Astromi.ch MGBox V2 User manual

MGBox V2 Manual

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Version 1.3
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 4
System Requirements ................................................................................................................... 5
General Requirements ............................................................................................................... 5
Windows Operating Systems ................................................................................................. 5
Other Operating Systems ....................................................................................................... 5
ASCOM Connections ................................................................................................................. 5
MGBox usage ................................................................................................................................ 6
Windows Application ..................................................................................................................... 6
Hardware information .................................................................................................................... 7
Pressure Sensor ........................................................................................................................ 7
Temperature Sensor .................................................................................................................. 7
Humidity Sensor......................................................................................................................... 7
Microprocessor .......................................................................................................................... 8
GPS Module ............................................................................................................................... 8
RJ10 Interface............................................................................................................................ 9
Application Interface .................................................................................................................... 10
Serial Port settings ................................................................................................................... 10
Serial Port settings RJ10 ......................................................................................................... 10
Protocol .................................................................................................................................... 11
Setting, resetting, receiving Calibration data and other commands ........................................ 12
Setting pressure calibration.................................................................................................. 12
Setting temperature calibration ............................................................................................ 12
Setting humidity calibration .................................................................................................. 12
Resetting calibration values ................................................................................................. 13
Getting calibration values ..................................................................................................... 13
Send GPS-Data to Mount .................................................................................................... 13
Send Meteo-Data to Mount .................................................................................................. 13
Rebooting the GPS-Module ................................................................................................. 13
Rebooting MGBox ................................................................................................................ 13
Turning GPS Module On ...................................................................................................... 13
Turning GPS Module Off ...................................................................................................... 14
Query Device type ................................................................................................................ 14
Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................................... 14

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Version 1.3
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing MGBox V2 (short for Meteo- and GPS Box, referenced as MGBox
throughout this manual), a small, self-contained device that delivers positional information,
barometric pressure, temperature, humidity and dew point information with high accuracy.
Version 2 of MGBox introduces some new functionality and changes based on customer
feedback.
Sophisticated telescope mounts usually allow the creation of models to minimize inaccuracies in
pointing and tracking that can result from mechanical tolerances, atmospheric refraction and
other factors. In order for this model to be of the highest quality, the mount computer or
controlling software can use the data that MGBox provides and thus improve the accuracy in
their calculations.
Because of the small size of MGBox, it can be used in both mobile astronomy as well as
stationary setups inside an observatory.
MGBox is self-declared CE conform according to EN 301489-1 Class B and EN 61000-6-3
Class B
MGBox is also ROHS compliant.

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Overview
1 – RJ10 Port
2 – GPS Status LED
 LED blinks in 1 second interval if no GPS Fix is acquired
 LED remains off once a valid GPS Fix is achieved
3 – Mount Status LED
 Only relevant for the 10Micron specific Firmware
 Indicates if communication with the mount has been established. If the LED is on,
MGBox and the mount are not communicating with each other.
4 –USB Connector

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Version 1.3
System Requirements
MGBox was tested on WindowsXP, Windows 7 and Windows 10 in a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit
versions. It is assumed that the Windows OS is updated to the latest patches and updates.
General Requirements
Windows Operating Systems
 Windows 10
 Windows 8 / 8.1
 Windows 7
o No further requirements, in case the FTDI Driver is missing or overwritten by
the Windows update process, please reinstall the one from the FTDI website
(http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm)
 WindowsXP
o Service Pack 3
o .Net Framework 4.0
o FTDI Driver (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm)
Other Operating Systems
Although untested, MGBox should work on Mac or Linux operating Systems. It may be
necessary to install the proper driver that is available from FTDI (see link above). For a
description of the command protocol please refer to Section Application Interface.
ASCOM Connections
For connections thru ASCOM the following needs to be installed:
 ASCOM Platform 6.5SP1 or later
 Astromi.ch MGBox Driver

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Version 1.3
MGBox usage
MGBox can either be used with or without a computer.
If you use the RJ10 interface of MGBox, please check the pinout of your mount’s computer
before hookup. We take no responsibility for possible damages resulting from improper
configurations! Please see Chapter “RJ10 Interface” for details
Usage with computer
 Connect MGBox to your computer using the supplied USB-Cable and launch the
application. MGBox will be recognized by Windows as a new Com-Port
 It is recommended to do this at least once to in order to configure the behavior of the
RJ10 Port.
 On older Windows Versions or other Operating Systems, it might be necessary to install
the proper FTDI Driver before the device becomes available.
Usage without computer
 MGBox can also be connected to your mount using the supplied RJ10 cable. The RJ10-
Port is configured similar to a serial port and MGBox can draw power either thru the
USB-Port or from the RJ10-Port.
 Using just the RJ10 Port makes MGBox operate in stand-alone mode where it just
keeps sending data according to its configuration.
Note: For 10Micron Mounts, if the mount is powered off but the mount’s power source
remains on, MGBox will continue to receive power from the mount.
Windows Application
Please consult the respective manual for a description of the windows application.

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Version 1.3
Hardware information
MGBox uses a Bosch Sensortec BME280 Sensor that delivers pressure, temperature and
Humidity with very high accuracy. The following is an excerpt from the specifications of the
sensor depicting its tolerances and operating limits:
Pressure Sensor
Parameter Min Typical Max Unit
Operating
temperature range
-40 25 +85 °C
Operating pressure
range
300 1100 hPa
Absolute accuracy
pressure
+- 1.0 hPa
Relative accuracy
pressure
+-0.12 hPa
Temperature Sensor
Parameter Min Typical Max Unit
Operating range -40 25 +85 °C
Absolute accuracy
temperature
+- 1.0 °C
Humidity Sensor
Parameter Min Typical Max Unit
Operating
Temperature Range
-40 25 +85 +C
Absolute accuracy
tolerance
+- 3.0 %RH

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Version 1.3
Microprocessor
The “heart” of MGBox is an Atmel ATmega2560V microprocessor that interfaces with the
Sensor over the I2C protocol. It features 256KB of flash memory, 4KB of EEPROM, 8Kbytes of
internal SRAM and 86 general-purpose I/O lines.
The ATmega2560 runs at 8Mhz using and external ceramic resonator.
GPS Module
MGBox uses either a Sierra Wireless XA1100 or a Quectel L80 GPS Module. Please find below
a table with the most significant specifications for the modules.
GPS-
Module
Model
Sensitivity Chipset Patch
Antenna
Tracking/
Acquisition
Channels
Sierra
Wireless
XA1100
Acquisition:
-148dBm,
Reacquisition:
-163dBm
Tracking: -
165dBm
MediaTek
MT3333
Integrated 22/66
Quectel
L80
Acquisition:
-148dBm,
Reacquisition:
-160dBm
Tracking: -
165dBm
MediaTek
MT3339
Integrated 22/66

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Version 1.3
RJ10 Interface
The RJ10 Interface works almost like a typical RS-232 Interface with the exception that only V+,
GND, TX and RX are used.
The following picture illustrates the pinout:
Conversion from TTL to RS-232 is done by a Max3232ESE+ IC.
The supplied cable is a standard RJ10 cable and the pinout is as follows (colors may vary):
Important: Please consult your mount manual before connecting MGBox to it.
We will not take responsibility for possible damages resulting from wrong connections!

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Version 1.3
Application Interface
This section provides information about how to interface with MGBox from your own application
or script.
Serial Port settings
Use the following settings to connect to MGBox and start receiving data:
Baud: 38400
Data-Bits: 8
Stop-Bits: 1
Parity: None
Serial Port settings RJ10
With the following settings you can receive data from the RJ10 Serial Port:
Baud: 9600
Data-Bits: 8
Stop-Bits: 1
Parity: None

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Protocol
MGBox uses, for compatibility reasons, the NMEA 0183 Protocol that is used by various
navigation devices.
MGBox sends data from the sensor in the following format:
$PXDR,P,96276.0,P,0,C,31.8,C,1,H,40.8,P,2,C,16.8,C,3,0.8*39<cr><lf>
This breaks down into the following, more readable format:
$ Start of sentence
P Proprietary sentence
XDR Transducer type
P Sensor type, pressure
96276.0 Sensor value
P Sensor units, pascal
0 Sensor ID
C Sensor type, temperature
31.8 Sensor value
C Sensor units, °C
1 Sensor ID
H Sensor type, humidity
40.8 Sensor value
P Sensor units, percent
2 Sensor ID
C Sensor type, temperature
16.8 Sensor value
C Sensor units, °C
3 Sensor ID
0.8 MGBox firmware
*39 Checksum

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Version 1.3
Additionally, MGBox can also send information about calibration values stored in the EEPROM.
Standard Firmware:
$PCAL,P,0,T,0,H,0,MM,1,MG,0*69<cr><lf>
$ Start of sentence
P Proprietary sentence
CAL Calibration data
P Sensor type, pressure
20 Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g. 2.0
hPa
T Sensor type, temperature
50 Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g. 5.0 °C
H Sensory type, humidity
-10 Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g.
-1.0 %RH
MM MM: Send Meteo-Data to moun
1 Yes (0 = No)
MG MG: Send GPS-Data to mount
0 Disabled (1 = Enabled)
*69 Checksum
Setting, resetting, receiving Calibration data and other commands
In order to set, reset or query calibration data from the MGBox, similar formatted sentences can
be sent to the device. Please limit the commands to about 1 per second in order to give the
device time to respond to each command.
Setting pressure calibration
:calp,50*
:calp Set calibration value for pressure
50 Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g. 5.0
hPa
* End of message indicator
Setting temperature calibration
:calt,22*
:calt Set calibration value for temperature
22 Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g. 2.2 °C
* End of message indicator
Setting humidity calibration
:calh,50*
:calh Set calibration value for humidity
50 Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g. 5.0%
* End of message indicator

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Resetting calibration values
:calreset*
:calreset Resets all calibration values
* End of message indicator
Getting calibration values
:calget*
:calget Retrieves all calibration values
* End of message indicator
Send GPS-Data to Mount
:mg,1*
:mg Set’s if GPS-Data should be sent to the
Mount
1 Enabled (0 = disabled)
* End of message indicator
Send Meteo-Data to Mount
:mm,1*
:mm Set’s if Meteo-Data should be sent to the
Mount
1 Enabled (0 = disabled)
* End of message indicator
Rebooting the GPS-Module
:rebootgps*
:rebootgps Reboots the GPS-Module
* End of message indicator
Rebooting MGBox
:reboot*
:reboot Reboots MGBox
* End of message indicator
Turning GPS Module On
:gpson*
:gpson Enables Power to the GPS Module
* End of message indicator

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Turning GPS Module Off
:gpsoff*
:gpsoff Removes Power from the GPS Module
* End of message indicator
Query Device type
:devicetype*
:devicetype Queries the Type of the Device connected
* End of message indicator
Troubleshooting
If your MGBox does not work as expected, please check the following:
 Verify in Device Manager the FTDI Serial Port shows up. Install / reinstall the driver if
necessary (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm)
 If configuring ASCOM Connection and it appears that nothing happens when you click
the “Configure” button, look in your task bar for an additional window. Sometimes the
ASCOM Setup-Dialog ends up behind the other windows and is therefore not
apparently visible.