uAvionix PingStation Manual

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PingStation
User and Installation Guide
REVISION J

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© 2019 uAvionix Corporation. All rights reserved.
uAvionix Corporation
380 Portage Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306
http://www.uavionix.com
[e-mail]
Except as expressly provided herein, no part of this guide may be
reproduced, transmitted, disseminated, downloaded or stored in any
storage medium, for any purpose without the express written permission of
uAvionix. uAvionix grants permissions to download a single copy of this
guide onto an electronic storage medium to be viewed for personal use,
provided that the complete text of this copyright notice is retained.
Unauthorized commercial distribution of this manual or any revision hereto
is strictly prohibited.
uAvionix®is a registered trademark of uAvionix Corporation, and may not
be used without express permission of uAvionix.

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1 Revision History
Revision
Date
Comments
A
1/21/17
Initial release
B
2/13/17
Updated PB
C
7/25/17
Mounting Instructions
D
9/11/17
Added filter functionality
E
11/21/17
Added Hostname and information interval
F
12/21/17
Added Static IP, Subnet, Gateway and DNS
G
1/21/18
Added TCP push for VRS
H
6/8/18
NV parms update and new webpage layout
J
1/8/19
Added ADS-B receiver update process

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2 Warnings / Disclaimers
All device operational procedures must be understood prior to operation.
uAvionix is not liable for damages arising from the use or misuse of this
product.

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3 Limited Warranty
uAvionix pingStation products are warranted to be free from defects in
material and workmanship for one year from purchase. For the duration of
the warranty period, uAvionix, at its sole option, will repair or replace any
product which fails under normal use. Such repairs or replacement will be
made at no charge to the customer for parts or labor, provided that the
customer shall be responsible for any transportation cost.
This warranty does not apply to cosmetic damage, consumable parts,
damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, water, fire or flood, damage
caused by unauthorized servicing, or product that has been modified or
altered.
IN NO EVENT, SHALL UAVIONIX BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL,
SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER
RESULTING FROM THE USE, MISUSE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
PRODUCT OR FROM DEFECTS IN THE PRODUCT. SOME STATES DO
NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Warranty Service
Warranty repair service shall be provided directly by uAvionix.

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4 Contents
1Revision History.....................................................................................4
2Warnings / Disclaimers..........................................................................5
3Limited Warranty....................................................................................6
5Introduction ............................................................................................8
6Installation..............................................................................................9
6.1 Mechanical Mounting Recommendations.......................................9
6.2 Connection to the POE network .....................................................9
7Configuration........................................................................................10
7.1 Install.............................................................................................10
7.2 Connect.........................................................................................13
7.2.1 Configuration Items.................................................................14
7.2.2 Health Statistics.......................................................................16
8Updater.................................................................................................16
8.1 Update the pingStation system software......................................16
8.2 Update ADS-B receiver software..................................................18
9Virtual Radar Server Receiver.............................................................20
9.1 Configure pingStation ...................................................................20
9.2 Configure Virtual Radar Server.....................................................20
9.3 Configure Virtual Radar Moving Map Home Location..................23
Technical Parameters .................................................................................27

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5 Introduction
PingStation is a dual band (978MHz and 1090MHz), networkable ADS-B
receiver with a Power-Over-Ethernet (POE) interface enclosed in an IP67
rated protective enclosure. PingStation provides ground surface or low-
altitude ADS-B surveillance within line of sight of the antenna, with range
dependent upon the output power of the transmitting ADS-B transceiver.
PingStation is robust enough to be permanently mounted outdoors in harsh
environmental conditions, and small enough to be used as a mobile asset
for roaming operations. Installation is simple with included pole-mount
bracket, and a single POE cable which provides both power and data
communications. Configuration is accomplished via a simple web
interface. An integrated GPS provides precision timestamping for
messaging.
Multiple PingStations may be networked together to provide a wide area
low-altitude surveillance volume. Data messages are in JSON format as
described within the PingStation ICD.

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6 Installation
6.1 Mechanical Mounting Recommendations
PingStation is supplied with brackets and ‘u’ blots to mount to poles with a diameter
larger than ¾” and smaller than 2”. Mount PingStation as high on the pole as possible,
preferably at the top with an unobstructed 360° view of the sky.
To mount the brackets to the PingStation, screw the four (4) self-tapping screws through
the holes in the bracket into the holes in the four (4) corners of the back of the
PingStation.
6.2 Connection to the POE network
POE Specifications:
Parameter
Value
Standard
803.3af (802.3at Type1)
Maximum power
15.4W
Voltage Range
37 –57V
Maximum Current
350mA
Maximum Cable Resistance
20Ω
Supported Cabling
Shielded Cat 3 and Shielded Cat 5
Supported Modes
Mode A (endspan), Mode B (midspan)
Power Management
Power Class 0
Maximum Cable Length
100 meters

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Caution!
Absolute maximum DC voltage +57 V. A higher DC voltage value will permanently
damage the equipment!
7 Configuration
7.1 Install
Connect the shielded POE cable to an active POE switch or a regular switch via a Class
0 POE power injector as shown below.
PingStation install with POE switch
!

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PingStation install with POE injector
At power-up an IP address will be assigned to the PingStation by the local DHCP
server. The PingStation IP address can be determined by accessing the local DHCP
server and reviewing the connected devices or by using industry accepted network
scanning tools. Directions for each DHCP server, router, or network scanning tool
differ. Refer to the instruction manual for these devices or tools to help determine the IP
address assigned to the PingStation. The MAC address for each PingStation can be
found on the device housing.

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When the PingStation is connected, and powered, the green LED will illuminate. As
traffic is decoded by the internal ADS-B receiver, the LED will flash RED.
PingStation base URL:
http://###.###.###.###/
Displays Health statistics, position and version information. Use to
program the target UDP address and Port number.
PingStation status URL:
http://###.###.###.###/api/v1/status
Displays the status json sentence/
PingStation traffic URL:
http://###.###.###.###/api/v1/traffic
Displays the current traffic json sentences.
PingStation update URL:
http://###.###.###.###/update
Provides ability to update firmware.

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7.2 Connect
The base URL displays configuration items as well as dynamic pingStation statistics.

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7.2.1 Configuration Items
Configuration Item
Description
Output Formats
The supported delivery formats. Either or both options
can be selected.
UDP JSON
Aircraft data will be JSON formatted and pushed out a
UDP pipe to the UDP target address on the UDP target
port.
TCP Compressed VR
Aircraft data will be Compressed VRS formatted and
delivered to a TCP for use with Virtual Radar Server.
UDP Target IP Address or
Hostname
The IP address or hostname of the UDP listener on the
server.
UDP Target Port
The port number the UDP listener is listening
on.
TCP Push IP Address or
Hostname
The IP address or hostname that we will be
sending TCP data to
TCP Port
If TCP Push IP Address or Hostname is valid this will
be the port that we will connect to deliver the
compressed VRS tracking data to the push receiver on
the other end of the connection.
If TCP Push IP Address or Hostname is not valid, this
is the port that the TCP server will listen for incoming
connections on to deliver the compressed VRS tracking
data.
Altitude Ceiling in Feet MSL
Entering a non-zero value will result in a filter which
only returns aircraft data below the entered value in
feet Mean Sea Level (MSL) Entering a zero results in
all aircraft data being returned.
Max Radius in Miles
Entering a non-zero value will result in a filter which
only returns aircraft data within the range from the
receiver’s GPS position in miles specified. Entering a
zero results in all aircraft data being returned.
Station Info Interval In
Seconds
This is the rate that the pingStation information packet
is returned. Mobile pingStations will want a lower
number in this field for more regular GPS updates. The
default is once every 30 seconds.
Static IP Address
Fixed IP address number of the device which will not
change. The network administrator assigns this
number. Set this field to 0.0.0.0 to enable DHCP.
Subnet Mask
Mask used to the IP address into network and host

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address.
Gateway IP Address
Address used to send packets out of the local network.
DNS Address
This is the IP address of the Domain Name Service
When you modify any configuration item, press the Update button to store
the changes. These fields are non-volatile and persist through power cycles.

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7.2.2 Health Statistics
Statistic
Description
UAT Basic
The number of UAT basic aircraft messages received.
UAT Long
The number of UAT long aircraft messages
received.
1090 DF17
The number of 1090 ADS-B aircraft messages received.
1090 DF18
The number of 1090 TIS-B messages received.
Current Aircraft
The number of aircraft currently being tracked. The aircraft
are deprecated from the list after 60 seconds since last
contact.
Current Range
The range in miles of the last processed aircraft from the
pingStation.
GPS Fix Type
The gps fix type as follows:
0 = Not present
1 = Not locked
2 = 2D fix
3 = 3D fix
4 = Differential GPS fix
GPS Satellites
The number of satellites the pingStation can currently see.
Latitude
The latitude of this pingStation.
Longitude
The longitude of this PingStation.
Receiver BPS
The communication speed to the ping receiver.
GPS BPS
The communication speed to the GPS
Version
The version of software this pingStation running.
8 Updater
The pingStation supports software upgrades thru a web based
flashing system. The user will launch the update webpage, select a
firmware binary file and press a button to start the update process. The
update process is started by launching http://###.###.###.###/update
8.1 Update the pingStation system software

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Choose the file to upload by pressing the “Choose File” button.
Press to start the upgrade process. There will be an update %
status at the bottom of the page.

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When the upgrade is complete you need to press the button to
restart the pingStation.
8.2 Update ADS-B receiver software
Version 1.1.5 and later of the pingStation system software supports in field
updating of the ADS-B receiver software.
From the pingStation configuration page http://###.###.###.###/ select the
“Update”link inline with the ADS-B Version report, or access the updater
directly at http://###.###.###.###/pingUpdate

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From the pingUpdate page select “Choose File” and select the latest
receiver software. V2.4.43 is shown as an example.
Select “Start Update”
The progress bar will cycle during the update. At completion the updater
will report the status of the update. The status will report “Update
Complete” if successful.
Return to the pingStation configuration page http://###.###.###.###/ and
verify the receiver version matches the version uploaded.

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9 Virtual Radar Server Receiver
This is an example of creating a Virtual Radar Server receiver that will
render the Compressed VRS data from the pingStation.
9.1 Configure pingStation
Open the pingStation setup screen by visiting the pingStation IP address
using a web browser.
Enable the TCP Compressed VR output
Enter the TCP port i.e. 30003
Click Update
9.2 Configure Virtual Radar Server
Download and install Virtual Radar Server from:
http://www.virtualradarserver.co.uk/
Open Virtual Radar Server
Select Tools > Options
Select Receiver Locations
Click the + (plus sign)