Ublox C099-F9P User manual

C099-F9P
Application Board (Rev. B)
User Guide

Abstract
The C099-F9P board enables customers to evaluate RTK operation with the ZED-
F9P high precision
GNSS receiver. The board provides short-range wireless connection via Bluetooth® or Wi-
Fi for
receiving correction data and logging via wireless connectivity.
www.u-blox.com
UBX-18063024 - R03

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Document Information
Title C099-F9P
Subtitle Application Board (Rev. B)
Document type User Guide
Document number UBX-18063024
Revision and date R03 19-Nov-2018
Disclosure Restriction Public
This document applies to the following products:
Product name Type numbers Firmware version PCN reference Product status
C099-F9P C099-F9P-0-01
C099-F9P-1-01
C099-F9P-2-01
HPG 1.00
c099mbed3_v1.0.0
N/A Advance Information
u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos and designs included in this
document. Copying, reproduction, modification or disclosure to third parties of this document or any part thereof is only
permitted with the
express written permission of u-blox.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u
-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or
implied, is given, including but not limited
to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability and fitness for a particular
purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u
-blox at any time without notice. For the most recent
documents, visit www.u
-blox.com.
Copyright © u
-blox AG.

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Contents
Document Information................................................................................................................................ 2
Contents .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
1Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Package contents .......................................................................................................................................6
1.2 Additional sources of information...........................................................................................................6
2C099-F9P quick start ........................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Starting up ...................................................................................................................................................7
3C099-F9P description .......................................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Component overview..................................................................................................................................9
3.2 Component identification .........................................................................................................................9
ZED-F9P status LEDs......................................................................................................................11
ODIN-W2 activity LED......................................................................................................................12
4Using the C099-F9P........................................................................................................................... 13
4.1 Powering the board...................................................................................................................................13
4.2 GNSS RF input...........................................................................................................................................14
4.3 User interfaces ..........................................................................................................................................15
FTDI USB Bridge................................................................................................................................15
Command Line Interface of ODIN-W2..........................................................................................16
4.4 Arduino Uno header connections...........................................................................................................17
5Rover operation using NTRIP.......................................................................................................... 18
5.1 PC hosting via u-center............................................................................................................................18
5.2 Bluetooth pairing.......................................................................................................................................19
ODIN-W2 as pairing responder ......................................................................................................19
ODIN-W2 as pairing initiator ..........................................................................................................20
5.3 Bluetooth serial port.................................................................................................................................20
Server SPP connection ....................................................................................................................20
Client SPP connection .....................................................................................................................21
5.4 Wireless link limitations ..........................................................................................................................21
Bluetooth link.....................................................................................................................................21
Windows OS issues with Bluetooth SPP......................................................................................22
6Firmware updates............................................................................................................................... 23
6.1 ZED-F9P firmware update ......................................................................................................................23
6.2 ODIN-W2 firmware update......................................................................................................................26
Mbed OS 3 application firmware ...................................................................................................26
Connectivity software......................................................................................................................26
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................................... 27
AGlossary ................................................................................................................................................. 27
BC099-F9P antenna specification................................................................................................... 27
B.1 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna specification ................................................................................................27
B.2 Multi-band GNSS antenna specification .............................................................................................27

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B.2.1 Patch antenna element specification ..........................................................................................28
B.2.2 LNA electrical specification............................................................................................................29
B.2.3 Overall performance.........................................................................................................................29
CMechanical board dimensions........................................................................................................ 30
DC099-F9P schematics....................................................................................................................... 31
EODIN-W2 firmware upload via JTAG............................................................................................ 38
Related documents ................................................................................................................................... 39
Revision history .......................................................................................................................................... 39
Contact.......................................................................................................................................................... 40

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1Introduction
The C099-F9P board is a convenient tool that allows customers to become familiar with the u-blox
ZED-F9P high precision GNSS module. The board provides facilities for evaluating the product and
demonstrating its key features. The C099-F9P application board offers:
•A ZED-F9P module for use as a RTK rover or reference station.
•An ODIN-W2 short-range module to provide untethered operation using Bluetooth.
•Power supply options comprising a USB connection, LiPo cell with recharging ability, and 6-17 V
DC input1.
•Small and light board (110 x 55 mm) with Arduino R3 shield connections for host expansion.
The board comes pre-configured to connect wirelessly via Bluetooth to a host. This makes it possible
to stream in RTCM corrections while sending back logged data using u-center evaluation software [3].
This User Guide is split into several useful sections:
•The C099-F9P quick start section provides information to get up and running straight out of the
box.
•The C099-F9P description identifies the board’s facilities.
•Using the C099-F9P provides a comprehensive guide for in-depth usage.
•Rover operation using NTRIP shows different ways of connecting to an NTRIP service.
•The Firmware updates section provides instructions for updating the firmware of the ZED-F9P
high precision GNSS module as well as the ODIN-W2 short-range module.
1The C099-F9P kit does not contain a battery or external power adapter.

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1.1 Package contents
The delivered package contains:
•C099-F9P board (Rev. B)
•u-blox multi-band GNSS antenna and ground plane
•Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna
•USB interconnect cable
•Quick start guide
Figure 1: C099-F9P board and antennas
1.2 Additional sources of information
Prior to using the board, it is useful to download the appropriate evaluation software and keep handy
the following documents:
•ZED-F9P Integration Manual, Doc. No. UBX-18010802
•ZED-F9P Interface Description, Doc. No. UBX-18010854
•Download u-center: https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/u-center-windows and the u-center User
Guide: https://www.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/u-center_UserGuide_(UBX-13005250).pdf
•Download the u-blox GNSS Sensor and VCP Device Driver guide:
https://www.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/products/documents/u-blox-GNSS-Sensor-and-VCP-
Device-Driver_UserGuide_(UBX-15022397).pdf

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2C099-F9P quick start
This section provides some short steps to enable ZED-F9P operation before exploring the more
complex configurations described later.
Figure 2. Basic C099-F9P overview with details needed for quick start
2.1 Starting up
•Connect the supplied multi-band GNSS antenna to the ZED-RF SMA connector. Ensure good
signal reception.
•Connect the USB to a Windows PC; this will power the board. The FTDI and USB drivers will be
installed automatically from Windows Update when a user connects the board for the first time.
•Start u-center and connect to the COM port identified as “C099 application board, ZED-F9P” using
Device Manager. Set the baud rate to 460’800 baud. See section 4.3.1 for detailed instructions.
•The TP LED on the C099-F9P board will blink in blue color. Figure 3 below shows a typical u-center
view with active satellite signal levels.
To operate the ZED-F9P in RTK mode, the GNSS antenna must be placed in an open environment and
the unit must be connected to an RTK correction service. Where available, the evaluation kit comes
with a free trial of the SmartNet correction service. Consult the leaflet included with the kit for
information on how to register for the service and how to obtain mount point and user connection
details before moving to the next steps.
RTK corrections can be applied using a u-center built-in NTRIP client. To use the C099-F9P board with
a correction service follow these next steps:
•In u-center, click on the Receiver Menu item.
•Select “NTRIP Client…”
•Fill in the settings for the NTRIP caster, username and password.
•Click “Update source table” and select the recommended NTRIP mount point.
•Click OK to close the dialog and connect to the service.
•In the Data View of u-center, the Fix Mode should change from “3D” to “3D/DGNSS” when RTCM
corrections are received. The RTK LED will blink in green color.
•Eventually, the status will change to “3D/DGNSS/FIXED” and the RTK LED will show a steady green
color.
USB port
ZED-F9P LEDs
ZED-F9P module
ZED-RF connector

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Figure 3: u-center showing a view of the ZED-F9P default operation

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3C099-F9P description
3.1 Component overview
The C099-F9P houses the ZED-F9P RTK high precision positioning module plus an ODIN-W2 module
for wireless short-range communications. An FTDI component provides dedicated COM port
connections with the ZED-F9P and ODIN-W2 via USB.
The board can be powered by USB, a DC supply socket, or from a LiPo (lithium polymer) battery. The
board has been designed using an Arduino form factor with the modules’ serial ports routed to the
shield headers.
The block diagram in Figure 4 shows the logical signal flow between the individual parts.
Figure 4: C099-F9P block diagram
3.2 Component identification
The following images show the position of major parts and user interfaces.
•Main components – Figure 5.
•Switches and LEDs – Figure 6.
The functions of these are described later on in this section.

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Figure 5: Main components and USB ports
J9
J8
J3
J2
ZED-F9P Multi band GNSS RTK module
ODIN-W2 Multi-radio module
USB (ZED-F9P USB and UART,
ODIN-W2 UART ports)
GNSS antenna connector
J2, J3, J8, J9
Arduino Uno connectors
DC power jack
Battery connector
Wi-Fi/BT antenna connector

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Figure 6: Switches and LEDs
☞The MicroSD card slot is not used in this version of the board. The ODIN-W2 Switch 0 interrupt is
not required for normal customer use.
ZED-F9P status LEDs
The board provides three LEDs to show the ZED-F9P status. The location of the LEDs is shown in
Figure 7 below.
The RTK Status LED provides an indication of the state of the ZED-F9P module RTK-STAT pin.
•At start-up the LED is off.
•When in RTK Float mode, the yellow LED flashes at the navigation rate (1Hz default). This is also
an indication that RTCM corrections are received.
•When in RTK fixed mode, the yellow LED is turned on.
The Time Pulse blue LED will flash at the default 1Hz rate when the time solution is valid.
GNSS LEDs: TP, RTK, GeoFence
Battery charger LED
ODIN-W2 activity LED
ODIN-W2 Safeboot pins
ODIN-W2 Switch 0 interrupt button
ZED-F9P Safeboot button
ZED-F9P and ODIN-W2 reset button

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If activated, the Geofence status LED indicates the current Geofence status, i.e. in or outside a
designated area.
See the ZED-F9P Interface Description [2] for help with configuring the Time Pulse output or
activating the Geofence pin.
Figure 7: ZED-F9P LEDs
ODIN-W2 activity LED
The ODIN-W2 module uses a multi-colored LED to show particular activity status. This is positioned
adjacent to the ZED-F9P and ODIN-W2 reset switch and shown below in Figure 8. The activity status
is summarized in Table 1 below.
Status LED color Remark
Successful start-up, BT radio initialized Green
BT Serial Port Profile connection created Blue Connection initiated and accepted
Successful SPP data packet transmission Blinking blue
Failed SPP data packet transmission Blinking red Weak signal, SPP connection failure
Table 1: LED activity states and colors
Figure 8: ODIN-W2 Activity LED position on C099-F9P board
ODIN-W2 activity LED
ZED-F9P Geofence status LED
ZED-F9P RTK status LED
ZED-F9P Time pulse LED

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4Using the C099-F9P
The ZED-F9P is shipped with the latest firmware and the ODIN-W2 is pre-configured as a Bluetooth
serial device. Information on updating either module’s firmware is provided in section 6.
4.1 Powering the board
The board can be powered from a variety of sources:
•The USB connection,
•A 3.7 V LiPo Battery via a JST connector,
•An external 6-17 V DC source via a 2.1 mm connector; center pin V+.
Figure 9: Power connections
Figure 10: Typical single cell 3.7 V LiPo battery with JST connector
⚠Follow all published safety advice for using bare cell LiPo batteries while charging and protecting
them from mechanical damage. Fire risk can occur if the advice is not followed.
All supply connections are fed via a Schottky diode to the main supply bus to allow multiple sources
to be connected in parallel. The LiPo battery will be charged from either the DC power source or the
USB power source. The charging status is indicated by a red LED which is on during charging and
turned off when fully charged.
DC power jack
LiPo battery connector
USB

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When less than 500 mA is available through a USB connector, ensure sufficient supply via the DC
power jack. Hot swap from USB powered mode to battery powered mode is bounded by present
battery voltage level. It is recommended to apply hot swap only if a battery is fully charged.
Figure 11: Battery charge status LED
4.2 GNSS RF input
The C099-F9P board should be used with the antenna supplied with the kit. If another active antenna
is used, be aware that the RF input has a bias output designed to supply 3.3 V DC with a 70 mA
maximum current load. A DC block is advisable if the board is connected to a signal distribution
scheme or GNSS simulator to prevent any potential shorting of the antenna bias.
Figure 12: GNSS antenna connector
When using the supplied antenna it is advisable to use the ground plane provided. Otherwise ensure
that there is an adequate ground plane, e.g. by mounting in the center of a metallic car roof.
Figure 13: The supplied GNSS multi-band antenna
Red battery charge LED
SMA GNSS antenna connector

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4.3 User interfaces
The C099-F9P has a number of fixed connection options besides the wireless modes. There is also an
additional Arduino R3 / Uno interface for external host connection.
The USB connector on the board provides connection via an on-board hub providing:
•An FTDI USB bridge to ZED-F9P UART1 and ODIN-W2 UART COM ports.
•Dedicated connection to the ZED-F9P USB port.
FTDI USB Bridge
When the USB cable from the user’s PC is connected, a driver will load and set up two virtual serial
ports, as shown below in Figure 14. Additionally, a further serial VCP will be created to provide a direct
connection with the ZED-F9P USB port.
☞Ensure that the PC is connected to the internet to load the drivers from Windows Update.
The first of these is connected to the ZED-F9P serial port and should be selected with u-center. The
second serial device is for the ODIN-W2 module when using s-center. In Figure 14, the ODIN-W2
connection is the first port (COM 62) and the ZED-F9P connection is the second port (COM 64). Port
numbering can be different between individual PCs, but the same arrangement applies.
Figure 14: Windows Device Manager COM port view
In addition, a third VCP will be created corresponding to the ZED-F9P USB port. Windows 10 users will
see a new VCP device in the Device Manager window when it loads a built-in driver. With older Windows
installations, a driver will be loaded via Windows Update. In this case the device will be identified as a
u-blox GNSS device in the Device Manager window.
Open u-center (V18.12 or later), select the ZED-F9P serial port, and set the baud rate to 460800 to
match the ZED-F9P default UART setting. Once connected, u-center shows typical received signal
levels from multiple GNSS bands, see Figure 15 below.
Figure 15: u-center view with ZED-F9P connected
ZED-F9P and ODIN-W2
COM ports installed.

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Additional UBX protocol messages can be enabled to view additional information in u-center. For
example, the following are typical messages the user can poll or enable for periodic update.
•NAV-HPPOSLLH
•NAV-RELPOSNED
•NAV-SIG
•NAV-SOL
•NAV-STATUS
•NAV-SVIN
☞For help with the Message view see section 5.2.6 in the u-center User Guide [3]
Command Line Interface of ODIN-W2
The user controls ODIN-W2 through a Command Line Interface (CLI) which supports Remote
Procedure Call syntax as described below:
/<function_name>/run <argument 1> <argument 2> …
To access ODIN-W2 CLI use the following serial settings:
•Baud rate: 460 800
•Serial frame: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
•Flow Control: None
Prior to connecting to the ODIN-W2 CLI check the below terminal settings:
•Putty (Settings - Terminal)
olocal echo force off
oimplicit CR in every LF off
oimplicit LF in every CR off
•Tera Term (Setup - Terminal)
onewline receive CR and transmit CR
olocal echo disabled
oterminal ID VT100
Figure 16: CLI help command
Figure 17: Example RPC syntax
By typing the help command as in Figure 16, the ODIN-W2 will display all available user commands
with a short description. The CLI embodies character echo with limited text edit functions. Misspelled
commands are replied with a list of supported commands. Please note, that ODIN-W2 features I/O
related functions for diagnostic purposes. Those functions are listed by the CLI but are not
documented.

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4.4 Arduino Uno header connections
The board size and four connectors comply with the Arduino R3/Uno mechanical specification. The
functions of each I/O align as much as possible to the Arduino specified functions. Check the pin
functions before using with an Arduino R3/Uno - see Figure 18 below. All the pin functions besides
power are 3.3 V compliant.
Figure 18: C099-F9P Arduino connectors
Figure 19: C099-F9P Arduino R3 connections
J9, Arduino D
J8, Arduino C
J3, Arduino B
J2, Arduino A

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5Rover operation using NTRIP
This section shows how the ZED-F9P is used as a rover using correction information provided over the
internet using NTRIP. This is usually provided by a host from a single reference station or as a Network
RTK Virtual Reference Service (VRS).
A suitable host is a PC with internet access. A host runs an NTRIP client and streams RTCM
corrections to the C099-F9P through a UART or Bluetooth connection. A user shall note, that
messages transmitted through a Bluetooth link are forwarded to I2C bus and vice versa. A user is
advised to enable desired messages in both UART and I2C interfaces in ZED-F9P.
5.1 PC hosting via u-center
The u-center application includes an NTRIP client for PC hosting. The u-center user guide [3] provides
help when setting NTRIP service connections. Users can connect via Bluetooth for wireless operation
or directly via a serial COM port. Once the service is active, RTCM corrections are sent over the
connection and data can be logged as usual with u-center.
The u-center User Guide [3] section 6 provides more information concerning NTRIP connections.
Enter the required connection settings using the client setting window shown below.
Figure 20: u-center NTRIP Client view
Ensure that the NTRIP Client connection icon is green. This indicates a successful NTRIP connection
and that RTCM data is transferred to the C099-F9P.
Figure 21: u-center NTRIP Client connection icon in the status bar of u-center

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Confirm that the rover has obtained RTK Fixed mode in the u-center data view:
Figure 22: u-center Data view RTK FIXED indication
5.2 Bluetooth pairing
Prior to operation the user is requested to pair the ODIN-W2 with a host device. Pairing is the process
for creating one or more shared secret keys and is required only once for a pair of devices. The ODIN-
W2 can be paired with one of the two alternatives:
1. The host initiates, ODIN-W2 responds.
2. ODIN-W2 initiates, the host responds.
ODIN-W2 as pairing responder
Once verified that the terminal connection is available, please use the following command to make
the ODIN-W2 visible and connectable:
/bt_visible/run
ODIN-W2 will acknowledge successful reception of the command and inform once it is ready to
respond to a pairing request.
Next, the user shall perform Bluetooth scan to find the C099-F9P. Every C099-F9P has a predefined
unique BT name of type BT_C099-F9P_XYZW as shown in Figure 23.
Figure 23: Windows 10 menu for adding a BT device.

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ODIN-W2 as pairing initiator
Once the user has verified working CLI connection, the following command shall be used to scan
nearby Bluetooth devices. Prior to that, Bluetooth visibility at the host device shall be enabled.
/bt_inquiry/run
The C099-F9P will list nearby BT devices, their BT addresses (“MAC”) and corresponding RSSI values.
To ensure sufficient radio link quality, a user is advised to check the RSSI level of the host device is
well above -80 dBm. Weak signal levels can result in connection losses and limited range.
Once the host device has been found by the C099-F9P, the following command starts the pairing
process:
/bt_bond/run <MAC address>
ODIN-W2 will wait until the user has accepted the pairing request on the host device. Note that the
pairing request will fail if an internal timeout is reached. Typically, the user can accept an incoming
pairing request in the host Bluetooth menu. Finally, the host and ODIN-W2 will permanently store their
exchanged link keys for future connections.
5.3 Bluetooth serial port
C099-F9P supports incoming and outgoing Bluetooth serial connections. In order to find the
corresponding BT COM ports refer to Bluetooth options as indicated in Figure 24.
Figure 24: Bluetooth COM ports
Typically Windows hosts will automatically set the corresponding COM ports if the pairing process
was initiated at the host, as described in 5.2.1. Often, the user is requested to add incoming and
outgoing ports manually if the pairing process was initiated at C099-F9P, as described in 5.2.2.
Server SPP connection