Overview

The M7 GX series of GPS transponders may be directly connected to a Garmin Oregon 450. When connected, the Garmin display map will show the location of the vehicle it is in PLUS the location of all other M7 transponders within radio range.  This unique feature allows one to quickly, easily, and inexpensively, make a mobile AVL system for tracking cars, trucks, race cars, construction equipment, or any thing Raveon’s M7 GX transponder may be installed on.

The Garmin Oregon 450 has a built-in interfaces for a “NMEA 0183? devices, which is another way of saying that they can connect to other devices using a serial cable.   The NMEA 0183 is an RS232 serial connection that typically operates at 4800 baud.  It is used to exchange way point and other information between displays, GPS devices, and transponders.

When Raveon’s M7 GX transponder is connected to the Oregon using the NMEA 0183 connection, the M7 transponder can put icons on the screen of the Garmin display.  As the transponder received updated positions from other vehicles, it updates the position of the icons on the Garmin display.

How NMEA 0183 works

Here is how their NMEA 0183 interface works:

NMEA 0183 Cable Connections

NMEA 0183 is a standard communications format for marine electronic equipment. For example, an autopilot can connect to the NMEA interface of a GPS and receive positioning information.  The GPS can exchange information with any device that transmits or receives NMEA 0183 data. See the following diagram for general wiring connections. Read your product’s owner’s manual for specific wiring information.

NMEA 0183 Wiring  (Data cable)

The Garmin Oregon 450 uses the yellow wire to transmit, the white wire to receive and the Black and green wire for ground.

The M7 DB9 Serial Connector

The 9-pin serial I/O connector on the M7 is a female 9-p D-sub miniature connector having the following pins configuration. 

Front-view of DB-9 connector on modem (female)

Wiring the DB9

The Oregon’s “Data Cable” must be connected to the M7 transponder.  This connection will allow the M7 to put icons on the screen of the Oregon display, showing the location of other tracked vehicles.  The Raveon M7 GPS transponder uses a 9-pin “DB9? connector to connect to the Oregon.  Solder the Oregon data cable wires onto a DB9 connector and plug the DB9 into the M7 transponder as shown below:

The white wire goes to pin two of the DB9, the yellow wire to pin 3, the black and green wires get twisted together and both go to pin 5, and the red wire goes to pin 9 of the DB9. It is recommended that you keep the fuse on the red wire when setting up the DB9 connector.

Configuring the M7 GX Transponder

Raveon has a designed the M7 GX transponder to work with Garmin Oregon Display or any other NMEA 0183 display that can accept the “$GPWPL” NMEA message.   The $GPWPL is an industry standard message that the Garmin displays and many other GPS displays interpret as a way point command.  The M7 GX outputs this $GPWPL message to put icons on the screen of the Garmin, and to move the icons around on its screen.

To configure the M7 transponder to output the $GPWPL message, set the M7 GX to GPS mode 2.  To do this, put it into the configuration mode by send the +++ into the serial port.  The M7 will respond with an OK.  Type GPS 4 and press enter to put it into GPS 4 mode.  GPS 4 is the mode that causes the M7 GX to output $GPWPL messages whenever it receives a status/position message over the air.

Raveon Technologies Corporation

990 Park Center Drive, C

Vista, CA 92081

sales@raveontech.com

760-727-8004

It is usually possible to upgrade the RavTrack PC AVL software program to a newer version without re-installing the software as long as the major revision number is the same.  (2.6 to 2.7, 3.1 to 3.3 …)  Most upgrades can be performed by simply replacing the RavTrackPC.exe file which is stored in the program directory on your computer. This quick upgrade method avoids having to perform a full re-install of the RavTrack PC AVL software when simply upgrading to the current version.

To perform the quick update:

1. Close RavTrack PC.    File > Exit
2. Click on the link below to download a copy of the latest .exe file:
   http://ravtrack.com/downloads/RavTrackPCexe.zip or use the .exe file emailed to you from Raveon tech support.
3. Open the .zip archive folder by double-clicking on it. 
4. Locate the directory on your computer that holds the RavTrack PC program. For most users the full path to this file is:  C:/programfiles/raveon/RavTrack PC/
5. Rename the current RavTrack PC.exe file file to RavTrack PCold.exe.
6. Copy the new file from the  named RavTrack PC.exe to your RavTrack PC program directory. For most users the full path to this file is:  C:/programfiles/raveon/RavTrack PC/RavTrack PC.exe

You may now run RavTrack PC as you have been, and the new version will be executed.  If there are data base upgrades to do, RavTrack PC will automatically perform the updates when it starts up.

The M7 GX series of GPS transponders may be directly connected to a Garmin 60C  series of hand-held GPSs.  All members of the Garmin 60C family have an RS232 option that is compatible with NMEA 0183 messages.  This allows them to be used with Raveon’s RavTrack series of GPS radio transponders to make a complete GPS tracking system.

When connected to the M7 GPS radio transponder or the Atlas PLPersonal Locator, the Garmin’s map will show the location of all of the the user PLUS the location of all other transponders within radio range.  This unique feature allows one to quickly, easily, and inexpensively, make a portable AVL system for tracking cars, trucks, racecars, construction equipment, or any thing Raveon’s M7 GX or Atlas PL transponder may be installed on.

The Garmin 60C series of hand-held GPSs have built-in interfaces for a “NMEA 0183″ devices, which is another way of saying that they can connect to other devices using a serial cable.   The NMEA 0183 is an RS232 serial connection that typically operates at 4800 baud.  It is used to exchange way-point and other information between displays, GPS devices, and transponders.

When Raveon’s M7 GX transponder is connected to the Garmin display using the NMEA 0183 connection, the GPS radio transponder can put icons on the screen of the Garmin display.  As the transponder receives updated positions from other vehicles, it updates the position of the tracked vehicle icons on the Garmin’s display.

Garmin 60C, 60CS, 60Cx Wiring

From the Garmin technical manual, here is how their NMEA 0183 interface works:

NMEA 0183 Cable Connections

NMEA 0183 is a standard communications format for marine electronic equipment. For example, an autopilot can connect to the NMEA interface on the Garmin 60C and receive positioning information.  The Garmin 60C series can exchange information with any device that transmits or receives NMEA 0183 data.  See the following diagram for general wiring connections. Read yourother product’s owner’s manual for more wiring information.

NMEA 0183 Wiring  (Data cable)

Wiring the Serial Cable

The Garmin’s “Data Cable” must be connected to the M7 GPS transponder (or Atlas OL).  This connection will allow the M7 to put icons on the screen of the Garmin display, showing the location of other tracked vehicles.  The Raveon M7 GPS transponder uses a 9-pin “DB9″ connector to connect to the Garmin.  Solder the Garmin data cable wires onto a DB9 connector and plug the DB9 into the M7 transponder as shown below:

Connect the white wire(serial data from M7 into Garmin) from the Garmin’s Serial Cable goes to pin 2 of the M7’s RS232 DB9 connector.  You do not need to connect the brown wire(serial data from Garmin), so you can trim it off.  Connect the shield braid of the Garmin Serial Cable to pin 5 of the DB9.  The red wire optionally can connect to pin 9 of the Raveon GPS transponder’s DB9 to power the Garmin from the DC source that powers the M7. 

If you do not wire your own cable, but instead use Garmin’s RS232 serial cable, you will need to connect the Garmin’s RS232 cable to the M7 GPS transponder using a “NULL Modem” adaptor. 

Configuring the Garmin

Set the NMEA communication of the Garmin to 4800 baud.

Configuring the M7 GX Transponder

Raveon has a designed the M7 GX transponder to work with Lowrance Display or any other NMEA 0183 display that can accept the “$GPWPL” NMEA message.   The $GPWPL is an industry standard message that the Lowrance displays and many other GPS displays interpret as a waypoint command.  The M7 GX outputs this $GPWPL message to put icons on the screen of the Lowarance, and to move the icons around on its screen.

To configure the M7 transponder to output the $GPWPL message, set the M7 GX to GPS mode 2.  To do this, put it into the configuration mode by send the +++ into the serial port.  The M7 will respond with an OK.  Type GPS 4 and press enter to put it into GPS 4 mode.  GPS 4 is the mode that causes the M7 GX to output $GPWPL messages whenever it receives a status/position message over the air.

Overview

Many different types of batteries may be used with Raveon’s M7 series of GPS transponders.  This Technical Brief describes how well some common battery types will work with the M7 radios.

Actual battery life will vary based upon how often the M7 GPS transponder transmits, but the data in this Technical Brief may be used to predict the battery life of most configurations.

Test Setup

For the tests in this brief, a UHF GPS transponder, model RV-M7-UC-GX was configured in GPS mode 2 to transmit its position every 10 seconds.  In GPS mode 2, the radio’s receiver is on 100% of the time, and the current draw of the M7 was an average of 90mA.  The peak current draw was 2.1 amps for 68mS each time the M7 transmitted its GPS position.

Summary Data

Duracell Alkaline

These batteries are the common Duracel batteries found at most department stores.

Test Result Summary

Initial Voltage:                                   12.57 volts

Voltage at ½ discharge:                   10.2 volts

Usable life (hours)                           18 hours

Voltage drop when transmitting       2.4V  (1.1 ohm resistance)

Approximate mAh capacity             1600mAh

Discharge Curve

Transmit Transient

The plot below shows the dip in voltage as the transmitter turns on and off.

Summary

The Duracell is an OK battery to power the M7 transponder.  But its high internal resistance will reduce the RF power output after the first few hours of operation.  The DC to the radio should stay above 9V while transmitting for full power, above 8V for 3-4 watts.

Energizer Lithium

These batteries are the common Energizer Lithium batteries for cameras and digital electronics found at many department stores.

Test Result Summary

Initial Voltage:                                      12.1 volts  (14V for a few moments)

Voltage at ½ discharge:                      12.0 volts

Usable life (hours)                              28 hours

Voltage drop when transmitting          3.5V  (1.6 ohm resistance)

Approximate mAh capacity                2520mAh

Discharge Curve

Transmit Transient

The plot below shows the dip in voltage as the transmitter turns on and off.

Summary

Even though the internal resistance of the cell is higher than the alkaline, the Energizer Lithium is a good battery to power the M7 transponder.  Its high internal resistance will not reduce the RF power output because its voltage is fundamentally fairly high.  The DC to the radio should stay above 9V while transmitting for full power, above 8V for 3-4 watts, so the 3.5V dip means the radio will have full power at 12.5V, and 3-4 watts out at 11V DC at the battery pack.

Lenmar R2G NiMH pack, 2150mAh cells

These batteries are Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries.  They were fully charged before the test.

Test Result Summary

Initial Voltage:                                      11.0 volts

Voltage at ½ discharge:                      10.3volts

Usable life (hours)                              17 hours

Voltage drop when transmitting          2.0V  (.95 ohm resistance)

Approximate mAh capacity                1500mAh

Discharge Curve

Summary

These batteries should be a good power source for the M7 GX transponder.

The internal cell resistance is low, but the voltage is also low. The RF power output stayed at full power for most of the life of the battery, dropping to about 4 watts at the end of the battery life.  The double dip at end of live was due to the fact the radio keep working down to 6 volts (albeit with almost no RF output because the RF PA is off), and the batteries keep putting our very low voltage for another couple hours.

Raveon Technologies Corporation

990 Park Center Drive, C

Vista, CA 92081

sales@raveontech.com

760-727-8004

Integrated into RavTrack PC GPS Tracking software is a powerful report generating software program called Crystal Reports.

As part of the RavTrack PC installation, a run-time redistribution module is installed on the computer along with RavTrack PC. The Crystal Reports run-time module allows crystal reports to be generated by RavTrack PC, and viewed by the user.  But, it does not include the report editor.  To customize your own Crystal Reports, you will need to by a full-version of Crystal Reports 10.   The run-time module included with RavTrack PC will give you the ability to view the Crystal Reports you generate with RavTrack PC’s report generator.

Installation Problems

There is often an installation error with the Crystal Reports run-time on certain Windows Vista machines.   If during the installation of RavTrack PC you get an error message about Crystal Reports, you can ignore it because there is a simple solution that can be performed after the installation of RavTrack PC is complete.

If, after RavTrack PC is installed and operating, you get an error when trying to open the report generator in RavTrack PC  (View > Reports), then you should manually install the Crystal Reports 10 run-time module.  To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Close RavTrack PC.
2. Download the Crystal Report run-time module from Raveons server at: http://ravtrack.com/downloads/CRBasicVS2008_redist_x86.zip
3. Unzip the file to your local disk.
4. Open Explorer, and go to the directory where the .zip file was stored to.
5. Double click on the  CRRedist2008_x86.msi file to run the installation program.
6. Follow the instructions in the installer, and let it install.
7. Once the Crystal Reports installer has finished, start RavTrack PC, and verify the report features are working.