GOMspace NanoCom AX100 User manual

NanoCom
AX100
Manual
Long-range software configurable VHF/UHF transceiver
Release 3.13.0

Product name: NanoCom AX100
Document No.: 1013824
Revision: 3.13.0
Author: Gomspace
Approved by: Gomspace
Approval date: 2020
Confidentiality Notice
This document is submitted for a specific purpose as agreed in writing and contains information, which is
confidential and proprietary. The recipient agrees by accepting this document, that this material will not be
used, transferred, reproduced, modified, copied or disclosed in whole or in part, in any manner or to any third
party, except own staff to meet the purpose for which it was submitted without prior written consent.
GomSpace © 2020

Table of Contents
1 Unpacking and handling precautions 1
2 Quickstart guide 2
2.1 RFLoad ................................................. 2
2.2 Debugconnectorw/powersupply................................... 3
2.3 EMIShield ................................................ 4
2.4 Usingamotherboard .......................................... 4
3 Console interface 5
4 CSP Port numbers 7
5 Parameters 8
5.1 Parametertables............................................. 8
5.2 ParameterModifiers........................................... 8
5.2.1 (A)Activeparameter ...................................... 8
5.2.2 (B)Boot-upparameter..................................... 8
5.2.3 (R)Read-onlyparameter.................................... 8
5.2.4 (P)Persistentparameter.................................... 9
5.3 Table0:Systemconfiguration ..................................... 9
5.4 Table1:Receiverconfiguration..................................... 10
5.5 Table 5: Transmitter configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.6 Table4:Telemetry............................................ 12
5.6.1 boot_cause .......................................... 13
6 Stored configurations 14
6.1 Bootsequence.............................................. 14
6.2 Savingaparametertable........................................ 14
6.2.1 Setting the default configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6.3 Loadingaparametertable ....................................... 16
7 Safety functions 17
7.1 Temperatureprotection ......................................... 17
7.2 TXmaxtime ............................................... 17
7.3 RXidletime ............................................... 17
7.4 TXinhibit................................................. 17
7.5 GroundWDT............................................... 17
8 Telemetry 19
8.1 Receiving Telemetry with parameter system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.2 Receiving Telemetry with the GOSH command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
9 Layer 3: Network-layer (Cubesat Space Protocol) 21
9.1 Understandingroutingentries ..................................... 21
9.1.1 Example 1: Spacecraft routing table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
9.1.2 Example 2: Ground station routing table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
9.2 Altering the routing table (temporarily) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
9.3 Altering the routing table (persistent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
9.3.1 Example 1: Serialized routing table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
9.3.2 Example 2: Serialized routing table with MAC address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
9.4 Interface statistics / Conn stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
9.5 MTU ................................................... 23
10 Layer 2: Data-link layer 25
10.1 Framingformats............................................. 25
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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10.1.1 Mode1:RAW.......................................... 25
10.1.2 Mode2:ASM.......................................... 25
10.1.3 Mode3:HDLC ......................................... 26
10.1.4 Mode4:HDLC+ViterbiFEC ................................. 26
10.1.5 Mode5:ASM+GOLAY .................................... 27
10.1.6 Mode6:HDLC+AX.25 .................................... 27
10.2 Error detection and correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
10.2.1 CRC32framevalidation .................................... 28
10.2.2 ReedSolomonCoding..................................... 28
10.2.3 Randomization ......................................... 28
10.2.4 Hash-based message authentication (HMAC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
10.3 Mediumaccesscontrol ......................................... 29
10.3.1 CarrierSense(RSSI)...................................... 29
10.3.2 Collisionavoidance....................................... 29
10.3.3 Keyupdelay .......................................... 29
11 Layer 1: Physical layer (RF) 31
11.1 Modulation................................................ 31
11.1.1 Modulationindex ........................................ 31
11.2 Frequency ................................................ 31
11.3 Bandwidthselection........................................... 32
12 Self-test Features 33
12.1 BERTest:RXTestroutine ....................................... 33
12.2 BERTest:TXpattern .......................................... 34
12.3 SingleCarrier .............................................. 34
13 GOSH Debugging Interface 35
13.1 ClientCommands ............................................ 35
13.1.1 print&store........................................... 35
13.1.2 list ................................................ 35
13.1.3 insert............................................... 36
13.1.4 hist................................................ 36
14 Software changelog 37
15 Disclaimer 43
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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1. Unpacking and handling precautions
Warning: Please observe precautions for handling electrostatic sensitive devices
The AX100 is an ESD sensitive device vulnerable especially on the following interfaces: RF-Connector all CPU
I/O pins. Proper precautions must be observed during the handling of the device.
Please use an ESD mat and a wrist strap as a minimum. Please wear gloves to avoid fingerprints on the
anodized aluminum shield, this part is particularly difficult to rinse off. If any cleaning of the parts are required
prior to flight, use only ESD safe cleaning methods and a neutral, non-reactive, IPA solvent.
Fig. 1.1: ESD handling tools
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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Manual AX100
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MAN 1013824 3.13.0

2. Quickstart guide
2.1 RF Load
Warning: Please ensure that the RF connector is connected to a proper 50 ohm RF load capable of handling
minimum 2 Watt, or a properly matched 50 ohm antenna, at all times when keying up the transmitter. Failure
to do so will result in damage or degradation of the transmitter.
The first thing to connect to the AX100 is a dummy load, or antenna. The right angle MCX connector gives a
solid click when connected.
Fig. 2.1: Connecting the MCX connector
In this example a RG316 cable is used with MCX/SMA. The SMA end will be connected to a 2 W dummy load.
Note: Cable and dummy load is not included with the AX100.
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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Fig. 2.2: 50 Ohm dummy load of 2 Watt
The dummy load is in this case a 20 dB attenuator. These SMA loads is not designed for continuous transmission
and will get very hot if the transmitter is left operating for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. Please allow the load
to cool if testing continuously, or get a bigger load with a heat sink.
2.2 Debug connector w/ power supply
The easiest way to access the AX100 is to use the accompanying 4-pin debugging connector. It has GND, VCC
and UART RX/TX. A custom FTDI USB/SERIAL cable is made to fit with the 4-pin picoblade connector, and the
VCC line is driven by an external power supply, instead of the FTDI 3.3 Volt interface.
Warning: Do not power the system using FTDI power and external power supply simultaneously.
Warning: Please ensure that any PC/Laptop connected to the USB cable has a properly grounded AC-plug.
The external power supply ground and PC/Laptop ground must be the same. Failure to do so will result in
Common Mode noise on the GND lines of up to 100+ Volts.
The external power supply must be set to 3.3 volt and a current limiter of 1000 mA. The ground connection is
taken made one of the four PCB corners, but could also be made in the USB/Serial cable.
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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Fig. 2.3: External power supply
2.3 EMI Shield
The black anodized aluminum EMI shield and heat sink will come pre-installed on the AX100 module. The
module will be factory checked out both before and after mounting the shield. Pictures will be taken of the PCB
before mounting the shield, so please do not try to remove the shield to check what is inside. Furthermore
the screws of the shield will be tightened to factory specifications and secured with locktite™ fastener glue.
Removing the shield will void the warranty on the product.
2.4 Using a motherboard
The AX100 is designed to fit on a PC/104 GomSpace motherboard with the FSI connector. Please refer to the
motherboard documentation for information about mounting and powering the AX100 module.
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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3. Console interface
The console interface is a powerful debug interface for the AX100 radio. The console is running at 500.000 baud,
8n1, 3.3 V, TTL levels. For Linux the program ‘minicom’ can be recommended, and for windows the program
‘putty’ is also recommended.
In order to setup ‘minicom’, please use ‘apt-get install minicom’ on a debian based distribution, or similar, to
install it. After the installation open minicom as the root user and with the -s option: ‘sudo minicom -s’. This
will enter the setup, where you must go to console settings and setup the baudrate to 500.000 baud, 8n1, and
disable flow-control also. When this is completed, go back and select ‘save as dfl’ to store those settings as the
default. Finally you may open minicom by using the following command:
minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0 -con
The –D option specifies which device you wish to use and the –c option controls color on or off. In Figure 5
AX100 v1.8 boot screenthe boot-screen of the AX100 is shown. This may look different for different software
revisions and settings.
Fig. 3.1: v3.0 boot screen
The specific commands that can be entered will be described later in this manual, but a general help is to type
the ‘help’ command:
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the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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Fig. 3.2: v3.0 help screen
This provides a simple list of all the “top-level” commands that can be issued over the debug interface.
Note that any excerpt from the console used in this manual will look like this:
nanocom-ax # cmp ident 5 1000
Hostname: com
Model: NanoCOM AX100
Revision: v1.8
Date: Sep 10 2014
Time: 11:41:36
This was an example of the ‘cmp ident’ command, sent from the AX100 to the AX100 over the loopback interface
in order to request the software identity of the AX100.
The most common commands to use the AX100 are:
ping <node>
param list <table>
param mem <table>
param get <name>
param set <name> <value>
ax100 hk
For further details on the parameters available, see section List of parameter tables.
© 2020 GomSpace A/S. All printed copies, and all electronic copies and versions except the one accessible on
the GomSpace A/S server, are considered uncontrolled copies used for reference only.
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Manual AX100
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MAN 1013824 3.13.0