Xtracer XC Tracer V1.0 User manual

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
User Manual XC Tracer V1.0

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
Quick Start Guide
XC Tracer is a proven and reliable flight instrument for paraglider pilots, using data multiple
sensors (9 DOF IMU, pressure sensor, GPS to compute the real time climb rate and altitude,
avoiding the undesired time lag that conventional variometers suffer from due to data
filtering. The GPS also provides real time flight speed and direction. All the relevant data is
then sent in a custom data string to an iOS or Android tablet or phone via Bluetooth Low
Energy. Of course the variometer still indicates the lift / sink rate with beeping tones!
Use the velcro to attach XC Tracer to the shoulder strap of your harness, or to your cockpit,
or onto your thigh. (NB. Do not attach it to your helmet or hang it round your neck using a
cord!)
Switch on XC Tracer by pressing and holding the red button until you hear beep-beep. The
GPS will then search for a fix. The vario will make some beeping sounds once the GPS has
a fix, and the orange LED will start blinking every 2-3 seconds. Don’t worry if you forget to
switch on XC Tracer before taking off, you can switch it on whilst flying.
The vario won’t beep on the ground, but as soon as you’re flying XC Tracer will indicate the
lift / sink rate with beeping tones. XC Tracer has four volume settings: mute, gentle, medium
and loud. You can change the volume setting with a short push of the red button, always
cycling from mute –gentle - medium –loud –mute –gentle etc.
Once you’ve landed, turn off XC Tracer by pressing and holding the red button until you hear
beep-beep (after approximately 3 seconds). XC Tracer will then switch off and the LED will
stop blinking.

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
Introduction
XC Tracer is a proven and reliable flight instrument for paraglider pilots. Many pilots use XC
Tracer for competitions and for long XC flights. The lag-free indication of lift / sink makes it
much easier to find and core thermals than when using a conventional variometer. You can
also use XC Tracer as an IGC logger –the files are accepted by the FAI for competitions.
XC Tracer has a built-in lithium polymer battery –when fully charged the battery will power
XC Tracer for more than 14 hours. The battery is charged using the Micro USB cable that
was shipped with XC Tracer. The device as a built-in Bluetooth Low Energy BLE 4.0 module
–the BLE strings that your phone, tablet or e-reader needs are configured in the XC Tracer
configuration file. A list of compatible iOS and Android apps and their corresponding BLE
string seetings can be found on www.xctracer.com.
Of course XC Tracer also indicates the climb / sink rate with beeping tones and the good
thing is that you can modify the tone settings using the tone simulator on www.xctracer.com.
Mounting
XC Tracer uses data from a 9-DOF IMU (9 Degrees Of Freedom Inertial Measurement Unit),
and from a pressure sensor, to compute the real-time climb rate and altitude, avoiding the
undesired time lag that conventional variometers suffer (due to data filtering). For this reason
mount your XC Tracer in such a way that it moves as little as possible whilst you’re flying.
Important: make sure the XC Tracer isn’t dangling from a cord or attached to your helmet.
The best approach is to attach XC Tracer to your cockpit, or on the shoulder strap of your
harness, or on your thigh.
Switch On/Switch Off
Turn XC Tracer on by pressing and holding the red button until you hear beep-beep. Next the
battery charge status is indicated by a series of beeps (this feature is described further
below). It will then take a further 5-60 seconds for the GPS to get a fix. XC Tracer will then
make beep-beep-beeeeep and it’s now ready for flight.
Turning XC Tracer off is just the same –press and hold the red button until you hear beep-
beep. XC Tracer will write the log file to the SD card and switch off.

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
Battery Indicator
After switching the device on the battery charge status is indicated with a sequence of short
beeps:
5x Beep means that the battery is charged 95% or more.
4x Beep means that the battery is charged 75% or more.
3x Beep means that the battery is charged 55% or more.
2x Beep means that the battery is charged 35% or more.
1x Beep means that the battery is charged 15% or more.
When the battery is less than 15% charged you will hear a constant beep for one second
after switching the device on.
After indicating the battery charge XC Tracer’s GPS now searches for a fix. A beep-beep-
beeeeeep indicates that the device is now ready for flight.
Adjusting The Volume
XC Tracer has 4 volume settings: Mute, gentle, medium and loud. You can change the
volume setting with a short push of the red button, always from mute –gentle - medium –
loud –mute –gentle etc.
Charging the battery
You can charge the battery using the Micro USB cable that was shipped with XC Tracer. A
red LED indicates that the device is charging. Once fully charged the red LED turns off and
the green LED turns on. The red and green LEDs are only used for indicating charging
status. These LEDs are only on when XC Tracer is connected to a power source.
Low battery power
XC Tracer’s low-voltage detection will switch the device off if the battery voltage drops below
3.3V. (NB. The log file is written to the SD card before the device turns off).

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
XC Tracer Configuration File
Connect XC Tracer to a computer using a Micro USB Cable and once connected, switch the
device on by briefly pressing the red button until you hear a beep-beep-beep. XC Tracer is
now running in USB-MSD (Mass Storage Device) mode. XC Tracer’s internal Micro SD Card
will appear as an external drive in Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder. You will find a PDF
copy of the user manual on the SD card, and also the XC_TRACER.TXT configuration file.
Editing this file in Notepad (Windows) or Text Editor (Mac) allows you to adjust XC Tracer’s
settings. The various options are described below:
# XC Tracer Configuration File
serialNumber=20C38FE9E556
Serial number of XC Tracer, is used for the IGC logger.
firmwareVersion=XC_Tracer _V1.0_R01
Indicates the device’s firmware version.
reset=no
Setting reset=yes resets XC Tracer to the factory default settings. In order for this to work all
the entries below reset=yes must be deleted, otherwise the same settings will be read in
again. Reset=no is the default setting.
# supported Bluetooth protocols are None, XCTRACER, LK8EX1, LXWP0, FlyNet, and
BlueFly
Select the BLE protocol her. NB. Only one protocol can be selected at once. Please check at
www.xctracer.com which protocol to choose for your app.
bluetoothProtocol=LXWP0
In this case the LXWPO protocol will be will be used.
forwardGPSSentences=yes
With forwardGPSSentences=yes the NMEA strings from the GPS will be sent directly over
BLE. Again, please check at www.xctracer.com if this is necessary of not for your App.
# supported log formats are None, IGC, and KML
Here you can choose the log format that will be saved on the SD card. You can log nothing,
or you can log a signed IGC file for XC Contest and the like, or you can log a KML file that
you can import directly to Google Earth. IGC files are logged at 1Hz, and KML files are
logged at 5Hz, meaning that position and altitude will be logged 5x per second.
logFormat=KML
With logFormat=KML you will record a KML file. With logFormat=IGC wou will log an IGC file,
and with logFormat=None nothing will be recorded.
logOnlyWhenFlying=yes

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
When logOnlyWhenFlying=yes is set then a log file will be recorded once the GPS has
recorded a speed greater than 4m/s. The logging will get stopped when you have landed.
When you make a toplanding the log file will be stopped, and a new log file will get created
when you take off again. When logOnlyWhenFlying=no is set then a log file will be recorded
as soon as you switch on XC Tracer, and the logging will only be stopped when you switch
off the device.
pilotName=Koni Schafroth
Enter your name here. Please don’t use accidentally use any tabs as they will invalidate the
IGC file. Spaces are fine.
passengerName=
You can enter the name of a tandem passenger here if you like.
gliderType=Gin Carrera
Enter your glider make and model here.
gliderId=14049
Enter the immatriculation number (if you have one) of your glider here.
# create your own vario tone settings below
beepOnlyWhenFlying=yes
When this is set XC Tracer will be silent before takeoff. This is very helpful when you have
configured some kind of a thermal sniffer. With beepOnlyWhenFlying=yes the variometer will
be silent until XC Tracer detects a climb/sink rate of +/- 0.75m/s for roughly 2-3 seconds.
With beepOnlyWhenFlying=no the variometer will beep not only in flight, but also when you
walk or move.
setVolume=2
There are four volume settings, 0-3. With this option you set the volume that the vario will
use for beeping. When beepOnlyWhenFlying=yes is set then the vario will be silent until you
fly. Once you’re flying the vario will beep with the volume that you have set. Remember
though, that you can change the volume during flight with a short press of the red button.
ClimbToneOnThreshold=0.2
With this setting the vario will begin to beep when the climb rate is higher than 0.2m/s. When
you want to use a thermal sniffer then you can set ClimbToneOnThreshold=-0.5 for example.
In this case the vario will begin to beep when the sink rate is less than -0.5m/s. In this way
you can adjust the beeping tone so that you know when you’re flying in lifting air, despite the
fact that you’re actually sinking gently. This can be helpful to find and core thermals in weak
conditions.
ClimbToneOffThreshold=0.1

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
With this setting the vario will stop beeping when the climb rate is below 0.1m/s. You can
also use negative values here, for example -0.51m/s when you use a thermal sniffer.
SinkToneOnThreshold=-3.0
The sink tone will be activated when the sink rate is below -3m/s.
SinkToneOffThreshold=-3.0
The sink tone will be deactivated when the sink rate is less than -3m/s.
tone=-10.0,200
tone=-3.0,280
tone=-0.51,300
tone=-0.5,300,800,5
tone=0.09,510,600,5
tone=0.1,510,600,50
tone=1.16,579,527,50
tone=2.67,698,450,50
tone=4.24,824,360,50
tone=6.0,1037,283,50
tone=8.0,1314,219,50
tone=10.0,1661,190,50
You must define exactly 12 tones. Additional tones will be deleted from the configuration file,
and missing tones will be complemented with values stored in the Eeprom. The tones must
be defined ascending from tone 1 of -10m/s to tone 10m/s of tone 12.
Important: Please avoid using exactly the same climb rate on adjacent tones as it will create
problems.
tone=1.16,579,527,50 means that with a climb rate of 1.16m/s the vario will beep with a
frequency of 579Hz, that the complete tone interval will last 527ms, and that the tone will be
audible for 50% of the tone interval. This is a typical tone that is used when indicating
climbing.
tone=-3.0,280 means that with a sink rate of -3.0m/s a tone of 280Hz will be emitted. As soon
as the sink rate changes the tone frequency also changes, depending on the configuration.
It‘s a good idea to only set sink rate and frequency for the sink alarm, and not set tone
interval and duty cycle. This creates a nicer sink tone (not that a sink tone is ever nice!)

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
You can create your own tone settings using the tone simulator on www.xctracer.com and
then copy and paste them to the configuration file, or you can simply copy and paste other
people's tone settings to the configuration file.
XC Tracer doesn't actually save the new configuration into its internal memory until it starts
up in normal flight mode. So, press the red button briefly to unmount / eject the device from
your computer, disconnect it from the USB cable, then turn XC Tracer on as normal.
Important: Always close the configuration file before you unmount / eject XC Tracer!!!

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
XC Tracer Firmware Update
Connect XC Tracer to a computer using a Micro USB Cable and once connected, switch the
device on by briefly pressing the red button until you hear a beep-beep-beep. XC Tracer is
now running in USB-MSD (Mass Storage Device) mode. XC Tracer’s internal Micro SD Card
will appear as an external drive in Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder. Download the
newest firmware for XC Tracer V1.0 from www.xctracer.com and copy the new firmware
using drag and drop to the SD card. Now press the red button briefly and the new firmware
will start to be installed. During installation XC Tracer will make a few beeps, then delete the
firmware file from the SD card and finally switch off. The new firmware is now installed and
the device is now ready to use.
Important: The information about the firmware version will only be updated once the device
has been started up in normal flight mode.
If the firmware you copy to the SD card is the same version as the one that is already
installed then XC Tracer will simply delete the firmware from the SD card. It’s impossible to
install incorrect firmware on the XC Tracer–all that happens is that the incompatible firmware
remains on the SD card waiting to be deleted by the user.
Troubleshooting
In the rare event that XC Tracer doesn’t respond when you push the red button, you can
perform a hard-reset by pressing and holding the red button for approximately 1 minute. The
battery will then get disconnected from the electronics. After that you can restart XC Tracer in
flight mode, and the device will be functional again.
Warranty
XC Tracer grants a 24 month warranty for material and workmanship. Unsuitable or improper
use (for example strong impact, water landing, opened enclosure, software modification etc.)
normal wear and tear (battery) are excluded from the guarantee.

User Manual XC Tracer V1.0 Rev 01 22.2.2016
Technical Data
Time-lag free indication of climb / sink rate
Data transmission to cell phone / tablet / e-reader using BLE 4.0
Many compatible Apps for Android / iOS
IGC / KML Logger
Extremely easy operation
Firmware update by Drag & Drop
User configurable acoustics / tone setting with tone simulator at www.xctracer.com
State of the arte electronics including a 9-DOF IMU, GPS, BLE and mems pressure sensor
Runtime with fully charged battery min. 14h
Size: 57.5 x 57.5 x 19.25 mm
Weight 61g