Swarm Eval Kit 01 User manual
Eval Kit (Model 01)
Quickstart Guide
© 2021 SWARM TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Updated: April 20, 2021
What’s in the Box:
Eval Kit 01, with Feather
Customer Support | [email protected]
Customer Support | [email protected]
Additional Tools/Resources Needed:
●Phillips-head #1 screwdriver
●NMEA Checksum Calculator
●Computer with a network connection and USB port
●Terminal Emulator with a Serial Monitor:
○ZOC, PuTTY, Tera Term, SecureCRT, or Arduino IDE
●TCP Connection Utility:
○Telnet (default on Windows/Linux)
○NetCat (default on macOS)
●Depending on your OS/version, you may need this SiLabs
USB-UART driver to recognize the USB device during setup
Quickstart Guide Overview:
●Eval Kit 01 - Getting Started
●Feather - WiFi Client Configuration
●Integration & RF Test
●Message Transmission - Swarm Network
Eval Kit 01 - Getting Started
Customer Support | [email protected]
●Remove the plastic cover from the
enclosure with a phillips head
screwdriver.
●Ensure the Battery Power switch
is off prior to making any changes
to the Eval Kit.
●Remove the Adafruit Huzzah 32
Feather board from the Eval Kit.
Feather - WiFi Client Configuration
Customer Support | [email protected]
1. Serial Connection
●Physically connect the Feather to your
computer with a USB to Micro-USB cable.
●Identify the COM/USB port:
●On Windows: Use Computer Management/Control Panel > Device Manager > Ports
○**If you do not see the USB device, you may need to install this driver.
●On macOS/Linux, in Terminal, run:
○ls /dev/ | grep usb
●Using a Serial Monitor (examples shown below), connect to the Feather using the identified
USB/COM port, baud rate 115200, config 8-N-1, with Flow Control None
ZOC
Serial I/O
Tera-Term
PuTTY
Feather - WiFi Client Configuration
2. Configure Feather SSID and Password
Once successfully connected to the feather, you can overwrite the . . . output, and send the
commands below (there is no local echo while typing):
A. ssid YourNetworkName *case sensitive, spaces not allowed. Use 2.4 GHz if available.
B. pass YourNetworkPassword *case sensitive, spaces not allowed
C. reset
Once the reset is issued, the Feather will reboot and attempt to connect to your network.
If successful, you will see the “Ready!” message with the IP Address and port provided:
D. In the example below, we will connect to the Feather at IP Address 172.20.10.10, port 23
A
B
C
D
Integration and RF Test
Customer Support | [email protected]
3. Reinstall the Feather board to your Eval Kit
○NOTE: Do NOT continue to power the Feather by micro-USB.
4. Install 4 x AA Lithium batteries and power on.
With the WiFi Feather ON, the Eval Kit batteries will last ~18 hours.
5. You should see your SSID name and Feather IP address displayed on the
Wing OLED screen.
6. Confirm the Tile is also powered on (with the flashing LED indicator).
○The Feather is also programmed with a Red heartbeat flashing LED.
○See Tile Product Manual Table 13: LED Functions for more details.
Tile LED light
Feather LED light
Power Switch
Wing OLED
Integration and RF Test
Customer Support | [email protected]
7. Assemble the Eval Kit 01 as referenced in photo above, and
then reinstall the plastic cover on the enclosure.
8. Connect your laptop to the same WiFi network you configured
onto the Feather.
Integration and RF Test
910
$FV*10
$FV 2021-01-15
19:07:33,v0.9.5*7D
The Evaluation Kit can
communicate through the Feather
via Telnet/Netcat with the
previously supplied IP address,
over port 23.
If properly configured, your IP
address should be displayed on the
Wing OLED screen.
Connect using one of the following
commands (or with a
telnet-enabled tool):
telnet IPaddress 23
(Windows/Linux)
- or -
nc -v IPaddress 23
(Mac)
Once connected, you can test for
successful TCP communication by
checking the Tile firmware version
with the command:
$FV*10
The command must be issued
exactly as shown above (including
the *10 checksum).
Note: All Tile commands require a
checksum value.
To determine the correct value for
your Tile command, consult the
NMEA checksum calculator.
(Example usage shown below)
nc -v 172.20.10.10 23
Connection to
172.16.0.242 port 23
[tcp/telnet] succeeded!
Integration and RF Test
12
The $RT (Receive Test) command will
return the RSSI value of your device’s
background noise. This value should be
between -93 and -117 dBm to be able
to transmit data to a Swarm Satellite:
You can measure this value by
commanding the Tile to print it at any
interval you wish:
$RT 5*13 (5 second interval)
$RT 10*27 (10 second interval)
$RT 20*24 (20 second interval)
$RT 0*16 (0 response/cancel)
Adjust your hardware configuration
and location until the RSSI value is
consistently between -93 and -117
dBm.
$RT 10*27
$RT OK*23
$RT RSSI=-109
$RT RSSI=-111
$RT RSSI=-108
$RT RSSI=-110
$RT RSSI=-111
...
Place the Eval Kit outdoors (but within
range of your WiFi Network), with a
clear view of the sky.
You may mount the Eval Kit to provide
a better field of view, ensuring that the
VHF antenna does not make contact
with any objects other than the SMA
mount.
One example mounting solution is
shown above.
The Eval Kit will have best transmission
results outdoors and ~5 km away from
cities (where RF noise is common).
11
Message Transmission - Swarm Network
13
You can now queue a message on the Tile
with the $TD (Transmit Data) command.
Determine what you would like to send as
your first message (within quotes), and
calculate the checksum for the message.
In this example:
- Command: $TD
- Message string: "Hello World!"
- Checksum: *31
The full command to the Tile will then be:
$TD "Hello World!"*31
If the message is accepted, a $TD OK
response will be received, and the message
will be queued for transmission and stored
in the Tile memory.
If the message is not sent , it will remain on
the Tile for 48 hours by default. You can
increase this expiration time if desired.
See section 6 of the Tile Product Manual
for more details .
$TD "Hello World!"*31
$TD OK,5354468575916*2c
$TD SENT,5354468575916*24
...
14
Using the Swarm Satellite Pass
Checker Tool, enter your location to
see the next available satellite passes
overhead.
Find an upcoming pass of at least 10
minutes, during which time you will
attempt to transmit your queued
message to the Swarm Network.
If a message is delivered from the Tile
to the satellite, a $TD Sent response
will be seen in the telnet/nc session.
Message Transmission - Swarm Network
15 16
Using the credentials on your Eval Kit
pamphlet, log into the Swarm Hive
cloud services website (portal) to view
your account information, messages,
and device statistics.
The delay for the message to transmit
from the Satellite to the Hive during
this early access phase could take up to
1 hour.
To access and interact with your data in
the Swarm Hive, see our REST API
integration guide.
You can also access our Swagger UI
documentation page from your Hive >
Help > API Documentation
Feel free to also utilize the sample
Python script on our Developer Tools
Page to pull your Hive data
curl --location --request GET
'https://bumblebee.hive.swarm.space/hive/api/v1/
devices/count' \
--header 'Cookie:
JSESSIONID=Example<JSON-SessionID_00000000>'
- - - - -
(Example)
Returns number of devices
registered to the Hive
Tile Eval Kit Test Checklist
A summary checklist is presented below in order to provide a straightforward and logical way to diagnose
hardware and get onto the Swarm Satellite Network.
Initial Steps
❏Receive the Tile Eval Kit with GPS and Satellite antennas/connectors power
❏Connect the Swarm provided GPS patch/sticker antenna (comes connected)
❏Connect the Swarm provided VHF satellite antenna which has been tuned specifically for the
Swarm spectrum
❏Ensure both SAT and GPS U.FL connectors are properly connected to the Tile
❏Ensure all SMA bulkhead connectors are properly screwed on to their corresponding connector
❏Send a command wirelessly via telnet to verify serial connectivity from the Tile to the Feather and back to
your terminal -- see part 6.2 of Swarm Tile Product Manual
Example command:
$FV*10 - this will return the version information.
Example response:
$FV 2020-10-21-22:46:25,v0.9.1*78
Field Trial and Transmission
❏Perform a test with a clear view of the sky 10 degrees above the horizon (in most directions) in order to
communicate with the satellites. Stay clear of power lines and other devices which could cause RF
interference. Stay clear of the antenna by more than 4 ft during satellite transmissions to avoid de-tuning
the antenna.
❏With the antenna attached, measure the RSSI-BACKGROUND noise values. The RSSI-BACKGROUND
should be lower than -93 (e.g. -97) for communicating reliably with the Swarm satellites -- see part 6.2 of
Swarm Tile Product Manual
❏RSSI-BACKGROUND = -90 dBm Bad (not likely to work)
❏RSSI-BACKGROUND = -93 dBm Marginal
❏RSSI-BACKGROUND = -97 dBm OK
❏RSSI-BACKGROUND = -100 dBm Good
❏RSSI-BACKGROUND = -105 dBm Great
❏Issuing $RT 3*17 will return RSSI-BACKGROUND values on the Tile’s serial terminal every 3 sec.
❏Example response will be $RSSI=-95
❏Adjust position of the device until you are consistently lower than -93
❏It may be necessary to move the enclosure and antenna to a more remote location outside of cities, and
away from RF interference.
❏Visit swarm.space/developertools web page to use the Swarm Satellite Pass Predictor, and wait until a
satellite passes over your location
❏Test RSSI-SAT
❏When a satellite passes over head, and an $RT command has been issued beforehand at any
interval, the Tile will report the RSSI-SAT and the SNR of the received signal from the satellite. The
Tile will return a RSSI-SAT response when a satellite successfully pushes a packet to the Tile.
❏Example response will be $RT RSSI=-99,SNR=4,FDEV=1716,TS=2020-10-14
16:53:03,DI=0x000535*21
❏As the satellite passes over head the SNR value will change. You should expect messages to
successfully transmit when the SNR is greater than -6.
FCC Statement of Compliance
Swarm Technologies, Inc.
435 N. Whisman Rd.
Ste 100
Mountain View, CA 94043
Model: EVAL01
Contains FCC ID: 2AVE9-TILE01
Contains IC: 25817-TILE01
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) This device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 Canada
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