ESD DTS2 User manual

Electronic Systems Development
Airborne Data Acquisition And Telemetry System
DTS2 Rev 1.4
Note: reliminary documentation
lease report any errors.
Last changes 2009/01/04

NOTICE
© Copyright 2009
All Rights Reserved.
This documentation and related hardware and software developed by Electronic Systems
Development contains proprietary information protected by copyright. o part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any
means electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written
permission from Electronic Systems Development.
Information in this manual is subject to change without prior notice in order to improve
accuracy, design and function and does not represent a commitment on the part of the
manufacturer. Information furnished in this manual is believed to be accurate and reliable.
However, no responsibility is assumed for its use, nor for any infringements of patents or
other rights of third parties which may result from its use.
In no event will Electronic Systems Development or persons affiliated to Electronic Systems
Development be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages
arising out of the use or inability to use the product or documentation, even if advised of the
possibility of such damages.
CREDITS
TITA is the property of RAP, CAR (Dr Mike Dixon).
IBM, IBM PC/XT/AT are all trademarks of International Business Machine Corporation.
Microsoft, Windows XP, DOS and MSDOS are all trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Other product names mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
WARRANTY
The seller warrants that the equipment supplied will be free from defects in material and
workmanship for a period of 6 months from the confirmed date of purchase of the original
buyer.
NOTE:
This technical documentation is written with the assumption that the user of this equipment
either has good knowledge of electronics and computers including a basic knowledge of DOS
or has a person on their staff that has this knowledge.
Do not try to set up or work on this equipment if you are not suitably qualified to do so.
If this equipment is tampered with including drilling of mounting holes in the chassis
the warranty will be VOID.

Read this First !!
This is a Summery of Warnings found in this document.
If some of these warnings are not o served damage may result to the equipment or
data may e lost.
Connecting The System Power. Page 8.
Warning !! Do not connect more than 13.8 V DC to the
System power otherwise damage may result .
Connecting The Radio Antenna. Page 8.
Warning !! Make sure that the radio antenna is connected efore
switching power on, if the radio transmits without an antenna the radio will e damaged.
Connecting The GPS Antenna. Page 9.
Warning !! Make sure that the GPS antenna is connected efore
switching on power otherwise the GPS will e damaged.
NEVER connect or disconnect the GPS antenna while power is ON, Switch off first
then connect the antenna then switch power ack ON.
Connecting Analog Signals To The System. Page 9.
Warning !! Make sure that the analog voltages connected to the
system do not exceed +-10 Volts.
Connecting Parallel I/O To The System. Page 9
Warning !! Do not connect signals that exceed +-28 V to the counter and parallel
input channels, a minimum of 5 Volts is needed to switch the circuit.
Setting up the Radio. Page 11.
If required in your country you must apply for a radio frequency from your local FCC.
Warning !! Do not eject/insert the Compact Flash DISK cartridge while power is on.
First switch off power efore removing or inserting a Flash Disk otherwise the cartridge will
definitely e damaged, see page 14.

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INDEX AGE
1 I TRODUCTIO 5
2. DESCRIPTIO 5
3. SYSTEM FEATURES 6
3.1 CO TROLLER
3.2 GPS
3.3 A ALOG TO DIGITAL
3.4 PARALLEL I/O
3.5 TELEMETRY
3.6 SYSTEM POWER REQUIREME TS
4. SOFTWARE 6
5. TELEMETRY PROTOCOL 7
5.1 TIMED PROTOCOL
6. SYSTEM LIMITATIO S 7
7. CO ECTIO S TO THE SYSTEM 8
7.1 CO ECTI G THE SYSTEM POWER
7.2 CO ECTI G THE RADIO A TE A
7.3 CO ECTI G THE GPS A TE A
7.4 CO ECTI G A ALOG I PUTS TO THE SYSTEM
7.5 CO ECTI G PARALLEL I/O TO THE SYSTEM
7.6 FLAGS
8. THE STATUS LED’S 11
9. STATUS PORT 11
10. DISPLAY 12
11. CO FIGURI G THE SYSTEM 12
12. DATA STORAGE 21
13. DATA FORMAT 22
14. ADC CHA EL OFFSET A D SLOPE VALUES 24
15. PERFORMA CE 26
16. I STALLI G THE SYSTEM 26
17. RECOMME DED COMPO E TS 27
18. APPE DIX 28

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1. INTRODUCTION
The Data Acquisition and Telemetry System Version 2 (DTS2) has been developed to acquire
Analog, Digital and GPS data for recording and transmission via Radio Telemetry from an
Airborne system to a ground Base Station with the primary function of updating aircraft
position in the operations control room on the ground. The system has been designed and
customized to be 100% compatible with TITA .
2. DESCRI TION
The system is based on an imbedded 386 CPU module with PC compatible features such as,
RS232 COM ports and Compact Flash Disk support for data storage. The CPU module is the
main controller of the system and runs the Data Acquisition, Storage and Telemetry program.
DTS2 has an 8 channel 12 bit ADC chip, user defined counter channels, user defined I/O
ports, 6 Serial Channels ( RS232 ) and internal GPS and Radio Data Modem.
All address decoding Counter functions and Parallel I/O are implemented in a single
ALTERA FPGA chip which is configurable for a multitude of functions making the card
versatile and useable for many applications.
The CPU card runs a program which samples data from the ADC at user programmable rates,
reads the Parallel Input Ports and Flags, counts Events and ingests the GPS data, formats the
data to a Packet Data String (PDS) compatible with TITA , stores this string on Compact
FLASH Card at user programmable rates and transmits this string via Radio Telemetry to the
Ground Base Station for real-time aircraft tracking on the TITA display.
The system is user configurable for sample and update rates, Telemetry transmission rates and
disk storage rates, device ID and ADC offsets and slopes are also user programmable by
editing a straight forward TEXT configuration file.

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3. System Features:
3.1 Controller:
Imbedded 386 CPU Controller Module with standard PC capabilities.
On card 4 Mb Dram.
2 serial Com ports ( RS232 ).
The operating system is Imbedded DOS.
3.2 G S:
ESD GPS1 Microblox 12 channel GPS module with external antenna.
Conforms to MEA data format.
Connects to one of the serial ports on the controller.
Position update of 1 per second.
3.3 ADC:
8 channel Analog to Digital converter with 12 bit resolution and protected bipolar inputs of
+- 5V or +- 10V (individually selectable).
Connects to analog sensors and instruments.
3.4 arallel I/O:
4 Protected Parallel input ports for monitoring flags and buttons.
2 Protected Counter channels for counting events such as flares fired.
4 Output ports with open collector drivers for switching on relays, LED’s etc.
3.5 Telemetry:
UHF or VHF with user selectable modulation ( FSK, GMSK and 4FSK ) baud rates up to
9600 Baud. Maximum 5 watt output power ( programmable ).
3.6 System ower requirements:
The system requires 12V @ 5 amps.
ote: a 24 V to 12 V converter is needed for 24 volt aircraft systems.
The 12VDC Power Connector is an C512 3 pin connector.
3.7 Enclosure Dimensions
Length =
16 cM , Width = 24.2 cM , Height = 6.1cM .
4. Software:
The 386 Module runs a program which acquires data from the GPS, Parallel Input,
Counter channels and the ADC channels.
These data are written to the Compact Flash Disk at a pre-selected rate, normally 1 record per
second.
The data are also formatted into the PDS ( Packet Data String ) for transmission via Telemetry
to the Ground Base Station. The Base Station receives the string, checks for and correct errors
and then sends the string to TITA which in turn displays the aircraft tracks on the TITA
display. The Packet Data String (PDS) is compatible with the TITA ESD_AC_I GEST
running on TITA .

7
An optional LabView ( DTS2_VIEW.exe ) utility is available for monitoring the data output
of the DTS2 on a graphical display. The LabView utility can be installed on a Laptop or
Tablet PC with Win XP ( not supplied by ESD ). The Laptop running the application
DTS2_VIEW must be connected to the DTS2 serial port P3.
5. Telemetry rotocol:
5.1 Timed protocol:
The Base Station listens only and the Airborne Systems synchronize their transmission
with the GPS time and pulse per second (PPS) interrupt.
Each Airborne System will have a numeric ID to determine when this system must transmit
its data. With this method the Base Station will receive an update on each second, if there are
3 aircraft then an update from a specific aircraft will be received every 3 seconds etc. If there
is only one Airborne System then an update can be received every second from that aircraft.
Experience has shown that an update every second produces too much data for TITA and
the airborne radio works hard. A suggested update in a single Airborne System setup is every
4 seconds. Data can be logged once per second on the Airborne System if so required.
6. System Limitations:
Radio reception is the most important factor effecting reliable updates from the Airborne
System. The placement of the Airborne Telemetry antenna is critical (should be on the
underside of the aircraft fuselage and as far as possible from the aircraft communications
antennas). The placement and height of the Base Station antenna is very important for good
reception.
The GPS module used in this system relies on good coverage of the sky to detect satellites.
Do not try to test the system in a metal roof hangar as the G S will not detect any satellites
and the Error light will stay lit.
No Analysis package is supplied with DTS2. The user must read the files stored on the CF
card with Microsoft Excel or a similar program that can read “comma delimited” text.
Microsoft Excel can be used to draw up graphs and summaries of the data from a flight.
TITA is used to display aircraft tracks and no provision is made for a separate output to
display aircraft position on a monitor.
DTS2 Panels
DTS2 Front anel
The Front Panel shows the 8 LED’s , the Power Breaker / Switch and the Compact Flash
socket / slot

8
DTS2 Back anel
ANALOG Channels
Serial I/O Radio Antenna G S Antenna
G S Data Output Digital I/O
7. Connections To The System
7.1 Connecting The System To ower
Both the Base and Airborne systems require 12 VDC.
Warning !! Do not connect more than 13.8 V DC to the system power otherwise damage
will result .
Base Station.
The Base Station system requires a 115 AC to 12 VDC @ 2 Amps power
supply (USA) or 220 AC to 12 VDC @ 2 Amps (RSA/Europe). A separate cable must be run
from a 12VDC power supply to the Base Station unit / antenna mounted on the mast.
Airborne System.
The Airborne System requires a 28VDC to 12 VDC @ 8 Amps power converter on 28 V
aircraft only, otherwise the system can be connected directly to the 12 V supply on 12 V
aircraft. The power connector P1 is located at the rear or the DTS. Pin 1 = +12 V,
Pin 3 = ground. The Connector Type is C512.
7.2 Connecting The Radio Antenna
Warning !! Make sure that the radio modem antenna is connected before switching power
on, if the radio modem transmits without an antenna the radio will be damaged.
The cable and antenna used will play a great role in the quality of radio reception and
transmission. It is very important to make sure that good quality cable, antennas and
connectors are used and the connections are properly made.
Base Station.
The Base Station antenna is part of the Base Station unit and is connected directly to the
Radio Modem without cable.
Airborne System
The Airborne System radio antenna connects to B C connector P11. Make sure that the cable
is as short as possible and the antenna must be mounted on the underside of the fuselage of
the aircraft. Use an Aircraft certified antenna.

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7.3 Connecting The G S Antenna
Warning !! Make sure that the G S antenna is connected before switching on power
otherwise the G S will be damaged.
NEVER connect or disconnect the G S antenna while power is ON, switch power off first
then connect the antenna then switch power back ON.
The GPS antenna connects to the system via a standard B C plug to P7 on the rear panel of
the DTS2. Use an aircraft certified GPS antenna.
Raw GPS data from the on board module is sent out on serial RS232 port P9 at 9600 baud.
The Raw GPS MEA –0813 sentence string looks like this:
$GPRMC,111621.00,A,3402.78600,S,01849.77818,E,0.039,249.04,101007,,,A*78
$GPGGA,111621.00,3402.78600,S,01849.77818,E,1,08,1.79,212.9,M,32.7,M,,*45
This string output from DTS2 can be connected directly to another data systems RS232
Serial port such as ADAS2000 or DMT and SEA data systems.
7.4 Connecting Analog Signals To The System
Warning !! Make sure that the analog voltages connected to the system do not exceed
+-10 Volts.
Analog signals can be connected to the 9 pin D type connector P5 at the rear of the DTS. Use
RG178 coax cable or shielded Teflon cable for each signal connection. Bad, unshielded or
incorrect connections will result in noisy data.
Analog input channel 5 in Numbers
0 6
1 1
2 7
3 2
4 8
5 3
6 9
7 4
GROU D 5
Selecting the ADC input voltage range.
Jumper BR19 to BR26 are used to select between the -5 to +5 Volt
range or the -10 to +10 Volt range.
Link pins 1 to 2 for the -5 to +5 Volt range.
Link pins 2 to 3 for the -10 to +10 Volt range. * Default on all channels, Do not change the
default settings without consulting ESD.
7.5 Connecting arallel I/O To The System
Warning !! Do not connect signals that exceed +-28V to the counter and parallel input
channels, a minimum of 5 Volts is needed to switch the circuit.
The user can connect flare fire buttons to the counter channels to keep track of how many
flares were fired. The counter channels have software de-bounce filters, each counter will
increment when applying a momentary voltage to the appropriate counter input pin on P10.
The user can also set a software de-bounce value in the configuration file.
NOTE: Keep Counter Channels separate from each other and from other parallel I/O
signals. Cross talk in a multi core ca le can cause a counter channel to increment when
the other channel is pulsed. Use single core shielded ca le for counter channels.

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COU TER_DEBOU CE parameter and counter TIMEOUT parameter are used for switches
that are held on for several seconds and can be customized to accurately count the switch
closures when firing a flare..
The parallel inputs will change state from a 0 to a 1 when a voltage is applied to the
appropriate pin on P10.
The parallel inputs can be used to show the state of a switch etc.
Parallel input and output signals can e connected to the 25 pin D connector P10
BR34 Header Pin Num er P10 D Connector Pin Num er Signal Name
1 13 Counter 0 *
2 25 Counter 1 *
3 12 IP 4
4 24 IP 3 *
5 11 IP 7
6 23 IP 5
7 10 IP 6
8 22 IP 2 *
9 9 OP0
10 21 OP1
11 8 OP2
12 20 OP3
13 7 OP4
14 19 OP5
15 6 GP6
16 18 GP7
17 5 GP8
18 17 GP9
19 4 GP10
20 16 GP11
21 3 GP12
22 15 GP13
23 2 GP14
24 14 GP15
25 1 G D
26 /C G D
The standard connections to the P/IO port for counting flares are the following:
Connect Burn In Place ( BIP ) flare fire button to COU TER0 and Ejectable ( EJT ) flare fire
button to COU TER1. If Acetone generators are used these can be connected to IP2 and IP3.
The counter and Parallel I/O inputs to DTS2 can take from 5V to 28V inputs.
When the fire button is pressed to fire a flare the connection from the button to DTS2 must go
from 0V to +V. i.e. A voltage must be applied momentarily to enable the system to count the
flares.