Racelogic VBOX Micro User manual

RAC LOGIC Support Centre
•01 - VBOX Micro Introduction
•02 - VBOX Micro Power and L Ds
•03 - VBOX Micro Logging
•04 - VBOX Micro Satellite lock
•05 - VBOX Micro Configuration
•06 - VBOX Micro Connecting an Input module
•07 - VBOX Micro Connecting a Display
•08 - VBOX Micro Upgrading firmware
•10 - VBOX Micro PIN OUTS
•12 - VBOX Micro Technical Specification
•11 - VBOX Micro Inventory and optional accessories
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01 - VBOX Micro Introduction
The VBOX Micro is a small, waterproof (IP66) GPS data-logging device, which records your speed, position,
acceleration and many other parameters. This data is stored on a removable compact flash card. Software provided with
the unit allows you to view and analyse all of the parameters, which have been recorded, allowing you to see how fast
you were going at any time, your maximum g-force, where you went on Google arth and many other interesting and
useful parameters.
The fastest recording rate is 10 samples per second, which is good for capturing fast events like a sports car on a circuit,
a downhill skier or even a mountain biker. The slowest recording rate is 1 sample per minute, which is useful for more
long term testing such as vehicle endurance testing, mileage/route analysis or even the movement of a ship. VBOX
Micro logs 116 bytes/sample (default standard channels), at a log rate of 10 Hz this equates to 4.2Mbytes/hour. Using a
512 MB compact flash card, at a log rate of 10 Hz, you get around 120 hours recording, and at 1 sample per minute you
get over 3000 days recording!
The VBOX Micro records the following parameters as standard: Time, Position, Velocity, Heading, Height, Vertical
Velocity, and Accumulated Distance. You can also record other parameters, either by connecting directly to your
vehicle’s CAN bus, or by connecting a suitable external input module.
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What Can The VBOX Micro Do?
• Measure speed, distance and acceleration
• Analyse driving line
• Compare driving style with others
• See if the most is being made of tyres during braking and cornering
• Plot routes on Google arth
• Measure acceleration figures, top speed, ¼ mile etc.
• Take it anywhere – IP66 sealed against water, mud, dust etc.
• Choose a sample rate from 10 times a second to once per minute
• Attach input modules to log additional channels
• Connect to CAN bus of vehicle
• Connect via CAN to a third party data-logger
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Additional Features
• USB interface for setup
• 13 GPS channels logged + 16 external channels
• L D operational status indication
*Not all vehicles have a CAN bus, and each manufacturer uses a different protocol. However, we can supply CAN sets
for various manufacturers, see the vehicle CAN d t b se section on our website for details.
VBOX Micro Inputs and Outputs
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02 - VBOX Micro Power and L Ds
Connecting Power
The VBOX Micro can be powered from two different types of power source, via the 2 way PWR input socket.
1. Vehicle power outlet socket (via a supplied cigar lighter power cable RLCAB060)
2. Battery power, (Racelogic 2Ah Battery pack RLACS110)
You must connect the GPS ntenn before connecting power to the VBOX Micro. This is necess ry bec use on
power-up the VBOX Micro will look for connected GPS ntenn nd utom tic lly djust its g in for optimum
perform nce.
See technic l specific tion page for voltage input range.
L D Indicators
There are three L D indicators on the top panel of the VBOX Micro: SATS, COMS and LOG.
SATS
Flashing R D to indicate that satellite lock has NOT been attained, Solid GR N light to indicate a valid satellite lock.
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COMS
Illuminates R D to indicate configuration communications via USB, Illuminates Y LLOW to indicate CAN
communications.
LOG
Illuminates GR N indicating data is being logged to the CF card.
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03 - VBOX Micro Logging
Logging Control
Logging of data to the CF card can be controlled in two ways:
•Opening the CF c rd door: This triggers a micro switch that stops the logging and closes the file. Closing the door
will restart the logging to a new file (dependent on logging mode).
•Pressing the '■' button: This will stop the logging and close the current file. Pressing the '■' button again will then
re-start the logging to a new file. If 'Only when moving' logging mode is selected, the '■' button can only be used to
control logging once speed is detected (>0.5 km/h).
Logging Modes
The VBOX Micro supports two logging modes that are set using VBOX Setup software:
• Log continuously.
• Log only when moving (speed >0.5 km/h)
Logging Rates
The VBOX Micro has an adjustable log rate set within VBOX Setup. This allows the log rate to be set in the range
between 1 sample per minute and 10 samples per second (10 Hz).
File Management
VBOX Micro data files are stored in Month folders on the CF card, i.e. Jan14. ach logged file will have a name based
on date with the following format: Mon04Dec07_XXXX.VBO.
A new file name is created for each new day, if a file is being logged when the time crosses midnight a new file is not
created. If the system is switched off and then on again in the same day then it will append new data to the existing file
for that day. If one file is closed and another created on the same day they can be distinguished by an increment to the
file number, i.e. Mon04Dec07_0001.VBO, Mon04Dec07_0002.VBO. When a module is connected the unit must be
power cycled, once the unit is recognised this will then cause the VBOX Micro to open a new file as above.
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Memory Cards
The VBOX Micro stores logged data on Compact Flash (CF) cards. The supplied CF cards are already optimised for use
on the VBOX Micro and as such do not need formatting before use.
Should the CF Card need formatting due to card errors it can be done through Windows, as the VBOX Micro supports
the following format type:
• FAT (up to 2 GB)
• FAT32 (up to 128 GB)
Racelogic strongly recommends the following media card brands:
• SanDisk
• Kingston
• Lexar
• Ultra
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04 - VBOX Micro Satellite lock
Antenna
The GPS antenna supplied with the VBOX Micro is a 3.5V active antenna. For the best possible signal quality, it is
important to maintain a clean connection between the antenna and the VBOX Micro. Before fixing the antenna to the
VBOX Micro, ensure that there are no dust particles in either connector. Replacement antennae are available by
contacting your VBOX Micro distributor.
The antenna is a magnetic mounting type for quick and simple mounting to the vehicle roof. For optimum GPS signal
reception, make sure that the antenna is fitted to the highest point of the vehicle away from any obstructions that may
block satellite reception. The GPS antenna works best with a metal ground plane underneath (a metallic vehicle roof is
perfect for this).
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Please also note that when using any GPS equipment, a clear sky view is important. Objects in the surrounding area
such as tall buildings or trees can block the GPS signal causing a reduction in the number of satellites being tracked, or
introducing reflected signals that can decrease the accuracy of the system. Note that clouds and other atmospheric
conditions do not affect the VBOX Micro’s performance.
GPS antennas require a ground plane to operate correctly. This helps to reduce unwanted reflections of the GPS signal
caused by nearby objects, and usually the metal roof of a vehicle performs this function. However, if a test requires an
antenna to be placed either off the vehicle, or on a vehicle that does not have a metallic roof, a special ground plane
antenna must be used. This has an internal ground plane and can operate perfectly without the need for mounting on a
metal surface. Ground plane antennas are available from your VBOX distributor (part number RLVBACS065).
Coldstart
A GPS coldstart forces the GPS engine to reset its downloaded almanac of current satellite positions. This can be useful
if the VBOX Micro is having trouble locking onto satellites, which typically occurs if the VBOX Micro has not been used
for several weeks or if it was last used a long distance (over one thousand miles) away from the current location.
M nu lly
Press and hold the square button ’■’ on the side of the VBOX Micro for five seconds. The unit will then beep to indicate
that the GPS coldstart is underway.
Vi Softw re
Connect to VBOX Setup, select the ‘Coldstart’ option within the ‘General’ tab. The unit will then beep to indicate that the
GPS coldstart is underway.
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05 - VBOX Micro Configuration
Configuration of the VBOX Micro is performed using VBOX Setup software. With the supplied USB cable, connect the
USB port on the VBOX Micro to one of the computers USB ports. When connecting to VBOX Setup use the drop down
list to select the COM port assigned to the VBOX Micro. Once this is selected VBOX Setup will connect to the unit
automatically.
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General
1. Connection - Selected COM port, refresh and disconnect buttons.
2. Units - Specify the distance, acceleration & velocity units.
3. VBOX Inform tion - Serial number and installed firmware version of connected unit.
4. Lo d/S ve Configur tion - Load/Save settings from/into a Racelogic setting file (.RSF).
5. L ngu ge - Select an operating language.
6. Di gnostics - Live preview of satellites, latitude, longitude, velocity & accumulative distance.
7. GPS Inform tion - Reports the internal GPS engine type and allows user to coldstart the unit.
8. Write to unit - After making changes to setup, the write to unit button must be selected to upload settings.
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Log settings
To adjust the logging mode and the log rate of the VBOX Micro, open the ‘Logging’ tab in VBOX Setup.
Once the logging mode and rate have been set, click the ‘Write Settings’ button to program the new configuration into
the VBOX Micro.
The log rate is shown as a frequency (in Hz) and also as a time period (in ms). Both options are linked so if one is
altered the other setting will automatically reflect the change.
Time/Date
The VBOX Micro uses time and date information available from GPS satellites. This time is based around UTC
(approximately equal to GMT) so if the VBOX Micro is used in a different time zone the local time should be set inside
the VBOX Micro for ease of use.
As the time and date are critical to the creation of file names in the VBOX Micro, it is recommended that the local time is
correctly set.
Adding or subtracting an offset on the GPS page of VBOX Setup adjusts the local time.
Once the offset has been set click the ‘Write Settings’ button to program the new time and date into the VBOX Micro.
NOTE: In order to obt in UTC time, the VBOX Micro must h ve tt ined s tellite lock.
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Configuring and using the VCI input
The VBOX Micro has the ability for its CAN port to be used as a 16 channel vehicle CAN interface.
NOTE: When the VBOX Micro is configured in VCI mode it is not possible to connect nd log d t from
R celogic input modules.
C bles required
Description Product Code
5-way Fischer to 9 way ‘D’ connector (female) – 1 m
(CAN cable) RLCAB019F
9-way ‘D’ connector (male) to OBDII connector – 1.2 m RLVBCAB20
En bling VCI Mode
• Connect the VBOX Micro to the computer via the USB cable
• Run VBOX Setup.
• Select the appropriate COM port.
• Click on the CAN tab to display the CAN page.
• Select the ‘ nable VCI’ option.
The screen shot below displays the CAN page when the VCI is enabled. Displayed are the 16 CAN channels, which in
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this case have all been configured to read CAN data from other Racelogic products.
For a VCI channel to be included in the logged file it must be ‘Ticked’ as shown on all the channels in the screen shot,
below.
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B ud R te
The VCI CAN bus’ baud rate is configured by selecting the desired baud rate from the right hand side of the VBOX
Setup CAN tab.
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Configuring VCI ch nnel
To configure a VCI channel click on the channel box that needs to be setup, this will open a new configuration window.
All CAN attributes for channel configuration can be manually configured from within this window, shown below.
Lo ding CAN d t b se file
ach of the 16 CAN channels can be configured from a CAN database file. From each channels setup window a CAN
database file can be loaded by clicking the ‘Database’ button. Clicking the ‘Database’ button allows a CAN database file
to be opened and then a signal from the Database can be selected. This will then automatically configure the channel
with the correct CAN settings.
DATA B se form t types
• .VCI - Racelogic CAN database file
• .R F - Racelogic ncrypted database file
• .DBC - Database file
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06 - VBOX Micro Connecting an Input module
The VBOX Micro can connect to any one of the following Racelogic input modules and then include the data from each
channel in the logged VBO file. The VBOX Micro will automatically log all channels from a connected Input Module
providing that the module is connected before the power is switched on.
Description P rt Numbers Connection C ble
8 Channel Thermocouple Interface RLVBTC8 RLCAB063
8 Channel (10 bit) Analogue
Interface RLVBADC02 RLCAB063
8 Channel (16 bit) Analogue
Interface RLVBADC03 RLCAB063
4 Channel Frequency and Pulse
Counter Input Module RLVBFIM03 RLCAB063
Mini Input Module RLVBMIM01 RLCAB063
Yaw Rate Sensor + 2-Axis G
Sensor RLVBYAW03 RLCAB065
Inertial Measurement Unit RLVBIMU04 RLCAB065
Configuring the Input Modules
To configure an input module you must connect the module directly to the computer via a serial cable, the channels
cannot be setup via the USB port on the VBOX Micro. The software required will be VBOX Setup - click here to check
which modules support VBOX Setup.
The module can take power from the VBOX Micro both during operation and during configuration.
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_VBOX_Micro_Connecting_an_Input_module
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07 - VBOX Micro Connecting a Display
A Multi-Function Display (MFD, part number RLVBDSP03) can be connected to the CAN output of the VBOX Micro
using an RLCAB063 cable. This then provides the user with a live display of the VBOX Micro data parameters, plus the
ability to show live results of acceleration and deceleration runs and also display Lap times.
For details of full functionality please refer to the Multi-Function Displ y user m nu l.
Whilst connected to the VBOX Micro, the MFD will have full functionality except for the ability to display trigger-activated
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brake test results.
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_VBOX_Micro_Connecting_a_Display
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