MicroStrain 3DM-GX3 User manual

Quick Start Guide
3DM-GX3®-45 GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System
Version
•3DM-GX3® -45 firmware 1.5.22 and higher
•3DM-GX3®Monitor 2 software 1.1.0.20 and higher
RS-232 Starter Kit
The 3DM-GX3® -45 RS-232 starter kit contains:
•3DM-GX3® -45 GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System module
•RS232-to-Micro-D communication and power cable
•100-240 VAC Power Supply (9 VDC output) with 4 country adapters
•GPS antenna
•MMCX-to-SMA adapter
•3DM-GX3® -45 software CD (Windows®XP, Vista, 7)
USB Starter Kit
The 3DM-GX3® -45 USB starter kit contains:
•3DM-GX3® -45 GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System module
•USB-to-Micro-D communication and power cable
•GPS antenna
•MMCX-to-SMA adapter
•3DM-GX3® -45 software CD (Windows®XP, Vista, 7)
Software Installation
•Insert the 3DM-GX3®-45 software CD into the host computer's drive.
•The CD menu will automatically launch. If it does not, navigate to the drive and double-
click Auotrun.exe.
•Click the Install 3DM-GX3 Monitor Software button and follow the on-screen
instructions to complete the installation. You will receive a message indicating successful
installation and be asked to restart the system. Do not restart the system yet.
•Click the Install 3DM-GX3 Hard and Soft Iron Calibration Software button and follow
the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. You will receive a message
indicating successful installation and be asked to restart the system. Do not restart the
system yet.
•Click the Install 3DM-GX3 Drivers button and follow the on-screen instructions to
complete the installation.
•Click the Install 3DM-GX3 Manuals button and follow the on-screen instructions to
complete the installation.
•Restart the system.
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Hardware Installation
•Press the male MMCX connector on the MMCX-to-SMA adapter into the female MMCX
connector on the sidewall of the 3DM-GX3®-45 until it clicks. Connect the male SMA
connector to the female SMA connector on the GPS antenna.
•If you have an RS-232 interface, connect the male Micro-D connector of the RS232-to-
Micro-D communication and power cable to the female Micro-D connector on the
sidewall of the 3DM-GX3®-45 using the straight-slot screws. Connect the RS-232 end
to your host computer. Attach the appropriate country adapter to your power supply.
Connect the power supply lead into the power pigtail on the RS-232 connector and plug
the power supply into an appropriate source. The yellow Activity LED on the 3DM-
GX3®-45 will begin blinking on and off, on and off, indicating it is powered up and in
idle state. Proceed to the Software Operations section below.
•If you have a USB interface, connect the male Micro-D connector of the USB-to-Micro-
D communication and power cable to the female Micro-D connector on the sidewall of
the 3DM-GX3®-45 using the straight-slot screws. Connect the USB end to your host
computer. The yellow Activity LED on the 3DM-GX3®-45 will begin blinking on and
off, on and off, indicating it is powered up and in idle state. Proceed to either the If your
operating system is XP PRO or If your operating system is Vista 32 or Windows 7
section of this guide.
If your operating system is XP PRO
•When you plug the USB interface into your host computer, the operating system will
prompt you with the Found New Hardware Wizard.
•Select Yes, now and every time I connect a device.
•Click Next.
•Select Install the Software Automatically radio button.
•Click Next and wait for the driver to be found.
•Select the 3DM-GX3-45.inf driver.
•Click Next.
•If you receive a Hardware Installation pop-up window, click Continue Anyway.
•Click Finish and the USB driver for the 3DM-GX3®-45 will be installed successfully.
If your operating system is Vista or Windows 7
•When you plug the USB interface into your host computer, the operating system will
prompt you with the Found New Hardware window.
•Click Locate And Install Driver Software.
•If you receive the Windows Needs Your Permission To Continue window, click
Continue.
•If you receive the Windows Can’t Verify… window, click Install This Driver Software
Anyway.
•You will receive a successful message indicating the USB driver for the 3DM-GX3®-45
was successfully installed.

Software Operations
•Launch the 3DM-GX3®-45 Monitor 2 software and the Main window will appear.
•The software will automatically search for the 3DM-GX3®-45 and display it in the
Device pane. The serial number, firmware version, model number, options and comm
port will be displayed as shown in Figure 1.
•Click the device in the display to highlight it.
•Click Settings and a drop-down menu will appear.
•Click AHRS and the AHRS Settings window will appear as shown in Figure 2.
•Select Euler Angles in the AHRS Message Format pane by clicking the drop-down arrow
as shown in Figure 3. Leave the default sampling rate of 100Hz as-is.
•Click OK and the AHRS Settings window will disappear.
•Click View and a drop-down menu will appear.
•Click Data Monitor and the Data Monitor window will appear.
•Click the Run button in the tool bar.
•The 3DM-GX3®-45 will begin sampling and display Euler Angles (in radians) at 100 Hz
in a continuous graph as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 1. Main window
Figure 2. AHRS Settings window
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Figure 3. AHRS Message Format menu

Figure 4. Data Monitor window
•Click the Record button and the Log File Format window will appear.
•Select Spreadsheet File in the drop-down.
•Click OK and the Choose or Enter Path of File window will appear.
•You may choose to navigate to a folder to save your data file and/or create a new file
name.
•Click OK and the Choose window will disappear.
•The Euler Angle data will now be written to the data file as it is displayed on the graph.
•Click the Stop button and the 3DM-GX3®-45 will stop sampling.
•Click the red Xin the upper right hand corner of the Data Monitor window and it will
disappear.
•The AHRS is operational! Let’s move to the GPS.
•Click Settings.
•Click GPS and the GPS Settings window will appear.
•Select Hardware Status in the GPS Message Format pane by clicking the drop-down
arrow as shown in Figure 5. Leave the default sampling rate of 1Hz as-is.
•Continue by selecting LLH Position, GPS Time and UTC Time as shown in Figure 6.
•Click OK and the GPS Settings window will disappear.
•Click View and a drop-down menu will appear.
•Click Data Monitor and the Data Monitor window will appear.
•Click the Run button in the tool bar.
•The 3DM-GX3®-45 will begin sampling.
•Click the GPS tab and the GPS view will appear as shown in Figure 7.
•Observe the colored indicators to the left of the 3 parameters in the Hardware Status
pane. To lock-on to GPS, these indicators must all be bright green. Note: GPS does not
work indoors. Move your antenna to a window sill or outside so that it ‘sees’ the sky.
•Observe your Latitude, Longitude and Height in the LLH Position pane. Bright green
indicates a lock-on to the GPS satellites.
•Observe the time in the GPS, UTC Time pane. Bright green indicates a lock-on to the
GPS satellites.
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•The GPS is operational!

Help Tip
Click the blue ?(question mark) in the upper right hand corner of the Data Monitor window. The
Context Help window will appear. Move your mouse to the Height MSL readout in the LLH
Position pane and hover over it. The definition of Height MSL will appear in the Context Help
window. Hover over other readouts on this window for more definitions. The Context Help is
available throughout the software.
•Click the red Xin the upper right hand corner of the Data Monitor window and it will
disappear.
Figure 5. GPS Message Format menu
Figure 6. GPS Settings window
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Figure 7. Data Monitor window
•Click Settings.
•Click Save Current Settings and a message box will appear.
•Click OK and the current setup of your 3DM-GX3®-45 will be saved. When you next
run your 3DM-GX3®-45, it will start up and run with your saved configuration.
Congratulations!
You are off and running! Please carefully read the accompanying 3DM-GX3®-45
documentation to learn how to successfully put your inertial sensor to work. MicroStrain
Support Engineers are always available by phone, email, web chat or SKYPE to assist you in any
way we can.
Caution
Do not bring the 3DM-GX3®-45 into contact or close proximity with magnets. Magnets will at a
minimum disrupt the sensor’s operation and can cause permanent damage to its components.
Many GPS antennas have a magnetic base; the antenna we provide does not. If you substitute a
GPS antenna and its base is magnetic, please keep it away from the 3DM-GX3®-45 (and don’t
pack them together).
Notes
The power cable is considered a disconnecting device.
The 3DM-GX3®-45 is manufactured by MicroStrain, Inc., Williston, VT USA.
MicroStrain, Inc.
459 Hurricane Lane, Unit 102 ph: 800-449-3878
8501-0016 rev 002 Williston, VT 05495 USA fax: [phone]
Copyright © 2012 MicroStrain, Inc. www.microstrain.com [email protected]
MicroStrain® and 3DM-GX3® are registered trademarks of MicroStrain, Inc.
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