Microsat PLXDigi Mounting instructions

PLXDigi (v1.04)
APRS STANDALONE DIGIPEATER
MULTIPATH DSP APRS DECODING ALGORITHM
WEATHER STATION SUPPORT
EXTERNAL TELEMETRY MODULE SUPPORT
INPUT VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT
SERIAL CONSOLE FOR ADMINISTRATION
EASY USB-HID CONFIGURATION AND FIRMWARE UPDATE
Instructi n manual
C nfigurati n s ftware manual
Designer: Mateusz Pł ciński SQ3PLX
Pr ducer: Micr sat
inf @micr sat.c m.pl
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Table of Contents
1. Technical parameters..............................................................................3
2. Device features.....................................................................................4
2.1. MultiPath APRS packets dec ding...........................................................4
2.2. APRS client.....................................................................................4
2.3. APRS digipeater...............................................................................4
2.4. Weather stati n supp rt.....................................................................4
2.5. Telemetry rep rts.............................................................................5
2.6. WXTelemetry m dule supp rt (anal g channels)........................................5
2.7. WXTelemetry m dule supp rt (anal g channels)........................................5
2.8. Firmware and c nfigurati n updates......................................................5
3. C nnect rs and device status leds...............................................................6
3.1. Fr nt panel.....................................................................................6
3.2. Rear panel......................................................................................6
4. P wer, radi , RS-485 c nnect r..................................................................7
4.1. Audi utput level regulati n...............................................................8
4.2. Audi input level..............................................................................8
5. Serial p rts c nnect r............................................................................10
6. C nnecting the weather stati n................................................................11
6.1. LaCr sse/Techn line WS-2300, WS-2350 stati ns......................................11
6.2. Peet Br s Ultimeter stati ns...............................................................11
6.3. Davis Vantage stati ns......................................................................11
7. C nnecting t PC..................................................................................12
7. Descripti n f c nfigurati n s ftware.........................................................13
7.1. Reading c nfigurati n fr m the device..................................................13
7.2. Writing c nfigurati n t the device......................................................13
7.3. Firmware update............................................................................13
7.4. C nfigurati n imp rt/exp rt..............................................................13
7.5. Radi Tab......................................................................................14
7.6. Digipeater Tab................................................................................15
7.7. Beac ns Tab..................................................................................16
7.8. Weather Tab..................................................................................18
7.9. RTC time Tab.................................................................................19
7.10. Telemetry rep rts Tab.....................................................................20
7.11. Serial p rts Tab.............................................................................24
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1. Technical parameters
Dimensi ns 94x50x25 mm
Weight 70g
Supply v ltage 12VDC typ. (9 - 16VDC)
P wer c nsumpti n 50mA
Operati n temperature -30°C / +70°C
Humidity 95% max.
PC c nnect r Mini USB-B
P wer, radi , telemetry c nnect r DB-9 male
Serial p rts c nnect r Mini DIN 6-pin female
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2. Device feat res
2.1. MultiPath APRS packets dec ding
In PLXDigi device we resigned fr m hardware packet dec ding meth d. MultiPath
APRS packet dec ding alg rithm is a digital signal pr cessing based meth d utilizing
features f m dern 32-bit micr c ntr llers used in ur devices.
MultiPath dec ding all ws t dec de received packets simultane usly by tw
dec ding alg rithms, with different digital filters applied t b th paths. Packets
dist rted by l w-frequency c mp nents r with imbalanced 1200/2200Hz t nes are
prefiltered which increases the pr bability f c rrect packet dec ding.
2.2. APRS client
PLXDigi all ws y u t generate APRS data packets with inf rmati n field defined
by user and send them in a specified interval. In this way, it is p ssible t send beac ns,
bjects, weather and telemetry data.
2.3. APRS digipeater
The main purp se f the device is receiving and sending APRS data packets via
amateur radi transceiver. PLXDigi is capable f receiving an APRS packet, dec ding the
sender, recipent, path and inf rmati n field. Then acti ns are perf rmed in acc rdance
with the pti ns c nfigured by user:
•Packet is digipeated via the APRS netw rk,
•Packet is ign red if it was c rrupted.
Device firmware implements the f ll wing mechanisms:
•Checksum Verificati n - packets with err rs are ign red,
•Anti-fl d - packets repeated in a sh rt time interval are n t f rwarded,
•Path checking - a decisi n whether t digipeat a packet r n t is made using a
filter st red in c nfigurati n data f the device. User defines whether t f rward
WIDE1-1, WIDEn-N, SPn-N, r l cal path packets and the maximum value f N (s
called New-N paradigm),
•Callsign filter - a simple callsign filter all ws y u t add stati ns t black list
(these stati ns will be ign red) r white list ( nly these stati ns will be
digipeated).
2.4. Weather stati n supp rt
PLXDigi all ws y u t receive weather data fr m c mpatible weather stati ns
ver RS-232 serial interface. Currently supp rted stati ns are:
•LaCr sse/Techn line WS-2300,
•LaCr sse/Techn line WS-2350,
•Peet Br s Ultimeter 100,
•Peet Br s Ultimeter 800,
•Peet Br s Ultimeter 2000,
•Peet Br s Ultimeter 2100,
•Davis Vantage Pr (with RS-232 datal gger),
•Davis Vantage Pr 2 (with RS-232 datal gger),
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•Davis Vantage Pr Plus (with RS-232 datal gger),
•Davis Vantage Pr 2 Plus (with RS-232 datal gger),
2.5. Telemetry rep rts
Device all ws y u t send telemetry rep rts t APRS netw rk. P ssible telemetry
channels are:
•input v ltage,
•received APRS packets in 1 h ur r 10 minutes wind w,
•digipeated APRS packets in 1 h ur r 10 minutes wind w,
•packet dec ding efficiency in 1 h ur wind w r in the wh le range fr m device
p wer-up,
2.6. WXTelemetry m dule supp rt (anal g channels)
Y u can get m re telemetry rep rt pti ns when using external WXTelemetry
m dule. With WXTelemetry m dule y u can measure and send f ll wing values:
•tw current measurement inputs,
•tw v ltage measurement inputs,
•DS18B20 digital therm meter input.
2.7. WXTelemetry m dule supp rt (anal g channels)
Y u can use an additi nal WXBits m dule f r rep rting f digital input channels
and administrati n f utput channels. WXBits is a m dule which includes:
•4 pt c upler digital inputs,
•4 m sfet transist r pen-c llect r utputs.
States f b th inputs and utputs can be rep rted in APRS telemetry rep rts and utputs
can als be c ntr lled via serial p rt c ns le.
2.8. Firmware and c nfigurati n updates
In PLXDigi y u can d all firmware and c nfigurati n updates ver an USB cable
c nnecti n fr m y ur PC using a simple C nfigurat r applicati n.
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3. Connectors and device stat s leds
3.1. Fr nt panel
There are 3 leds n the fr nt panel that sh w the status f device perati n. The
f ll wing image sh ws the l cati n f fr nt panel LEDs and c nnect rs.
Leds:
•Green LED - illuminates when receiving a signal fr m the radi (indicates the
channel is busy),
•Yellow LED - lights during transmissi n, when the device sends an APRS data
packet,
•Red LED – blinking is dependent n current device state:
•ne sh rt blink (0.1 sec nd) per 1.6 sec nds – in idle state,
•tw sh rt blinks (0.1 sec nd each) per 1.6 sec nds – when a weather rep rt
is received fr m weather stati n,
•ne l ng blink (1 sec nd) per 1.6 sec nds – APRS packet was pr perly
received.
C nnect rs:
•Mini DIN 6-pin – tw RS-232 serial data interfaces,
•Mini USB - a mini USB s cket, used t c nnect t a c mputer f r c nfigurati n,
3.2. Rear panel
C nnect rs:
•DB9 male connector – used f r c nnecti n f supply v ltage, radi , and RS-485
telemetry m dule.
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4. Power, radio, RS-485 connector
DB-9 male c nnect r is used f r supply v ltage input, audi in, audi ut, PTT,
and RS-485 bus f r telemetry.
DB9 c nnect r pins descripti n:
•Pin 1 – PTT utput, pen c llect r, if the external PTT utput is selected in
device c nfigurati n, this pin is sh rted t gr und while br adcasting,
•Pin 2 – GND,
•Pin 3 – GND,
•Pin 4 – APRS audi input fr m radi t PLXDigi,
•Pin 5 – GND,
•Pin 6 – RS-485 A+ p sitive differential input/ utput,
•Pin 7 – RS-485 B- negative differential input/ utput,
•Pin 8 – APRS audi utput fr m the device t the micr ph ne input f the radi .
This utput als acts as a PTT by sh rting pin t gr und thr ugh a 2k2 resist r - an
pti n f r p rtable radi s that d n t have a separate PTT input (selectable in
c nfigurati n s ftware, 2k2 resist r is built-in),
•Pin 9 – supply v ltage input.
F r handheld radi s which use 2k2 resist r n micr ph ne input line y u d n't need t
use any external resist r r external PTT (pin 6) utput. C nnect pins: 2 (audi utput),
4 (audi input), 5 (gr und) and set “PTT:” t “2k2 resist r” in device c nfigurati n. 2k2
resist r is l cated inside f the device.
If y u are g ing t use b th WXTelemetry and WXBits external telemetry m dules, y u
sh uld c nnect them in a chained style: A+ and B- pair g fr m PLXDigi t first telemetry
m dule, and then fr m first telemetry m dule t the sec nd ne. Fr m a schematic
p int f view, b th m dules must be c nnected in parallel (A+ fr m PLXDigi g es t A+ f
the first m dule, and then t A+ f the sec nd, similarly with B-). Never c nnect A+ t
B-.
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4.1. Audi utput level regulati n
There is 1kOhm p tenti meter n the device audi utput. Cl ckwise turn
increases audi utput level, c unter-cl ckwise decreases. Audi utput level is
regulated after pr ducti n t s me default value. The m st suitable value is dependent
n the radi used, because f vari us input impedance f different radi s (f r example,
m st M t r la GM-300/GM-350 radi s have a str ng DC v ltage bias n the fr nt audi
input c nnect r, s the utput driver sh uld be set t drive a str nger signal n the
utput t verc me this bias v ltage). If y u need t adjust utput level, y u can use a
p tenti meter l cated inside the device. T d that, y u will need t pen the case and
gain access t the PCB f the device. Output signal sh uld be set t achieve the desired
m dulati n depth at the RF utput f the radi .
S me radi s with dedicated “DATA” c nnect r demand a very l w signal level n the
input (f r example 40mV) f r pr per m dulati n depth. In these situati ns y u sh uld
rem ve 1:10 divider jumper (t enable divider) and als regulate p tenti meter utput
carefully f r best results.
4.2. Audi input level
Audi input level sh uld be regulated f r pr per packet dec ding. In m st cases
the default p tenti meter setting sh uld w rk but it can be trimmed t get the best
results. After every received packet y u can bserve rep rted signal level via serial
c ns le c nnecti n t y ur device (with “debug ax25 n” c mmand applied). The best
results are btained with rep rted signal level ab ve 40% and bel w 70%.
There is a 1kOhm p tenti meter n the input (starting with September 2013 we
replaced 1kOhm resist r with 10kOhm f r better interfacing with weak signals fr m
“DATA” c nnect r f s me radi s). Cl ckwise turn increases audi utput level, c unter-
cl ckwise decreases. The best meth d f r first try is t set it t a neutral center
p siti n. Audi input after the p tenti meter sh uld n t exceed ab ut 400mV (t av id
signal clipping) and sh uld n t be bel w 50mV. S n device input y u sh uld pr vide
audi level f ar und 100-800mV (f r p tenti meter in neutral p siti n).
The level f input and utput sh uld be individualized in such a way that packets are
dec ded c rrectly. Audi levels can be regulated using p tenti meters placed n a PCB
inside f the device.
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Our tests revealed that dec ding w rks fine f r wide range f audi input levels. Packets
were dec ded pr perly even with audi input ver-driven with high-level audi signal
fr m speaker utputs. Similarly packets were dec ded even with signal level as l w as
5% f the ADC c nversi n range
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5. Serial ports connector
In PLXDigi the MINI DIN 6pin female c nnect r is used f r RS-232 serial p rts and
5V v ltage utput.
MINI DIN 6pin c nnect r pins descripti n:
•Pin 6 – RS-232 P rt 1 RXD,
•Pin 4 – RS-232 P rt 2 TXD,
•Pin 2 – GND,
•Pin 1 – 5V utput, d n t sh rt-circuit, max. current 100mA,
•Pin 3 – RS-232 P rt 1 TXD,
•Pin 5 – RS-232 P rt 2 RXD.
RS-232 P rt 1 and P rt 2 functi ns are selectable in s ftware.
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