The RavTrack Atlas PL personal GPS locator radio network capabilities
Most people will identify the Atlas PL personal locator as an excellent device for people to wear and to send GPS position information, alerts, and man-down status. Typically the Atlas PL is used in conjunction with the RavTrack AVL GPS vehicle transponders which are equipped in fleet vehicles and used for base receiving stations as well as store-and-forward repeaters. It is common for these latter transponders to be used to complete a GPS tracking radio network for tracking both personnel, and vehicles, or other costly assets.
However, it is also possible for the Atlas PL units alone to be used to construct a GPS tracking network complete with multiple base stations and/or a repeater, without the involvement of the vehicle transponder models in the system. The Atlas PL inherently has all the capabilities of the vehicle based models. Releasing these capabilities is simply a matter of following correct configuration procedures for the Atlas PL.
The following diagram demonstrates the use of the Atlas PL in its traditional role as a personal GPS transponder but also as multiple base stations, with one base station also serving as a repeater.
Within each box are typical settings of the Atlas PL as part of the GPS tracking scheme. Above each box are the intended uses of each Atlas PL in the tracking network, while below each box are a series of configuration commands the user should issue to each Atlas PL unit to configure each unit for the particular use specified. Finally, alongside each command is an indication of what that command actually configures in the Atlas PL.
Each Atlas PL starts out in GPS mode 8. This configures the Atlas PL to function in the most common transponder configuration and enables the advanced battery management functions of the Atlas PL as well. However, it is important to note that the command GPS – such as GPS 8 – is a macro command which configures many different aspects of the unit. Most commonly the GPS command is understood by the user to set the format of the NMEA output, but it in fact does much more. For instance, issuing the command “GPS 8” to an Atlas PL will completely turn off the receiver circuitry of the unit. This is not what we need for a base station receiver or repeater. The subsequent commands change other configurable attributes of the Atlas PL, overriding the macro set of configuration parameters, to arrive at the final desired configuration. It is critical these configuration commands be issued after the GPS command.
We hope this demonstrates some of the capabilities of the Atlas PL not commonly identified by the end user. Should you have in mind a specific function of an Atlas PL that is not apparent, we encourage you to contact us.
