U Center User Guide(GPS SW 08007)

u-Center_User_Guide(GPS-SW-08007)

User Manual:

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Preface
Contents
Features
2 Getting Started
3 Concept and Philosophy
- 3.1 Color coding scheme
- 3.2 Operating Modes
4 Menu Structure
5 How To
6 Troubleshooting
Related Documents
Revision history
Contact



u-center

locate,communicate,accelerate

GPS evaluation software

User’s Guide

Abstract

Thisdocumentleadsyouthroughtheefficientuseoftheu-center

evaluationsoftware,thepowerfulandeasytousetoolfromu-blox

forevaluatingandtestingGPSreceivers.

www.u-blox.com

u-center-User’sGuide



Document Information

Title u-center

Subtitle GPSevaluationsoftware 

Document type User’sGuide

Document number GPS-SW-08007-A

Document status Released



Thisdocumentandtheuseofanyinformationcontainedtherein,issubjecttotheacceptanceoftheu-bloxtermsandconditions.They

canbedownloadedfromwww.u-blox.com.

u-bloxmakesnowarrantiesbasedontheaccuracyorcompletenessofthecontentsofthisdocumentandreservestherighttomake

changestospecificationsandproductdescriptionsatanytimewithoutnotice.

u-bloxreservesallrightstothisdocumentandtheinformationcontainedherein.Reproduction,useordisclosuretothirdpartieswithout

expresspermissionisstrictlyprohibited.Copyright©2009,u-bloxAG.



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Preface

Overview

u-centerisu-blox’powerfulGPSevaluationandvisualizationtoolwhichcanbedownloadedfree-of-chargefrom

ourwebsite(www.u-blox.com).Thisuser’sguideprovidesadescriptionofthefeaturesofthissoftware.Itallows

enduserstoassessandtestu-bloxGPSreceiversfornavigationandpositioningperformance.

Thepurposeofu-centeristoenableusersto:

 Conductperformancetestsonu-bloxandotherGPSreceivers.

 Configureu-bloxGPSreceivers.

 AccessanddownloadFirmwareupdates.

 Testtheaddedperformanceprovidedbyu-blox’freeAssistNowA-GPSservice.

Using this Guide

Thisguideassumes,theuserhasbasiccomputerskillsandisfamiliarwiththeWindowsGraphicalUserInterface

(GUI)andGPSreceiverenvironments.

Thefollowingsymbolsareusedtohighlightimportantinformation:

Anindexfingerpointsoutkeyinformationpertainingtointegrationandperformance.

A warning symbol indicates actions that could negatively impact or damage the receiver.

Technical Support

Ifyouhavequestionsaboutinstallingorusingu-centerplease:

 Readthisuser’sguidecarefully.

 Checkourhomepage(http://www.u-blox.com)toensurethatyourGPSreceiver,firmwareandtheu-center

softwarearethelatestversions.

 RefertoourwebbasedinformationserviceanddatabaseofFrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQ).

Worldwide Web

Ourwebsite(www.u-blox.com)isarichpoolofinformation.Productinformation,technicaldocumentsand

helpfulFAQcanbeaccessed24haday.

By E-mail

Ifyouhavetechnicalproblemsorcannotfindtherequiredinformationintheprovideddocuments,contactthe

nearestoftheTechnicalSupportofficesbyemail.Useourservicepoolemailaddressesratherthananypersonal

emailaddressofourstaff.Thismakessurethatyourrequestisprocessedassoonaspossible.Youwillfindthe

contactdetailsattheendofthedocument.

Helpful Information when Contacting Technical Support

WhencontactingTechnicalSupportpleasehavethefollowinginformationready:

 Receivertype(e.g.LEA-5H),firmwareversion(e.g.V6.00),andu-centerrelease(e.g.u-center5.07)

 Receiverconfigurationandshortdescriptionoftheapplication

 Yourcompletecontactdetails

GPS-SW-08007-AReleasedPreface

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Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................3

Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

UsingthisGuide .............................................................................................................................................. 3

TechnicalSupport............................................................................................................................................ 3

Contents..............................................................................................................................4

1 Features ........................................................................................................................6

2 Getting Started.............................................................................................................7

2.1 GeneralInformationaboutdisplayedvalues ......................................................................................... 7

2.2 ConnectingaGPSReceivertothePC ................................................................................................... 7

2.3 Installingu-center................................................................................................................................. 7

2.4 ConfiguringtheSerialConnection........................................................................................................ 8

2.4.1 COM-Port...................................................................................................................................... 8

2.4.2 Baudrate ....................................................................................................................................... 8

3 Concept and Philosophy ............................................................................................10

3.1 Colorcodingscheme..........................................................................................................................11

3.2 OperatingModes ............................................................................................................................... 12

3.2.1 OnlineMode ............................................................................................................................... 12

3.2.2 StopMode .................................................................................................................................. 12

3.2.3 RecordMode .............................................................................................................................. 13

3.2.4 PlayerMode ................................................................................................................................ 13

3.2.5 DatabaseLimitation..................................................................................................................... 14

3.2.6 RelationsbetweenModes ........................................................................................................... 14

4 Menu Structure ..........................................................................................................15

4.1 MainFrame ........................................................................................................................................ 15

4.2 MenuBar ........................................................................................................................................... 16

4.3 FileMenuandStandardToolBar........................................................................................................ 17

4.4 EditMenu........................................................................................................................................... 18

4.5 ViewMenuandViewsToolBar .......................................................................................................... 18

4.5.1 TextConsole ............................................................................................................................... 18

4.5.2 PacketConsole............................................................................................................................ 21

4.5.3 BinaryConsole ............................................................................................................................ 22

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4.5.4 MessageView ............................................................................................................................. 23

4.5.5 StatisticView............................................................................................................................... 25

4.5.6 TableView .................................................................................................................................. 25

4.5.7 ChartView.................................................................................................................................. 26

4.5.8 HistogramView........................................................................................................................... 29

4.5.9 CameraView .............................................................................................................................. 31

4.5.10 DeviationMap.............................................................................................................................32

4.5.11 MapView.................................................................................................................................... 33

4.5.12 SkyView ..................................................................................................................................... 41

4.6 ReceiverMenuandReceiverToolbar .................................................................................................. 42

4.7 ActionToolbarandMenu................................................................................................................... 42

4.8 AssistNowOfflineToolbarandMenu ................................................................................................. 43

4.9 PlayerMenuandPlayerToolbar.......................................................................................................... 43

4.10 ViewMenu:DockingWindows....................................................................................................... 44

4.11 ToolsMenu..................................................................................................................................... 45

4.11.1 FirmwareUpdate(u-blox5) ......................................................................................................... 45

4.11.2 FirmwareUpdate(ANTARIS4)..................................................................................................... 46

4.11.3 DumpReceiverDiagnostics.......................................................................................................... 47

4.11.4 GPSConfiguration ...................................................................................................................... 47

4.11.5 Hotkeys....................................................................................................................................... 48

4.11.6 Preferences.................................................................................................................................. 48

4.12 WindowMenu................................................................................................................................ 49

5 How To........................................................................................................................50

5.1 ChangeParameters(Baudrate) ........................................................................................................... 50

5.2 SaveParameterstoreceivernon-volatilememory(BBR/Flash).............................................................. 51

5.2.1 SavingParameterswithUBX-CFG-CFG........................................................................................ 51

5.2.2 SavingParameterswithGPSConfiguration ................................................................................. 51

5.3 Recording/PlayingaLogFile................................................................................................................ 52

5.4 ConductSensitivityTests .................................................................................................................... 53

5.5 Read/WriteConfigurationFiles ........................................................................................................... 54

6 Troubleshooting.........................................................................................................55

Related Documents ..........................................................................................................56

Revision history................................................................................................................56

Contact..............................................................................................................................57

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1 Features

u-centerevaluationsoftwareprovidessystemintegratorsandenduserswithaquickandsimplewaytointerface

withu-bloxGPSchipsets,modulesandboards.Itenableseasyevaluation,performancetesting,development

anddebuggingofGPSreceivers.u-centerallowseasyconnectiontou-bloxproductsandprovidesasuiteof

featurestoview,log,andanalyzeperformance.Thefeaturesinclude:

 Supportforu-blox’latestreceiversusingu-blox5positioningtechnology.u-centercancommunicatewith

thesereceiversusingeithertheUBXprotocol,ortheNMEA-0183standardprotocol.

 SupportforreceiversthatutilizestandardNMEAstrings.

 u-centerpresentsalltheinformationcollectedduringtheoperationoftheGPSreceiver.AllaspectsofGPS

data(position,velocity,time,satellitetracking,etc.)canbemonitoredandloggedundervarioustest

scenariosfortheevaluationofareceiver.u-centersoftwareallowsanalysisofthecollecteddatainorderto

investigateperformanceissuessuchasaccuracy,roadtestpositionandtrajectory,satellitetracking,timeto

firstfix,etc.AllprocesseddatacanbecapturedinASCIIformatandportedintopopularspreadsheetsfor

creatingadditionalplotsandstatistics.

 CameraView:photographicdatacanbestoredinthelogfiletogetherwiththenavigationdataandlaterbe

replayedintheapplication.

 ExportdatafilestoGoogleEarthandGoogleMaps.

 SupportsAssistNowOnlineandAssistNowOffline.

 Datarecordingandplaybackfunction.

 Structuralandgraphicaldatavisualizationinrealtime.

 CutandpasteexporttostandardPCapplicationsoftware.

 Dockingviews(real-timecockpitinstruments):

Satelliteconstellation,compass,clock,altimeter,speedometer,GPSandsatelliteinformationviews.

 DownloadfirmwareupdatesintoGPSreceivers

GPS-SW-08007-AReleasedFeatures

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2 Getting Started

2.1 General Information about displayed values

 LongitudeandlatitudearedisplayedaccordingtothedatumselectedintheGPSreceiver(usually:WGS-84).

 TimeisdisplayedwithreferencetoUTC

 ElevationisdisplayedwithreferencetoeitherMSL(HeightabovemeansealevelorOrthometricHeight)or

toHAE(HeightaboveWGS-84-Ellipsoid).ThereferenceiscontrolledbytheGPSconfiguration.

2.2 Connecting a GPS Receiver to the PC

Thissectionassumesthatyouhavepurchasedau-blox5EvaluationKit.ShouldyoutrytoconnectaGPSreceiver

toaPCwithoutusingtheEvalKit,makesureyouuseappropriateRS-232levelshifters.Connectaserialcable

betweenacommunicationsport(COM-port)ofaPCandtheEvalKit.

2.3 Installing u-center

Theu-setupinstallationprogramguidesyouthroughthenecessarystepsforasuccessfulprograminstallation.

u-center uses dynamic link libraries (DLL). The installation program will automatically install the

required DLL’s into the u-center program directory. Should you try to copy a u-center

installation from one location to another after the installation, make sure you copy the DLL files

as well.

Afterasuccessfulinstallation,u-centerwillstartupasshowninFigure1:



Figure 1: Start Display

GPS-SW-08007-AReleasedGettingStarted

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2.4 Configuring the Serial Connection

u-centerstorestheserialsettingsandusesthelastconfigurationwhenstarted.Whenu-centerisstartedforthe

firsttime,theCOMportneedstobeinitialized.ThisistypicallydoneintheReceiverToolBar(Figure2).



Figure 2: Receiver Tool Bar

Connect/Disconnect-ButtonwithCOM-Portselectionarrow

Baudrate-Buttonwithbaudrateselectionarrow

Autobauding-Button

u-centeronlysupportstheCOM-Settingslistedbelow.Allu-bloxGPSreceiversarepre-configuredthis

way.

 Parity:None

 DataBits:8

 StopBits:1

 FlowControl:none

2.4.1 COM-Port



PressthearrowintheConnect/Disconnect-ButtonandselecttheusedCOM-Port



2.4.2 Baudrate

2.4.2.1 Manual Selection

DoesnotapplytoUSB.

Thebaudratecanbemanuallysetorautomaticallydetectedbyusingtheautobauding

feature.PressthearrowintheBaudrate-Buttontomanuallyselectthebaudrate.

Assoonasu-centerissynchronizedtotheGPSreceiver,theConnect/Disconnect-Buttonon

theReceiverToolBarchangesthecolortogreen(Figure 3)andthedisplayshows

informationaboutthesatelliteconstellation,signaltonoiseratio,timeetc(Figure 5).Ifthe

baudrateofu-centerandGPSreceiverarenotsettothesamevalue,the“Communication

Information”iconchangestored.Pleaserefertosection4 forfurtherinformation.



Figure 3: COM-Port and Baudrate successfully detected

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2.4.2.2 Autobauding

u-centersupportautobauding.Iffrequentbreakerrorsaredetected,u-centerwilllowerthebaudrate,incaseof

framingerrors,thebaudrateisincreaseduntilnofurthererrorsaredetected.



Figure 4 Autobauding Button

Some serial cards or adapters frequently generate errors. The u-center autobauding may not

work reliably in this case. If you experience frequent errors, please set the baudrate manually.

IftheGPSreceiverisworkingcorrectly,thedisplaywillshowinformationaboutthesatelliteconstellation,signal

tonoiseratio,timeetc(Figure5)



Figure 5: Start Display after a successful connection

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3 Concept and Philosophy

Understandingthebasicconceptbehindu-centerisimportantinordertogetthehighestbenefitoutofthis

powerfulGPSevaluationsoftware.Figure6depictsthearchitectureofthesoftware.Theprogramgetsadata

streameitherfromaCOMportoralogfileandsplitsthisstreamintoprotocolmessages.Fromthemessages,

relevantparametersareextractedandinsertedintothecurrentdatasetofthedatabase.

Inthecurrentdatasetstatisticalvaluesoftheparametersarecalculated.Average,Minimum,Maximumand

StandardDeviationarecalculatedformostparameters.Ifaprotocoldoesnotprovideaparameter,u-centertries

tocalculatetheparameterfromtheonesthatareavailable.ForExampleifvelocity-northandvelocity-eastare

available,u-centercalculatestheSpeedoverGroundandCourseoverGround,unlessthisdataisalready

availableintheprotocol.

Database

Data

Source

Protocol

Message

Parser

Parameter

Extracter

Calculate

Statistics

Calculate

Parameters

fromother

Parameters TableViews

GraphicalViews

DockingViews

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ConsoleViews

MessageView

Data Stream

Messages

Parameters

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54 2C 2C 4D 2C 30

2E 30 30 30 2C 00

LogFile.ubx



Figure 6: Engine Architecture

Whenanewepoch(changeintime)isdetected,thecurrentdatasetisstoredashistoryinthedatabase.This

historyhasalimitedsize.IftheSizeisexceededu-centerkeepsonlythelatestdatasetsandtheoldestonesare

removed.Thehistorysizemaybeadjusted.Refertosection3.2.5forthedetails

u-centerprovidesvariousviewclassesforobservation.Mostoftheviewstaketheirdatafromthedatabase.But

therearesomeviews,whichgettheirdatadirectlyfromthemessagewithoutusingthedatabaseatall.The

otherviewsareupdatedwhenthedatabasechanges.



 Message ViewDisplaysacopyofeveryknownmessage.Thisviewallowsobservingasinglemessagein

detail.ItmayalsobeusedtosendandconfiguretheGPSreceiver.

 Console ViewsDisplaythemessagesintextform.TheyareparticularlyusefulforuserstodevelopGPS

firmwarecode.Thereisalsoawiderangeofinformationavailable,whichisusefulforevaluationand

testing.

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 Graphical ViewsDisplayparametersfromthedatabaseingraphicalform.Charts,Histogramsandevena

MapOverlaycanbecreated.Therearetwomoreviews(DeviationView,SkyView)thatmaybeusedfor

statisticalperformanceandantennapatternanalysis.

 Tabular ViewsShowtheparametersofthedatabaseintabularform.Theycanbefreelyconfiguredto

allowcustomizedtables.

 Docking WindowsCanbedockedtotheframeofu-center.Ananalogwatch,compass,worldmap,

altitudeandspeedmeterareavailable.Therearealsodockingwindowsshowingthecurrentsignalpower

andtheconstellationofthesatellitesreceivedbytheGPSreceiveraswellasasummaryoftheGPSstatus.



DisplayingvariousViewsandDockingWindowsrequireslotsofcomputingpower.Minimizingorclosing

themmaysignificantlyreducetheCPUusage.

3.1 Color coding scheme

Inthegraphicalviewsandsomeofthedockingwindows,colorsareusedtoindicatethequalityofthedata.

Table 1depictsthecolor-codingschemeparametersforgraphicalviewsdependingonthequalityofthe

navigationsolution.

Color Meaning

+ YellowCurrentvalue

+ Green3Dnavigationsolution

+ Cyan2Dnavigationsolution

+ BlueDegradednavigationsolution(e.g.Deadreckoning)

+ RedNonavigationsolution

Table 1: Color-coding scheme for graphical views

Table2depictsthecolor-codingschemefortheDockingWindowsandSkyView.Itindicatesthestateofeach

satellite.

Color Meaning

GreenSatelliteusedinnavigation

CyanSatellitesignalavailable,availableforuseinnavigation

BlueSatellitesignalavailable,notavailableforuseinnavigation

RedSatellitesignalnotavailable

Table 2: Color-coding scheme for the Docking Windows and Sky View

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3.2 Operating Modes

u-center hasdifferentoperatingmodes.Themodechangeswhenyouopenorclosealogfileorwhenyoumake

anactionintheplayer.Tobeabletousetherecordmodeyouhavetocreateanewfile,savetoanewfileor

openanexistingfile.Therecordandplayermodeareonlyavailableifyouhavecreatedanewfileorwhenyou

haveopenedawrite-ablefile.

Stop

Mode

Recorder

Mode

Player

Mode

Online

Mode

Close/Eject

File

Open/Create

File Stop

Record

Play/Step/Scan

Stop

Save



Figure 7: Relations between operating modes

3.2.1 Online Mode

InthismodeaGPSreceiverisdirectlyconnectedtou-centerviaaserialportwith.u-centercancontroland

configurethereceiver,itwilldisplaythedatathatthereceiverissendingperiodically.

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54 2C 2C 4D 2C 30

2E 30 30 30 2C 4E

2C 30 2E 30 30 30

2C 4B 2C 4E 2A 33

u-center

Database



Figure 8: Dataflow in Online Mode 

3.2.2 Stop Mode

Inthismodenodatafromreceiverorlogfileisforwardedtothedatabaseandviews.u-centerisinthismode

whenalogfileisopenbutplayerandrecorderarenotactive.

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3.2.3 Record Mode

RecordModeisthesamemodeastheOnlineMode.Butu-centeradditionallycreatesalogfileonyourdisk,

contactingallthemessagessentbythereceiver.Youenterthismodebycreatinganewlogfileoropeningan

existinglogfilewithoutwriteprotectionandpressingtherecordbutton.Anexampleofusingthismodewould

betomakeovernightmeasurementsandevaluatethedataatalatertime.u-bloxcustomersupportmayrequest

alogfilefromyouwhenyouareexperiencingaproblemwithoneofourreceivers.

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54 2C 2C 4D 2C 30

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54 2C 2C 4D 2C 30

2E 30 30 30 2C 4E

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u-center

Database

LogFile.ubx



Figure 9: Dataflow in Record Mode

3.2.4 Player Mode

ThePlayerModeallowsreplayingapreviouslyrecordedlogfilestepbystep,inreal-timeoratanaccelerated

rate.Youenterthismodebyopeningafileandpressingtheplay,steporscanbutton.

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54 2C 2C 4D 2C 30

2E 30 30 30 2C 4E

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54 2C 2C 4D 2C 30

2E 30 30 30 2C 4E

2C 30 2E 30 30 30

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u-center

Database

LogFile.ubx



Figure 10: Dataflow in Player Mode

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3.2.5 Database Limitation

Thenumberofepochsdisplayedinu-centerislimitedinordertoallowanefficientanalysisoflargelogfiles.The

limitissetto1800epochsbydefault.Thismeansifanepochisavailableeverysecondyoucananalyzedatafor

upto30minutes.Afterthistimetheoldestvaluesarediscarded.Datastoredtoalogfileisnotaffectedbythe

databaselimitation.Thenumberofepochsdisplayedinu-centercanberesetthroughthemenubarasfollows:



Forlong-termobservations,it’srecommendedtostartrecordingalogfilebeforeanalysisbegins.

If a high value of epochs is selected, the display of data in real-time cannot be guaranteed,

especially when graphical views are open.

3.2.6 Relations between Modes

Theoperatingmodedependsonthestatusofthelogfileplayer.Modesarechangedbyuseractions.Eachmode

hasdifferentstatesthatarechangedbyauseractionorbyanevent(Figure 7).

IntheOnlineandRecordmodes,u-centerdisplaysdatafromthereceiver.InPlayermodedatafromalogfile

isdisplayed.Playermodehasdifferentstates.InPlay statemessagesarereadanddisplayedperiodicallyfromthe

logfile.TheveryintuitiveuserinterfaceisderivedfromthatofaCDplayer.u-centerupdatestheviewsafter

eachmessage.StepstateonlygetsonemessagefromthelogfileandimmediatelyreturnstopausedPlay state.

Scanstatealsoreadsmessagesperiodicallybutthedisplayisonlyupdatedwhenpausedorbychangingthe

state.Positioncanbesetinalogfile.ThisbehavesdifferentlyinthePlayerandStopmodes.InStopmodethe

positionisjustsetandnodataisreadanddisplayed.u-centerwillstartrecordingorplayingfromthatposition

whenchangingthemode.IfpositionissetinPlayermode,u-centerwillloadthedatauptothispositionfrom

thelogfileanddisplaythecontents.

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4 Menu Structure

4.1 Main Frame

TheMainFrameistheprimarydisplayscreenofu-center.Itdisplaysalltoolbarsandsomeoftheinformation

providedbytheGPSreceiver.Inthestatusbar,informationaboutcommunication,UTCtime,OperatingTime,

usedprotocol(NMEAorUBX),usedfile,etc.isshown.

 Button Function:Adescriptionabouteachbuttoninthetoolbarscanbeobtainedbyholdingthemouse

cursoroverthebuttonforafewseconds.AToolTipmessagewillappearneartheIconwithadditional

informationwhileadetaileddescriptionisdisplayedintheStatusDisplay.





MenuBarButtonFunction



MouseCursor



ReceiverToolBar

StandardToolBar

PlayerToolBar

Hot/Warm/Cold



StartToolBar



AssistNowOnline



ToolBar

ViewsToolBar



AssistNowOffline



ToolBar

Configuration



StringToolBar

UTCTime



ProtocolInformation

CommunicationInformation



 

Fileinuse

u-blox5/AntarisMode



OperatingTime



StatusDisplay



 Status Display:displaythecurrentactionorthefunctionofabuttonifthemousecursorisoverthebutton 

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 u-blox 5 / Antaris Mode:u-centerautomaticallydetectsthetypeofGPSreceiverconnectedandactivates

theappropriatemodeofoperationinordertotakeoptimaladvantageofthefeatures.Themodecanalso

bemanuallyselectedthroughthemenubar.

 File in use:Assoonasafileisused(thisfilemustfirstbeopened)thenameofthefilewillbedisplayed

(xxxxxx.ubx)

 Protocol Information:Thisboxindicatesthecurrentmessagesetthatisbeingusedtocommunicatewith

theGPSreceiver.ThiscanbetheNMEA-0183standardortheUBXprotocol.TheUBXprotocolprovides

moreextensiveinformationwiththereceiver.u-centercanhandlebothprotocols.

 Operating Time:Thetimeelapsedsinceyoustartedu-center

 UTC Time:ThecurrenttimesentbytheGPSreceiver

 Communication Information:ShowstheactiveCOMportandbaudrate.

Color-Codingofthisicon:

 Green:dataisbeingreceivedatthecorrectbaudrate

 DarkGreen: thelastdatareceivedwasvalid,butthereisnodatatocollectatthistime.

 Red: dataisbeingreceivedbuterrorsaredetected

 DarkRed:nodataisbeingreceivedbuterrorshavebeendetectedinthepast

 Gray: waitingforfirstdata





Figure 11: u-center and GPS receiver are synchronized (green plug)



Figure 12: u-center and GPS receiver mismatch (red plug)

4.2 Menu Bar

Allu-centerfunctionscanbeaccessedthroughtheMenuBar,alternativelyitmaybeeasiertousetheiconsin

thetoolbars.

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4.3 File Menu and Standard Tool Bar



database



Figure 13: Standard Toolbar



 



Figure 14: File Menu(s) with corresponding toolbar icons

New… u-centercancapturereceiveroutputdataintoalogfile.However,loggingwillonlystart

afterRecordinthePlayerMenuhasbeenselected.Theelapsedloggingtimeisdisplayed

inthefieldoperatingtime.Thelogfileshavea‘ubx'extension.

Save… Opensanewlogfile,savesthedatafromaringbuffertothelogfileandimmediatelystarts

recordingallnewlyreceiveddata.Thisisusefulwhenerrororanunexpectedevent

occurredandnologfilewasrecorded.Thesizeoftheringbuffer(4MB)islargeenough

toretainthedataforthelasthour(approx.).

Open… Opensa storedlogfiletobereplayed.

Close Closesthelogfile.

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Database EmptyAllstoredvaluesaredeleted.

Database ExportStoredu-centerlogfilescanbeconvertedintoHTMLorKMLdataformatsfordisplaywith

GoogleMapandGoogleEarth.

Recent Files Alistofthemostrecentlogfiles.

Exit Terminatesu-center.

4.4 Edit Menu

TheEditMenuisfullyWindows®compliant.

4.5 View Menu and Views Tool Bar

4.5.1 Text Console

TheTextConsoledisplaysthecontentmessagesintextualformsuchasUBX-INForNMEAmessages.



Figure 15: Text Console displaying UBX-INF and NMEA messages

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Figure 16: Text Console displaying only RMC messages

Element Name Description

  LockPreventstheTextConsolefrombeingupdatedwithnewdata

whenlocked.

ClearAllErasesalldataintheTextConsole

FilterOn/OffFilterunwanteddatafromthedatastream.Thisallowssearching

forcertainexpression,e.g.allRMCmessages(Figure16).

Table 3: Description of the buttons of the different Consoles

4.5.1.1 Regular Expression Evaluation

Normally,whenyousearchforasub-stringinastring,thematchshouldbeexact.Soifwesearchforasub-

string"abc"thenthestringbeingsearchedshouldcontaintheseexactlettersinthesamesequenceforamatch

tobefound.Wecanextendthiskindofsearchtoacaseinsensitivesearchwherethesub-string"abc"willfind

stringslike"Abc","ABC"etc.Thatis,thecaseisignoredbutthesequenceofthelettersshouldbeexactlythe

same.Sometimes,acaseinsensitivesearchisalsonotenough.Forexample,ifwewanttosearchfornumeric

digit,thenwebasicallyendupsearchingforeachdigitindependently.Thisiswhereregularexpressionscomein

toourhelp.Regularexpressionsaretextpatternsthatareusedforstringmatching.Regularexpressionsare

stringsthatcontainamixofplaintextandspecialcharacterstoindicatewhatkindofmatchingtodo.Here'sa

verybrieftutorialonusingregularexpressions.

Suppose,wearelookingforanumericdigitthentheregularexpressionwewouldsearchforis"[0-9]".The

bracketsindicatethatthecharacterbeingcomparedshouldmatchanyoneofthecharactersenclosedwithinthe

bracket.Thedash(-)between0and9indicatesthatitisarangefrom0to9.Therefore,thisregularexpression

willmatchanycharacterbetween0and9,thatis,anydigit.Ifwewanttosearchforaspecialcharacterliterally

wemustuseabackslashbeforethespecialcharacter.Forexample,thesinglecharacterregularexpression"\*"

matchesasingleasterisk.Inthetablebelowthespecialcharactersarebrieflydescribed.Aregularexpression

searchiscasesensitive.

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Character Description

^ Beginningofthestring.Theexpression"^A"willmatchan‘A’onlyatthebeginningofthe

string.

Thecaret(^)immediatelyfollowingtheleft-bracket([)hasadifferentmeaning.Itisusedto

excludetheremainingcharacterswithinbracketsfrommatchingthetargetstring.The

expression"[^0-9]"indicatesthatthetargetcharactershouldnotbeadigit.

$ Thedollarsign($)willmatchtheendofthestring.Theexpression"abc$"willmatchthesub-

string"abc"onlyifitisattheendofthestring.

| ThealternationorlogicORcharacter(|)allowseitherexpressiononitssidetomatchthetarget

string.Theexpression"a|b"willmatch‘a’aswellas‘b’.

. Thedot(.)willmatchanycharacter.

* Theasterisk(*)indicatesthatthecharactertotheleftoftheasteriskintheexpressionshould

match0ormoretimes.

+ Theplus(+)issimilartoasteriskbutthereshouldbeatleastonematchofthecharactertothe

leftofthe+signintheexpression.

? Thequestionmark(?)matchesthecharactertoitsleft0or1times.

() Theparenthesisaffectstheorderofpatternevaluation.

[] Brackets([and])enclosingasetofcharactersindicatesthatanyoftheenclosedcharactersmay

matchthetargetcharacter.

4.5.1.2 Example

Let’sassumethatthefollowinglineswouldappearintheNMEAconsolewithoutfiltering.

14:00:03 $GPGGA,140003.242,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,1,06,1.3,543.0,M,,,,0000*09

14:00:03 $GPGLL,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,140003.242,A*34

14:00:03 $GPGSA,A,3,06,17,25,22,30,10,,,,,,,2.9,1.3,2.6*3A

14:00:03 $GPGSV,2,1,07,06,58,062,44,17,52,161,44,25,45,239,44,22,35,301,44*7F

14:00:03 $GPGSV,2,2,07,30,31,123,44,10,17,059,39,01,05,316,*4E

14:00:03 $GPRMC,140003.242,A,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,0.03,80.59,010201,,*36

14:00:03 $GPVTG,80.59,T,,M,0.03,N,0.1,K*56

14:00:04 $GPGGA,140004.242,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,1,06,1.3,542.0,M,,,,0000*0F

14:00:04 $GPGLL,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,140004.242,A*33

14:00:04 $GPGSA,A,3,06,17,25,22,30,10,,,,,,,2.9,1.3,2.6*3A

14:00:04 $GPGSV,2,1,07,06,58,062,45,17,52,161,44,25,45,239,44,22,35,301,44*7E

14:00:04 $GPGSV,2,2,07,30,31,123,44,10,17,059,39,01,05,316,*4E

14:00:04 $GPRMC,140004.242,A,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,0.02,152.96,010201,,*0D

14:00:04 $GPVTG,152.96,T,,M,0.02,N,0.0,K*6B

Inthefollowingexamplesthecharactersmarkedredmatchtheregularexpression.



Example 1:SearchingfortheRMCwithavalidpositionandallGGAMessages

“GP(GGA|RMC,.*,A,)”

14:00:03 $GPGGA,140003.242,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,1,06,1.3,543.0,M,,,,0000*09

14:00:03 $GPRMC,140003.242,A,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,0.03,80.59,010201,,*36

14:00:04 $GPGGA,140004.242,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,1,06,1.3,542.0,M,,,,0000*0F

14:00:04 $GPRMC,140004.242,A,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,0.02,152.96,010201,,*0D



Example 2: SearchingforallGSVwiththemessageindexof‘2’or‘3’

“GSV,.*,[2-3],”

14:00:03 $GPGSV,2,2,07,30,31,123,44,10,17,059,39,01,05,316,*4E

14:00:04 $GPGSV,2,2,07,30,31,123,44,10,17,059,39,01,05,316,*4E

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Example 3: Searchingforallmessagesstartingwith$GP,whichhavea‘G’inthemessageidentifierbutnot

atthefirstposition

“^\$GP.+G.*,”

14:00:03 $GPGGA,140003.242,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,1,06,1.3,543.0,M,,,,0000*09

14:00:03 $GPVTG,80.59,T,,M,0.03,N,0.1,K*56

14:00:04 $GPGGA,140004.242,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,1,06,1.3,542.0,M,,,,0000*0F

14:00:04 $GPVTG,152.96,T,,M,0.02,N,0.0,K*6B

Example 4: Searchingforallmessagehavingachecksumofwhichthehighernibbleis3

“\*3.$”

14:00:03 $GPGLL,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,140003.242,A*34

14:00:03 $GPGSA,A,3,06,17,25,22,30,10,,,,,,,2.9,1.3,2.6*3A

14:00:03 $GPRMC,140003.242,A,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,0.03,80.59,010201,,*36

14:00:04 $GPGLL,4717.1126,N,00833.7862,E,140004.242,A*33

14:00:04 $GPGSA,A,3,06,17,25,22,30,10,,,,,,,2.9,1.3,2.6*3A

4.5.2 Packet Console

ThePacketConsolelistsallincomingmessagesandprovidesinformationaboutmessagelengthandtype.



Figure 17: Packet Console

RefertoSection4.5.1foranexplanationoftheiconsandtextfields.

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4.5.3 Binary Console

TheBinaryConsolelistsallincomingmessagesinbinaryandASCIIformat.



Figure 18: Binary Console

Refertosection4.5.1foranexplanationoftheiconsandtextfields.

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4.5.4 Message View

TheMessageViewisutilizedtocommunicatewiththeGPSreceiver.Receiveroutputmessages(e.g.navigation

output,statusanddebuginformation)aredisplayed;inputmessages(e.g.configurationmessages)canbesent.

TherearedifferentsectionsforNMEAandUBXprotocol.



Figure 19: Message View

Hex Dump

Displaysthemes-

sagecontentin

hexadecimaland

ASCIIform.



Message Display

Displaysthemes-

sagecontent.

Message Tree

AlistofallNMEA

andUBXmessage

Element Name Description

  LockPreventstheMessageViewfrombeingupdatedwithnewdata

whenlocked.

ClearAllErasestheentireMessageView.

SendSendsthecurrentmessagetotheGPSreceiver.

PollPollstheselectedmessageonce.

AutopollAutomaticallypollsanewlyselectedmessageonce

MessageHotkeyAssignsahotkeytotheselectedmessage

Table 4: Description of the buttons in the Message View

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4.5.4.1 Receiver Output Messages



Blackmessages

haverecentlybeen

updated;grey

messageshavenot

beenupdated.

Message Tree

Selected Message

Blueshadedifmes-

sagehasbeen

receivedfromthe

GPSrecently

otherwisegrey.

Last Update

Timeinseconds

sincelastupdate.

Message Content

Hex Dump

Figure 20: Message Display of an output message

Double-clickingonanoutputmessageenablesordisablestheperiodicmessageupdateifthe

communicationprotocolisactive.ThisfeatureiscurrentlyonlysupportedfortheUBXprotocol.

4.5.4.2 Receiver Input Messages

InputmessagescanbeeditedandsenttotheGPSreceiverfromtheMessageView.Itisalsopossibletopollthe

currentreceiversettings.



Last Update

Timeinseconds

sincelastupdate

(sendingorpolling)

Hex Dump

Message Content

Blueshadedifmes-

sagehasbeen

receivedfromthe

GPSrecently

otherwisegrey.

Selected Message

Figure 21: Message Display of an input message

u-centerperformssomerangechecksoninputmessages.Ifaninputvalueexceedsthepermittedrange,

u-centerwillhighlightthefieldinredbutitisstillpossibletosendthevaluetothereceiver.However,the

receiverislikelytorejectsuchamessage.

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4.5.5 Statistic View

AllavailableGPSvalues(transmittedfromtheGPSreceiverorcalculatedbyu-center)aredisplayed.The

followingstatisticsaredisplayed:

 CurrentValue

 MinimumValue

 MaximumValue

 AverageValue

 StandardDeviation



Greycolor:thevaluewasnotsetforthecurrentepoch

field:dataisnotavailable



Figure 22: Statistic View

ChoosingDatabaseEmpty intheFileMenuorpressingtheButton deletestheStatisticView.

ThecontentoftheStatisticViewcaneasilybeexportedtootherprogramsusingCopy/Paste.

4.5.6 Table View

Allvaluesfromthedatabasecanbedisplayedinatabularform(Figure23).Thisisveryusefulwhenanalysing

logfileindetail.



Figure 23: Table View

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Toaddanewcolumn,firstselectthedesiredvalue(Figure 24)andclickthe+Button.Toremoveadisplayed

value,clickthe–Button.ToseetheTableheaderclicktheButton.



field:dataisnotavailable



Greycolor:thevaluewasnotsetforthecurrentepoch

Figure 24: Selecting a new value

Thenumberofdisplayedepochsissetto1800bydefault(seealsosection 3.2.5 DatabaseLimitation).

ChoosingDatabaseEmptyintheFileMenuorpressingtheButton deletestheTableView.

ThecontentoftheStatisticViewcaneasilybeexportedtootherprogramsusingCopy/Paste.



WiththefunctionRecent Table View oneof thelast8usedtablescanbeselected(Figure25)anddisplayed.



Figure 25: Recently used tables

4.5.7 Chart View

ChartViewallowstheusertoconvenientlyviewGPS-Datarecordsingraphicalform.Thedatacanbescaledin

manydifferentwaysandformats.It’sevenpossibletoprinttheentirechart.

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Theexamplesbelowillustrate3differenttypicalapplications



Figure 26: Altitude as a function of Index (X = Index, Y = Alt)



Figure 27: Index as a function of Altitude (X = Altitude, Y = Index)



Figure 28: Latitude as a function of Longitude (X =Longitude, Y = Latitude)

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Element Name Description



CursorThecursorpositionisshowninthelowerleftedgeoftheu-

centerwindows.Clicktherightbuttonmouseandholdthe

buttondowntomeasuredifferences.



MoveThechartismovedinsidetheChartViewWindow.Clickand

Drag/DroptheChart.



ZoomInDrawingarectangleenlargesthecharttothenewview.Tozoom

intheChart2xclickonthechart



ZoomOutDrawingarectangledecreasesthecharttothenewview.To

zoomouttheChart2xclickonthechart



DrawingModeThesizeandformofthedisplayedvaluescanbechangedinthe

menupoints;theconnectionlinebetweenthevaluescanbe

selectedinthemenuConnect.Forviewingthestaticallyvalues

(average,minimum,maximum,standarddeviation)directlyinthe

chartselecttheStatisticsMenu



FitYFittheYRange



FollowYFollowthemostcurrentY-Value(themostcurrentY-valueis

alwaysinthemiddleofthechart)



IndexorYValueSwitchbetweentheIndexandtheYValue



YValueSelecttheYValuetobedisplayed



FitXFittheXRange



FollowXFollowthemostcurrentX-Value(themostcurrentX-Valueis

alwaysinthemiddleofthechart)



IndexorXValueSwitchbetweentheIndexandtheXValue



XValueSelecttheXValuetobedisplayed

MovingAverageAddsamovingaverage.Theaverageiscalculatedoverthe

numberofmostrecentvalues,specifiedwiththeparameter.

Table 5: Description of the buttons and displays in Chart View

Thenumberofdisplayedepochsissetto1800bydefault(seealsosection 3.2.5).

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4.5.8 Histogram View

HistogramViewsallowtheusertoviewGPS-Dataandprobabilitydistributions(Figure29)andprinttheentire

histogramifdesired.Thenumberofbins(storagecontainers)canbesetbytheuser.



Figure 29: Altitude Histogram View



Figure 30: Probability Chart

Thenumberofdisplayedepochsissetto1800bydefault(seealsosection 3.2.5).

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Element Name Description



CursorThecursorpositionisshowninthelowerleftedgeoftheu-

centerwindows.Clicktherightbuttonmouseandholdthe

buttondowntomeasuredifferences.



MoveTheHistogramismovedinsidetheHistogramViewWindow.

ClickandDrag/DroptheHistogram.



ZoomInDrawingarectangleenlargestheHistogramtothenewview.To

zoomintheHistogram2xclickontheHistogram



ZoomOutDrawingarectangledecreasestheHistogramtothenewview.

TozoomouttheHistogram2xclickontheHistogram



DrawingModeThesizeandformofthedisplayedvaluescanbechangedinthe

menuPoints.Theconnectionlinebetweenthevaluescanbe

selectedinthemenuConnect.Forviewingthestaticallyvalues

(average,minimum,maximum,standarddeviation)directlyinthe

HistogramselecttheStatisticsMenu

ProbabilityDisplaytheprobabilityHistogram(Figure30)



FitProbabilityFittheProbabilityRange



FitXFittheXRange



YValueSelecttheYValuetobedisplayed



BinsThenumberofBins

Table 6: Description of the buttons and displays in Histogram View

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4.5.9 Camera View

TheCameraViewfunctionenablesphotographs,takenduringrecordingoflogfiles,tobelinkedtotheGPS

datastoredinthecorrespondinglogfiles.Thisallowsavideodepictionofthetest,withapictureassignedtoa

specificpointofGPSdata.



Figure 31: Camera View



UsingCameraViewcanresultinverylargelogfilesandcanslowdownu-centerwhenplayingsuchfiles.



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4.5.10 Deviation Map

TheDeviationMapdisplayspositionsinlongitudeandlatituderelativetoadefinedreferenceposition.



Figure 32: Deviation Map

Element Name Description



PropertiesTheReferencePositioncanbedefinedas:

Theaverageofallpreviouslymeasuredpositions

Thecurrentposition

Afixed,predefinedvalue

TheradiusoftheoutercirclecanbeadjustedwiththeMax.

Deviationparameter.

FitAutomaticallyadjuststheReferencePositionandtheMax.

DeviationtofitallpositionsintotheDeviationMap.

Track

Statistics

Table 7: Description of the buttons and displays in Deviation Map

Thenumberofdisplayedepochsissetto1800bydefault(Section 3.2.5).

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4.5.11 Map View

u-centercandisplaypositionsonpre-calibratedmaps(Figure33).Thisallowsabasicanalysisofroadtests.



Figure 33: Displaying a position

4.5.11.1 Using Map View

Youcanaccesstheviewspecificcommandsintwodifferentways:

 UsingthecommandintheToolBarbelowtheMapView.

 HoldingthecursorinsidetheMapViewandpressingtherightmousebuttonwill.Thiswillopenacontext

menu:



Zoom Factor  Adjust Colors



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Element Name Description



CursorThepositionofthecursorisshownonthelowerleftedgeofthe

u-centerscreen(Longitude,LatitudeandPixel-Position).By

holdingtheleftmousebuttonandmovingthecursoroverthe

mapyoucanmeasuredistancefromonepositiontoanother



MoveThemapinsidetheMapViewWindowcanbemoved



ZoomInThemapisenlargedbyselectingarectangle



ZoomOutThesizeoftheMapisdecreased

ZoomFactorDifferentspecificzoomlevelcanbeselected



DrawingModeThesizeandformofthedisplayedpositioncanbechanged;the

connectionlinebetweenthepointscanbeselectedinthemenu

Connect.Toseestaticallyvalues(average,minimum,maximum,

standarddeviation)directlyinthemap,selecttheMenuStatistic.



FitMapThemapsizeisadjustedtofittheMapWindow



FollowCenterthemaponthecurrentGPSposition

MarkersAddorremovethedefinedmarkers(seealso4.5.11.3 Map

Calibration)

OpenMap Loadaneworoneof8recentlyusedmaps.



SaveMapViewThecurrentdisplaycanbestoredindifferentformats



AdjustColorsBrightness,contrastandcolorsaturationofmapcanbeadjusted

bymovingtheglides

Table 8: Description of the buttons and displays in Map View

MapViewscanbecopiedtotheclipboardusingthe‘PrintScreen’function.

ChoosingDatabaseEmpty intheFileMenuorpressingtheButton  deletesallrecentlydisplayed

positionsandroutes.

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4.5.11.2 Application example: Reviewing a road test

 Openau-centerlogfile(refertoSection4.3).

 InthePlayer MenuorplayerToolBar selectthemenuPlayor

clickthebutton.DeactivateinthePlayer MenuPauseorclickthebutton.

 Now,thestoredpositionsaredisplayed(Figure34).



Figure 34: Logfile from a road test

4.5.11.3 Map Calibration

Tocreateyourownmapyouwillneedadigitizedmaporpictureswithorthogonalprojectioninoneofthe

followingpixelgraphicsformats.

 pngPortableNetworkGraphics,

 bmpWindowsBitmap

 dibDeviceIndependentBitmap

 gif GraphicsInterchangeFormat

 jpg/jpegJpegFileInterchangeFormat

 pcx PCpaintbrush

 tif TagImageFileFormat

Ifyourmapisnotinoneoftheaboveformats,youcansimplyconvertitinoneofthesupportedformatsbya

thirdpartyprogram.u-bloxprovidestwosamplemaps.Office.pngisasmallmapofthesurroundingsoftheu-

bloxheadquarters.World.pngisamapofthewholeworldbutwithlimitedresolution.

Touseamapinu-center,threecalibrationpointsareneeded.Forthesepointsyouhavetoknowthepixel

coordinatesandtheaccordingWGS84coordinatesinthelatitude/longitudeformatindegrees(longitude:-180.0

to180.0,latitude:-90.0to90.0).Thesepointsarestoredinthemapcalibrationfile.Thecalibrationfilemustbe

storedatthesamelocationasthebitmapitself.Ithasthesamenamebutadifferentextension(*.mcf).The

Formatofthecalibrationfileisverysimpleandcanbeeditedinasimpleeditorlikenotepad.

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Examples:

Asanexamplewewillhaveacloserlookattheprovidedmap'world.png'anditscalibrationfile'world.mcf'.



Y/X



 

Digital Map File: world.png

TheMaphas1765Pixels(0to1764)inthehorizontaland1046Pixels(0to1045)intheverticaldirection.The

originistheupperleftcorner.Tocalibratethismapwewillusethefollowingthreecalibrationpoints(#1to#3).





Pixel WGS84 Coordinate

ReferencePoint #XYLongitude



Latitude

UpperLeftCorner100-180.090.0

LowerRightCorner217641045180.0-90.0

UpperRightCorner317640180.090.0



TodeterminetheexactpixelpositionyoucanuseMicrosoftPaint(mspaint.exe)oranyotherpixel-editing

program.

ThecalibrationfileisaplainASCIItextfile.Thefilemaycontaincomments.Thefileconsistsoftwosections,

whichstartwithkeywordsencapsulatedinbraces.

TheREFERENCEsection,whichismandatory,containsthethreepointsusedtocalibrateamap.Eachreference

pointisonasinglelineandhasthefollowingsyntax:

“# = <x>, <y>, <lon>, <lat>”

where#istheindexofthereferencepoint<x>isthehorizontaland<y>istheverticalimagecoordinateand

<lat>istheLatitudeand<lon>istheLongitudeindegreesandWGS84.

TheMARKERsection,whichisoptional,definesadditionalpointsonthemap.Eachpointisonasinglelinewith

thesyntax:

“# = i, <x>, <y>[, <text>]” or “# = c, <lat>, <lon>[, <text>]”

where#istheindexofthemarkerpoint<x>isthehorizontaland<y>istheverticalimagecoordinateor<lat>

istheLatitudeand<lon>istheLongitudeindegreesandWGS84.<text>isaoptionalstringinquoteslabeling

themarkerpoint.Thepointsmusthaveauniqueindexfrom1to<num>.Themaximummarkerpointindex

<num>iswrittentothesamesectiononaseparatelinewiththesyntax“Count=<num>”.

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; I N F O

; ------------------------------------------------------------

; File: world.mcf

; Source: (sample data set)

; R E F E R E N C E

; ------------------------------------------------------------

; 3 Points must be defined to calibrate a Map

; Parameters:

; # = index of the point (1 to 3)

; x,y = image coordinates

; lat,lon = world coordinates

; Syntax:

; # = <x>, <y>, <lon>, <lat>

[REFERENCE]

1 = 0, 0, -180.0, 90.0

2 = 1764, 1045, 180.0, -90.0

3 = 1764, 0, 180.0, 90.0

; M A R K E R

; ------------------------------------------------------------

; You can add points (image or world coord) to the map

; Parameters:

; num = number of markers that follow

; # = index of the point (1 to num)

; type = c for world or i image coordinates

; x,y = image coordinates

; lat,lon = world coordinates

; text = quoted text decription to the marker (optional)

; Syntax:

; Count = <num>

; # = <type>, <x|lon>, <y|lat>[, <text>]

[MARKER]

Count = 1

1 = c, 8.56525, 47.28519444, "u-blox ag"

Map Calibration File: world.mcf

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4.5.11.4 Map Calibration Tool

u-centerincludesabuilt-incalibrationtoolforprovidingcoordinatestomapsandphotographsinsupporteddata

formatstocreateu-centermaps.TousethetoolopentheMapViewwindowasseeninFigure35andthenas

seeninFigure36openthefileofthemaptobecalibrated(inourexampleGoogleScreenShot.bmp).



Figure 35: Opening Map View Window



Figure 36: Opening the file of the map to be calibrated

Ifthefiletobeopenedhasnotbeencalibrated,thefollowingmessagewillappear:



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SelectthreepointsonthemapandenterthecalibrationcoordinatesinthespecifiedformatasseeninFigure37,

Figure38andFigure39.



Figure 37: Calibrating a Map Using Calibration Tool (position 1)



Figure 38: Calibrating a Map Using Calibration Tool (position 2)

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Figure 39: Calibrating a Map Using Calibration Tool (position 3)

Followingthesestepsthemapisnowcalibratedandcanbeusedwithu-centerforvisualizingroadtestsetc.

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4.5.12 Sky View

SkyViewisanexcellenttoolforanalyzingtheperformanceofantennasaswellastheconditionsofthesatellite

observationenvironment.Thepolarplotgraphicallydisplaystheaveragedrelativesatellitesignalstrength(Figure

40),thepositionofsatellitesinthesky,identifiessatellitesbynumberandindicateswhichsatellitesarebeing

usedinthereceivercalculation(seeSection3.1).Right-clickingthemouseonSkyViewallowsthecopyingof

C/Novaluesintabularformtoanotherprogram.



Figure 40: Sky View

Element Name Description

LinearSelectsalinearprojectionoftheSkyView

SineSelectsasinusoidalProjectionoftheSkyView

C/NoDisplaystheaveragedC/Novalues

OrbitsDisplaystheorbitsofthesatellites

SVsDisplaysthecurrentpositionofthesatellites

Coord.Addsacaptionfortheazimuth

ElevationAddsacaptionfortheelevation

Table 9: Description of the toolbar in Sky View

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4.6 Receiver Menu and Receiver Toolbar



Figure 41: Receiver Menu with corresponding icons from Receiver Toolbar

InordertocommunicatewithaGPSreceiver,u-centermusthavethecorrectCOMportsettings.Pleasereferto

Section 2.4foradescriptionofthesettings.

OnlytheCOMPorts,thatareavailableonyourcomputer,willshowupintheCOMPortdropdownlist.If

aCOMPortisgrayedout,anotherapplicationonthecomputerisusingit.

4.7 Action Toolbar and Menu





TheActiontoolbarandmenuareusedtocommandthereceivertoperformaCold-,Warm-orHotstarts,orto

implementtheAssistNowOnlineAiding(A-GPS)function.MoreinformationaboutAssistNowOnlineisavailable

fromourwebsiteat:http://www.u-blox.com/services/assistnow_online.html.Inordertotakeadvantageof

AssistNowOnline,customersmustregisterwithu-blox.Pleasecontactyournearestu-bloxsalesofficetoget

accessdetails.

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4.8 AssistNow Offline Toolbar and Menu



 



TheAssistNowOfflineToolbarandmenuisusedtodownloadAlmanacPlusaidingdataforA-GPS.AlmanacPlus

datafilesareavailableinvarioussizestoprovideaidingforperiodsof1to14days.Moreinformationabout

AssistNowOfflineisavailablefromourwebsiteat:http://www.u-blox.com/services/assistnow_offline.html.

4.9 Player Menu and Player Toolbar



Goto Position

TheprimaryfunctionofthePlayeristodisplaypreviouslyrecordedGPSdatafromafile.RefertoSection4.3fora

descriptiononhowtocreateoropenalogfile.Usingtheplayercontrols,youcanstepthroughorplayall

messagesfromthelogfile.Theseriesofbuttonsintheplayertoolbarcanbeusedtonavigatethroughthelog

file.Therecordswillbedisplayedonthenavigationdisplaywindow,inthesamewaythatliveGPSdatais

displayedwhenusingu-center.Thecurrentfilethatisbeingdisplayedisshowninthebox“Fileinuse”.

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Element Name Description

EjectClosetheactivelogfile

StopStopsdisplayingorrecordingtotheactivelogfile

PausePausesdisplayingorrecordingtoalogfile

RecordStartsrecordingtothepreviouslycreatedlogfile.Pleasenotethisfunctionisonly

availableifalogfilehasbeenopenedbefore.

StepSinglestepfunction,thenextmessageisread

PlayStartstodisplayalogfile.Youcanselectthespeedoftheaction.Aftereach

messagethedisplayisupdatedasrequired

ScanReadstheentirelogfileintothedatabaseandupdatesthedisplayattheendof

thescanperiod

GotoBeginSetthereadpathtothebeginofthelogfile

GotoEndGototheendofthelogfile

GotoPositionThissliderbarisusedtoshuttlebackandforththroughthehistorylog.Pulling

theslidertotherightwillfast-forwardtheplayback,andpullingittotheleftwill

rewindtheplayback

Table 10: Description of the buttons and the slider in the Player Toolbar

4.10 View Menu: Docking Windows

TheDockingWindowsaregraphicdisplays,whichprovidereal-timeinformationabouttheGPSreceiver.These

arethemostcommonlyusedwindowsforu-centerusers.Eightdifferentpanescanbedisplayed:receiverstatus,

satelliteandsignalstrengthinformation,positiononaworldmapand4analogdials.Thewindowscanbe

resized,closedormovedanywhereonthescreen.RefertoSection3.1foranexplanationaboutthecolorcodes.

Toopenthesewindows,selectDocking WindowsfromtheView menu,orsimplyclickontheiconsonthe

Viewtoolbar.



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Satellite Position

Displaystheposition



ofsatellitesinthe

sky

Satellite Level

DisplaysElevation,

AzimuthandC/NO

(dBHz)forSVs

World Position

Displaysthecurrent

Positiononaworld

map

Watch

Displaysthedate

andthecurrent

UTC-Time

Altitude Meter

Displaysthecurrent

altitude

Compass

Displaysthecurrent

courseoverground

Speed Meter

Displaysthecurrent

speed

Receiver Status

Displaysasummary

ofthereceiver

status.



Figure 42: Docking Windows

4.11 Tools Menu

4.11.1 Firmware Update (u-blox 5)

ThereceiverfirmwarecanbeupdatedwiththefirmwareupdatefunctionintheToolsMenu.

 Establishtheserialcommunicationbetweenu-centerandtheGPSreceiver(seealsosection2.4).

 StarttheFirmwareupdatetoolunderu-centermenu"Tools"andthen"Firmwareupdateu-blox5”.

 SelectthepathoftheFirmwareimageandFlashdefinitionfile(seeFigure43)

 Selecttheupdatemode"ROM3overUSB"ifyou'reusingtheUSBportor"EnterSafebootbeforeupdate"

withUSART.

 Selectthedownloadbaudrate.etc.

 Select"ErasewholeFlash"onlyifyouwanttodeleteallstoredconfigurationandfactorysettings.



Figure 43: u-blox 5 Firmware update window

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4.11.2 Firmware Update (ANTARIS 4)

ThereceiverfirmwarecanbeupdatedwiththefirmwareupdatefunctionintheToolsMenu.

 Establishtheserialcommunicationbetweenu-centerandtheGPSreceiver(seealsosection 2.4).

 StarttheFirmwareUpdateTool

 Selectthepathofthe‘prodstub’(ATR0620l.exe)andthefirmwareimage.

 Selectthe‘ProductionMode’.ANTARIS®basedGPSreceiverscanbeputintobootmodebysendingaUBX

protocolcommand.IftheGPSreceiverconnectedtou-centerisconfiguredforUBXprotocolinput,choose

the‘useserialport’option.Otherwise,select‘usebootmodepin’andputthereceivermanuallyintoboot

mode.

 ChecktheCOMport(u-centerautomaticallyinitializestheCOMportwiththeu-centerCOMport).

 Selectthedownloadbaudrate.Thisisthebaudrateusedduringthefirmwaredownload.Thedefaultvalueis

115200baud.Thelowerthisbaudrate,thelongerafirmwareupdatetakes.

 If‘ProductionMode’issetto‘serialportwithUBXprotocol’,checktheUBXprotocolbaudrate(u-center

automaticallyinitializesitwiththeu-centerbaudrate.).TheUBXprotocolbaudrateisonlyusedtoenterthe

downloadprocess.

 Initiatethedownloadbypressingthe‘Update’button.TheGPSreceiverwillberesetautomaticallyafterthe

download.



Figure 44: ANTARIS Firmware update window

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4.11.3 Dump Receiver Diagnostics



4.11.4 GPS Configuration

u-centeriscapableofgettingtheactualconfigurationofau-bloxGPSreceiverandstoringittoanASCIItextfile

containinghexadecimalrecords.Suchafilecanbeeditedandstoredtoanu-bloxGPSreceiveragain.Byclicking

themenu“Tools->GPS Configuration…”ofu-center,theGPSConfigurationdialogopens.Thefollowing

functionsareavailable:



Figure 45: Screenshot, u-center GPS configuration

 Specifythenameofanewconfigurationfiletostorecurrentconfigurationfromtheu-bloxGPSreceiver

 Specifythenameofanexistingconfigurationfileandloadthisconfigurationintotheu-bloxGPSreceiver

 AflagcanbesettoforcestoringtheconfigurationintotheBatteryBackedRAM(BBR)orFlashEPROM.

Ifreadingorwritingconfigurationdatafailstoofrequently,trytoincreasethenumberofretriesu-centershould

doonasinglemessageifonefails.

Sendingaconfigurationtoau-bloxGPSreceivermayfailduetoabaudratechangeonthecurrentserial

portofthereceiverwheresendingthisconfigurationto.Ifthishappens,simplychangetheu-centerbaud

rateandsendtheconfigurationagain.

Awindowshowstheprogressofdatatransferto/fromu-bloxGPSreceivers.Clicking“GPS>>File”closesthis

dialogboxandopenstheprogresswindowshowingconfigurationsbeingpolledandstoredintoalocalfile.

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Clicking“File>>GPS”opensthesameprogresswindowshowingtheconfigurationsthataresenttothe

receiver.Thisprogresswindowclosesafterhavingfinishedtransferwithoutanyerror.

Theusercanabortthetransferbyclickingthe“Abort”button.It’snotpossibletoclosethewindowunless

transferhascompletedortheuserabortedit.

Itisnotrecommendedtoread/writeconfigurationwhiletheGPSreceiverisinsleepmode.



Figure 46: Content Configuration File

Whenclickingthe“Edit”buttonintheGPSConfigurationdialog,theNotepadeditoropens(standardWindows

software).Configurationsarestoredthefollowingway:

 1stline:itcontainstheversionoftheANTARIS®basedGPSreceiverwheretheconfigurationisfrom.Never

change this line!

 Forthe2ndlineandfollowingeachlinecontainsthesame:<classID>-<messageID>-<hexadecimalbyte

codeofthemessage>.ThebytecodeconsistsofclassandmessageIDs(2bytes),payloadlength(2bytes),

payload(payloadlengthbytes).Thesynccharactersandthechecksumarenotincluded.Theywillbe

calculatedautomatically.

PleaserefertoANTARIS® Protocol Specification [8] fordetailedinformationandranges.

4.11.5 Hotkeys

TheToolsMenuallowsadministratingtheHotkeysdefinedintheMessageView.PleaserefertoSection4.5.4for

moreinformationontheHotkeys.

4.11.6 Preferences

ThePreferencestoolcanbeusedtoconfigureanumberofu-centerparameters.

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4.12 Windows Menu

TheWindowsMenuisWindows®compliant.

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5 How To

5.1 Change Parameters (Baudrate)

 Connecttoreceiver.

 OpenMessageView.

 SelectUBX–CFG-PRT

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5.2 Save Parameters to receiver non-volatile memory (BBR/Flash)

Thereare2waystosaveparameterstothereceiver’snon-volatilememory(BBR/Flash).

5.2.1 Saving Parameters with UBX-CFG-CFG

 Connecttoreceiver.

 OpenMessageView.

 SelectUBX-CFG-CFGwindow.

 Select“savecurrentconfiguration”(seeFigure47).



Figure 47: Saving Parameters (UBX-CFG-CFG)

5.2.2 Saving Parameters with GPS Configuration

 Connecttoreceiver.

 OpenTools/GPSConfiguration.

 Select“storeconfigurationintoBBR/Flash”checkbox(seeFigure48).

Thisonlyapplieswhensendingconfigurationfilestothereceiver.

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



Figure 48: Saving Parameters (GPS Configuration)

5.3 Recording/Playing a Log File

u-centerallowsrecordingandplayinglogfiles.Usetheplayercontrols,torecordorplaybackalogfile.Selectthe

logfiletobeopenedthroughtheFileMenutoolbar.Theseriesofbuttonsintheplayertoolbarcanbeusedto

navigatethroughthelogfile.Therecordswillbedisplayedonthenavigationdisplaywindow,inthesameway

thatliveGPSdataisdisplayedwhenusingu-center.





Figure 49: u-center player toolbar

NewlogfilescanalsobecreatedthroughthemenubarbyselectingFile/New.Figure50showsanexampleofa

logfile.

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Figure 50: Example of a Log File

5.4 Conduct Sensitivity Tests

u-centerisausefultoolforconductingsensitivitytestsofGPSreceiversandreceiverdesigns.Todosorecorda

logfileunderopenskyconditionsofthereceivertobetestedandanEvaluationKitasreference.Makesurethat

thelogfilesarerecordedunderthesameconditions.UsingtheStatisticVieworTableViewwindowsfrom

u-center,comparetheC/N0valuesofthefivestrongestsatellites.WhenusingTableview,exportthevaluestoa

spreadsheetforanalysis.

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5.5 Read/Write Configuration Files

 Connecttoreceiver.

 OpenTools/GPSConfiguration.

 selectthenameoftheconfigurationfiletobereadorwritten.

 Select“File>>GPS”buttontoreador“GPS>>File”towriteconfigurationfiles.







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6 Troubleshooting

NMEA or UBX protocol is not available in the Message View

u-centerusesdynamiclinklibraries(DLL).TheinstallationprogramwillautomaticallyinstalltherequiredDLL’s

intotheu-centerprogramdirectory.Shouldyoutrytocopyau-centerinstallationfromonelocationtoanother,

makesureyoualsocopytheDLLfiles.Verify,theversionofu-centermatchestheDLLversion.

u-center doesn’t display all messages

Makesurethebaudrateissufficient.Ifthebandwidthisinsufficient,GPSreceiversbasedontheANTARIS™GPS

Technologywillskipexcessivemessages.

Some serialportcards/adapters(i.e.USBtoRS232converter)frequentlygenerateerrors.Ifacommunication

erroroccursduringwhileu-centerreceivesamessage,themessagewillbediscarded.

u-center loses the connection to the GPS receiver

u-centeru-bloxGPSreceivershaveanautobaudingfeature.Iffrequentcommunicationerrorsoccur(i.e.dueto

problemswiththeserialport),theconnectionmaybelostasu-centerandtheGPSreceiverwillautonomously

trytoadjustthebaudrate.Donotenabletheu-centerautobaudingfeatureiftheGPSreceiverhasthe

autobaudingenabled.

Some COM port are not shown in the port list

OnlytheCOMPorts,thatareavailableonyourcomputer,willshowupintheCOMPortdropdownlist.Ifa

COMPortisgrayedout,anotherapplicationinthecomputerisusingit.

PC is very slow when u-center runs

Ifahighvalueofepochsisselected,thedisplayinreal-timecannotbeguaranteed,especiallywhenmany

graphicalViewsareopen.u-centerdoesnotupdateminimizedViewsandConsoleinreal-time.Closeor

minimizeasmanyofthegraphicalViewsandConsolesaspossibleandu-centerwillrunfaster.

Logfile / Data are only partly displayed

Thenumberofepochsdisplayedinu-centerislimitedinordertoallowanefficientanalysisoflargerlogfiles.The

limitationissetto1800epochsbydefault.Thatmeansifanepochisavailableeverysecondyoucananalyze

dataforasmuchas30minutes.Afterthistimetheoldestvaluesarediscarded.Datastoredtoalogfilearenot

affectedbythedatabaselimitation.Pleaserefertosection3.2.5DatabaseLimitationforinstructionsonhowto

increasethislimit.

Whenplanninglong-termobservations,it’srecommendedtostartrecordingalogfilebeforeanalysisbegins.

Output messages are not updated in the Message View

Makesure,theprotocolyou’dliketoreceiveisenabled.Ifso,double-clickonthedesiredoutputmessage.

Double-clickingonanoutputmessageenablesordisablestheperiodicmessageupdateiftherespectiveprotocol

isactive.Alternatively,selectthedesiredinputoroutputmessageandpressthe‘Poll’button.

IfyouwouldliketogetUBX-INF()messagesinthelogfile,configurethereceiveraccordinglywiththeUBX-CFG-

INFinputmessage.

No logfile is recorded

Afteranewlogfileiscreated,loggingwillnotautomaticallystartbutonlyafterselectingtheRecordbuttonin

thePlayerToolbar.



u-center-User’sGuide

U Center User Guide(GPS SW 08007)

u-Center_User_Guide(GPS-SW-08007)

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