SKYSENSE BCON1 User Manual

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BCON1

User Guide

Document Number: SSD1000A4

Rev 1.4, 2017-07-31

Document Number: SSD1000A4

Rev 1.4 2017-07-31

SKYSENSE AB Kistagången 12, SE-164 40 Kista, Sweden, [e-mail] Page 2 of 19

Contents

User Guide ..........................................................................................................................................1

Contents .............................................................................................................................................2

Introduction........................................................................................................................................3

Overview of the BCON1 Transmitter ...............................................................................................3

Specifications ..................................................................................................................................3

Get Started .........................................................................................................................................4

Unpacking your parcel ....................................................................................................................4

Connect BCON1 to your computer ..................................................................................................4

Set up BCON1 .................................................................................................................................4

Install BCON1 client .....................................................................................................................4

Install Terminal application .........................................................................................................4

Setup via BCON1 client ................................................................................................................5

Setup via Terminal ......................................................................................................................9

Upgrade Firmware ............................................................................................................................ 10

Connect BCON1 to your drone .......................................................................................................... 13

Hardware Interfaces ..................................................................................................................... 13

Command and Control Interface ................................................................................................... 13

Appendix A: Pin Map of SAMTECH Connector ................................................................................... 14

Appendix B: CLI Commands............................................................................................................... 15

Appendix C: CDC Virtual COM Drivers ............................................................................................... 16

Document Number: SSD1000A4

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Introduction

Overview of the BCON1 Transmitter

BCON1 is an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Stand Alone Transmitter for Class
B0 equipment. BCON1 1090 MHz Non-Transponder-Device (NTD) is implemented independent of a
Mode S transponder to provide the implementation of Extended Squitter (ES) for drones and other
light vehicles/airplanes. The carrier frequency of ADS-B Message transmission is 1090 ±1 MHz, the
ADS-B transmitted message is broadcasted automatically once per second. The Downlink Format (DF)
18 is used for transmitting ADS-B Messages from BCON1 transmitter.

BCON1 transmitter accepts own GPS position information via serial (RS232) interface connected
directly to GPS receiver or via autopilot. The transmitter is preconfigured to use built in precision
altimeter which provides accurate altitude data. BCON1 transmitter support mutual suppression which
is needed when the ADS-B equipment is used along with pulse L-band equipment on board.

BCON1 can be supervised through proprietary Skysense Serial Communication Protocol (SSCP) or
Command Line Interface (CLI) via a serial interface using terminal software or BCON1 windows
application.

Specifications

General

Transmitter power

70W/48.45 dBm

Operating altitude:

Unrestricted

GPS:

NMEA-0183, RS232, adjustable data rate

Altitude:

Internal altitude encoder (0.1m accuracy)
Max 5574 m (50 kPa min),Min -698 m (110 kPa max)
Internal temperature sensor
Min - 40 °C, max 85 °C

Electrical

Power supply:

5V-15V

Power consumption (active):

2.5W

Power consumption (stand-by):

<0.1W

Compliance (on-going)

FAA/EASA:

(E)TSO-166b

MOPS:

DO260B, Class B0

Software assurance:

DO-178C

Hardware assurance:

DO-254

Operating Environment:

DO-160G

Physical

Weight:

35g (without enclosure)

Dimensions:

45 x 90 x 12 mm

Temperature range:

–30 – 85 °C

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Get Started

Unpacking your parcel

Verify that following three items are included in the parcel:

 One BCON1 transmitter. The picture below shows BCON1 with its various interfaces
 One USB cable to connect BCON1 to your computer. This cable is only used for configuration

of BCON1.

 One SAMTECH cable harness (with wires only on one end) to connect BCON1 to your drone.

Connect BCON1 to your computer

To use BCON1 with your computer, you need:

 RS232 (DSUB9 male)-USB adapter cable (not included with BCON1)
 Micro-USB cable for power supply and configuration (Included with BCON1)
 A PC with a USB port, and with Windows Operating system (Windows 7 or later version).
 Terminal emulator program.
 BCON1 GUI client

Set up BCON1

Setup on BCON1 can be made with either an RS232 terminal port (e.g. HyperTerminal) or using BCON1
GUI client.

Install BCON1 client

Install the latest version of windows application that is available on github public repository

https://github.com/Skysense-io/tools/tree/master/bcon1-client-gui

Install Terminal application

Download the terminal application of your choice and then open the application and follow the on­screen instructions.

Red Led – Power On

Yellow Led – Transmit status

Green Led – SW status

SMA Antenna
COAX RG174

DFU BOOT Switch

SAMTECH
connector

USB Port
microUSB

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Setup via BCON1 client

To connect BCON1 to your computer you need a USB cable, connect the microUSB end to the BCON1
and the standard USB end to the PC/Laptop. If the BCON1 is properly connected then the PC will detect
the new hardware as CDC Virtual COM, this COM port enables RS232 communication to BCON1 via
USB cable. Follow the instructions in Appendix C to install the device drivers.

Connection

Then open the GUI client, on BCON1 tab a new COM port should appear in the serial port list.
Click on the serial port to establish a connection with the BCON1.

Dashboard

This section provides selection of key settings and data.

If no new Com port appears in the Serial Port list, check the cables and make sure that there are
no unknown hardware devices in the Device Manager.

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Configure ICAO Id
Go to ADSB tab, and then change the transmitter mode to Standby.

 ICAO Id text field and Update button will be enabled.
 Enter the new ICAO Id in hexadecimal and press the Update button to save changes.

Change Internal Attenuation

Go to ADSB tab, and then change the transmitter mode to Standby.
Select the new attenuation value and press the Update button.

Changes to ICAO Id & Attenuation are not permitted when the transmitter mode is set to On.

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Toggle Transmit Mode
Go to ADSB tab, turn the transmitter mode to Standby/On using the radio buttons.

Configure Altimeter source
Go to Sensors tab, select the altimeter source Internal/External for altitude data.

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Configure GPS source

Go to Sensors tab, select the GPS source Internal/External.

RS232 baud rate section is enabled when the GPS source is set to External (via RS232).

To change the baud rate, select the appropriate value from the drop down list and press the Update
button.

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Setup via Terminal

To connect BCON1 to your computer you need you need USB cable, connect the microUSB end to the
BCON1 and the standard USB end to the PC/Laptop. If the BCON1 is properly connected the PC will
detect new hardware as CDC Virtual COM, this COM port enables RS232 communication via USB cable.
Follow the instructions in Appendix C to install the device drivers.

Then open terminal application and setup serial port with below configuration:

 Baud rate: 115200
 Data: 8 bit
 Parity: None
 Stop: 1 bit
 Flow control: None

Verify the connection by typing AT in the terminal window, BCON1 will return in response the
product id and acknowledgment.

Configure ICAO Id

Enter the new ICAO Id in hexadecimal by using the icao command in the terminal window, BCON1
will return in response the acknowledgment.

Toggle Transmit Mode

Turn off the transmission using txs command and then set the new ICAO id, at the end turn on the
transmission using txo command.

See Appendix B, for full list of CLI commands supported by BCON1.

at
BCON1
OK

icao 534153
OK

You won’t be allowed to change the ICAO Id when the transmitter mode is set to On.

txs
OK

icao 534153

OK

txo
OK

eps

New Values saved to EEPROM.

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Upgrade Firmware

To perform firmware upgrade, connect the BCON1 to your computer using USB cable.

Connect the microUSB end to the BCON1 and the standard USB end to the PC.

Open BCON1 client and if it is already open press the Disconnect button on BCON1 tab.

Select the Upgrade Firmware tab.

On the BCON1 Press & Hold down the DFU Switch and perform power cycle, BCON1 now should only
gave solid RED LED.

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DFU label with green background indicates that the BCON1 is in Device firmware update (DFU)

mode.

Browse the new firmware hex file (BCON1.hex) and click the Upgrade button.

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Goto BCON1 tab and connect to the BCON1 transmitter and verify the firmware version on the
dashboard.

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Connect BCON1 to your drone

Hardware Interfaces

To use BCON1 with your drone, you need the SAMTECH cable harness, a single-ended 14 pole
SAMTECH connector. The other end of the SAMTECH cable harness must be adapted depending on
the physical interface of the autopilot. Note that it is possible to connect BCON1 to a GPS source if
GPS data cannot be retrieved via autopilot. The wire size is AWG #28 and appropriate tools are
recommended. See Appendix A for a complete pin map of the SAMTECH connector. One of the
RS232 interface can be used to control the BCON1 transmitter from the autopilot using Command
line interface or Skysense proprietary communication protocol.

Command and Control Interface

The BCON1 transmitter can be controlled with a simple and light weight proprietary communication
protocol or command line commands via a serial interface (RS232). If you want to integrate your UAV
flight computer or autopilot, please contact Skysense AB for the SSCP specification document. See
appendix B for CLI commands.

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Appendix A: Pin Map of SAMTECH Connector

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Appendix B: CLI Commands

BCON1 supports below Command Line Interface Commands over serial interface RS232 via Cable
harness or USB cable.

Connect BCON1 to your computer and follow the instructions mentioned in section “Setup via
Terminal”

Command

Description

at

Display Product name

ver

Display firmware version

txo

Turn off Mutual suppression i.e Transmit On

txs

Turn On Mutual suppression i.e Transmit Off

icao <hex value>

Set ICAO Id

att <dec value>

Set Attenuation value

gpbr <dec value>

Set baud rate for the RS232 port, used for external GPS

gps

Display GPS Information, e.g. Latitude, longitude

gps_exu

Set GPS source to external GPS i.e via USART

gps_exs

Set GPS source to external i.e Autopilot via SSCP

alt

Display Altitude information in Foot

alt_ext

Set Altimeter source to external i.e Autopilot via SSCP

alt_int

Set Altimeter source to internal

temp

Display BCON1 temperature in Celsius

set ita

Display Transmit Status, ICAO Id, Attenuation value

set br

Display baud rates for CLI, GPS

set ga

Display GPS. Altimeter sources (External\Internal)

eps

Save values to non-volatile memory i.e EEPROM

sscp

Switch to SSCP mode (Not available via USB)

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Appendix C: CDC Virtual COM Drivers

To install driver in Windows 7, follow these steps:

1. Download the drivers from the below public repository, extract the compressed file to a

temp directory.

https://github.com/Skysense-io/tools/tree/master/cdc-virtual-com-drivers

2. Click Start menu and right-click on Computer.

3. Click Manage.

4. Click Device Manager in left pane.

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5. Select Other devices and then CDC Virtual Com.

6. Right-click on the CDC Virtual Com and select Update Driver Software.

7. Click Browse my Computer for driver software.

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8. Click on Browse to find the location of the downloaded driver file

9. Click on Next button to install the driver.

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10. Open Device Manager to verify that the drivers are installed successfully.