08 - Base Station Menu Options

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By pressing the ‘OK’ button from any of the status display screens the configuration menus can be accessed. These can be navigated using the '<' and '>' buttons to find an option and then the ‘OK’ button to select it. The first screen to be displayed is the ‘EXIT’ option to return to the last menu screen. To exit out from any area of the configuration menu select the ‘BACK’ and ‘EXIT’ options.

Setup

This menu contains general setup options to configure the Base Station.

Language

This setting changes the interface language. The options available are:

English
Deutsch
Français

Brightness

This setting allows the brightness of the display to be increased and decreased.

Contrast

This setting allows the contrast of the display to be increased and decreased.

Set DGNSS mode (DGPS pre Firmware 2.13)

Allows the user to choose what type of differential correction should be transmitted. The options available are:

RTCM 40 cm
Racelogic 20 cm (only available on VBBS4)
Racelogic 2 cm (only available on VBBS4RG/VBBS5)
CMR 2 cm (only available on VBBS4RG/VBBS5)
RTCM v3 2 cm (only available on VBBS4RG/VBBS5)
RTCM v3.2 MSM4 or MSM7 2 cm (only available on VBBS6)

The Racelogic options are proprietary modes that only work with 20 cm enabled VBOX 2 series products and RTK (2 cm) enabled VBOX 3 series products. The RTCM and CMR modes are industry standard modes that will work with any GNSS receiver that is capable of using these differential modes.

Coldstart

Coldstart will clear the GNSS receiver of its almanac and ensure it is configured correctly. The GPS almanac is information about the ‘health’ of each satellite in the constellation and navigational data regarding its orbit. This allows the receiver to quickly obtain a positional fix after it has been switched off.

However, if the almanac is old because the receiver has been switched off for several days or weeks; or if the receiver has been moved a long distance between being powered down and re powered, then the almanac no longer serves its purpose as the information is no longer relevant to the situation. In this case the data in the almanac can actually extend the time it takes to get a fix on the current position. It is recommended that a Coldstart be performed in the above instances.

FP RS232 Conn

This allows the RS232 serial connector on the front panel to be configured for various tasks. The options are:

Radio Config - Ports to the radio modem to allow direct configuration or firmware update
F/W Update - Allows the Base Station firmware to be upgraded using Racelogic Upgrader software and a .RUF firmware file
GPS Update - Ports to the GNSS receiver to allow direct configuration or firmware update

Radio Setup (Radio Mode pre Firmware 2.8)

You should always check the local laws and regulations regarding radio transmissions in your country to ensure you are not broadcasting illegally. Racelogic and its representatives can offer guidance in this area, but it is the responsibility of the user to ensure that they are not breaking local transmission regulations.

Pre Firmware version 2.8

This allows the user to select what type of radio modem is connected to or fitted inside the Base Station. The options are:

SATEL - Refers to SATEL SATELLINE-3ASd and SATEL M3-T1 which can be used in most countries but may require a licence
868 MHz - Refers to Racelogic 868 MHz medium range radio modems that are legal for licence free use in Europe
915 MHz - Refers to Racelogic 915 MHz medium range radio modems that are legal for licence free use in North America
User - Allows user configuration of the radio communications baud rate and hardware handshaking for a custom radio solution. Selecting this option will enable the DGPS Baud and Handshaking menus within the Setup menu.
2.4 GHz - Refers to Racelogic 2.4 GHz short range radio modems that are legal for licence free use worldwide

Post Firmware version 2.8 (compatible with VBBS4RG and later models only)

This allows user configuration of the radio communications baud rate and hardware handshaking.

DGNSS Baud

This setting allows for a compatible serial baud rate to be set to communicate with a radio. The available kbit/s rates are shown below:

1200 4800 9600 19200 38400 57600 115200

Handshaking

This setting allows for hardware handshaking to be turned ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ when communicating with a radio. It is recommended that hardware handshaking be used where possible to prevent buffer overflows on the radio modem. If data is lost in this way then the transmission of partial correction messages may affect the performance of the rover unit and result in differential dropouts.

Elevation Mask

This allows a user configurable elevation mask to be set within the Base Station. Values of 5, 10, 15 or 20° can be set. The default setting is 5°.

DGPS Baud (pre Firmware 2.8)

This setting is only available when the ‘RADIO MODE’ is set to ‘USER’. It allows for a compatible serial baud rate to be set to communicate with a custom radio modem configuration. The available kbit/s rates are below.

1200 4800 9600 19200 38400 57600 115200

Handshaking (pre Firmware 2.8)

This setting is only available when the ‘RADIO MODE’ is set to ‘USER’. It allows for hardware handshaking to be turned ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ when communicating with a custom radio modem configuration. It is recommended that hardware handshaking be used where possible to prevent buffer overflows on the radio modem. If data is lost in this way then the transmission of partial correction messages may affect the performance of the rover unit and result in differential dropouts.

Batt/Volt Mon (pre Firmware 2.13)

This allows the user to view two displays (using the < and > buttons) which provide status and fault indication for the power supply and battery charging circuits. If the operation of the Base Station battery charge and discharge functions are not operating as expected then you may be asked to provide information from these screens by Racelogic Support in order to help diagnose any possible fault.

Enter Location

The 'ENTER LOCATION' option allows the user to manually enter the latitude and longitude in degrees and minutes and the altitude in metres. This option is useful when the Base Station antenna is being sited in a position that is known or has been surveyed.

Update Position

By selecting this option the values that have been entered for latitude, longitude and altitude in the other ‘Enter Location’ options are set as the reference location for the GNSS receiver antenna.

Latitude

This allows the user to define a latitude in the format DD°MM.mmmmm and suffixed by N for North or S for South. For example: 51°59.37252 N

Longitude

This allows the user to define a longitude in the format DDD°MM.mmmmm and suffixed by E for East or W for West. For example: 000°59.48398 W

Altitude

This allows the user to define an altitude in the format MMMMM.mm and is prefixed by a sign (+ or -) and suffixed by M for the unit metres. For Example: +00155.61 M

Live Location

The 'LIVE LOCATION' option allows the user to view the current latitude and longitude in degrees and minutes and the altitude in metres.

Satellites

This gives a bar graph representation of the number of satellites that are being tracked with one block representing each satellite.

Latitude

This displays the current latitude in the format DD°MM.mmmmm and is suffixed by N for North or S for South.

Longitude

This displays the current longitude in the format DDD°MM.mmmmm and is suffixed by E for East or W for West.

Altitude

This displays the current altitude in the format MMMMM.mm and is prefixed by a sign (+ or -) and suffixed by M for the unit metres.

Load Location

The LOAD LOCATION option is used to load a previously stored reference position from memory. A location is stored using the STORE LOCATION function described below.

Store Location

'STORE LOCATION' allows the user to store the position that has been obtained via 'SET TO CURRENT' or 'SET TO AVERAGE', or set using 'ENTER LOCATION' for use at a later date. This is useful if the Base Station is used in a number of different locations on a regular basis. It is also possible to give the location a meaningful name before it is stored. To do this, select 'STORE LOCATION' and then press 'OK'. Use the arrow buttons to select an unused memory location and then press 'OK' again. The display should now show the location name with a flashing cursor at the beginning of the name. Use the arrow keys to select a letter and then press OK to move on to the next character position. Repeat this until the new name is complete. The Base Station can store a total of 25 unique locations.

Set to Current

The 'SET TO CURRENT' option can be used when the Base Station is required to be setup and operational as quickly as possible. It allows a DGPS reference point to be marked almost immediately after satisfactory satellite lock is achieved. Using this option will give relative positional stability during the period that equipment is being used, but with an offset of the absolute position on earth. 'SET TO CURRENT' should only be used where absolute positional accuracy is not important and all that is required is positional stability.

Set to Average

The ‘SET TO AVERAGE’ option should normally be used to set a DGPS reference position. You can choose to average the location over 5 minutes, 12 hours or 24 hours. The display will state the number of seconds remaining in the averaging process. Using this option ensures that a good average of the current position has been obtained. Press 'OK' to abort at any time.

Note: From Firmware version 2.8 onwards (compatible with VBBS4RG only), when an averaging is in process, DGPS corrections are not transmitted.

If a 24 hour average is being used then it is recommended that the Base Station be powered from an external source as if the battery power is depleted before the average is complete then the average data will be lost.

To obtain the best absolute positional accuracy a 24 hour average is recommended, however this only needs to be done once for a test site and can then be stored and recalled, so long as the GPS antenna is returned to exactly the same position for all subsequent uses.

After this time period, the Base Station computes an average of the latitude, longitude and height and then uses that as it’s reference position. This typically results in a reference position that will be within 10 cm of the true absolute earth location.

Exit

Selecting this option exits from the configuration menus back to the status display.