plm iii technical manual

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PLM III Technical Manual Doc. # 29001101 06/11/07

Position Logging Module III

Technical Manual

Document No. 29001101


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Overview

The Position Logging Module Version 3 (PLM III) is a GPS equipped, datagathering device designed to be mounted on a mobile vehicle asset.

The PLM III features 5 digital input channels and four digital output channels aswell as three RS-232 serial ports for use in vehicle telemetry gathering. On-boardstorage provides approximately 30 days of raw data storage.

The unit is designed to operate on wide range of vehicle power options and isprotected from over voltage and brown-out conditions.

The PLM III is equipped with a SBAS capable GPS unit capable of providingpositioning information to all telemetry events. The GPS also provides highprecision speed and direction information to be used in vehicle motion analysis.

This document will cover the technical details of the installation and operation ofthe PLM III as it pertains to operation with the Central Asset Management Software(CAMS).


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Detailed Specifications

Size

The PLM III was designed to provide a simple mounting arrangement whilemaintaining as small a footprint as possible. The maximum outside dimensions are

as follows:

Length: 7.063 InchesWidth: 5.214 InchesHeight: 2.110 Inches

Overall dimensions and mounting hole locations are detailed below:

The PLM III alone weighs 440g or 15.5 ozs.


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Power Requirements

The PLM III is designed to operate on vehicle power for both light vehicles (~12

VDC) and heavy duty vehicles (~ 24 VDC) without any reconfiguration.

The unit is capable of withstanding the typical power fluctuations present withvehicle power systems and will handle both under-voltage and over-voltageoccurrences without damage. Operating range is 7 VDC to 40 VDC.

The PLM III draws 500 mA on startup and a continuous 100 mA during operationon a 12 VDC supply.

The PLM III should be connected directly to the vehicle battery (VIN) and to apower source which is switched when the vehicle is not running (SWP). Thebattery connection should be connected with an in-line 1A fuse. A pre-wired powercable is available (P/N: 29005601) as detailed in Appendix A.

The unit is equipped with internal current protection devices which are re-settable.If the unit is incorrectly connected on installation, the devices should reset after aperiod of time without any power connections.

Environmental

Typically, the PLM III should be installed within the operator cabin area of anyvehicle. The unit does is not water resistant but will operate in high humidity ordusty environments.

The temperature ranges for the PLM III are as follows:

Storage: 85C to -45COperating: 55C to -30C


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Digital Input/Output

The PLM III is capable of receiving digital input information in the form of binarylevel digital signals. There are five input channels for digital information.

The inputs are optically isolated from the micro-processor and will have anoperating range of 0 to 5 VDC. Each input will has a predefined hysteresis (80% offull value) determining the acceptable range for either the off or on state toeliminate any undesirable influence due to noise. The unit will register an eventwhen the digital input value is in a low state (0).

The four output channels are optically isolated from the micro-processor and willoperate in a binary fashion within a voltage range of 0 to 5 VDC. The outputchannels have a source current capability of 6 mA.

Serial Ports

The PLM III is equipped with 3 external RS-232 serial ports. Port 1 will provide a 5wire connection with flow control available. Port 1 is designed to interface tocommunications equipment (modem).

Ports 2 and 3 will provide a 3 wire connection only. Port 2 is designed to interfaceto a local computer. Port 3 is an auxiliary port for use with any other serialequipment.

Antenna Connection

The external GPS antenna connection is a panel mounted SMA jack. Theconnection provides a voltage of 5 VDC to power the antenna electronics.


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PLM III Connector Pinout

Pin Description Direction CommentsJ1-1 VIN Input Vehicle Battery Positive Connection

J1-2 GND Ground Vehicle Battery Negative Connection

J1-3 SWP Input Switched Vehicle Power Connection

J1-4 GND Ground Vehicle Ground Connection

J2-1 SI1 Input Serial Port 1 Receive

J2-2 SO1 Output Serial Port 1 Transmit


J2-4 FI1 Input Serial Port 1 Flow Control In

J2-5 FO1 Output Serial Port 1 Flow Control Output



J3-2 SO2 Output Serial Port 2 TransmitJ3-3 GND Ground Vehicle Ground Connection


J3-5 SO3 Output Serial Port 3 Transmit


J4-1 DI0 Input Digital Input Channel 0





J4-6 DO0 Output Digital Output Channel 0



J4-9 DO3 Output Digital Output Channel 3J4-10 GND Ground Vehicle Ground Connection


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LED Indicators

The front panel of the PLM is equipped with 8 bi-colour indicators consisting of highbrightness LEDs. The LEDs indicate the status and operational states for the PLMIII in various modes of operation.

Start Up

After the PLM III detects a voltage on the SWP pin, the unit will start and proceedwith the following LED sequence:

First, a series of LEDs will flash Red together indicating the current Masterfirmware version. The light sequence is interpreted as shown below:

LED # O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Value 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128

Example: LEDs 0,3 and 4 flash Red on startup.LED0 = 1LED3 = 8LED4 = 16

1+8+16 = 25 Therefore: Master Version 25 is installed in the PLM.

Following the Master firmware indication the PLM will cycle all LEDS, first Red andthen Green to provide a check of LED operation

Following the LED cycle, the PLM will display the current Slave firmware version.Slave versions are updates to the Master firmware which allow the PLM to operatenewer versions of the firmware. A series of LEDs will flash simultaneouslydisplaying the Slave version, interpreted as the Master firmware shown above.

If the LEDs shown are Green, the version displayed is a Slave version. If the LEDsare Red the PLM is indicating that no Slave has been installed and the Masterversion is displayed.


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GPS Tracking

LED 5 indicates the operation of the on-board GPS unit. During the start-uproutine, the processor will attempt to initialize the GPS indicated by LED5 flashingred. If the initialization fails, LED 5 will be set to a solid red. The processor willcontinue to attempt to initialize the GPS, indicated by LED 5 flashing red.

Once the GPS has been initialized, LED 5 will change to solid green. LED 7 willflash red once per second while the GPS begins to track satellites.

When satellites are being tracked, LED 7 will flash green once per second for eachsatellite, followed by a single red flash.

LED 5 will begin to flash green once per second when the GPS module hasachieved a differential GPS solution.

Digital Input Events

LEDs 0 through 4 indicate when an appropriate signal (ground) has been receivedon the applicable digital input channel. The LED will show solid green as long asthe digital input is in the logic low state.

Communications

The PLM III will indicate communications using LED 6. A solid red indicates thatthe PLM cannot communicate with the data link device. Rapid red flashingindicates that the data link device is being programmed.

Once the data link device has been programmed, LED 6 will be switched off untildata is being transferred. While data transfer is occurring, a green flashingindicates received data, while a red flashing indicates transmitted data.


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Shutdown

When the switched power input (SWP) is turned off, the PLM will begin a shutdownprocedure. All LEDs will be used to indicate the amount of Flash memory beingused for data storage. The patterns and appropriate storage values are shownbelow:

LED0 LED1 LED2 LED3 LED4 LED5 LED6 LED7 Percentage Full

G G G G G G G G 0 0.45

G R G G G G G G 0.45 1.34

G R R G G G G G 1.34 2.23

G R R R G G G G 2.23 3.12

G R R R R G G G 3.12 4.01

G R R R R R G G 4.01 4.91

G R R R R R R G 4.91 5.80

G R R R R R R R 5.80 6.25

R G G G G G G G 6.25 18.75

R R G G G G G G 18.75 31.25R R G G G G G G 31.25 43.75

R R R R G G G G 43.75 56.25

R R R R R G G G 56.25 68.75

R R R R R R G G 68.75 81.25

R R R R R R R G 81.25 93.75

R R R R R R R R 93.75 100


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PLM Configuration

The PLM III can be configured in several different operational modes depending onthe required usage. Update rates, logging rates and other data gathering settingsare fully configurable for any vehicle application. As well, the PLM III can be usedwith various communications devices.

A user interface menu is available to configure the unit settings for each device orscenario. The menu is accessed by connecting to Serial Port 2 (J3) on the PLM IIIusing a Computer Interface Cable (P/N# 29005801) to a computer with a serialconnection.

Connecting to the PLM III

A terminal communications software (i.e. Hyper-Terminal) is required on thecomputer. The software should be configured to 57600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits,1 stop bit, no flow control and the appropriate COM port on the computer.

Once connected, the terminal software will display the binary messages receivedfrom the PLM as shown below:

The menu is accessed by sending 4 * characters and a carriage return to thePLM (i.e. type the sequence on the PC and the terminal software should send thedata to the PLM).


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The PLM will break out of normal operations and display the top-most menu asshown below:

The configuration menu flow is shown below.


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Configuration Items

PLM Configuration GPS Type configures the PLM to communicate with theappropriate installed GPS.

CSI selects the interface for the CSI Evolution GPS

Garmin selects the interface for the Garmin 15L GPS

PLM Configuration Modem Type configures the PLM to communicate with theappropriate modem.

Radio selects the radio modem protocol.FleetSync selects the Kenwood FleetSync protocol.SLIP selects the SLIP protocol used with CDPD cellular modems.PPP selects the PPP protocol used with 1X CDMA cellular modems.Via Laptop selects the configuration which uses a cellular card installed inthe connected laptop to pass messages to the system.Old Freewave selects the protocol used with spread-spectrum radionetworks.

PLM Configuration Encryption configures the encryption mode and strength.The encryption value mustbe the same on all PLMs as well as at the Master.

Any text or numbers can be used as the encryption password, but the followingconfigurations allow for specific operational configurations:

1. Using text only in the password will configure the units to operate withthe weakest encryption.

2. Using the numbers 0 through 7 as the first character of the password willset the strength of the encryption (0=weakest; 7=strongest). Usingstronger encryption will force the PLM to calculate a more complexencryption. The PLM may take up to several minutes to complete thiscalculation after configuration. This delay only occurs once when theencryption configuration is changed.

3. If a three digit number only, is entered into the password field, noencryption will take place. However, all units with the same three digitcode will operate in an exclusive group. This allows agencies operatingin close proximity not to interfere with each others vehicles.

CAMS Configuration Radio ID this field configures the Radio ID number for thisPLM. Each Radio ID number mustbe unique within a CAMS system and shouldbe sequential, beginning at 1, for optimum radio performance.

CAMS Configuration Vehicle ID this field configures the Vehicle ID number forthis PLM. The value must be less than 36000.

CAMS Configuration Position Options this field configures the way that thePLM will communicate over a cellular network. The unit can be configured to senddata at a minimal rate to reduce the cost of cellular data transmission charges. The


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settings work as a combination of options, with a transmission occurring wheneverany of the conditions are met. The option as are as follows:

On State Change - the PLM will send a position packet whenever an inputchannel senses a change of state.

On Distance the PLM will send a position packet at the distance intervalentered (in metres).

On Timer -the PLM will send a position packet at the time interval entered(in seconds).

CAMS Configuration Logging Options this field configures the way that thePLM logs data to the internal Flash memory. The stored data is compressed andsend whenever a position packet is successfully sent. At a minimum, the PLM willlog data whenever a state change event is sensed on an input channel. The otheravailable options are as follows:

On Timer the PLM will log a record at the time interval entered (inseconds).

On Course Change the PLM will log a record whenever the heading of thevehicle changes by a value greater than the value entered (in degrees).

On Offload Data - this setting allows the PLM to log data as configured, butthe unit will not attempt to send any information via the data link. This settingis used for installations where the PLM will be downloaded, as opposed totransferring data over the data link.

CAMS Configuration Force Poll this setting causes the PLM to force aconnection to the Master rather than wait until it would be called in the normalpolling order. This setting is designed for use with emergency vehicles only andshould not be used for vehicles which do not require priority admission to the radiosystem.

CAMS Configuration Clear Data this setting will cause the PLM to immediatelydelete all of the on-board data stored in Flash memory.

GPS Configuration Console this field allows the user to send configurationcommands directly to the GPS unit. If changes to the default configuration arerequired, a firmware update will be needed.


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Modem configuration fields will vary depending on the modem type selected in thePLM Configuration area.

Modem Configuration Radio these settings configure the operationalparameters for the radio modem:

Modem Tx this value changes the transmit delay setting (in msec.)

Modem XMit this value changes the modulation deviation setting

Radio Type this value controls the channel steering configuration basedon radio type as follows:

Default channel steering is disabled.

Motorola channel steering is configured for Motorola radios.

Kenwood channel steering is configured for Kenwood radios.

Console this field allows the user to send a configuration commanddirectly to the modem.

Modem Configuration FleetSync the PLM is set to communicate in KenwoodFleetSync protocol.


Modem Configuration SLIP these settings configure the operational parametersfor a CDPD modem using SLIP protocol:

Master IP this value indicates the IP address for the Master computer.

IP this value indicates the IP address for this modem.


Modem Configuration PPP these settings configure the operational parametersfor a 1X CDMA modem using PPP protocol:

Name this value indicates the Username for this modem to access thesystem.

Password this value indicates the password used for this modem toaccess the system



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Modem Configuration Via Laptop these settings configure the operationalparameters for a link to a cellular modem install in a laptop computer.


Modem Configuration Old Freeware there are no operational parametersrequired for the spread spectrum modem operation.

Noise Reduction Mode this setting allows the user to configure the operation ofthe micro-processor to reduce emitted RF interference using a spectrum spreadingtechnique. Three levels of noise reduction are available:

Disable Spreading no noise reduction is enabled

Enable Spreading basic noise reduction is enabled

Enable Strong Spreading strong noise reduction is enabled


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Connecting External Devices to the PLM III

The PLM III can be interfaced to various sensors and external devices byconnecting to the digital input/output channels or the available serial connections.The devices or sensors can be connected to the Molex connectors on the PLMusing the appropriate mating connectors or the pre-wired cabling available.

If several external sensors are required or under certain configurations (i.e. theaddition of a Vehicle Display Module), a Junction Block may be required tocomplete the connections.

The Junction Block provides a terminal strip to connect both power and digital inputfor external interface devices to the PLM. The Junction Block connects to the PLMusing a cable (P/N:29006201) from connector J5.

The J6 connector provides an external connection for other output devices and forthe external serial ports. The pin-out for J6 is shown below:

Pin Label Function

1 VIN Voltage Input (Positive Battery Connection)

2 GND Ground (Negative Battery Connection)

3 SI3 Serial Input Port 3 (Receive)

4 SO3 Serial Output Port 3 (Transmit)

5 DO0 Digital Output 06 SWP Switched Power (Indicates when vehicle is operating)

7 GND Ground

8 SI2 Serial Input Port 2 (Receive)

9 SO2 Serial Output Port 2 (Transmit)

10 DO1 Digital Output 1


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As well as direct connections to the J6 port, several cables are available to connectdevices directly to the Junction Block:

P/N: 29006401 Vehicle Display Module 2 Interface CableP/N: 29005901 Legacy Vehicle Display Module 1 Interface Cable

P/N: 29006301 Channel Steering Cable


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Appendix A

Cable Diagrams


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Appendix B

Mechanical Drawings


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plm iii technical manual

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