GiPSy Remote GPS datalogger with remote downloading for wildlife tracking Remote Control (Version 1.2, April 2014)

Transcription

1 GiPSy Remote GPS datalogger with remote downloading for wildlife tracking Remote Control (Version 1.2, April 2014)

2 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 2

3 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 3 CONTENTS CONTENTS 3 1. REMOTE MANAGEMENT DESCRIPTION COMMUNICATIONS AT POWER-UP COMMUNICATIONS DURING THE SCHEDULED PERIODS POWER SAVING 5 2. THE BASE STATION THE BATTERY THE SWITCH THE ANTENNA THE GIPSY-4 UTILITY: REMOTE CONTROL SETTING THE RANGE THE LONG RANGE REMOTE MANAGEMENT INTERFACE THE BASE STATION SECTION THE REMOTE UNIT SECTION 10

4 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p REMOTE MANAGEMENT DESCRIPTION GiPSy-4 with remote communication (GiPSy Remote L) is designed to allow you to download data and configure the GPS remotely using a remote base station. The units are waterproof to withstand harsh climatic conditions and for applications also on marine birds. The control of the unit for downloading data or changing the operational settings is done by means of a Base Station operating with a Zig-bee protocol at 868MHz, which can communicate up to a distance of 2km in normal conditions. If necessary we could provide also tranceivers at 915MHz for those countries where the 868MHz protocol is not allowed for private uses. In order to reduce the power consumption, the Zig-bee module on the unit is not always powered up, but is active for communication only in two instances: 1.1 -at power up and for a duration of 30 sec (during this time a longer time window for communication can be established), and 1.2 -during logging of the GPS positions, when communication with the Base Station is scheduled. Thus, communications between base station and GPS logger will be possible only in these two periods. 1.1 Communications at power-up When the unit is powered-up, the blue light of the LED will start blinking, with 2 fast blinks/sec, for 30 seconds. During this time, it is possible to communicate with the unit. If this time expires without any attempt of connection, the unit will start working with the preset schedule, indicated by 1 blink/sec until satellites are gathered (then the LED will turn OFF). Therefore resuming the meaning of the LED blinks: -LED flashing at 2 blinks/sec: communication with zig bee possible (for 30 sec); -LED flashing at 1 blink/sec: GPS searching for satellites; -LED flashing at 1 blink/2 secs: the GPS failed to obtain the fix and went to sleep. -LED OFF: GPS recording points/gps switched off. Communication will be available again during the first scheduled period, or by turning the unit OFF and then ON again. 1.2 Communications during the scheduled periods During the logging time, GiPSy-4 turns ON the ZigBee part of the unit during the scheduled intervals and the remote communication is then allowed. Please, note that the schedule starts only after the logger has got its first position after being turned ON. If the GPS is left switched on without sky visibility it will not get the position and thus will not switch on the remote downloading. Afterwards the schedule is active even if there is no GPS signal. Intervals have a minimum duration of 1 hour and up to two different time windows can be

5 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 5 set on the same day. A weekly programming of the time windows is also possible. When communication is established it will be possible to: - download and erase the data, -check the battery charge, -change the unit name, and -change the unit schedule. WARNING: please note that, when remotely communicating with the unit, if the schedule is changed without specifying at least one interval for the remote communication, the unit will not be reachable afterwards. 1.3 Power saving Once the unit is remotely connected (during both power-up and logging), a 60 sec timer starts running; when this time expires, the unit resets and the communication may be broken; this timer is reset to 60 seconds every time a new operation is sent (downloading, changing the name, setting the schedule, etc.), so communications are possible for periods longer than 60 seconds (sometimes downloading can take more than this), but there might not be idling periods larger than 60 seconds between an operation and the next one. This is also useful in scenarios where the animal is close to the limits of the range of the antenna: if a downloading is started and suddenly the animal leaves this area, before the completion of the downloading, the communications breaks up, and the unit, that is no longer busy with the communication, waits 60 seconds, then restart the communication as usual. Therefore if you wish to use a new schedule, it is our advise to prepare it beforehand and save it, being sure that the right type of communication is set up (long range or short range) and that at least one communication window is set up. Then it can be loaded and sent to the GPS quickly. If saving/loading the schedule is not possible, every seconds send the schedule to the GPS even if not complete, just to make the 60 seconds timer starting again.

6 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p THE BASE STATION The Base Station for remote communication consists of dipole antenna connected with a USB cable to pc (fig 2.1). Fig.2.1: The Base Station (note that the position of led and switch might change) 2.1 The Battery The base station has a rechargeable battery that provides the power requested by the transmitter. The battery can be recharged by connecting the base station to a PC (or to a USB wall adapter) by the USB cable (5); the USB cable is also needed for the communications between the base station and the PC. Two colored lights (4, but in other versions on the cable) indicate the status of the battery while the unit is connected with the USB cable: a red light means that the unit is being charged, a green light means that the battery is fully charged. 2.2 The Switch In order to allow communication the base station should be turned ON by the switch (3, the green LED turns ON). For recharging the battery keep the switch in OFF position. When starting a remote communication with a unit make sure that the battery of the base station is fully charged.

7 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p The Antenna. The antenna must be connected to the base station before turning ON the device, or it may result in a permanent damage of the device. For a better communication keep the antenna in a vertical position.

8 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p THE GIPSY-4 UTILITY: REMOTE CONTROL 3.1 Setting the range In contrast with the USB datacable control, where the main interface of the software is employed for the management of the unit, the remote control requires the user to enter the dedicated interface, available by clicking the remote control button (1), see fig 3.1. There are two remote control interfaces available: the long range remote control and the short range remote control. They connect respectively with the long range remote unit (with four solar panels) and the short range remote unit (with two solar panels, now discontinued). Depending of which kind of unit is employed, the correct interface has to be set, using the Settings menu (2). Fig.3.1: Range selection for the remote management Once the desired range is set, the remote management button (1) will change accordingly; To communicate with the remote unit, press the button remote management.

9 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p The Long Range remote management interface Figure 3.2 shows the long range remote management interface. It is composed of three main sections: the Base station section (A), the Remote unit section (B) and a status section (C). Fig.3.2: The long range remote management interface 3.3 The Base station section The Base station (A) allows you to connect the PC with the base station. If the base station is plugged to the PC before opening the interface, its associated com port will be showed in the COM ports list (1), otherwise, it is possible to refresh the list, by pressing the Refresh Ports button (3). Once the right Com port number is selected, it must be activated by pressing the connect button (2). Due to the high power of the transmitters employed for the long range remote transmissions, communications could be unreliable or impossible if the base station and the remote unit are too close or too far. For communicating with the units when very close (closer than 10 meters) you should reduce the power of the transmission by checking the power reduction checkbox. Even in this case it might be necessary to place the remote unit a few meter apart, because the power is still too high. You will notice this because the units suddenly disconnect or there are failures in the communication. The power reduction option can be enabled before or after pressing the connect button (2). Once

10 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 10 the button connect (2) is pressed, the PC will open the COM port associated with the remote station, and the button will switch to Disconnect. To go on with the remote management, the base station must turned ON (green light). To release the Base station serial port and close the interface, press the Disconnect button (2). 3.4 The Remote unit section Once the base station is connected, a channel list must be loaded. The channel list is provided by the factory, and contains the addresses of the remote units to be connected. When the software is freshly installed, the Channel list (6) is void and a channel list must be loaded pressing the Load channel list button (5). A file browser will pop up and the Channel list file must be located and selected; the channel list will be then populated with the addresses of the remote units. The next time the GIPSy-4 utility will be launched, the channel list will be automatically loaded, so it is not necessary to load the channel list every time the remote management is needed. Once the unit to be connected is selected from the list (6), it is possible to press the Connect button (7), and the base station will attempt to connect with the remote unit. If the unit is not found within the antenna range, the user will be notified that the unit is not visible ; it is then possible to choose another unit from the list (6) and press again Connect (7). Sometimes even if the unit is within the range, the program might fail to communicate with it. Try two or three times to connect to each unit, before declaring it out of range. Consider that if the communication with one unit is broken, for any reason, it will restart after 60 seconds (not at switch on). So allow enough time for the unit to restart if you encountered this problem. When a unit is successfully connected, the Connect button (7) switches to Disconnect and the status section (C) is populated with the remote unit information: the firmware version and the battery level (8). Moreover, the unit name is indicated in the Unit name box (9); finally, the management buttons (10) will be enabled. It is now possible to manage the unit. Important: Please note that if inactive for more than 60 seconds, the remote unit will automatically disconnect from the base station. Therefore, it is advisable not to leave more than 60 seconds between two actions (with action meaning download, erase, send or read schedule, change the unit name). If this happens during power up (Section 1.1) you will need to restart the unit in order to reconnect with the unit. If this happens during the scheduled period (Section 1.2), just try to reconnect to the unit after 60 seconds. A trick to avoid the 60 seconds to pass is to keep setting the unit name (even if the same, just click the button and the timer will start again) or when making the schedule keep sending the schedule, even if not finished.

11 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 11 The Download button will download all the data from the remote unit. Once pressed, the user will be asked to choose a path and a file name to store the download data. Data will be saved with the.dat format. It is possible to convert the saved file.dat using the main interface (see Operating Manual, Par 5.2), so the remote management window has to be closed, but it is strongly recommended to do it in a second time, when no unit is remotely connected. The Erase button will delete all the logged data contained in the remote unit memory. Users should erase the memory after every successfully and complete download, as the next downloading will takes less time, saving battery energy. It is also possible to change the unit name, with the Set button (9), and change the schedule, with the Schedule button (10). If the schedule has to be changed, please remember that composing a schedule can require some time, and the communication cannot be remain inactive for more than 60 seconds. If only a little modification has to be made, it can be useful, once the schedule interface is open, to press the Read schedule button (Operating Manual, Cap. 6, Fig 6.1). Consider that all units will come with a pre-set schedule with the correct remote downloading range and at least one connecting window. If you first read the schedule, before modifying it, you will be sure that the downloading range is correct and that there will be at least one window for remote communication. If you are unsure please contact us for further information. Please, note that if no interval for the remote downloading is set, it will be no more possible to communicate with the remote unit, unless you recapture the animal. Please, note also that the kind of remote range must not be changed, or you won t be more able to communicate with your unit, even if you re-catch it! (See Fig. 3.3). Fig.3.3: Do not change the kind of the remote downloading range.

12 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 12 Once the management of the remote unit is completed, it is possible to disconnect it, pressing the Disconnect button (7). As there can be some remaining time until the scheduled end of the remote downloading, the user is asked if it is desired to turn off the remote communication after disconnecting; if yes is pressed, the remote communication will be anyway available in the next scheduled period. If no is pressed, the communication will remain possible until the end of the current period. This latter possibility is not recommended as it increases power consumption.

13 GiPSy-4 remote control appendix p. 13 GiPSy Remote data-logger Remote control appendix TECHNOSMART Europe S.r.l. Via Montenero 57/ Guidonia Montecelio, ITALY Phone: Fax: , VAT: Web: info@technosmart.eu