Racelogic VBOX II User manual

VBOX II User Guide
Page 1 of 23
VBOX II 20Hz GPS Data Logger
User Guide

VBOX II User Guide
Page 2 of 23
VBOX II OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................................................................... 3
I TRODUCTIO ................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
FEATURES......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
STA DARD I VE TORY .................................................................................................................................................................. 5
OPTIO AL ACCESSORIES............................................................................................................................................................... 5
OPERATIO ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
GETTI G STARTED ........................................................................................................................................................................ 12
VBOX II ‘.VBO’ FILE FORMAT ........................................................................................................................................................ 14
VBOX.EXE SOFTWARE .................................................................................................................................................................. 15
FIRMWARE UPGRADES ................................................................................................................................................................. 16
SPECIFICATIO ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17
CO ECTIO DATA ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19
CA BUS DATA FORMAT............................................................................................................................................................... 22
CO TACT I FORMATIO .............................................................................................................................................................. 23

VBOX II User Guide
Page 3 of 23
VBOX II Overview

VBOX II User Guide
Page 4 of 23
Introduction
The VBOX II represents the 2
nd
generation of GPS data logging syste fro Racelogic. Using a powerful GPS engine, the VBOX II can log GPS and other
data at 20Hz. The logged data is stored directly onto a co pact flash card for easy transfer to a PC.
The VBOX II is co patible with all of the existing peripherals including the Multifunction display, ADC03, TC8, FIM02 and Yaw rate sensor.
Features
• Non-contact 20Hz speed and distance easure ent using GPS
• 1 x CAN Bus interface
• RS-232 serial interface
• Co pact Flash Interface
• 1 x 16bit User configurable analogue outputs
• 1 x Digital outputs
• Brake trigger Input with 210KHz scan rate
• Input Voltage 6V to 18V operating range
• Logging rate selectable fro 20Hz, 10Hz, 5Hz, 2Hz, 1Hz, 0.5Hz

VBOX II User Guide
Page 5 of 23
Standard Inventory
Description Qty
Racelogic Part #
VBOX II 1 VB2DCF
Battery Pack with built in 12 Volt Charger 1 RLVBACS012
Mains Charger 1 RLVBACS020
Cigar Lighter adaptor 1 RLVBCAB10
GPS Magnetic Aerial 1 RLVBACS001
32Mb Co pact Flash Card 1 RLVBACS005
PCMCIA Co pact Flash Adaptor 1 RLVBACS028
CD ROM containing VBOX software 1 RLVBACS030
Serial PC Cable 1 RLVBCAB01
User Manual 1 RLVBACS031
Padded Carrying Case 1 RLVBACS013
Optional Accessories
Description Racelogic Part #
Brake Pedal Trigger RLVBACS004
Hand-held brake trigger RLVBACS009
Logging Start/Stop Switch RLVBACS010
Multifunction Display RLVBDSP03
8 Channel (16bit) Analogue Interface RLVBADC03
8 Channel (10bit) Analogue Interface RLVBADC02
4 Channel Frequency Input Module RLVBFIM02
8 Channel Vehicle CAN Interface RLVBCAN01
8 Channel Ther ocouple Interface RLVBTC8
Can to Analogue Output Module RLVBDAC01
Single Yaw Rate Sensor + 2 axis G Sensor RLVBYAW02
Inertial Measure ent Unit. 3 Yaw Rate Sensors & 3 accelero eters RLVBIMU01

VBOX II User Guide
Page 6 of 23
Operation
Power
The VBOX II can be powered fro a wide range of voltage sources including the Vehicle Cigar adapter, the supplied Ni-Mh battery pack or other source
provided by the user. The axi u operating voltage input ust not exceed 18V DC. Failure to observe this could result in da age to the VBOX.
The battery pack is a 6v 3.8a p hour Nickel Metal Hydride unit, with a built in charging and onitoring circuit.
The battery is plugged into the two pin power socket on the front of the VBOX to provide power for up to 6
hours (4 hours with the display attached).
The battery pack can be charged via two ethods, either by plugging the VBOX cigar lighter adapter into the
pack, or by using the ains charger. The battery pack can be either discharged fully and then re-charged, or
partially discharged and then re-charged, there is no e ory effect on NiMh batteries.
To protect the battery cells fro da age, the battery will only charge when the te perature range is between 0
& 46°C. If whilst charging the internal te perature of the battery reaches 46°C, the charge will be turned off
until the internal te perature reduces to 43°C and the charge status led (25% 50% , 75% or 100% ) will flash.
The charge will then auto atically restart.
Whilst charging, the 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% will illu inate in succession to give an indication of the total
charge ti e. When the battery is fully charged, the 100% led will re ain illu inated, and the charging led will turn off. Occasionally the battery will turn the
charging back on to keep the battery at full capacity. To check the state of the battery charge; press and hold in the white button on the side of the box. There
are four LED's which will light up indicating how uch charge is left in the battery. 100% LED indicating 100% charge, 75% led indicating up to 99% charge,
50% led indicating up to 74% and 25% led indicating up to 49% charge. When the battery is at a level not suitable for powering the VBOX, the 25% led will
flash.
The battery can be connected to a charger, and also the VBOX at the sa e ti e. This allows the battery to be charged whilst the external source is powering
the VBOX. In such a situation, you can power the VBOX fro the cigar lighter, with the battery acting as a back up if the ignition is turned off which
so eti es stops the power to the cigar lighter.
When the battery is close to fully discharged, the VBOX will give an audible warning by a slow series of beeps fro the internal buzzer. You should have
around 5 inutes of ti e left when these beeps begin.
Please also note that during extended use, the VBOX II case may become hot. This is normal, however it is good practice to mount the VBOX II in a
position where it has sufficient airflow around the case.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 7 of 23
LED indicators
The green LED (ST) is used to indicate the nu ber of satellites currently in lock. If the yellow
LED (SC) is flashing whilst the green (ST) LED is off, then the VBOX has no satellite lock.
If this is the case then check that you have the GPS antenna connector correctly fitted to the
VBOX. Also check that the antenna has a clear view of the sky.
The VBOX will nor ally lock onto satellites within 30 seconds of power up. However on its first
use it can take up to 20 inutes to acquire satellite lock.
The yellow LED (SC) flashes to indicate start of count. When satellite lock occurs the nu ber of
green LED flashes between yellow flashes indicates the nu ber of
satellites in lock.
When a Co pact Flash e ory device is inserted into VBOX II the blue LED (CF) will flash to
indicate that the VBOX is writing to the device.
The a ber LED is used to indicate either CAN activity (C ) or if the unit is a DGPS version (DG), then this LED will co e on when DGPS lock has been
successful.
The following diagra shows an exa ple of SAT LED pulse sequence.
Sequence showing 1 Satellite
1 1 1 1
Sequence showing 4 Satellites
Delay 1 2 3 4 Delay 1 2 3 4
Sequence showing 0 Satellites
Delay (Approxi ately 1 second ) Delay (Approxi ately 1 second )

VBOX II User Guide
Page 8 of 23
Memory Cards
The VBOX II can accept Type-I co pact flash e ory cards. The e ory cards ust be for atted using FAT or FAT16 but not FAT32. This option is
nor ally selectable when for atting the e ory card in a card reader connected to a PC.
When logging data to co pact flash the blue CF LED will flash or be constantly illu inated. It is i portant not to re ove the flash card while the blue LED is
illu inated. If the card is re oved while the VBOX is writing data to it, there is a risk that the data file ay be corrupted resulting in loss of data. If ‘Log only
when moving’ is the logging ode selected then wait a short ti e after the vehicle has stopped for the Blue CF LED to go out. If ‘Log only when moving’ is
not selected i.e. the VBOX is continuously logging then press the Start/stop logging switch if connected or enter VBOX setup in the VBOX software to stop the
VBOX logging data to the co pact flash card.
OTE If you cannot do either of the above then just re ove the card. If however the file is reported as corrupt by the VBOX software then load the file into
Notepad and go to the end of the file. It is usual in this case that the last entry is corrupt, so delete it and re-save the file.
GPS Antenna
The GPS Antenna supplied with the VBOX II is a 5v active antenna. For the best possible signal
quality, it is i portant to aintain a clean connection between the antenna and the VBOX. Before
fixing the antenna to the VBOX, ensure that there are no dust particles in either connector.
Replace ent antennas are available by contacting your VBOX distributor.
The antenna is a agnetic ounting type for quick and si ple ounting to the vehicle roof. For
opti u GPS signal reception, ake sure that the antenna is fitted to the highest point of the vehicle
away fro any obstructions that ay block satellite reception. The GPS antenna works best with a
etal ground plane underneath (eg. Vehicle roof).
Please also note that when using any GPS equip ent, a clear sky view is i portant. Objects in the
surrounding area such and tall buildings or trees can block the GPS signal causing a reduction or loss
in the nu ber of satellites being tracked.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 9 of 23
DIGITAL and A ALOGUE OUTPUTS
The digital output on connector 6 is a frequency/pulse output corresponding to velocity. The pulse per eter range is adjustable in software.
The analogue output on connector 4 outputs 0-5volt DC signal corresponding to velocity.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 10 of 23
Digital Inputs
The DIGITAL IN/Socket3 contains the two digital inputs for the VBOX II. Digital input 1 is also referred to as the Brake trigger input. This input is connected to
an internal ti er capture odule that is able to record precisely an event ti e for use in brake distance calculation. This period of ti e is called the trigger
event ti e, and is logged as the value in illiseconds between the trigger event and the last GPS sa ple.
A hand-held brake trigger is also available to allow the user to record arker events in the VBOX II data file.
A re ote logging on/off switch is also available for ease of use and when the front panel switch is not accessible.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 11 of 23
CA / RS232 Ports
The VBOX II is equipped with a CAN Bus interface and a RS232 serial port. The RS232 port is used for all co unication between the VBOX and laptop PC.
The RS232 port is in Socket 5 on the VBOX II. The RS232 port is able to trans it live data fro the VBOX to the PC for viewing and perfor ing real-ti e
tests.
The CAN Bus port is in Socket 2 of the VBOX II. The function of this port is configurable by the user for use by either Racelogic odules (Internal ode) or
the users own CAN Bus equip ent (External ode). See the section ‘Setup’ in the VBOX software anual.
The CAN Bus port also contains a secondary RS232 port for direct connections to the GPS engine for Local DGPS correction connection.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 12 of 23
Getting Started
Required equip ent (All supplied as standard unless specified)
 VBOX II
 Fully charged battery pack or Cigar lighter 12v adapter lead
 GPS Antenna
 Blank Co pact Flash Card
 RS232 Cable
 VBOX Software CD
 Laptop PC(not supplied)
1.Install Software
2.Place VBOX in vehicle
3.Fit antenna connector to VBOX
4. Mount GPS antenna on vehicle roof
5.Connect serial cable (CAB01) to laptop 6. Connect other end of serial cable to VBOX

VBOX II User Guide
Page 13 of 23
7. Connect the power cable/ battery pack to the
VBOX
8. If using 12v power cable, connect to vehicle
9. With the power applied, the red PWR led should illu inate. The VBOX II will start
searching for satellites. The ST led will indicate the nu ber of satellites currently in lock.
For best results ensure the VBOX has acquired a lock on 5 or ore satellites, essential for
quality signal reception. When using the VBOX for the first ti e or when using the VBOX
after a long period of ti e, allow the VBOX to sit for between 5 and 10 inutes to re-
collect data needed to track satellites.
As the vehicle begins oving, the blue CF led should begin to flash as data is recorded to
co pact flash, if inserted. When the vehicle co es to a stop, the blue CF led should
extinguish. The card can now be re oved and the data transferred onto the PC for
analysis. If no co pact flash card is fitted then data will be recorded to the internal RAM.
NOTE before using the Internal RAM, the RAM should be cleared. See section ‘Setup’ of
the VBOX Software anual.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 14 of 23
VBOX II ‘.VBO’ file format
The VBOX II data files are saved in standard space de-li ited text for at.
This allows the data to easily be i ported into third party applications such as
word processors or spreadsheets. The files each contain a header section
before the ain data that describes the channel content and infor ation
about the VBOXII such as serial nu ber and fir ware version.
The [Colu n na es] para eter specifies the data in each colu n of the data
section.
An exa ple of a VBOX VBO file is shown on the right.
File created on 15/04/2004 @ 08:21
[header]
satellites
ti e
latitude
longitude
velocity knots
heading
height
Vertical velocity /s
[channel units]
[co ents]
(c)2003 Racelogic
VBoxII Version4.2d
Serial Nu ber: 004866
Log Rate (Hz) : 20.00
Software Version :-8.1.4 (build45)
[colu n na es]
sats ti e lat long velocity heading height vert-vel
[data]
004 072148.26 +3119.408424 +00062.635139 015.13 356.06 +00155.27 -00000.22
004 072148.27 +3119.408592 +00062.635104 015.17 356.02 +00147.93 -00000.37
004 072148.28 +3119.408629 +00062.635108 015.09 355.92 +00147.92 -00000.40
004 072148.29 +3119.408669 +00062.635115 014.98 355.64 +00147.92 -00000.35
004 072148.30 +3119.408711 +00062.635119 015.00 355.87 +00147.91 -00000.47
004 072148.31 +3119.408753 +00062.635122 015.03 356.11 +00147.90 -00000.61
004 072148.32 +3119.408797 +00062.635125 015.16 356.48 +00147.88 -00000.84
004 072148.33 +3119.408837 +00062.635130 015.06 356.32 +00147.88 -00000.67
004 072148.34 +3119.408874 +00062.635138 014.84 355.81 +00147.91 -00000.14
004 072148.35 +3119.408919 +00062.635144 015.03 355.84 +00147.90 -00000.28
004 072148.36 +3119.408968 +00062.635147 015.42 356.17 +00147.87 -00000.66
004 072148.37 +3119.409013 +00062.635148 015.56 356.72 +00147.87 -00000.69

VBOX II User Guide
Page 15 of 23
VBOX.EXE Software
The VBOX.EXE software is used for configuration of the VBOX II
and also for analysis of the VBO data files.
For further infor ation on the VBOX.EXE software refer to the
VBOX Software anual supplied with VBOX II.

VBOX II User Guide
Page 16 of 23
Firmware Upgrades
Fir ware refers to the operating software inside the VBOX II. The fir ware is responsible for all of the functions within the VBOX and fro ti e to ti e,
fir ware updates will be released by Racelogic to i prove or enhance the way that the VBOX works. The latest fir ware will always be available on the
Racelogic web site in the downloads directory:-
http://www.racelogic.co.uk/2003/vbox/downloads.ht
It is reco ended to check the web site periodically for updates. The VBOX II upgrade files have a “.ruf” file extension. To upgrade the VBOX II fir ware,
download the latest fir ware file fro the Racelogic web site and copy this file onto your PC. If you have done a full VBOX CD installation then you will have
the upgrade progra e auto atically installed in the Utilities folder of VBOX folder. If not then this can also downloaded fro the website.
Connect you pc to the VBOX via the VBOX serial lead and apply power to the VBOX.
Either ‘double click’ on the .ruf upgrade file, which auto runs the upgrader software, or run the upgrader software and load in the .ruf fir ware upgrade file.
Then follow the onscreen instructions and the VBOX fir ware will be upgraded. At the end of the process power down the VBOX when pro pted, before
further use
During the upgrade process an upgrade log file will have been created. This log file can be e ailed to the support address below should any proble s arise.
If you have any questions regarding upgrade of VBOX, please do not hesitate to contact [e-mail]

VBOX II User Guide
Page 17 of 23
Specification
GPS
Velocity Distance
Accuracy 0.1 K /h (averaged over 4
sa ples)
Accuracy 0.05% (<50c per K )
Units K /h or Mph Units Metres / Feet
Update rate 20 Hz Update rate 20Hz
Maxi u velocity 1000 Mph Resolution 1c
Mini u velocity 0.1 K /h Height accuracy 6 Metres 95% CEP**
Resolution 0.01 K /h Height accuracy with DGPS 2 Metres 95% CEP**
Absolute Positioning Time
Accuracy 3 95% CEP** Resolution 0.01 s
Accuracy with DGPS 1.8 95% CEP** Accuracy 0.01 s
Update rate 20 Hz
Resolution 1 c
Heading Power
Resolution 0.01° Input Voltage range 6v-18v DC
Accuracy 0.1° Current Typically 560 A
Acceleration Environmental and physical
Accuracy 0.5% Weight Approx500 gra es
Maxi u 20 G Size 119 x 128 x 30
Resolution 0.01 G Operating te perature -30°C to +60°C
Update rate 20Hz Storage te perature -40°C to +80°C
Memory Definitions
Compact Flash
Recording ti e
Type I
Dependent on flash card
capacity*
** CEP = Circle of Error Probable
95% CEP (Circle Error Probable) eans 95% of the ti e the position readings will fall
within a circle of the stated dia eter
* Approximately 4.3Mb per hour used when logging GPS
data at 20 z

VBOX II User Guide
Page 18 of 23
Outputs
CA Bus
Bit rate 250Kbits ,500Kbits & 1Mbit
selectable baud rate
Identifier type Standard 11bit 2.0A
Data available Satellites in View, Latitude, Longitude, Velocity, Heading, Altitude, Vertical velocity, Distance, Longitudinal acceleration & lateral
acceleration, Distance fro trigger, Trigger ti e, trigger Velocity
Analogue Digital
Voltage range 0 to 5Volts DC Frequency range DC to 44.4Khz
Default setting * Velocity
0.0125Volts per K /h (0 to
400K /h)
Default setting * 25Hz per K /h (0 to 400K /h)
Accuracy 0.1 K /h 90 pulses per etre
Update rate 20Hz Accuracy 0.1K /h
Update rate 20Hz
* The range settings can be adjusted by the user in software
Inputs
CA Bus
Racelogic odules Up to 32 channels fro any co bination of ADC02, ADC03, FIM02, TC8, Yaw sensor or CAN01
Digital
Brake/Event Trigger Selectable signal polarity. 16bit ti er capture with 5µs resolution
On/Off Logging control Re ote log control fro hand-held switch

VBOX II User Guide
Page 19 of 23
Connection Data
2 pin LEMO socket
3 pin LEMO socket
5 pin LEMO socket
Connector 1 POWER Type Lemo 2 pin
PIN In/Out Description Range
1 I Power + 6V to 18V
2 I Ground 0V
Chassis Ground
Connector 3 DIG I Type Lemo 3 pin
PIN In/Out Description Range
1 O Ground
2 I Digital Input 2. Start/Stop Logging 0V to 5V
3 I Digital Input 1. Brake Trigger 0V to 5V
Chassis Ground

VBOX II User Guide
Page 20 of 23
Connector 2 CA Bus Type Lemo 5 pin
PIN In/Out Description Range
1 O RS232 Tx (PORT B Local DGPS) ±12v
2 I RS232 Rx (PORT B Local DGPS) ±12v
3 I/O CAN Bus
4 I/O CAN Bus
5 O +V Power
Chassis Ground
Connector 4 Analogue OUT Type Lemo 3 pin
PIN In/Out Description Range
1 O Analogue Voltage Output 0V to 5V
2 - -
3 O Ground
Chassis Ground
Connector 5 RS232 Type Lemo 5 pin
PIN In/Out Description Range
1 O RS232 Tx Serial Data Trans it ±12v
2 I RS232 Rx Serial Data Receive ±12v
3 - -
4 - -
5 O +V Power
Chassis Ground
Connector 6 Digital OUT Type Lemo 3 pin
PIN In/Out Description Range
1 - -
2 O Digital Pulse Output 0V to 5V
3 O Ground
Chassis Ground