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Flock of Birds®

1. 154 THE EXTENDED RANGE CONTROLLER CIRCUIT CARD JUMPER LOCATION i JPR 3 jjo 00 4 mmn t m
2. a 00590 o JPR 12 Te O ET CoO lu La 123 rng JPR 11 ah ct 1 2 Un de JPR 10 14 16 1 2 1 2 155 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Optional Power Supply Specifications The optional power supply is an AULT Inc model SW300 This supply utilizes switching technology to provide 25 watts regulated output Its specifications are Physical Dimensions 148 5mm x 122mm x 48 6mm Input connectot for standard IEC 3 wire cord Output connector 9 pin D subminiature female Electrical Power input 100 250 VAC 50 60 Hz single phase Total output powet 25 watts maximum Output voltages currents 5 VDC 4 0 amps maximum 12 VDC 1 0 amps maximum 12 VDC 0 6 amps maximum Total not to exceed 25 watts Power cable connector pinout 1 Remote Sense 2 Remote Sense 3 5 VDC 4 5 VDC 5 Common 6 Common 7 12 VDC 8 12 VDC 9 Earth Ground If you provide your own power supply The supply should be UL listed with a maximum output voltage current ratings that do not exceed the above listed values e Ne
3. See POSITION mode and ANGLE mode for number ranges and scaling 90 7 RS232 Commands 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 twenty four bytes MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 Do wb 0 BYTE 4 1 X8 7 x6 X5 X4 X2 1 LSbyte X 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 X9 2 MSbyte X 0 Y8 Y7 y6 Y5 Y4 3 LSbyte Y 0 15 14 v13 12 11 10 Y9 4 MSbyte Y O Z8 Z7 Z6 Z5 74 73 X2 5 LSbyte Z 0 Z15 4 713 212 2711 710 79 6 MSbyte Z 0 M8 M7 6 M5 M4 3 M2 7 LSbyte M 1 1 0 M15 M14 3 M12 M11 M10 M9 8 MSbyte M 1 1 0 M8 M7 6 M5 3 M2 9 LSbyte M 2 1 0 M15 M14 3 MI2 M 10 M9 10 MSbyte M 2 1 0 M8 7 6 M5 M4 3 M2 11 LSbyte M 3 1 0 M15 M14 3 M12 M11 M10 M9 412 MSbyte M 3 1 0 M8 M7 6 M5 M4 3 M2 413 LSbyte M 1 2 0 M15 M14 3 M12 Ml 0 M9 14 MSbyte M 1 2 0 M8 M7 6 M5 M4 3 M2 15 LSbyte M 2 2 0 M15 14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 16 MSbyte M 2 2 0 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 17 LSbyte M 3 2 0 M15 14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 418 MSbyte M 3 2 0 M8 M7 M6 M5 4 M3 M2 19 LSbyte M 1 3 0 M15 14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 20 MSbyte M 1 3 0 M8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 421 LSbyte M 2 3 0 M15 14 M13 M12 11 M10 M9 422 MSbyte M 2 3 0 M8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 423 LSbyte M
4. MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 il 0 1 Command Byte B7 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 2 LSbyte A B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 3 MSbyte A B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 4 LSbyte E B15 B14 B13 B12 B B10 B9 B8 5 MSbyte E B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 6 LSbyte R B15 B14 B13 B12 B B10 B9 B8 7 MSbyte R See the ANGLES command for the format and scaling of the angle values sent 96 7 RS232 Commands REPORT RATE REPORT RATE Measurement DECIMAL BINARY Rate Divisor Command 01010001 01010010 01010011 01010100 If you do not want a Bird data record output to your host computer every Bird measurement cycle when in STREAM mode then 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 97 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide RS232 TO FBB RS232 TO FBB HEX DECIMAL BINARY Notmal Expanded Super Expanded Addressing mode Command Byte FO EO AO 240 224 160 11110000 11100000 10100000 FBB ADDR The RS232 TO FBB pass through command allows the host computer to communicate with any specified Birds in the Flock via a single RS232 interface The command can ONLY be used when communicating with the Master Bird The command is a preface to each of the RS232 commands When in Normal or Expanded Add
5. COS Y COS 2 COS Y SIN SIN Y COS X SIN Z COS X COS 2 5 SIN Y COS 2 SIN X SIN Y SIN Z SIN X COS Y SIN X SIN Z SIN X COS 2Z COS X SIN Y COS Z COS X SIN Y SIN Z COS X COS Y 78 7 RS232 Commands Or in Euler angle notation where R Roll E Elevation A Azimuth COS E COS A COS E SIN A SIN E COS R SIN A COS R COS A SIN R SIN E COS A SIN R SIN E SIN A SIN R COS SIN SIN A SIN R COS A COS SIN E COS A COS SIN E SIN A COS COS E The output record is in the following format for the eighteen transmitted bytes MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 1 M8 M7 6 M5 M4 3 M2 1 LSbyte M 1 1 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 1 M10 M9 2 MSbyte M 1 1 0 8 M7 6 M5 M4 M3 M2 3 LSbyte M 2 1 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 4 MSbyte M 2 1 0 M8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 5 LSbyte M 3 1 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 6 MSbyte M 3 1 0 M8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 7 LSbyte M 1 2 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 8 MSbyte M 1 2 0 M8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 9 LSbyte M 2 2 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 10 MSbyte M 2 2 0 8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 11 LSbyte M 3 2 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 12 MSbyte M 3 2 0 8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 13 LSbyte M 1 3 0 M15 M14 M1
6. 49 Signal Description Transmission Characteristics Jumper Configuration Data Rates FBB Commands Chapter 6 Test Modes eee 60 Chapter 7 RS232 Command s 63 Chapter 8 Change Value Examine Value 110 Chapter 9 Error 135 Chapter 10 Application 141 Computing Stylus Tip Coordinates Graphics Modeling Matrix Conversion Flock Stand Alone Power Supply CRT Sync Pulse Hlectrical Requirements Using Multiple Host RS485 Interfaces Configuring for Minimal Lag Chapter 11 Troubleshooting and Repair 149 Troubleshooting Repair Contacting Ascension Chapter 12 Regulatory Information and Specifications 152 Regulatory Compliance Product Specifications Optional Power Supply Specifications 22 Note This call out explains important information about the features of your system About this Manual About This Manual Purpose of this Manual The Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide contains detailed information about the setup product design and operation of Ascension Technology s Flock of Birds tracking system This manual contains everything you will need to install and operate your tracker to maximize its performance for your application Please take the time to read this manual carefully Manual Conventions This manual uses a nu
7. Where most of the snap comes from the Vm table 148 11 Troubleshooting and Repair Chapter Troubleshooting and Repair Troubleshooting Although the Bird 1s resistant to problems there are a few ways you can get into trouble 1 2 3 4 5 6 If the front panel LED blinks continuously it means that you are in the test mode and the system is not actually functioning Check dipswitch 8 It should be in the OFF position pointing up for normal system operation If the front panel light does not come on at all a verify that the power supply cable is plugged into the power supply and wall The cable may appear to be plugged into the supply but may be loose b disconnect the RS232 interface cable at the Bird s back panel and toggle the FLY STDBY switch If the light now comes on it means that your RS232 interface cable has a wire attached to pin 7 of the Bird s RS232 connector and that your host computer is holding the Request to Send line high Either disconnect the wire to pin 7 or reprogram your RS232 UART to deassert the RTS line If the Bird does not function or runs erratically make sure that all cables are screwed into their front and back panel connectors If you cannot get the Bird to communicate with your computer try using the Bird Output test and the Bird Echo test to verify the host serial link Verify that all Birds are either in the Normal Addressing mode Expanded Addressing mode or Su
8. ASCENSION TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION Motion Trackers for Computer Graphics Applications Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide www ascension tech com Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide REVISION NUMBER 910141 Rev A1 1 31 02 TRADEMARKS Microsoft Windows 98 Windows 2000 Windows Me and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation All other products mentioned in this manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies 2002 Ascension Technology Corporation All rights reserved P O Box 527 Burlington VT 05402 Phone 802 893 6657 Fax 802 893 6659 Table of Contents About this Manual eere 5 Manual Conventions Getting Assistance Manual Revision Histoty Introductioti irte eie secs es ieee Ea enata 8 Chapter 1 Preparing for 11 System Terms Unpacking the System Handling Precautions Chapter 2 Setup and Installation 15 Installation Cable Attachment Extended Range Controller Transmitter Flock Operational Limitations Chapter 3 RS232 Host Interface 29 Signal Desctiption Transmission Characteristics Jumper Configuration Data Rates Chapter 4 Running the Flock 33 Commands Command Summary Command Utilization Response Format Command Usage Table Chapter 5 FBB Host
9. TO HOST RS485 TERMINATE BIRD ADDR 1 1234567812345674 TO HOST RS485 TERMINATE BIRD ADDR 2 1234567812345674 TO HOST RS485 TERMINATE BIRD ADDR 3 JPR14 JPR16 TERM TERM 1234567412345674 GROUP 1 E TO HOST RS485 TERMINATE GROUPED HOST RS485 422 146 GROUP 2 TO HOST RS485 TERMINATE INTERFACES 10 Applicaton Notes Configuring for Minimal Lag 1 Use the highest baud rate possible for collecting data from the Bird This means that if you have a PC compatible computer then you should use 115 2K baud when using its RS232 port If you are using the Bird s RS485 interface then you should collect data at a rate of 250K baud If you have multiple Birds in a Flock configuration then you should use individual RS232 ot RS485 ports to each Bird If you used a single port to collect data from multiple Birds then the maximum data rate is reduced by a factor of two each time you double the number of Birds on this port Use STREAM mode not POINT mode fot collecting data STREAM mode gives you data every Bird measurement cycle as soon as it has been computed If you used POINT mode then the data request would come at some random point in the Bird s measurement cycle resulting in a random variation of up to 10 milliseconds in the age of the Bird measured data Select a
10. The command cannot be sent to the Bird mixed in with the Command Data of another command as it simply will be interpreted by the Bird as Command Data 109 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Chapter Change Value Examine Value Valid CHANGE VALUE and EXAMINE VALUE PARAMETERnumbets are listed in the table below It is important to note that all PARAMETERnumbers are CHANGEable but ALL are EXAMINEable Parameter CHANGE EXAMINE bytes send Dec 0 0 No 0 1 1 No 0 2 2 No 0 3 3 Yes 4 4 4 Yes 4 5 5 Yes 16 6 6 Yes 4 7 7 Yes 4 8 8 Yes 3 9 9 Yes 3 10 A No 0 11 B Yes 3 12 C Yes 16 13 D Yes 16 14 E Yes 3 15 0 16 10 0 17 11 Yes 3 18 12 Yes 3 19 13 No 0 20 14 Yes 3 send po ro pO P ro po pO DO po PO PO DO DO bytes teceived Lm gt 110 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 tate 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 filtet constant table ALPHA MAX Sudden output change elimination System Model Identification
11. Address 1 0 0 1 O0 Addtess2 1 1 1 O Addtress 14 And N1 NO is the number of the NEXT TRANSMITTER at the FBB address N1 NO 0 0 Number 0 0 1 Number1 1 0 Number 2 1 1 Number 3 84 7 RS232 Commands 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 85 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide OFFSET OFFSET HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 4B 75 01001011 Command Data X Y Z OFFSET DISTANCES FROM SENSOR Normally the position outputs from the Bird represent the x y z position of the center of the sensor with respect to the center of the transmitter The OFFSET command allows the user to specify a location that is offset from the center of the sensor Figure 9 shows an application of the of
12. Bytes 18 19 FBB Devices Super Expanded addr mode only BIT 15 If 1 device at address 126 15 running If 0 device at address 126 is not running BIT 14 If 1 device at address 125 is running If 0 device at address 125 is not running BIT 0 If 1 device at address 111 is running If 0 device at address 111 not running 134 9 Error Messages Chapter Error Messages The Bird keeps track of system errors These errors are reported via the panel lights and the SYSTEM ERROR register When an error occurs the SYSTEM STATUS register ERROR bit is set to a 1 and the error code is put into the SYSTEM ERROR register You can query the SYSTEM ERROR register with the RS232 command EXAMINE VALUE SYSTEM ERROR the FBB command FBB SEND ERROR CODE When you read SYSTEM STATUS the ERROR bit is reset to a and when you read the SYSTEM ERROR register all bits are reset to 0 In addition to updating the SYSTEM ERROR register the panel light will temporarily or permanently stop the Bird and blink the error code as 10 short blinks followed by the N long blinks where N is the error code The stopping of the Bird 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 just reissuing the AUTO CONFIGURATION command to the Master Other error conditions will require you to cycle the power switch The error codes are summarized below A detailed d
13. equipped with one or more motion tracking sensors to walk about a 16 x 16 foot room With four ERTs in an array he 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 Locating the ERT The most critical issue in installing an ERT is selecting a location for placement of the transmitter A poor location will result in degraded measurement accuracy by the Flock 24 2 Setup and Installation 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 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 sensots at a distance of eight feet from the ERT the ER
14. 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 byte returned will 1 to indicate that the outputs will not be updated if a large change is detected If the byte returned 15 zero the outputs will change To change SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK send the Bird one byte of PARAMETERdata 0 to unlock the outputs or send one byte 1 to lock the outputs SYSTEM MODEL IDENTIFICATION When PARAMETERnumber 15 during EXAMINE the Bird returns 10 bytes which will represent the device that was found according to the following table 121 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide EXPANDED ERROR CODE When PARAMETERnumber 16 during EXAMINE the Bird will output two bytes 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 r
15. 1996 December 8 1997 Changes Added Examine Extended Error Code information and Application Note 5 on using multiple RS485 interfaces Conversion factor for vertical retrace speed in SYNC command reduced by a factor of two starting with rev 3 39 PROM software Application note 1 revised FBB RS485 interface command structure has changed with rev 3 41 PROM References to extended addressing changed to Expanded Addressing to avoid confusion with the extended range transmitter Expanded error code bit assignments corrected Examine Flock system status added Examine Change XYZ REFERENCE FRAME command added Must have rev 3 45 or greater PROM software to utilize this new command RS232 TO FBB command corrected for Expanded Addressing mode Dipswitch setting to enable Expanded Addressing changed from test 31 to test 27 starting with rev 3 47 PROM software Vm table values changed to agree with rev 3 52 and greater PROMs Misc text changes made Various text improvements RS232 TO FBB command corrected for Expanded Address mode STATUS B12 corrected JPR 13 changed to JPR 17 and jumper function changed starting with PCB rev 6B Starting with rev 3 57 PROM software the light now blinks twice on powerup if in Expanded Address mode Delays now required before and after AUTO CONFIG Misc text improvements Examine Change Bird Measurement Rate added AUTO CONFIG command description expanded Added Reference Frame1 Frame2
16. 3 3 0 M15 14 M13 M12 11 M10 M9 24 MSbyte M 3 3 See POSITION mode and MATRIX mode for number ranges and scaling 91 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide POSITION QUATERNION POSITION QUATERNION HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 5D 93 01011101 In the POSITION QUATERNION mode the Bird outputs the X Y and Z position and the four quaternion parameters qo q q and q which describe the orientation of the sensor with respect to the transmitter The output record is in the following format for the fourteen transmitted bytes MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 1 X8 X7 X6 5 X4 X3 X2 1 LSbyte X 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 X9 2 MSbyte X 0 Y8 Y7 Y6 Y5 Y4 Y3 Y2 3 LSbyte Y D 15 14 1 Y12 11 10 Y9 4 MSbyte Y 0 28 Z7 Z6 25 Z4 Z3 Z2 5 LSbyte 2 0 Z15 Z14 Z13 212 211 710 79 6 MSbyte 7 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 7 LSbyte qo 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 8 MSbyte qo 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 9 LSbyte qi 9 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 10 MSbyte q 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 11 LSbyte q2 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B B10 B9 12 MSbyte qs 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 13 LSbyte 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 14 MSbyte See POSITION mode and QUATERNION mode for number ranges and scaling 92 7 RS232 Commands QUATERNION QUATERNION HEX D
17. Angle Align1 Align2 and test for sensor You need at least rev 3 63 PROM software for these new commands Added the ability to have up to 126 FBB devices Added FBB Reset command Added the following Change Examine commands Addressing Mode Line Frequency FBB Address February 18 1998 January 18 1999 January 31 2002 About this Manual Hemisphere Angle Align2 Reference Frame2 Serial Number You need to have at least EPROM software 3 67 for these new commands Changed the word receivers to sensors Added how to change the angles from Hex to degrees Corrected various bugs misprints in the text 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 Added Examine Change Metal Added Metal command Added syne mode 3 Added STREAM STOP command Added BORESIGHT and BORESIGHT REMOVE commands Added OFFSET command Deleted Test modes 11 and 13 You need at least rev 3 83 for these new commands Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of the Ascension Technology Corporation ATC Flock of Birds motion tracking system Our company is proud of the quality of all our motion tracking products The Flock of Birds is a six degrees of freedom measuring device that can be configured to simultaneously track the position and orientation of multiple sensors by a transmitter Ea
18. B8 5 MSbyte COS B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 Bl BO 6 LSbyte SIN E B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 7 MSbyte SIN E B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 BI BO 8 LSbyte COS B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 9 MSbyte COS B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 BI BO 10 LSbyte SIN R B15 B14 B13 B12 11 B10 B9 B8 11 MSbyte SIN R B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 12 LSbyte COS R B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 13 MSbyte COS 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 66 7 RS232 Commands ANGLE ALIGN2 ANGLE ALIGN2 HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 71 113 01110001 Command Data A Same as the ANGLE ALIGN 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 Bird in the following seven byte format MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 Command Byte B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 BO 2 LSbyte A B15 B14 B13 B12 Bil B10 B9 B8 3 MSbyte A B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 BO 4 LSbyte E B15 B14 B12 Bil B10 B9 B8 5 MSbyte E B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 BO 6 LSbyte B15 B14 B13 B12 Bil B10 B9 B8 7 MSbyte See the ANGLES command for the format and scaling of the angle values sent 67 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide TRANSMITTER SENSOR T m EE u
19. 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 Bird is added to the end of each data record 7 RS232 Commands POSITION POSITION HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 56 86 01010110 In the POSITION mode the Bird 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 six transmitted bytes MSB LSB d 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 1 X8 X7 X6 X5 X4 X3 X2 1 LSbyte X 0 15 X14 X13 X12 XII X10 X9 2 MSbyte X 0 Y8 Y7 Y6 Y5 Y4 2 3 LSbyte Y 0 LAY Y13 YA SOLES 10 Y9 4 MSbyte Y 0 Z8 Z7 Z6 Z5 Z4 Z3 Z2 5 LSbyte 2 0 Z15 Z14 213 712 711 710 29 6 MSbyte Z 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 7 Scaling of each position coordinate is full scale MAX inches That is MAX 7 Hex 0 0 Hex MAX 8000 Hex Since the maximum range Range square root X Y Z from the transmitter to the sensor is limited to MAX inches none of the X Y Z coordinates may reach its full scale value Once full scale 1s reached the positional coordinates no longer reflect the correct position of the sensor To conv
20. Expanded Error Code XYZ Reference Frame Transmitter Operation Mode PBB addressing mode Filter line frequency 21 22 25 24 25 26 27 28 29 22 35 36 50 15 16 IT 18 19 1A 1B 1 1D 20 23 24 32 Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Wow fre D DI P9 DO DO gt NRO 1 14 30 126 5 7 19 8 Change Value Examine Value FBB address Change Examine Hemisphere Change Examine Angle Align2 Change Examine Reference Frame2 Bird Serial Number Sensor Serial Number Xmtt Serial Number Metal Detection Report Rate FBB Host Delay Group Mode Flock System Status FBB Auto Configuration 1 xmtr N snsts The CHANGE VALUE command must be issued to the Bird in the following N byte sequence MSB 7 0 N7 B7 B7 B7 1 N6 B6 B6 B6 0 N5 B5 B5 B5 1 N4 B4 B4 B4 0 N3 B3 B3 B3 0 N2 B2 B2 B2 LSB BYTE 1 0 0 0 1 Command Byte P NI 2 PARAMETERnumber B1 BO 3 PARAMETERdata LSbyte B1 BO 4 PARAMETERdata MSbyte B1 BO HN PARAMETERdata Where N7 NO represent a PARAMETERnumber i e 00000011 or 00000100 and B7 BO represents each bit in the N bytes of PARAMETERdata If the PARAMETERdata is a word then the Least Significant byte LSbyte is transmitted before the Most Significant byte MSbyte If the PARAMETERdata is numetic it must b
21. FBB command is issued 99 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 Flock of Birds FLYing or to the standalone Bird to restart normal system operation after the Bird 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 100 7 RS232 Commands 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 to data requests and mode changes but the data output will not change To resume normal system operation issue the RUN command STREAM STREAM HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 40 64 01000000 In the STREAM mode the Bird 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 STREAM STOP command or the POINT command or any format command such as POSITION to stop the stream Because the Bird may have output some data to your host computer between the time you sent the Bird the command to stop the stream and the time the Bird executed the
22. Flock send to Master only 45 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide measurement rate Exam chg value parameter 8 enable data teady Exam chg value parameter 9 set data ready Examine value parameter 10 errot code Exam chg value parameter 11 error mask Exam chg value parameter 12 DC filter Vin Exam chg value parameter 13 alpha max Exam chg value parameter output lock Examine value parameter 15 identification Examine value parameter 16 expanded error Exam chg value parameter 17 XYZ ref frame Exam chg value parameter 18 Transmitter mode Examine value parameter 19 Addressing mode 50 F 50 10 50 11 4 11 50 12 4 12 50 13 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 If a Flock send to Mastet only If a Flock send to the Master only Send to addr of the unit whose error code you want to know Send to addr of the Bird unit where the error should be masked ot examined Send to addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine or change Send to addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine change Send to addr of the snsr whose outputs you want to lock or examine Send to addr of the unit whose system model identification you want to know Send to Master to determine the addr of the Slave that did not respond Send to addr of the snsor whose outputs you want measured in the rotated xmtr frame Send to Master only Send to addr of the Bird unit whose addressin
23. Output records will contain angles only POINT Bird outputs ANGLES data record STREAM ANGLE data records start streaming from Bird and will not stop until the output mode is changed or the STREAM STOP command is issued POINT An ANGLE data recotd is output and the streaming is stopped Alternatively you could have used the STREAM STOP command For a one transmitter two sensor Flock configuration using individual RS232 ports to each Flock unit In this example the Master has one transmitter and one sensor and the Slave has the other sensor 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 RS232 port Command Action POSITION MATRIX Sent to the Slave to select position and matrix for output POSITION MATRIX Sent to the Master to select position and matrix for output CHANGE VALUE Sent to the Master to start the Flock running FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 2 Flock units POINT Sent to the Master to get one POSITION MATRIX data record POINT Sent to the Slave to get one POSITION MATRIX data record For a one transmitter two sensor Flock configuration with a single RS232 pott attached to the Master This one port will send commands and sensor data from both the Master and Slave In this example the Master at address 1 has one transmitter and one sensor and the Slave at FBB address 2 has the other sensor Command Action RS232 TO FBB Lets the Master know tha
24. Records Output Sec Bird Number of Baud Rate Sensors Position Position Position Angles Matrix 1 1 Master ot 1 Slave 250K 1088 788 395 2 1 Master 1 Slave 250K 544 394 198 4 1 Master 3 Slave 250K 272 172 9 6 1 Master 5 Slave 250K 169 115 8 1 Master 7 Slave 250K 126 88 1 10 1 Master 9 Slave 250K 101 70 40 ol ol oo Notes 1 The rates that are greater than 100 the Bird s default measurement rate are not meant to imply that each Bird is making this many measurements Instead this indicates that you can request and receive data over the RS232 pott 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 100 do not mean the Bird is making measurements this slowly The Birds are always making 100 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 52 5 FBB Host Interface FBB Commands Each FBB command consists of a single Command Byte followed by N Command Data bytes where N depends upon the command command is a 9 bit value which the host transmits to The Bird using the format shown below The ninth bit
25. The following is an example of a 1 transmitter 3 sensor sequence of configuration commands FBB address 1 has a transmitter and sensor addresses 2 and 3 only have sensors Command RS232CMD its CHANGE VALUE FBB AUTO CONFIG 3 Flock units FBB RS232CMD POSITION FBB RS232CMD ANGLES FBB RS232CMD POSITION ANGLES FBB SEND STATUS FBB SEND DATA FBB SEND DATA FBB SEND DATA 1 The Master To Address Action Bird 1 ARMs the Flock by disseminating transmitter information to Birds 2 and 3 If ARMing goes OK the Master sends the RUN command to the Slaves Flock should be flying Bird 1 setup to output Position Data Bird 2 setup to output Angle Data Bird 3 setup to output Position and Angles Host checks status of the Bird 1 Host get position data from Bird 1 Host get angle data from Bird 2 Host get position and angle from Bird 3 55 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide FBB Bird Default Values Upon power up the FBB controlled Bird address 1 through 126 is in the following default mode POINT mode POSITION ANGLE outputs selected XON RUN deactivated ANGLE ALIGN sines cosines set for alignment angles of zero REFERENCE FRAME sines cosines set for reference angles of zeto 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 constant ALPHA
26. 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 I O down to such an extent that you may only be able to achieve one third of the maximum rates listed 31 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Table 2 Maximum RS232 Data Record Output Rate DATA OUTPUT FORMAT Records Output Sec Bird Number of Sensors Baud Rate Position Angles Position Matrix 1 isses or 1 Slave 2 1 Master 1 Slave 3 1 Master 2 Slaves 4 1 Master 3 Slaves 5 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 100 the Bird s default measurement rate are not meant to imply that each Bird 1s making this many measurements Rather it indicates that you can request and receive data over the RS232 pott at a rate greater than the Bird 1s making its measurements When you request data at a rate greater than the measurement rate you will get duplicate data records Rates less than 100 do not mean the Bird is making measurements this slowly The Birds ate always making 100 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 recotds 2 Rates for UNIX platfo
27. 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 dipswitch 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 Bird sensor cards must be individually set to Expanded Address mode When a Bird is in Expanded Address mode its light will blink 2 times then go out when it is powered up Set Super Expanded Address Mode This sets the ERC and Bird sensors 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 dipswitch 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 Bird sensor cards must be individually set to Super Expanded Address Mode When a Bird is in Super Expanded Address mode its light will blink 1 time and then go out when it is powered up 62 7 RS232 Commands Chapter RS232 Commands All commands are listed alphabetically in the following section Each command description contains the command codes required to initiate the commands as well as the format and scaling of the data records which the Bird will out
28. and orientation outputs will be zeroed Super Expanded Addressing mode may be permanently changed or set by setting the dipswitches to test number 31 see Chapter 7 for details Dipswitch Configuration On the back panel of each Bird unit there is a dipswitch that must be set to select the baud rate unit address and other functions Whenever you change the dipswitch settings you must toggle the Bird s FLY STDBY switch to STDBY and then back to FLY for the new settings to be recognized by the system The switch assignments are as follows in Figure 5 for Normal Addressing mode and Figure 6 for Expanded Addressing mode Super Expanded Addressing mode only has the one default baud rate of 115 2K Dipswitch 8 For the FOB to be in an operational mode FLY where it can output position and orientation dipswitch 8 must be set to OFF When dipswitch 8 1s 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 Chapter 6 for details on each test 18 2 Setup and Installation Dipswitches 4 5 6 7 Notmal Addressing Mode default When in Normal Address mode Up to 14 Bird units on the FBB i e 1 ERC plus up to 13 sensots each Bird unit on the FBB is assigned a unique address via dipswitches 4 5 6 7 For example the ERC might have its address dipswitch set to 1 0001 off off off on The first Bird sensor card in the chassis would then have its add
29. auto config After auto send to the addr with the transmitter Can also be sent to the addr of each snsr individually 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 addr of each snsr individually Only use in standalone stream mode or in group stream mode RS232 To FBB Run Sleep Stream GROUP Stream Stop Sync Xoff Xon Examine value parameter 0 status Examine value parameter 1 softwate Examine value parameter 2 ctystal speed Exam chg value parameter 5 Position Scaling Exam chg value parameter 4 Filter on off Exam chg value parameter 5 Alpha min Exam chg value parameter 6 F0 240 224 AO 160 F 46 47 G 40 41 A 13 DC3 11 DC1 50 0 3 3 3 2 4 5 2 4 2 4 4 Running the Flock Send to Master only Send to Master only Send to Master only Cannot be used with a multi Flock configuration unless in mode Send to Master only Send to Master only Send to addr of the unit whose status you want to know Send to addr of the unit whose software rev you want to know Send to addr of the unit whose crystal speed you want to know Send to addr of the snsr whose range scaling you want to examine or change Send to addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine of change Send to addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine of change If a
30. blinking stops WARNING2 Error is posted in the system status no light blinking the Flock continues to run 136 9 Error Messages Error Message Details For each of the Flock error codes a possible cause and corrective action are listed Corrective actions with an indicate that you should not attempt this fix Ascension Technology should be called Code Error Description Type 1 RAM Failure FATAL Cause System RAM Test has did not PASS Action Check for shorts or opens to the RAM chips and if OK replace system RAM 2 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 EEPROM via a read command to verify that it is present prior to writing the device 3 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 4 Transmitter Configuration Data Corrupt WARNING1 Cause The system was not able to read the Transmitter EEPROM Initialized Code ot the Transmitter is not plugged in Action Insure that the Transmitter is present calibrate the transmitter and set the Initialized Code in the EEPROM 5 Sensor Configuration Data Corrupt WARNING1 Cause The system was not able to read the Sensor EE
31. command you should check your input port and empty it before you execute any new commands To ensure that your input port is empty you should read it for at least 10 milliseconds The STREAM command can be used with either a Bird in stand alone mode or with a group of Birds with a single FBB or RS232 interface If you are using a group of Birds with a single FBB or RS232 interface you must first enable the GROUP MODE Remember that when the GROUP MODE is enabled an extra byte containing the FBB address of the Bird is added to the end of each data record Some computers and or high level software languages may not be able to keep up with the constant STREAM of data in this mode Bytes received by your RS232 port may overrun one another or your input buffer may overflow if Bird data is not retrieved fast enough This condition will cause lost bytes hence if your high level application software requests say 12 bytes from the RS232 input 101 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide buffer it may hang because one or more bytes were lost To eliminate this possibility read one byte at a time looking for the phasing bit that marks the first byte of the data record See REPORT RATE to change the rate at which records are transmitted during STREAM 102 7 RS232 Commands STREAM STOP STREAM STOP HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 1 63 00111111 STREAM STOP turns STREAM mode off stopping any data that was STREAMing from the Bir
32. is the parity which your host must force to be a 1 if sending a command or force to 0 if sending data The FBB command format is as follows MS BIT LS BIT Stop Parity 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Start FBB Host Command 1 1 BC7 BC6 BC5 BA4 BA2 BA1 BAO 0 lt FBB gt lt FBB Addtess gt where BC7 BC5 is the 3 bit command value and BA4 BAO is 5 bit FBB address and the MS BIT Stop 1 LS BIT Start 0 and Parity refer to the bit values that the 1UART in your host computer s RS485 port automatically inserts into the serial data stream as it leaves the computer You must force parity 1 when sending a command FBB command data bytes sent by the host to the Bird have the following format MS BIT LS BIT Stop Parity 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Start FBB Host Command Data 1 0 BD7 BD6 BD5 BD4 BD3 BD2 BD1 BDO 0 where BD7 BDO is the 8 bit data value You must force parity 0 when sending data Note The FBB Commands will not work in the Super Expanded Addressing mode FBB Command Summary There are 8 decimal possible FBB host commands of which the following 5 are used FBB CMD Command Description CMD Bits Name 765 0 000 RS232CMD Sends an RS232 command to the Bird using the FBB RS485 interface 1 001 FBB SEND DATA Requests a data record from the Bird 2 010 FBB SEND STATUS Requests the Bird status record 3 011 FBB SEND ERROR Requests the error code from the Bird 53 Flock of Birds Ins
33. of bytes in each record 15 dependent on the output format selected by the user Each 2 byte word is in a binary format dependent on the word type Le 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 Bird The first bit of the first byte transmitted is always a one 1 while the first bit of all other transmitted 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 Bird 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 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 1 LSbyte B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 1 MSbyte C8 C7 C6 CS C4 C3 C2 2 LSbyte C15 C14 C13 C12 2 Mbyte N8 N7 N6 N5 N4 N5 N2 N LSbyte N15 N14 N13 N12 N11 N MSbyte 0 0 AD4 AD3 AD2 AD1 ADO GROUP MODE address 0 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 40 4 Running the Flock For example the Bird is about to send a data record consisting of these three data wotds Word Decimal Binary 2 bytes MSbyte LSbyte 1 4386 1122 00010001 0010001
34. off off 1 off off off on 3 on on on on ST Not The addresses run backwards from Normal or Expanded Addressing 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 Note bbs MHz DIP SETTING from th Baud rate when FBB RS485 values listed below Baud 32MHz There are no Baud rate dipswitches interfac selected Baud rate defaults to 115 2K for RS232 Host CPU baud may vary 2 5 Baud is a function of The Bird s crystal Baud 40MHz 500000 333333 OFF switch UP ON switch DOWN Figure 7 Dipswitch Settings Super Expanded Address Mode 22 2 Setup and Installation Cable Attachment Caution Disconnect the AC line cord from the power supply before connecting or disconnecting any cables 27 Note f you are using a power source other than the optional power supply you may not have access to the AC line cord In that case disconnect the DC power plug at the Bird Important switching the Bird to STDBY does NOT turn the power off RS 232C Cable If your host interface to the Bird is via RS 232C prepare the cable s according to the specification in the section titled RS232 Signal Description or as defined in the user software diskette file RS232 TXT and attach it to the 9 pin female connector labeled RS 232 on the rear panel of the appropriate electronics unit If y
35. respect to another reference frame The REFERENCE FRAME 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 FRAME command will cause the Bird s output angles to change it has no effect on the position outputs If you want The Bird s XYZ position reference frame to also change with this command then you must first use the EXAMINE CHANGE VALUE XYZ REFERENCE FRAME command If you immediately follow the REFERENCE FRAME 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 Bird at 100 measurements sec before you see the effect of the command If the command is sent to the Master then all accessible Birds in the Flock are updated If the command is sent to the Slave then only the Slave is updated T
36. 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 Bird s sensor center to the tip of the attached stylus Notation Yp Zp are the X Y Z position outputs from the Bird that is the location of the sensor s center with respect to the transmitter s center Xo Yo Zo ate the offset distances from the sensor s center to the tip of the stylus Xs Ys Zs ate the coordinates of the stylus s tip with respect to the transmitter s centet MG j are the elements of the rotation matrix returned to the user when he 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 X X Xo M 1 1 Yo M 2 1 Zo M 3 1 Y Yp Xo M 1 2 Yo M 2 2 Zo MG Zs Zg Xo M 1 3 Yo M 2 3 Zo M 3 3 141 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Graphics Modeling Matrix Conversion Purpose Build the 12 elements of a standard computer graphics modeling matrix MM j given the 9 matrix output elements from the Bird MBG j and The Bird 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 poi
37. tell the Master to turn on a given Slave s transmitter User s Host Computer FBB R5232 RS232 RS232 FBB MASTER SLAVE SLAVE BIRD ADDR 1 BIRD ADDR 2 BIRD ADDR 3 XMTR SNSR SNSR SNSR Figure 1 FOBs With A Single FBB Interface To Host Computer User s Host Computer RS232 RS232 RS232 RS232 MASTER SLAVE SLAVE BIRD ADDR 1 BIRD ADDR 2 BIRD ADDR 3 XMTR SNSR SNSR SNSR Figure 2 FOBs With Single RS232 Interface To Host Computer Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide User s Host Computer RS232 0 FES RS232 F35 MASTER SLAY BIRD ADDR 1 BIRD ADDR 2 XMTR RS232 FB8 SLAVE SIRO ADDR 3 Figure 3 FOBs With Individual RS 232C Interfaces To Host Computer User s Host Computer 68232 Fee RS232 Fee Extended Ran AY Controller SLAVE SIRO ADDR 2 MASTER XMTR RS232 Fes SLAVE BIRD ADDR 3 SNSR Figure 4 FOBs With Extended Range Controller Transmitter Using A Single FBB Interface 10 1 Preparing for Setup Chapter Preparing for Setup System Terms FBB FOB MASTER SLAVE Fast Bird Bus A high baud rate RS485 interface interconnecting the Bird units The FBB is used by the Birds for talking among themselves The user host communicates using either RS 232C or RS485 interfaces The RS485 interface is a separate half duplex bus within the FBB bus Flock of Birds A h
38. the Flock running Sent to each Slave to get their POSITION MATRIX data 38 4 Running the Flock RS232 Standalone Default Values Upon power up the Standalone Bird address 0 is in the following default mode 1 POINT mode 2 POSITION ANGLE outputs selected 3 XON 4 RUN activated 5 REPORT RATE maximum 6 ANGLE ALIGN sines cosines set for alignment angles of zero 7 REFERENCE FRAME sines cosines set for reference angles of zeto 8 BUTTON MODE 0 for no button value output gt 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 Sudden output change lock 0 allows sudden changes to be output System measurement rate 100 measurements sec SYNC 0 for no synchronization METALflag 0 for no metal error indicator RS232 Flock Mode Default Values Upon power up the RS232 controlled Flock Bird address CONSTI Ge NO 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Lh 1 through 126 is in the following default mode POINT mode POSITION ANGLE outputs selected XON RUN deactivated ANGLE ALIGN sines cosines set for alignment angles of zero REFERENCE FRAME sines cosines set for reference angles of zero BUTTON MODE 0 for no button value output FACTORY TEST commands not a
39. the two least significant bits are different because the data words do not use these bits QU Note The GROUP MODE address and data sent by the Bird to the host in response to the BUTTON READ or EXAMINE VALUE commands are not shifted and have no phasing bit added Command Usage Table The following information answers the question To which Bird unit do I send a given command The answer depends on the type and number of interfaces RS232 or RS485 and the command itself The following table sorts out these 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 number have the following meaning 42 4 Running the Flock 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 an RS232 interface to each Bird individually as many RS232 interfaces as there are Birds just send the command they do not have to be prefaced with the RS232 TO FBB command If you have only on
40. value returned in the most significant byte would have been 0D Hex and the value of the least significant byte would have been 02 Hex If the revision number were 3 1 the bytes would be 01 and 03 Hex BIRD COMPUTER CRYSTAL SPEED When PARAMETERnumber 2 during EXAMINE the Bird returns in two bytes 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 Bird 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 113 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide POSITION SCALING When PARAMETERnumber 3 during EXAMINE the Bird returns in two bytes 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 Bird 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 If the least significant byte is 1 the full scale output is 72 inches Do not use this command with the Extended Range Transmitter ER
41. 0 2 13124 3344 00110011 01000100 3 21862 5566 01010101 01100110 The conversion to the binary data format that the Bird does goes like this BIRD 1 Shifts each data word right 2 Breaks each word into MSByte one bit LSByte paits MS LS 10010001 LS 00001000 10010001 00001000 MS 00011001 10100010 10100010 LS 00101010 10110011 00011001 MS 10110011 LS 00101010 MS 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 1 100 1 0 0 0 1 LSByte 00001000 1MSByte 01010001 Z2LSByte 00011001 Z2MSByte 01011001 ZS3LSByte 0 0 10 1 0 1 0 3 MSByte 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 bit catching first marked 1 Changes that 1 back to a 0 01001000 LS 10010000 LS 41 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 00001000 MS 00001000 MS 01010001 LS 10100010 LS 00011001 MS 00011001 MS 01011001 LS 10110010 LS 00101010 MS 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 There is no need to worry about the fact that
42. 3 M12 M11 M10 M9 14 MSbyte M 1 3 0 8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 15 LSbyte M 2 3 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 16 MSbyte M 2 3 0 8 M7 M6 M5 M4 M3 M2 17 LSbyte M 3 3 0 M15 M14 M13 M12 M11 M10 M9 18 MSbyte M 3 3 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 79 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide METAL METAL HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 73 115 01110011 Command Data METALflag METALdata When the METAL mode command is given all subsequent Bird data requests will have a METAL error byte added to the end of the data stream If the BUTTON byte is also being output the BUTTON byte precedes the METAL byte The METAL error byte is a number between 0 and 127 base 10 that indicates the degree to which the position and angle measurements are in error due to bad metals located near the transmitter and sensor or due to Bird system errors metals are metals with high electrical conductivity such as aluminum or high magnetic permeability such as steel Good metals have low conductivity and low permeability such as 300 series stainless steel or titanium The METAL error byte also reflects Bird s
43. 485 interfaces to command and receive data from all Bird units The host can send commands and receive data from any individual Bird unit because each Bird unit is assigned a unique address on the FBB via back panel dipswitches The FOBs can be configured to suit many different applications from a standalone unit with a single transmitter and sensor to more complex configurations consisting of various combinations of transmitters and sensors Figures 1 2 3 and 4 show a one transmitter multiple sensor configuration for simultaneously tracking many sensors with one transmitter In Figure 1 the user s host computer uses the FBB for communication In Figure 2 it utilizes a single RS 232C port In Figure 3 it utilizes multiple RS 232C ports Figure 4 shows an extended range controller and transmitter attached to the FBB to allow the sensors to operate up to 8 feet away from the transmitter The Master Bird is the Flock Bird that controls and coordinates the operation of all other Slave Birds Slaves because they can only speak when spoken to by the Master or host The user s host computer communicates with the Master to start and stop the Flock and perform other major Flock control functions Only one Master can run on the FBB at a time The Master Bird may have its own transmitter but it is not required The Flock can also run using a transmitter attached to a Introduction Slave If the Slave unit has a transmitter the user s host computer may
44. 5 57 600 to 500 000 baud Binary Point or Stream RS232 only 5 VDC 2 45 amps avg 3 85 amps peak 12 VDC 0 53 amps avg 0 63 amps peak 12 VDC 0 34 amps avg 0 46 amps peak All specifications valid at 30 deg C 10 deg in an environment void of large metal objects and electromagnetic frequencies other than the power line Accuracy vetified over range from 8 to 30 20 3cm to 76 2cm at constant orientation 153 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide JUMPER LOCATIONS ON THE BIRDS CIRCUIT BOARD
45. AL BINARY Command Byte 27 47 00101111 This command when 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 2 Note The Reset Jumper jumper 17 on the Bird jumper 11 on the must be in place on all of the Slaves but not on the Master Bird in order for this command to work 75 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide HEMISPHERE HEMISPHERE HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 4C 76 01001100 Command Data HEMI AXIS HEMI SIGN The shape of the magnetic field transmitted by the Bird 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 measure of position operation must be either confined to a defined hemisphere or yout 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 outp
46. Bird 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 Bird to 123 measurements sec Since the Bird is ready to output position and orientation data about 6 milliseconds before it is able to start a new 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 107 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide XOFF XOFF HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 13 19 00010011 The Bird responds to the XON XOFF commands which many computers use for RS 232C flow control When your host computer sends the Bird an XOFF the unit will halt transmission at the end of the current output record It will not halt transmission at the instant it receives the command If you need to halt the flow instantly use the RS 232C DATA TERMINAL READY SIGNAL that yout host computer s UART sends over the RS 232C cable to the Bird The XOFF command cannot be sent to the Bird mixed in with the Command Data of another command as it simply will be interpreted by the Bird as Command Data 108 7 RS232 Commands XON XON HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 11 17 00010001 The Bird responds to the XON XOFF commands which many computers use for RS 232C flow control When your host system sends the Bird an XON the unit will resume transmission of any data records that were pending when it was XOFFed see XOFF
47. C command the measurement rate will automatically increase If you reduce the measurement rate after you are synchronized the Bird 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 Bird one word of PARAMETERdata corresponding to XMTR TIME defined above You can increase the Bird s measurement rate to a maximum of 144 measurements sec The downside of going to rates faster than 103 measurements sec is that the noise on your outputs may increase and any errors introduced by nearby metals will increase You can decrease the Bird s measurement rate to no less than 20 measurements sec for 40 MHz Birds It is at this value that XMTR TIME reaches its maximum value of 65535 Decreasing the measurement rate is useful 1f 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 nickel speed changes will have minimal effect since in this case the metal is not introducing any errors into the Bird s measurements anyway The downside of de
48. ECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 5 92 01011100 In the QUATERNION mode the Bird outputs the four quaternion parameters that describe the orientation of the sensor with respect to the transmitter The quaternions qo q 4 and q where qo is the scaler 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 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 4 1 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 1 LSbyte qo 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 2 MSbyte qo 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 3 LSbyte qi 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 4 MSbyte q 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 5 LSbyte 42 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 6 MSbyte q2 0 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 7 LSbyte 0 B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 8 MSbyte Scaling of the quaternions is full scale 4 99996 7FFF Hex 0 0 Hex and 1 0 8000 Hex 93 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide REFERENCE FRAME1 REFERENCE FRAME HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 48 72 01001000 Command Data Sin A Cos A Sin E Cos E Sin R Cos R By default the Bird 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
49. ING command to change the full scale output from 36 to 72 inches Your software will also need to change its output scaling to corresponded to the Birds change 11 If the signs of the X Y or Z position outputs suddenly change you may have crossed a hemisphere boundary Use the HEMISPHERE command to rectify 12 Once you have established proper communication with the Bird any problems which cause it to hang can generally be corrected by toggling the FLY STDBY switch In some cases you may have to restart your host computer 13 If the host seems to be missing data from the Bird the host s operating system may be removing from the Bird s data stream some bytes that represent host system control commands Verify that the host can read all binary characters from the serial port using the Host Read Data test and the Host Read Data Read Block test 14 If the Flock with the Extended Range Transmitter ERT option is returning fixed position data and zero orientation data you are requesting data from the ERT which has no sensor Use the RS232 TO FBB command to direct your data request to a Flock unit with a sensor 15 If you are in standalone mode and on powerup the light blinks twice then goes out you ate in the Expanded Addressing mode Restore the Normal Addressing mode by following the instructions in Chapter 6 16 There are no fuse or other user serviceable parts inside the Bird s cabinet If the front panel LED does not come on
50. MIN 0 02 13 Filter constant ALPHA MAX 0 9 14 Sudden output change lock 1 does not allow sudden changes to be output 15 System measurement rate 100 measurements 16 SYNC mode 0 17 FBB Configuration 1 Transmitter Multiple Sensors 18 FBB Devices 0 19 Dependents 0 20 Group Mode 0 BOOS Re FBB Responses Two types of binary data are returned from the Bird 1 position orientation data and 2 general status configuration information Both data types use the 8 bit data byte format as detailed below The FBB RS485 command response data format is as follows MS BIT LS BIT Stop Parity 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Start FBB Host Response Data 1 0 BD7 BD6 BD5 BD4 BD3 BD2 BD1 BDO 0 where BD7 BD0 is the 8 bit data value The data formats BD7 BDO for FBB responses the same as those for RS232 responses Refer to the RS232 Response section for specifics 56 5 FBB Host Interface FBB Command Reference FBB RS232CMD FBB RS232CMD FBB CMD FBB Addr Notmal Expanded Command Value 0 1 15 31 Bird connected to the host via the can utilize the RS232 command set by prefacing the RS232 command with the FBB RS232CMD The FBB RS232CMD can be directed to one or all Birds on the FBB For example to put the Bird at address 2 into ANGLE mode via the FBB host interface the host would send a 0 the FBB RS232CMD command followed by a 2 the Bird address followed by a 57 Hex the ANGLE command An
51. PROM 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 6 Invalid RS232 Command WARNING2 Cause The system has received an invalid RS232 command which can occur if the user sends down a command character that is not defined or if the data for a command does make sense i e change value commands with an unknown parameter number Action Only send valid RS232 commands to the Bird 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 the address of the Master As a note commands which should only be sent to the Master Bird can be sent to the BROADCAST address 8 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 137 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Bird is Not Initialized WARNING2 Cause The Master Bird is sent the FBB ARM command but it has not been initialized via the FBB Configuration command Action Send the FBB Configuration command prior to sending the ARM or the WAKE UP command FBB Receive Error Intra Bird Bus WARNING1 Cause Either an ov
52. Plug an ERT cable connector into the corresponding front panel connector and screw in the connector Erratic system operation will result if the connector is not screwed in place ERC Power Supply Voltage Selection The ERC contains a built in universal AC power supply that will work in either North America by selecting 110 volts or in most of Europe by selecting 220 volts If you are not sure what the correct voltage is in your country ask someone who knows The system will be damaged and the warranty voided if you do not select the correct voltage The voltage selector is located below the power switch power cord on the back panel Insert a screw driver into the selector and rotate until the appropriate voltage is aligned with the arrow ERC Power Supply Cable The ERC is shipped with a North American 110 volt power cord If your country uses 220 volts your local hardwate electrical store can supply you with the correct cable Before installing the cable switch the ON OFF switch located directly above the cable connectot of OFF The switch if OFF when you can see on the side edge of the switch The switch is ON when you can see T 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 27 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Flock Operational Limitations When in the Normal Address mode and using mul
53. RAMETERnumber 13 during EXAMINE the Bird returns 7 words 14 bytes 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 7 Hex the DC filter will provide no filtering of the data during fast movements The default values as a function of transmitter to sensor separation range for the standard range and extended range transmitters are 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 70 0 9 22 to 27 70 to 90 0 9 27 to 34 90 to 110 0 9 34 to 42 110 to 138 0 9 42 to 54 138 to 170 0 9 54 170 0 9 120 8 Change Value Examine Value To CHANGE ALPHA MAX send the Bird 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 Bird s outputs are too noisy during rapid sensor movement ALPHA MAX must always be greater than ALPHA MIN SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK When PARAMETERnumber 14 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a byte which indicates if
54. RC 15 treated as just another Flock Bird that must be attached to the FBB and must have a bus address of 1 to 14 assigned via the dipswitches 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 Flock Birds can interface to the user s host computer via one ot more RS232 or RS485 interfaces When using a single interface the host interface must be attached to the Bird unit you specity as the bus Master When using individual RS232 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 Mastet 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 ERT all other connectors are capped Do not remove these caps They protect the user from exposure to high voltages The ERC ERT will not work if the cap is removed DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE Do not remove the protective caps from the unused ERC connectors
55. T Full scale output for the ERT 15 144 inches and 15 not changeable To CHANGE the scale factor send the Bird two bytes of PARAMETERdata with the most significant byte set to zero and the least significant set to zero or one Please note that 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 Bird at ranges beyond the specified 48 inch operating range is not recommended At these increased ranges the Bird s outputs will exhibit increased noise and reduced dynamic response If the increased noise 1s too great for your application use the CHANGE VALUE command on the ALPHA MIN filter parameter FILTER ON OFF STATUS When PARAMETERnumber 4 during EXAMINE the Bird returns in two bytes a code that tells you what software filters are turned on or off in the unit The average user of the Bird 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 per the following Bit Number Meaning B7 B3 0 p2 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 ON default 1 if the AC WIDE notch filter is OFF BO 01f the DC filter is ON default 1 if the DC filter is OFF 114 8 Change Value Examine Value The AC NARROW
56. T and sensors should be eight feet away from the floor ceiling walls or other large metal objects The only way to evaluate the building effects is to install the ERT and determine if the accuracy 15 satisfactoty 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 above the floor As you move the sensor farther away from the ERT in the X direction record the sensot s Z position output If the floor is not causing a large error then 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 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 lbs fragile and subject to performance degradation by nearby metal the method that you use to support the transmitter must be strong and non metallic Small amounts of m
57. TERNION REFERENCE FRAME REPORT RATE RS232 TO FBB RUN SLEEP STREAM STREAM STOP SYNC XON XOFF 4 Running 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 Data record contains POSITION and QUATERNION Data record contains QUATERNIONSs Defines new measurement reference frame Number of data records second output in STREAM mode Use one RS232 interface connection to talk to all Birds Turns transmitter ON and starts running after SLEEP Turns transmitter OFF and suspends system operation 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 Stops any data output that was started with the STREAM command Synchronizes data output to a CRT or your host computer Resumes data transmission that was halted with XOFF Halts data transmission from the Bird 35 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Command Utilization Power up Behavior The FLY STDBY switch on the front panel is NOT an on off power switch There is always power applied to the electronics unit as long as the power supply is plugged in When the switch is set to FLY and if the host is not ass
58. a format will be a function of the output mode POSITION ANGLES MATRIX POSITION ANGLES or POSITION MATRIX Refer to the RS232 command reference Section 9 0 for output format specifications FBB SEND STATUS FBB SEND STATUS FBB CMD FBB Addr Normal Expanded Command Value 2 1 14 30 The FBB SEND STATUS command allows the user to determine the Bird s operational status The Bird returns 1 byte of status information in response to this command The format and content of the information returned from the Bird is the same as the most significant byte returned in response to the Bird STATUS command detailed in the RS232 EXAMINE VALUE section 58 5 FBB Host Interface FBB SEND ERROR CODE FBB SEND ERROR CODE FBB CMD FBB Addr Normal Expanded Command Value 3 1 14 30 The Bird maintains a SYSTEM ERROR register which can be queried by the host computer When the Bird receives the FBB SEND ERROR CODE command the Bird returns a 1 byte error code response The byte is a binary representation of the first error the Bird encounters Upon reading the SYSTEM ERROR register the Bird resets the register to all 0 s Error codes and their meaning are described in the Error Messages section 59 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Chapter Test Modes When the dipswitch position 8 is on down on the ERC or on an individual sensor card in the chassis the individual circuit is in test mode and the light will blin
59. ardware configuration which ties several Bird units together via the FBB Master Bird The Master Bird is the Flock Bird that controls and coordinates 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 a time 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 Slave 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 STANDALONE A single Bird unit with its own transmitter and sensor using the RS232 interface 11 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Unpacking the System Hardware The Flock of Birds is shipped to you in one or more boxes Each box containing our standard range Flock configuration contains 1 One electronics unit 1 One Standard Range Transmitter Only one of the boxes will contain a transmitter when you otder a one transmitter multi
60. as follows MS BIT LS BIT Stop 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Start RS232 Data 1 BD7 BD6 BD5 BD4 BD3 BD2 BD1 BDCO 0 where BD7 BD0 is the 8 bit data value associated with a given command If ou are going to use a single RS232 pott to talk to all of the Birds in a Flock instead of multiple RS232 ports you must preface each RS232 command with the RS232 to FBB command Command Summary The following summarizes the action of each command Details of command usage are presented later in this Chapter Command Name ANGLES ANGLE ALIGN BORESIGHT BORESIGHT REMOVE BUTTON MODE BUTTON READ CHANGE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE FACTORY TEST RESET HEMISPHERE MATRIX METAL NEXT TRANSMITTER OFFSET Description Data record contains 3 rotation angles Aligns sensor to reference direction Aligns sensor to the reference frame Remove the sensor BORESIGHT 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 Enables factory test mode Resets all of the Slaves through the FBB Tells Bird desired hemisphere of operation Data record contains 9 element rotation matrix Outputs an accuracy degradation indicator Turns on the next transmitter in the Flock Offset position data by a user defined amount 34 POINT POSITION POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION QUA
61. ation be sure that the power supply cable 15 screwed firmly into the power connecter of the Flock electronic unit before plugging the power supply unit into a power outlet CRT Sync Pulse Electrical Requirements If you need to synchronize the Bird s measurement cycle to a piece of electronics equipment and it is not practical to use the sync pulse signal pickup provided with the Bird you can provide your own sync pulse to the Bird The sync pulse you provide must have the following characteristics 1 The signal should be TTL level normally low ground 2 The Bird 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 143 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 Bird s printed circuit card PCB To change the jumpers you must open up the electronics unit per the procedure detailed in Section 2 1 5 and then locate the appropriate jumpers per the printed circuit card drawing in Appendix IV The jumper blocks can be removed and inserted vertically with a strong set of fingers Jumper pins 1 t
62. ations of the Slaves and itself for a one transmitter multiple sensor configuration The Master Bird expects one byte 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 byte 3 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 Please 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 50 Hex followed by a 32 Hex followed by a 3 When the number of Bird units is set 1 the Master is using only its sensor with its transmitter This allows you to operate like a standalone unit but you must use the FBB commands In this mode your host computer can use either the FBB RS485 or the RS232 interface In the standalone mode you can use only the RS232 interface 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 reconfigured with 2 Bird units by sending AUTO CONFIGURATION command with 2 as the data while the Flock 15 in operation Resending AUTO CONFIGURATION to the Master afte
63. ber cannot be changed SENSOR SERIAL NUMBER When PARAMETERnumber 26 during EXAMINE the Bird will return a 1 word 2 byte value corresponding to the Serial Number of the Bird s sensor You can not swap sensors while the Bird 125 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide is switched to FLY If you do you will get the Serial Number of the sensor that was attached to the Bird when it was first turned on This number cannot be changed TRANSMITTER SERIAL NUMBER When PARAMETERnumber 27 during EXAMINE the Bird will return a 1 word 2 byte value corresponding to the Serial Number of the Bird s transmitter You can not swap transmitters while the Bird is switched to FLY If you do you will get the Serial Number of the transmitter that was attached to the Bird when it was first turned on This number cannot be changed METAL When PARAMETERnumber 28 during EXAMINE the Bird that this command is sent to returns 5 words 10 bytes of data that define the metal detection parameters The order of the returned words is METALflag METALsensitivity METALoffset METALslope METALalpha The least significant byte of each parameter which is sent first contains the parameter value The most significant byte is always zero On CHANGE the user sends to the target Bird 5 words of metal detection parameter data as defined above in the EXAMINE command If you only want to change one metal parameter at a time refer to the METAL
64. ch sensor is capable of making from 20 to 144 measurements per second of its position and orientation when the sensor is located within 4 feet of its transmitter An optional extended range transmitter increases this operating range to 8 feet The FOB works by transmitting a pulsed DC magnetic field that is simultaneously measured by all sensors in the Flock From the measured magnetic field characteristics each sensor independently computes its position and orientation and makes this information available to yout host computer An FOB consists of one or more electronic units or extended range transmitter controllers interconnected via a Fast Bird Bus FBB To increase the Flock size plug an additional Bird unit into the FBB for each additional transmitter or sensor Because each Bird attached to the bus has its own independent computer the FOB can simultaneously track each sensor providing up to 144 measurements per second from each Each Bird unit in the Flock contains two independent serial interfaces The first interface is for communications between your host computer and the FOBs You may configure this interface as either a full duplex RS 232C interface or a half duplex RS422 485 interface The second interface is a dedicated RS485 interface for communications between the Flock members The user and intra flock RS422 485 buses generically called the Fast Bird Bus Your host computer may utilize either a single or multiple RS232 422
65. command When metal detection is enabled all subsequent Bird data requests will result in a METAL error byte being added to the end of the data stream If the BUTTON byte 15 also being output the BUTTON byte precedes the METAL byte The METAL error byte is a number between 0 and 127 base 10 that indicates the degree to which the position and angle measurements are in error due to bad metals located near the transmitter and sensor or due to Bird system errors metals are metals with high electrical conductivity such as aluminum or high magnetic permeability such as steel Good metals have low conductivity and low permeability such as 300 series stainless steel or titanium The METAL error byte also reflects Bird system errors resulting from accuracy degradations in the transmitter sensor or other electronic components The METAL error byte also responds to accuracy degradation resulting from movement of the sensor or environmental noise A METAL error byte 0 indicates no or minimal position and angle errors depending on 126 8 Change Value Examine Value how sensitive you have set the error indicator A METAL error byte 127 indicates maximum error for the sensitivity level selected The metal detector is sensitive to the introduction of metals in an environment where no metals were initially present This metal detector can fool you however if there are some metals initially present and you introduce ne
66. cps The Bird 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 Bird is not running normally You must set SYNCtype NOT equal to 255 before the Bird will start running again The two words returned each time you issue the command with the Command Data 255 are formatted per the following four bytes with no phasing bits employed 105 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 BO 1 LSbyte scan voltage B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B8 2 MSbyte scan voltage B7 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 BO 3 LSbyte scan rate B15 B14 B13 B12 Bil B10 B9 B8 4 MSbyte scan rate The scan voltage will return values between 7 and 8000 Hex Element scaling is Hex 4 99 volts 0 0 Hex 0 volts and 8000 Hex 5 0 volts 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 With a crystal value equal to 25 MHz CLOCK 8 25 With a 32 MHz crystal CLOCK 8 32 With a 40 MHz crystal CLOCK 8 40 The crystal value is determined by using the command EXAMINE VALUE 2 COMPUTER CRYSTAL SPEED HOSTSYNC Mode When SYNCtype 8 the Bird is in host sync mode In this mode the Bird star
67. creasing the Bird s measurement rate is that dynamic performance is decreased That 1s if you move the Bird s sensor quickly the slow measurement rate will cause increased lag errots 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 measurement rate of the Bird you many want to experiment with changing the filter characteristics For example the AC filter is optimized for a measurement rate of 103 measurements sec At very low measurement rates you may want to shut this filter off BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE When PARAMETERnumber 7 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a word that is 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 117 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide measurement rate word returned 256 To CHANGE the MEASUREMENT RATE send the Bird 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 distortion vetses noise tradeoffs DISABLE ENABLE DATA READY OUTPUT Enabling the DATA READY character provides a method for noti
68. ctive 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 Sudden output change lock 0 allows sudden changes to be output System measurement rate 100 measurements SYNC mode 0 Group Mode 0 18 METALflag 0 for no metal error indicator 39 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Response Format Two types of binaty data are returned from the Bird 1 Position Orientation data and 2 Change Examine value data Position orientation data are the data returned from the Bird in the ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX POSITION QUATERNION and QUATERNION formats All other types of data that the Bird returns ate 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 Position Orientation Data Format The Position Orientation information generated by the Bird is sent in a form called a data record The number
69. ctive metals Use transmitter Mode 1 on all products to reduce errors resulting from fast sensor motions Use transmitter Mode 2 on selected products to reduce errors resulting from conductive metals 122 8 Change Value Examine Value The power up defaults for vatious products are The Flock of BIrds Mode 0 MotionStar Mode 0 pcBird Mode 2 miniBird Mode 2 pcBIRD miniBIRD products will not accept Mode 0 operation because it will destroy their transmitter circuits When PARAMETERnumber 18 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a byte that is used to determine the current Transmitter Mode The byte value returned may take one of the following valid values This value is contained in the least significant 7 bits of the byte 0 Mode 0 1 1 2 2 To CHANGE the current transmitter mode send the Master Bird one byte of PARAMETERdata corresponding to the codes above FBB ADDRESSING MODE When PARAMETERnumber 19 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a byte that contains a value 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 When PARAMETERnumber 20 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a byte whose value is the Line Frequency which is being used to determine th
70. d Because the Bird may have output some data to your host computer between the time you sent the Bird the command and the time the Bird executed the command you should check your input port and empty it before you execute any new commands To ensure that your input port is empty you should read it for at least 10 milliseconds If you are in GROUP mode you should send this command to the MASTER Bird only Otherwise send it to each Bird you are collecting STREAM data from 103 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide SYNC SYNC HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 41 65 01000001 Command Data SYNCtype The SYNC command must be issued to the Bird in the following 2 byte sequence MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE O 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 00000011 for CRTSYNC type 3 00001000 for HOSTSYNC type 1 11111111 for CRTSYNC type 255 pickup placement The Flock of Birds offers several methods of synchronizing its operation and outputs to external events The external event might be a vertical retrace pulse from a CRT display as described in the next section or it might be some user defined external trigger source as defined in the Application Notes chapter All user supplied synchronization signals and requests must be directed to the current Master Bird or to a standalone
71. de then during the ARMing process the Mastet will display this error Action Assure that the FOB configuration is correct all units are attached to the FBB and at the proper address and that 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 Unused_INT6 FATAL Cause Unused Opcode Action 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 Unused_INT7 FATAL Cause ESC Opcode Action Check code for the ESC Instruction Unused_INT9 FATAL Cause Reserved Action Should never occur Unused_INT10 FATAL Cause Reserved Action Should never occur Unused_INT11 FATAL Cause Reserved Action Should never occur Unused_INT16 FATAL 139 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 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 CRT Synchronization Error Cause When in CRT Synchronization mode if the CRT synchronization signal is not present then this error will occur Action Assure that the synchronization signal is present using the Display CRT Synchronization Info
72. e 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 B9 B8 B7 1ifin 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 Bird commands are enabled 0 if only The Bird commands are enabled 112 8 Change Value Examine Value B6 1if XOFF 0if XON B5 1 if the Bird is in SLEEP mode Same as B12 0 if the Bird 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 When PARAMETERnumber 1 during EXAMINE the Bird returns the two byte revision number of the software located in the Bird 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 byte returned is FRA The value of the least significant byte returned is INT Thus in the above example the
73. e Bird that this command is sent to returns one byte of data that defines how often the Bird outputs data to your host computer when in STREAM mode This change parameter value is similiar to the REPORT RATE command except you are not limited to a report rate of every first second eighth or thirty second cycles During CHANGE you supply one byte with this command with any value between 1 and 127 that defines how many measurement cycles occur before position and orientation data are output when the Bird is in STREAM mode FBB HOST RESPONSE DELAY When PARAMETERnumber 32 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a word corresponding to the minimum time it will take the Bird to respond to an FBB command The word is in units of 10 uS Therefore if a value of 14 Hex 20 Decimal is returned The Bird will wait 200 uS to drive the half duplex FBB DATA lines The FBB HOST RESPONSE DELAY value can be increased if the host is polling its UART s received data ready signal or if the host cannot turn its transceiver to receive fast enough prior to The Bird starting its response This command has no effect when using the full duplex RS232 interface To CHANGE the FBB HOST RESPONSE DELAY send the Bird one word of PARAMETERdata corresponding to the delay count defined previously GROUP MODE 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 t
74. e RS232 or one RS485 interface which must be attached to the Master Bird to service the entire Flock the commands must be prefaced with the RS232 TO FBB command 3 This command is only sent to the Master unit You may but do not have to use the RS232 TO FBB preface on commands meant for the Master unit only In fact if the RS232 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 Notation snst sensor xmtr transmitter addr address exam chg examine change COMMAND APPLICABILITY NOTES Angles 57 W 2 4 Send to addr of the snsr from which you want angles Angle align 2 4 Send to 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 sensots Angle align2 71 q 2 4 Send to 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 BoreSight 75 u 2 4 Send to addr of the snsr you want to BoreSight align BoreSight 76 v 2 4 Send to addr of the snsr you want to remove the BoreSight from Remove Button mode 4D M 2 4 Send to addr of the snsr from which you want button outputs 43 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide But
75. e Wide Notch Filter coefficients 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 255 123 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 When PARAMETERnumber 21 during EXAMINE the Bird will return a byte corresponding to its current FBB address This is useful when communicating to the Flock through multiple RS232 interfaces HEMISPHERE When PARAMETERnumber 22 during EXAMINE the Bird will return 2 bytes 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 Notes 1 Please note that these are the same PARAMETERdata values as are used by the HEMISPHERE command 1 4C Hex To CHANGE the Hemisphere send 2 PARAMETERdata bytes as described above 2 This command operates in exactly the same way as the HEMISPHERE command The command is now included in the CHANGE EXAMINE command set in order to allow users to examine the values which were previously inaccessible 3 The values ca
76. e 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 Bird in the following 2 byte sequence MSB Td 5 wp 5 271 0 N7 1 0 N6 0 1 N5 N4 LSB BYTE T 4 0 1 N3 Nil NO 1 Command Byte 2 PARAMETERnumber Where N7 NO represent a PARAMETERnumber i e 00000000 or 00000001 etc 111 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide If the PARAMETERdata returned is a word then the Least Significant byte LSbyte is received before the Most Significant byte MSbyte 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 See the following discussion of each parameter BIRD STATUS When PARAMETERnumber 0 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a status word to tell the user in what mode the unit is operating The bit assignments for the two byte response are B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 1 if Bitd 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 if not in HOST SYNC mode 1 if Expanded Address mode enabled 0 if Normal Address mode enabled ZI Not
77. e is sent the sensor outputs will be zero and orientations will be computed as if the sensor were not misaligned See also the BORESIGHT command ZI 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 Bird at 100 measurements sec before you see the effect of the command The host computer must send the Command Data immediately following 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 65 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Command Data must be sent even if the angles are zero The Command Byte and Command Data must be transmitted to the Bird in the following thirteen byte format MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 0 1 0 0 1 0 al 0 1 Command Byte B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 BI BO 2 LSbyte SIN A B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 3 MSbyte SIN A B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 4 LSbyte COS A B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9
78. either the METAL command s or the examine change value 28 the user may look at just the metal error value without requesting position and orientation data Each time the user sends the single byte METAL ERROR command to the Bird the Bird will return the single byte METAL ERROR value defined in the previous METAL command 83 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide NEXT TRANSMITTER NEXT TRANSMITTER ASCII HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 0 zero 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 milliseconds after the command is received the addressed Bird starts its transmitter Next Transmitter command data format MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3210 A2 A1 0 0 INT NO Where A3 AO is the FBB address of the Next Transmitter A3 A2 A1 0 0 0 1
79. errun 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 then 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 ot 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 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 No FBB Command Response WARNING1 Cause The Master Bird has sent a command to a Slave Bird that required a respon
80. ert the position received into inches first convert them into a signed integer This will give you a number between 32768 and 32767 Second multiply by 36 if using the default range for a standard transmitter or 72 if you have used the change value 3 command If using an extended range transmitter use 144 Finally divide the number by 32768 to get the position in inches The equation should look like this Standard Range Transmitter signed int 36 32768 Standard Range Transmitter signed int 72 32768 Extended Range Transmitter signed int 144 32768 89 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 ate combined into one record containing the following twelve bytes MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 9 2 1 0 BYTE 1 X8 X7 x6 5 X4 X2 1 LSbyte X 0 X15 14 X13 X12 X11 X10 X9 2 MSbyte X 0 Y8 Y7 Y6 Y5 Y4 Y3 Y2 3 LSbyte Y 0 YT15 Y314 X12 YXlT YLO Y9 4 MSbyte Y 0 Z8 Ad Z6 25 Z4 23 22 5 LSbyte Z 0 215 Z14 213 712 711 710 29 6 MSbyte 7 0 Z8 Z7 Z6 Z5 Z4 A3 22 7 LSbyte Zang 0 215 Z14 213 712 711 710 29 8 Zang 0 Y8 Y7 Y6 Y5 Y4 2 9 LSbyte Yang 0 Y15 Y14 Y13 Y12 X11 10 Y9 10 MSbyte Yang 0 8 X7 X6 x5 X4 X3 X2 11 LSbyte Xang 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 9 112 MSbyte Xang
81. erting the RTS Bird RESET signal on the RS232 interface the Bird will perform its power up functions During power up the Bird reads the dipswitch and internal jumpers to determine its mode of operation If the RS232 RTS signal wire is not attached to the Bird the Bird will perform its power up function as soon as the FLY STDBY switch is switched to FLY The initial behavior of the Bird after power up depends on the mode of operation STANDALONE or FOB selected by the dipswitches If the Bird is configured for Standalone operation one Bird unit with a transmitter and sensor and with its address set 0 via the dipswitches the front panel light 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 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 the electronics unit does not detect the presence of a transmitter and sensor the front panel light will blink the corresponding error code see Chapter 10 When the switch is set to STDBY the light goes out the transmitter and sensor are shut off and the unit does not respond to host computer commands If configured for FOB operation several Bird units interconnected by the FBB with their individual addresses set 1 through 126 via the dipswitches the front panel light will blink 5 times if in Normal Address mode 2 t
82. escription of each is presented later 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 RS232 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 135 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 16 Invalid CPU Speed FATAL 17 No FBB Data WARNING1 18 Illegal Baud Rate WARNING1 19 Slave Acknowledge Error WARNING1 20 27 Intel 80186 CPU Errors FATAL 28 CRT Synchronization WARNING1 29 Transmitter Not accessible WARNING1 30 Extended Range Transmitter Not Attached 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 e rrot code the Flock stops running WARNING1 Error is posted in system status panel light blinks the error code o nce the Flock resumes operation after the
83. espond 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 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 orientation angles When PARAMETERnumber 17 during CHANGE if the one byte of PARAMETER DATA sent to the Bird is 1 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 Bird 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 TRANSMITTER OPERATION MODE The operation of the Bird can be optimized for a given application by changing how the transmitter sends out DC magnetic pulses Use transmitter Mode 0 on some products to reduce errors resulting from condu
84. et Ready Bird to host 7 Request to Send Host to Bird 8 Clear to Send Bird to host 9 Ring Indicator No Connect Note 1 These are the EIA RS232 signals names The Bird is configured as Data Communication equipment DCE and therefore Transmit Data is an input and Receive Data is an output 29 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide RS 232C signal description 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 1 These signals are high when the Bird is NOT in the reset standby condition There are two ways by which the Bird can be placed in the reset condition when the front panel switch is in Standby or when the RS232 Request to Send signal is high Transmission Characteristics The host computer must be configured for the following data characteristics Baud Rate Number of data bits Number of start bits Number of stop bits Parity Pull duplex 2400 115 200 as se
85. etal 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 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 10 24 Thread engagement will occur 1 3 4 inches into the base You should screw the bolt in an additional 2inch for full engagement but no more The cable from the transmitter to the ERC contains high voltages and currents and therefore must be protected 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 25 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide ERC Location The ERC can be located either near the ERT or near the Bird electronics unit however DO NOT STACK THE ERC ON TOP OF THE BIRD ELECTRONICS UNIT This will generate noi
86. etection sensitivity the METAL command allows the user to set a Sensitivity that is appropriate to their application 80 7 RS232 Commands The METAL error byte will always show there is some error in the system even when there are no metals present This error indication usually increases as the distance between the transmitter and sensor increases and is due to the fact that Bird components cannot be made or calibrated perfectly To minimize the amount of this inherent error in the METAL etror value a linear curve fit defined by a slope and offset is made to this inherent error and stored in each individual sensor s memory since the error depends primarily on the size of the sensor being used 25mm 8mm or 5 mm The METAL command allows the user to eliminate or change these values For example maybe the user s standard environment has large errors and he or she wants to look at variations from this standard environment To do this he or she would adjust the slope and offset to minimize the METAL error values On power up initialization of the system or whenever the user wants to change the METAL values the user must send to the BIRD the following three byte sequence Command Byte METALflag METALdata Where the Command Byte is the equivalent of an ASCII s lower case and METALflag and METAL data are METALflag METALdata 0 0 Turn off metal detection 1 0 Turn on metal detection using system default METALdata 2 Sensitivity Tu
87. f the Bird unit whose xmtr serial number you want to know Send to addr of each Bird with a snst that you want the metal indicator byte from Send to each Bird streaming data out their own port Only applicable when using an RS485 interface Send to Master only to examine or change group mode 47 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Examine value 50 24 parameter 36 Flock status Exam chg value 50 32 parameter 50 4F 32 auto config 3 3 Send to Master only to examine Flock system status Send to Master only 48 FBB Host Interface 5 FBB Host Interface Chapter If your host computer is using the RS232 interface to the Flock then you need not read Chapter 5 Signal Description A pinout and signal description of the FBB interface is found below Note that all FBB connectors are identical PIN SIGNAL Not used FBB CTS FBB CTS FBB BIRD DATA FBB BIRD DATA FBB HOST DATA FBB HOST DATA GROUND gt Notes 1 DIRECTION Bidirectional Bidirectional Bidirectional Bidirectional Bidirectional Bidirectional Pin 1 1s on the left when viewing the rear of the Bird 2 Direction is defined with respect to the Bird PBB signals are described as follows Signal Name Description FBB CTS LEVEL RS485 RS422 RS485 RS422 RS485 RS422 RS485 RS422 RS485 RS422 RS485 RS422 Ground Clear to Send signal sent by the Master Bird to the
88. fasten the pickup to the CRT s housing at the predetermined location Note once you have enabled CRT sync by setting the SYNC command equal to either CRTSYNCtype 1 or 2 the Bird will stop running 1f the pickup falls off the CRT Power Cable When using the optional power supply attach the power plug to the 9 pin connector labeled POWER on the rear of the electronics unit and set the FLY STDBY switch to STDBY before plugging in the AC line cord If you are using your own power supply it must conform to the voltage amperage and wiring requirements listed in the Optional Power Supply Specifications and Product Specifications in Chapter 12 Caution Screw in all cable connectors Incomplete connections may result in erratic system behavior Extended Range Controller Transmitter If you did not purchase the Extended Range Transmitter option you do not need to read this section The Flock of Birds with the Extended Range Controller ERC and Extended Range Transmitter ERT option is a six degrees of freedom device that can be configured to simultaneously track the position and orientation of multiple sensors with up to four ERTs when using a single ERC Each sensor is capable of making from 10 to 144 measurements second when the sensor is located within 8 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
89. fset command where the desired positional outputs from the Bird differ from the normal x y z sensor outputs Referring to Figure 8 the x z offset distances you supply with this command are measured in the reference frame attached to the sensor and are measured from the sensor center to the desired position After the command is executed all subsequent positional outputs from the Bird will be x z desired With command you send to the Bird three words of data the Yoffset Zoffset coordinates The scaling of these coordinates is the same as the POSITION command coordinates For example assume you were using a Bird in its default maximum range mode of 36 inches full scale Also assume the Xoffset Yoffset and Zoffset values where 5 4 inches 2 1 inches and 1 3 inches You would then output three integer or their hex equivalents to the Bird equal to Xoffset 4915 5 4 32768 36 Yoffset 63625 65536 1911 Zoffset 1183 86 7 RS232 Comman ds h LL NN Desired LU Sensor Reference Frame Transmitter Reference 1 1 2 LYD attitude transpose 3 02 Frame desired sensor offset H H 87 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide POINT POINT HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 42 66 01000010 In the POINT mode the Bird 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
90. fying 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 1s sent to you automatically as soon as it is ready When PARAMETERnumber 8 during EXAMINE the Bird outputs one byte of data equal to 1 if Data Ready Output is enable or a 0 if disabled If you are using the FBB interface only the Master Bird will output the DATA READY character since the data is ready at the same time from all Flock members If you are using an RS232 interface each Bird that has its DATA READY output enabled will output the DATA READY character To CHANGE DATA READY send the Bird one byte of PARAMETERdata 1 if the Bird 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 When PARAMETERnumber 9 during EXAMINE the Bird returns one byte the current Ascii value of the Data Ready Character To CHANGE the DATA READY CHARACTER send the Bird one byte of PARAMETERdata equal to the character value that the Bird should use as the Data Ready Character 118 8 Change Value Examine Value ERROR CODE When PARAMETERnumber 10 during EXAMINE the Bird will output a one byte Error regis
91. g mode you want to examine 46 Exam chg value 50 14 parameter 20 4F 14 Filter line freq Examine value 50 15 parameter 21 FBB address Exam chg value 50 16 parameter 22 4F 16 Hemisphere Exam chg value 50 17 parameter 23 4F 17 Angle align2 Exam chg value 50 18 parameter 24 4 18 Reference frame2 Examine value 50 19 parameter 25 Bird Serial Number Examine value 50 1A parameter 26 Sensor Serial Number Examine value 50 1B parameter 27 Xmtr Serial Number Examine value 50 1C parameter 28 Metal Examine value 50 1D parameter 29 Report Rate Exam chg value 50 20 parameter 32 host delay 50 23 4P 23 Exam chg value parameter 35 Group mode 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 Running the Flock Send to addr of the snsr whose filtering you want to examine change Send to Bird unit whose FBB address you want to know Useful when communicating to the Flock through multiple RS232 interfaces Send to addr of the snsr whose hemisphere you want to examine of change Send to addr of the sensor 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 addr with the transmitter whose reference frame you want to examine or change Send to addr of the Bird unit whose pcb serial number you want to know Send to addr of the Bird unit whose snsr serial number you want to know Send to addr o
92. he Broadcast Address All ERT addresses must be located at addresses 1 to 14 Dipswitches 1 2 3 Normal Address mode default baud rate Dipswitches 1 2 Expanded Address mode baud rate These switches select the desired baud rate Note The FBB RS485 baud rates listed are nominal values Your host computer can use a baud rate up to 2 5 larger ot up to 5 5 less than the listed values For example with the Bird s baud set at 260 417 your host computer can use a baud rate of 250 000 and communicate without error Note The Super Expanded Address mode has only one baud rate of 115 2K 19 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Dipswitch position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fly OFF Test ON In Fly Mode FBB address 0 14 Dipswitch 4 4 5 6 7 FBB Addr off off off off 0 off off off on 1 on on off 14 on on on on invalid In Test Mode test number Dipswitch 4 4 5 6 7 Test off off off off 1 Off off otf on 3 on on on on 31 Baud rate when RS232 interface selected Dipswitch 4 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 Baud rate when FBB RS485 interface selected Host CPU baud may vary 2 5 5 5 from the values listed below Baud is a function of The Bird s crystal MHz Dipswitch 1 2 3 Baud 32MHZ Baud 40MHz off off off 57142 57600 off off on 117647 113636 off o
93. he Command Byte and Command Data must be transmitted to the Bird in the following thirteen byte format 94 7 RS232 Commands MSB LSB 7 6 5 4 3 2 iL 0 BYTE 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 Command Byte B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 BI BO 2 LSbyte SIN A B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 3 MSbyte SIN B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 4 LSbyte COS A B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 5 MSbyte COS B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 Bl BO 6 LSbyte SIN E B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 7 MSbyte SIN E B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 BI BO 8 LSbyte COS B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 9 MSbyte COS B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 BI BO 10 LSbyte SIN R B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 11 MSbyte SIN R B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B BO 12 LSbyte COS B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 B9 B8 13 MSbyte COS 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 95 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide REFERENCE FRAME2 REFERENCE FRAME2 HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 72 114 01110010 Command Data Same as the REFERENCE FRAME 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 Bird in the following seven byte format
94. host indicating that the host may transmit on the FBB HOST DATA lines Signals are RS485 levels This control line is currently not utilized the host can send data to the Birds FBB BIRD DATA Serial Commands and Data transferred between Birds The host must not use these signals Signals are RS485 levels with serial data format as defined in the FBB Serial Data Format Section FBB HOST DATA Serial Commands and Data transferred between the host and The Birds Signals are RS485 levels with serial data format as defined in the FBB Serial Data Format Section 49 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide GROUND Ground reference for the FBB FBB RS485 Termination Signals with RS485 RS422 levels FBB CTS FBB BIRD DATA and FBB HOST DATA must be terminated at both ends of the FBB bus via termination circuitry which is contained in all Birds The termination blocks of Birds residing on the FBB which are not located at the ends MUST BE disabled by removing the termination jumpers Transmission Characteristics FBB Commands and data are transferred over the FBB bus The host computer can transmit commands and data whereas Slave Birds can only transmit data in response to commands The character format is defined as follows Baud Rate 57k to 500k baud as set by Bird dipswitch Number of data bits 8 Number of start bits 1 Number of stop bits 1 Parity MARK If sending a command SPACE If sending data Half duplex Jumper Conf
95. i 1 I I I Figure 8 Measurement Reference Frame 68 7 RS232 Commands BORESIGHT BORESIGHT HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 75 117 01110101 Sending the single byte BORESIGHT command to the specified Bird causes the sensor to be aligned to the Bird s REFERENCE FRAME In other words when you send the command the sensot s orientation outputs will go to zero making it appear as if it was physically aligned with the Bird s REFERENCE FRAME All orientation outputs thereafter are with respect to this BORESIGHTed orientation This command is equivalent to taking the angle outputs from the Bird and using them in the ANGLE ALIGN commands but without the need to supply any angles with the command This command does not change any angles you may have set using the ANGLE ALIGN command However if you use the ANGLE ALIGN command after you send the BORESIGHT command these new ANGLE ALIGNSs will remove the effect of the BORESIGHT command and replace them with the ANGLE ALIGN angles Use the BORESIGHT REMOVE command to revert to the sensor outputs as measured by the orientation of the sensor 69 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide BORESIGHT REMOVE BORESIGHT REMOVE HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 76 118 01110110 Sending the single byte BORESIGHT REMOVE command to the specified Bird causes the sensot s orientation outputs to revert to their values before you sent the BORESIGHT command Tha
96. iguration For host communications to the Bird using RS485 set the following jumpers See Table 1 for a description of these jumpers umper Configuration JPR 3 pins 1 2 connected JPR 12 pins 1 2 connected pins 2 3 not connected JPR 13 if present pins 1 2 connected pins 2 3 not connected JPR 10 pins 1 2 connected on last Bird on the FBB JPR 14 pins 1 2 connected on first and last Bird on the FBB JPR 16 pins 1 2 connected on last Bird on the FBB JPR 17 if present pins 1 2 not connected 50 5 FBB Host Interface For host communications to the ERC using RS485 set the following jumpers See the section titled ERC Internal Jumpers for a description of these jumpers umper Configuration JPR 14 pins 1 2 connected Note Also terminate the DATA and CTS signals on your host s RS485 interface card Data Rates FBB RS485 Configuration Each Bird unit in the Flock contains two independent RS485 serial interfaces The first interface is for communications between your host computer and the FOBs The second interface is a dedicated RS485 interface for communications between the Flock members The user and intra flock RS485 buses are generically called the Fast Bird Bus FBB The user s host computer can utilize either a single high speed RS485 interface to talk to all Birds in the Flock or multiple RS485 interfaces Using a single interface the host can collect at least 100 data records per second of position angle information from each of
97. imes 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 front panel lights on all units will turn on There will be no blinking if operating correctly If there is a blinking refer to Chapter 10 for the error codes When configured for FOB Operation the Bird will not detect if a transmitter and sensor are present since they are not required of all Flock members The host may then tell the Bird 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 POSITION QUATERNION These commands do not cause the Bird 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 Bird If you want to reduce the rate at which data STREAM s from the Bird use the REPORT RATE command All commands can be issued in any order and at any time to change the Bird 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 standalone configuration 36 4 Running the Flock Command Action ANGLES
98. imes the sync pulse rate Depending on your sync pulse rate the Bird may not be able to run fast enough to run reliabily For example if you have a pulse rate of 70 Hz and a SYNCtype 3 the Bird would be required to run at 210 Hz It can t run this fast Usually the Bird must tun at rates less than 180 Hz At rates above 144 Hz the Bird s accuracy is reduced To determine if the Bird is happy with the rate and SYNCtype selected use examine parameter 10 ERROR CODE If it shows error 31 cpu time overflow then you must reduce the SYNCtype or sync pulse rate until the error disappears Before you set SYNCtype 1 2 3 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 Bird 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
99. ion Verify that all the Slaves have their sensors attached Watch Dog Error 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 Over Temperature Error 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 140 WARNING1 WARNING1 WARNING1 WARNING2 WARNING1 WARNING1 WARNING1 WARNING1 10 Applicaton Notes Chapter Application Notes Computing Stylus Tip Coordinates Some applications need to measure the X Y Z coordinates that describe the physical shape of an object such as a plastic model or a person s face This measurement can be accomplished by moving the Bird 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 Bird s sensor onto a pencil or pen or some other type of 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 Bird are with respect to the center of the sensor one needs to find the corresponding X Y Z coordinates at the tip of the
100. ion the C program can be run on many of the UNIX platforms The diskettes contain five directories FLOCK232 FLOCK485 DUALA85 DIGITIZE and NOISE Dir FLOCK232 contains files written in assembly language Basic and C that allow you to run the Flock of Birds using an RS 232C interface This directory contains the following three executable files generated from the source files using polled interrupts ABIRD EXE is wtitten in assembly language BBIRD EXE in BASIC and CBIRD EXE in C Dir FLOCK485 contains a PC compatible assembly language program to operate the Flock of Birds using a single RS 485 interface via a QUATECH interface card Dir DUAL485 contains code for running the Flock with multiple RS 485 interfaces Dir DIGITIZE contains a program written in Basic that computes the coordinates of a stylus attached to the sensor Dir NOISE contains a program written in Basic that determines the best operating speed to minimize noise in the measurements Check the diskettes for a file called READ ME it contains additional information about the software included on the diskettes Additional programming notes to the C user can be found in files CNOTES TXT and UNIX TXT Instruction files for running the programs are called OPERATEa TXT OPERATEb TXT and OPERATEc TXT and are located in the ASM BASIC and C subdirectories Feel free to incorporate any of this software into your own application or product You may also download othe
101. k at a regular rate You can select test 1 through 31 using dipswitches 4 through 7 as follows Remember you must toggle the power switch to initiate the desired test DIPSWIICH 4 5 6 7 8 Test Number TEST off off off off 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 off on on 11 Set 500K Baud Internal FBB Only for prom revs less than 3 81 off on on off on 13 Set 625K Baud Internal FBB Only for prom revs less than 3 81 off on on on on 15 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 off 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 After power up tests have successfully completed the Bird s LED will blink the following number of times depending on which address mode it is in Normal Addressing Mode Expanded Addressing Mode Super Expanded Addressing Mode LED blinks 5 times LED blinks twice LED blinks once 60 6 Test Modes Factory Test The test is used during the manufacturing process of the Bird Bird Output During the Bird output test the Bird will output 4 characters 4F Hex 4B Hex CR OD Hex lt LF gt 0A Hex approximatel
102. ling 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 received into angles in degrees first convert them to a signed integer This will give a number from 32768 to 32767 Then multiply by 180 and finally divide the number by 32768 to get the angle The equation should look something like signed int 180 32768 64 7 RS232 Commands 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 Bird are measured in the coordinate frame defined by the transmitter s X Y and Z axes as shown in Figure 7 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 sequenc
103. lly sent to the host The Bird updates its button reading every 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 72 7 RS232 Commands CHANGE VALUE CHANGE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE EXAMINE VALUE DECIMAL BINARY CHANGE VALUE Command Byte 87 0101000 CHANGE VALUE Command Data PARAMETERnumber PARAMETERvalue The CHANGE VALUE command allows you to change the value of the Bird system parameter defined by the PARAMETERnumber byte and the PARAMETER value byte s sent with the command HEX DECIMAL BINARY EXAMINE VALUE Command Byte 4F 79 01001111 EXAMINE VALUE Command Data PARAMETERnumber The EXAMINE VALUE command allows you to read the value of the Bird system parameter defined by the PARAMETERnumber sent with the command Immediately after the Bird receives the command and command data it will return the parameter value as a multi byte response See Chapter 8 for a description of all parameters that can be changed or examined 73 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide FACTORY TEST FACTORY TEST HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 7A 122 01111010 The FACTORY TEST mode is intended for factory diagnostic use only You should not use this command 74 7 RS232 Commands FBB RESET FBB RESET HEX DECIM
104. mand F1 hex followed by the POINT command 42 hex ot the 1 byte POINT command 42 hex To get Position Angle data from Bird 2 the host would send 2 byte command consisting of the RS232 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 Bird at address 1 is the Master and the Bird at address 2 is the Slave The host s RS232 interface is connected to the Bird at address 1 The jumpers in Bird 1 are configured for RS232 communications while the jumpers in Bird 2 can be configured for either RS232 or FBB communications To get Position Angle data from Bird 1 the host would either send 3 byte command consisting of the RS232 TO FBB command 0 hex the destination FBB address 01 hex and the POINT command 42 hex ot the 1 byte POINT command 42 hex To get Position Angle data from Bird 2 the host would send 3 byte command consisting of the RS232 TO FBB command 0 hex the destination FBB address 02 hex and the POINT command 42 hex Notes 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 measutements second from the time the RS232 TO
105. mber of conventions to explain procedures and present information clearly Notes describe particular hardware or software features you should be aware of Exclamation point symbols alert you to important operational and maintenance instructions Lightning flash symbols alert you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within the product s enclosure That voltage may constitute a risk of electric shock to persons If you ate ever unsure about an action you ate about to take contact Technical Support Getting Assistance If you are experiencing a problem with the installation set up or operation of your Flock of Birds tracking system please consult the troubleshooting section in Chapter 10 of this manual It discusses common setup problems and their solutions If you continue to experience problems after following the recommended actions contact Ascension Technology Corporation for technical support World Wide Web http www ascension tech com support troubleshoot E mail techsupport ascension tech com Telephone Call 802 893 6657 between 9 a m and 5 p m U S Eastern Standard Time Monday through Friday Fax 802 893 6659 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Manual Revision History Manual Date December 11 1992 January 26 1995 March 8 1993 May 25 1993 July 5 1993 September 2 1993 February 8 1994 July 18 1994 October 17 1994 January 31 1995 June 22
106. 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 Bird has to know if the measured rate is a real sensor rate due to movement or a false rate due to noise The Bird 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 119 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide The default values as a function of transmitter to sensor separation range for the standard range and extended range transmitters are Std Range Xmtr Extended Range Xmtr Range Range Vm inches inches integer 0 to 17 0 to 55 2 17 to 22 55to 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 Bird s output is too large for your application DC FILTER CONSTANT TABLE ALPHA MAX When PA
107. n off 250000 250000 off on on 333333 500000 DIP SETTING OFF switch UP ON switch DOWN Figure 5 Dipswitch Settings Normal Address Mode 20 2 Setup and Installation Dipswitch position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fly OFF Test ON In Fly Mode FBB address 0 30 Dipswitch 4 FE EE 573 4 5 6 7 Addr off off off off off 0 off off off off on 1 on on off 30 on on on on on invalid In Test Mode test number Dipswitch 4 5 6 7 Test off off off off 1 off off off on 3 on on on on 31 Baud rate when RS232 interface selected Dipswitch 1 2 Baud off off 9600 off on 19200 on off 38400 on on 115200 Baud rate when FBB RS485 interface selected Host CPU baud may vary 2 5 5 5 from the values listed below Baud is a function of The Bird s crystal MHz Dipswitch 1 2 Baud 32MHz Baud 40 MHz off off 250000 250000 on off 333333 500000 DIP SETTING OFF switch UP ON switch DOWN Figure 6 Dipswitch Settings Expanded Address Mode 21 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Dipswitch position 1 2 3 4 5 6 T 8 l Fly OFF Test ON In Fly Mode FBB address 0 126 Dipswitch 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 FBB Addr off off off off off off off 0 on off off off off off off 1 off on off off off off off 2 on on off off off off off 8 off on on on on on on 126 on on on on on on on invalid In Test Mode test number Dipswitch 4 5 6 7 Test off off
108. n only be EXAMINED with this command if they were previously CHANGED by this command 124 8 Change Value Examine Value ANGLE ALIGN2 When PARAMETERnumber 23 during EXAMINE the Bird will return 3 words 6 bytes 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 use To CHANGE the angles send 6 bytes of PARAMETERdata after the 2 command bytes C Note The angles can only be read back with this command if they were previously written with this command i e if the ANGLE ALIGN or the ANGLE ALIGN was used to set the angles then those angles will not be accessible with the EXAMINE ANGLE ALIGN2 command REFERENCE FRAME2 When PARAMETERnumber 24 during EXAMINE the Bird will return 3 words 6 bytes of data corresponding to the Azimuth Elevation and Roll angles used in the REFERENCE FRAME2 command See REFERENCE FRAME2 command for an explanation To CHANGE the angles send 6 bytes of PARAMETERdata after the 2 command bytes Please note that these angles are only accessible with this command if they were previously written with this command BIRD SERIAL NUMBER When PARAMETERnumber 25 during EXAMINE the Bird will return a 1 word 2 byte value corresponding to the Serial Number of the Bird electronic unit This num
109. n 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 Unlock the outputs if you are going to be making sudden movements by setting the CHANGE VALUE SUDDEN OUTPUT CHANGE LOCK command to zero Minimize the number of filters applied to the Bird data To determine which filters you can remove 1 Set the Bird 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 then 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 Minimize the amount of steady state filtering applied by the DC filter Use the CHANGE VALUE DC 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 Run the Bird at a higher measurement rate Use the CHANGE VALUE BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE command and increase the Bird s measurement rate from its default speed of approximately 103 measurements second You can increase the speed up t
110. ned in the equation above The Offset byte value must be an integer value between plus or minus 127 If you are trying to minimize the base errors in the system by adjusting the Offset you could set the Sensitivity 1 and the Slope 0 and read the Offset directly as the METALerror value METALflag 4 Turns on METAL detection and changes the Slope value defined in the equation above The Slope byte value must be an integer between plus or minus 127 You can determine the slope by setting the Sensitivity 1 and looking at the change in the METALerror value as you translate the sensor from range 0 to range max for the system ie 36 for a flock Since its difficult to go from range 0 to max you might just translate over say half the distance and double the METALerror value change you measure METALflag 5 Turns on METAL detection and changes the filter s Alpha value The METALerror value is filtered before output to the user to minimize noise jitter The Alpha value determines how much filtering is applied to METALerror Alpha varies from 0 to 127 A zero value is an infinite amount of filtering whereas a 127 value is no filtering The system default is 12 As Alpha gets smaller the time lag between the insertion of metal in the environment and it being reported in the MET ALerror value increases 82 7 RS232 Commands METAL ERROR METAL ERROR HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 74 116 01110100 After metal error detection has been enabled by
111. ng used 25mm 8mm or 5 mm The METAL command allows the user to eliminate or change these values For example maybe your standard environment has large errors and you want to look at variations from this standard environment To do this you would adjust the slope and offset to minimize the METAL error values The metal parameters and values the user can change or examine METALflag 0 This is the default power up configuration No METALerror byte is output at the end of the Bird s data stream When you turn off the metal detection using METALflag 0 you still must send the required 5 words In this case the last 4 words are ignored and not updated with the values you send METALflag 1 Turns on METAL detection using the system default sensitivity offset slope and alpha values again ignoring the last 4 parameter values you send after the METALflag The system default values base 10 are METALsensitivity 32 METALoffset sensor dependent METALslope sensor dependent METALalpha 12 127 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide METAL flag greater than 1 Turns on METAL detection using the METAL sensitivity offset slope and alpha values you sent with the command METALsensitivity The user supplies a Sensitivity byte as an integer between 0 and 127 depending on how little or how much he wants METALettor to reflect errors The default value is 32 The METALerror value that is output is computed from METALerr
112. notch filter refers to a two tap finite impulse response FIR notch filter that is applied to signals measured by the Bird 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 Bird 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 that is 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 otientation and the output of these measurements you may want to evaluate the effect on your application with this filter shut off and the AC NARROW notch filter on If you are running the Bird synchronized to a CRT you can usually shut this filter off without experiencing an increase in noise 20 Note For optimal notch filter performance make sure that the Bird is set for the proper Line Frequency by checking it with the FILTER LINE FREQUENCY command The DC filter refers to an adaptive infinite 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 applicati
113. nts towards you Y Standard Graphic Mode The Bird s XYZ coordinate system is when the transmitter is between you and the graphics screen and the transmitter s power cord extends in the direction toward the screen positive X axis points out of the screen positive Y axis points to the left positive Z axis points down 2 Ascension s Graphic Mode To have the screen image follow the rotations and translations of the Bird s sensor with movement of the sensor toward the screen causing the image to move toward the front of the graphics screen the following transformations from Bird coordinates to modeling matrix elements are required 142 10 Applicaton Notes MM 1 1 MB 2 2 MM 1 2 MB 2 3 MM 1 3 MB 2 1 MM 1 4 0 MM 2 1 MB 2 MM 2 2 MB 3 3 MM 2 3 MB 3 1 MM 24 0 MM 3 1 MB 1 2 MM 3 2 MB 1 3 MM 3 MB 1 1 MM 3 4 0 MM 4 1 Ypos MM 4 2 Zpos MM 4 3 Xpos MM 44 1 0 Flock Stand Alone Power Supply The Stand alone power supply from Ascension has a safety feature which causes the unit to disconnect znternally if plugged into the electronic unit while the power is on This safety feature is often misdiagnosed by users as a problem with the Electronic unit This safety feature is called a crow bar and once engaged the power supply must be disconnected from the outlet momentarily to be reset To prevent the crow bar from engaging and the resulting power termin
114. o 2 on jumpers 9 and 15 if using a TTL input signal or jumper pins 2 to 3 on jumpers 9 and 15 if using the CRT SYNC pickup shipped with the Bird Using Multiple Host RS485 Interfaces A Flock of Birds can be configured with multiple host computer RS485 422 interfaces to minimize communications delay This interconnection scheme allows a host or multiple hosts to access multiple Birds simultaneously via multiple RS485 422 ports Three configurations are possible 1 A single interface to gather data from all Birds 2 Individual host RS485 422 connections to each Bird or 3 Grouped host RS485 422 connections to the Birds Configurations 2 and 3 will require you to modify the intra Bird FBB cables supplied with the Flock For hook up of a single interface to service all Birds please refer to the chapters on Installation and RS232 Host Interface When configured with individual host RS485 422 interfaces to each Bird the host or hosts must have 1 RS485 422 port per Bird unit This is shown below in the figure labeled Individual Host RS485 422 Interfaces In this configuration the host s software must only use the address of Bird that the port is attached to when sending commands to the Flock As shown in the figure cables that interconnect units on the Fast Bird Bus must not connect the FBB HOST DATA signals found on pins 6 and 7 of the FBB connectors In addition each Bird unit must have the FBB HOST DATA termination jumper JPR16 installed A
115. o a maximum of approximately 140 measurements seconds As you increase the speed you will note that the amount of noise in the Bird measurements may be higher or 147 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 9 Reduce the amount of noise that the Bird thinks 15 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 10 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 there will be during fast motions But note the larger alpha is the larger the noise will be during the movement At Ascension when we want a snappy response with good noise characteristic s we use all system defaults except for the following overrides a Stream mode b Sudden output change lock 0 c DC filter ON AC narrow notch filter ON AC wide notch OFF d Vm table 2 2 2 10 10 40 200 pd 5 5
116. o only the Master Bird When PARAMETERnumber 35 during EXAMINE VALUE the Bird will respond with one byte of data indicating if the Bird is in GROUP MODE If the data is a 1 the Bird is in GROUP MODE and if the data is 0 The Bird 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 byte of the data record from each Bird contains the address of that Bird This address byte 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 6 data bytes plus 1 address byte and the other two are configured to output POSITION ANGLES data 12 data bytes plus 1 address byte the Master Bird will respond with 33 bytes when a data request is made 129 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide During CHANGE VALUE command the host must send one data byte equal to a 1 to enable GROUP MODE or a 0 to disable GROUP MODE FLOCK SYSTEM STATUS When PARAMETERnumber 36 during EXAMINE the Master Bird returns to the host computer 14 bytes 30 bytes if in Expanded Address mode 126 bytes if in Super Expanded Address mode defining the physical configuration of each Bird on the bus This command can be sent to the Master ei
117. obtain less lag while at longer ranges you may want to decrease ALPHA MIN to provide mote 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 BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT See the Bird MEASUREMENT RATE command below PARAMETERnumber 7 for a simpler and mote accurate form of this Bird MEASUREMENT RATE COUNT command When PARAMETERnumber 6 during EXAMINE the Bird returns a word that is used to determine the measurement rate of the unit The word returned represents a timer count XMTR TIME that determines how long each of the Bird s three transmitter antennas will be turned on off From this word you can estimate the total measurement period TIME is returned with values from 0000 to FFFF Hex or 0 to 65535 decimal The measurement rate in cycles sec is computed from measurement rate 1000 4 0 X TIME 0 3 Where XTIME in milliseconds is XTIME XMTR TIME 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 116 8 Change Value Examine Value The Bird s measurement rate is nominally set for 103 measurements sec If however the Bird is synchronized to your CRT see CRT SYN
118. on X and Y will vary between plus and minus If you had selected the left hemisphere the sign of Y would always be negative etc Regarding the default forward hemisphere if the sensor moved into the aft 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 Bird s X Y and Z outputs In order to track correctly You must start tracking in the selected hemisphere so that the signs on the outputs are initially correct and you must guard against the case where the sensor legally crossed the Y 0 Z 0 axes simultaneously without having crossed the X 0 axes into the other hemisphere 77 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 sensor 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 M 1 1 M 1 2 M 1 3 M 2 1 M 2 2 M 2 3 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
119. on 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 Bird 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 When PARAMETERnumber 5 during EXAMINE the Bird 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 115 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Std Range Xmtr Extended Range Xmtr Range Range ALPHA MIN inches inches decimal 0 to 17 55 0 02 028F Hex 17 to 22 55to 70 0 02 22 to 27 70to 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 The Bird seven words of PARAMETERdata corresponding to the ALPHA MIN table defined above At the shorter ranges you may want to increase ALPHA MIN to
120. or Sensitivity x METALerrorSYSTEM Offset Slope x Range Where range is the distance between the transmitter and sensor METALoffset The Offset value defined in the equation above is an integer byte value between plus or minus 127 If you are trying to minimize the base errors in the system by adjusting the Offset you could set the Sensitivity 1 and the Slope 0 and read the Offset directly as the METALerror value METALslope The slope value defined in the equation above is an integer byte value between plus or minus 127 You can determine the slope by setting the Sensitivity 1 and looking at the change in the METALerror value as you translate the sensor from 0 to range max for the system ie 36 for a flock Since its difficult to go from range 0 to max you might just translate over say half the distance and double the METALerror value change you measute METALalpha The METALerror value is filtered before output to the user to minimize noise jitter The Alpha value determines how much filtering is applied to METALerror METALAlpha is an integer byte varying from 0 to 127 zero value is an infinite amount of filtering whereas a 127 value is no filtering The system default is 12 As Alpha gets smaller the time lag between the insertion of metal in the environment and it being reported in the METALerrotr value increases 128 8 Change Value Examine Value REPORT RATE When PARAMETERnumber 29 during EXAMINE th
121. or blink when the RS232 cable is disconnected the unit is not getting power 150 11 Troubleshooting and Repair Repair Contacting Ascension Technology Web http www ascension tech com support troubleshoot index htm E mail mailto techsupport ascension tech com Telephone Call 802 893 6657 between 9 a m and 5 p m Eastern Standard Time Monday through Friday Fax 802 893 6659 Mail Ascension Technology Corporation PO Box 527 Burlington Vermont USA 05402 do not ship equipment to this address The normal procedure when running into problems is to do the following 1 Review the basics the cables connected correctly is power being applied to the computer any components noticeably damaged Go over this manual s troubleshooting guide and any Ascension web based troubleshooting that may be in place These may be very useful especially in the case of international customers where communication with Ascension technical support may take a day to initialize Contact Ascension technical support Phone and email are usually the best methods Have the serial and model number of your system s components ready The technical support group will expect you to have the system available for troubleshooting and testing Most situations corrected by this stage in this procedure If Ascension technical support determines a component or components need to be returned for further evaluation re
122. ormal 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 dipswitches to test number 29 see Chapter 7 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 32 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 dipswitches to test number 27 see Chapter 7 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 addresses 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 32 inches for an Extended Range Transmitter If the sensor is closet than this limit position
123. other example the user broadcasts the POSITION MATRIX command to all Birds In this case the host would send a 0 Hex FBB RS232CMD command F Hex Broadcast Address if in Normal Address mode or 1F Hex Broadcast Address if in Expanded Address mode and 5A Hex POSITION MATRIX command The following RS232 commands are valid over the FBB host interface COMMAND HEX ASCII ADDRESS ANGLES 57 W 1 15 31 ANGLE ALIGN 4A J 1 15 31 BORESIGHT 75 u 1 15 31 BORESIGHT REMOVE 76 1 15 31 BUTTON MODE 4D M 1 15 31 BUTTON READ 4E N 1 14 30 CHANGE VALUE 50 1 15 31 EXAMINE VALUE 4F O 1 14 30 FACTORY TEST 7A 2 1 15 31 FBB RESET 2F 1 MATRIX 58 X 1 15 31 METAL 73 S 1 15 31 METAL ERROR 74 t 1 15 31 NEXT TRANSMITTER 30 0 1 14 OFFSET 4B K 1 15 31 POINT 42 B 1 15 31 POSITION 56 V 1 15 31 POSITION ANGLES 59 1 15 31 POSITION MATRIX SA Z 1 15 31 POSITION QUATERNION 5D 1 15 31 QUATERNION 5C A 1 15 31 REFERENCE FRAME 48 H 1 15 31 RUN 46 1 15 31 57 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide SLEEP 4 1 15 31 STREAM 40 1 STREAM STOP 1 SYNC 4 A 1 15 31 XOFF 13 lt DC3 gt 1 15 31 XON 11 lt DC1 gt 1 15 31 FBB SEND DATA FBB SEND DATA FBB CMD FBB Addr Normal Expanded Command Value 1 1 14 30 The specified Bird sends one data record each time it receives the FBB SEND DATA command If GROUP mode is enabled all Birds send a data record each time the Master receives the FBB SEND DATA command The dat
124. ou are using a single RS232 port to talk to all Birds in the Flock attach the RS232 cable to the Master Bird see the section titled RS232 Data Rates If you are using a separate RS232 pott for each Bird connect the RS232 cables to every member of the Flock Verify that you have not plugged the RS232 cable into the XMTR connector FBB Cable Bird to Bird If you are using one or more RS232 or RS485 ports to communicate with the Flock use the supplied FBB cables to interconnect the Birds for FOB operation in the daisy chained fashion as indicated in Figure 1 2 3 or 4 The cables plugged into either of the 8 pin modular connectors on the rear panel labeled FBB If you are using multiple RS485 ports to communicate with the Flock you will have to modify the Bird to Bird FBB CABLE as described in Application Note Using Multiple Host RS485 Interfaces FBB Cable Host to Bird If your host interface to the Bird is via a single FBB RS485 interface attach the supplied cable to either of the 8 pin modular connectors labeled FBB on the rear panel of the Master Bird electronics unit The connector on the other end of this cable is a 9 pin D male connector wired per the diagram in the user diskette file RS485 TXT If your host computer s RS485 interface wiring or connector differs from the supplied cable you will have to fabricate an appropriate mating connector If you want to use multiple RS485 interfaces to gather data f
125. pair or replacement you will be given a Return Materials Authorization RMA and the shipping address Please do not ship to the Post Office PO Box Equipment sent to the Ascension Post Office Box may never arrive at Ascension Ascension is not responsible for lost equipment sent without an RMA or shipped to an incorrect address Ascension will evaluate the equipment once it arrives If the situation requires Ascension will contact you and discuss any options 151 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Chapter Regulatory Information and Specifications 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 his own expense Canadian Regulations This digital ap
126. paratus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio 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 European Regulations This equipment has been tested and found to conform to the harmonized European Union CE standards EN 50081 1 and 50082 1 152 12 Regulatory Information and Specifications Flock of Birds Specifications Physical Transmitter Sensor Enclosute Technical Positional range Angular range Static positional accuracy Positional resolution Static angular accuracy Angular resolution Update rate Outputs Interface Format Modes Electrical Power requirements Environment 3 75 inch cube mounted inside enclosure or external with 10 cable 1 0 x 1 0 x 0 8 cube or optional 3 button mouse with 10 foot or optional 35 foot cable 9 5 x LES 2 6 48 in any direction 180 Azimuth amp Roll 90 Elevation 0 07 RMS 0 03 12 0 5 RMS 0 1 RMS 12 100 measurements sec X Y Z positional coordinates amp orientation angles rotation matrix quaternions RS232 2 400 to 115 200 baud RS48
127. per Expanded Addressing mode by counting the light blinks on powerup Verify that you are using the correct baud rate switch setting for the address mode being used If the serial communication is not working in RS232 mode check if pin 4 of the serial port Data Terminal Ready is being held high If your computer brings it low the Bird will not send data If in doubt disconnect the pin at the cable where it connects to the Bird If you can not communicate with the Bird check that the transmitter and sensor are plugged into their panel connectors The transmitter and sensor must be plugged in duting power up 149 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 7 lf upon starting your software to control multiple Birds in the Flock the light goes out or the data output does not correspond to reality verify that your software delays for at least 600 milliseconds before and after sending the Flock the FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION FBB ARM or FBB CONFIGURATION commands 8 If you send Command Bytes without their proper Command Data bytes the system may hang Toggling the FLY STDBY switch should return you to normal operation See number 12 below 9 If the position orientation outputs from the system are noisy be sure that the sensor is not located near the Bird s power supply or other electronic devices or cables 10 If one or more of the position outputs stops changing at longer separation distances use the CHANGE VALUE POSITION SCAL
128. ple sensor configuration 1 One sensor housed in a small cube or a mouse with cable attached 1 One CRT synchronization pickup cable One pet system 1 One Fast Bird Bus inter unit bus cable if you ordered more than one Flock Bird modular connectors both ends 1 One Fast Bird Bus cable Bird to host cable modular connector one end with 9 pin D male connector on other end One per system if you specified your Flock to be set up for an RS485 interface 1 One optional USA European external power supply with a USA wall cord 1 One bag of four spare jumper blocks 2 Two 3 inch DOS formatted diskettes per system 1 One Installation and Operation Guide One per system The optional Extended Range Transmitter is shipped in two additional boxes 1 One Extended Range Transmitter 1 One Extended Range Controller with 1 one FBB inter unit bus cable and 1 one internal USA European power supply with a USA wall cord If there are any discrepancies or your shipment is damaged call Ascension Technology at 802 893 6657 between 9 a m and 5 p m US Eastern Standard Time 12 1 Preparing for Setup Software Two 3 5 inch DOS formatted diskettes are included with your unit These diskettes contain source code for Bird interface software written in Basic C and assembly language These programs let you send commands to the Bird from a menu and read output data on the screen They run on any IBM PC compatible computer In addit
129. put to the host computer ANGLES ANGLES HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 57 87 01010111 In the ANGLES mode the Bird 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 in Euler angle nomenclature Azimuth Elevation and Roll The output record is in the following format for the six transmitted bytes MSB LSB F 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 BYTE 1 28 Ad 26 25 Z4 Z3 22 1 LSbyte Zang 0 215 214 213 212 211 210 29 2 MSbyte Zang 0 Y8 Y7 Y6 Y5 Y4 Y3 Y2 13 LSbyte Yang 0 Y15 Y14 Y13 Y12 YI Y10 Y9 4 MSbyte Yang 0 8 X7 X6 x5 X4 X3 X2 5 LSbyte Xang 0 X15 X14 X13 X12 X11 X10 9 6 MSbyte Xang 63 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 Bird 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 sca
130. r 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 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 When PARAMETERnumber 50 during an EXAMINE VALUE command the Bird returns 5 bytes of FBB configuration information when in Normal Addressing mode 7 bytes when in Expanded Addressing mode or 19 bytes when in Super Expanded Addressing mode Three pieces of information are passed FBB CONFIGURATION MODE FBB DEVICES and FBB DEPENDENTS FBB CONFIGURATION MODE indicates the current Bird configuration as either Standalone or One Transmitter Multiple Sensors mode FBB DEVICES is used to tell which 131 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Birds on the FBB are running FBB DEPENDENTS informs the Birds which Slaves on the FBB will be using the signal transmitted from the current Master The bit definitions of the bytes are Byte 1 FBB Configuration Mode 0 STANDALONE 1 ONE TRANSMITTER MULTIPLE SENSORS Bytes 2 3 FBB Devices BIT 15 0 BIT 14 If 1 device at address 14 is running If 0 device at address 14 1s not running A Bird is RUNNING when the fly switch i
131. r useful software from our website www ascension tech com support downloads which includes a Windows 98 2000 NT driver with soutce code 13 Jide Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Handling Precautions Ascension tracking components should be treated as precise electronic measurement devices The sensors and transmitters are subject to possible failure or loss of accuracy if dropped crushed or exposed to excessive heat Transmitters sensors cables connectors ate sensitive electronic components and should be treated with care Do not drop pull twist or otherwise mishandle cables When power is applied or the system is running do not touch exposed electronic components such as unshielded wires or board components Contact with exposed electronic components poses the possibility of injury Many of the electronic components are static sensitive Static shock can damage or destroy integrated circuits when touched by a charged object You Care should be taken to reduce the possibility of damage to the system To prevent static damage we recommend that you frequently touch an outside metal component of the computer chassis and wear an anti static strap Changing any of the components of the tracking system such as adding a transmitter extension cable or reducing the sensor cable length will render the tracking data inaccurate and may damage the entire system 14 2 Setup and Installation Chapter Se
132. resses set to 2 0010 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 Dipswitches 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 7 For example the ERC might have its address dipswitch set to 1 00001 off off off on The first Bird sensor card in the chassis would then have its addresses set to 2 00010 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 ERT addresses must be located at addresses 1 to 14 Dipswitches 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 PBB is assigned a unique address via switches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 For example the ERC might have its address dipswitch set to 1 1000000 on off off off off off off The first Bird sensor card in the chassis would then have its addresses set to 2 0100000 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 t
133. ressing mode the RS232 TO FBB command is 1 Byte long When in Super Expanded Addressing mode the command is 2 Bytes long For the Normal Addressing mode addresses 1 to 15 the command is Command Byte F0 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 is Addresses 1 to 15 Command Byte F0 destination FBB address in Hex i e FBB address 1 1 hex would be F1 FBB address 15 F hex would be FF Addresses 16 to 30 Command Byte E0 destination FBB address in hex 10 Hex i e PBB address 16 10 hex would be E0 FBB address 30 1E hex would be For the Super Expanded Addressing mode addresses 1 to 126 the command is Command Byte 1 A0 Command Byte 2 destination FBB address in hex 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 Bird at address 1 is the Master and the Bird at address 2 is the Slave The host s RS232 interface is connected to the Bird at address 1 The jumpers in Bird 1 are configured for RS232 98 7 RS232 Commands communications while the jumpers in Bird 2 can be configured for either RS232 or FBB communications To get Position Angle data from Bird 1 the host would either send a 2 byte command consisting of the RS232 TO FBB com
134. rmation command Transmitter Not accessible Error 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 Extended Range Transmitter Not Attached Error Cause If the Extended Range Controller does not have an Extended Range Transmitter attached then this error will occur Action Assure that the Extended Range Controller has a Extended Range Transmitter attached CPU Time Overflow Error 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 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 Cause This error occurs if the Master determines that a Slave is not configured with a sensor during the Auto Configuration or Arming command Act
135. rms will be much less than these table values 3 Writes to the screen or disk will reduce these table values 32 4 Running the Flock Chapter Running the Flock The Birds in the Flock talk to each other via the FBB interconnect cable To enable the Bird s ability to exchange data among themselves each Bird 15 assigned a unique FBB address via the configuration dipswitch If your host has an individual RS232 communications channel to each Bird the RS232 commands you send to the Birds do not have a Bird address associated with the command If you utilize a single RS232 interface to talk to all of the Birds the commands you send must contain the address of the Bird that you want to respond see the RS232 TO FBB command Commands Each RS232 command consists of a single command byte followed by N command data bytes where N depends upon the command command is an 8 bit value which the host transmits to The Bird 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 4 BC3 2 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 33 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide The RS232 command data format is
136. rn on metal detection and change the Sensitivity 3 Offset Turn on metal detection and change the Offset 4 Slope Turn on metal detection and change the Slope 5 Alpha Turn on metal detection and change the filter s alpha METALflag 0 This is the default power up configuration No METAL error byte is output at the end of the Bird s data stream A zero value zero decimal or zero hex or zero binary must be sent as the METALdata if you are turning off METAL detection METALflag 1 Turns on METAL detection using the system default sensitivity offset slope and alpha values When METAL detection is turned on an additional byte is output at the end of the Bird s output data If you have BUTTON MODE enabled then the METAL error value will be output after the BUTTON value byte is output METALflag 2 Turns on METAL detection and changes the Sensitivity of the measurement to metals The Offset Slope and Alpha values are unchanged from their previous setting The METALerror value that is output is computed from METALerror Sensitivity x METALerrorSYSTEM Offset Slope x Range Where range is the distance between the transmitter and sensor The user supplies a Sensitivity byte as an integer 81 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide between 0 and 127 depending on how little or how much he or she wants METALerror to reflect errors The default value is 32 METALflag 3 Turns on METAL detection and changes the Offset value defi
137. rom the Flock refer to Application Note Using Multiple Host RS485 Interfaces Sensor Cable Attach the sensor to the 15 pin connector labeled RECEIVER on the rear panel of the electronics unit Transmitter Cable If you have the standard range transmitter attach it to the 9 pin connector labeled X MTR on the front panel of The Bird electronics unit Verify that you have vot plugged the transmitter cable into the RS232 connector 23 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 Bird 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 connector labeled SYNC on the rear panel of the Master Bird Be certain that the connector is fully inserted into the SYNC connector inside the Bird s enclosure and not merely making contact with the back panel The connector must go partially into the back panel to be seated correctly For proper operation it is vital that the sync pickup be correctly positioned on the CRT cabinet Follow the instructions in RS232 Command Reference for the SYNC command to properly position the pickup Peel the protective paper from the tape on the velcro attachment and
138. s in other configurations FBB BIRD DATA termination JPR14 must be installed on the end units of the FBB The grouped configuration allows a host with multiple RS485 422 ports to attach each port to a group of Birds Each separate group can be communicated with simultaneously over its own port This is shown below in the figure labeled Grouped RS485 422 Host Interfaces As shown in the figure the host has grouped units 1 and 2 to one host RS485 422 port and grouped unit 3 to a second host RS485 422 port The group size can be as large or as small as desired The host software must maintain a list of Bird addresses that are attached to each port Bird addresses must be unique you cannot repeat the same address in another group Cables 144 10 Applicaton Notes that interconnect groups on the Fast Bird Bus must not connect the FBB HOST DATA signals found on pins 6 and 7 of the FBB connectors In addition the Bird unit at each group s end must have the FBB HOST DATA termination jumper JPR16 installed As in other configurations FBB BIRD DATA termination jumper JPR14 must be installed on the end units of the FBB 145 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide INDIVIDUAL HOST RS485 422 BIRD ADDR 1 JPR16 JPR14 TERM TERM BIRD ADDR 2 INTERFACES BIRD ADDR 3 JPR14 JPR16 TERM TERM 1234567412345678 1234567812345674 1234567812345674
139. s on it has been AUTO 132 8 Change Value Examine Value CONFIGed and it is AWAKE A device is not running when the fly switch is on and it has not been AUTO CONFIGed or it has been AUTO CONFIGed and it is ASLEEP BIT 13 If 1 device at address 13 1s running If 0 device at address 13 is not running BIT 1 If 1 device at address 1 is running If 0 device at address 1 is not running BIT 0 0 Bytes 4 5 FBB Dependents Normal and Expanded addr modes only BIT 15 0 BIT 14 If 1 device at address 14 is dependent If 0 device at address 14 is not dependent BIT 13 If 1 device at address 13 is dependent If 0 device at address 13 is not dependent BIT 1 If 1 device at address 1 is dependent If 0 device at address 1 is not dependent BIT 0 0 Bytes 6 7 EBB Devices Expanded Super Expanded addr modes only BIT 15 If 1 device at address 30 1s running If 0 device at address 30 1s not running BIT 14 If 1 device at address 29 is running If 0 device at address 29 1s not running BIT 0 If 1 device at address 15 is running 133 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide If 0 device at address 15 1s not running Bytes 8 9 FBB Devices Super Expanded addr mode only BIT 15 If 1 device at address 46 1s running If 0 device at address 46 1s not running BIT 14 If 1 device at address 45 1s running If 0 device at address 45 1s not running BIT 0 If 1 device at address 31 is running If 0 device at address 31 not running
140. se 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 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 138 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 9 Error Messages 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 dipswitch is in an invalid baud rate setting then this error will occur Action Set dipswitch 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 Bird at address 2 is not connected to the FBB or not in FLY mo
141. se in the position and orientation measurements ERC Internal Jumpers If you must change the internal jumpers please 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 Refer to the section titled RS232 Host Interface if using an RS232 interface or FBB Host Interface if using an RS485 422 interface To locate the jumpers refer to the printed circuit card drawings A DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE Remove the power cord from the ERC before opening to eliminate the dangerous high voltages inside umper Function Note indicates factory default setting 1 2 do not exist 3 1 2 connected when using RS485 host control 1 2 not connected when using RS232 host control 4 9 do not exist 10 1 2 connected BIRD BUS CTS terminated 1 2 not connected BIRD BUS CTS not terminated 11 1 2 connected FBB reset is enabled 1 2 not connected FBB reset is not enabled 12 1 2 connected RS485 host receive data enabled 2 3 connected RS232 host receive data enabled 13 does not exist 14 1 2 connected BIRD BUS data terminated 1 2 not connected BIRD BUS data not terminated 15 does not exist 16 1 2 connected RS485 HOST BUS data terminated 1 2 not connected RS485 HOST BUS data not terminated 26 2 Setup and Installation Configuring the Flock with an ERC In general the E
142. t by Bird dipswitch 8 1 1 none 30 3 RS232 Host Interface Jumper Configuration For host communications to the Flock of Birds using RS232 set the following jumpers See Table 1 for a description of these jumpets umpet Configuration JPR 3 pins 1 2 not connected JPR 12 pins 1 2 not connected pins 2 3 connected JPR 13 if present pins 1 2 not connected pins 2 3 connected JPR 10 pins 1 2 connected on first and last Bird on the FBB JPR 14 pins 1 2 connected on first and last Bird on the FBB JPR 16 pins 1 2 connected on first and last Bird on the FBB JPR 17 if present pins 1 2 not connected For host communications to the ERC using RS232 set the following jumpers umpet Configuration Jumper Configuration JPR 3 pins 1 2 no connection JPR 12 pins 2 3 connected Data Rates As shown in Figures 2 or 3 when your host computer is using an RS 232 interface to communicate with the Flock of Birds it can utilize either one serial port connected to the Master to communicate with all Birds or a separate RS232 port for each Bird in the Flock Using a single RS232 port to talk to all Birds has the advantage of requiring less host hardware it has the disadvantage of limiting the number of measurement per second that your host can read from each Bird Table 2 shows the maximum data record output rate that can be obtained when using a separate RS232 interface to each Bird the first table entry or a single RS232 interface for all Birds
143. t is if there were no ANGLE ALIGN values preset the sensor s orientation outputs will now be with respect to the sensor s physical orientation If there were ANGLE ALIGN values present before the BORESIGHT command was given then after the BORESIGHT REMOVE command is given the sensor s orientation outputs will be with respect to this mathematically defined ANGLE ALIGNed sensor orientation 70 7 RS232 Commands BUTTON MODE BUTTON MODE HEX DECIMAL BINARY Command Byte 4D 77 01001101 Command Data MODE The BUTTON MODE command is used to set how the three buttons on the optional Bird 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 byte This byte can be sent by the Bird 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 byte 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 byte will be appended to the end of each transmitted data record unless the Metal indicator byte is output also in which case the Metal indicator byte will be the last byte and the Button value byte will be next to last For example
144. t the next command goes to the with FBB addr 1 Plock unit at addr 1 POSITION MATRIX Master s output format will be position and matrix 37 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide RS232 TO FBB with FBB addr 2 POSITION MATRIX RS232 TO FBB with FBB addr 1 Command CHANGE VALUE FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 2 Flock units RS232 TO FBB with FBB addr 1 POINT RS232 TO FBB with FBB addr 2 POINT Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 2 Slave s output format will be position and matrix Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 1 Action Sent to the Master to start the Flock running Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Flock unit at addr 1 One POSITION MATRIX data record returned from the Master Lets the Master know that the next command goes to the Plock unit at addr 2 One POSITION MATRIX data record returned from the Slave The next configuration consists of an ERC configured as the Master and twelve Slave sensors with individual RS232 ports to each unit All commands to the Master are send over the Master s RS232 port and all commands to the Slaves are sent over the Slave s individual RS232 ports Command POSITION MATRIX CHANGE VALUE FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 13 Flock units POINT Action Sent to each Slave to select position and matrix for output Sent to the Master to start
145. tallation and Operation Guide 7 1 1 1 not used Illegal commands FBB Command Utilization After switching the front panel switch of all rhe Birds in the Flock to FLY mode the individual lights blink 5 times if in Normal Address mode 2 times if in Expanded Address mode or 1 time if in Super Expanded Address mode then shut off The Flock is not running yet To get the entire Flock running utilize the RS232CMD command to send to the Master unit only the unit with the transmitter the CHANGE VALUE FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION command which is detailed in Section 10 0 under the CHANGE VALUE command The host may then tell the individual Birds in the Flock what type of data to send when an FBB SEND DATA request is issued By default the Birds will send POSITION ANGLE formatted data when a data request is received To change the data type that will be sent the host must utilize the RS232CMD command to send one of the following data record commands ANGLES MATRIX POSITION POSITION ANGLES POSITION MATRIX see the individual command descriptions detailed in Section 9 0 These commands do not cause the Bird to transmit data to the host For the host to receive data it must issue an FBB SEND DATA request addressed to the Bird in the Flock from which it wants data If GROUP mode is enabled the host sends a single SEND DATA request to the Master and the master will return data from all running Flock units 54 5 FBB Host Interface
146. ter code defined in the Error Message Section 11 0 The error code is reset to all 0 s after it has been read ERROR DETECT MASK When PARAMETERnumber 11 during EXAMINE the Bird returns one byte which is the ERROR DETECT MASK IF ERROR DETECT MASK 0 the Bird 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 Bird 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 FATAL or WARNING 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 Bird one byte of PARAMETERdata with a value of 0 1 or 3 as defined above DC FILTER TABLE Vm When PARAMETERnumber 12 during EXAMINE Bird returns a 7 word 14 byte table or during CHANGE the user sends to the Bird a 14 byte table representing the expected noise that the DC filter will measure By changing the table values you 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 Bird as it detects translation or rotation rates in the Bird s sensor Reducing the amount of filtering results in less filter lag Unfortunately electrical noise in the environment when
147. the Enclosure a 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 Notes Slide the top over the front and rear panels There is a left side and a right side to the top One side has male grooves the other female Invert the electronics unit Tighten the four hold down screws Do not over tighten Table 1 Jumper Functions for the Bird Function 1 2 connected FBB RS485 host control 1 2 not connected RS232 host control 1 2 connected TTL Sync Signal enable 2 3 connected CRT Sync Signal enabled 1 2 connected FBB CTS terminated 1 2 not connected FBB CTS not terminated 1 2 connected FBB Receive Data enabled 2 3 connected RS232 Receive Data enabled 1 2 connected FBB CTS enabled 2 3 connected RS232 CTS enabled 1 2 connected FBB BIRD DATA terminated 1 2 not connected FBB BIRD DATA not terminated 1 2 connected TTL single Sync input 2 3 connected factory supplied CRT Sync input cable 1 2 connected FBB HOST DATA terminated 1 2 not connected FBB HOST DATA not terminated 1 2 connected FBB reset is enabled 1 2 not connected FBB reset is not enabled indicates factory default setting If the circuit board is Rev 6B or greater three pin JPR 13 will not be present In its place is a two pin JPR 17 which has a different function 17 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Addressing Mode Configuration The Bird can be operated in three addressing modes 1 N
148. ther before or after the Flock is running The response has the following format where one byte is returned for each possible FBB address BYTE 1 address 1 configuration BYTE2 address 2 configuration BYTE 14 30 126 address 14 30 126 configuration 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 its fly switch is on It may ot 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 itis AWAKE A device is not running when the power switch is on and it has not been AUTO CONFIGed or it has been AUTO CONFlIGed 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 not present BIT 2 If 1 ERT 2 is present If 0 not present BIT 1 If 1 ERT 1 is present If 0 not present BIT 0 If 1 ERT 0 or standard range transmitter is present If 0 not present 130 8 Change Value Examine Value FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION 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 configur
149. tiple sensors with one transmitter the sensor closest to the transmitter controls the strength of the field emitted by the transmitter This prevents a given sensor s electronics from being saturated by a very strong transmitted signal As the closest sensor moves farther and farther away from the transmitter the transmitter doubles and redoubles its output at appropriate transmitter to sensor separation distances At some specified distance the transmitter is at its maximum power and can no longer continue to double its output With multiple sensors it is possible to have one sensor far from the transmitter while another sensor is close to the transmitter Thus the sensor closest to the transmitter will command the transmitter to reduce its signal resulting in a reduced signal at the farther sensor hence the position and orientation measurements made by the farther sensor will contain additional noise For a Flock of Birds with the standard transmitter the transmitter reaches full power when the transmitter to sensor separation is approximately 9 inches Thus if all sensors operate at distances greater than 9 inches no one sensor will suffer in performance If one of the sensors moves to within 7 inches of the transmitter than the amount of noise in the measurements made by farther sensors will double The table below gives the transmitter to sensor distances at which the transmitter doubles its power for both the standard range and extended range
150. to conform to the type of interface you are using If you notified Ascension of your interface before the unit was shipped the jumpers have been preset for you If not the jumpers in each unit were set at the factory for the RS 232C interface using the Flock s baud rate generator To change the jumpers you must open up each electronics unit PCB Ground yourself before touching the PCB to dissipate Danger There are static sensitive circuit components on the A any static charge that may have built up on your clothing 1 Open the Electronics Enclosure a Unplug all cables attached to the unit b Turn the unit upside down Loosen but do not remove the four screws found in each of the black support legs These screws secure the top half of the enclosure d Turn the unit over so it is standing on its legs and lift the top cover off vertically Do not try to remove the front and rear back panels 2 Locate the Jumpers Table 1 contains a list of all jumpers in the electronics unit Refer to Chapter 4 if using an RS232 interface Chapter 5 if using a single RS485 422 interface or Application Note Using Multiple Host RS485 Interfaces if using multiple RS485 422 interfaces to determine what jumpets to insert or remove To locate the jumpers refer to the printed circuit card drawings The jumper blocks can be removed and inserted vertically with a strong set of fingers 16 2 Setup and Installation 3 Replace the Top of
151. ton read 4E N Factory test 2 FBB Reset 2F Hemisphere 4C L Matrix 58 X Metal 73 indicator Next transmitter 30 0 Offset 4B K from Point 42 B Position 56 V Position Angles 59 Y Position Matrix 5A 2 Position 5D Quaternion 5C X Reference 1 48 H config Reference frame2 72 t 51 Q Report rate 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 6 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 Send to addr of the snsr from which you want button outputs DO NOT USE THIS COMMAND Send to Master only Send to addr of the snsr whose outputs you want to bein a given hemisphere Send to addr of the snsr from which you want matrix data Send to addr of the snsr from which you want a metal error Send to current Master only Send to addr of snsr that you want to receive offset positions If in Group mode send to the Master only If not in group mode must use the RS232 TO FBB command to send to each individual sensor if you have only one interface port If you have an RS232 interface port to each sensor just send the point command to each port Send to addr of the snsr from which you want position data Send to addr of the snsr from which you want position angle data Send to addr of the snsr from which you want position matrix data Send to addr of the snsr from which you want Quaternion position quaternion data Send to addr of the snsr from which you want quaternion data Send to the Master before or after
152. transmitters Standard Range Xmtr Extended Range Xmtr Xmtr power Range Range increase as a from center of xmtr from face of xmtr fraction of MAX inches inches power 0 25 to 0 5 24 0 5 to 1 0 MAX POWER 9 30 When operated in the Expanded Address mode or Super Expanded Address mode see Section 8 0 the sensor s location does not control the strength of the transmitter s field The transmitter is always at full power If the sensor saturates in the Expanded Address mode or Super Expanded Address mode it outputs all zeroes for data 28 3 RS232 Host Interface Chapter RS232 Host Interface If your host computer is using a FBB RS485 interface to the Flock you do not need to read Chapter 3 You should however read Chapter 4 Signal Description The RS 232C interface conforms to the Electronic Industries Association ELA specifications for data communications pinout and signal description of the RS 232C interface 15 found below Note that the Bird requires connections only to pins 2 3 and 5 of the 9 pin interface connector The file named RS232 TXT on the Bird software diskette contains additional information about the RS 232 interface to several different computers The Bird 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 S
153. ts a measurement cycle only when the RS232 command POINT or STREAM or the FBB SEND DATA command is received from your host computer In addition to starting a measurement cycle the Bird 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 or FBB SEND DATA commands at a regular rate with a frequency of 100 Hz to 144 Hz If you just issue the POINT or STREAM or FBB SEND DATA 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 a Flock of Birds using the FBB or a single RS232 interface to talk to all Flock members only the Master outputs its data on receipt of the FBB SEND DATA or POINT command The host must individually request data from the Slaves 106 7 RS232 Commands If your host is going to send data requests at a rate greater than the Bird s default measurement rate of approximately 100 measurements sec then you must first utilize the CHANGE VALUE BIRD MEASUREMENT RATE command to set the
154. tup and Installation Installation Electronics Unit Location Generally the electronics unit can be mounted anywhere However it 15 best if the unit is not located on top of or under other electronic equipment that is not shielded When locating the electronics unit you must ensure that the ventilating slots on the sides of the enclosure are not obstructed The plastic cases are designed so that multiple units can be stacked on top of each othet Because it is possible through movement of the sensor cable to pull the electronics unit off its perch you should use some sort of secondary restraint such as taping the sensor cable to the desk neat where it connects to the unit 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 It also may be mounted on the top front edge of the electronics unit 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 sides 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 ma
155. 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 Bird 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 Bird s SYNC connector located on its back panel before you execute any of the SYNC CRT Mode commands Instructions for installing the CRT syne cable can be found in Chapter 2 104 7 RS232 Commands The single Command Data byte SYNCtype that you send with the SYNC command controls the operation of The Bird with respect to your CRT s vettical scan Set SYNCtype 0 system power up default if you do not want the Bird to be synchronized to either the operation of your CRT or the host computer Set SYNCtype 1 to synchronize The Bird to your CRT if your CRT hasa vertical retrace rate that is greater than 72 cps but less than 144 cps When SYNCtype is 1 the Bird makes measurements at the sync rate For best performance SYNCtype should only be set to 1 1f the sync rate 1s at least 100 cycles second Set SYNCtype 2 to synchronize the Bird to your CRT if your CRT s vertical retrace rate is in the normal range of 50 to 72 When SYNCtype 15 2 the Bird makes measurements at twice this rate that is from 100 to 144 updates per second SET SYNCtype 3 if you want the Bird to make measurements at three t
156. up This is the default factory setting Ifa sensor is not attached to the Bird on power up the LED on the circuit card will blink an error code and the error register will be set Don t Test For Sensor Selecting this test burns a bit into an on board eeprom memory that tells the Bird not to test for the presence of a sensor on powerup If a sensor is not attached to the Bird there will be no error blinking or error reporting while this no test bit is burned in It is useful to set this condition if you are using your Bird in a multi card configuration where a given card may only have a transmitter and not a sensor Set Normal Address Mode This sets the ERC and Bird sensors 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 dipswitch can then be reset with the correct baud rate and address The power switch must then 61 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide be cycled for Normal Address operation The ERC and all Bird sensor cards must be individually set to Normal Address mode When a Bird is in Normal Address mode its light will blink 5 times and then goes out when itis powered up Set Explanded Address Mode This sets the ERC and Bird sensors into Expanded Addressing Mode which enables FBB
157. up to six Birds Table 3 Since all Birds in the Flock communicate with each other via the FBB you must interconnect each Bird in a daisy chain fashion with the supplied cabling as indicated in Figures 1 and 4 To enable the Birds to exchange data among themselves for your host computer to gather data from a given unit each Bird is assigned a unique FBB address via the back panel dipswitches Set the Address 1 on the unit designated as the Master Set addresses 2 to 126 on all other units Address 0 is reserved for a standalone system 1 only one Bird unit You cannot use the FBB RS485 interface to talk to a standalone unit But you can use this interface to talk to a Master Bird with Address 1 and configured see CHANGE VALUE command for FBB AUTO CONFIGURATION with one sensor which is the equivalent of a standalone unit but using the FBB command set Address 15 is the Broadcast Address in Normal Address mode 31 in Expanded and 127 in Super Expanded used to a send a command to all Birds on the bus simultaneously When you use the FBB RS485 interface on the Bird you cannot use the RS222 interface to send commands or receive data You may however use the RTS electrical signal on the RS232 interface to perform the functions of the FLY STDBY switch on the front panel 51 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide Table 3 Maximum RS485 Data Record Output Rate When Using A Single RS485 Interface DATA OUTPUT FORMAT
158. ut by the MATRIX command The HEMISPHERE command is used to tell the Bird in which hemisphere centered about the transmitter the sensor will be operating There are six hemispheres from which you may choose the forwatd aft reat upper lower left and the right If no HEMISPHERE command is issued the forwatd is used by default The two Command Data bytes sent immediately after the HEMISPHERE command are to be selected from these Hemisphere HEMI AXIS HEMI SIGN ASCII HEX ASCII HEX Forward nul 00 nul 00 Aft Rear nul 00 soh 01 Upper ff OC soh 01 Lowet ff 0 nul 00 Left ack 06 soh 01 Right ack 06 nul 00 The ambiguity in position determination 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 of operation the sign on the position axes that 76 7 RS232 Commands 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
159. ver hook Common to Earth Ground Degraded operation will result The cable wiring from your supply to the Bird should be at least AWG 18 gauge preferably AWG 16 to minimize voltage drop across the cable The AULT supply does not have remote sensing If your supply has remote sensing attach it to the above indicated pins 156
160. w metals It 15 possible for the new metal to cause a distortion in the magnetic field that reduces the existing distortion at the sensor When this occurs you ll see the METALerror value initially decrease indicating less error and then finally start increasing again as the new metal causes more distortion User beware You need to evaluate your application for suitability of this metal detector Because the Bird is used in many different applications and environments the METAL error indicator needs to be sensitive to this broad range of environments Some users may want the METAL error indicator to be sensitive to very small amounts of metal in the environment while other applications may only want the error indicator sensitive to large amounts of metal To accommodate this range of detection sensitivity the METAL command allows the user to set a Sensitivity that is appropriate for their application The METAL error byte will always show there is some error in the system even when there are no metals present This error indication usually increases as the distance between the transmitter and sensor increases and is due to the fact that Bird components cannot be made or calibrated perfectly To minimize the amount of this inherent error in the METAL error value a linear curve fit defined by a slope and offset is made to this inherent error and stored in each individual sensot s memory since the error depends primarily on the size of the sensor bei
161. y 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 CAUTION The transmitter and sensor ate delicate instruments Do not drop them 15 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 To minimize noise picked up from the CRT use the CRT SYNC command in conjunction with the CRT synchronization pickup cable provided with your Flock unit Power Supply Location The optional power supply should be located where there is adequate ventilation for cooling Do not locate the supply within two feet of the sensor Locate the supply at least one foot away from the electronics unit Internal Jumpers Inside each electronics unit is a set of jumper blocks that must be set
162. y twice per second over either the PBB or RS232 interface depending on the host control mode You can validate his host cable and serial communication receive software with this test Bird Echo During the Bird echo test the Bird will echo every character received over either the PBB or RS232 interface Using this test you can validate the host interface hardware and software Host Data Read During the host data read test the Bird will send one 8 bit character 0 through 255 decimal each time it receives any character over either the FBB or RS232 interface The first character sent by the Bird will be a 0 then a 1 2 3 and so on Using this test you 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 Host Data Read Block Test During the host data read block test the Bird will send a block of 8 bit characters 0 through 255 decimal each time it receives any character over either the FBB or 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 you can verify that the computer s operating system can receive a large number of binary characters at the desired baud rate without problems Test for Sensor Selecting this test burns a bit into an on board eeprom memory that tells the Bird to test for the presence of a sensor on power
163. you had selected the POSITION ANGLE mode the output sequence would now be x y z az el tl button for a total of 13 bytes instead of the normal 12 bytes The BUTTON MODE command must be issued to the Bird in the following 2 byte sequence MSB LSB 7 6 5 43 2 1 O0 BYTE 0 1 00 1 1 0 1 1 Command Byte 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DO 2 Command Data Where DO is either 0 or 1 a description of the values which may be returned in the Button Value byte see the BUTTON READ command 71 Flock of Birds Installation and Operation Guide 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 Bird 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 byte to every transmitted record Immediately after you send the BUTTON READ Command Byte the Bird will return a single byte containing the button value The Button Value byte can assume the following Hex values 0 0 No button pressed 10 16 Left button pressed 30 48 Middle middle and left button pressed 70 Hex 112 Right or right and any other button pressed Note The Button Value byte does not contain the phasing bits normally included in the Bird s transmitted data records The above values are the ones actua
164. ystem errors resulting from accuracy degradations in the transmitter sensor or other electronic components The METAL error byte also responds to accuracy degradation resulting from movement of the sensor or environmental noise A METAL error byte 0 indicates no or minimal position and angle errors depending on how sensitive you have set the error indicator A METAL error byte 127 indicates maximum etror for the sensitivity level selected The metal detector is sensitive to the introduction of metals in an environment where no metals were initially present This metal detector can fool you however if there are some metals initially present and you introduce new metals It is possible for the new metal to cause a distortion in the magnetic field that reduces the existing distortion at the sensor When this occurs you ll see the METALerror value initially decrease indicating less error and then finally start increasing again as the new metal causes more distortion User beware You need to evaluate your application for suitability of this metal detector Because the Bird is used in many different applications and environments the METAL error indicator needs to be sensitive to this broad range of environments Some users may want the METAL error indicator to be sensitive to very small amounts of metal in the environment while other applications may only want the error indicator sensitive to large amounts of metal To accommodate this range of d

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