through the site to the unit will not automatically update fields on the site. "Get Parameters" can be
used
to confirm the current configuration state of the unit.
//Set variable into flash
settings.flash( {setting}, {value} )
//Read variable from flash
{variable} = settings.flash( {setting} )
setting:
settings.sleep // Seconds to sleep when in NORMAL mode (between cycles) (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.sos_sleep //Seconds to sleep when in SOS mode (between cycles) (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.g_timeout //GPS Timeout in seconds, default 120 (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.g_hdop //GPS Horizontal Dilution of Precision needed x10, default 20 (range 0 - 500)
settings.g_settle // Seconds to settle GPS after getting a fix, default 15 (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.i_tx_timeout //Iridium transmit timeout, default 60 (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.i_signal_timeout //Iridium signal timeout, default 60 (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.i_tx_retries //Iridium transmit attempts, default 3 (range: 0 - ( 2^31 - 1 ) )
settings.sleep_w_power // Set to 1 to sleep when on external high voltage
// (does not sleep on USB), default 0 (range: 0=sleep,1=run, count down to
next cycle)
settings.led_mask // mask to mask off LED's, default 0xFF (range: 0 - 255, 0=all off, 255=all on)
Membrane Panel Individual Bits:
bit0: GPS
bit1: Message
bit2: Power
bit3: Satellite
bit4: Alarm
bit5-7: ignored
settings.i_rx_always // keeps radio awake always to receive commands, default 0 (range: 0=off,1=on)
settings.tx_altitude // transmit altitude with position reports (range: 0=off,1=on)
Example:
//Set sleep time between reports to 10 minutes
settings.flash(settings.sleep, 600)
//Print current sleep time
print(settings.flash(settings.sleep))
LEDs¶
NOTE: These functions are currently overridden during normal transmit behavior by built-in functions.
//Set LED
led.led( {led}, {led mode}, {cycles} )
// Set LED with cycles set to continuous
led.led( {led}, {led mode} )
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//Read current LED mode
{variable} = led.led( {led} )
led:
led.pwr: Power
led.gps: GPS
led.sat: Satellite/Iridium
led.alrm: Alarm
led.msg: Message
led mode:
led.off: off
led.on: on (solid)
led.fadeoff: fade from bright to dark
led.fadeon: fade from dark to light
led.slow: slow flash
led.medium: medium flash
led.fast: fast flash
led.1: single flash
led.2: two flashes
led.3: three flashes
led.4: four flashes
led.5: five flashes
cycles:
The number of times to repeat the mode sequence. 255 = forever.
Example:
//Set LED 0 to ON permanently
led.led(led.pwr, led.on, 255)
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Interrupts / Event Handlers
A set of Lua functions can be defined for servicing various state changes on the
GSatMicro.
cpu.set_int_handler( {interrupt type}, {function} )
interrupt type:
cpu.INT_IRIDIUM_SIGNAL: Iridium modem has signal from satellite network
cpu.INT_IRIDIUM_TX_OK: SBD transmit completed successfully
cpu.INT_IRIDIUM_TX_FAIL: SBD transmission failed (after settings.i_tx_retries retries)
cpu.INT_IRIDIUM_TIMEOUT: Iridium timeout waiting for signal from satellite network
cpu.INT_GPS_VALID: GPS fix is valid and settled
cpu.INT_GPS_TIMEOUT: timeout waiting for GPS fix
cpu.INT_BOOT: called at boot
cpu.INT_CONTENTION: Iridium modem is already receiving when a radio command was issued
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¶
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Example:
function iridium_signal()
lat,lon,speed,alt,course=gps.getpos()
sec,min=gps.gettime()
if(speed < 5) then
course = compass.heading()
end
batp = bat.percent()
iridium.transmit(gps.encode(lat,lon,speed,course,batp,min,alt))
end
cpu.set_int_handler( cpu.INT_IRIDIUM_SIGNAL, iridium_signal)
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Name
Flex Pin
Hirose Pin
Cable Color
ADC IN 0
15 1
ADC IN 1
14 5
OUTPUT 1
13/12
2
OUTPUT 0
11/10
3
V_USB
9 7 yellow
USB D-
8 6 white
USB D+
7
10
green
RS232 TX
6
12
blue
RS232 RX
5
11
grey
VCC
4/3
8
red
GND
2/1
4
black
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COCOM Limits¶
COCOM limits are a GPS limitation by international law to disable GPS chipsets at high
altitudes or high speeds.
The GSatMicro will stop reporting if the unit exceeds 1,000 knots AND exceeds 18,000
meters. Both of these limits must be exceeded for COCOM limits to be enabled which
will disable the internal GPS receiver until one of the two limits returns to normal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoCom
Pinout v.1¶
1. RS232 - TX
2. RS232 - RX
3. USB - V+ (4.5-5.5v DC)
4. USB - D-
5. USB - D+
6. OUTPUT: 0
7. OUTPUT: 1
8. INPUT: 0
9. INPUT: 1
10. GROUND
11. VCC (7.5v-40v DC)
Pinout v.7¶
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Message Formats¶
Mobile Terminated (MT)
Future versions will make use of a header byte with values ranging from 0 - 31 to
define message type.
Mobile Originated (MO)¶
Position Report:
Text Message:
header (byte): 1
destination length (byte): <0 - 255>
destination (byte array): <destination length bytes>
message (byte array): <byte array bounded by end of MO message>
Settings Dump:
header (byte): 2
interface version (byte): <version, currently: 1>
settings version (byte): <version, currently: 1>
setting 0 (signed 32 bit integer): <value of first setting>
...
setting N-1 (signed 32 bit integer): <value of Nth setting>
Current order:
0: defaultv
1: g_hdop
2: g_timeout
3: i_tx_timeout
4: i_signal_timeout
5: i_tx_retries
6: sleep
7: sos_sleep
8: sleep_w_power
9: led_mask
10: i_rx_always
11: tx_altitude
12: g_settle
13: t_adc_id
14: t_adc_threshold
15: status_line
16: low_bat_off
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