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INSTALLATION AND OPERATION GUIDE

1. 8 7 6 8 7 6 8 7 6 8 7 6 M8 7 6 8 7 6 8 7 6 8 M7 6 8 if 6 8 7 6 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 N A SIN R COS E COS R COS E E FEE ORE NE AF AE NE E di The matrix elements take values between the binary equivalents of 99996 and 1 0 Element scaling is 99996 7FFF Hex 0 0 Hex and 1 0 8000 Hex Matrix information is 0 when sensor saturation occurs in Expanded Addressing mode or Super Expanded Addressing mode 95 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference NEXT TRANSMITTER NEXT TRANSMITTER HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 30 48 00110000 Command Data TRANSMITTER ADDR and TRANSMITTER NUM If you have multiple transmitters in your Flock and you want to turn on a transmitter other than the transmitter at FBB address 1 use the NEXT TRANSMITTER command This command is sent to the current Master with a single byte of command data containing the FBB address 1 to 14 and the transmitter number 0 to 3 of the next transmitter you want to turn on The transmitter number for the standard three foot operating range Flock transmitter is always 0 The transmitter number for the optional Extended Range Controller ERC can be 0 1 2 or 3 depending on which of the four transmitters is being used on the ERC At the end of its current measurement cycle 1 to 10 milli
2. NOOR OND Most Significant Byte ALIGN command 71 LSbyte A LSbyte A LSbyte E LSbyte E LSbyte R LSbyte R Least Significant Byte MSbyte A MSbyte A MSbyte E MSbyte E MSbyte R MSbyte R 0 See the ANGLES command for the format and scaling of the angle values sent 64 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference Transmitter GE Ni EER N TEE N LEH EEC ma wan var wand WE Figure 5 Measurement Reference Frame 65 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference BUTTON MODE BUTTON MODE DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 77 01001101 Command Byte MODE The BUTTON MODE command is used to set how the three buttons on the optional 6D mouse will be reported to the host computer The BUTTON MODE Command Byte must be followed by a single Command Data byte which specifies the desired report format The three buttons are reported to the host via a single Button Value word This word can be sent by the pcBIRD after the last data record element is transmitted or can be read at any time using the BUTTON READ command If you set the Command Data byte equal to 0 Hex the Button Value word is not appended to the data record and you must use the BUTTON READ command to examine the status of the buttons If you set the Command Data byte equal to 1 the Button Value word will be appended to the end of each transmitted data record If for example you had selected the POSITION ANGLE mode the outpu
3. 1 Master 4 Slaves 6 1 Master 5 Slaves 7 1 Master 6 Slaves 8 1 Master 7 Slaves 10 1 Master 9 Slaves Notes 1 The rates that are greater than 103 3 the BIRD s default measurement rate are not meant to imply that each BIRD is making this many measurements Rather it indicates that you can request and receive data over the RS232 port at a rate greater than the BIRD is making its measurements When you request data at a rate greater than the measurement rate you will get duplicate data records Rates less than 103 3 do not mean the BIRD is making measurements this slowly The BIRDs are always making 103 3 measurements per second per sensor independent of how many sensors are in a Flock When you request data at a rate less than the measurement rate you will lose data records 2 Rates for UNIX platforms will be much less than these table values 3 Writes to the screen or disk will reduce these table values 42 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface 8 0 RUNNING THE FLOCK USING AN RS232 INTERFACE The pcBIRDs in the Flock talk to each other via the FBB interconnect cable To enable the pcBIRDs to exchange data among themselves each BIRD is assigned a unique FBB address via the configuration dip switch see Section 2 2 1 5 If you are using a separate ISA interface to talk to each pcBIRD the commands you send to the pcBIRDs do not have a BIRD address associated with each command If yo
4. 131 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix IV Jumper Locations APPENDIX IV JUMPER LOCATIONS ON THE CIRCUIT BOARDS The pcBIRD Circuit Card Jumper Locations JPR 1 2 JPR 3 4 5 6 171 1 4 4 1 EBB T 212 212122 Ribbon Cable Configuration Receiver 3 3 Connector Dip Switch Connector Pa wo CTT TT a EET ET Oo Sooo ooo eo l oo i jl il i i IT Lo EE 0 fo NN N EET El E u ET ELE Y EA tft ID BOS Cli ar anes y s 00 OO a OE 0 FR IC oP Yo AT EE Ts RI Me 9 ie ODD z DLE Bee F EVEN ho ESSA O ea COO WVU E y ou N J TER P L l 2 O i d O ul ON 1 2 3 11213 1123 IRO Base Address CRT SYNC Transmitter Jumpers Dip Switch Co
5. Send to the addr of the unit whose crystal speed you want to know Send to the addr of the snsr whose range scaling you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change If a Flock send to the Master only 53 Installation and Operation Guide COMMAND APPLICABILITY Exam chg value 3 parameter 8 Enable Data Ready Exam chg value 3 parameter 9 Set Data Ready Examine value 2 parameter 10 Error Code Exam chg value 2 parameter 11 Error Mask Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 12 DC Filter Vm Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 13 Alpha_max Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 14 Output Lock Examine value 2 parameter 15 Identification Examine value 3 parameter 16 Expanded Error Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 17 XYZ Ref Frame Exam chg value 3 parameter 18 Transmitter Mode Examine value 2 parameter 19 Addressing Mode 54 Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface NOTES If a Flock send to the Master only If a Flock send to the Master only Send to the addr of the unit whose error code you want to know Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit where the error should be masked or examined Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose outputs
6. The sequence of output words to the pcBIRD takes the following form WORD Most Significant Byte NORWOOD REF command 48 LSbyte SIN A LSbyte COS A LSbyte SIN E LSbyte COS E LSbyte SIN R LSbyte COS R Least Significant Byte MSbyte SIN A MSbyte COS A MSbyte SIN E MSbyte COS E MSbyte SIN R MSbyte COS R 0 The sine and cosine elements take values between the binary equivalents of 99996 and 1 0 Element scaling is 99996 7FFF Hex 0 0 Hex and 1 0 8000 Hex 106 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference REFERENCE FRAME2 REFERENCE FRAME2 HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 72 114 01110010 Command Data This is the same as the REFERENCE FRAME1 command except that the command data consists of the angles only and not the sines and cosines of the angles The Command Byte and Command Data must be transmitted to the pcBIRD in the following four word format WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 REF command 72 MSbyte A 2 LSbyte A MSbyte E 3 LSbyte E MSbyte R 4 LSbyte R 0 See the ANGLES command for the format and scaling of the angle values sent 107 Installation and Operation Guide REPORT RATE Measurement HEX Rate Divisor Command 51 52 53 54 DECIMAL 81 82 83 84 Command Reference REPORT RATE BINARY 01010001 01010010 01010011 01010100 If you do not want a BIRD data record output to your host computer
7. Two types of binary data are returned from the ERC 1 Position Orientation data and 2 Change Examine value data Position orientation data are the data returned from the ERC in the ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION and QUATERNION formats All other types of data that the ERC returns are in the change examine value format Both Position Orientation data and the Change Examine value data return one or more 8 bit data bytes as detailed below Position Orientation data uses a special format described in the following paragraphs The Change Examine value data uses the response format described with each Change Examine value command in the RS232 Command section The Change Examine value data is not shifted and does not contain the phasing bits found in the Position Orientation data 8 3 1 POSITION ORIENTATION DATA FORMAT The Position Orientation information generated by the ERC is sent in a form called a data record The number of bytes in each record is dependent on the output format selected by the user Each 2 byte word is in a binary format dependent on the word type i e Position Angles etc The binary formats consist of the 14 most significant bits bits B15 B2 of the sixteen bits bits B15 BO which define each word The two least significant bits bits B1 and BO are not used by the ERC The first bit of the first byte transmitted is always a one 1 while the first bit of all other trans
8. Ys Yg Xo M 1 2 Yo M 2 2 Zo M 3 2 Zs Zp Xo M 1 3 Yo M 2 3 Zo M 3 3 135 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix VI Application Notes Application Note 2 Converting the pcBIRD Outputs to a Graphics Modeling Matrix Purpose Build the 12 elements of a standard computer graphics modeling matrix MMii j given the 9 matrix output elements from the pcBIRD MB i j and the pcBIRD s X Y Z position outputs Xpos Ypos and Zpos The standard computer graphics XYZ coordinate system is positive X axis points to the right positive Y axis points up and positive Z points towards you Y Standard Graphic Mode When the transmitter is between you and the graphics screen and the transmitter s power cord extends in the direction toward the screen the pcBIRD s XYZ coordinate system is positive X axis points out of the screen positive Y axis points to the left positive Z axis points down X Ascension s Graphic Mode 136 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix VI Application Notes To have the screen image follow the rotations and translations of the pcBIRD s sensor so movement of the sensor toward the screen causes the image to move toward the front of the graphics screen the following transformations from BIRD coordinates to modeling matrix elements are required MM 1 1 MB 2 2 MM 1 2 MB 2 3 MM 1 3 MB 2 1 MM 1 4 O MM 2 1 MB 3 2 MM 2 2 MB 3 3 MM 2 3 MB 3 1 MM
9. 0 01 seconds whether you request the value or not Thus the system does not store previous button presses and indicates only whether a button has been pressed within 0 01 seconds at the default update rate of the time the reading is sent to the host 67 Installation and Operation Guide CHANGE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE HEX CHANGE VALUE Command Byte 50 CHANGE VALUE Command Byte PARAMETERnumber Command Reference CHANGE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE DECIMAL BINARY 87 0101000 PARAMETER value The CHANGE VALUE command allows you to change the value of the pcBIRD system parameter defined by the PARAMETERnumber byte and the PARAMETERvalue byte s sent with the command HEX EXAMINE VALUE Command Byte 4F EXAMINE VALUE Command Byte PARAMETERnumber DECIMAL BINARY 79 01001111 The EXAMINE VALUE command allows you to read the value of the pcBIRD system parameter defined by the PARAMETERnumber sent with the command Immediately after the pcBIRD receives the command and command data it will return the parameter value as a multi word response 68 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference Valid CHANGE VALUE and EXAMINE VALUE PARAMETERnumbers are listed in the table below Note not all PARAMETERnumbers are CHANGEable but ALL are EXAMINEable PARAMETERnumber CHANGEable Dec Hex 0 0 No 1 1 No 2 2 No 3 3 Yes 4 4 Yes 5 5 Yes 6 6 Yes 7 7 Yes 8 8 Yes 9 9 Yes 10 A No 11 B Yes 12 C Yes 13 D Y
10. 136 CRT Sync Pulse Electrical Requirements 220000 eee eee 138 Configuring the pcBIRD for Minimum Lag 0000 eee eee 139 Manual Date Rev February 23 1996 March 12 1996 May 30 1996 June 28 1996 March 30 2000 A USER MANUAL REVISIONS Changes Initial release for standalone ISA bus version with rev 6 03 PROM memory Miscellaneous typographical corrections Jumper assignments for TTL or CRT SYNC inputs are now correct Tests 21 and 23 added to test or not test for receiver present starting with rev 6 04 PROMS FBB ADDRESS command description added Command is present in all previous PROMS Added the FBB Reset command Added the following Change Examine commands Addressing Mode Line Frequency FBB Address Hemisphere Angle Align2 Reference Frame2 Serial Number You need to have at least EPROM software rev 3 67 for these new commands Changed the word receivers to sensors Added how to change the position angles from Hex to inches degrees Added the pcBIRD specifications section Added additional error messages for the optional ERC ERT Added the RS232 chapters for communication with the optional ERC ERT Added the Sensor Serial Number and Transmitter Serial Number commands You need to have at least EPROM software rev 3 71 for these new commands Installation and Operation Guide Introduction 1 0 INTRODUCTION The pcBIRD is a six degrees of freedom measuring device that measures the p
11. 2 4 0 MM 3 1 MB 1 2 MM 3 2 MB 1 3 MM 3 3 MB 1 1 MM 3 4 0 MM 4 1 Ypos MM 4 2 Zpos MM 4 3 Xpos MM 4 4 1 0 137 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix VI Application Notes Application Note 3 CRT Sync Pulse Electrical Requirements If you need to synchronize the pcBIRD s measurement cycle to a piece of electronics equipment and it is not practical to use the sync pulse signal pickup provided with the pcBIRD you can provide your own sync pulse to the pcBIRD The sync pulse you provide must have the following characteristics 1 The signal should be TTL level normally low ground 2 The pcBIRD synchronizes to the rising edge of the pulse during its low to high transition 3 Pulse width at the high level can vary from one microsecond to one millisecond 4 Pulse width and pulse separation should be constant from one cycle to the next 5 Pulse rep rate should be 50 to 72 Hz if using CRT SYNC type 2 or 100 to 144 Hz if using CRT SYNC type 1 Either of these combinations will result in a BIRD measurement rate of 100 to 144 measurements second 6 Change the jumpers on the pcBIRD s printed circuit card PCB see Section 2 2 1 3 Jumper pins 2 to 3 on jumpers 1 and 2 if using a TTL input signal or jumper pins 1 to 2 on jumpers 1 and 2 if using the CRT SYNC pickup shipped with the pcBIRD 138 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix VI Application Notes Application Note 4
12. 9 Ring Indicator No Connect 1 Note These are the EIA RS232 signals names The ERC is configured as Data Communication Equipment DCE and therefore Transmit Data is an input and Receive Data is an output 39 Installation and Operation Guide RS232 Host Interface RS 232C signal description 2 Note SIGNAL __ Carrier Detect Receive Data Transmit Data Data Terminal Rdy Signal Ground Data Set Ready Request to Send Clear to Send Ring Indicator DESCRIPTION Indicates the BIRD is FLYing when high Serial data output from the BIRD to the host Serial data output from the host to the BIRD Host data flow control suspends all data transmission from the BIRD when low internally pulled high to 12V Signal reference Indicates the BIRD is FLYing when high Holds the BIRD in standby when high BIRD Flies when low Indicates the BIRD is FLYing when high Signal is not used These signals are high when the ERC is NOT in the reset Off condition There are two ways by which the ERC can be placed in the reset condition when the front panel switch is in the Off position or when the RS232 Request to Send signal is high 7 2 RS232 TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS The host computer must be configured for the following data characteristics 40 Baud Rate Number of data bits Number of start bits Number of stop bits Parity Full duplex 2400 115 200 as set by BIRD dip switch 8 1 1 none Installation and
13. If you need to halt the flow instantly use the RS 232C DATA TERMINAL READY SIGNAL that your host computer s UART sends over the RS 232C cable to the ERC The XOFF command cannot be sent to the ERC mixed in with the Command Data of another command as it simply will be interpreted by the ERC as Command Data Note This is an RS232 command only 117 Installation and Operation Guide Error Messages XON XON HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 11 17 00010001 The ERC responds to the XON XOFF commands which many computers use for RS 232C flow control When your host system sends the ERC an XON the unit will resume transmission of any data records that were pending when it was XOFFed see XOFF The XON command cannot be sent to the ERC mixed in with the Command Data of another command as it simply will be interpreted by the ERC as Command Data Note This is an RS232 command only 118 Installation and Operation Guide Ethernet Commands 11 0 ERROR MESSAGES The pcBIRD keeps track of system errors When an error occurs the SYSTEM STATUS register ERROR bit is set to a 1 and the error code is put into the ERROR CODE register The user can query the SYSTEM STATUS register by using the EXAMINE VALUE SYSTEM STATUS command The ERROR CODE register can be read by using the EXAMINE VALUE ERROR CODE command When the user reads SYSTEM STATUS the ERROR bit is reset to a 0 and when the user reads the ERROR CODE register all bits are res
14. Invalid CPU Speed FATAL Cause If the system reads an invalid CPU speed from the system EEPROM and the EEPROM is initialized the error will occur Action Initialize the system EEPROM No Data Error WARNING1 Cause When a Slave is expecting data from the Master and does not receive data this error will occur Action This error should not occur Illegal Baud Rate Error WARNING1 Cause If the dip switch is in an invalid baud rate setting then this error will occur Action Set dip switch to a valid baud rate setting Slave Acknowledge Error WARNING1 Cause This error will occur if the Master sends a multibyte command to a Slave and the Slave does not respond For example if the user sends the Master the Auto Configuration Command with 2 Flock units and the BIRD at address 2 is not connected to the FBB or not in FLY mode during the Auto Configuration process the Master will display this error Action Assure that all unit configurations are correct all units are attached to the FBB and at the proper address and all units are in FLY mode Unused INT4 FATAL Cause CPU Overflow Action Check code for INTO instruction Unused_INT5 FATAL Cause Array Bounds Action Check code for BOUND Instruction Do not attempt to fix this error Contact Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 123 Installation and Operation Guide Ethernet Commands CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION TYPE 22 Unused_INT6 FATAL Cause Unused Opcode Actio
15. Operation Guide COMMAND APPLICABILITY Exam chg value 3 parameter 8 Enable Data Ready Exam chg value 3 parameter 9 Set Data Ready Examine value 2 parameter 10 Error Code Exam chg value 2 parameter 11 Error Mask Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 12 DC Filter Vm Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 13 Alpha_max Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 14 Output Lock Examine value 2 parameter 15 Identification Examine value 3 parameter 16 Expanded Error Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 17 XYZ Ref Frame Exam chg value 2 parameter 18 Transmitter Mode Examine value 2 parameter 19 Addressing Mode 36 ISA Command Utilization NOTES If a Flock send to the Master only If a Flock send to the Master only Send to the addr of the unit whose error code you want to know Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit where the error should be masked or examined Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose outputs you want to lock or examine Send to the addr of the unit whose system model identification you want to know Send to the Master to determine the addr of the Slave that did not respond Send to the addr of the snsr whose outputs you want measured in the rotated xmtr frame This command must be sent to every BIRD in the flock Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose address
16. Operation Guide RS232 Host Interface 7 3 RS232 JUMPER CONFIGURATION For host communications to the ERC using RS232 set the following jumpers See Appendix III for a description of these jumpers Jumper Configuration JPR 3 pins 1 2 no connection JPR 12 pins 2 3 connected 7 4 RS232 DATA RATES When your host computer is using an RS 232 interface to communicate with the BIRDs it can utilize one serial port connected to the Master to communicate with the ERC and or a separate ISA interface for each pcBIRD in the Flock Using a single RS232 port to talk to all BIRDs has the disadvantage of limiting the number of measurements per second that your host can read from each BIRD Table 1 below shows the maximum data record output rate that can be obtained when using a single RS232 interface for all BIRDs The rate that your host computer is able to obtain will be less than or equal to these table values depending on the time lags imposed by your host computer s operating system For example a UNIX operating system will slow the VO down to such an extent that you may only be able to achieve one third of the maximum rates listed 41 Installation and Operation Guide RS232 Host Interface Table 1 Maximum RS232 Data Record Output Rate DATA OUTPUT FORMAT Records Output Sec BIRD Number of Sensors Baud Rate Position Angles Position Matrix A 1 Master or 1 Slave 2 1 Master 1 Slave 3 1 Master 2 Slaves 4 1 Master 3 Slaves 5
17. UART before the UART finishes outputting the previous character FBB Receive Error FBB Host Bus WARNING1 Cause Either an overrun or framing error has been detected by the serial channel 1 UART as it received characters from the user s host computer on the RS485 interface Action If an overrun error the baud rate of the user s host computer and the BIRD differ This may be due to incorrect baud selection or inaccuracy of the baud rate generator If a framing error the host software may be sending characters to its own UART before the UART finishes outputting the previous character Do not attempt to fix this error Contact Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 122 Ethernet Commands Installation and Operation Guide Ethernet Commands CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION TYPE 13 20 21 No FBB Command Response WARNING1 Cause The Master BIRD has sent a command to a Slave BIRD that required a response but the Slave never responded Action Check that the Slave BIRDs are attached Check FBB cabling Check that Slave BIRD addresses match the FBB Configuration Invalid FBB Host Command WARNING1 Cause The Flock has received an invalid FBB host command which can occur if the user sends down a command character to the proper device address but the command is invalid Action Only send valid FBB commands to the BIRD when in FBB Host control mode FBB Run Time Error FATAL Cause Not currently used Action Should never occur
18. address 15 F Hex would be FF Addresses 16 to 30 Command Byte EO destination FBB address in Hex 10 Hex i e FBB address 16 10 Hex would be EO FBB address 30 1E Hex would be EE For the Super Expanded Addressing mode addresses 1 to 126 the command looks like Command Byte 1 AO Command Byte 2 destination FBB address in Hex 109 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference Example 1 There are two BIRDs in the Flock in the Normal Addressing mode one at FBB address 1 and the other at FBB address 2 configured for the 1 transmitter 2 sensor mode By default the pcBIRD at address 1 is the Master and the pcBIRD at address 2 is the Slave To get Position Angle data from BIRD 1 the host would either send a 2 byte command consisting of the RS232 ISA TO FBB command F1 Hex followed by the POINT command 42 Hex or the 1 byte POINT command 42 Hex To get Position Angle data from BIRD 2 the host would send a 2 byte command consisting of the RS232 ISA TO FBB command F2 Hex followed by the POINT command 42 Hex Example 2 There are two BIRDs in the Flock in the Super Expanded Addressing mode one at FBB address 1 and the other at FBB address 2 configured for the 1 transmitter 2 sensor mode By default the pcBIRD at address 1 is the Master and the pcBIRD at address 2 is the Slave To get Position Angle data from BIRD 1 the host would either send a 3 byte command consisting of the RS23
19. an additional zero byte onto the end if required to make the string an even number of bytes The string is then sent one word at a time to the pcBIRD 5 2 FORMAT OF COMMANDS AND DATA RECEIVED Two types of binary data are returned from the pcBIRD 1 Position Orientation data and 2 Change Examine value data Position Orientation data are the data returned from the pcBIRD in the ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION and QUATERNION formats All other types of data that the pcBIRD returns are in the Change Examine value format Both Position Orientation data and the Change Examine value data return one or more 16 bit data words as detailed below 5 2 1 POSITION ORIENTATION DATA FORMAT The Position Orientation information generated by the pcBIRD is returned to the user in a form called a data record The number of words in each record is dependent on the output format selected by the user i e Position Angles etc Each word in the record is in a 16 bit 2 s complement binary format The binary format consists of the 15 most significant bits bits B15 B1 of the data plus a least significant bit BO used as a phasing bit The phasing bit allows the host computer to identify the start of a record This phasing bit is set to one in the first word of a record and set to zero in all other words in the output record You can ignore the effect of the phasing bit on the magnitude of the position and orienta
20. and if the data is 0 the pcBIRD is not in GROUP MODE When in GROUP MODE in response to the POINT or STREAM commands the Master BIRD will send data records from all running BIRDs with sensors residing on the FBB Information is output from the BIRD with the smallest address first The last word of the data record from each BIRD contains the address of that BIRD This address word contains no phasing bits Each BIRD can be in a different data output format if desired For example if 3 units are in the Flock and the first is configured to output POSITION data only 3 data words plus 1 address word and the other two are configured to output POSITION ANGLES data 6 data words plus 1 address word the Master BIRD will respond with 18 words when a data request is made During a CHANGE VALUE command the host must send one data word equal to a 1 to enable GROUP MODE or a 0 to disable GROUP MODE 88 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference FLOCK SYSTEM STATUS PARAMETERnumber 36 When PARAMETERnumber 36 during EXAMINE the Master BIRD returns to the host computer 7 words 15 words if in Expanded Address mode 63 words if in Super Expanded Address mode defining the physical configuration of each BIRD on the bus This command can be sent to the Master either before or after the Flock is running The response has the following format where one byte is returned for each possible FBB address WORD Most Significant Byte Leas
21. card edge shown in Appendix IV Screw in this connector C Plug the pcBIRD s transmitter cable into the bottom 9 pin D connector on the card edge Screw in this connector Installation and Operation Guide Installation C CRT sync cable If you are going to use the sensor within a few feet of a magnetically deflected CRT display a normal picture tube type raster scan monitor you may need the CRT sync cable to reduce CRT noise picked up by the pcBIRD s sensor The CRT sync cable contains a CRT sync pickup housing with a velcro pad for attachment to the outside of your CRT The end of the cable is plugged into the center circular connector located between the transmitter and sensor connecters For proper operation it is vital that the sync pickup be correctly positioned on the CRT s housing Follow the instructions in Section 10 0 for the SYNC command to properly position the pickup Peel the protective paper from the tape on the velcro attachment and fasten the pickup to the CRT s housing at the predetermined location Note once you have enabled the CRT sync by setting the SYNC command equal to either CRTSYNCtype 1 or 2 the pcBIRD will stop running if the pickup falls off the CRT C If you have a Master Slave configuration plug all pcBIRD cards into the chassis The cards must be in adjacent slots C Attach sensor cables to each of these additional cards C Attach the multi unit FBB cable to the multi unit sync connector on the top o
22. if the connector is not screwed in place 19 Installation and Operation Guide Installation A DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE Do not remove the protective caps from the unused ERC connectors 2 3 6 ERC POWER SUPPLY CABLE The ERC is shipped with a North American 110 volt power cord If your country uses 220 volts your local hardware electrical store can supply you with the correct cable Before installing the cable switch the ON OFF switch located directly above the cable connector to OFF The switch is OFF when you can see O on the side edge of the switch The switch is ON when you can see l on the other side edge of the switch Insert the power cable connector into the back panel Push hard with a slight wiggle of the connector to completely engage the connector 20 Installation and Operation Guide Installation 3 0 INCLUDED SOFTWARE One high density 3 25 inch DOS formatted diskette is included with your unit This diskette contains source code written in C One of the programs on this diskette called CBIRD EXE lets you send commands to the pcBIRD from a menu and read output data onto the screen or into a file Additionally this diskette contains complete commented source code of all the C functions you ll need for talking to the pcBIRD from your own program See the file C_FILES TXT for a description of these functions Additional programming notes for the C user can be found in file CNOTES TXT Instructions for running the pcB
23. in Euler angle nomenclature Azimuth Elevation and Roll The output record is in the following format for the three transmitted words MSB LSB LS 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Z15 214 213 212 ZIL 210 29 Z8 21 26 25 ZA Z3 22 Al 1 Zang YLS V14 via YI2 Mil Y0 VO Ya Y7 MG Vo VA MB Y2 VI 0 Yang X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 XI 0 Xang Zang Azimuth takes on values between the binary equivalent of 180 degrees Yang Elevation takes on values between 90 degrees and Xang Roll takes on values between 180 degrees As Yang Elevation approaches 90 degrees the Zang Azimuth and Xang Roll become very noisy and exhibit large errors At 90 degrees the Zang Azimuth and Xang Roll become undefined This behavior is not a limitation of the pcBIRD it is an inherent characteristic of these Euler angles If you need a stable representation of the sensor orientation at high Elevation angles use the MATRIX output mode The scaling of all angles is full scale 180 degrees That is 179 99 deg 7FFF Hex 0 deg 0 Hex 180 00 deg 8000 Hex Angle information is 0 when sensor saturation occurs in Expanded Addressing mode or Super Expanded Addressing mode To convert the numbers into angles first cast it into a signed integer This will give you a number from 32767 Second multiply by 180 and then divide the number by 32767 to get the angle The equation should look something like this signed
24. int Hex 180 32767 61 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference ANGLE ALIGN1 ANGLE ALIGN1 HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 4A 74 01001010 Command Data Sin A Cos A Sin E Cos E Sin R Cos R By default the angle outputs from the pcBIRD are measured in the coordinate frame defined by the transmitter s X Y and Z axes as shown in Figure 5 and are measured with respect to rotations about the physical X Y and Z axes of the sensor The ANGLE ALIGN1 command allows you to mathematically change the sensor s X Y and Z axes to an orientation which differs from that of the actual sensor For example Suppose that during installation you find it necessary due to physical requirements to cock the sensor resulting in its angle outputs reading Azim 5 deg Elev 10 and Roll 15 when it is in its normal resting position To compensate use the ANGLE ALIGN1 command passing as Command Data the sines and cosines of 5 10 and 15 degrees After this sequence is sent the sensor outputs will be zero and orientations will be computed as if the sensor were not misaligned Note the ANGLE ALIGN1 command only affects the computation of orientation it has no effect on position If you immediately follow the ANGLE ALIGN1 command with a POINT or STREAM mode data request you may not see the effect of the ALIGN command in the data returned It will take at least one measurement period i e 10 milliseconds if running the
25. of the transmitter and therefore must not be used to support or tie down the transmitter to your mount The alignment bolt threads inside the bottom of the transmitter are 10 24 Thread engagement will occur 1 3 4 inches into the base You should screw the bolt in an additional 1 2 inch for full engagement but no more The cable from the transmitter to the ERC contains high voltages and currents and therefore must be protected so that it will not be stepped on Run the cable through the ceiling or under the floor If the cable is on the floor use a rigid cable protector that can be walked on such as Cordgard Electrical Cord Ducting available through Arrow Electronics and other electrical and electronic distributors Putting the cable under a piece of rug will not provide protection it will only create a fire hazard 18 Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 3 3 ERC INTERNAL JUMPERS If you must change the internal jumpers note that there are dangerous voltages inside the enclosure Turning the on off switch to off will not remove the dangerous voltages You must unplug the power cord before removing the enclosure top To locate the jumpers refer to the printed circuit card drawings in Appendix IV A DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE Remove the power cord from the ERC before opening to eliminate the dangerous high voltages inside 2 3 4 CONFIGURING THE FLOCK WITH AN ERC In general the ERC is treated as just another pcBIRD t
26. position in inches The equation should look something like this Standard Range Transmitter signed int Hex 36 32767 Standard Range Transmitter signed int Hex 72 32767 Extended Range Transmitter signed int Hex 144 32767 100 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference POSITION ANGLES POSITION ANGLES HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 59 89 01011001 In the POSITION ANGLES mode the outputs from the POSITION and ANGLES modes are combined into one record containing the following six words MSB LSB 5 4 3 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 X 1 X LL YILA AYT VA Y Yd0 Y9 va VY NG VO VA YS VY Y 0 Y Z15 Z14 213 212 Z Z10 Z9 Z8 Z7 Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 22 2 0 Z Z15 214 213 212 2 Z10 Z9 28 Z7 Z6 25 ZA 23 Z2 Z1 0 Zang VB Yaa YLS YZ Y Y10 Y9 Y8 Y7 Y6 Yo Y4 Y3 Y2 Yl 0 Yang X15 X14 X13 X12 X X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 X1 0 Xang See POSITION mode and ANGLE mode for number ranges and scaling 101 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference POSITION MATRIX POSITION MATRIX HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 5A 90 01011010 In the POSITION MATRIX mode the outputs from the POSITION and MATRIX modes are combined into one record containing the following twelve words MSB LSB 5 4 3 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 X 1 X rS YIA YI YTD Y Y10 Y9 Y8 Y7 Y6 YS Y4 Y3 Y2 Y 0 Y Z15 Z14 213 212 Z Z10 Z9
27. set to zero For example the following sends a B 42 Hex to request data Most Significant Byte 42 Least Significant Byte 0 15 814 613 812 611 Bio B9 B8 B7 Be B5 Ba B3 B2 B1 BO o ji lojofo oj ofo ojo ofo o o o To send two or more one byte commands you must send two or more words one command per word as defined above If you are going to send a command that has command data associated with it the command is positioned in the most significant byte of the first word to be output and the first byte of command data is positioned in the least significant byte Additional command data fill up additional output words If the last output word has only one byte then the least significant byte of this word is set to zero For example the REFERENCE FRAME1 command H 48 Hex has 6 command data words associated with it For this example we ll assign the following Hex values to these data words Sin A 3618 Cos A 7401 Sin E 496A Cos E 68D9 Sin R 7EDE Cos R 163A The resulting seven words sent to the pcBIRD would be as follows Most Significant Byte 48 Least TT Byte 36 B11 B10 26 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Format Least Significant Byte 74 Least TT ificant Byte 49 27 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Format In general if you are sending N bytes of command and command data you can format the data into a single string left justified adding
28. the pcBIRD seven words of PARAMETERdata corresponding to the ALPHA_MIN table defined above At the shorter ranges you may want to increase ALPHA MIN to obtain less lag while at longer ranges you may want to decrease ALPHA_MIN to provide more filtering less noise more lag If you decrease the value below 0 008 the output noise will actually increase due to loss of mathematical precision ALPHA_MIN must always be less than ALPHA_MAX 75 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT PARAMETERnumber 6 When PARAMETERnumber 6 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a word used to determine the measurement rate of the unit The word returned represents a timer count XMTR_TIME_CNT determining how long each of the pcBIRD s three transmitter antennas will be turned on off From this word you can estimate the total measurement period XMTR_TIME_CNT is returned with values from 0000 to FFFF Hex or 0 to 65535 decimal See the pcBIRD MEASUREMENT RATE command below for a simpler form of this command The measurement rate in cycles sec is computed from measurement rate 1000 4 0 XTIME 0 3 where XTIME in milliseconds is XTIME XMTR_TIME_CNT CLOCK 1000 where CLOCK is the period of one computer time count in microseconds With a crystal value equal to 40 MHz CLOCK 8 40 The crystal value is determined by using the command EXAMINE VALUE BIRD COMPUTER CRYSTAL SPEED The pcBIRD s measurement rate
29. there will be during fast motions But note the larger alpha max is the larger the noise will be during the movement At Ascension Technology when we want a snappy response with good noise characteristics we use all system defaults except for the following overrides a b c d Stream mode Sudden output change lock 0 DC filter ON AC narrow notch filter ON AC wide notch OFF Vm table 2 2 2 10 10 40 200 where most of the snap comes from the Vm table 140 Ascension Technology Corporation PO Box 527 Burlington VT 05402 USA 802 893 6657 http www ascension tech com
30. units POINT Sent to the 1 Slave to get one POSITION MATRIX data record POINT Sent to the 2 Slave to get one POSITION MATRIX data record 46 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface For a one transmitter two sensor Flock configuration with a single RS232 port attached to the Master This one port will send commands and sensor data for both the Master and Slave In this example the Master has one transmitter and the Slaves have the two sensors COMMAND RS232 ISA TO FBB with FBB addr 2 POSITION MATRIX RS232 ISA TO FBB with FBB addr 3 POSITION MATRIX CHANGE VALUE FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 3 Flock units RS232 ISA TO FBB with FBB addr 2 POINT RS232 ISA TO FBB with FBB addr 3 POINT ACTION Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 2 1 Slaves output format will be position and matrix Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 3 2 Slaves output format will be position and matrix Sent to the Master to start the Flock running Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 2 One POSITION MATRIX data record returned from the 1 Slave Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 3 One POSITION MATRIX data record returned from the 2 Slave 47 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Inter
31. units on the FBB each BIRD unit on the FBB is assigned a unique address via dip switches 4 5 6 7 For example the first pcBIRD might have its address dip switch set to 1 0001 off off off on The second pcBIRD would then have its addresses set to 2 0010 off off on off The addresses do not have to be in order but you cannot skip an address no addresses can be set to zero there can be no repeat addresses and there can be no address 15 the Broadcast Address Dip Switches 3 4 5 6 7 Expanded Addressing Mode When in Expanded Address mode up to 30 BIRD units on the FBB each BIRD unit on the FBB is assigned a unique address via switches 3 4 5 6 7 For example the first pcBIRD might have its address dip switch set to 1 00001 off off off off on The second pcBIRD would then have its addresses set to 2 00010 off off off on off The addresses do not have to be in order but you cannot skip an address no addresses can be set to zero there can be no repeat addresses and there can be no address 31 the Broadcast Address All transmitter and or ERT addresses must be located at addresses 1 to 14 Installation and Operation Guide Installation Dip switches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Super Expanded Addressing Mode When in Super Expanded Address mode up to 126 BIRD units on the FBB each BIRD unit on the FBB is assigned a unique address via switches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 For example the first pcBIRD might
32. want Quaternion data Send to the Master before or after auto config After auto config send to the addr with the transmitter Can also be sent to the address of each sensor individually Can only be used in standalone stream mode or in group stream mode Send to the Master only Cannot be used with a Flock unless in GROUP mode Send to the Master only Installation and Operation Guide RS232 Host Interface 7 0 RS232 HOST INTERFACE If your host computer is using the ISA interface to the Flock you do not need to read Section 7 x or 8 x The RS232 section is included for those users who purchased the optional Extended Range Controller and transmitter 7 1 RS232 SIGNAL DESCRIPTION The RS 232C interface conforms to the Electronic Industries Association EIA specifications for data communications A pin out and signal description of the RS 232C interface is found below Note that the ERC requires connections only to pins 2 3 and 5 of the 9 pin interface connector The file named RS232 TXT on the pcBIRD software diskette contains additional information about the RS 232 interface to several different computers The ERC s 9 pin RS 232C connector is arranged as follows PIN RS232 SIGNAL DIRECTION 1 Carrier Detect BIRD to Host 2 Receive Data BIRD to Host 3 Transmit Data Host to BIRD 4 Data Terminal Rdy Host to BIRD 5 Signal Ground BIRD to Host 6 Data Set Ready BIRD to Host 7 Request to Send Host to BIRD 8 Clear to Send BIRD to Host
33. you want to lock or examine Send to the addr of the unit whose system model identification you want to know Send to the Master to determine the addr of the Slave that did not respond Send to the addr of the snsr whose outputs you want measured in the rotated xmtr frame This command must be sent to every BIRD in the flock Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose addressing mode you want to examine Installation and Operation Guide COMMAND APPLICABILITY Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 20 Filter Line Freq Examine value 2 parameter 21 FBB Address Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 22 Hemisphere Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 23 Angle Align2 Exam chg value 2 parameter 24 Reference Frame2 Examine value 2 4 parameter 25 BIRD Serial Number Examine value 2 4 parameter 26 Sensor Serial Number Examine value 2 4 parameter 27 Xmtr Serial Number Exam chg value 2 parameter 32 FBB Host Delay Exam chg value 3 parameter 35 Group Mode Examine value 3 parameter 36 Flock Status Exam chg value 3 parameter 50 FBB Auto Config FBB Reset 3 Running The Flock Using An R 232 Interface NOTES Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the pcBIRD unit whose FBB address you want to know Useful when communicating to the Flock through multiple RS232 interfaces or through the ISA Bus Send to the addr of the snsr whose hemisphere you want to examine or change Send to the
34. 2 ISA TO FBB command AO Hex the destination FBB address in Hex 01 and the POINT command 42 Hex or the 1 byte POINT command 42 Hex To get Position Angle data from BIRD 2 the host would send a3 byte command consisting of the RS232 ISA TO FBB command AO Hex the destination FBB address in Hex 02 and the POINT command 42 Hex 1 To use STREAM mode with multiple BIRDs first send the GROUP MODE command to the Master before sending the STREAM command to the Master 2 Data output from the Master may be delayed up to 2 milliseconds when running at 100 measurements second from the time the RS232 ISA TO FBB command is issued 110 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference RUN RUN HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 46 70 01000110 The RUN command is issued to the Master BIRD but not to the Slave BIRD to start the BIRDs FLYing or to the standalone BIRD to restart normal system operation after it has been put to sleep with the SLEEP command RUN does not reinitialize the system RAM memory so any configuration or alignment data entered before the system went to SLEEP will be retained 111 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference SLEEP SLEEP HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 47 71 01000111 The SLEEP command turns the transmitter off and halts the system The command is issued to the Master BIRD or the standalone BIRD but not to the Slave BIRD While asleep the BIRD will respond
35. 3 Diskette COM1 2 2 1 2 IRQJUMPERS If interrupt driven ISA bus operation is required instead of polled operation you must select which interrupt number is assigned to the pcBIRD card The pcBIRD can utilize interrupt numbers 3 4 5 9 10 11 12 and 15 Place a jumper plug vertically over the two pins below the interrupt number on the circuit board If the card is not interrupt driven remove any jumpers present If you are using several pcBIRD cards in the same chassis all interrupt driven each card must use a different IRQ The cards are shipped with no IRQ jumpers installed If you cannot talk to the pcBIRD it may be because the IRQ number you have selected is used by another device in your system Try another IRQ In aPC the IRQs are usually assigned per the following table Use this to help select a non interfering IRQ Tina ove COM2 COM4 COM1 COM3 LPT2 LPT1 Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 2 1 3 BOARD JUMPERS There are 9 jumpers on the circuit board For most applications the jumpers should not have to be changed from the default settings Verify that the jumpers on your board are per Appendix Ill If you need to change jumpers you should only change jumpers 1 2 and 3 If using the CRT sync cable supplied with the system set jumper pins 1 and 2 together on jumpers 1 and 2 If using a user supplied TTL SYNC signal set jumper pins 2 and 3 together on jumpers 1 and 2 If you are not using a
36. 42 110 to 138 0 9 42 to 54 138 to 170 0 9 54 170 0 9 To CHANGE ALPHA MAX send the pcBIRD seven words of PARAMETERdata corresponding to ALPHA_MAX During CHANGE you may want to decrease ALPHA MAX to increase the amount of filtering if the unit s outputs are too noisy during rapid sensor movement ALPHA_MAX must always be greater than ALPHA_MIN SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK PARAMETERnumber 14 When PARAMETERnumber 14 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a word which indicates if the position and orientation outputs will be allowed to change if the system detects a sudden large change in the outputs Large undesirable changes may occur at large separation distances between the transmitter and sensor when the sensor undergoes a fast rotation or translation The word returned will 1 to indicate that the outputs will not be updated if a large change is detected If the byte returned is zero the outputs will change To change SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK send the pcBIRD one word of PARAMETERdata 0 to unlock the outputs or send one byte 1 to lock the outputs 81 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference SYSTEM MODEL IDENTIFICATION PARAMETERnumber 15 When PARAMETERnumber 15 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns 10 bytes which will represent the device that was found Stand alone SRT MINIBIRD2 miniBIRD II with 1 Xmtr and 1 Snsr MINIBIRD2R miniBIRD II with 1 Xmtr and 2 Snsrs MINIBIRD2X miniBIR
37. 93 6657 between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern Standard Time or fax us at 802 893 6659 126 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix I Nomenclature FBB FLOCK MASTER SLAVE NOISE CRT ISA BUS APPENDIX I NOMENCLATURE Fast BIRD Bus A high baud rate RS485 interface interconnecting the pcBIRD units The FBB is used by the BIRDs for talking among themselves A Flock is one or more sensors and or transmitters that are connected together to make a single system The Master BIRD is the Flock BIRD that is controlling and coordinating the operation of all other Flock BIRDs the Slaves The Master controls the sequencing and synchronizing of Flock transmitters and tells sensors when to measure the transmitted magnetic fields The user s host computer communicates with the Master to start and stop the Flock and perform other major Flock control functions There can only be one Master running on the FBB at atime The Master BIRD may have its own transmitter but this is not a requirement The Flock can run using a transmitter attached to a Slave All BIRDs in the Flock must have a sensor unless it is an ERC Extended Range Controller One or more BIRDs in the Flock with a sensor and possibly a transmitter that receive operating instructions from the Master BIRD If the Slave unit has a transmitter the user s host computer may tell the Master to turn on this Slave s transmitter via the NEXT TRANSMITTER command Noise i
38. AME command permits you to define a new reference frame by inputting the angles required to align the physical axes of the transmitter to the X Y and Z axes of the new reference frame The alignment angles are defined as rotations about the Z Y and X axes of the transmitter These angles are called the Azimuth Elevation and Roll angles The command sequence consists of a Command Byte and 12 Command Data bytes The Command Data consists of the sines and cosines of the alignment angles Azimuth A Elevation E and Roll R See the REFERENCE FRAME2 command if you want to send only the angles and not the sines and cosines of the angles Although the REFERENCE FRAME1 command will cause the pcBIRD s output angles to change it has no effect on the position outputs If you want the unit s XYZ position reference frame to also change with this command you must first use the EXAMINE CHANGE VALUE XYZ REFERENCE FRAME command If you immediately follow the REFERENCE FRAME1 command with a POINT or STREAM mode data request you may not see the effect of this command in the data returned It will take at least one measurement period i e 10 milliseconds if running the pcBIRD at 100 measurements sec before you see the effect of the command If the command is sent to the Master all accessible BIRDs in the Flock are updated If the command is sent to the Slave only the Slave is updated 105 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference
39. B10 Be B8 B7 Be B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 BO x x x x x x rjr RDR Receive Data Ready TDR Transmit Data Ready 22 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Interface When BO 1 the user can transmit a word to the pcBIRD When B1 1 a word is available from pcBIRD for reading Bits B2 to B15 may be any random value when STATUS is read Write only INTERRUPT SOURCE and RESET RUN at Base address 2 RST Reset Run INT Interrupt source Setting BO 0 holds the pcBIRD in reset Setting BO 1 starts or continues the operation of the pcBIRD Setting B1 0 sets the interrupt source to be the RDR status bit Setting B1 1 sets the interrupt source to be the TDR status bit The bits associated with READ operations from the port at Base Address 2 will hereafter be referred to as DATA STATUS bits The bits associated with WRITE operations to the port at Base Address 2 will hereafter be referred to as INTERRUPT RESET bits 4 2 PORT BEHAVIOR ON POWER UP On power up or immediately after a reset the DATA STATUS bits are B1 0 BO 0 Approximately two seconds after power up or reset the DATA STATUS bits will change to B1 0 BO 1 indicating that there is no data available to read from the pcBIRD B1 0 but the user can send a command to the pcBIRD BO 1 23 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Interface 4 3 SENDING COMMANDS TO THE pcBIRD To send a word to the pcBIRD the user must first wai
40. BB off on on off on 13 Set 625K Baud Internal FBB off on on on on 1 5 lt unused gt on off off off on 17 Factory Test on off off on on 19 Factory Test on off on off on 21 Test for sensor on off on on on 23 Don t test for sensor on on off off on 25 lt unused gt on on of on on 27 Set Expanded Address mode on on on off on 29 Set Normal Address Mode on on on on on 31 Set Super Expanded Address Mode Note After power up tests have been successfully completed the pcBIRD s LED will blink the following number of times depending on which address mode it is in Normal Addressing Mode LED blinks 5 times Expanded Addressing Mode LED blinks twice Super Expanded Addressing Mode LED blinks once 9 1 FACTORY TEST This test is used during the manufacturing process of the pcBIRD 9 2 BIRD OUTPUT During the BIRD Output test the pcBIRD will output 4 characters O 4F Hex K 4B Hex lt CR gt OD Hex lt LF gt OA Hex approximately twice per second over the RS232 interface depending on the host control mode The user can validate the host cable and serial communication receive software with this test 57 Installation and Operation Guide Test Modes 9 3 BIRD ECHO During the BIRD Echo test the pcBIRD will echo every character received over the RS232 interface Using this test the user can validate the host interface hardware and software 9 4 HOST DATA READ During the Host Data Read test the pcBIRD will send o
41. COMMAND USAGE TABLE The following information answers the question To which BIRD unit do send a given command The answer depends on the type and number of interfaces and the command itself The following table sorts out the possible combinations In the following the word flock will mean several BIRD units interconnected with FBB cables BIRD refers to a single unit with a sensor ERC refers to the Extended Range Controller ERT refers to the Extended Range Transmitter the 12 inch black cube that plugs into the ERC The ERC does not have a sensor Applicability references The command usage table refers to the numbers 2 to 6 Each of these numbers have the following meaning 2 This command must be sent to the individual BIRD in the Flock whose mode of operation you want to change even if you are in the GROUP mode If you send this command addressed to the Master it will not change the mode of any other BIRD If you have multiple pcBIRD cards in a common chassis you can send commands and receive data by talking to each card individually using the ISA bus they do not have to be prefaced with the R 232 ISA TO FBB command If you have pcBIRD cards in multiple chassis interconnected with an FBB bus and want to control them from a single chassis or an external ERC then you need to use the RS232 ISA TO FBB command 3 This command is only sent to the Master unit You may but do not have to use the RS232 ISA TO FBB preface on co
42. Configuring the pcBIRD for Minimum Lag 1 Use STREAM mode not POINT mode for collecting data STREAM mode gives you data every BIRD measurement cycle as soon as it has been computed If you used POINT mode the data request would come at some random point in the pcBIRD s measurement cycle resulting in a random variation of up to 10 milliseconds in the age of the units measured data 2 Select an output format that transmits the minimum amount of data required For example if you only want to measure angles then select ANGLE mode and not POSITION ANGLE mode 3 Unlock the outputs if you are going to be making sudden movements by setting the CHANGE VALUE SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK command to zero 4 Minimize the number of filters applied to the pcBIRD data To determine which filters you can remove 1 Set the pcBIRD s sensor at the maximum distance from the transmitter that you will be using in your application 2 Use the CHANGE VALUE FILTER ON OFF STATUS command to remove one filter at a time Observe the noise on the outputs of your measurements as you remove each filter If the amount of noise is acceptable leave the selected filter out The DC filter will have the largest impact on noise and usually cannot be eliminated unless you are going to be running with the sensor close to the transmitter or you are going to filter your own data 5 Minimize the amount of steady state filtering applied by the DC filter Use the CHANGE VALUE DC
43. D II with 2 Xmtrs and 2 Snsrs MOTIONSTAR 82 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference EXPANDED ERROR CODE PARAMETERnumber 16 When PARAMETERnumber 16 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will output one word describing the error code with expanded error information The first byte output is the Error register code as defined in examine value with PARAMETERnumber 10 and the second byte is the expanded error code information which is additional information describing why the error occurred Expanded error information is only useful when the first byte the error code is 13 No FBB Command Response When in Normal Addressing mode the least significant 4 bits of the second byte contain the address 1 through 14 of the Slave which did not respond to the Master When in Expanded Addressing mode the least significant 5 bits contain the address 1 through 30 of the Slave which did not respond to the Master The remaining most significant bits contain factory diagnostic information and should be ignored When in Super Expanded Addressing mode the least significant 7 bits contain the address 1 through 126 of the Slave which did not respond to the Master XYZ REFERENCE FRAME PARAMETERnumber 17 By default the XYZ measurement frame is the reference frame defined by the physical orientation of the transmitter s XYZ axes even when the REFERENCE FRAME command has been used to specify a new reference frame for measuring orientati
44. E BUTTON READ CHANGE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE FBB RESET HEMISPHERE MATRIX NEXT TRANSMITTER OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR Description Data record contains 3 Euler rotation angles Aligns a sensor to a specified direction Sets how the mouse button will be output Reads the value of the mouse button pushed Changes the value of a selected system parameter Reads and examines a selected system parameter Resets all of the slave BIRDs Sets desired hemisphere of transmitter operation Data record contains 9 element rotation matrix Turns on the next transmitter Stops any data being output and clears the output 31 Installation and Operation Guide POINT POSITION POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION QUATERNION REFERENCE FRAME REPORT RATE RS232 ISA TO FBB RUN SLEEP STREAM SYNC 32 ISA Command Utilization buffer This is an ISA command only One data record is output for each B command from the selected sensor If GROUP mode is enabled one record is output from all configured sensors Data record contains X Y Z position of sensor Data record contains POSITION and ANGLES Data record contains POSITION and MATRIX Data record contains POSITION and QUATERNION Data record contains OUATERNIONS Defines new measurement reference frame Number of data records second output in STREAM mode Address preface to allow a single pcBIRD to send commands and receive data from all other pcBIRDs St
45. Extended Range Transmitter attached Do not attempt to fix this error Contact Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 124 Installation and Operation Guide CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION TYPE 31 32 33 34 35 CPU Time Overflow Error WARNING2 Cause This error occurs if the CPU in the BIRD or Extended Range Controller runs out of CPU time This can occur if the host overburdens the BIRD with multiple commands in a measurement cycle Action The host can either slow down the measurement rate or decrease the number of commands sent to the BIRD Sensor Saturated Error WARNING1 Cause This error occurs if the sensor is saturated during power up This will occur if the sensor is not connected the sensor or cable is damaged a large magnetic field is present or the sensor is sitting on a steel table Action The User should check that the sensor is attached to the BIRD screw in the connector and that none of the other above mentioned conditions exist Slave Configuration Error WARNING1 Cause This error occurs if the Master determines that a Slave is not configured with a sensor during the Auto Configuration command Action Verify that all the Slaves have their sensors attached Watch Dog Error WARNING1 Cause This error occurs on an Extended Range Controller if the CPU does not update the Watch Dog Timer within a 100 mS period This will only occur if the CPU or ROMs fail during operation Action Should never occur
46. FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA_MIN command and increase ALPHA_MIN until the noise level is unsatisfactory The closer the sensor is to the transmitter the larger ALPHA_MIN can be 139 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix VI Application Notes Run the pcBIRD at a higher measurement rate Use the CHANGE VALUE BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE command and increase the unit s measurement rate from its default speed of approximately 103 3 measurements second You can increase the speed up to a maximum of approximately 144 measurements seconds As you increase the speed you will note that the amount of noise in the pcBIRD measurements may be higher than or less than the amount of noise at the power up default speed The noise can increase or decrease rapidly with a speed change of just a few cycles sec and then increase or decrease again as you continue to change the speed Reduce the amount of noise that the pcBIRD thinks is in the local environment by using the CHANGE VALUE DC FILTER TABLE Vm command Set the sensor at various distances from the transmitter and reduce the Vm value for this range until the noise is unacceptable The biggest gain in dynamic performance other than elimination of the DC filter comes from reducing Vm Reduce the amount of filtering during the steady state part of fast movements by using the CHANGE VALUE DC FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA_MAX Set ALPHA MAX as close to 0 999 as possible The larger alpha max is the less lag
47. FILTER TABLE Vit ia vd ae ed moni erti ei aa aa 79 DC FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA MAX 80 SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK 81 SYSTEM MODEL IDENTIFICATION 0 82 EXPANDED ERROR CODE ES ees ee ss ees Die ep tie eerie nt 83 XYZ REFERENCE FRAME ss ies es teats eu eg Rou Ek ewe eg eu derd 83 TRANSMITTER OPERATION MODE iese ee ee ee 84 FBB ADDRESSING MODE este Bek ABR ER Bee ek 040 85 FILTER LINE FREQUENCY occ de EE RE RE ER ER GE Ee pd NE 85 FEBBADDRESS so See ie EE E ge ee Eve ur gegee Eve ap eed 85 CHANGE EXAMINE HEMISPHERE ie eie ee ee see 86 CHANGE EXAMINE ANGLE ALIGN2 iese ee see 86 CHANGE EXAMINE REFERENCE FRAME2 87 BIRD SERIAL NUMBER iek EE Re ee ie GE ek EE N AE 87 SENSOR SERIAL NUMBER ie ee es ee ke ee eee 87 XMTR SERIAL NUMBER us is DE ee wea ee eg 88 GROUP MODE Se Sain oa ea ea ee ek ee Ge reed 88 FLOCK SYSTEM STATUS sort Stace bet eee ae tates 89 FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 00 ee ee ee 90 FEB gi sto af Pere Ee Sent we ere RARR RA er cane Ore Greet ene ere eres 91 HEMISPLIERE etn a GR GR De N 92 MATRIX ts aid wa sy EG N ela SE DS ee aa De Er ak ee ee 94 NEXT TRANSMITTER si sus ee we ae We ee nara Ne ee ee 96 OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR c2i0croucsiansowarduarawaddue by 98 POINT sus RR OE deride EE EE ES 99 PEOSMIORS ie SR EE SO atectratata wer otra trate NS 100 POSMIONANGLES 4 ds eds eee hs Ve ee Ee aa aoi 101 POSITION MATRIX Sears BA
48. GARD ois ogies ta otor ER Ee ee ee Ge ed 14 2 3 EXTENDED RANGE CONTROLLER TRANSMITTER OPTION 17 2 3 1 EXTENDED RANGE TRANSMITTER LOCATION 17 2 3 2 TRANSMITTER INSTALLATION 0 0 000 18 2 3 3 ERC INTERNAL JUMPERS is RS SU oe oA tee eee sd 19 2 3 4 CONFIGURING THE FLOCK WITH ANERC 19 2 3 5 ERC TRANSMITTER CABLE 00000 02 eae 19 2 3 6 ERC POWER SUPPLY CABLE x0 sia esa aes poe eee 20 3 0 INCLUDED SOFTWARE os ne se ae ed de ed ie altace 21 4 0 ISA HOST INTERFACE TO THE pcBIRD ee ee SE ee se ee 22 41 PORT DEEINITIONU Re oe Shes do ee DA Wan bed AA RA Res Dean eens 22 4 2 PORT BEHAVIOR ON POWER UP Ses ss ie EA bl We Se ee De ep rd 23 4 3 SENDING COMMANDS TO THE pcBIRD 004 24 4 4 RECEIVING DATA FROM THE pcBIRD 0 000 02a 24 4 5 INTERRUPT OPERATION 4 su ee so ces OR SEA eae BEA DAD ae 24 4 6 BESETTING THE PcEIRD ii EERS DES sane DOER cease ease tae eas 25 5 0 FORMAT OF ISA COMMANDS AND DATA ee EE es ee 26 5 1 FORMAT OF COMMANDS AND DATA SENT ee ese ee ee 26 5 2 FORMAT OF COMMANDS AND DATA RECEIVED 28 5 2 1 POSITION ORIENTATION DATA FORMAT 28 5 2 2 CHANGE EXAMINE DATA FORMAT 05 28 6 0 ISA COMMAND UTILIZATION 0 0 cece eee 29 6 1 STAND ALONE OPERATION eripere hoy BREER RR GR Ep e 29 6 2 MASTERSLAVE OPERATION ns ok EA ee 66526048 oS SG ek Oil
49. GR SR AR GE SR ER de anaes 102 POSITIONOUATEBNION ss iss pees egal pans Wees DOE mde 103 QUATERNION ii eie ge ee cea io ge Sea ee eise eg ee di cea 104 REFERENCE ERAME IT EE GE Ek Be nate se et es si es De EG AG 105 HEFERENSE FRAME sig ak wets as we iek gie oe ie de aie ee Wi 107 REPORT HAIE states SR SR SR ER ES Oe DRS DES OR DRESS Ee 108 RS232 SA TO FRB seed ee GR ee E E patty arpa AG 109 DUN se EE ata a ER N ea EI eR at 111 SLEEPS GN OG N aq sp ane eae baw Daw oe ew a 112 STREAM fava bes READ BEA AD Ee cy d AD DS DA Ge sa he 113 SYNG tie did EE eben eee GEED EDE heehee ree 114 OE ER N Dee Ee Ee ee ME Ee Mis 117 KONG ee ia AE OR EE a ea oh Wag aa GEE Beate heey a Rees 118 11 0 ERROR MESSAGES 5 EERS Sue BEES eee EES DEE DERS GER ees 119 11 1 ERROR MESSAGE DETAILS is ese Ee ee ee ee ees me ee ei es 121 12 0 TROUBLE SHOOTNG so D bed ss ee se Po Gen Dae 126 APPENDIX I NOMENCLATURE Ge SE Ee ee ee ee ee 127 APPENDIX Il pcBIRD SPECIFICATIONS GE EE ee ee ee 129 APPENDIX Ill JUMPER FUNCTIONS GE EE Ee ee ee ee 130 APPENDIX IV JUMPER LOCATIONS ON THE CIRCUIT BOARDS 132 APPENDIX V USING THE pcBIRD AS A SLAVE WITH A NON pcBIRD MASTER WEAR AGA MEER CR aS AHEAD He OE EE NS 134 APPENDIX VI APPLICATION NOTES 2000020 cee ee ee 135 Computing the Coordinates of a Stylus Tip 02 135 Converting the pcBIRD Outputs to a Graphics Modeling Matrix
50. IRD program are located in file OPERATEC TXT Feel free to incorporate any of this software into your own application or product 21 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Interface 4 0 ISA HOST INTERFACE TO THE pcBIRD If your host computer is using the RS232 interface to the Flock you do not need to read Sections 4 x or 5 x You should however read Section 6 x The ISA interface provides a 16 bit read write data port located at Base Address 0 to exchange information between the pcBIRD and the user s host computer In addition at Base Address 2 the user can determine the status of the port s data availability set the interrupt source or reset the pcBIRD system The user s host computer initiates all command and data transactions for the pcBIRD The pcBIRD card interprets the most significant byte of the first word in a record as a command Subsequent bytes words sent to the card by the host may contain additional data or commands 4 1 PORT DEFINITION The bit definitions of the pcBIRD s two ISA ports as seen by the user s host computer are defined below Read Write DATA AND COMMANDS at Base address 0 Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 810 B9 B8 B7 Bs B5 B4 Bs B2 B1 BO Here BO is the least significant bit and B15 is the most significant bit of the commands and data written to or read from the pcBIRD Read only DATA STATUS at Base address 2 215 814 619 B12 B11
51. If the least significant byte is 1 the full scale output is 72 inches Do not use this command with the Extended Range Transmitter ERT Full scale output for the ERT is 144 inches and is not changeable To CHANGE the scale factor send the pcBIRD two bytes of PARAMETERdata with the most significant byte set to zero and the least significant set to zero or one Note Changing the scale factor from the default 36 inches to 72 inches reduces by half the resolution of the output X Y Z coordinates Regardless of the scale factor setting operation of the pcBIRD at ranges beyond the specified 48 inch operating range is not recommended At these increased ranges the pcBIRD s outputs will exhibit increased noise and reduced dynamic response If the increased noise is too great for your application use the CHANGE VALUE command on the ALPHA_MIN filter parameter 73 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference FILTER ON OFF STATUS PARAMETERnumber 4 When PARAMETERnumber 4 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a code telling you what software filters are turned on or off in the unit The average user should not have to change the filters but it is possible to do so The most significant byte returned is always zero The bits in the least significant byte are coded as follows BIT NUMBER MEANING B7 B3 0 B2 0 if the AC NARROW notch filter is ON 1 if the AC NARROW notch filter is OFF default B1 0 if the AC WIDE notch filter is O
52. N default 1 if the AC WIDE notch filter is OFF BO 0 if the DC filter is ON default 1 if the DC filter is OFF The AC NARROW notch filter refers to a two tap finite impulse response FIR notch filter applied to signals measured by the pcBIRD s sensor to eliminate a narrow band of noise with sinusoidal characteristics Use this filter in place of the AC WIDE notch filter when you want to minimize the transport delay between pcBIRD s measurement of the sensor s position orientation and the output of these measurements The transport delay of the AC NARROW notch filter is approximately one third the delay of the AC WIDE notch filter The AC WIDE notch filter refers to a six tap FIR notch filter applied to the sensor data to eliminate sinusoidal signals with a frequency between 30 and 72 hertz If your application requires minimum transport delay between measurement of the sensor s position orientation and the output of these measurements you may want to evaluate the effect on your application of having this filter shut off and the AC NARROW notch filter on If you are running the pcBIRD synchronized to a CRT you can usually shut this filter off without experiencing an increase in noise Note For optimal notch filter performance make sure the pcBIRD is set for the proper Line Frequency by checking it with the FILTER LINE FREQUENCY command 74 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The DC filter refers to an adaptive infini
53. OGK ee Ee oie aw ew ee Ie A A 58 9 6 TEST FOR SENSOR i icc oe WE cake wee eee eRe ee 58 9 7 DON T TEST FOR SENSOR Ad ou uh ik bed bb bd MA ooh wh Bh b 58 9 8 SET NORMAL ADDRESS MODE ees see es ee Se ee ee 59 9 9 SET EXPANDED ADDRESS MODE 2 oi see es ee ee ee ee 59 9 10 SET SUPER EXPANDED ADDRESS MODE 59 10 0 COMMAND REFERENCE 0 ee ee eee eee 60 ANGLES chet REEDE R EED OER EED SERE EDE DO ER SE SAG 61 ANGELE ALIGM ii sed ee EE ee ee se ei er a E AR a ee a eames 62 PANG ALIEN EE Se es Ge ke ee AE Ee ee n ee 64 BUTTON MODE mer ss sta sies Se be DE be Ee e ERG 66 BUTTON READ ik SEE ARE RR EE RR ER EER Ek dene Reed 67 CHANGE VALUE cite cite ath ENS RE aS abide aoe EDE RE Eb Sat ees 68 EXAMINE VALUE sect 6 8 tot tas Sotto Saad tod tah A cot te ce ete SR SES edie aac oA 68 BIRD STATUS iss Es EERS RR EO GR E 71 SOFTWARE REVISION NUMBER eie ee ee ee 72 BIRD COMPUTER CRYSTAL SPEED 72 POSITION SGAGING Hs sis ait hud eed WA SR teks De DE ot 73 FILTER ON OFF STATUS i008 eee erie eae teak bee 74 DC FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA MIN 75 BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT 76 BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE 000 e eee eee 77 DISABLE ENABLE DATA READY OUTPUT 78 SET DATA READY CHARACTER 000 0 00s 78 ERROF GODE cates SEN SO RA cetera ES ote ai ead Re 78 ERRORDETEGT MASK ov dd se oe Wane ee edie 79 DG
54. OM via a read command to verify that it is present prior to writing the device PCB Configuration Data Corrupt WARNING1 Cause The system was not able to read the PCB EEPROM Initialized Code Action Verify that the error persists after removing the transmitter and the sensor Transmitter Configuration Data Corrupt WARNING1 Cause The system was not able to read the Transmitter EEPROM tnitialized Code or the Transmitter is not plugged in Action Insure that the Transmitter is present calibrate the transmitter and set the Initialized Code in the EEPROM Sensor Configuration Data Corrupt WARNING1 Cause The system was not able to read the Sensor EEPROM Initialized Code or the Sensor is not plugged in Action Insure that the Sensor is present calibrate the sensor and set the Initialized Code in the EEPROM Invalid Command WARNING2 Cause The system has received an invalid command which can occur if the user sends down a command character that is not defined or if the data for a command does not make sense i e change value commands with an unknown parameter number Action Only send valid commands to the BIRD Do not attempt to fix this error Contact Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 121 Installation and Operation Guide CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION TYPE 7 Not an FBB Master WARNING2 Cause The system received a command which should only be sent to the Master BIRD Action Send the command with t
55. OST BUS data is not terminated 5 1 2 connected BIRD BUS CTS is terminated 1 2 not connected BIRD BUS CTS is not terminated 6 1 2 connected BIRD BUS data is terminated 1 2 not connected BIRD BUS data is not terminated 7 1 2 connected RAM size 32K x 8 enable 2 3 connected RAM size 8K x 8 enable 8 12 Do not exist 13 1 2 connected using ISA bus interface 2 3 connected not using ISA bus interface 14 1 2 connected using ISA bus for power on reset 2 3 connected not using ISA bus for power on reset Notes indicates factory default setting 130 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix III Jumper Functions 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Notes Jumper assignments on the ERC circuit card Function do not exist 1 2 connected when using RS485 host control 1 2 not connected when using RS232 host control do not exist 1 2 connected BIRD BUS CTS terminated 1 2 not connected BIRD BUS CTS not terminated 1 2 connected FBB reset is enabled 1 2 not connected FBB reset is not enabled 1 2 connected RS485 host receive data enabled 2 3 connected RS232 host receive data enabled does not exist 1 2 connected BIRD BUS data terminated 1 2 not connected BIRD BUS data not terminated does not exist 1 2 connected RS485 HOST BUS data terminated 1 2 not connected RS485 HOST BUS data not terminated indicates factory default setting
56. Over Temperature Error WARNING1 Cause This error occurs on an Extended Range Controller if the transmitter driver overheats This can occur if the fan in the controller fails or if the ambient temperature of the controller exceeds operating specifications Action Verify that the fan is operating Do not attempt to fix this error Contact Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 Ethernet Commands 125 Installation and Operation Guide Trouble Shooting 12 0 TROUBLE SHOOTING If you are experiencing trouble with the pcBIRD try the following IF YOU CANNOT TALK TO THE pcBIRD WITH THE ISA INTERFACE 1 With the power off to the host computer verify that the pcBIRD card is seated into the host computer s ISA bus connectors 2 Check that the Base Address dip switch is set to the correct value 3 Verify that no other cards in your chassis use Base Address 0 1 2 or 3 4 Check that the IRQ jumpers are set correctly There should be no jumpers if you are using pcBIRD in a polled mode IF YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE pcBIRD BUT THE DATA IS BAD 1 Make sure all cables are plugged in and plugged into the correct connectors 2 If you send commands without their proper command data bytes or the wrong number of data bytes the system may hang Reset the system to return you to normal operation There are no fuse or other user serviceable parts on the pcBIRD s circuit board For technical assistance call Ascension Technology at 802 8
57. PARAMETERnumber 2 MSbyte of PARAMETERvalue 1 LSbyte of PARAMETERvalue 1 3 MSbyte of PARAMETERvalue 2 LSbyte of PARAMETERvalue 2 Ni MSbyte of PARAMETERvalue N LSbyte of PARAMETERvalue N If the PARAMETERdata is numeric it must be in 2 s complement format You do not shift and add phasing bits to the data The EXAMINE VALUE command must be issued to the pcBIRD in the following one word sequence WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 EXAMINE command 4F Hex PARAMETERnumber The PARAMETERdata is returned as words If the PARAMETERdata is numeric it is in 2 s complement format The PARAMETERdata received does not contain phasing bits The PARAMETERdata value content and scaling depend on the particular parameter requested For further explanation see the following discussion of each parameter 70 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference BIRD STATUS PARAMETERnumber 0 When PARAMETERnumber 0 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a status word to tell the user in what mode the unit is operating The bit assignments for the two byte response are as follows B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 1 if BIRD is a Master BIRD 0 if BIRD is a Slave BIRD 1 if BIRD has been initialized AUTO CONFIGURED 0 if BIRD has not been initialized 1 if an error has been detected 0 if no error is detected 1 if BIRD is RUNNING 0 if BIRD is not RUNNING 1 if in HOST SYNC mode 0
58. RD is the FBB Master unit or in stand alone mode In the configurations no software precaution is needed In the cases where a Flock of Birds or ERC electronic unit is the Master and a pcBIRD with transmitter is the Slave care must be taken in the software setup For this configuration the Master is sent the following commands 1 CHANGE VALUE TRANSMITTER OPERATION MODE Cool Down or Pulsed mode 2 If pcBIRD transmitter is being used NEXT TRANSMITTER the FBB address of the Slave pcBIRD 3 CHANGE VALUE FBB AUTO CONFIG Number of units in Flock The pcBIRD will not run in Non Pulsed mode which is the default mode of the Flock of Birds electronic units the MotionStar cards and the ERC If the CHANGE VALUE TRANSMITTER OPERATION MODE is not used in the command stream the data will appear unstable and very jumpy This is the result of the pcBIRD s measurement time not being synchronized with the non pcBIRD Master If the transmitter is on the Master BIRD and the Master is an ERC or an Flock of Birds then the CHANGE VALUE TRANSMITTER OPERATION MODE command should be sent to every BIRD in the Flock This will guarantee that each BIRD is using the correct measurement timing 134 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix VI Application Notes APPENDIX VI APPLICATION NOTES Application Note 1 Computing the Coordinates of a Stylus Tip Some applications need to measure the X Y Z coordinates that describe the physical shape of an
59. RING THE CARD Before you install the pcBIRD card in your chassis configure the pcBIRD card To configure the card you must do the following 1 Set the ISA bus Base Address dip switch 2 Set the IRQ number jumper block 3 Set board jumpers 1 14 4 Set the configuration dip switch Appendix III contains a list of all jumpers in the electronics unit To locate the jumpers refer to the printed circuit card drawings in Appendix IV The jumper blocks can be removed and inserted vertically with a strong set of fingers WARNING The system electronics card contains static electricity sensitive components that may be damaged if you touch the card As a precaution always touch the metal chassis of the PC before touching any part of the card A WARNING NEVER install or remove the electronics card when the PC s power is ON The card and the PC may be damaged 2 2 1 1 BASE VO ADDRESS The Base Address dip switch selects the ISA bus VO address for sending and receiving data from the pcBIRD This dip switch allows the user to select Base Addresses from 000 Hex to 3FC Hex in address steps of 4 The pcBIRD uses Base Address 0 and Base Address 2 In selecting a Base Address for the pcBIRD you must have no other devices on the ISA bus that use Base Address 0 1 2 and 3 The system is shipped with a Base Address of 200 Hex If your shipment also includes slave cards they have addresses 204 208 etc Installation and Operation Guide Install
60. S 3 Shifts each LSByte right one more 4 Transmits all bytes in stream bit Marks with 1 if first byte MS BIT LS BIT 76543210 WORD 11001000 1LSByte 0000141000 1MSByte 01010001 2LSByte 0 0011001 2MSByte 0 1011001 3LSByle 0 0101010 3MSByte 50 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface The user s computer can identify the beginning of the data record by catching the leading 1 and converting subsequent data bytes back to their proper binary values HOST 1 Receives data bytes in stream after 2 Shifts each LSByte left one catching first marked 1 Changes bit that 1 back to a 0 01001000 LS 00001000 MS 01010001 LS 00011001 MS 01011001 LS 00101010 MS 10010000 LS 00001000 MS 10100010 LS 00011001 MS 10110010 LS 00101010 MS 3 Combines each MSByte LSByte pair 4 Shifts each word left one more into data words bit giving the correct original binary value MS LS MS LS 00001000 10010000 00010001 00100000 00011001 10100010 00110011 01000100 00101010 10110010 01010101 01100100 You don t need to worry about the fact that the two least significant bits are different because the data words do not use these bits NOTE The GROUP MODE address and data sent by the ERC to the host in response to the BUTTON READ or EXAMINE VALUE commands are not shifted and have no phasing bit added 51 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface 8 4 RS232
61. Xmtr Range Range Vm inches inches integer 0 to 17 0 to 55 2 17 to 22 55 to 70 4 22 to 27 70 to 90 8 27 to 34 90 to 110 32 34 to 42 110 to 138 64 42 to 54 138 to 170 256 54 170 512 As Vm increases with range so does the amount of filter lag To reduce the amount of lag reduce the larger Vm values until the noise in the pcBIRD s output is too large for your application DC FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA MAX PARAMETERnumber 13 When PARAMETERnumber 13 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns 7 words which define the upper end of the adaptive range that filter constant ALPHA_MAX can assume in the DC filter as a function of sensor to transmitter separation When there is a fast motion of the sensor the adaptive filter reduces the amount of filtering by increasing the ALPHA used in the filter It will increase ALPHA only up to the limiting ALPHA_MAX value By doing this the lag in the filter is reduced during fast movements When ALPHA_MAX 0 99996 7FFF Hex the DC filter will provide no filtering of the data during fast movements 80 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The default values as a function of transmitter to sensor separation range for the standard range and extended range transmitters are as follows Std Range Xmtr Extended Range Xmtr Range Range ALPHA_MAX inches inches fractional 0 to 17 0 to 55 0 9 07333 Hex 17 to 22 55 to 70 0 9 22 to 27 70 to 90 0 9 27 to 34 90 to 110 0 9 34 to
62. Z8 Z7 Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 22 2 0 Z 15 4 13 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 1 1 15 4 13 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 2 1 5 4 3 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 3 1 15 4 13 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 1 2 15 4 13 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 2 2 5 4 3 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 3 2 1 5 4 13 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 13 15 4 13 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 2 3 5 d 3 2 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 373 See POSITION mode and MATRIX mode for number ranges and scaling 102 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference POSITION QUATERNION POSITION QUATERNION HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 5D 93 01011101 In the POSITION QUATERNION mode the pcBIRD outputs the X Y and Z position and the four quaternion parameters Qo d G2 and ds which describe the orientation of the sensor with respect to the transmitter The output record is in the following format for the seven transmitted words MSB LSB L5 14 3 2 0 9 8 ih 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 X 1 X Y15 14 YI Y12 Y Y10 Y9 Y8 Y7 Y6 Y5 Y4 Y3 Y2 Y 0 Y Z15 214 213 212 2 Z10 Z9 28 Z7 Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 22 2 0 Z B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B 0 Ao B15 B14 B13 B12 GBIT B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B 0 q B15 Bl4 B13 B12 Bll B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B 0 q2 B15 Bl4 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B 0 Os See POSITION mode and OUATERNION mode for nu
63. a is received If you change the output format with an ANGLES MATRIX etc command and immediately follow with a data request command you will receive zero s for the data in the new format for up to 8 milliseconds until a new internal measurement cycle is started The following is a hypothetical command sequence issued after power up which illustrates the use of some of the commands These commands assume that the pcBIRD is in Stand Alone configuration COMMAND ACTION ANGLES Specifies that the output record will contain angles only POINT pcBIRD outputs an ANGLE data record POINT pcBIRD outputs another ANGLE data record STREAM ANGLE data records start streaming from pcBIRD OUTPUT BUFFER Stops the stream of ANGLE records clears the output buffer CLEAR 29 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Utilization 6 2 MASTER SLAVE OPERATION When you use a single pcBIRD with an Extended Range Transmitter or multiple pcBIRDs see Section 2 2 1 4 a special command is used to start operation of all units To start operation of the system you must send to the master pcBIRD the unit with address 1 the CHANGE VALUE AUTO CONFIGURATION command Additionally if the transmitter is not attached to the pcBIRD at address 1 you must issue the NEXT TRANSMITTER command After the units are running you send commands to and receive data from each individual pcBIRD on the ISA bus as if it were in Stand Alone configuration If you have mult
64. above the floor As you move the sensor farther away from the ERT in the X direction record the sensor s Z position output If the floor is not causing a large error the Z position output will remain relatively constant as you move away from the transmitter The ideal location for the ERT is in an all wood building or in a large room with a stage above the floor for mounting the transmitter and using the sensors Because the ERT generates magnetic fields it may interfere with your computer s display causing image bending jitter or color distortion With an unshielded commercial CRT type display the ERT usually must be located at least four feet away 2 3 2 TRANSMITTER INSTALLATION Usually the ERT is mounted on a 3 or 4 foot high wood pedestal in the center of the motion capture space or mounted overhead or under the floor of a wood stage Because the transmitter is very heavy 50 Ibs fragile and subject to performance degradation by nearby metal the method you use to support the transmitter must be strong and non metallic Small amounts of metal in the mount such as steel bolts are acceptable Supporting the transmitter on a steel or aluminum framework is not acceptable We recommend wood structural fiberglass or laminated phenolic for mounting materials Two bolt holes in the bottom of the transmitter have been provided for maintaining the alignment of the transmitter to your support These bolts are not strong enough to support the weight
65. addr of the snsr whose orientation you want to examine or change If you send it to the Master unit the Master will not disseminate the information to the sensors Send to the addr with the transmitter whose reference frame you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose pcb serial number you want to know Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose snsr serial number you want to know Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose xmtr serial number you want to know Only applicable when using an RS485 interface Send to the Master only to examine or change group mode Send to the Master only to examine Flock system status Send to the Master only Send to the Master only 55 Installation and Operation Guide COMMAND Hemisphere Matrix Next Transmitter Point Position Position Angles Position Matrix Position Quaternion Quaternion Reference Frame Report Rate RS232 ISA to FBB Run Sleep Stream Sync Xoff Xon 56 APPLICABILITY 2 4 2 4 3 2 6 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface NOTES Send to the addr of the snsr whose outputs you want to be in a given hemisphere Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Matrix data Send to the current Master only If in Group mode send to the Master only If not in group mode must use the RS232 ISA TO FBB command to send to each individual sensor if you have only one inter
66. address mode its light will blink 2 times then go out when it is powered up 9 10 SET SUPER EXPANDED ADDRESS MODE This sets the ERC and pcBIRD cards into Super Expanded Addressing Mode which enables FBB addresses 1 through 126 To set the unit into Super Expanded Addressing Modes select test 31 and turn the power on When the front panel indicator blinks Super Expanded Addressing Mode has been set The dip switch can then be reset with the proper address and baud rate The power switch must then be cycled for Super Expanded Address operation The ERC and all pcBIRD cards must be individually set to Super Expanded Address Mode When a pcBIRD is in Super Expanded Address mode its light will blink 1 time then go out when it is powered up 59 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference 10 0 COMMAND REFERENCE All commands are listed alphabetically in the following section Each command description contains the command codes required to initiate the commands along with the format and scaling of the data records which the pcBIRD will output to the host computer 60 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference ANGLES ANGLES HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 57 87 01010111 In the ANGLES mode the pcBIRD outputs the orientation angles of the sensor with respect to the transmitter The orientation angles are defined as rotations about the Z Y and X axes of the sensor These angles are called Zang Yang and Xang or
67. adio Interference Regulation of the Canadian Department of Communications Le present appareil numerique n emet pas de bruits radioelectriques depassant les limites applicables aux appareils numeriques de la class A prescrites dans le Reglement sur le brouillage radioelectrique edicte par le ministere des Communications du Canada Equipment Description Tested With Year of Manufacture Applicable Directives Applicable Standards Authorized by EC Declaration of Conformity Issued by Ascension Technology Corporation PO Box 527 Burlington VT 05402 USA 802 893 6657 pcBIRD Model pcBIRD Tracking System 5V 4 5A 12V 1 5A No 5V or 12V The pcBIRD passed all CE directives when using a P75 Gateway computer S N 3883077 2000 73 23 EEC Low Voltage Directive 89 336 EEC EMC Directive EN 61010 1 1993 Safety Requirements for Electrical Equipment for Measurement Control and Laboratory Use General Requirements EN 50081 1 1992 Electromagnetic Compatibility Generic Emission Standard Residential Commercial and Light Industry EN 50082 1 1997 Electromagnetic Compatibility Generic Immunity Standard Residential Commercial and Light Industry Date Ernie Blood President Ascension Technology Corporation CE Specifications There are no fuse or user serviceable parts on the pcBIRD Modification or use of the equipment in any way that is not specified by Ascension Technology may impair the protection
68. and Operation Guide Notation shorthand snsr sensor xmtr transmitter addr address exam chg examine change COMMAND Angles Angle Align Button Mode Button Read Examine value parameter 0 BIRD Status Examine value parameter 1 Software Rev Examine value parameter 2 Crystal Speed Exam chg value parameter 3 Position Scaling Exam chg value parameter 4 Filter On Off Exam chg value parameter 5 Alpha min Exam chg value parameter 6 APPLICABILITY 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 5 2 4 2 4 Measurement Rate ISA Command Utilization COMMAND USAGE TABLE NOTES Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Angles data Send to the addr of the snsr whose orientation you want to change If you send it to the Master unit the Master will not disseminate the information to the sensors Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want button outputs Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want button outputs Send to the addr of the unit whose status you want to know Send to the addr of the unit whose software rev you want to know Send to the addr of the unit whose crystal speed you want to know Send to the addr of the snsr whose range scaling you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change If a Flock send to the Master only 35 Installation and
69. and accuracy provided by the equipment The lightning flash arrow symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within the products enclosure That voltage may constitute a risk of electric shock to persons The exclamation point within an eguilateral triangle is intended to alert the A user to important operating and maintenance servicing instructions in the appliance literature Equipment Maintenance 1 Do not block the ventilation holes on the PC s casing 2 Do not expose the pcBIRD to rain or condensing moisture 3 Keep the equipment away from extreme sources of heat TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 0 INTRODUCTION EE 2 ere N EE SR aut DE GO enna Ree aR 1 1 1 PRODUCT ADVISORY sd deas 30052400 he ed Me ne be ed he es Bee 2 2 0 INSTALLATION se se ohn ore aren Ge er eg 3 2 1 COMPONENT LOCATION ae Re ae ae ai Ge ae ER Gee Ee Re a d 2 1 1 STANDARD RANGE TRANSMITTER LOCATION 4 2 1 2 SENSOR LOCATION icc EER beh Peet bee ce ean Gad eee 4 2 2 SYSTEM ELECTRONICS CARD vi sak Re de ee ie Re ee Re geheg 5 2 2 1 CONFIGURING THE CARD iese alata ee aaa eed 5 2 2 1 1 BASE VO ADDRESS icici caw nwt eae eee el eg 5 2 2 1 2 IRQJUMPERS EE owed ewan eee ee eee eee 7 2 2 1 3 BOARD JUMPERS 0 2 og ed AR ER Hd cd vad ohn Bod wih es 8 2 2 1 4 ADDRESSING MODE CONFIGURATION 8 2 2 1 5 DIP SWITCH CONFIGURATION 9 2 2 2 INSTALLING THE
70. arts the system running again after put to SLEEP Turns transmitter off and suspends system operation Data records are transmitted continuously from the selected sensor Synchronizes data output to CRT or your host computer Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Utilization 6 5 DEFAULT VALUES Upon power up or reset the pcBIRD is configured as follows where all numbers are listed as base 10 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO POINT mode POSITION ANGLE outputs selected REPORT RATE Q maximum ANGLE ALIGN sines cosines set for alignment angles of zero REFERENCE FRAME sines cosines set for reference angles of zero FACTORY TEST commands not active Maximum range scaling 36 inches Filter on off status AC WIDE notch on DC on AC NARROW notch off Filter constants ALPHA_MIN table values 0 02 Filter constants ALPHA_MAX table values 0 9 Filter constant Vm table values 2 4 8 32 64 256 512 Hemisphere forward BUTTON MODE 0 for no button value output SYNC mode 0 System measurement rate 103 3 measurements sec 33 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Utilization 6 6 ISA COMMAND USAGE TABLE The following information answers the question To which BIRD unit do send a given command The answer depends on the type and number of interfaces and the command itself The following table sorts out the possible combinations In the following the word flock will mean several BIRD units interconnected with FBB
71. asure By changing the table values the user can increase or decrease the DC filter s lag as a function of sensor range from the transmitter The DC filter is adaptive in that it tries to reduce the amount of low pass filtering in the pcBIRD as it detects translation or rotation rates in the unit s sensor Reducing the amount of filtering results in less filter lag Unfortunately electrical noise in the environment measured by the sensor also makes it look like the sensor is undergoing a translation and rotation As the sensor moves farther and farther away from the transmitter the amount of noise measured by the sensor appears to increase because the measured transmitted signal level is decreasing and the sensor amplifier gain is increasing In order to decide if the amount of filtering should be reduced the pcBIRD has to know if the measured rate is a real sensor rate due to movement or a false rate due to noise The pcBIRD gets this knowledge by the user specifying what the expected noise levels are in the operating environment as a function of distance from the transmitter These noise levels are the 7 words that form the Vm table The Vm values can range from 1 for almost no noise to 32767 for a lot of noise 79 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The default values as a function of transmitter to sensor separation range for the standard range and extended range transmitters are as follows Std Range Xmtr Extended Range
72. ation Dip switch pins 7 and 8 determine the one hundred range i e 100 200 300 and pins 1 through 6 determine the one and tens range i e 00 04 08 70 etc Example Base Address settings are as follows dip switch number 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Base Address 01011100 170 Hex 10000000 200 Hex 10000001 204 Hex 10000010 208 Hex 11000001 304 Hex Here the two least significant bits to the right of the number one dip switch are fixed at zero and the two most significant bits to the left of the number eight switch are zeros On the Base Address dip switch 0 switch down toward the PC card and 1 switch up away from the PC card the OFF label on the switch If you cannot talk to the pcBIRD it may be because the VO address you have selected is the same address used by another device in your system Try another address Ina PC the I O address space is usually assigned per the following table Use this to help select a non interfering address Installation and Operation Guide Installation VO Address Device Range 1FO 1F8 200 207 278 27F 2E8 2EF 2F8 2FF 300 31F 360 363 368 36B 378 3F7 380 38F 3A0 3AF 3B0 3BF 3C0 3CF 3D0 3DF 3E8 3EF 3FO 3F7 3F8 3FF Fixed disk Game port LPT2 COM4 COM2 unused or network PC network low address PC network high address LPT1 SDLC bisynchronous Bisynchronous primary Mono display and printer adapter EGA VGA display CGA MCGA display COM
73. ber 25 When PARAMETERnumber 25 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return a 1 word value corresponding to the Serial Number of the pcBIRD electronic unit Note This number cannot be changed SENSOR SERIAL NUMBER PARAMETERnumber 26 When PARAMETERnumber 26 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return a 1 word value corresponding to the Serial Number of the pcBIRD s sensor You can not swap sensors while the pcBIRD is running If you do you will get the Serial Number of the sensor that was attached to the unit when it was first turned on Note This number cannot be changed 87 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference XMTR SERIAL NUMBER PARAMETERnumber 27 When PARAMETERnumber 27 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return a 1 word value corresponding to the Serial Number of the pcBIRD s transmitter You can not swap transmitters while the pcBIRD is running If you do you will get the Serial Number of the transmitter that was attached to the unit when it was first turned on Note This number cannot be changed GROUP MODE PARAMETERnumber 35 The GROUP MODE command is only used if you have multiple BIRDs working together in a Master Slave configuration and you want to get data from all the BIRDs by talking to only the Master BIRD When PARAMETERnumber 35 during EXAMINE VALUE the pcBIRD will respond with one word of data indicating if the unit is in GROUP MODE If the data is a 1 the pcBIRD is in GROUP MODE
74. cables BIRD refers to a single unit with a sensor ERC refers to the Extended Range Controller ERT refers to the Extended Range Transmitter the 12 inch black cube that plugs into the ERC The ERC does not have a sensor Applicability references The command usage table refers to the numbers 2 to 6 Each of these numbers have the following meaning 2 This command must be sent to the individual BIRD in the Flock whose mode of operation you want to change even if you are in the GROUP mode If you send this command addressed to the Master it will not change the mode of any other BIRD If you have multiple pcBIRD cards in a common chassis you can send commands and receive data by talking to each card individually using the ISA bus they do not have to be prefaced with the R 232 ISA TO FBB command If you have pcBIRD cards in multiple chassis interconnected with an FBB bus and want to control them from a single chassis or an external ERC you need to use the RS232 ISA TO FBB command 3 This command is only sent to the Master unit You may but do not have to use the RS232 ISA TO FBB preface on commands meant for the Master unit only In fact if the RS232 ISA TO FBB preface is missing the Master assumes the command is for him alone 4 Do not send this command to the address of the ERC 5 Do not use this command if your system is using an ERC ERT 6 If in the GROUP mode send this command only to the Master 34 Installation
75. ddressing modes i e for Normal and Expanded Addressing modes address 1 would have pin 7 down but for Super Expanded Addressing mode pin 1 is down Note There are no Baud rate dip switches Baud rate defaults to 115 2K for RS232 DIP SETTING OFF switch UP ON switch DOWN Figure 3 Dip Switch Settings Super Expanded Address Mode 13 Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 2 2 INSTALLING THE CARD Once the switches and jumpers are set the card is installed into a 16 bit ISA slot connector in your computer Figure 4 by doing the following C Shut the computer s power off C Remove the computer s case C Remove the slot cover plate from the location where you want to install the pcBIRD card C Hold the pcBIRD card along the top edges and insert it vertically into the 16 bit ISA connector in your computer C Wiggle the card slightly while maintaining pressure on it until it seats into the connector C Screw in the pcBIRD card using the screw removed from the slot cover plate in Step 3 C Install the computer s case You may not want to screw in the case until you have verified that the pcBIRD is working There is a red light LED at the top rear edge of the pcBIRD card that is useful to view during initial hardware software installation The LED turns on when running and blinks when there is an error see Section 6 3 for LED details C Plug the pcBIRD s sensor cable into the top 15 pin D connector on the
76. des of the transmitter in addition to bolting through the two mounting holes Do not mount the transmitter on the floor concrete included ceiling or walls because these all contain metal or may have large metal objects directly on their opposite side Because the transmitter generates magnetic fields it may interfere with your computer s display causing image bending jitter or color distortion With an unshielded commercial CRT type display the transmitter usually must be at least 12 inches away With a shielded CRT the transmitter can be closer 2 1 2 SENSOR LOCATION The sensor should also be mounted on a non metallic surface such as wood or plastic using non metallic bolts or 300 series stainless steel bolts It should not be located near power cords power supplies or other low frequency current generating devices Their emanations will be picked up by the sensor and converted into noise on the output position and orientation measurements The sensor will pick up noise when it is operated near a CRT type display The amount of noise will vary depending on the operating frequency of the CRT and the amount of shielding built into the CRT If you are going to use the sensor within a few feet of a CRT then use the CRT SYNC command in conjunction with the CRT synchronization pickup cable provided with your unit to minimize noise picked up from the CRT Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 2 SYSTEM ELECTRONICS CARD 2 2 1 CONFIGU
77. e will return values between 7FFF and 8000 Hex Element scaling is 7FFF Hex 4 99 volts 0 0 Hex 0 volts and 8000 Hex 5 0 volts 115 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The scan rate measurement will return timer COUNTS between 0 and FFFF Hex After converting COUNTS to an integer between 0 and 65535 the scan rate is computed from scan rate in hertz 500 000 CLOCK COUNTS where CLOCK is the period of one computer time count in microseconds Witha crystal value equal to 32 MHz CLOCK 8 32 With a 40 MHz crystal CLOCK 8 40 The crystal value is determined by using the command EXAMINE VALUE BIRD COMPUTER CRYSTAL SPEED HOSTSYNC Mode When SYNCtype 8 the pcBIRD is in host sync mode In this mode the pcBIRD starts a measurement cycle only when the RS232 commands POINT or STREAM are received from your host computer In addition to starting a measurement cycle the pcBIRD starts outputting the most recent position and orientation data record The data output is approximately 5 milliseconds old when it starts coming out When the STREAM command is received the next measurement cycle starts immediately but the output of the data record is delayed for approximately 5 milliseconds while it is being computed Issue the STREAM command every cycle to obtain data records that are zero milliseconds old An important note to this command is that the user must issue the POINT or STREAM commands at a regular rate wit
78. ence POSITION POSITION HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 56 86 01010110 In the POSITION mode the pcBIRD outputs the X Y and Z positional coordinates of the sensor with respect to the transmitter The output record is in the following format for the three transmitted words MSB LSB 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 X9 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 XI LLS TXIA YTB L2 YIL YIO YI MBS Yr NE VS VA YI TO Yl 0 Z15 Z14 213 212 211 210 29 Z8 Z7 Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 22 Z1 0 m NK X The X Y and Z values vary between the binary equivalent of MAX inches where MAX 36 or 72 if using a Standard Range Transmitter or MAX 144 if using an Extended Range Transmitter The positive X Y and Z directions are shown in Figure 5 Scaling of each position coordinate is full scale MAX inches That is MAX 7FFF Hex 0 0 Hex MAX 8000 Hex Since the maximum range Range square root X 2 Y 2 Z 2 from the transmitter to the sensor is limited to MAX inches only one of the X Y or Z coordinates may reach its full scale value Once a full scale value is reached the positional coordinates no longer reflect the correct position of the sensor To convert the numbers into inches first cast it into a signed integer This will give you a number from 32767 Second multiply by 36 or 72 if using a Standard Range Transmitter or 144 if using an Extended Range Transmitter Finally divide the number by 32767 to get the
79. ents The default Line Frequency is 60 Hz To CHANGE the Line Frequency send 1 byte of PARAMETERdata corresponding to the desired Line Frequency The range of Line Frequencies available are 1 gt 255 Example To change the Line Frequency to 50Hz you would first send a Change Value command 50 Hex followed by a Filter Line Frequency command 14 Hex followed by the line frequency for 50 Hz 32 Hex FBB ADDRESS PARAMETERnumber 21 When PARAMETERnumber 21 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return one word corresponding to its current FBB address This is useful when communicating to the Flock through multiple RS232 interfaces or through the ISA Bus This parameter cannot be CHANGED 85 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference CHANGE EXAMINE HEMISPHERE PARAMETERnumber 22 When PARAMETERnumber 22 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return one word of data defining the current Hemisphere These are as follows Hemisphere HEMI AXIS HEMI SIGN ASCII HEX ASCII HEX Forward nul 00 nul 00 Aft Rear nul 00 soh 01 Lower ff OC nul 00 Upper ff OC soh 01 Right ack 06 nul 00 Left ack 06 soh 01 Note These are the same PARAMETERdata values as are used by the HEMISPHERE command L 4C Hex To CHANGE the Hemisphere send 2 PARAMETERdata bytes as described above Note This command operates in exactly the same way as the HEMISPHERE command The command is included in the CHANGE EXAMINE command set in order to allow
80. erface The host may then tell the ERC what type of data to send when a data request is issued The desired type of data is indicated by sending one of the following data record commands ANGLES MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX or POSITION QUATERNION These commands do not cause the ERC to transmit data to the host For the host to receive data it must issue a data request Use the POINT data request each time you want one data record or use the STREAM data request to initiate a continuous flow of data records from the BIRDs If you want to reduce the rate at which data STREAMs from the ERC use the REPORT RATE command All commands can be issued in any order and at any time to change the ERC s output characteristics The following is a hypothetical command sequence issued after power up which illustrates the use of some of the commands For a one transmitter two sensor Flock configuration using individual ISA ports to each Flock unit In this example the Master has one transmitter and the Slaves have the two sensors All commands to the Master are sent over the Master s RS232 port and all commands to the Slave are sent over the Slave s ISA port COMMAND ACTION POSITION MATRIX Sent to the 1 Slave to select position and matrix for output POSITION MATRIX Sent to the 2 Slave to select position and matrix for output CHANGE VALUE Sent to the Master to start the Flock running FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 3 Flock
81. es 14 E Yes 15 F No 16 10 No 17 11 Yes 18 12 Yes 19 13 No 20 14 Yes 21 15 No 22 16 Yes 23 17 Yes 24 18 Yes 25 19 No 26 1A No 27 1B No 35 23 Yes 36 24 No 50 32 Yes PARAMETER DESCRIPTION BIRD status Software revision number BIRD computer crystal speed Position scaling Filter on off status DC Filter constant table ALPHA_MIN BIRD measurement rate count BIRD measurement rate Disable Enable data ready output character Changes data ready character BIRD outputs an error code On error stop or don t stop BIRD operation DC filter constant table Vm DC filter constant table ALPHA MAX Sudden output change elimination System Model Identification Expanded Error Code XYZ Reference Frame Transmitter Operation Mode FBB addressing mode Filter line frequency FBB address Change Examine Hemisphere Change Examine Angle Align2 Change Examine Reference Frame2 BIRD Serial Number Sensor Serial Number Xmtr Serial Number Group Mode Flock System Status FBB Auto Configuration 1 xmtr N snsrs 69 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference To send the CHANGE VALUE command position the CHANGE VALUE command in the most significant byte of the first word to be output and the PARAMETERnumber in the least significant byte Any PARAMETERvalues required fill up additional output words The N 1 words sent to the pcBIRD are packed as follows WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 CHANGE command 50 Hex
82. et to 0 When an error occurs the LED light on the top of the card will temporarily or permanently stop the pcBIRD and blink the error code as 10 short blinks followed by N long blinks where N is the error code The stopping of the pcBIRD and blinking during an error condition can be disabled using the CHANGE VALUE ERROR DETECT MASK command Most error conditions can be cleared up by resetting the card or reissuing the AUTO CONFIGURATION command to the master in a Master Slave configuration The error codes are summarized on the next page A detailed description of each is presented later 119 Installation and Operation Guide Ethernet Commands CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION TYPE 1 System Ram Failure FATAL 2 Non Volatile Storage Write Failure FATAL 3 PCB Configuration Data Corrupt WARNING1 4 BIRD Transmitter Calibration Data Corrupt or Not Connected WARNING1 5 BIRD Sensor Calibration Data Corrupt or Not Connected WARNING1 6 Invalid Command WARNING2 7 Not an FBB Master WARNING2 8 No BIRDs Accessible in Device List WARNING2 9 BIRD is Not Initialized WARNING2 10 FBB Serial Port Receive Error Intra BIRD Bus WARNING1 11 RS232 Serial Port Receive Error WARNING1 12 FBB Serial Port Receive Error FBB Host Bus WARNING1 13 No FBB Command Response WARNING1 14 Invalid FBB Host Command WARNING1 15 FBB Run Time Error FATAL 16 Invalid CPU Speed FATAL 17 No FBB Data WARNING1 18 Illegal Baud Rate WARNING1 19 Slave Acknowledge Error WARNING1 20 27 Inte
83. every BIRD measurement cycle when in STREAM mode use the REPORT RATE command to change the output rate to every other cycle R every eight cycles S or every thirty two cycles T If no REPORT RATE command is issued transmission proceeds at the measurement rate by default 108 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference RS232 ISA TO FBB RS232 ISA TO FBB HEX DECIMAL BINARY Normal Expanded Super Expanded Addressing mode Command Byte FO EO AO 240 224 160 11110000 11100000 10100000 FBB ADDR If you have multiple pcBIRD cards in a common chassis you can send commands and receive data by talking to each card individually using the ISA bus If you have pcBIRD cards in multiple chassis interconnected with an FBB bus and want to control them from a single chassis you need to use the RS232 ISA TO FBB command The command can ONLY be used when communicating with the master BIRD When in Normal or Expanded Addressing modes the RS232 ISA TO FBB command is 1 Byte long When is Super Expanded Addressing mode the command is 2 Bytes long For the Normal Addressing mode addresses 1 to 15 the command looks like Command Byte FO destination FBB address in Hex i e FBB address 1 1 Hex would be F1 FBB address 14 E Hex would be FE For the Expanded Addressing mode addresses 1 to 30 the command looks like Addresses 1 to 15 Command Byte FO destination FBB address in Hex i e FBB address 1 1 Hex would be F1 FBB
84. f operation the sign on the position axes that defines the hemisphere direction is forced to positive even when the sensor moves into another hemisphere For example the power up default hemisphere is the forward hemisphere This forces X position outputs to always be positive The signs on Y and Z will vary between plus and minus depending on where you are within this hemisphere If you had selected the lower hemisphere the sign of Z would always be positive and the signs on X and Y would vary between plus and minus If you had selected the left hemisphere the sign of Y would always be negative etc If the sensor moved into the aft hemisphere while using the default forward hemisphere the signs on Y and Z would instantaneously change to opposite polarities while the sign on X remained positive To track the sensor your host software on detecting this sign change would reverse the signs on the pcBIRD s X Y and Z outputs In order to track correctly you must start tracking in the selected hemisphere so the signs on the outputs are initially correct and you must guard against having the sensor legally cross the Y 0 Z 0 axes simultaneously without having crossed the X 0 axes into the other hemisphere 93 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference MATRIX MATRIX HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 58 88 01011000 The MATRIX mode outputs the 9 elements of the rotation matrix that define the orientation of the se
85. f each card Power can then be turned on and commands sent to the pcBIRD cards 15 Installation and Operation Guide Installation 16 Bit ISA Connector Figure 4 Installation In ISA Slot Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 3 EXTENDED RANGE CONTROLLER TRANSMITTER OPTION If you did not purchase the Extended Range Transmitter option then you do not need to read this section The pcBIRD with the Extended Range Controller ERC and Extended Range Transmitter ERT option is a six degree of freedom measuring device that can be configured to simultaneously track the position and orientation of up to 125 sensors with up to four ERTs when using a single ERC Each sensor is capable of making from 10 to 144 measurements second of its position and orientation when the sensor is located within 10 feet of the ERT The ERT option has been designed for simplicity of use and versatility One ERT mounted on a pedestal in the center of a room generates sufficient signal to allow a user equipped with one or more motion tracking sensors to walk about a 16 x 16 foot room With four ERTs in an array he or she can walk about a 24 x 24 foot room No matter how many ERTs are included in a configuration the Flock will continue to maintain its high measurement rate 2 3 1 EXTENDED RANGE TRANSMITTER LOCATION The most critical item in installing an ERT is selecting a location for placement of the transmitter A poor location will result in deg
86. f the pcBIRD unit whose xmtr serial number you want to know Send to the Master only to examine or change group mode Send to the Master only to examine Flock system status Send to the Master only Send to the Master only Send to the addr of the snsr whose outputs you want to be in a given hemisphere 37 Installation and Operation Guide COMMAND Matrix Next Transmitter Output Buffer Clear Point Position Position Angles Position Matrix Position Quaternion Quaternion Reference Frame Report Rate RS232 ISA to FBB Run Sleep Stream Sync 38 APPLICABILITY 2 4 3 2 4 2 6 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 ISA Command Utilization NOTES Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Matrix data Send to the current Master only Send to the addr of the pcBIRD whose Output Buffer you want to clear If in Group mode send to the Master only If not in group mode must use the RS232 ISA TO FBB command to send to each individual sensor if you have only one interface port If you have an ISA interface port to each sensor then just send the point command out each port Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position Angles data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position Matrix data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position Quaternion data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you
87. face The next configuration consists of an ERC configured as the Master and twelve Slave sensors with individual ISA ports to each unit All commands to the Master are sent over the Master s RS232 port and all commands to the Slaves are sent over the Slave s individual ISA ports COMMAND ACTION POSITION MATRIX Sent to each Slave to select position and matrix for output CHANGE VALUE Sent to the Master to start the Flock running FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 13 Flock units POINT Sent to each Slave to get their POSITION MATRIX data 8 2 2 RS232 FLOCK MODE DEFAULT VALUES Upon power up the RS232 controlled Flock BIRD address 1 through 126 is in the following default mode 1 POINT mode 2 POSITION ANGLE outputs selected 3 XON 4 RUN deactivated 6 ANGLE ALIGN sines cosines set for alignment angles of zero 7 REFERENCE FRAME sines cosines set for reference angles of zero 8 BUTTON MODE 0 for no button value output 9 FACTORY TEST commands not active 10 Maximum range scaling 36 inches 11 Filter on off status AC WIDE notch on DC on AC NARROW notch off 12 Filter constants ALPHA_MIN Table values 0 02 13 Filter constants ALPHA_MAX Table values 0 9 14 Sudden output change lock 0 allows sudden changes to be output 15 System measurement rate 100 measurements sec 16 SYNC mode 0 17 Group Mode 0 48 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface 8 3 RS232 RESPONSE FORMAT
88. face port If you have an ISA interface port to each sensor just send the point command out each port Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position Angles data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position Matrix data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Position Quaternion data Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Quaternion data Send to the Master before or after auto config After auto config send to the addr with the transmitter Can also be sent to the address of each sensor individually Can only be used in standalone stream mode or in group stream mode Send to the Master only Cannot be used with a Flock unless in GROUP mode Send to the Master only Installation and Operation Guide Test Modes 9 0 TEST MODES When the configuration dip switch position 8 is on down the pcBIRD is in test mode and the LED light will blink at a regular rate The user can select test 1 through 31 using dip switches 4 through 7 as follows Remember you must reset or cycle the power on the pcBIRD to initiate the desired test Dip switch 4 5 6 7 8 Test Number TEST OLE OLE TOER OLE on 1 Factory Test off off off on on 3 BIRD Output off off on off on 5 BIRD Echo off off on on on 7 Host Data Read off on off off on 9 Host Data Read Block off on of on on algal Set 500K Baud Internal F
89. fer to Section 11 0 i e if the error code was 32 the LED would blink 32 times pause then repeat the 32 blinks The error code can also be read via software using the EXAMINE VALUE ERROR CODE command When the LED is blinking due to an error the pcBIRD does not output any position and orientation data This behavior can be overridden by using the CHANGE VALUE ERROR DETECT MASK command 30 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Utilization If configured for Master Slave operation Several pcBIRD units interconnected by the multi unit FBB cable with their individual addresses set 1 through 30 via the dip switches on power up the LED will blink 5 times if in Normal Address mode 2 times if in Expanded Address mode or 1 time if in Super Expanded Address mode and then go off The host computer must then send the master an AUTO CONFIG command On receipt of this command the LEDs on all units will turn on There will be no blinking if operating correctly If there is a blinking refer to Section 11 0 for the error codes When configured for Master Slave operation the pcBIRD will not detect if a transmitter and sensor are present since they are not required of all units 6 4 ISA COMMAND SUMMARY The following summarizes the action of each command The details of command usage are presented in Section 6 6 If you are using the RS232 interface there are more commands listed in Section 8 1 1 Command Name ANGLES ANGLE ALIGN BUTTON MOD
90. h a frequency of 100 Hz to 144 Hz If you just issue the POINT or STREAM commands every now and then when SYNCtype 8 is in force the resulting position and orientation data returned will be greatly in error When operating with an ERC using a single RS232 interface to talk to all Flock members only the Master outputs its data on receipt of the POINT command The host must individually request data from the Slaves If your host is going to send data requests at a rate greater than the pcBIRD s default measurement rate of approximately 103 3 measurements sec you must first use the CHANGE VALUE BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE command to set the pcBIRD to a rate that is slightly faster than the host s fastest rate i e if the host s rate is 120 measurements sec set the pcBIRD to 123 measurements sec Since the pcBIRD is ready to output position and orientation data about 6 milliseconds before it is able to start anew measurement cycle you should use the CHANGE VALUE DISABLE ENABLE DATA READY mode instead of the HOSTSYNC mode if you want to minimize data lag 116 Installation and Operation Guide Error Messages XOFF XOFF HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 13 19 00010011 The ERC responds to the XON XOFF commands which many computers use for RS 232C flow control When your host computer sends the ERC an XOFF the unit will halt transmission at the end of the current output record It will not halt transmission the instant it receives the command
91. hat must be attached to the FBB and must have a bus address of 1 to 14 assigned via the dip switches on the ERC s front panel As shipped from the factory the ERC address is set to 1 i e the default bus Master The ERC in combination with the rest of the pcBIRDs can interface to the user s host computer via either the RS232 or ISA interfaces When using a single RS232 interface the host must be attached to the ERC and the ERC must be the bus Master When using individual ISA interfaces to each BIRD you can operate the ERC without an RS232 interface as long as the ERC is selected to be a Slave In this configuration you would send the Next Transmitter command to the bus Master to tell the Master the address of the ERC If you are going to use an external Sync signal to synchronize the Flock to minimize CRT noise the ERC must be selected as a Slave since it does not have a Sync input The Sync signals can only be utilized by the current bus Master 2 3 5 ERC TRANSMITTER CABLE The ERC can control up to two ERTs or with the expansion option installed four ERTs The front panel connectors are labeled XMTR 1 2 3 4 If you ordered one ERT then all other connectors are capped DO NOT REMOVE THESE CAP S They protect the user from exposure to high voltages The ERC ERT will not work if the cap is removed Plug an ERT cable connector into the corresponding front panel connector and screw in the connector Erratic system operation will result
92. have its address dip switch set to 1 1000000 on off off off off off off The second pcBIRD would then have its addresses set to 2 0100000 off on off off off off off The addresses do not have to be in order but you cannot skip an address no addresses can be set to zero there can be no repeat addresses and there can be no address 127 the Broadcast Address All transmitter and or ERT addresses must be located at addresses 1 to 14 Dip switches 1 2 3 Normal Address mode default baud rate Dip switches 1 2 Expanded Address mode baud rate These switches select the desired baud rate Note The Super Expanded Address mode has only one baud rate of 115 2K Installation and Operation Guide Installation Dip switch position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 VEE EE EET Fly OFF Test ON In Fly Mode FBB address 0 14 Dip switch l 4 5 6 7 FBB Addr 7 off off off off 0 t off off off on 1 t on on on off 14 t on on on on invalid Yay In Test Mode test number Dip switch 4 5 6 T Test off off off off 1 off off off on 3 on on on on 31 eH KH ME KH KH KH ME KH KH H WE KH KH KH KH KH KH KH KH EE Baud rate when RS232 interface selected Dip switch 1 2 3 Baud off off off Not used off off on 2400 off on off 4800 off on on 9600 on off off 19200 on off on 38400 on on off 57600 on on on 115200 DIP SETTING OFF switch UP ON switch DOWN Figu
93. he address of the Master As a note commands which should only be sent to the Master BIRD can be sent to the BROADCAST address No BIRDs Accessible in Device List WARNING2 Cause The Master BIRD detects that no BIRDs are accessible in the FBB Devices word part of the FBB Configuration Command Action All accessible BIRDs must be indicated in the FBB Devices part of the FBB Configuration Command BIRD is Not Initialized WARNING2 Cause The Master BIRD is sent the Run command but it has not been initialized via the FBB Configuration command Action Send the FBB Configuration command prior to sending the Run or the WAKE UP command FBB Receive Error Intra BIRD Bus WARNING1 Cause Either an overrun or framing error has been detected by the serial channel 0 UART as it received characters from another BIRD on the internal RS485 interface Action If all BIRDs have the proper crystal installed this error should never occur RS232 Receive Overrun or Framing Error WARNING1 Cause An overrun or framing error has been detected by the serial channel 1 UART as it received characters from the user s host computer on the RS232 interface Action If an overrun error the baud rate of the user s host computer and the BIRD differ This may be due to incorrect baud selection inaccuracy of the baud rate generator or the RS232 cable is too long for the selected baud rate If a framing error the host software may be sending characters to its own
94. if not in HOST SYNC mode 1 if Expanded Address mode enabled 0 if Normal Address mode enabled Note If you are in Super Expanded Address mode this command will still report that the Expanded Address mode is enabled and you will have to use the FBB Addressing Mode command to find out which Addressing mode is actually enabled 1 if in CRTSYNC mode 0 if not in CRTSYNC mode 1 if no sync modes are enabled 0 if a sync mode is enabled 1 if the factory test and pcBIRD commands are enabled 0 if only the pcBIRD commands are enabled 0 71 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference B5 1 if the pcBIRD is in SLEEP mode Same as B12 0 if the pcBIRD is in RUN mode B4 B3 B2 B1 0001 if POSITION outputs selected 0010 if ANGLE outputs selected 0011 if MATRIX outputs selected 0100 if POSITION ANGLE outputs selected 0101 if POSITION MATRIX outputs selected 0110 factory use only 0111 if QUATERNION outputs selected 1000 if POSITION QUATERNION outputs selected BO 0 if POINT mode selected 1 if STREAM mode selected SOFTWARE REVISION NUMBER PARAMETERnumber 1 When PARAMETERnumber 1 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns the revision number of the software located in the pcBIRD s PROM memory The revision number in base 10 is expressed as INT FRA where INT is the integer part of the revision number and FRA is the fractional part For example if the revision number is 2 13 then INT 2 and FRA 13 The value of the most significant b
95. in the LSbyte To CHANGE the DATA READY CHARACTER send the pcBIRD one word of PARAMETERdata equal to the character value that the unit should use as the Data Ready Character in the LSbyte ERROR CODE PARAMETERnumber 10 When PARAMETERnumber 10 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will output a one word Error register code defined in the Error Message Section 11 0 The error code is reset to all zero s after it has been read 78 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference ERROR DETECT MASK PARAMETERnumber 11 When PARAMETERnumber 11 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns one word which is the ERROR DETECT MASK If ERROR DETECT MASK 0 the pcBIRD when it detects an error will perform as defined in the Error Message Section 11 0 If ERROR DETECT MASK 1 then FATAL errors which would stop the pcBIRD and blink the error code continuously only blink the message once and try to continue BIRD operation If ERROR DETECT MASK 3 error messages that are FATAL or WARNING1 level do not blink the error code at all and do not stop BIRD operation but the Error register is updated To CHANGE the ERROR DETECT MASK send to the pcBIRD one byte of PARAMETERdata with a value of 0 1 or 3 as defined above DC FILTER TABLE Vm PARAMETERnumber 12 When PARAMETERnumber 12 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a 7 word table or during CHANGE the user sends to the pcBIRD a 7 word table representing the expected noise that the DC filter will me
96. ing mode you want to examine Installation and Operation Guide COMMAND APPLICABILITY Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 20 Filter Line Freq Examine value 2 parameter 21 FBB Address Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 22 Hemisphere Exam chg value 2 4 parameter 23 Angle Align2 Exam chg value 2 parameter 24 Reference Frame2 Examine value 2 4 parameter 25 BIRD Serial Number Examine value 2 4 parameter 26 Sensor Serial Number Examine value 2 4 parameter 27 Xmtr Serial Number Exam chg value 3 parameter 35 Group Mode Examine value 3 parameter 36 Flock Status Exam chg value 3 parameter 50 FBB Auto Config FBB Reset 3 Hemisphere 2 4 ISA Command Utilization NOTES Send to the addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to the pcBIRD unit whose FBB address you want to know Useful when communicating to the Flock through multiple RS232 interfaces or through the ISA Bus Send to the addr of the snsr whose hemisphere you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the snsr whose orientation you want to examine or change If you send it to the Master unit the Master will not disseminate the information to the sensors Send to the addr with the transmitter whose reference frame you want to examine or change Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose pcb serial number you want to know Send to the addr of the pcBIRD unit whose snsr serial number you want to know Send to the addr o
97. iple pcBIRDs running in different chassis interconnected with an FBB cable and you want to control their operation from the chassis containing the master pcBIRD utilize the FBB ADDRESS command to control their operation 6 3 BLINKING LED BEHAVIOR As mentioned in the installation section you may not want to close up your computer s case until you have verified that the pcBIRD is working and your application software has been debugged There is a red light LED at the top rear edge of the pcBIRD card that is useful to view during initial hardware software installation The LED turns on when running and blinks when there is a hardware or software command error The initial behavior of the pcBIRD after power up or reset depends on the mode of operation Stand Alone or Master Slave selected by the configuration dip switches If the pcBIRD is configured for Stand Alone operation one pcBIRD with a transmitter and sensor and with its address set 0 on power up or reset the LED light will blink 5 times if in Normal Addressing mode 2 times if in Expanded Addressing mode or 1 time if in Super Expanded Addressing mode and then turn on steady At this time the transmitter and sensor will begin operating and the unit is ready to accept host commands If during power up or reset the electronics unit does not detect the presence of a transmitter or sensor or some other problem the LED will blink a number of times corresponding to the error code value re
98. is nominally set for 103 3 measurements sec If however the unit is synchronized to your CRT see CRT SYNC command the measurement rate will automatically increase If you reduce the measurement rate after you are synchronized the pcBIRD will drop out of synchronization To regain synchronization reissue the CRT SYNC command 2 Increasing the rate will not cause loss of synchronization nor will it result in an increased measurement rate beyond the retrace rate of the CRT To CHANGE the MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT send the pcBIRD one word of PARAMETERdata corresponding to XMTR_TIME_CNT defined above You can increase the pcBIRD s measurement rate to a maximum of 144 measurements sec The downside of going to rates faster than 103 3 measurements sec is that the noise on your outputs may increase and any errors introduced by nearby metals will also increase 76 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference You can decrease the pcBIRD s measurement rate to no less than 20 measurements sec for 40 MHz BIRDs At this value XMTR_TIME_CNT reaches its maximum value of 65535 Decreasing the measurement rate is useful if you need to reduce errors resulting from highly conductive metals such as aluminum If you have low conductive highly permeable metals in your environment such as carbon steel or iron changing the measurement rate will not change the distortions For low conductive low permeability metals such as 300 series stainless steel or
99. istortion verses noise tradeoffs 77 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference DISABLE ENABLE DATA READY OUTPUT PARAMETERnumber 8 Enabling the DATA READY character provides a method for notifying you as soon as the newest position and orientation data has been computed Typically you would issue a POINT data request as soon as you receive the DATA READY command If you are running in STREAM mode you should not use the DATA READY character since the position and orientation is sent to you automatically as soon as it is ready When PARAMETERnumber 8 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD outputs one word of data equal to 1 if Data Ready Output is enabled or a 0 if disabled Caution When using the EXAMINE command if DATA READY is enabled you may receive the DATA READY character itself followed by another word containing the 1 depending on when in the units computation cycle you issued the EXAMINE request If you receive the DATA READY character first read the next word containing the 1 to clear the output buffer To CHANGE DATA READY send the pcBIRD one byte of PARAMETERdata 1 if the pcBIRD is to output the Data Ready Character every measurement cycle as soon as a new measurement is ready for output The default Data Ready Character is a comma 2C Hex 44 Dec SET DATA READY CHARACTER PARAMETERnumber 9 When PARAMETERnumber 9 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns one word the current Ascii value of the Data Ready Character
100. l 80186 CPU Errors FATAL 28 CRT Synchronization WARNING1 29 Transmitter Not Accessible WARNING1 30 Extended Range Transmitter Not Attached WARNING1 31 CPU Time Overflow WARNING2 32 Sensor Saturated WARNING1 33 Slave Configuration WARNING1 34 Watch Dog Timer WARNING1 35 Over Temperature WARNING1 MESSAGE TYPE DESCRIPTION FATAL Error is posted in system status panel light continuously blinks the error code the Flock stops running WARNING1 Error is posted in system status panel light blinks the error code once the Flock resumes operation after the blinking stops WARNING2 Error is posted in the system status no light blinking the Flock continues to run 120 Installation and Operation Guide Ethernet Commands 11 1 ERROR MESSAGE DETAILS For each of the Flock error codes a possible cause and corrective action are listed Corrective actions with an indicate the user should not attempt this fix Ascension Technology should be contacted by phone 802 893 6657 fax 802 893 6659 or email techsupport ascension tech com CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION TYPE 1 RAM Failure FATAL Cause System RAM Test did not PASS Action Check for shorts or opens to the RAM chips and if OK replace system RAM Non Volatile Storage Write Failure FATAL Cause Occurs when trying to write a transmitter sensor or PCB EEPROM but the device does not acknowledge either because it is not there or there is a circuit failure Action Check the target EEPR
101. l events All user supplied synchronization signals and requests must be directed to the current Master BIRD or to a standalone unit CRTSYNC Modes If you are using the sensor or three button mouse within a few feet of a magnetically deflected cathode ray tube the pcBIRD s outputs may become noisy Use the SYNC command in conjunction with the CRT sync cable shipped with your unit to eliminate this noise The CRT sync pickup must be plugged into the pcBIRD s SYNC connector located on its back panel before you execute any of the SYNC CRT Mode commands 114 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The single Command Data byte SYNCtype that you send with the SYNC command controls the operation of the pcBIRD with respect to your CRT s vertical scan Set SYNCtype 0 system power up default if you do not want the pcBIRD to be synchronized to either the operation of your CRT or the host computer Set SYNCtype 1 to synchronize the pcBIRD to your CRT if your CRT has an unusually high vertical retrace rate that is greater than 72 cps but less than 144 cps When SYNCtype is 1 the pcBIRD makes measurements at the sync rate For best performance SYNCtype should only be set to 1 if the sync rate is at least 100 cycles per second Set SYNCtype 2 to synchronize the pcBIRD to your CRT if your CRT s vertical retrace rate is in the normal range of 50 to 72 cps When SYNCtype is 2 the pcBIRD makes measurements at twice this rate that is fr
102. latory certifications You will also void your warranty If you need to extend your cable lengths please contact our tech support team first Phone 1 802 893 6657 Fax 1 802 893 6659 Email techsupport ascension tech com Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 0 INSTALLATION The pcBIRD is shipped to you in one box containing the following One electronics unit One transmitter One sensor One CRT SYNC cable One 3 1 2 inch DOS formatted diskette of user software A package of spare jumpers for the pcBIRD circuit card One Installation and Operation Guide If you are using multiple pcBIRD cards in a Master Slave configuration then one of the pcBIRD boxes will also contain a multi unit FBB bus cable OOOOOOOO s DIO O gannin TERRE EK RR RA EET If there are any discrepancies or your shipment is damaged call Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern Standard Time or fax us at 802 893 6659 Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 1 COMPONENT LOCATION 2 1 1 STANDARD RANGE TRANSMITTER LOCATION The transmitter should be mounted on a non metallic surface such as wood or plastic using non metallic bolts or 300 series stainless steel bolts If you are going to mount the transmitter upside down note that the two mounting holes are not strong enough to support the weight of the transmitter Instead you should use hardware or grooves to capture the flanges along both si
103. ll ignore the Non Pulsed mode command Note The pcBIRD transmitter circuits cannot operate in Non Pulsed mode Running the Non Pulsed mode on the pcBIRD over a long period of time will damage the transmitter drive circuits The pcBIRD automatically defaults to the Cool Down mode and may be run in the Pulsed mode The pcBIRD as the FBB Master will ignore the Non Pulsed mode command All ERC components may be run in Non Pulsed mode To CHANGE the current transmitter mode send the pcBIRD one word of PARAMETERdata corresponding to the codes described above Note This command must be sent to every BIRD in the Flock Note The Pulsed mode offers better dynamic performance The Non Pulsed mode offers better resistance to metal distortion 84 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference FBB ADDRESSING MODE PARAMETERnumber 19 When PARAMETERnumber 19 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a word that contains a value in the LSbyte which defines the current FBB addressing mode The following are the valid values for the addressing mode 0 NORMAL FBB address range 1 gt 14 1 EXPANDED FBB address range 1 gt 30 3 SUPER EXPANDED FBB address range 1 gt 126 This parameter cannot be CHANGED FILTER LINE FREQUENCY PARAMETERnumber 20 When PARAMETERnumber 20 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a word whose value in the LSbyte is the Line Frequency which is being used to determine the Wide Notch Filter coeffici
104. mber ranges and scaling 103 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference QUATERNION QUATERNION HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 5C 92 01011100 In the QUATERNION mode the pcBIRD outputs the four quaternion parameters that describe the orientation of the sensor with respect to the transmitter The quaternions Qo qi Ge and q where q is the scalar component have been extracted from the MATRIX output using the algorithm described in Quaternion from Rotation Matrix by Stanley W Shepperd Journal of Guidance and Control Vol 1 May June 1978 pp 223 4 The output record is in the following format for the eight transmitted bytes MSB LSB L5 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 B15 Bl4 B13 B12 Bll B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 Bl B15 Bl4 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B15 Bl4 B13 B12 Bll BIO B9 B8 B7 B6 BS B4 B3 B2 Bl do q q2 q3 O OO H Scaling of the quaternions is full scale 99996 7FFF Hex 0 0 Hex and 1 0 8000 Hex 104 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference REFERENCE FRAME1 REFERENCE FRAME1 DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 72 01001000 Command Data Sin A Cos A Cos E Sin R Cos R By default the pcBIRD s reference frame is defined by the transmitter s physical X Y and Z axes In some applications it may be desirable to have the orientation measured with respect to another reference frame The REFERENCE FR
105. milliseconds to allow any previous commands to complete After sending the AUTO CONFIGURATION command you must also wait at least 600 milliseconds before sending another command 90 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference FBB RESET FBB RESET HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 2F 47 00101111 This command sent to the Master on the FBB will cause all of the Slaves to be reset through the FBB A typical initialization procedure would be as follows Do a hardware reset of the Master by toggling the RTS line on the RS232 interface to the Master After the Master has been reset and is running issue this FBB RESET command to the Master and the Master will reset all of the Slaves through the FBB Note The Reset Jumper jumper 3 on the pcBIRD jumper 11 on the ERC must be in place on all of the Slaves but not on the Master BIRD in order for this command to work 91 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference HEMISPHERE HEMISPHERE HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte AG 76 01001100 Command Data HEMI AXIS HEMI SIGN The shape of the magnetic field transmitted by the pcBIRD is symmetrical about each of the axes of the transmitter This symmetry leads to an ambiguity in determining the sensor s X Y Z position The amplitudes will always be correct but the signs may all be wrong depending upon the hemisphere of operation In many applications this will not be relevant but if you desire an unambiguous posi
106. mitted bytes in the record is always a zero 0 These phasing bits are required for the host computer to identify the start of a record when the data is streaming from the ERC without individual record requests In general the output data will appear as follows MS BIT LS BIT 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 WORD 1 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 1 LSbyte 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 Bi B10 B9 1 MSbyte 0 C8 C7 C6 CS C4 C3 C2 2 LSbyte 0 Clo GTA ELS ID CI E10 EY 2 MSbyte 0 5 5 3 P 0 0 N8 N7 N6 N5 N4 N5 N2 N LSbyte 0 N15 N14 N13 N12 N11 N10 NS N MSbyte 0 0 0 AD4 AD3 AD2 AD1 ADO GROUP MODE address 49 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface The MS most significant bits are the phasing bits and are not part of the data The GROUP MODE address byte is only present if GROUP MODE is enabled see change value GROUP MODE For example the ERC is about to send a data record consisting of these three data words Word Decimal Hex Binary 2 bytes MSbyte LSbyte 1 4386 1122 00010001 00100010 2 13124 3344 00110011 01000100 3 21862 5566 01010101 01100110 The conversion to the binary data format that the ERC does goes like this BIRD 1 Shifts each data word right 2 Breaks each word into MSByte one bit LSByte pairs MS LS 10010001 LS 00001000 10010001 00001000 MS 00011001 10100010 10100010 LS 00101010 10110011 00011001 MS 10110011 LS 00101010 M
107. mmand stops any data that is in the process of being output and clears any data in the output buffers If STREAM mode is enabled this command disables STREAM mode To use the OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR command 1 Send the command 2 Wait for the TDR bit to go high in the port at Base Address 2 This wait may be as long as 20 microseconds 3 Read one word from the input port at Base Address 0 and throw the word away to clear the port In reading this word you do not have to wait for the RDR bit to go high This is the only command where you do not have to wait for the RDR bit to go high before reading a port The pcBIRD is now ready to accept new commands from the user Note This is an ISA command only 98 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference POINT POINT HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 42 66 01000010 In the POINT mode the pcBIRD sends one data record each time it receives the B Command Byte When in GROUP MODE the Master BIRD will output a record for each running BIRD in the Flock see EXAMINE CHANGE parameter number 35 Remember when GROUP MODE is enabled an extra byte containing the FBB address of the pcBIRD is added to the end of each data record If you issue the POINT command immediately after you have changed the output format with an ANGLES MATRIX etc command you will receive zero s for the data in the new format for up to 8 milliseconds 99 Installation and Operation Guide Command Refer
108. mmands meant for the Master unit only In fact if the RS232 ISA TO FBB preface is missing the Master assumes the command is for him alone 4 Do not send this command to the address of the ERC 5 Do not use this command if your system is using an ERC ERT 6 If in the GROUP mode send this command only to the Master 52 Installation and Operation Guide Notation shorthand snsr sensor xmtr transmitter addr address exam chg examine change COMMAND Angles Angle Align Button Mode Button Read Examine value parameter 0 BIRD Status Examine value parameter 1 Software Rev Examine value parameter 2 Crystal Speed Exam chg value parameter 3 Position Scaling Exam chg value parameter 4 Filter On Off Exam chg value parameter 5 Alpha min Exam chg value parameter 6 APPLICABILITY 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 5 2 4 2 4 Measurement Rate Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface COMMAND USAGE TABLE NOTES Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want Angles data Send to the addr of the snsr whose orientation you want to change If you send it to the Master unit the Master will not disseminate the information to the sensors Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want button outputs Send to the addr of the snsr from which you want button outputs Send to the addr of the unit whose status you want to know Send to the addr of the unit whose software rev you want to know
109. n CPU has executed an invalid opcode Possibly bad or going bad EPROM Also check the power supply to assure that the 5VD is not dropping below 4 75 volts even when the transmitter is running 23 Unused_INT7 FATAL Cause ESC Opcode Action Check code for the ESC Instruction 24 Unused_INT9 FATAL Cause Reserved Action Should never occur 25 Unused_INT10 FATAL Cause Reserved Action Should never occur 26 Unused INT11 FATAL Cause Reserved Action Should never occur 27 Unused_INT16 FATAL Cause Numeric coprocessor exception Action Numeric CPU does not exists so this should never occur Check to make sure the ERROR signal on the CPU is tied to 5VD 28 CRT Synchronization Error WARNING1 Cause When in CRT Synchronization mode if the CRT synchronization signal is not present this error will occur Action Assure that the synchronization signal is present using the Display CRT Synchronization Information command 29 Transmitter Not Accessible Error WARNING1 Cause This error occurs when the host starts the system FLYing via the Auto Configuration command and a BIRD which should have a transmitter does not have a transmitter Action Assure that the specified BIRD has a transmitter 30 Extended Range Transmitter Not Attached Error WARNING1 Cause If the Extended Range Controller does not have an Extended Range Transmitter attached this error will occur Action Assure that the Extended Range Controller has a
110. ne 8 bit character 0 through 255 Decimal each time it receives any character over the RS232 interface The first character sent by the pcBIRD will be a 0 then a1 2 3 and so on Using this test the user can verify that the host computer can receive all binary characters This will help UNIX users to configure the serial port TTY to assure that the operating system is passing all 8 bit characters 9 5 HOST DATA READ BLOCK During the Host Data Read Block test the pcBIRD will send a block of 8 bit characters 0 through 255 Decimal each time it receives any character over the RS232 interface The block consists of 256 characters where the first will be a 0 then a 1 2 3 and so on Using this test the user can verify that the computer s operating system can receive a large number of binary characters at the desired baud rate without problems 9 6 TEST FOR SENSOR Selecting this test burns a bit into an on board EEPROM memory that tells the pcBIRD to test for the presence of a sensor on power up This is the default factory setting Ifa sensor is not attached to the pcBIRD on power up the LED on the circuit card will blink an error code and the error register will be set 9 7 DON T TEST FOR SENSOR Selecting this test burns a bit into an on board EEPROM memory that tells the pcBIRD not to test for the presence of a sensor on power up If a sensor is not attached to the pcBIRD there will be no error blinking or error reporting while this n
111. nickel soeed changes will have minimal effect since in this case the metal is not introducing any errors into the pcBIRD s measurements anyway The downside of decreasing the pcBIRD s measurement rate is that dynamic performance is decreased That is if you move the pcBIRD s sensor quickly the slow measurement rate will cause increased lag errors Also at slower rates the noise will increase or decrease depending on the rate you choose For example the noise will be at a maximum if you select a measurement rate equal to your power line frequency of 50 or 60 hertz As you change the pcBIRD s measurement rate you may want to experiment with changing the filter characteristics For example the AC filter is optimized for a measurement rate of 103 3 measurements sec At very low measurement rates you may want to shut this filter off BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE PARAMETERnumber 7 When PARAMETERnumber 7 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a word used to determine the measurement rate of the unit The word returned is the measurement rate in cycles sec times 256 The measurement rate in cycles sec is computed from measurement rate word returned 256 To CHANGE the MEASUREMENT RATE send the pcBIRD one word of PARAMETERdata corresponding to measurement rate 256 The MEASUREMENT RATE command is a simpler form of the MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT command Refer to the MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT command regarding speed limits and metal d
112. nnector Connector JPR 14 JPR 13 JPR 7 132 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix IV Jumper Locations The Extended Range Controller Circuit Card Jumper Location amp Ue ee ee Woof g Ly l DEES H ID JPR3 eae 0 Lu 7 COLO Na n veelal Tr 0 J P o 2 g OE Oe es R EE S J lor pE omon JPR 12 Ue l EDS o o o Ue Ld pL Poe eS DT EN Em IE SN OH SPR sooo ooo 000 00 E il lt JPR 10 14 16 Na N N 133 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix V pcBIRD as Slave APPENDIX V USING THE pcBIRD AS A SLAVE WITH A NON pcBIRD MASTER The pcBIRD is most often used while the pcBI
113. nsor s X Y and Z axes with respect to the transmitter s X Y and Z axes If you want a three dimensional image to follow the rotation of the sensor you must multiply your image coordinates by this output matrix The nine elements of the output matrix are defined generically by the following i M 1 1 M 1 2 M 1 3 i j M 2 1 M 2 2 M 2 3 j M 3 1 M 3 2 M 3 3 Or in terms of the rotation angles about each axis where Z Zang Y Yang and X Xang COS Y COS Z COS Y SIN Z SIN Y COS X SIN Z COS X COS Z SIN X SIN Y COS Z SIN X SIN Y SIN 27 SIN X COS Y SIN X SIN 7 SIN X COS Z COS X SIN Y COS Z COS X SIN Y SIN 7 COS X COS Y co X Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference Or in Euler angle notation where R Roll E Elevation A Azimuth COS R SI COS E COS A N A SIN R S N E COS A SIN R S COS R S ME ME AE AE AE AE NE AE NE E N A N E COS A COS E SI N A COS R COS A S 5 COS R S N R S N E S N R COS A N E S The 9 word output record is in the following order SB 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3 5 14 3
114. ny type of SYNC cable jumpers 1 and 2 can be left in any position or removed See Section 10 0 SYNC command for operation and Application Note 3 in the Appendix if suppling your own SYNC signal 2 2 1 4 ADDRESSING MODE CONFIGURATION The pcBIRD can be operated in three addressing modes 1 Normal Addressing mode 2 Expanded Addressing mode and 3 Super Expanded Addressing mode Normal Addressing mode is used when you have up to 14 BIRD units in your Flock This mode is the default mode set at the factory Normal Addressing mode may be permanently changed or set by setting the dip switches to test number 29 see Section 9 0 for details Expanded Addressing mode is used when you have more than 14 BIRD units in your Flock In this mode all transmitters must be at addresses 1 to 14 and the sensors are at addresses 1 to 30 In Expanded Address mode the sensors must be further than 10 inches from the transmitter for the position orientation information to be correct or 22 inches for an Extended Range Transmitter If the sensor is closer than this limit position and orientation outputs will be zeroed For example in MATRIX output mode all nine output words would be zero Expanded Addressing mode may be permanently changed or set by setting the dip switches to test number 27 see Section 9 0 for details Super Expanded Addressing mode is used when you have more than 30 BIRD units in your Flock In this mode all transmitters must be at addres
115. o test bit is burned in It is useful to set this condition if you are using your pcBIRD in a multi card configuration where a given card may only have a transmitter and not a sensor 58 Installation and Operation Guide Test Modes 9 8 SET NORMAL ADDRESS MODE This sets the ERC and pcBIRD cards into Normal Addressing Mode which enables FBB addresses 1 through 14 The mode is stored in the internal non volatile memory To set the unit into Normal Addressing Mode select test 29 and turn the power on When the front panel indicator blinks Normal Addressing Mode has been set The dip switch can then be reset with the correct baud rate and address The power switch must then be cycled for Normal Address operation The ERC and all MotionStar sensor cards must be individually set to Normal Address Mode When a pcBIRD is in Normal Address mode its light will blink 5 times then go out when it is powered up 9 9 SET EXPANDED ADDRESS MODE This sets the ERC and pcBIRD cards into Expanded Addressing Mode which enables FBB addresses 1 through 30 To set the unit into Expanded Addressing Mode select test 27 and turn the power on When the front panel indicator blinks Expanded Addressing Mode has been set The dip switch can then be reset with the proper address and baud rate The power switch must then be cycled for Expanded Address operation The ERC and all pcBIRD cards must be individually set to Expanded Address Mode When a pcBIRD is in expanded
116. object such as a plastic model or a person s face This measurement can be accomplished by moving the pcBIRD s sensor over the object and recording the X Y Z positional outputs Because of the sensor s size it is sometimes more convenient to mount the pcBIRD s sensor onto a pencil or pen or some other device with a pointed tip generically called a stylus and then trace the object with the stylus tip to record its shape Since the positional outputs of the pcBIRD are given in relation to the center of the sensor one needs to find the corresponding X Y Z coordinates at the tip of the stylus This translation of coordinates is easily accomplished with the application of some elementary trigonometry given the POSITION MATRIX outputs and the X Y Z offset distances from the pcBIRD s sensor center to the tip of the attached stylus Notation Xp Ys Zg are the X Y Z position outputs from the pcBIRD that is the location of the sensor s center with respect to the transmitter s center Xo Yo Zo are the offset distances from the sensor s center to the tip of the stylus Xs Ys Zs are the coordinates of the stylus s tip with respect to the transmitter s center M i j are the elements of the rotation matrix returned to the user when the user requests POSITION MATRIX outputs Definition of the individual matrix elements can be found in the User s manual under the heading MATRIX Math The stylus coordinates can be computed from the following
117. om 100 to 144 updates per second Before you set SYNCtype 1 or 2 you should use SYNCtype 255 to determine your CRT s vertical retrace rate and to help you find the best spot on the outside of the CRT s housing for the sync pickup Each time you send SYNCtype 255 the pcBIRD will return two words to aid you in finding the sweet spot The first word represents a voltage proportional to the strength of your CRT s vertical scan signal Locate the pickup where this voltage will be at least 1 volt or more The maximum voltage reading will be obtained on the top or side of your CRT s housing near the deflection yoke The deflection yoke is typically located about halfway between the front and back of the cabinet The second word represents the scan rate of your CRT If you get a voltage reading but the scan rate number remains zero it means that your CRT s vertical scan rate is less than 31 cps The pcBIRD will not synchronize to a CRT at these lower rates When you set SYNCtype 255 the front panel light will go out to remind you that the pcBIRD is not running normally You must set SYNCtype NOT equal to 255 before the pcBIRD will start running again The two words returned each time you issue the command with the Command Data 255 are formatted per the following with no phasing bits employed WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 MSByte scan voltage LSByte scan voltage 2 MSByte scan rate LSByte scan rate The scan voltag
118. on angles When PARAMETERnumber 17 during CHANGE if the one byte of PARAMETER DATA sent to the pcBIRD is 1 then the XYZ measurement frame will also correspond to the new reference frame defined by the REFERENCE FRAME command When the PARAMETER DATA sent is a zero the XYZ measurement frame reverts to the orientation of the transmitter s physical XYZ axes During EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a byte value of 0 or 1 to indicate that the XYZ measurement frame is either the transmitter s physical axes or the frame specified by the REFERENCE FRAME command 83 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference TRANSMITTER OPERATION MODE PARAMETERnumber 18 When PARAMETERnumber 18 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a word that is used to determine the current Transmitter Mode The value of the LSbyte returned may take one of the following valid values This value is contained in the least significant 7 bits of the byte 0 Non Pulsed mode 1 Pulsed mode 2 Cool Down mode Some waveforms cannot be used with some Flock components so care must be taken if this command is used Note The miniBIRD and miniBIRD II transmitter circuits cannot operate in Non Pulsed mode Running the Non Pulsed mode on the miniBIRD and miniBIRD I will immediately destroy the transmitter drive circuits The miniBIRD and miniBIRD II automatically default to the Cool Down mode and may be run in the Pulsed mode The miniBIRD and miniBIRD II as FBB Master wi
119. osition and orientation of a small body mounted sensor when located within 4 feet of its transmitter When used with the optional Extended Range Transmitter and Extended Range Controller the pcBIRD can operate over a distance of 10 feet The pcBIRD determines position and orientation by transmitting a pulsed DC magnetic field measured by the sensor From the measured magnetic field characteristics the sensor electronics card computes its position and orientation and makes this information available to you over your host computer s ISA bus The pcBIRD consists of a single electronics card that is compatible with PC s and other computers with an ISA bus slot A single transmitter and sensor plug into the pcBIRD circuit card Multiple pcBIRD cards can be run in the same PC chassis if multiple sensor operation from a single transmitter is required In this configuration the pcBIRD cards are tied together with an internal bus cable to synchronize their operation Because each card has its own independent computer the measurement rate is not reduced as sensors are added to the configuration In addition to this manual the user can now receive on line assistance at Ascension s web site http www ascension tech com support troubleshoot index htm Installation and Operation Guide Introduction 1 1 PRODUCT ADVISORY Ascension sensors and transmitters along with their attached cables connectors are sensitive electronic components To ob
120. pcBIRD POSITION AND ORIENTATION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM INSTALLATION AND OPERATION GUIDE 910009 A RevA March 30 2000 Copyright 2000 Ascension Technology Corporation PO Box 527 Burlington Vermont 05402 USA 802 893 6657 pcBIRD POSITION AND ORIENTATION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM INSTALLATION AND OPERATION GUIDE 910009 A RevA March 30 2000 Copyright 2000 Ascension Technology Corporation PO Box 527 Burlington Vermont 05402 USA 802 893 6657 FCC Regulations Warning Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment NOTE This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause harmful interference to radio communications Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at the user s expense Canadian Regulations This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the R
121. pcBIRD at 100 measurements sec before you see the effect of the command 62 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The host computer must send the Command Data immediately after the Command Byte The Command Data consists of the sines and cosines of the Azimuth A Elevation E and Roll R angles that specify the amount of sensor misalignment you want to remove Use the ANGLE ALIGN2 command for sending the angles instead of the sines and cosines of the angles The Command Data must be sent even if the angles are zero The sequence of output words to the pcBIRD takes the following form WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 ALIGN command 4A MSbyte Sin A 2 LSbyte Sin A MSbyte Cos A 3 LSbyte Cos A MSbyte Sin E 4 LSbyte Sin E MSbyte Cos E 5 LSbyte Cos E MSbyte Sin R 6 LSbyte Sin R MSbyte Cos R 7 LSbyte Cos R 0 The sine and cosine elements take values between the binary equivalents of 99996 and 1 0 Element scaling is 99996 7FFF Hex 0 0 Hex and 1 8000 Hex 63 Installation and Operation Guide ANGLE ALIGN2 Command Byte Command Data A E R DECIMAL 113 Command Reference ANGLE ALIGN2 BINARY 01110001 This command is the same as the ANGLE ALIGN1 command except that the command data consists of the angles only and not the sines and cosines of the angles The sequence of output words to the pcBIRD takes the following form WORD
122. r SLEEP SLEEP Turns transmitter OFF and suspends system operation STREAM Data records are transmitted continuously from the selected Flock unit If GROUP mode is enabled then data records are output continuously from all running Flock units SYNC Synchronizes data output to a CRT or your host computer XON Resumes data transmission that has been halted with XOFF This is an RS232 command only XOFF Halts data transmission from the ERC This is an RS232 command only 8 2 RS232 COMMAND UTILIZATION 8 2 1 POWER UP BEHAVIOR When the ERCs and pcBIRDs have power turned ON and if the host is not asserting the RTS Bird RESET signal on the RS232 interface then the units will perform their power up functions During power up the units read their configuration dip switches and internal jumpers to determine their mode of operation On power up the ERC s front panel light and chassis back panel lights will blink 5 times if in Normal Address mode 2 times if in Expanded Address mode or 1 time if in Super Expanded Address mode and then go off The host computer must then send the Master the unit with address 1 the CHANGE VALUE AUTO CONFIGURATION command On receipt of this command the lights on all units will turn ON and the Flock will start running There will be no blinking if operating correctly If there is a blinking refer to Section 11 0 for the error codes 45 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Int
123. raded measurement accuracy by the pcBIRD When large metal objects are near the transmitter and sensor s they will affect the accuracy of the position and angle measurements A large metal object is considered to be near when the distance from the transmitter to sensor is the same as the distance from the transmitter or sensor to the large metal object Large metal objects include metal desks bookcases files and the floor ceiling and walls In non wood commercial buildings the floor and possibly the ceiling are constructed of concrete that contains a mesh of reinforcing steel bars Walls might be constructed of cinder blocks or plaster board Plaster board walls however usually have internal steel supports spaced every sixteen inches Even if the wall has no metal in it there may be a large metal object directly on the other side such as someone s desk Usually the largest source of error is due to the floor If you are going to use the sensors at a distance of eight feet from the ERT then the ERT and sensors should be eight feet away from the floor ceiling walls or other large metal objects 17 Installation and Operation Guide Installation The only way to evaluate the building effects is to install the ERT and determine if the accuracy is satisfactory for your application You can evaluate the accuracy degradation simply by taping one sensor to a cardboard box or yard stick or some other method of holding the sensor at a fixed distance
124. rated when the RDR status bit goes to 1 If the user has preset B1 1 an interrupt will be generated when the TDR status bit goes to 1 When you preset B1 to 0 or 1 be sure to keep BO 1 to keep the card from resetting 24 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Interface 4 6 RESETTING THE pcBIRD To initialize or re initialize the pcBIRD card using an ISA software command write to Base address 2 with BO 0 followed immediately with a second write to Base Address 2 with BO 1 B1 can be any value when you initiate the reset At the end of the reset B1 is 1 The reset command can be sent at any time If you have a Master Slave configuration the slave boards must be reset before the master After receiving the reset sequence the pcBIRD will take approximately two seconds to initialize itself It will then indicate that it is ready to accept user commands by setting DATA STATUS BO 1 and generating an interrupt if interrupts are enabled Any commands or command data sent to the pcBIRD before or during the reset will be lost 25 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Format 5 0 FORMAT OF ISA COMMANDS AND DATA 5 1 FORMAT OF COMMANDS AND DATA SENT All commands sent to the pcBIRD consist of a single byte packed into a word Associated with some commands are multiple byte command data If you are sending only acommand byte this byte is positioned as the most significant byte in the output word The least significant byte must be
125. re using the ISA interface there are more commands listed in Section 6 6 Command Name ANGLES ANGLE ALIGN BUTTON MODE BUTTON READ CHANGE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE FBB RESET HEMISPHERE MATRIX NEXT TRANSMITTER POINT POSITION POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX Description Data record contains 3 rotation angles Aligns BIRD to reference direction Sets how the mouse button will be output Reads the value of the mouse button pushed Changes the value of a selected BIRD system parameter Reads and examines a selected BIRD system parameter Resets all of the Slaves through the FBB Tells BIRD desired hemisphere of operation Data record contains 9 element rotation matrix Turns on the next transmitter in the Flock One data record is output for each B command from the selected Flock unit If GROUP mode is enabled one record is output from all running Flock units Data record contains X Y Z position of sensor Data record contains POSITION and ANGLES Data record contains POSITION and MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION Data record contains POSITION and QUATERNION QUATERNION REFERENCE FRAME 44 Data record contains OUATERNIONS Defines new measurement reference frame Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface REPORT RATE Number of data records second output in STREAM mode RS232 ISA TO FBB Use one R 232 interface connection to talk to all BIRDs RUN Turns transmitter ON and starts running afte
126. re 1 Dip Switch Settings Normal Address Mode 11 Installation and Operation Guide Dip switch position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LE EE N N EE Da GELY Dip 3 off off l x x x x x x x on t on x Dip 4 off off on xe He KH KH KH KH ME KH H WE H KH KH KH KH KH KN KH KH KH K DVI Dip 1 off off on on DIP SETTING OFF switch UP ON switch DOWN In Fly Mode In Test Mode Baud rate when RS232 interfac Installation OFF Test ON FBB address 0 30 switch 4 5 6 7 EBB Addr ODRODE OBE AOE 0 off off off on 1 on on on off 30 on on on on invalid test number switch 5 6 7 Test off off off 1 off off on 3 on on on 3L selected switch 2 Baud off 9600 on 19200 off 38400 on 115200 Figure 2 Dip Switch Settings Expanded Address Mode 12 Installation and Operation Guide Dip switch position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 EEM U Ery Dip 3 off off off OTE 1 off on off on 2 off off on on off on on on l on on Dip 4 ort off on In Fly Mode In Test Mode Installation OFF Test ON FBB address 0 126 switch 4 5 6 7 FBB Addr off off off off 0 off off off off 1 off off off off 2 Ot Or ORE Ot 3 on on on on 126 on on on on invalid test number switch 5 6 7 Test OTT tt GTE 1 Off off on 3 on on on 31 Note The addresses run backwards from Normal or Expanded A
127. s 30 6 3 BLINKING LED BEHAVIOR see ee se 0 sae ek ee ee Re ee eke 30 6 4 ISA COMMAND SUMMARY EE EE ee ee eee 31 6 5 DEFAULT VALUES N Ee Se Ge ee ER ee Ge un es ed ee eier 33 6 6 ISA COMMAND USAGE TABLE ee ee see ee ee ee 34 7 0 R 232 HOST INTERFACE 226 6522 sateen eee cee nae Re RR ee ees 39 LA RS232 SIGNAL DESCRIPTION ein cite Ne ee Ede Tee eae 39 7 2 RS232 TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS 00 40 7 3 RS232 JUMPER CONFIGURATION ee see ek ee ee 41 FA RS232 DATA RATES 2445 ab E ak BEE Sone heed doer EDS EA ieee ou BY 41 8 0 RUNNING THE FLOCK USING AN RS232 INTERFACE 43 8 1 RS232 COMMANDS sine Seas ak ae de che tse has GE irate WE 43 8 1 1 RS232 COMMAND SUMMARY 200 005 44 8 2 RS232 COMMAND UTILIZATION 0 0 00 eee 45 8 2 1 POWER UP BEHAVIOR cats set tire strate SR toate oe es 45 8 2 2 RS232 FLOCK MODE DEFAULT VALUES 48 8 3 RS232 RESPONSE FORMAT aie Geen ag ue eee awh See 49 8 3 1 POSITION ORIENTATION DATA FORMAT 49 8 4 RS232 COMMAND USAGE TABLE 020 e eee eee eee 52 9 0 TEST MODES ie gese Ged wae wae Feld Oe Ge de ea aed wake aed 57 Onl FACTORY TEST esse Sa ate arto aw Se ata Seo Sao See ew Satara 57 92 BIRD OUTPUT saiodi aimn dnd 00 DE RA De Ad de a a aa DO 57 93 BIRD ECHO drehen SUE GO EE a RA EE aa SE AAR 58 94 HOST DATA READS MO OR DR GR Ee GADE DR SSY 58 9 5 HOST DATA READ BL
128. s when you place a sensor in a stable location and the sensor still looks like it is moving Noise can come from many places in your environment including but not limited to power lines monitors transformers overhead lights fuse boxes etc The CRT Cathode Ray Tube is the monitor that connects to the host computer The ISA bus is the interface that the computer uses to talk to the pcBIRD 127 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix I Nomenclature VO ADDRESS Is the dip switch assigned address that the user selects for communication with the pcBIRD Each electronic unit must have a unique I O address EULER ANGLE These are the rotations about the axes The Azimuth is the rotation about the Z axis the Elevation is the rotation about the Y axis and the Roll is the rotation about the X axis FLYING This is the state that the BIRD is in immediately after power on This is the running state 128 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix II pcBIRD Specifications APPENDIX Il pcBIRD SPECIFICATIONS Physical Transmitter Sensor PC Board ERC Enclosure optional Technical Positional range Angular range Static positional accuracy Positional resolution Static angular accuracy Angular resolution Update rate Outputs Interface Format Modes Electrical pcBIRD Power requirements ERC Power requirements Environment 3 75 cube with 10 cable or optional Extended Range Transmi
129. seconds after the command is received the addressed BIRD starts its transmitter Next Transmitter command data format MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 A3 A2 Al AO 0 0 N1 NO where A3 A0 is the FBB address of the Next Transmitter A3 A2 A1 AO 0 0 O 1 Address 1 0 O 1 0 Address 2 1 1 1 O Address 14 96 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference and N1 NO is the number of the NEXT TRANSMITTER at the FBB address N1 NO 0 0 Number 0 0O 1 Number 1 1 0 Number 2 1 1 Number 3 Therefore to turn on the transmitter 2 at FBB address 6 the command byte is 30H followed by a command data byte of 62H Notes 1 With multiple transmitters the measurement reference frame is defined with respect to the location and orientation of the transmitter that is currently turned on Thus unless each transmitter is aligned perfectly to each other you will get a jump in the measured orientation of the sensor when the next transmitter is turned on To overcome the angular misalignments you can use the REFERENCE FRAME command directed to each transmitter after you power up the Flock but before you do the transmitter switching 2 If you select a transmitter that is not available then the Master will indicate Error 29 Transmitter not Accessible 97 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 66 102 01100110 The OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR co
130. ses 1 to 14 and the sensors are at addresses 1 to 126 In Super Expanded Address mode the sensors must be further than 10 inches from the transmitter for the position orientation information to be correct or 22 inches for an Extended Range Transmitter If the sensor is closer than this limit position and orientation outputs will be zeroed Super Expanded Addressing mode may be permanently changed or set by setting the dip switches to test number 31 see Section 9 0 for details Installation and Operation Guide Installation 2 2 1 5 DIP SWITCH CONFIGURATION On the top of each pcBIRD unit there is a dip switch that must be set to select the baud rate unit address and other functions Whenever you change the dip switch settings you must reset the pcBIRD s power for the new settings to be recognized by the system The switch assignments are as follows in Figure 1 for Normal Addressing mode and Figure 2 for Expanded Addressing mode Super Expanded Addressing mode only has the one default baud rate of 115 2K Dip Switch 8 For the pcBIRD to be in an operational mode FLY where it can output position and orientation dip switch 8 must be set to OFF When dip switch 8 is set to ON the system enters TEST mode where it performs the functions specified by the test number set in switches 4 5 6 7 Refer to Section 9 0 for details on each test Dip Switches 4 5 6 7 Normal Addressing Mode default When in Normal Address mode up to 14 BIRD
131. t Significant Byte 1 address 1 configuration address 2 configuration 2 address 3 configuration address 4 configuration 7 15 63 address 13 29 125 config address 14 30 126 contig Each byte has the following format BIT 7 If 1 device is accessible on FBB If 0 device is not accessible A device is accessible when it has power on It may or may not be running BIT 6 If 1 device is running If 0 device is not running A device is running when the power switch is on it has been AUTO CONFIGed and it is AWAKE A device is not running when the power switch is on and it has not been AUTO CONFIGed or it has been AUTO CONFIGed and it is ASLEEP BIT 5 If 1 device has a sensor If 0 device does not have a sensor BIT 4 If 1 transmitter is an ERT If 0 transmitter is standard range BIT 3 If 1 ERT 3 is present If 0 ERT 3 is not present BIT 2 If 1 ERT 2 is present If 0 ERT 2 is not present BIT 1 If 1 ERT 1 is present If 0 ERT 1 is not present BIT 0 If 1 ERT 0 or standard range transmitter is present If 0 ERT 0 is not present 89 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION PARAMETERnumber 50 The AUTO CONFIGURATION command is used to start running multiple BIRDs working together in a Master Slave configuration or a single BIRD with an Extended Range Transmitter When PARAMETERnumber 50 during an CHANGE VALUE command the Master BIRD will perform all the necessary config
132. t sequence would now be x y Z az el rl button for a total of 14 bytes instead of the normal 12 bytes The BUTTON MODE command must be issued to the pcBIRD in the following 2 byte sequence MSB LSB 7 6 543210 BYTE Oo 1 00 1 1 01 1 Command Byte 0 0 00 0 0 0 DO 2 Command Data Where DO is either 0 or 1 For a description of the values which may be returned in the Button Value word see the BUTTON READ command 66 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference BUTTON READ BUTTON READ HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 4E 78 01001110 The BUTTON READ command allows you to determine at any time which of the three buttons on the optional 6D mouse was pressed This command is especially useful when you want to read the buttons but do not have BUTTON MODE set to 1 which would append the Button Value word to every transmitted record Immediately after you send the BUTTON READ Command Byte the pcBIRD will return a single word containing the Button Value The Button Value word can assume the following Hex values 0 Hex 0 No button pressed 10 Hex 16 Left button pressed 30 Hex 48 Middle or middle and left button pressed 70 Hex 112 Right or right and any other button pressed Notes The Button Value word does not contain the phasing bits normally included in the pcBIRD s transmitted data records The above values are the ones actually sent to the host The pcBIRD updates its button reading every
133. t until the DATA STATUS bit BO 1 Immediately after the user sends a word the DATA STATUS bit BO is automatically set to zero After the pcBIRD processes this word BO is again set to one indicating that the user can send another command or data word If the previous command results in the pcBIRD outputting data to the user the user must not issue a new command until the previous data is received pcBIRD operation will become faulty if the user sends a word to the pcBIRD when the DATA STATUS bit BO 0 4 4 RECEIVING DATA FROM THE pcBIRD When the pcBIRD sends a word to the user DATA STATUS bit B1 is set to one Immediately after the user reads the data port to get this word DATA STATUS bit B1 is automatically reset to zero pcBIRD operation will become faulty if the user reads a data word when the DATA STATUS bit B1 0 4 5 INTERRUPT OPERATION To send commands and read data from the pcBIRD using interrupts one must insert one of the IRQ jumpers on the board You may however still use polling of the DATA STATUS register when an IRQ jumper is inserted if you mask this interrupt in your host computer Behavior of the DATA STATUS bits during interrupt operation is the same as during polled operation When either or both of the DATA STATUS bits are 1 an interrupt will occur To identify the source of the interrupt the user must preset B1 in the INTERRUPT RESET port to either a 0 or 1 When B1 has been preset 0 an interrupt will be gene
134. tain good tracking performance and maintain your warranty treat them carefully Most failures in the field occur because the cables attached to the sensors and transmitters are mishandled Always remember that these components are not designed to withstand sever jolting contortions or high impact shocks When handling your cables please observe the following C Never flex pull or twist cables This is the most common cause of tracker failure Note that there is a strain relief where the sensor head attaches to its cable Its job is to protect the delicate connection between the cable conductors and the sensor assemble head It is also the are in which sensors are attached to the object that is being tracked When attaching the sensor to the object that is to be tracked be sure that you do not pull twist or repeatedly bend the cable here Consider adding a secondary strain relief if the cable is prone to contortions Never yank the sensor off its mounting bracket or holder by grabbing the cable and pulling Never carry throw or swing a sensor by its cable Never let the sensor impact with a hard object Never add your own extensions connectors to our sensor transmitter cables without our pre approval Our cables are precisely bundled and shielded to minimize noise and ensure accurate performance within specification If you add an extension without our knowledge or approval you may compromise the performance and or negate certain regu
135. te impulse response IIR low pass filter applied to the sensor data to eliminate high frequency noise Generally this filter is always required in the system unless your application can work with noisy outputs When the DC filter is turned on you can modify its noise lag characteristics by changing ALPHA_MIN and Vm To CHANGE the FILTER ON OFF STATUS send the pcBIRD two bytes of PARAMETERdata with the most significant byte set to zero and the least significant set to the code in the table above DC FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA_MIN PARAMETERnumber 5 When PARAMETERnumber 5 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns 7 words 14 bytes which define the lower end of the adaptive range that filter constant ALPHA_MIN can assume in the DC filter as a function of sensor to transmitter separation When ALPHA_MIN 0 Hex the DC filter will provide an infinite amount of filtering the outputs will never change even if you move the sensor When ALPHA_MIN 0 99996 7FFF Hex the DC filter will provide no filtering of the data The default values as a function of transmitter to sensor separation range for the Standard Range and Extended Range Transmitters are as follows Std Range Xmir Extended Range Xmtr Range Range ALPHA_MIN inches inches decimal 0 to 17 Oto 55 0 02 028F Hex 17 to 22 55 to 70 0 02 22 to 27 70 to 90 0 02 27 to 34 90 to 110 0 02 34 to 42 110 to 138 0 02 42 to 54 138 to 170 0 02 54 170 0 02 To CHANGE ALPHA MIN send
136. tion data since the sixteenth bit is beyond the accuracy or resolution of the tracker 5 2 2 CHANGE EXAMINE DATA FORMAT The Change Examine value data uses the response format described with each Change Examine value command The Change Examine value data does not contain the phasing bits found in the Position Orientation data All 16 bits are used for data 28 Installation and Operation Guide ISA Command Utilization 6 0 ISA COMMAND UTILIZATION 6 1 STAND ALONE OPERATION After power up or reset the pcBIRD is ready to output data to you in the POSITION ANGLE format as soon as you send it a B POINT command If you do not want POSITION ANGLE formatted data send one of the following data record select commands to the desired sensor ANGLES MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX or POSITION QUATERNION These commands do not cause the pcBIRD to transmit data to the host For the host to receive data it must issue a data request Use the POINT data request each time you want one data record or use the STREAM data request once to initiate a continuous flow of data records If you want to reduce the rate at which data STREAMs from the pcBIRD use the REPORT RATE command All commands can be issued in any order and at any time to change the pcBIRD s output characteristics however if the previous command results in the pcBIRD outputting data to the user the user must not issue a new command until the previous dat
137. tion measurement operation must be either confined to a defined hemisphere or your host computer must track the location of the sensor There is no ambiguity in the sensor s orientation angles as output by the ANGLES command or in the rotation matrix as output by the MATRIX command The HEMISPHERE command is used to tell the pcBIRD in which hemisphere centered about the transmitter the sensor will be operating There are six hemispheres from which you may choose the forward aft rear upper lower left and right If no HEMISPHERE command is issued the forward is used by default The two Command Data bytes sent immediately after the HEMISPHERE command are to be selected from the following Hemisphere HEMI AXIS HEMI SIGN ASCII HEX ASCII HEX Forward nul 00 nul 00 Aft Rear nul 00 soh 01 Upper ff OG soh 01 Lower ff OC nul 00 Left ack 06 soh 01 Right ack 06 nul 00 92 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference The HEMISPHERE command sequence sent to each BIRD with a receiver would look like this WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 command 4C HEMI AXIS 2 HEMI_SIGN 0 The ambiguity in determining position can be eliminated if your host computer s software continuously tracks the sensor location In order to implement tracking you must understand the behavior of the signs of the X Y and Z position outputs when the sensor crosses a hemisphere boundary When you select a given hemisphere o
138. to data requests and mode changes but the data output will not change To resume normal system operation issue the RUN command 112 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference STREAM STREAM HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 40 64 01000000 In the STREAM mode the pcBIRD starts sending continuous data records to the host computer as soon as the Command Byte is received Data records will continue to be sent until the host sends the POINT or OUTPUT BUFFER CLEAR commands If you use the POINT command to stop the streaming you will receive an additional data record in response to the POINT command It is the user s responsibility to clear the BIRD s output port of any unread words after issuing the POINT command See REPORT RATE to change the rate at which records are transmitted during STREAM 113 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference SYNC SYNC HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 41 65 01000001 Command Data SYNCtype The SYNC command must be issued to the pcBIRD in the following 2 byte sequence MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Command Byte D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 DO 2 Command Data Where D7 DO 00000000 for no sync 00000001 for CRTSYNC type 1 00000010 for CRTSYNC type 2 00001000 for HOSTSYNC type 1 11111111 for CRTSYNC type 255 pickup placement The pcBIRD offers several methods of synchronizing its operation and outputs to externa
139. tter 12 cube with 20 cable 1 0 x 1 0 x 0 8 cube or optional 3 button mouse with 10 or 35 cable Standard full length board one per sensor to be tracked 4 x 1134 x Of c 4 10 optional in any direction 180 Azimuth amp Roll 90 Elevation 0 07 RMS 12 with Standard Range Transmitter 0 02 RMS 12 with Standard Range Transmitter 0 5 RMS 12 with Standard Range Transmitter 0 1 RMS 12 with Standard Range Transmitter 30 144 measurements sec X Y Z positional coordinates and orientation angles rotation matrix or quaternions ISA Bus RS232 2 400 to 115 200 Baud ERC Only Binary Point or Stream Uses PC s power supply 5V 4 5A 12V 1 5A No 5V or 12V 100 120 200 240 Voltage 47 63Hz Frequency Range 3 6A 1 8A Amperage All specifications are valid at 30 C 10 in an environment void of large metal objects and electromagnetic frequencies other than the power line 129 Installation and Operation Guide Appendix III Jumper Functions APPENDIX III JUMPER FUNCTIONS Jumper assignments on each pcBIRD card Jumper Function 1 1 2 connected CRT sync signal enable 2 3 connected TTL sync signal enable 2 1 2 connected CRT sync signal enable 2 3 connected TTL sync signal enable 3 1 2 connected FBB Reset is enabled 1 2 not connected FBB Reset is not enabled 4 1 2 connected RS485 HOST BUS data is terminated 1 2 not connected RS485 H
140. u utilize a single RS232 interface to talk to all of the pcBIRDs the commands you send must contain the address of the pcBIRD that you want to respond see the RS232 ISA TO FBB commana 8 1 RS232 COMMANDS Each RS232 command consists of a single command byte followed by N command data bytes where N depends upon the command A command is an 8 bit value which the host transmits to the ERC using the format shown below The RS232 command format is as follows MS BIT LS BIT Stop 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Start RS232 Command 1 BC7 BC6 BC5 BC4 BC3 BC2 BC1 BCO 0 where BC7 BCO is the 8 bit command value see RS232 Command Reference and the MS BIT Stop 1 and LS BIT Start 0 refers to the bit values that the UART in your computer s RS232 port automatically inserts into the serial data stream as it leaves the computer The RS232 command data format is as follows MS BIT LS BIT Stop 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Start RS232 Data 1 BD7 BD6 BD5 BD4 BD3 BD6 BDI BDO 0 where BD7 BD0 is the 8 bit data value associated with a given command If you are going to use a single RS232 port to talk to all of the pcBIRDs in a Flock instead of separate ISA interfaces you must preface each RS232 command with the RS232 ISA TO FBB command 43 Installation and Operation Guide Running The Flock Using An RS232 Interface 8 1 1 RS232 COMMAND SUMMARY The following summarizes the action of each command The details of command usage are presented in Section 8 4 If you a
141. urations of the Slaves and itself for a one transmitter multiple sensor configuration The Master BIRD expects one word of data corresponding to the number of BIRD electronic units on the FBB that should be used in the 1 transmitter multiple sensor mode For example if the one word 3 then the BIRD at address 1 the default Master will assume that there are also BIRDs at addresses 2 and 3 These three BIRD units will then start running If you have an Extended Range Transmitter Controller ERC in your configuration the ERC counts as one BIRD electronics unit Note that contiguous addresses must be used i e for 1 transmitter 5 sensors BIRDs with addresses 1 through 5 must be present The command sequence would look like this in Hex WORD Most Significant Byte Least Significant Byte 1 50 32 2 0 3 Once the Flock is running the AUTO CONFIGURATION command can also be used to reconfigure a Flock For example if the Flock is currently AUTO CONFIGURED with 3 BIRD units you can reconfigure it with 2 BIRD units by sending the AUTO CONFIGURATION command with 2 as the data while the Flock is in operation Resending AUTO CONFIGURATION to the Master after an error develops in the Flock will many times clear the error and restart the system If you have GROUP STREAM mode running you must first terminate STREAM mode before sending another AUTO CONFIGURATION command Before sending the AUTO CONFIGURATION command you must wait at least 600
142. users to examine the values which were previously inaccessible Note The values can only be EXAMINED with this command if they were previously CHANGED by this command CHANGE EXAMINE ANGLE ALIGN2 PARAMETERnumber 23 When PARAMETERnumber 23 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return 3 words of data corresponding to the Azimuth Elevation and Roll angles used in the ANGLE ALIGN2 command This command differs from the ANGLE ALIGN2 command only in that it allows both reading and writing of the angles See ANGLE ALIGN2 for a full explanation of it s use To CHANGE the angles send 6 bytes of PARAMETERdata after the 2 command bytes Note The angles can only be read back with this command if they were previously written with this command i e if the ANGLE ALIGN2 or the ANGLE ALIGN was used to set the angles those angles will not be accessible with the EXAMINE ANGLE ALIGN2 command 86 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference CHANGE EXAMINE REFERENCE FRAME2 PARAMETERnumber 24 When PARAMETERnumber 24 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD will return 3 words of data corresponding to the Azimuth Elevation and Roll angles used in the REFERENCE FRAME2 command See REFERENCE FRAME2 command for further explanation To CHANGE the angles send 6 bytes of PARAMETERdata after the 2 command bytes Note These angles are only accessible with this command if they were previously written with this command BIRD SERIAL NUMBER PARAMETERnum
143. yte returned is INT The value of the least significant byte returned is FRA Thus in the above example the value returned in the most significant byte would have been 02 Hex and the value of the least significant byte would have been OD Hex If the revision number were 3 1 then the bytes would be 03 and 01 Hex BIRD COMPUTER CRYSTAL SPEED PARAMETERnumber 2 When PARAMETERnumber 2 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns the speed of its computer s crystal in megahertz MHz You need to know the crystal speed if you want to determine or set the measurement rate of the pcBIRD or compute the vertical scan rate of your CRT The most significant byte of the speed word is equal to zero and the base 10 value of the least significant byte represents the speed of the crystal For example if the least significant byte 19 Hex the crystal speed is 25 MHz 72 Installation and Operation Guide Command Reference POSITION SCALING PARAMETERnumber 3 When PARAMETERnumber 3 during EXAMINE the pcBIRD returns a code that describes the scale factor used to compute the position of the sensor with respect to the transmitter If the separation exceeds this scale factor the pcBIRD s position outputs will not change to reflect this increased distance rendering the measurements useless The most significant byte of the parameter word returned is always zero If the least significant byte 0 the scale factor is 36 inches for a full scale position output

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