The content of this document is proprietary.

No part of this document shall be reproduced nor shall any use or disclosure of the information contained herein
be made without written authorization from Sparton Electronics.

Sparton Navigation Modules

Software Interface User’s Manual

Applicable to Sparton DC-4E, GEDC-6E, and AHRS-8.

130-7524-001, Rev K 1
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REVISION HISTORY:

DATE DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE INITIALS

5/11/11 Original CMN

9/22/11 Re-factored, NorthTek Moved to standalone CMN

document.

10/5/11 Review comments finalized. CMN

10/25/11 Added PN, additional tuning variables CMN

documented.

9/24/12 Rev. B – Add AHRS-8 and make corrections MJB

1/2/13 Rev. C - Update for GEDC-6 2.3.1 changes MJB

5/2/13 Rev. D – Update for releases DC-4 2.3.6, MJB

GEDC-6 2.4.10, AHRS-8 2.2.2

9/12/13 Rev. E – Update for releases up to 4.0.2 MJB

10/1/2013 Rev. F – Remove Legacy Binary In-Field RSW

Calibration Commands

10/15/2013 Rev. G – Correct gyrop units MJB

11/26/13 Rev. H – Update for E versions RSW/MJB

11/17/14 Rev. I – Fix InvokeGyroOffsetCal description RSW

3/9/15 Rev. J – Formatting changes RSW

9/10/15 Rev K – Modified NorthTek script section to RSW

appropriately call out the 5ms delay per line
and fixed the cal3D script.

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................. 8
1.2 References .................................................................................................................................... 8
1.3 Document Conventions ................................................................................................................ 8
1.4 Applicability................................................................................................................................... 9
2 Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1 Protocol Introduction.................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Interface Paradigm ...................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Data Organization ....................................................................................................................... 11
2.3.1 Basic Data Types ................................................................................................................. 11
2.3.1.1 RFS BitFields .................................................................................................................... 11
2.4 User Accessible inertial system Variables ................................................................................... 12
2.4.1 Variable Summary Table ..................................................................................................... 12
2.5 World Magnetic Model ............................................................................................................... 16
2.6 In-Field Calibration ...................................................................................................................... 16
2.7 Mount Orientation Accommodation .......................................................................................... 18
2.8 Low power mode ........................................................................................................................ 18
3 Protocols ............................................................................................................................................. 18
3.1 RFS............................................................................................................................................... 19
3.1.1 RFS Get/Get_Response Example ........................................................................................ 20
3.1.2 RFS BitField Example ........................................................................................................... 20
3.2 NMEA .......................................................................................................................................... 25
3.2.1 Raw Magnetics .................................................................................................................... 26
3.2.2 Heading - Magnetic ............................................................................................................. 27
3.2.3 Heading - TRUE.................................................................................................................... 27
3.2.4 Magnetic Variation.............................................................................................................. 27
3.2.5 Automatic Magnetic Variation ............................................................................................ 28
3.2.6 Magnetic Vector.................................................................................................................. 29
3.2.7 Magnetic In-Field Calibration .............................................................................................. 29
3.2.8 Gyro Calibration .................................................................................................................. 32
3.2.9 Magnetic Adaption Error .................................................................................................... 32
3.2.10 Raw Acceleration ................................................................................................................ 32
3.2.11 Acceleration Vector............................................................................................................. 32
3.2.12 Raw Gyro ............................................................................................................................. 33
3.2.13 Gyro Vector ......................................................................................................................... 33
3.2.14 Pitch and Roll Output .......................................................................................................... 33
3.2.15 Quaternion Vector .............................................................................................................. 34
3.2.16 Temperature ....................................................................................................................... 34
3.2.17 BAUD RATE .......................................................................................................................... 34
3.2.18 Mounting Configuration...................................................................................................... 35
3.2.19 Read Transducers ................................................................................................................ 35
3.2.20 NMEA RFS Access ................................................................................................................ 36
3.2.21 NMEA/RFS RPT and GLOM .................................................................................................. 37
3.3 Legacy Binary .............................................................................................................................. 37
3.3.1 Raw Magnetics .................................................................................................................... 38
3.3.2 Heading - TRUE.................................................................................................................... 38
3.3.3 Heading - Magnetic ............................................................................................................. 39

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3.3.4 Magnetic variation .............................................................................................................. 39

3.3.5 Automatic Magnetic Variation ............................................................................................ 39
3.3.6 Latitude ............................................................................................................................... 40
3.3.7 Longitude ............................................................................................................................ 40
3.3.8 Altitude................................................................................................................................ 40
3.3.9 Day ...................................................................................................................................... 41
3.3.10 Magnetic Vector.................................................................................................................. 41
3.3.11 Raw Acceleration ................................................................................................................ 42
3.3.12 Pitch and Roll Output .......................................................................................................... 42
3.3.13 Acceleration Vector............................................................................................................. 42
3.3.14 Temperature ....................................................................................................................... 42
3.3.15 BAUD RATE .......................................................................................................................... 43
3.3.16 Mounting Configuration...................................................................................................... 43
3.4 NorthTek ..................................................................................................................................... 45
3.4.1 Displaying Database Elements ............................................................................................ 45
3.4.2 Outputting values in User Defined Format ......................................................................... 47
3.4.3 Streaming Sensor Data........................................................................................................ 47
3.4.3.1 Accelerometer................................................................................................................. 48
3.4.3.2 Gyro ................................................................................................................................. 48
3.4.3.3 Magnetometer ................................................................................................................ 49
3.4.3.4 All raw sensor data.......................................................................................................... 49
3.4.3.5 Computed Roll, Pitch and Yaw ........................................................................................ 49
3.4.3.6 Computed Quaternions .................................................................................................. 49
3.4.3.7 Custom Combination Print Streaming (User Port only) .................................................. 49
3.4.4 Reset ................................................................................................................................... 52
3.4.5 Restart ................................................................................................................................. 52
3.4.6 Canceling NorthTek Programs ............................................................................................ 52
3.4.7 Inhibit NorthTek Echoed Characters and “OK”/”Huh” Responses ..................................... 52
3.4.8 Setting Database Elements ................................................................................................. 53
3.4.9 Saving the database ............................................................................................................ 53
The database gets automatically saved every ten minutes or every time a “set” command is sent to
the compass. If the user wishes to specifically to save the database at a known state they may do so
by sending the appropriate command: db.save. Once the save has been initiated it will take from 2-
5 seconds before completion. Simply sending a <CR> the user may know if the system is done
saving. ................................................................................................................................................. 53
3.4.10 Calibration Data Control ..................................................................................................... 53
3.4.10.1 Restore In-field calibration data ................................................................................. 53
3.4.10.2 Restore Factory calibration data ................................................................................. 54
3.4.10.3 Run the Gyro Offset Calibration .................................................................................. 54
3.4.11 3D Compass In-Field Calibration ......................................................................................... 54
3.4.12 2D Compass In-Field Calibration ......................................................................................... 57
3.4.13 User Boot Program.............................................................................................................. 57
3.4.14 Accessing an RFS VID Using NorthTek – dvid@ .................................................................. 58
A Variable Detailed Descriptions............................................................................................................ 59
A.1 Variables by Name ...................................................................................................................... 59
A.1.1 vidCount .............................................................................................................................. 59
A.1.2 name ................................................................................................................................... 59
A.1.3 quiet .................................................................................................................................... 59

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A.1.4 VERSION .............................................................................................................................. 59

A.1.5 REVISION ............................................................................................................................. 59
A.1.6 serialnumber ....................................................................................................................... 60
A.1.7 orientation .......................................................................................................................... 60
A.1.8 baud .................................................................................................................................... 60
A.1.9 pitch .................................................................................................................................... 61
A.1.10 roll ....................................................................................................................................... 61
A.1.11 yaw ...................................................................................................................................... 61
A.1.12 yawt..................................................................................................................................... 61
A.1.13 quaternion........................................................................................................................... 61
A.1.14 lat ........................................................................................................................................ 62
A.1.15 lonG ..................................................................................................................................... 62
A.1.16 alt ........................................................................................................................................ 62
A.1.17 day ....................................................................................................................................... 62
A.1.18 restorefactorycal ................................................................................................................. 62
A.1.19 set_wmm ............................................................................................................................ 63
A.1.20 magvar ................................................................................................................................ 63
A.1.21 wmmGD .............................................................................................................................. 63
A.1.22 wmmHasRun ....................................................................................................................... 63
A.1.23 magr .................................................................................................................................... 63
A.1.24 magp ................................................................................................................................... 64
A.1.25 accelr ................................................................................................................................... 64
A.1.26 accelp .................................................................................................................................. 64
A.1.27 gyror .................................................................................................................................... 64
A.1.28 gyrop ................................................................................................................................... 64
A.1.29 gyroSampleRate .................................................................................................................. 65
A.1.30 positionrate ......................................................................................................................... 65
A.1.31 position ............................................................................................................................... 65
A.1.32 composite2.......................................................................................................................... 66
A.1.33 composite3.......................................................................................................................... 66
A.1.34 calmode............................................................................................................................... 66
A.1.35 calCommand ....................................................................................................................... 67
A.1.36 calNumPoints ...................................................................................................................... 67
A.1.37 magErr ................................................................................................................................. 68
1.1.38 wlim..................................................................................................................................... 68
1.1.39 alim...................................................................................................................................... 68
1.1.40 mlim .................................................................................................................................... 68
1.1.41 km0...................................................................................................................................... 69
1.1.42 ka0 ....................................................................................................................................... 69
1.1.43 emlim .................................................................................................................................. 69
1.1.44 ealim.................................................................................................................................... 69
1.1.45 kgyrooffset .......................................................................................................................... 70
A.1.46 magOffset............................................................................................................................ 70
A.1.47 magCalTemperature ........................................................................................................... 70
A.1.48 magOffsetTCX, magOffsetTCY, magOffsetTCZ .................................................................... 70
A.1.49 magLinearityXTC0 ,magLinearityXTC1, magLinearityXTC2, magLinearityYTC0,
magLinearityYTC1, magLinearityYTC2, magLinearityZTC0, magLinearityZTC1, magLinearityZTC2 .... 70
A.1.50 magLinearityX ,magLinearityY, magLinearityZ .................................................................... 71

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A.1.51 magCrossAxisCorrectionX, magCrossAxisCorrectionY, magCrossAxisCorrectionZ ............. 71

A.1.52 magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY, magFieldCalZ ........................................................................ 71
A.1.53 accelrange ........................................................................................................................... 72
A.1.54 accelOffset .......................................................................................................................... 72
A.1.55 accelGyroCalTemperature .................................................................................................. 72
A.1.56 accelOffsetTCX, accelOffsetTCY, accelOffsetTCZ ................................................................ 72
A.1.57 accelLinearityXTC0, accelLinearityXTC1 , accelLinearityXTC2, accelLinearityYTC0,
accelLinearityYTC1, accelLinearityYTC2, accelLinearityZTC0, accelLinearityZTC1, accelLinearityZTC2
72
A.1.58 accelLinearityX ,accelLinearityY, accelLinearityZ ................................................................ 73
A.1.59 accelCrossAxisCorrectionX, accelCrossAxisCorrectionY , accelCrossAxisCorrectionZ ........ 73
A.1.60 gyroOffset ........................................................................................................................... 73
1.1.61 gyroMaxRate ....................................................................................................................... 73
1.1.62 gyroMaxReturnCnt .............................................................................................................. 74
A.1.63 gyroOffsetTCX, gyroOffsetTCY, gyroOffsetTCZ ................................................................... 74
A.1.64 gyroLinearityXTC0, gyroLinearityXTC1 , gyroLinearityXTC2, gyroLinearityYTC0 ,
gyroLinearityYTC1, gyroLinearityYTC2, gyroLinearityZTC0, gyroLinearityZTC1, gyroLinearityZTC2 ... 74
A.1.65 gyroLinearityX, gyroLinearityY, gyroLinearityZ ................................................................... 74
A.1.66 gyroFieldCalX, gyroFieldCalY , gyroFieldCalZ ...................................................................... 74
A.1.67 gyroCrossAxisCorrectionX, gyroCrossAxisCorrectionY, gyroCrossAxisCorrectionZ ............ 75
A.1.68 InvokeGyroOffsetCal ........................................................................................................... 75
A.1.69 boresightMatrixX, boresightMatrixY , boresightMatrixZ .................................................... 75
A.1.70 lowpower ............................................................................................................................ 75
A.1.71 temperature ........................................................................................................................ 76
A.1.72 kgyroOffsetCalFactor .......................................................................................................... 76
A.1.73 nmeaecho ........................................................................................................................... 76
A.1.74 nmeaignorechecksum ......................................................................................................... 76
A.1.75 restoreFieldCal .................................................................................................................... 76
A.1.76 pMatrix0, pMatrix1, pMatrix2 ............................................................................................ 76
A.1.77 printmask ............................................................................................................................ 77
A.1.78 printtrigger .......................................................................................................................... 77
A.1.79 printmodulus....................................................................................................................... 77
A.1.80 centripetalCorrection .......................................................................................................... 77
A.1.81 calPointsNumToAvg ............................................................................................................ 77
A.1.82 InvokeTare........................................................................................................................... 78
A.1.83 magErr2 ............................................................................................................................... 78
A.1.84 magFieldCalErr .................................................................................................................... 78
A.1.85 magFieldCalTot ................................................................................................................... 79
A.1.86 magHorzFieldCalTot ............................................................................................................ 79
A.1.87 gyroSigma............................................................................................................................ 79
A.1.88 infieldCalMu ........................................................................................................................ 79
A.1.89 infieldCalMu2 ...................................................................................................................... 79
A.1.90 infieldCalMu3 ...................................................................................................................... 80
A.1.91 restartCompassCalcs ........................................................................................................... 80
A.1.92 magPointQF......................................................................................................................... 80
A.1.93 possibleMagPointQF ........................................................................................................... 80
A.1.94 wmmGDMagnitude............................................................................................................. 81
A.1.95 calPointDistribution ............................................................................................................ 81

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A.1.96 calPointDistSigma................................................................................................................ 81
A.1.97 timeStamp ........................................................................................................................... 81
A.1.98 currentTime......................................................................................................................... 82
A.1.99 calStatus .............................................................................................................................. 82
B Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................................. 83
B.1 NMEA commands are not echoed. ............................................................................................. 83
B.2 NMEA commands don’t respond to “enter” key. ....................................................................... 83
B.3 Repeating output is not appearing. ............................................................................................ 83
B.4 Repeating output is making typing a new command difficult. ................................................... 83
B.5 The compass is providing an inaccurate heading: ...................................................................... 83
B.6 The compass does not output any response. ............................................................................. 83

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1 Introduction
This is an interface document. It describes how to communicate with, control and obtain sensor, status
and configuration data from the Sparton family of Attitude and Heading Reference (AHRS) products.
This document is intended for system engineers, systems integrators or software developers that need
to know how to communicate with, utilize and obtain measurements from a Sparton AHRS product.
This document applies to the AHRS-8, GEDC-6E and DC-4E devices. In this document, these devices will
be referred to as inertial Systems and all references shall apply to all devices except where noted.

1.1 Scope
This document covers the following topics:
 Low level communications interfaces at the software level
 Packet level communications protocol
 Applications layer functions and the relevance to the function of the inertial system
 Examples of commands for user purposes
This document is not a hardware or mechanical data sheet.

1.2 References
This document is an umbrella document in that some of the interface descriptions for the inertial
systems are described in external documentation. This document describes the relationship of these
documents. The additional documentation needed to complete the entire interface description for the
inertial system family is listed below.
 NorthTek System Programming Manual
 Remote Function Select (RFS) Protocol Suite, Interface Design Description

1.3 Document Conventions

Descriptive text in this document appears in this font (Calibri 11).
Data sent transmitted to the inertial system appears in this font (Courier 11, Bold
Italic).
Data sent from the inertial system appears in this font (Courier 11, Bold, grey
background).
Information that must be supplied in this spot is enclosed in <> pairs. The <contents> brace pair
should be replaced with the user supplied data or will be filled in by the inertial system according to the
description contained in the <>’s.
 A carriage return character is shown as <CR> or <cr>.
 A line feed character is shown as <cr><lf> or <cr><lf>.
 Control sequences are indicated as <CTRL-S>.
Non printable characters are spelled out in <> pairs, for example <ESCAPE> is equal to the escape
character (0x1b). Additional text will included when non-printable characters might not be clear to the
reader.

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1.4 Applicability
This document applies to the Sparton AHRS-8, GEDC-6E and DC-4E Digital Compasses. All portions of
this document that refer to gyro functionality only apply to the AHRS-8 and GEDC-6E.

2 Overview
This document is intended to be a reference document. Please read through this Overview section and
the Programmer’s Quick Start and follow the references to this document in the areas of interest. The
Programmer’s Quick Start gives step-by-step examples and points to sections in this document for more
information.

This document details the available communication protocols as well as use of the compass from the
programmer’s point of view. Also included is a description of a unique capability where the user can
program custom output from the compass using NorthTek scripts (see Section 3.4 NorthTek).

When the compass is installed in any application where there are magnetic disturbances that are fixed in
position and strength relative to the compass, then the In-field Calibration process should be performed
to cancel those disturbances out. The gyro based GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 will automatically ignore any
temporary magnetic disturbances but fixed disturbances require in-field calibration. For more
information, see Section 2.6 In-Field Calibration. Note that the inertial system cannot compensate for
disturbances that exceed its specified limit of 900 mGauss per axis.

If the true North heading capability is desired, then the World Magnetic Model must be run (see Section
2.5 World Magnetic Model). True North is relative to the Earth’s axis of rotation whereas magnetic
North is points to the Earth’s magnetic pole.

For cases where the inertial system is mounted in the host application such that the inertial system’s
X/Y/Z axes differ from those of the host application, then the “boresight” matrix can be set such that the
inertial system’s outputs will be adjusted to the host application’s frame of reference.

2.1 Protocol Introduction

The interface to the inertial system is a serial communication link (User Port). The link is an
asynchronous character oriented interface that operates in a bidirectional mode. This serial link
transmits and receives asynchronous characters using nominal “UART” type framing with 8 data bits, no
parity and a single stop bit, with a default baud rate of 115200. The baud rate may be changed by
software command. No error detection is used with the individual characters.

The serial link is full-duplex; however in practice the information flow is largely half-duplex in nature.
Essentially the client and the server operate in a poll-response fashion. For example, in the above
situation, the device that desires to use the inertial system would be the master (client) and the inertial
system would be the slave (server).

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The inertial system provides the following protocols on the User Port:
 RFS -- A binary protocol called Remote Function Select (RFS). This protocol provides a robust,
error checked method of communicating with the inertial system
 NMEA --- A printable ASCII protocol that conforms to the general message formatting used by
the National Marine Equipment Manufacturers (NMEA) association guidelines.
 Legacy Binary – An efficient binary protocol that has no error checking support (i.e. no
checksum).
 NorthTek -- A free form command line interpreter suitable for human operator usage or custom
output requirements.

These protocols are able to operate simultaneously by virtue of the framing used for each protocol type.
After the frame for one protocol is complete, another protocol may be used for the next frame. The RFS
protocol packets begin with an <SOH> character and ends with an <ETX> character. The NMEA
protocol begins with a $ character and ends with a <cr><lf> character. The Legacy Binary protocol
begins with a 0xA4 character and ends with a 0xA0 character. Once the first character for a new frame
identifies one of these three protocols, all subsequent characters, up to the terminator for that protocol,
are considered only for that protocol. All characters that are received outside one of the packet types
are passed to the NorthTek interpreter. Each of the three packet oriented protocols expects packets to
be completed in a timely manner. If the next character is not entered in a specific time interval (1
second RFS, 5 seconds NMEA, 0.5 seconds for Legacy), the packet is discarded and the receive parser
resets to be ready to accept any packet type.

The Legacy and NMEA protocols provide a degree of backwards compatibility with the SP300x product
family. The RFS protocol provides some advantages over the other protocols, namely 1) Robust error
checking via a 16 bit CRC as part of each packet, 2) User definable messages such that the user can
generally put all required data into a single message and 3) A self-descriptive command structure such
that new inertial system features are automatically accessible to hosts. The NMEA protocol can utilize
some (but not all) of the features of the RFS command set. The Legacy Binary interface is appropriate
for systems that are upgrading from the SP300x product family and is not recommended for new
designs. The NorthTek interface is an advanced user interface that allows the user to enter and perform
small command scripts within the compass in addition to a standard set of interface commands.

2.2 Interface Paradigm

The previously described protocols differ in the formatting of the actual “packets” or “commands” that
are sent to or received from the inertial system. The protocols are similar in that they all conform to the
same basic paradigm. The host sends a command, the inertial system then responds. All protocols
follow this basic rule. Some protocols provide for the inertial system to respond automatically once
commanded. As the purpose of the inertial system is, ostensibly, to provide a constant stream of
navigation information most of the protocols (excepting the Legacy Binary) provide a method of
automatically outputting information without an additional query from the host. The exception to this

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paradigm is NorthTek. NorthTek, being a programming environment, allows customization of the user
interface in an algorithmic way.

2.3 Data Organization

The inertial systems incorporate an internal database. The database contains primitive elements. The
primitive elements provide the storage for information that is accessed externally. The elements can be
settings, status or values. Regardless of the type of the element, the method of access to the value of
the element is similar across all protocols. The internal data storage method is isolated from the data
presented to the external interfaces. This resolves issues of bit/byte ordering (“endian-ness”). The
specific format of multi-byte values is specified on each interface. Regardless of the method of
transmission there are several basic data types as described in the following section.

2.3.1 Basic Data Types

The internal database elements are one of the following types:
 Int16 – A 16 bit signed integer.
 Int32 – A 32 bit signed integer.
 Float32 – An IEEE format 32 bit floating point value.
 String – A counted string. Byte 0 is the length of the string that follows including the
terminating null.
 Ordinal -- An 8 bit value that represents a selection from a discrete set of 0 based values (0..N).
 ArrayInt32 – An array of Int32 values
 ArrayFloat32 – An array of Float32 values.
 BitField – RFS only. A combined variable that includes multiple other data types in the same
object.

2.3.1.1 RFS BitFields

BitFields are user programmable as to content thus allowing the user to configure a single message that
contains multiple useful values into a single report (similar to packed structures). BitFields minimize
communications required to obtain the necessary data for the application. An overview of BitFields is
provided here to frame the context of the variable table which describes the list of variables that follows
in a later section. Full details of the BitFields and their usage can be found in the RFS Protocol Suite
document.

A BitField is a variable type that contains meta-data instead of data. A BitField, for example, may
contain a reference to an Int32 variable, an Ordinal Variable and a Float32 Variable. When setting or
getting the variable, the application program would be able set or read all three values in the same
message. The BitField variable contains the information to describe what three other variables would
be set or read in a message to/from the BitField variable. The BitField thus contains not the actual data
to be transmitted, but information describing what information will be transmitted. RFS messages may
be used to manipulate the BitField meta-data or operate on the actual data referred to by the BitField.
Some RFS messages are modal in that they automatically determine if the intended message is for the

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meta-data or the data itself. Full details are described in the RFS Protocol Suite document. BitFields are
only used with the RFS protocol. (RFS protocol technical support is available from the manufacturer).

2.4 User Accessible inertial system Variables

The inertial system contains variables that are accessible by the user. In the NorthTek and NMEA
protocols, the variables are identifiable by name. In the RFS protocols variables are identified by name
but retrieved and manipulated by number. It is important to note that the number associated with a
specific variable name may change in the future, however the RFS protocol was designed to
accommodate this behavior and resolves the name/number matchups when the inertial system is first
interrogated at power up. This strategy allows future inertial system software releases to add additional
features while not obsoleting existing interface software.

The variable definitions for the inertial system are available as an XML file. This XML file describes each
variable type, the dimensions of array variables, minimum and maximum values, and default values.
Contact the manufacturer for availability.

The inertial system variables are listed in the table below. The variable names are the same names that
would be entered in NMEA and NorthTek commands. This is a shorthand table to remind the user of the
variable names. Detailed descriptions of each variable are found in Appendix A.1, Variable Detailed
Descriptions, Variables by Name. In general, all variables are available via the RFS protocol; variables
that are available via NorthTek are marked as shown. The Legacy Binary protocol can only access
variables that are predefined in its protocol.

2.4.1 Variable Summary Table

See Appendix A “Variable Detailed Descriptions” for the details on the variables in this table. Notes are
given for variables that were introduced after the initial release. If no notation is listed and the variable
is indicated to be in a product then the variable existed in the product from the initial release. If a
version is given and a product is not specified for that version then all products, that version and later
have the variable.
Name Type Notes N N DC- GED AHRS-8
M or 4E C-6E
E th /
A T GED
e C-6E
k
vidCount Int32 Variable Count ● ● ● ● ●
Name String Device Name ● ● ● ●
Quiet Ordinal Debug Suppress ● ● ● ● ●
VERSION String Software version release identifier ● ● ● ●
REVISION String Subversion revision number of this software ● ● ● ●
serialnumber String Factory set serial number ● ● ● ●
orientation Ordinal Physical orientation of compass ● ● ● ● ●
Baud Ordinal User Port Baud rate ● ● ● ● ●
pitch Float32 Pitch angle in degrees, positive up ● ● ● ● ●

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roll Float32 Roll angle in degrees, positive right-side down ● ● ● ● ●

yaw Float32 Magnetic heading in degrees ● ● ● ● ●
yawt Float32 True heading in degrees ● ● ● ● ●
quaternion ArrayFloat32 4 element array representing w, x, y and z ● ● ● ● ●
lat Float32 Latitude (user supplied for WMM, see set_wmm) ● ● ● ● ●
lonG Float32 Longitude (user supplied for WMM, see set_wmm) ● ● ● ● ●
alt Float32 Altitude (user supplied for WMM, see set_wmm) ● ● ● ● ●
day Float32 Estimated date expressed to the tenth of a year (user ● ● ● ● ●
supplied for WMM, see set_wmm)
restorefactorycal Command Restores calibration data to factory settings ● ● ● ● ●
set_wmm Ordinal Command to run the World Magnetic Model (uses lat, ● ● ● ● ●
lonG, alt day), computes magvar and wmmGD as the
results.
magvar Float32 Magnetic Variation - difference between true and ● ● ● ● ●
magnetic
wmmGD ArrayFloat32 World Magnetic Model geodetic magnetic field X Y Z at ● ● ● ● ●
Lat/Long. Used by 2-D in-field calibration.
wmmHasRun Ordinal Indicates whether the World Magnetic Model has been ● ● ● ● ●
run (implies wmmGD and magvar are valid)
magr ArrayFloat32 Raw Magnetometer X Y Z Total array ● ● ● ● ●
magp ArrayFloat32 Processed Magnetometer X Y Z array ● ● ● ● ●
accelr ArrayFloat32 Raw Accelerometer X Y Z array ● ● ● ● ●
accelp ArrayFloat32 Processed Accelerometer X Y Z array ● ● ● ● ●
gyror ArrayFloat32 Raw gyro X Y Z array ● ● ● ●
gyrop ArrayFloat32 Processed gyro X Y Z array ● ● ● ●
gyroSampleRate Float32 Actual sample rate for the gyro (samples/second) ● ● ● ●
positionrate Int32 Report rate for the data described in the RFS “position” ● ● ● ● ●
variable (see next row)
position BitField Composite object descriptor with pitch, roll, yawt, ● ● ●
magErr, temperature, magp X/Y/Z, accelp X/Y/Z, gyrop
X/Y/Z,1
composite2 BitField User defined RFS composite object (packed structure) ● ● ●
descriptor
composite3 BitField User defined RFS composite object (packed structure) ● ● ●
descriptor
calmode Ordinal Calibration Mode ● ● ● ● ●
calCommand Ordinal Commands the next step for “in field” calibration ● ● ● ● ●
calNumPoints Int32 Number of points collected for 3D Calibration Mode ● ● ● ● ●
magErr Float32 Magnetic error term resulting from calibration calcs ● ● ● ● ●
wlim Float32 Algorithm constant - threshold limit ● ● ● ● ●
alim Float32 Algorithm constant - threshold limit for accel ● ● ● ● ●
mlim Float32 Algorithm constant – threshold limit for mag ● ● ● ● ●
km0 Float32 Algorithm constant - magnetic gain ● ● ● ● ●
ka0 Float32 Algorithm constant - acceleration gain ● ● ● ● ●
emlim Float32 Algorithm constant - magnetic error threshold limit ● ● ● ● ●
ealim Float32 Algorithm constant - accel error threshold limit ● ● ● ● ●
kgyrooffset Float32 Algorithm constant - gyro offset ● ● ● ●
magOffset ArrayFloat32 Calibration offset for the magnetometer ● ● ● ● ●
magCalTemperature Float32 Base temperature (degrees C) for the magnetometer ● ● ● ● ●
calibration parameters
magOffsetTCX ArrayFloat32 Factory temperature compensated calibration offsets for ● ● ● ● ●
magOffsetTCY the magnetometer

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magOffsetTCZ
magLinearityXTC0 ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
magLinearityXTC1
magLinearityXTC2
magLinearityYTC0
magLinearityYTC1
magLinearityYTC2
magLinearityZTC0
magLinearityZTC1 Factory temperature compensated calibration scalars for
magLinearityZTC2 the magnetometer
magLinearityX ArrayFloat32 Computed calibration scalars for the magnetometer - is ● ● ● ● ●
magLinearityY used to “linearize” the magnetic vector after the offset
magLinearityZ has been applied
magCrossAxisCorrectionX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
magCrossAxisCorrectionY Adjusts for any unorthogonal mounting of the
magCrossAxisCorrectionZ magnetometers
magFieldCalX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
magFieldCalY In-field calibration offset and scalars for the
magFieldCalZ magnetometers
accelrange Ordinal Accelerometer full scale range setting (4g vs. 8g) ● ● ● ● ●
accelOffset ArrayFloat32 Calibration offset for the accelerometer ● ● ● ● ●
accelGyroCalTemperature ArrayFloat32 Temperature (deg C) at which the Rate Table ● ● ● ● ●
temperature compensation parameters for both
accelerometer and gyro are computed.
accelOffsetTCX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
accelOffsetTCY Temperature compensated calibration offsets for the
accelOffsetTCZ accelerometer
accelLinearityXTC0 ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
accelLinearityXTC1
accelLinearityXTC2
accelLinearityYTC0
accelLinearityYTC1
accelLinearityYTC2
accelLinearityZTC0
accelLinearityZTC1 temperature compensated calibration scalars for the
accelLinearityZTC2 accelerometer
accelLinearityX ArrayFloat32 Temperature compensated linearity coefficients for the ● ● ● ● ●
accelLinearityY accelerometer; these are computed from the
accelLinearityZ accelLinearityXTC0, etc. variables and temperature.
accelCrossAxisCorrectionX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
accelCrossAxisCorrectionY Corrections to compensate for any unorthogonal
accelCrossAxisCorrectionZ mounting of the accelerometers
gyroOffset ArrayFloat32 Calibration offset for the gyro ● ● ● ●
gyroMaxRate Float32 The inertial system switches to using just the ● ● ● ●
magnetometer and accelerometer above this rate.
gyroMaxReturnCnt Int32 After the gyro has exceeded the gyroMaxRate, this ● ● ● ●
variable defines the number of in-range gyro values that
must occur before switching back to using the gyro data
gyroOffsetTCX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ●
gyroOffsetTCY Temperature compensated calibration offsets for the
gyroOffsetTCZ magnetometer
gyroLinearityXTC0 ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ●
gyroLinearityXTC1
gyroLinearityXTC2
gyroLinearityYTC0
gyroLinearityYTC1 Temperature compensated calibration scalars for the
gyroLinearityYTC2 gyro

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gyroLinearityZTC0
gyroLinearityZTC1
gyroLinearityZTC2
gyroLinearityX ArrayFloat32 Computed calibration scalars for the gyro based on the ● ● ● ●
gyroLinearityY temperature compensated calibration scalars (e.g.
gyroLinearityZ gyroLinearityXTC0, etc.)
gyroFieldCalX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ●
gyroFieldCalY
gyroFieldCalZ In field calibration offset and scalar for the gyro
gyroCrossAxisCorrectionX ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ●
gyroCrossAxisCorrectionY
gyroCrossAxisCorrectionZ Calibration cross axis correction for the gyro
InvokeGyroOffsetCal Command Command the gyro offset calibration to start ● ● ● ●
boresightMatrixX ArrayFloat32 Rotation matrix that will be applied to transform from ● ● ● ● ●
boresightMatrixY the inertial system’s reference frame to the host
boresightMatrixZ reference frame
lowpower Command Command to enter Low Power Mode ● ● ● ● ●
temperature Int32 Temperature in Celsius ● ● ● ● ●
kgyroOffsetCalFactor Float32 Gyro offset field calibration factor ● ● ● ●
nmeaecho Ordinal Command to turn on echoes of NMEA characters ● ● ● ● ●
nmeaignorechecksum Ordinal Command to ignore received NMEA checksum ● ● ● ● ●
restoreFieldCal Ordinal Command to set magnetic in-field calibration data back ● ● ● ● ●
to factory default
pMatrix0 ArrayFloat32 ● ● ● ● ●
pMatrix1 Platform matrix (rotation matrix) – provides 3D
pMatrix2 orientation. Version 3.0.0
printmask Int32 Used to select items for printing Version 3.0.0 ● ● ● ● ●
printtrigger Int32 Used to select triggers (data updates) that will cause the ● ● ● ● ●
printmask selected items to print. Version 3.0.0
printmodulus Int32 Print when x number of trigger events occur as defined ● ● ● ● ●
by printtrigger Version 3.0.0
centripetalCorrection Ordinal Enable Centripetal acceleration correction of ● ● ● ●
acceleration Version 3.0.0
calPointsNumToAvg Int32 Number of samples to be averaged for a 3D/2D ● ● ● ● ●
Calibration Mode capture point.
InvokeTare Ordinal Command to update the boresight matrix based on ● ● ● ● ●
current orientation
restartCompassCalcs Ordinal Used to resync the magnetic based and gyro based ● ● ● ● ●
heading/attitude computations (Version 3.0.0)
gyroSigma Float32 Gyro stability factor (Version 3.0.0) ● ● ● ●
magErr2 Float32 Magnetic heading error estimate in degrees based on ● ● ● ● ●
the current (real-time) magnetic environment relative to
the magnetic environment during the last in-field
calibration (Version 3.0.0)
magFieldCalErr Float32 Magnetic field calibration heading error estimate, in ● ● ● ● ●
degrees, as a result of the last in-field calibration
(Version 3.0.0)
magFieldCalTot Float32 Average of magnetic field calibration point vector ● ● ● ● ●
magnitudes (Version 3.0.0)
magHorzFieldCalTot Float32 Average of the horizontal component of the magnetic ● ● ● ● ●
field calibration points (Version 3.0.0)
calPointDistribution Float32 Factor indicating quality of in-field calibration points ● ● ● ● ●
(exactly 12 points must be collected) (Version 3.0.0)
calPointDistSigma Float32 Used in computing the calibration point distribution ● ● ● ● ●
indicator (Version 3.0.0)

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infieldCalMu Float32 In-field calibration offset convergence factor (Version ● ● ● ● ●

3.0.0)
infieldCalMu2 Float32 In-field calibration scaling convergence factor (Version ● ● ● ● ●
3.0.0)
magPointQF Float32 Quality factor for the field cal captured magnetic ● ● ● ● ●
calibration points (Version 3.0.0)
possibleMagPointQF Float32 Possible quality factor if the current magnetic point is ● ● ● ● ●
added to the captured calibration points during an in-
field calibration (Version 3.0.0)
wmmGDMagnitude Float32 Magnitude of the World Magnetic Model computed ● ● ● ● ●
Earth Field (used for magPointQF), defaults to 450
milliGauss (Version 3.0.0)
timeStamp Int32 Processor time (milliseconds from power-up) at the ● ● ● ● ●
beginning of the pitch/roll/yaw computations (raw data
time stamp) (Version 4.0.2)
currentTime Int32 Processor time (milliseconds from power-up) at the time ● ● ● ● ●
of the request for this variable (Version 4.0.2)

2.5 World Magnetic Model

The inertial systems contain a World Magnetic Model (geodetic coordinate system referenced to the
WGS 84 ellipsoid) which is needed to determine the magnetic variation (difference between true
heading and magnetic heading). This model requires the user to input a physical location and time (lat,
lonG, alt and day1) and cause the compass compute the magnetic variation (aka declination).
The world magnetic model is valid for 5 years at which point it must be updated. NOTE: TO RETAIN
MAGNETIC VARIATION ACCURACY, THE MAGNETIC MODEL MUST BE UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS ON
THE NOAA SCHEDULE (see http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/WMM/DoDWMM.shtml). A SEPARATE
PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE ON THE SUPPLIED CD WHICH WILL ASSIST IN DOWNLOADING NEW
COEFFICIENTS INTO THE DIGITAL COMPASS USING RFS. THIS ONLY AFFECTS THE CALCULATION OF TRUE
HEADING AND DOES NOT AFFECT MAGNETIC HEADING ACCURACY
Users who have a product lifetime expectation that exceeds 5 years, that need true heading output,
and wish to field update the world magnetic model data, must implement, at a minimum, the file
transfer portion of the RFS protocol. Hardware designers should refer to the reference design to ensure
that the proper software interface is available to the compass for performing this update.

This model is invoked by the user (using the NMEA $PSPA,AUTOVAR or by setting set_wmm using
NorthTek or RFS) and should be rerun with updated position and date data whenever they change
enough to affect the resulting magnetic variation (magvar). NOTE: Resetting the magnetic parameters
to the factory default does not affect the magnetic variation information. To clear out the magnetic
variation, manually set magvar to zero.

2.6 In-Field Calibration

The compass is already factory calibrated in an environment free from magnetic distortions. When the
compass is first used in the application, it must learn the local magnetic distortions in order to cancel

1
These are NorthTek variable names, hence the odd capitalization.

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them out. The compass can only remove distortions that are fixed relative to the compass. The two
types of in-field calibration, depending on the movement capability of the host device, are 2-D and 3-D.

Note that a poor selection of points (lack of magnetic diversity) can result in erroneous performance.
Use the “restoreFieldCal” command to clear the effects of an in-field calibration.

The 3-D calibration procedure is used for applications that move outside of a plane. It does not require
full 360 deg pitch and roll capability for this calibration but the quality of the calibration improves with
the variety in the points captured.

The 2-D calibration procedure is used for applications that stay within a plane containing two of the
navigation module’s axes and rotating about the third axis. The point capture positions should be
chosen to be distributed well about the circle of rotation. The 2-D calibration differs from the 3-D in
that it is recommended that the World Magnetic Model has been run previously (see the NMEA
$PSPA,AUTOVAR command or the set_wmm command).

For in-field calibration, the user must follow this procedure:

1. Set the variable calmode to be 3D (ordinal 1) or 2D (ordinal 2).
2. Start the calibration (calCommand set to cal_start)
3. User maneuvers the unit to capture 4-12 points with the host device in a variety of positions (set
calCommand to be cal_capture at each of the points, observe that calNumPoints increments at
each point)
4. Command the end of point capture (set calCommand to be cal_end_capture)
5. Allow the calibration algorithm to converge (monitor magErr till it settles to a minimum).
6. Terminate calibration, causing the results to be stored (set calCommand to cal_end, set calmode
to CalModeOff (ordinal 0).

The results are stored in magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY and magFieldCalZ.

For Version 4.0.2 or later, there are five variables that give an indication of the quality of the in-field
calibration. Find the variables in Appendix A for more details.
 magErr2 – magnetic heading error estimator in degrees (real-time)
 magFieldCalErr – magnetic calibration heading error estimate in degrees (once at end of in-field
calibration)
 magPointQF – quality factor for magnetic diversity of captured points (computed after each
point captured)
 possibleMagPointQF – quality factor if the current magnetic point is added to the captured
calibration points (computed real-time during point capture only)
 calPointDistribution – quality factor for orientation diversity of captured points (computed once
after exactly 12 points are captured)

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The in-field calibration procedure is capable of averaging the magnetic data collected for each capture
point. The variable “calPointsNumToAvg” determines how many magnetic values will be averaged at
each capture point. The host device and magnetic distortions must be static during each capture period
or set calPointsNumToAvg to 1 if a static position cannot be achieved.

2.7 Mount Orientation Accommodation

The inertial system’s orientation output (pitch/roll/yaw, pMatrix and quaternions) can be adjusted to be
that of the host application by changing the “boresightMatrix”. There are a number of ways this can be
accomplished.
 Set the orientation variable to one of the predefined 90 degree orientations, see A.1.7
Orientation and see the Sparton Navigation Sensor Product Guide available in the web site
downloads for physical orientation diagrams.
 Orient the host device towards magnetic North in a level condition and set the InvokeTare
command to 1 using NorthTek, NMEA $PSRFS or RFS.
 Use the mechanical design of the host device to determine the boresight matrix and set the
boresightMatrixX/Y/Z directly using NorthTek, NMEA $PSRFS or RFS.
 Run a NorthTek tare script (see Application Note AN 1003 and a sample script is in the
downloads section on the website).

2.8 Low power mode

The inertial system has a low power mode. When in lowpower the only thing operating is the serial
port. Activity on the serial port will cause the inertial system to exit low power mode. Upon exiting low
power mode, the inertial system resets itself to the power on state. Any temporary settings prior to low
power mode will be lost, but permanent settings will be retained. The low power command is detailed
in the NorthTek section of the document and also in the detailed variable descriptions section in the
appendix.

3 Protocols
All the serial port protocols co-exist on the same serial port at all times. The user may use whichever
protocol is most desirable. The suggested protocols for future growth are the RFS protocol for
automated binary interfaces and NorthTek for human controlled interactive interfaces. The NMEA
protocol will continue to be supported but cannot by its nature support some of the RFS/NorthTek
current and future capabilities. Note that NMEA or Legacy protocols can be implemented in NorthTek
for custom applications.

The factory default baud rate is 115200 baud but may be changed to any of the allowable baud rates.
Note that the same baud rate applies to all protocols simultaneously. Once changed, the inertial system
will maintain the baud rate setting through a power cycle. To change the baud rate to 9600 for
example, using NMEA enter the following string (see variable description A.1.8 for allowable values,
<cr><lf> is ctrl-j on the keyboard):

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$PSPA,BAUD=4<cr><lf>
To change the baud rate using NorthTek enter:
baud 4 set drop<cr>
Note that NMEA does not echo characters by default. NMEA echo can be turned on (setting is lost with
a power cycle or lowpower cycle) with the following command:
nmeaecho 1 set drop<cr>
This command can be sent in NMEA format as follows:
$PSRFS,nmeaecho,set,1<cr><lf>
The NMEA processor ignores the checksum’s absence by default, however for users that desire to have
an additional level of error protection in sending commands to the inertial system, the checksum may be
enabled (ignore disabled) for receive. The following command (effect is for the current power on cycle)
enables (disables the ignoring of) the NMEA checksum. Commands which fail the checksum test are not
performed.
nmeaignorechecksum 0 set drop<cr>
Note that this command can be entered in NMEA format as follows:
$PSRFS,nmeaignorechecksum,set,0<cr><lf>

3.1 RFS
The RFS protocol suite is described in a separate document titled Remote Function Select (RFS) Protocol
Suite.

RFS assigns a unique Variable Identifier (VID) for each database element (see Appendix A for the list of
available database elements). Other than the reserved VIDs2 the user application should not depend on
a particular numeric for a particular VID for the database elements from one release of the inertial
system software to another. The string names will remain the same from release to release and can be
used to resolve the same variable to a VID number.

To be software revision independent, the user application should use VID 0 to obtain the number of
elements, and then obtain the names of all of the database elements by looping through all of the VIDS
and using the “Get_Next” commands. The user application can then obtain the current VID for the
desired named element listed in Appendix A. From then on, with that VID, the user application may use
the “Set” command or the “Get_Value” command and the inertial system will respond with “Value_Is”.

An alternative method to obtain a VID is to the NorthTek command, dvid@. The syntax is
“<variableName> dvid@ .” (note there is a dot at the end to display the result).

2
VID 0 is always the count of the number of VIDs in the device. VID 1 is always the name of the device. Vid 2 is
always the major version number. Vid 3 is always the minor version number.

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The RFS protocol is layered on top of a packet transfer mechanism called Standard Asynchronous Packet
Protocol (SAPP). SAPP is also described in the Remote Function Select (RFS) Protocol Suite’s Appendix E.
Please refer to the referenced document for more information.

3.1.1 RFS Get/Get_Response Example

Below is an inertial system specific example for which the user will need to have the RFS Protocol Suite
document open for reference. In this example, the user application is obtaining the serial number of the
inertial system unit. All figure numbers in parenthesis below refer to those found in the RFS Protocol
Suite document.

Application creates a command to get information about the variable with Variable ID (VID) = 4:
RFS Command: get VID = 4, payload size = 0, message sequence = 216 (0xD8)
which translates to RFS payload (Figure 4-15 RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram):
01 00 00 00 00 01 D8 04

then the application must add the SAPP layer for error protection (Figures E.4-34 – Packet Frame
and E.4-35 – Packet Body), note that “10 81” is substituted for “01” in 2 places to prevent “01”
from being confused with the start character (SOH) (reference E.3.4 Packet Frame):

01 0B 40 10 81 00 00 00 00 10 81 D8 04 EB 42 03

The inertial system creates the response message:

RFS Response: getResponse VID = 4, payload size=23, seq=216,
(see Figure 4-16 Data Description Object) Scalar 0x1X,
(see Figure 4-17 Scalar Description Field) Type 2=String, Field Size = 20 (0x14),
Name=”serialnumber”, String Length Max = 20,
(see Figure 4-8 String Data Format) String Length=4, String Value=”S10”
01 00 00 00 17 00 D8 04 10 02 14 0D 73 65 72 69 61 6C 6E 75 6D 62 65 72 00 14 04 53 31 30 00

The inertial system than adds the SAPP layer for framing and error detection resulting in the
following output (RFS Protocol Suite Figures 4-34 – Packet Frame and 4-35 – Packet Body):

01 22 60 10 81 00 00 00 17 00 D8 04 10 90 02 14 0D 73 65 72 69 61 6C 6E 75 6D 62 65 72 00 14
04 53 31 30 00 87 4F 03

3.1.2 RFS BitField Example

The Bit Field variables named position, composite2 and composite3 are user customizable using the RFS
Construct command. The position variable is special in that the positionrate variable can be used to
specify the repetition rate for the position variable. The composite2 and composite3 variables must be
obtained using command/response (Get_Value/Value_Is).

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Below is an example that uses the Construct command to define the value object reported by the
position variable. The change to position is confirmed using the Show command with the corresponding
Format message response. Then the data is obtained using the Get_Value command and the
corresponding Value_Is response.

The message bytes for RFS are in hexadecimal form. These bytes are expected to be sent by the host
application in binary form without the comments denoted by “//”.

// Use NorthTek ASCII command to get the position VID (DC-4E 2.3.5, GEDC-6E 2.4.9, AHRS-8 2.2.1
// or later)
position dvid@ .
// response is 30 => 1E hex

// BitField Construct command

// defines the position variable to have
// - quaternion
// - pitch
// - roll
// - yaw
// - yawt
// - temperature
// SAPP Layer - see RFSProtocolSuite Appendix E
01 // SOH - SAPP packet frame
26 // SAPP packet body size
40 // Error Options – No ack/RFS Protocol
// RFS Layer - see RFSProtocolSuite Figure RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram
02 // Revision Level (Construct command is listed as RFS2)
0000001D // RFS payload size
0C // Construct command
1081 // DLE for 01 // Sequence number
1E // VID for position variable
81 // BitField - Read Only
// see RFSProtocolSuite Figure BitField Constructor Object
19 // Field Size
1086 // DLE for 06 // Field Count

0008000C // 0 - quaternion start bit number - first 12 bits of 0008000C

// 128 - quaternion field size (bits) - second 8 bits of 0008000C
// 12 - quaternion VID - right-most 12 bits of 0008000C

08020008 // 128 - pitch start bit number

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// 32 - pitch bit field size

// 8 - pitch VID

0A020009 // 160 -roll start bit number

// 32 - roll field size
// 9 - roll VID

0C02000A // 192 - yaw start bit number

// 32 - yaw field size
// 10 - yaw VID

0E02000B // 224 - yawt start bit number

// 32 - yawt field size
// 11 - yawt VID

1090 // DLE for 10

020078 // 256 - temperature start bit number
// 32 - temperature field size
// 120 - temperature VID
// end of RFS Layer, back to SAPP layer
A73A // CRC
03 // ETX

// -----------------------------------------------
// Issue a Show command to confirm the Construct worked. The response
// is a Format message (see RFSProtocolSuite Command Table)

// SAPP Layer - see RFSProtocolSuite Appendix E

01 // SOH - SAPP packet frame
0C // SAPP packet body size
40 // Error Options - No Ack - RFS Protocol
// RFS Layer - see RFSProtocolSuite Figure RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram
1081 // DLE - 01 // Revision Level (Show command is RFS1)
00000000 // payload size
05 // Show command
02 // Sequence number
1E // VID for position variable
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram says "-no object-"
7E // first byte of CRC
1095 // DLE for 15 – second byte of CRC
03 // ETX

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// -----------------------------------------------
// This is the Format response to the Show command
01 // SOH - SAPP packet frame
58 // SAPP packet body size
60 // No Ack/Nak - RFS Protocol
1081 // DLE - 01 // Revision Level (Format command is RFS1)
0000004D // payload size
1086 // DLE - 06 Format response
02 // Sequence number of corresponding Show command
1E // VID - "position" variable
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram says Format has DDO
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure Data Description Object (Top Level)
80 // SAP Byte - BitField - Temporary Read/Write
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure BitField DDO
4B // Field Size
09 // Name Field Size
706F736974696F6E00 // Name Field "position"
1090 // DLE - 10 (16 decimal) Field Count
0008000C // 0 - quat start bit number - 12 bits
// 128 - quat field size - 8 bits
// 12 - quat VID - 12 bits
08020008 // 128 - pitch start bit number
// 32 - pitch bit field size
// 8 - pitch VID

0A020009 // 160 -roll start bit number

// 32 - roll field size
// 9 - roll VID

0C02000A // 192 - yaw start bit number

// 32 - yaw field size
// 10 - yaw VID

0E02000B // 224 - yawt start bit number

// 32 - yawt field size
// 11 - yawt VID

1090 // DLE for 10

020078 // 256 - temperature start bit number
// 32 - temperature field size
// 120 - temperature VID

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00000000 // unused Cross Reference Fields

00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
00000000
// end of RFS Layer, back to SAPP layer
1090 // DLE for 10 - First byte of CRC
43 // Second byte of CRC
03 // ETX

// -----------------------------------------------
// Use the Get_Value command to obtain the data. The response will return in
// the Value_Is message.
01 // SOH - SAPP packet frame
0B // SAPP packet body size
40 // No Ack - RFS Protocol
1081 // DLE - 01 // Revision Level (Get_Value command is RFS1)
00000000 // payload size
08 // Get_Value command
1083 // DLE for 03 Sequence number
1E // VID - "position" variable
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram says "-no object-"
// end of RFS Layer, back to SAPP layer
0F75 // CRC
03 // ETX

// -----------------------------------------------
// This is the Value_Is response to the Get_Value command
01 // SOH - SAPP packet frame
32 // SAPP packet body size
60 // No Ack/Nak - RFS Protocol
1081 // DLE - 01 // Revision Level (Value_Is command is RFS1)
00000027 // RFS payload size
09 // Value_Is response ID
1083 // DLE 03 - sequence number for the corresponding Get_Value

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1E // VID - "position" variable

// RFSProtocolSuite Figure RFS Outer Layer Protocol Diagram says Value_Is
// returns a Value Object.
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure Value Object (VO)
80 // SAP Byte - BitField
// RFSProtocolSuite Figure BitField Value Field
25 // Field Size
09 // Count
// The following values are in floating point format
3F4DA46A // quaternion - w
BBAF2B45 // quaternion - x
3C837585 // quaternion - y
BF1868B8 // quaternion - z
3F8E674D // pitch
BFCB2E52 // roll
438F72E4 // yaw
438F72E4 // yawt
42 1081 C000 // Has DLE - 4201C000 temperature
// end of RFS Layer, back to SAPP layer
F121 // CRC
03 // ETX

// To cause position to output on a periodic basis, set the positionrate variable via RFS or NorthTek
// NorthTek ASCII text:
positionrate 2000 set // output position every 2 seconds

// <ctrl-s> inhibits the output, <ctrl-q> re-enables it, set positionrate back to 0 to stop

3.2 NMEA

NMEA commands use ASCII text strings to communicate with the digital compass through the User Port.
All commands should follow the command syntax exactly. No white space should be included in NMEA
command strings. Data is formatted with the first character being “$” to signify the start of a NMEA
command and include a “*” to signify the start of the checksum.

It is not necessary to include any checksum characters in commands sent to the digital compass. Strictly
speaking, this is not standard NMEA protocol but manually entering checksums is not practical.
However an option exists to enable NMEA checksums if additional error protection is desired. This
option is off by default and may be enabled via a NorthTek or a NMEA command string (see the
nmeaignorechecksum explanation in the Protocols section). All NMEA responses from the compass
will contain a checksum followed by a carriage return and line feed.

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The inertial system by default at power up does not echo the NMEA character strings, however a
NorthTek command exists that will enable echo of NMEA command strings as they are typed
(nmeaecho 1 set drop<cr>). This mode is provided for evaluators that wish to use a serial
terminal to hand type inertial system commands. Each command sent must be terminated with a line
feed <cr><lf> (entered as <CTRL-J> in some terminal programs such as Tera Term). You may use
the standard <cr><cr><lf> as well To turn off the character echo, use the command: nmeaecho 0
set drop<cr>

The checksum value is the result of XORing the ASCII bytes between, but not including, the “$” and “*”
characters. This one byte value is reported in the output word by two ASCII characters representing two
hex digits, with the most significant nibble first.

NMEA commands must be completed in a timely manner. The terminating character must be received
within 5 seconds after the reception of the last character. If the command is not received in the time
allotted all characters received will be discarded and the command ignored. This is to prevent the
inertial system from getting stuck in the NMEA protocol.

Response example:

$HCHDM,300.4,M*2E<cr><lf>

“$” = Start of NMEA text message

“HCHDM” = Response header from compass. (HC=Magnetic Compass, HDM = Magnetic Heading)
“300.4” = Heading in degrees
“M” = Magnetic Heading
“*” = Start of checksum field
“2E” = Hexadecimal checksum value

Any NMEA command can be repeated continuously by adding the repeat (RPT) instruction to the end of
the command string (before the checksum). The repetition rate is given in seconds and should be in the
range 0.01 to 500.0 seconds. For example, to request magnetic heading continuously at a 0.5second
(2Hz) rate, the following command should be issued:

$xxHDM,RPT=0.5<cr><lf>

The compass will respond by continuously sending magnetic heading information every 0.5 seconds. To
discontinue RPT function, simply send another NMEA command. Repeat commands are not maintained
through a power cycle or low power mode.

In the following command descriptions, <int#> represents an integer number (the <> will not be in the
response). The symbols such as ###.# with decimal points represent floating point numbers with a fixed
format. The symbol float# represents floating numbers without a fixed format.

3.2.1 Raw Magnetics

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Description: Reads current magnetics directly from magnetometers (Mx, My, and Mz).
These are raw sensor readings and do not yet have any calibration parameters
applied.

Send: $PSPA,MR<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,MRx=<int#>,MRy=<int#>,MRz=<int#>*<checksum in
hex>

Response Example:
$PSPA,MRx=1553,MRy=-1669,MRz=-1419*60

3.2.2 Heading - Magnetic

Description: Reads the current magnetic heading. The heading is compensated for platform
tilt. The xx in xxHDM represent “don’t care” characters and so are not used.

Send: $xxHDM<cr><lf>
Response: $HCHDM,<###.# >,M*<checksum in hex>

<###.#> = Heading in range 000.0 to 359.9

Response Example:
$HCHDM,300.4,M*2E

3.2.3 Heading - TRUE

Description: Reads the current true heading. The heading is compensated for platform tilt.
True heading is the magnetic heading corrected for magnetic variation.

Send: $xxHDT<cr><lf>
Response: $HCHDT,<###.#>,T*<checksum in hex>

<###.#> = Heading in range 000.0 to 359.9

Response Example:
$HCHDT,295.9,T*2B

3.2.4 Magnetic Variation

Description: Set the magnetic variation angle. The variation angle is used in adjusting
magnetic heading to true heading. This will override any previous internally
computed World Magnetic value.

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Send: $xxVAR,<###.#>,<E or W><cr><lf>

Response: $HCVAR,<###.#>,<E or W>*<checksum in hex>

<###.#> = Variation in range 000.0 to 180.0

<E or W> = Direction of variation East(+) or West(-)

Send Example:
$xxVAR,4.2,W<cr><lf>
Response Example:
$HCVAR,004.2,W*31

3.2.5 Automatic Magnetic Variation

Description: Computes the local magnetic variation based on the device’s current
geographical location using the World Magnetic Model. Latitude and longitude
are entered in degrees with + being north and east respectively. Altitude is
entered in meters above sea level. The day is entered as a fractional year based
on the current day of the year (i.e. February 15 is the 46th day of the 2010. In
fractional terms, this would be 46/365 = 0.126. The Day value for February 15,
2010 would then be entered as 2010.1 (resolution beyond a tenth causes
negligible change in variation) Once the computation is complete, the magnetic
variation will be updated in the compass. Since the World Magnetic Model is
not valid at the North and South poles, the Latitude is limited to -89.9 to 89.9.
See the World Magnetic Model section for more information.

Send:
$PSPA,AUTOVAR,<#Latitude>,<#Longitude>,<#Altitude>,<#D
ay><cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,AutoVar=<###.#>,*<checksum in hex>

#Latitude = Geodetic latitude in degrees. North(+) or South(-) (-89.9 .. 89.9)

#Longitude = Geodetic longitude in degrees. East(+) or West(-). (-180.0 .. 180.0)
#Altitude = Geodetic altitude in meters from sea-level (-10000.0 .. 1000000.0)
#Day = Approximate date in terms of 1/10th of a year (2010.0 .. 3000.0)

Send Example:
$PSPA,AUTOVAR,29.12,-81.35,100,2011.6<cr><lf>
Response Example:
$PSPA,AutoVar=-005.9*66

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3.2.6 Magnetic Vector

Description: Measures the magnetic field strength along each axis (X, Y, and Z) and total
absolute field strength (Mt) in milligauss.

Send: $PSPA,M<cr><lf>
Response:
$PSPA,Mx=<int#>,My=<int#>,Mz=<int#>,Mt=<int#>*<checksu
m in hex>

Response Example:
$PSPA,Mx=63,My=-261,Mz=-262,Mt=376*29

3.2.7 Magnetic In-Field Calibration

Description: Controls the compass in field calibration process. Field calibration involves
multiple steps:
1) Select the mode, 3D or 2D.
2) Ensure the orientation is set to the default horizontal state
3) Start the calibration
4) Capture Points
5) End point capture
6) Allow the calibration algorithm to converge.
7) Terminate calibration, causing values to be stored.

The compass is already factory calibrated in an environment free from magnetic

distortions. When the compass is first used in the application, it must learn the
local magnetic distortions.

3-D Field Calibration

The 3-D calibration procedure is used for applications that move outside of a
plane. It does not require full 360 deg pitch and roll capability for this
calibration but will perform better given more range of movement.

The results are stored in magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY and magFieldCalZ with the
first value being offset and the second being a divisor.

If using the NMEA command set, you should place 300ms after receipt of each
response before sending the next command. The exception to thise rule is when
the unit is capturing points. Since there is averaging at each point outlined by
the variable “calPointsNumToAvg”, you should delay 10ms*calPointsNumToAvg.

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Alternatively, you can also query the variable calNumPoints to determine when
that variable has increased by 1 before sending the next command.

Send: $PSPA,CAL=3D<cr><lf>
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=START_CAL<cr><lf>
Change position and repeat CAPTURE_POINT totaling 4 to 12 points
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE<cr><lf>
.
.
.
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE<cr><lf>
Stop the capture after a minimum of 4 points.
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAPTURE<cr><lf>
$PSPA,MAGERR,RPT=0.5<cr><lf>
Watch for the magnetic error quality indicator to settle to a minimum value
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAL<cr><lf>
$PSPA,CAL=OFF<cr><lf>

Response:
$PSPA,CAL=3D*3A
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=START_CAL*09
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE,POINTS=<int#>*<checksum in hex>
.
.
.
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE,POINTS=<int#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAPTURE*0C
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
.
.
.
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAL*06
$PSPA,CAL=OFF*02

2-D Field Calibration

The 2-D calibration procedure is used for applications that stay within a plane
containing two of the navigation module’s axes and rotating about the third
axis. The point capture positions should be chosen to be distributed well about
the circle of rotation. The 2-D calibration differs from the 3-D in that it requires

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that the World Magnetic Model to have been run previously (see the
$PSPA,AUTOVAR command).

The results are stored in magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY and magFieldCalZ with the
first value being offset and the second being a divisor.

Send: $PSPA,CAL=2D<cr><lf>
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=START_CAL<cr><lf>
Change position and repeat CAPTURE_POINT totaling 4 to 12 points
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE<cr><lf>
.
.
.
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE<cr><lf>
Stop the capture after a minimum of 4 points.
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAPTURE<cr><lf>
$PSPA,MAGERR,RPT=0.5<cr><lf>
Watch for the magnetic error quality indicator to settle to a minimum value
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAL<cr><lf>
$PSPA,CAL=OFF<cr><lf>

Response:
$PSPA,CAL=2D*3B
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=START_CAL*09
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE,POINTS=<int#>*<checksum in hex>
.
.
.
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE,POINTS=<int#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAPTURE*0C
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
.
.
.
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=END_CAL*06
$PSPA,CAL=OFF*02

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3.2.8 Gyro3 Calibration

For this procedure, the navigation unit must be in a static position. The gyro
calibration procedure will complete automatically. The results are stored in
gyroFieldCalX, gyroFieldCalY and gyroFieldCalZ with the first value being offset
and the next value being a divisor.

Send: $PSPA,GYROCAL<cr><lf>

Response:
$PSPA,GYROCAL*73

3.2.9 Magnetic Adaption Error

Description: Indicates quality of the adaptive magnetic calibration process. Smaller values
represent lower error corresponding to better magnetic calibration.

Send: $PSPA,MAGERR<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,MagErr=<float#>*<checksum in hex>

Response Example:
$PSPA,MagErr=0.876963#16

3.2.10 Raw Acceleration

Description: Reads current acceleration directly from accelerometers (AccelX, AccelY,

AccelZ). These are raw sensor readings and do not yet have any calibration
parameters applied.

Send: $PSPA,AR<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,ARx=<int#>,ARy=<int#>,ARz=<int#>*<checksum in
hex>

Response Example:
$PSPA,ARx=2052,ARy=1991,ARz=1284*61

3.2.11 Acceleration Vector

3
GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 Only

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Description: Measures the acceleration along each axis (X, Y, and Z) and total magnitude (At
= Atotal) in milli-g.

Send: $PSPA,A<cr><lf>
Response:
$PSPA,Ax=<int#>,Ay=<int#>,Az=<int#>,At=<int#>*<checksu
m in hex>

Example Response:
$PSPA,Ax=-70,Ay=76,Az=995,At=1000*02

3.2.12 Raw Gyro

Description: Reads current gyro directly from gyrometers (GyroX, GyroY, GyroZ). These are
raw sensor readings and do not yet have any calibration parameters applied.

Send: $PSPA,GR<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,GRx=<int#>,GRy=<int#>,GRz=<int#>*<checksum in
hex>

Response Example:
$PSPA,GRx=133,GRy=93,GRz=80*5E

3.2.13 Gyro Vector

Description: Provides the calibrated gyro values along each axis (X, Y, and Z) in milliDegrees
per second.

Send: $PSPA,G<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,Gx=<float#>,Gy=<float#>,GRz=<float#>*<checksum
in hex>

Response Example:
$PSPA,Gx=165.974,Gy=285.613,Gz=-168.670*31

3.2.14 Pitch and Roll Output

Description: Reads the current platform orientation (Pitch and Roll).

Send: $PSPA,PR<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,Pitch=<##.#>,Roll=<###.#>*<checksum in hex>

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Pitch range (degrees): -90.0 to +90.0

Roll range (degrees): -180.0 to +180.0

Example Response:
$PSPA,Pitch=+18.2,Roll=-042.4*56

3.2.15 Quaternion Vector

Description: Provides the attitude in the form of a quaternion. The x, y, z define the axis of
rotation and the w provides the angle (theta) of rotation about that axis where
theta = arccos(w) * 2

Send: $PSPA,QUAT<cr><lf>
Response:
$PSPA,QUATw=<#.######>,x=<#.######>,
y=<#.######>,z=<#.######>*<checksum in hex>

Example Response:
$PSPA,QUATw=0.314214,x=0.007481,y=-0.034541,z=-
0.948694*0D

3.2.16 Temperature

Description: Reads the internal temperature channel of the on-board microcontroller

and converts to degrees C. This measurement is calibrated at the factory
for general use even though it is not required by the compass in
determining an accurate heading.

Send: $PSPA,TEMP<cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,Temp=<##.#>,C*<checksum in hex>

<##.#> = Variation in range -20.0 to +70.0C

Response Example:
$PSPA,Temp=+24.1,C*72

3.2.17 BAUD RATE

Description: The factory default BAUD setting is 115200 Baud (Baud value = 8). When the
baud rate command is issued, the compass will echo back the command once at
the current baud rate and then again at the new baud rate. The baud rate will
be stored in EEPROM and will become the new operating communication rate

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for the UART. The baud rate will apply to both Legacy, RFS, NorthTek and NMEA
commands issued on the UART.

Send: $PSPA,BAUD=<# Baud value><cr><lf>

Response: $PSPA,Baud=<# Baud value>*<checksum in hex>

Send Example:
$PSPA,BAUD=4<cr><lf>
Response Example:
$PSPA,BAUD=4*25

Acceptable Baud Rate Values:

0= 300 Baud
1 = 1200 Baud
2 = 2400 Baud
3 = 4800 Baud
4 = 9600 Baud
5 = 19.2 kBaud
6 = 38.4 kBaud
7 = 57.6 kBaud
8 = 115.2 kBaud

3.2.18 Mounting Configuration

Description: Sets the mounting orientation of the compass platform. The default
orientation is horizontal (see Figure 4 in the Navigation Sensors Product
Guide). To determine the orientation setting, read the acceleration
vector. When in a static level condition, Az should be approximately
+1000mg and Ax and Ay should be close to zero.

Send: $PSPA,MOUNT=<’H’ for horizontal or ‘V’ for

vertical><cr><lf>
Response: $PSPA,Mount=<’H or V’>*<checksum in hex>

Send Example:
$PSPA,MOUNT=V<cr><lf>

Response Example:
$PSPA,Mount=V*18

3.2.19 Read Transducers

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Description: Reads current magnetic heading, true heading, pitch, roll, temperature,
and magnetic error. This command provides the most frequently used
information in one command string.

Send: $xxXDR<cr><lf>
Response: $HCXDR, <Transducer string as described
below>*<checksum in hex>

<Transducer String> =
A, - Angular Displacement Measurement
###.#, - Magnetic Heading
D, - Units of Degrees for Magnetic Heading
A, - Second Angular Displacement Measurement
###.#, - True Heading
D, - Units of Degrees for True Heading
A, - Third Angular Displacement Measurement
+##.#, - Pitch
D, - Units of Degrees for Pitch
A, - Fourth Angular Displacement Measurement
+###.# - Roll
D, - Units of Degrees for Roll
C, - Temperature Measurement
+##.#, Temperature
C, - Units of Degrees C for Temperature
G, - Generic Measurement
### - Magnetic Error (measurement is unitless)

Send Example:
$xxXDR<cr><lf>

Response Example:
$HCXDR,A,281.3,D,A,281.3,D,A,+07.9,D,A,-
000.8,D,C,+21.1,C,G,0216*2C

3.2.20 NMEA RFS Access

Most of the RFS variables are accessible via the NMEA protocol. Strings and BitFields are not supported
(see the NMEA column in the 2.4.1 Variable Summary Table). This section describes the method used to
set or get these variables. Note: NMEA and RFS variable names are case sensitive and must be matched
exactly.

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NMEA access to RFS variables (see Variable Summary Table, 2.4.1 for variable availability) is with one of
two commands, with options. The first command is to “get” or read a variable. The syntax is:

$PSRFS,<rfs variable name>,get<cr><lf>

The inertial system will respond in kind with the variable name and the values of the variable. For
Example the following command produces:
$PSRFS,yaw,get<cr><lf>
$PSRFS,yaw,286.672424*38<cr><lf>

Variables that may be set, are “settable” by a similar mechanism except by replacing the get command
with a set command and providing the new values separated by commas. For example, the sequence
below indicates how to use the NMEA/RFS protocol to get the inertial system orientation and then set it
to another value:
$PSRFS,orientation,get<cr><lf>
$PSRFS,orientation,0*02<cr><lf>
$PSRFS,orientation,set,1<cr><lf>
$PSRFS,orientation,1*03<cr><lf>

3.2.21 NMEA/RFS RPT and GLOM

NMEA/RFS commands may have the RPT=# option applied to make an output repeat at the specified
rate. In addition that NMEA/RFS commands allow additional (up to 8) NMEA/RFS commands to be
“GLOM”d onto the current repeating output. This is best described by the following example that shows
how to output the magnetic heading (yaw) at a 5 second rate and to GLOM on the true heading (yawt)
at the same rate.

$PSRFS,yaw,get,RPT=5.0<cr><lf>
$PSRFS,yaw,287.384308*3C << immediate response to get command
$PSRFS,yaw,287.273376*3C << occurring at 5 second rate
$PSRFS,yaw,287.244049*37 << occurring at 5 second rate
$PSRFS,yawt,get,GLOM<cr><lf>
$PSRFS,yawt,287.167603*49 << immediate response to get command
$PSRFS,yaw,287.301758*30 << occurring at 5 second rate
$PSRFS,yawt,287.301758*44 << output at same time as line above
$PSRFS,yaw,287.294495*3F << occurring at 5 second rate
$PSRFS,yawt,287.294495*4B << output at same time as line above
$PSRFS,yaw,287.294983*35 << occurring at 5 second rate
$PSRFS,yawt,287.294983*41 << output at same time as line above

3.3 Legacy Binary

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be made without written authorization from Sparton Electronics.

Legacy Binary is intended to be only used by users of the older Sparton compasses such as the SP3002,
SP3003, and SP3004. As a result, it does not have access to any of the newer data such as the gyro data
and so is not recommended for new designs.

All Legacy Binary commands sent to the compass begin with a header byte (0xA4) and end with a
termination byte (0xA0). Since the I-Field calibration routines have been modified and improved, the In-
Field Calibration commands of Legacy Binary are no longer supported.

If the compass does not recognize a sequence of bytes as being a legacy command, no response is
produced. If the compass recognizes the command but, for some reason, cannot execute it, it will
respond with an error code. All error codes begin with a header byte (0xAE) and end with a termination
byte (0xA0). Commands which commence and do not conclude within a timely manner will be rejected.
All multi-byte values are sent most significant byte (MSByte) first.

Error Code Format: 3 Bytes (0xAE,<8-bit error code>,0xA0)

8-bit Error Codes:

0xFF = Improper command termination (i.e. no 0xA0 found)
0xFE = Receive buffer overflow
0xFD = Invalid parameter associated with given command

3.3.1 Raw Magnetics

Description: Reads current magnetics directly from magnetometers (Mx, My, and Mz).
These are raw sensor readings and do not yet have any calibration parameters
applied.

Send: 3 Byte (0xA4,0x01,0xA0)

Response: 9 Bytes
(0xA4,0x01,<Mx>,<My>,<Mz as 16-bit integers MS byte
first>,0xA0)

3.3.2 Heading - TRUE

Description: Reads the current true heading. The heading is compensated for platform tilt.
True heading is the magnetic heading corrected for magnetic variation.

Send: 3 Byte (0xA4,0x02,0xA0)

Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x02,<Heading as a 16-bit signed integer>,0xA0)

Heading (degrees) = (16-bit Heading value)*360/4096

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Heading Range = 0.0 to +359.9

3.3.3 Heading - Magnetic

Description: Reads the current magnetic heading. The heading is compensated for platform
tilt.

Send: 3 Bytes (0xA4,0x09,0xA0)

Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x09,<Heading as a 16-bit signed integer>,0xA0)

Heading (degrees) = (16-bit Heading value)*360/4096

Heading Range = 0.0 to +359.9

3.3.4 Magnetic variation

Description: Set the magnetic variation angle. The heading will be adjusted to indicate true
north instead of magnetic north. Magnetic variation angles >+180 and <-180
will be limited to +180 and –180 respectively.

Send: 5 Bytes (0xA4,0x83,<16-bit signed integer value MSB

first>,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x83,<16-bit signed Variation>,0xA0)

16-bit signed integer = (Magnetic Variation)*10.0

3.3.5 Automatic Magnetic Variation

Description: Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, and Day should be programmed separately using
their respective commands before issuing this command. Automatic variation
will compute the local magnetic variation based on the device’s current
geographical location (geodetic coordinate system referenced to the WGS 84
ellipsoid). Once the computation is complete, the magnetic variation will be
updated in the compass. NOTE: TO RETAIN MAGNETIC VARIATION ACCURACY,
THE MAGNETIC MODEL MUST BE UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS. A SEPARATE
PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE ON THE SUPPLIED CD WHICH WILL ASSIST IN
DOWNLOADING NEW COEFFICIENTS INTO THE DIGITAL COMPASS. THIS ONLY
AFFECTS THE CALCULATION OF TRUE HEADING AND DOES NOT AFFECT
MAGNETIC HEADING ACCURACY. NOTE: Resetting the magnetic parameters to

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be made without written authorization from Sparton Electronics.

the factory default does not affect the magnetic variation information. To clear
out the magnetic variation, manually set the magnetic variation to zero
Send: 3 Byte (0xA4,0x0F,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x0F,<Variation as a 16-bit signed integer>,0xA0)

16-bit signed integer = (Magnetic Variation)*10.0

3.3.6 Latitude

Description: Set the geodetic latitude angle in degrees (geodetic coordinate system
referenced to the WGS 84 ellipsoid). The magnetic variation will not change
until latitude, longitude, altitude, and day have been programmed and the
Automatic Variation command is issued. Latitude >+90 or <-90 will be limited to
+90 and –90 respectively.

Send: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8B,<16-bit signed integer value MSB
first>,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8B,<16-bit Latitude>,0xA0)

16-bit signed integer = (North(+) or South(-) Latitude in degrees)*100.0

3.3.7 Longitude

Description: Set the geodetic longitude angle in degrees (geodetic coordinate system
referenced to the WGS 84 ellipsoid). The magnetic variation will not change
until latitude, longitude, altitude, and day have been programmed and the
Automatic Variation command is issued. . Latitude >+180 or <-180 will be
limited to +180 and –180 respectively.

Send: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8C, 16-bit signed integer value MSB first,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8C, 16-bit signed Longitude,0xA0)

16-bit signed integer = (East(+) or West(-) Longitude in degrees)*100.0

3.3.8 Altitude

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Description: Set the geodetic altitude in meters above sea level (geodetic coordinate system
referenced to the WGS 84 ellipsoid). The magnetic variation will not change
until latitude, longitude, altitude, and day have been programmed and the
Automatic Variation command is issued. Altitude >+32767 or <-32767 will be
limited to +32767 and –32767 respectively.

Send: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8D, 16-bit signed integer value MSB first,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8D, 16-bit signed Altitude,0xA0)

16-bit signed integer = +/- Altitude in meters

3.3.9 Day

Description: The day is entered as a fractional year based on the current day of the year (i.e.
February 15 is the 46th day of the 2008. In fractional terms, this would be
46/365 = 0.126. The Fractional Day value for February 15, 2008 would then be
2008.1 (resolution beyond a tenth causes negligible change in variation). The
magnetic variation will not change until latitude, longitude, altitude, and day
have been programmed and the Automatic Variation command is issued. Day <
2005 will be limited to 2005.

Send: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8E, 16-bit unsigned integer value MSB
first,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x8E, 16-bit unsigned Day,0xA0)

16-bit unsigned integer = (Fractional Day)*10.0

3.3.10 Magnetic Vector

Description: Measures the magnetic field strength along each axis (X, Y, and Z) and total
absolute field strength (MAtotal) in milligauss.

Send: 3 Bytes
(0xA4,0x04,0xA0)
Response: 11 Bytes
(0xA4,0x04, MAx, MAy, MAz, MAtotal as 16-bit
integers,0xA0)

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3.3.11 Raw Acceleration

Description: Reads current acceleration directly from accelerometers (AccelX, AccelY,

AccelZ). These are raw sensor readings and do not yet have any calibration
parameters applied.

Send: 3 Bytes
(0xA4,0x05,0xA0)
Response: 9 Bytes
(0xA4,0x05, AccelX, AccelY, AccelZ as 16-bit
integers,0xA0)

3.3.12 Pitch and Roll Output

Description: Reads the current platform orientation (Pitch and Roll).

Send: 3 Byte
(0xA4,0x06,0xA0)
Response: 7 Bytes
(0xA4,0x06, Pitch, Roll as 16-bit signed integers,0xA0)

Pitch (in degrees) = (Response Value)*90/4096

Pitch Range = -90 to +90

Roll (in degrees) = (Response Value)*180/4096

Acceleration Vector Roll Range = -180 to +180

3.3.13 Acceleration Vector

Description: Measures the acceleration along each axis (X, Y, and Z) and total absolute
strength (Atotal) in milli-g.

Send: 3 Byte
(0xA4,0x07,0xA0)
Response: 11 Bytes
(0xA4,0x07, Ax, Ay, Az, Atotal as 16-bit integers,0xA0)

3.3.14 Temperature

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Description: Reads the internal temperature channel of the on-board microcontroller. This
measurement is calibrated at the factory, though not required by the compass
in determining an accurate heading.

Send: 3 Bytes
(0xA4,0x11,0xA0)
Response: 5 Bytes
(0xA4,0x11, Temperature as 16-bit signed integer MSB
first,0xA0)
Temperature_C = (Temperature_MSB*256 + Temperature_LSB)/10.0

3.3.15 BAUD RATE

Description: The factory default BAUD setting is 115200 Baud (0x08). When the baud rate
command is issued on the UART, the compass will echo back the command once
at the current baud rate and then again at the new baud rate. The baud rate
will be stored in EEPROM and will become the new operating communication
rate for the UART. The baud rate will apply to Legacy, RFS, NorthTek and NMEA
commands issued on the UART.

Send: 4 Bytes
(0xA4,0x57, 8-bit BAUD value MSB first,0xA0)
Response: 4 Bytes
(0xA4,0x57, 8-bit BAUD value,0xA0)

Acceptable Baud Rate Values:

0x01 = 1200 Baud
0x02 = 2400 Baud
0x03 = 4800 Baud
0x04 = 9600 Baud
0x05 = 19.2 kBaud
0x06 = 38.4 kBaud
0x07 = 57.6 kBaud
0x08 = 115.2 kBaud

3.3.16 Mounting Configuration

Description: Sets the mounting orientation of the compass platform. The default orientation
is horizontal. For vertical orientations consult the particular device’s data sheet.
To determine the orientation setting, read the acceleration vector. When in a
static level condition, Az should be approximately +1000mg and Ax and Ay
should be close to zero.

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Send: 4 Bytes
(0xA4,0x4A, 8-bit orientation
{0x00=Horizontal,0x01=Vertical},0xA0)
Response: 4 Bytes
(0xA4,0x4A, 8-bit orientation,0xA0)

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3.4 NorthTek
NorthTek is not a protocol per se. NorthTek is a programming language, a command interpreter, and an
execution environment. NorthTek is described in detail in a separate manual. NorthTek provides the
user with a command line interface that allows direct interaction with the inertial system. NorthTek also
allows the user to load custom programs into the inertial system that will execute a custom user
application. The user may create programs that cause some of the standard protocol outputs but at
user defined points, or may create custom output depending on the specific need. The user specific
algorithms may be used to filter the output data, control the reporting rate, create unusual mounting
configurations, or select multiple calibration sets, for example.

Because NorthTek is an environment unto itself, an entire manual is dedicated to the NorthTek System
as listed in the references. The user should refer to that manual for detailed descriptions of the
commands being used in this manual.

NorthTek provides a command line access to the internal database variables. NorthTek also provides
raw and processed sensor data streamed at the acquisition rate. The sections that follow illustrate
some of the NorthTek functionality that can be used on the inertial system. The reader should refer to
the NorthTek System Programming Manual for detailed descriptions on syntax and semantics of the
commands used in the examples that follow.

3.4.1 Displaying Database Elements

The internal database is available to the NorthTek command line. See Appendix A for a list of the
database elements. All database elements may be printed to the output using the NorthTek command
“di.”. This command expects a reference to a data element on the stack, and then prints out the current
value in a human readable form. The syntax is the name of the data element (case sensitive) followed
by a space followed by “di.” (also case sensitive).

Some specific values are typically more interesting than others to the user. Some of the common values
are:
Compass Heading (magnetic)
yaw di.<CR>
NorthTek prints:
yaw = 4.433077e+01
OK

pitch di.
pitch = 1.655078
OK
roll di.
roll = -5.246325e-01
OK
yaw di.
yaw = 12.752021

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OK
yawt di.
yawt = 12.639648
OK
help pitch
Pitch angle in degrees, positive up
OK
help roll
Roll angle in degrees, positive right-side down
OK
orientation di.
orientation = Horizontal
OK
help magr
Raw Magnetometer X,Y,Z,Total array
OK
help magp
Processed Magnetometer X,Y,Z array
OK
help accelr
Raw Accelerometer X,Y,Z array
OK
help accelp
Processed Accelerometer X,Y,Z array
OK
magr di. magp di. accelr di. accelp di.
magr = 00-- 5424.000000
01-- 1232.000000
02-- 6600.000000
03-- 8651.347656

magp = 00-- 290.135895

01-- -40.983604
02-- 338.315552

accelr = 00-- 0.000000e+00

01-- 0.000000e+00
02-- 0.000000e+00

accelp = 00-- -26.452639

01-- -7.922364
02-- 999.194458

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This example also shows that multiple commands can be entered on a single input line (up to 80).
Note that help is available for the database variables. The NorthTekSystem (NTS) outputs a longer,
more informative string for the variable when
help <variable>
is entered.

3.4.2 Outputting values in User Defined Format

The user can control the output formatting if desired. The example below shows how to first print the
default formatted output for a variable, then print the output in a fixed format (equivalent to %8.3f in
“C”).
pitch di.
pitch = 1.509415
OK
roll di.
roll = -4.413672e-01
OK
yaw di.
yaw = 6.415520
OK
8 3 pitch di@ ff. 1.510OK
8 3 roll di@ ff. -0.444OK
8 3 yaw di@ ff. 6.514OK

3.4.3 Streaming Sensor Data

The NTS allows the user to stream the raw sensor data, the processed sensor data and the computed
heading information. Note that once the command is entered the data streams continuously. The user
can suspend the output of all streaming data temporarily by using the <CTRL-S> keystroke. Data can be
resumed with the <CTRL-Q> keystroke. Various output streams are demonstrated in the example
below:
1 magp.pOK
MP:954362,5473,1193,6571,293.256195,-38.316196,336.443970,7.061350
MP:954462,5505,1198,6608,295.269257,-38.649624,338.835449,6.935188
MP:954561,5472,1216,6609,293.155518,-39.872185,338.939423,6.863805
MP:954661,5494,1235,6625,294.564667,-41.205887,339.979187,6.923146
MP:954761,5460,1192,6555,292.450928,-38.205055,335.404205,7.046950 <<< ctrl-s hit here
0 magp.pOK
OK
OK
1 accelp.pOK <<< ctrl-q hit here
AP:1140739,-19,8,2027,-26.391603,-8.007813,999.548462,1.498477,-0.441541
AP:1140839,-19,8,2025,-26.367191,-7.925182,998.910889,1.504051,-0.448529
AP:1140938,-19,8,2024,-26.513676,-7.824708,998.474243,1.507221,-0.450943
AP:1141038,-19,8,2027,-26.428226,-7.995606,999.524048,1.512748,-0.450165
AP:1141138,-18,8,2026,-25.966551,-7.837541,999.211365,1.513467,-0.453428

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AP:1141236,-18,8,2026,-26.171877,-7.971193,999.133423,1.503507,-0.451818 <<< ctrl-s hit

here
0 accelp.p
1 accelp.p 1 magp.pOK<<< ctrl-q hit here
AP:1211835,-19,8,2027,-26.513676,-7.983399,999.755981,1.500116,-0.440688
MP:1211854,5480,1220,6580,293.658783,-40.205616,337.067810,7.080771
AP:1211935,-19,7,2028,-26.562504,-7.641603,1000.036743,1.507705,-0.447420
MP:1211953,5456,1222,6628,292.148987,-40.316753,340.187134,7.076100
AP:1212034,-19,8,2027,-26.467350,-8.025342,999.837341,1.513208,-0.443575
MP:1212054,5448,1232,6580,291.645721,-40.983604,337.067810,7.101585
AP:1212135,-18,7,2026,-26.159672,-7.739259,999.353149,1.514449,-0.450098
MP:1212154,5464,1220,6611,292.652252,-40.205616,339.043396,7.164870 <<< ctrl-s hit here
0 magp.p 0 accelp.pOK

The format of the XXX.p commands is shown below.

3.4.3.1 Accelerometer
1 accel.p // enables print of raw accelerometer readings
// Output format is
// A:%6d,%6d,%6d,%6d
// printing timestamp(ms), x, y and z accelerometer values, 2048 = 1g for the 4g accelrange setting
(default) and 1024=1g for the 8g accelrange setting
0 accel.p // disables

1 accelp.p // enables print of raw/processed accelerometer readings

// Output format is
// AP:%d,%d,%d,%d,%f,%f,%f
// printing timestamp(ms), x, y and z accelerometer raw values and x,y and z linearized values, the raw
// values are scaled such that 2048 = 1g for the 4g accelrange setting (default) and 1024=1g for the 8g
accelrange setting and the linearized values are in the units of milli-gs.
0 accelp.p // disables

3.4.3.2 Gyro
1 gyro.p // enables print of raw gyroscope readings
// Output format is
// G:%6d,%6d,%6d,%6d
// printing timestamp(ms), x, y, z values
0 gyro.p // disables

1 gyrop.p // enables print of raw and processed gyro readings

// Output format is
// GP:%d,%d,%d,%d,%.3e,%.3e,%.3e
// printing timestamp(ms), x, y and z gyro raw values and x,y and z linearized values
// with units of radians/sample, use the value of gyroSampleRate to convert
0 gyrop.p // disables

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3.4.3.3 Magnetometer

1 mag.p // enables print of raw magnetometer readings

// Output format is
// M:%6d,%6d,%6d,%6d
// printing timestamp(ms), x, y and z magnetometer values
0 mag.p // disables

1 magp.p // enables print of raw and processed magnetometer readings

// Output format is
// MP:%d,%d,%d,%d,%f,%f,%f
// printing timestamp(ms), x, y and z magnetometer raw values and x,y and z linearized values
0 magp.p // disables

3.4.3.4 All raw sensor data

1 s.p // enables print of all raw sensor data

// Output format is
// %d,%d,%d,%d,%d,%d,%d,%d,%d,%d,%d
// mag x,y,z, accel x,y,z, gyro x,y,z and raw temp (1/10 deg C) respectively
0 s.p // disables

3.4.3.5 Computed Roll, Pitch and Yaw

1 compass.p // enables print of computed attitude and heading

// Output format is
// C,%d,%7.2f,%7.2f,%7.2f
// timestamp(ms), pitch, roll and yaw respectively
0 compass.p // disables

3.4.3.6 Computed Quaternions

1 quat.p // enables print of computed quaternions

// Output format is
// QUAT:%f,%f,%f,%f
// quaternion vector (w,x,y,z) respectively
0 quat.p // disables

3.4.3.7 Custom Combination Print Streaming (User Port only)

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The customizable print streaming commands allows selection of the data to be streamed and provides
control of when the data is streamed. This capability is available in units DC-4E 4.2.1, GEDC-6E 4.0.2,
AHRS-8 2.2.1 or later.

For this capability, there are three configuration variables: printmodulus, printtrigger and printmask plus
the following set of constants:
magr_trigger
magp_trigger
accelr_trigger
accelp_trigger
gyror_trigger
gyrop_trigger
yaw_trigger
yawt_trigger
quat_trigger
temp_trigger
pitch_trigger
roll_trigger
time_trigger

Each of the above trigger definitions is a single bit. If a bit is set in the printmask, then when a print
trigger event occurs, the data that is associated with that bit will print in the output. Note that,
although the triggers occur in interrupt handlers or high priority tasks, the actual printing occurs in a low
priority task. This may cause a small delay in the print from the point of the trigger but is necessary to
avoid interfering with the data acquisition and computations.

The printmodulus indicates how many trigger events must take place before the printing occurs.

For example, suppose we want to print the raw and processed magnetometer data
and the temperature and we want to print on every 100th processed magnetometer
calculation. To accomplish this, we would set the print mask using this sequence of NorthTek:

>>> printmask
>>> magr_trigger magp_trigger or temp_trigger or set drop

The “drop” is needed because the “set” operator puts a status result on the top of the stack. If the
“drop” is not used, then eventually, the stack may overflow.

To cause it to print on every 100th trigger event:

>>> printmodulus 100 set drop

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The trigger condition is set

>>> printtrigger magp_trigger set drop

Note that this kind of printing is on by default, but can be disabled with
printer_mask d.off or suspended with CTRL-S, or by setting the printtrigger to 0

>>> printtrigger 0 set drop

Note that we can cause the print to be output with the word "p.”. With the “p.” command, we can write
our own trigger condition in NorthTek and then evoke this printout.

Given the above configuration, the output is:

P:,659539,mr,5890,-712,7323,mp,327.566681,94.818001,385.820099,T,33.06
P:,660481,mr,5968,-695,7342,mp,314.355835,93.428726,386.015045,T,33.06
P:,661423,mr,5850,-661,7316,mp,330.460510,93.706581,385.495178,T,33.06
P:,662365,mr,5995,-742,7337,mp,314.104187,93.914970,386.534943,T,33.00
P:,663306,mr,5965,-699,7328,mp,324.169617,93.150871,385.625153,T,33.00
P:,664248,mr,5902,-694,7337,mp,320.206360,92.803551,386.210022,T,33.00
P:,665190,mr,5900,-677,7326,mp,320.080536,91.622673,385.495178,T,33.00

The interpretation of this output is P:,TIME,mr(indicates mag raw),x,y,z,mp(indicates mag

processed),x,y,z,T(temp),value.

The printmodulus for accelr and gyror is applied to the RAW sample rates, i.e. 400 Hz on gyro/accel, NOT
on the divided down values.

This is what we get when we set printmask to all of the trigger constants:

P:,878979,mr,6174,-751,7403,mp,337.317566,96.762985,390.499084,ar,22,38,2052,ap,-
6.347656,-22.460938,1011.718750,gr,-8,-4,26,gp,0.000010,0.000039,-
0.000102,y,342.53,yt,342.53,q,0.988351,-0.009816,0.004613,-0.151807,T,32.19
P:,879920,mr,5985,-763,7416,mp,327.126343,95.165321,389.914185,ar,21,34,2049,ap,-
6.591797,-20.874023,1010.375977,gr,-3,-16,9,gp,-0.000003,0.000004,-
0.000050,y,342.53,yt,342.53,q,0.988343,-0.009981,0.004853,-0.151841,T,32.19
P:,880862,mr,6045,-735,7397,mp,334.172119,97.874405,391.148926,ar,21,35,2046,ap,-
6.835938,-21.118164,1009.033203,gr,6,-25,6,gp,-0.000035,-0.000023,-
0.000042,y,342.54,yt,342.54,q,0.988360,-0.010000,0.004931,-0.151726,T,32.19

The time_trigger is triggered by the 1msec clock tick, so a time based output can be created if necessary.

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Note that if too much data is specified to print for the baud rate, the inertial system will drop whole
lines of output. The algorithm will not let another trigger occur until the previous output has
completed. Dropping whole lines avoids the problem of erroneous data due to dropped digits.

Here is a sample script which is similar to gyrop.p but with temperature added:

printmodulus 4 set drop // every 4th raw gyro

printmask // variable that gets set in the next line
gyror_trigger gyrop_trigger or temp_trigger or set drop
printtrigger printmask set drop

3.4.4 Reset
The NorthTek “reset” command will invoke a reset of the processor. Allow a few seconds for the
processor to come back up. All variables will be reset to their default value or read from non-volatile
memory if the variable is marked “permanent”. Any NorthTek script which has been loaded will be lost
unless the script has been loaded into EEPROM using the userOpen and userClose commands (see the
User Boot Program section). Note that if an EEPROM update is in progress, then the reset will be
delayed until the update completes. Also consider that the power up sequence takes time to reload
configuration from EEPROM, so the reset command has a delay that is dependent on the amount of
data in EEPROM.

3.4.5 Restart
The NorthTek “restart” command can be used when a magnetic interference is removed. Without the
restart, the navigation module may take a while to readjust to the new magnetic field because the gyro
sensors are not detecting movement. With the “restart” command, the navigation module will
immediately adjust to the changed magnetic environment.

After Version 3.0.0, a restart can also be accomplished by setting the variable named
“restartCompassCalcs” to 1. This variable can be set using RFS and NMEA’s $PSRFS as well as NorthTek.
This variable will automatically reset to 0 once the computations are reset.

A restart is much faster than a reset command which resets the processor and so takes longer to start
producing data. No data cycles will be missed with a restart.

3.4.6 Canceling NorthTek Programs

A <CTRL-C> will cancel a NorthTek program.

3.4.7 Inhibit NorthTek Echoed Characters and “OK”/”Huh” Responses

NorthTek responses (echoed characters, OK, Huh) can be inhibited on the user port. The requested data
will still be returned. Use “0 echo!” to turn off responses (they are on by default). Use “1 echo!” to turn
them back on.

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3.4.8 Setting Database Elements

Integers and Ordinals can be set using the following syntax. Note that ordinals are set with an integer
but display with the ordinal name.
<variableName> <integerValue> set

Example:
orientation 2 set drop
orientation di.
orientation = Left Edge

Floating point values can be set using the following syntax:

<variableName> F<floatValue> set

Example:
magvar F5.9 set drop

Arrays can be set using the following syntax:

<variableName> array[ <startIndex> <endIndex> <sequence of numbers> ]array set

Example:
boresightMatrixX array[ 0 2 F1.0 F0.0 F0.0 ]array set drop

3.4.9 Saving the database

The database gets automatically saved every ten minutes or every time a “set” command is sent to the
compass. If the user wishes to specifically to save the database at a known state they may do so by
sending the appropriate command: db.save. Once the save has been initiated it will take from 2-5
seconds before completion. Simply sending a <CR> the user may know if the system is done saving.

Normal operation will continue through the save since this occurs normally throughout the compass
lifecycle. It should be noted that the system has a double-buffered database, so shutting of the system
while a write is occurring will simply allow the compass to use the previously save database. To keep this
from happening, before shutting down the system, send a carriage return. If the compass is amidst a
database save, it will respond as follows at the rate of gyroSampleRate:

EEPROM update in progress!

3.4.10 Calibration Data Control

The commands in this section can be set using RFS as well as NorthTek.

3.4.10.1 Restore In-field calibration data

The inertial system comes with a nominal field calibration setup. The user may perform an in-field
calibration as described in the section titled “3D Compass Calibration” below or using one of the cal3D

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NorthTek scripts provided on the website. Performing the in-field calibration stores internal
coefficients. If in-field calibration has been performed and the magnetic environment has changed, the
in-field calibration may be in error. The in-field calibration can be re-performed or the in-field
calibration data can be reset to the factory values. To reset the in-field calibration to the factory values:
restoreFieldCal 1 set drop

3.4.10.2 Restore Factory calibration data

Each inertial system is individually internally calibrated at the factory. Because of the unique ability to
configure the inertial system, the user may choose to modify the internal calibration (for example
magOffset). If at some time the user wishes to return the inertial system to the factory calibration, it can
be restored with the following command:
restorefactorycal 1 set drop

3.4.10.3 Run the Gyro Offset Calibration

The GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 both use an advanced algorithm to continuously track the gyro offsets during
normal use. Therefore, calibration of the gyro offsets should not be necessary. If offsets exist in the
gyros when the inertial system is stationary, the user would encounter a slow, constant change in
orientation (i.e. drifting) over time. The following steps describe how to successfully execute an in-field
calibration of the gyros:

1) Insure that the inertial system is stationary. Orientation of the compass does not matter.
2) Invoke the Gyro Offset Calibration option using the command:
InvokeGyroOffsetCal 1 set drop
3) Once activated, keep the inertial system stationary for 30 seconds to insure that the offsets
measurements are complete.
4) The gyro calibration will end automatically and return to normal gyro offset tracking after about
30 seconds. The new gyro offset will be saved to internal non-volatile memory.
5) After 30 seconds from the start of calibration, the inertial system can be used.

Note: Gyro offset calibration is not applicable to the Sparton DC-4E Digital Compass.

3.4.11 3D Compass In-Field Calibration

The script below performs a 3-D compass in-field calibration.
To perform calibration, use a terminal emulator to send the script below to the inertial system (if a
“Huh??” is seen flying by, add a 5 ms delay to each line transmitted or reduce the baud to 38400). Once
the script has been loaded, send the command “cal3D”.
The script will then prompt the user to capture calibration points. The user should move the compass
around and select between 4 and 12 points that capture, as much as possible, the extremes of the X/Y/Z
positions. Hit any key but ESC to capture each point and then hit ESC when the point capture is
complete.
The script will then print the magnetic error at a 0.5 Hz rate. Observe the magnetic error (magErr) until
it converges sufficiently then hit the spacebar or any other key. The compass will now be field
calibrated.

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The cal3D command may be re-entered as many times as desired without re-loading the macro until the
power is shut off. The macro needs to be loaded only once while the inertial system remains powered
up.

The results are stored in magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY and magFieldCalZ, magCrossAxisCorrectionX,

magCrossAxisCorrectionY, magCrossAxisCorrectionZ.

When using scripts this large you must set up the system as follows:
 Insert a delay per line of 5ms.
 Ensure each line “to be processed” (not comment lines) is less than 60 characters (bytes).

// ************************************************************
// NorthTek Script for 3d calibration.
// ************************************************************
// This erases this script should it be reloaded.

forget cal3D

// ************************************************************
// This is the actual calibration program.
// ************************************************************
( -- )
: cal3D

// ************************************************************
// Init the calibration process by setting calmode to 1.
// ************************************************************

calmode 1 set
250 delay // give compass time to process

// ************************************************************
// Give the user a heads up that we are starting.
// ************************************************************

." Calibration starting" cr

// ************************************************************
// Tell the calibration logic to start calibration
// ************************************************************

calCommand cal_start set // cal start

250 delay // give compass time to process

// ************************************************************
// Give the user some instructions
// ************************************************************

." Press any key to take next point, ESC to finish" cr

// ************************************************************
// The code now grabs a point, the user changes the
// compass position and repeats the cal3DState
// from 4-12 times total.
// sit in a loop, taking points until
// the user hits escape.

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// User hits spacebar to take a point, ESC to quit.

// ************************************************************

begin
key 27 = 0= // until user enters ESC
while
// capture a point
calCommand cal_capture set // take another point
250 delay // give compass time to capture
// Print out the current point number
calNumPoints di.
repeat

// ************************************************************
// Now the points are captured,
// Issue the command to start computing
// the real time cal values
//
// ************************************************************

calCommand cal_end_capture set // cal computation

250 delay // give compass time to process

// ************************************************************
// Some more user instructions
// ************************************************************

." Starting error settling" cr

." Press any key to terminate" cr

// ************************************************************
// The user observes magErr to watch it settle
// at a minimum value (EKit can display every sec or so):
// This runs until the user has decided that the value
// has converged. See Software Interface Users Manual
// regarding the calibration process.
// ************************************************************

begin // keep printing magErr at .250 sec intervals

?key 0= // till user hits a keystroke
while
magErr di.
250 delay
repeat
key drop // read and remove the key used
// to stop the loop

// ************************************************************
// Let the user know that we are all done.
// ************************************************************

." Calibration done!" cr

// ************************************************************
// Send the cal_end command.
// ************************************************************

calCommand cal_end set // cal computation

250 delay // give compass time to process

// ************************************************************
// End calibration mode

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// ************************************************************

calmode 0 set // terminate calibration mode.

250 delay // give compass time to process

magFieldCalErr di.
250 delay
;

3.4.12 2D Compass In-Field Calibration

The 2-D calibration procedure is used for applications that stay within a plane containing two of the
navigation module’s axes and rotating about the third axis. The point capture positions should be
chosen to be distributed well about the circle of rotation.

The 2-D calibration differs from the 3-D in that it performs better if the World Magnetic Model has been
run previously (see the set_wmm command description in the appendix) by using it to obtain
information on the axis of rotation. The World Magnetic Model information is not required though.

The 3-D calibration script above could be changed to a 2-D script simply by setting calmode to 2 instead
of 1 (see the calmode command description in the appendix).

The results are stored in magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY and magFieldCalZ, magCrossAxisCorrectionX,

magCrossAxisCorrectionY, magCrossAxisCorrectionZ.

When using scripts this large you must set up the system as follows:
 Insert a delay per line of 5ms.
 Ensure each line “to be processed” (not comment lines) is less than 60 characters (bytes).

3.4.13 User Boot Program

Start-up configuration and output can be programmed by the user in the inertial system’s EEPROM.
Upon start-up, the inertial system checks an EEPROM sector located at 0x10000 for a NorthTek script
and will execute it if finds one. See Application Note AN1002 for a detailed example.

To load a script, enter:

0x10000 userOpen // Opens the EEPROM section at 0x10000 for writing

: put start: userWrite ; // Defines a “put” function to write a subsequent string to EEPROM

Now take the NorthTek script that is to be run on start-up and insert the string “put ” at the beginning of
each line. Each “put” line will load the script line into EEPROM. Make sure that the script works before
putting it into EEPROM or the inertial system could be rendered unusable! If the script fails on start-up,
try <ctrl-c> to stop it. After entering the modified script, enter:
userClose // completes the EEPROM “file”

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To try it out, cycle power or enter:

reset

To remove the script from EEPROM, enter:

0x10000 eesectorerase

Here is an example that will print the version number upon start-up:
0x10000 userOpen
: put start: userWrite ;
put VERSION di.
userClose

To output a NMEA command, precede it with “put “ and a quote followed by a space. Then append \n
quote and “ count nmea!”. Here is a script which will repeat the $xxXDR command response:

0x10000 userOpen // Opens the EEPROM section at 0x10000 for writing

: put start: userWrite ; // Defines a “put” function to write a subsequent string to EEPROM
put " $xxXDR,RPT=1.0\n" count nmea!
userClose // completes the EEPROM “file”

3.4.14 Accessing an RFS VID Using NorthTek – dvid@

An RFS VID (Variable ID) can be accessed using the NorthTek command, dvid@. The syntax is
“<variableName> dvid@ .” (note there is a dot at the end to display the result).

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Appendices
A Variable Detailed Descriptions
A.1 Variables by Name
In the tables below, “Permanent” indicates that the value is stored in non-volatile memory.

A.1.1 vidCount
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Describes how many RFS variables exist in the database.
Range: 3..total number of variables.
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access Read Only

A.1.2 name
Type: String
Detailed Description: Gives the name of the device such as “AHRS-8 (Attitude Heading and
Reference System)”
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Constant
Access: Read Only

A.1.3 quiet
Type: Constant
Detailed Description: Allows the user to suppress some debug output at runtime.
Range: 0..1,
0=Off
1=On
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: read/write

A.1.4 VERSION
Type: String
Detailed Description: Contains the code version. Format is $ Version: x.x.x
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Constant
Access: Read Only

A.1.5 REVISION
Type: String

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Detailed Description: Contains the code’s configuration revision number. Format is $Revision: DDD
$, where DDD is a decimal number.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Constant
Access: Read Only

A.1.6 serialnumber
Type: String
Detailed Description: Contains the factory set value for this unit’s serial number.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Constant
Access: Read Only

A.1.7 orientation
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Physical orientation of compass relative to the host application. Heading, pitch
and roll will be translated from that of the inertial system to that of the
application according to the given setting. See the Sparton Digital Compass
Product Guide for details
Range: 0..4
0 = horizontal
1 = vertical
2 = left edge
3 = right edge
4 = inverted
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.8 baud
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Selects the user port baud rate using an index.
Range: 0..8
0 = 300
1 = 1200
2 = 2400
3 = 4800
4 = 9600
5 = 19200
6 = 38400
7 = 57600
8 = 115200
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

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A.1.9 pitch
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Gives the computed pitch angle, positive is nose up, units are degrees
Range: -180.0 .. 180.0
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.10 roll
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Gives the computed roll angle, positive direction is right wing down, units are
degrees
Range: -180.0 .. 180.0
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.11 yaw
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Gives the computed magnetic heading angle, positive value starting at 0.0 =
magnetic North, units are degrees
Range: 0.00 .. 360.0
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.12 yawt
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Gives the computed true heading angle in degrees, positive value starting at
0.0 = true North. Only valid if a declination has been set manually or by
execution of the world magnetic model with a valid position and time.
Range: 0.00 .. 360.0
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.13 quaternion
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: 4 element quaternion array representing w, x, y, and z respectively.
Quaternions represent the inertial system’s attitude similar to
pitch/roll/heading but without the problem of Gimbal lock. Thus quaternions
are recommended over pitch/roll/heading for any device that has full 3D range
of rotation. Note that this quaternion is relative to magnetic North rather than
true North.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary

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Access: Read Only

A.1.14 lat
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: This variable needs to be set by the user prior to executing the world magnetic
model. Value is latitude in degrees and fractions of a degree.
Range: +/- 90 degrees.
Default: 0.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.15 lonG
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: This variable needs to be set by the user prior to executing the world magnetic
model. Value is longitude in degrees and fractions of a degree.
Range: +/- 180.0 degrees
Default: 0.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.16 alt
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: The altitude needs to be set by the user prior to executing the World Magnetic
Model to compute magnetic variation. Units are in meters.
Range: +- 10000 meters
Default: 0.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.17 day
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: The date which needs to by set by the user prior to executing the World
Magnetic Model. Units are in years. Precision is to 0.1 of a year. Accuracy
beyond 0.1 year does not improve the World Magnetic Model estimate.
Range: 2010.0 to 3000.0
Default: 2010.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.18 restorefactorycal
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: The user can command the calibration data to be reset to the factory settings
by setting this variable to one (will automatically be reset to 0).
Range: 0..1
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

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A.1.19 set_wmm
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Command to update the World Magnetic Model offset (magvar) in accordance
with the current location in the world. Uses the variables lat, lonG, alt and day
which must be previously provided by the user. Set this variable to 1 to invoke
the World Magnetic Model. Reading this variable has no meaning. The result
is stored in magvar and as seen in the difference between yawt and yaw. See
the World Magnetic Model section for more information.
Range: 0..1 (automatically resets to 0 when set to 1)
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.20 magvar
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Contains the difference between the magnetic heading and the true heading.
This value can be computed indirectly using set_wmm or can be directly
written to the inertial system by the user.
Range: +/- 360.0 degrees
Default: 0.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.21 wmmGD
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: World Magnetic Model geodetic magnetic field X Y Z at Lat/Long
Range: N/A
Default: <value>0.521215</value>
<value>0.0</value>
<value>0.853426</value>
<value>1.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read Only

A.1.22 wmmHasRun
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Indicates whether the World Magnetic Model (WMM) has been run (implies
wmmGD and magvar are valid), a value of 1 means the WMM has been run.
Range: 0..1
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read Only

A.1.23 magr
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Raw Magnetometer X Y Z array
Range: n/a

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Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.24 magp
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Processed Magnetometer X Y Z array, this value takes magr and applies the
factory calibration, the field calibration data and the cross axis correction
(magCrossAxisCorrection)
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only
Units milli-gauss

A.1.25 accelr
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Raw Magnetometer X Y Z array, 2048=1g when accelrange=4g, 1024=1g when
accelrange=8g
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.26 accelp
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Processed Accelerometer X Y Z array, this value takes accelr and applies the
factory calibration and the cross axis correction (accelCrossAxisCorrection).
Units are in milli-gs.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only
Units milli-g

A.1.27 gyror
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Raw gyro X Y Z array
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.28 gyrop
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Processed gyro X Y Z array, this value
takes gyror and applies the factory calibration. Units are radians/sample. To

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convert gyrop vector to millidegrees per second, get the sample rate using the
command “gyroSampleRate di.” (note the dot at the end), then multiply each
vector element with gyroSampleRate * (180.0/PI)*1000.0.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only
Units Radians/sample

A.1.29 gyroSampleRate
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Actual sample rate for the gyro
(samples/second) as measured once per second.
Range: n/a
Default: 100.0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only
Units samples/second

A.1.30 positionrate
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: This variable determines the interval of the automatic output of the RFS
variable “position”. It may be 0 indicating that there is no automatic output, or
up to 180000 msecs indicating 180 seconds (every 3 minutes).
Range: 0..180000 (0 = off) (msecs)
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.31 position
Type: Bit Field
Detailed Description: RFS only. This is a user modifiable aggregate bit field (packed structure)
descriptor. It may be redefined to contain up to 16 variables. The user may
define which variables are carried in this bit field and the format is stored
permanently (survives a power cycle).

Note that running with the NDS-1 or NDS-2 GUI may change these settings.

This variable can be output at a repeating rate using the positionrate variable.
Range: n/a
Default: pitch
roll
yawt
magErr
temperature
magp
accelp

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gyrop
currentTime (Version 4.0.2 or later)
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.32 composite2
Type: Bit Field
Detailed Description: RFS only. A user defined composite variable (packed structure), similar to
“position”. The user may define up to 16 fields in this variable and query it
with RFS.
Range: n/a
Default: pitch
roll
yaw
lat
lonG
alt
temperature
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.33 composite3
Type: Bit Field
Detailed Description: RFS only. A user defined composite variable (packed structure), similar to
“position”. The user may define up to 16 fields in this variable and query it
with RFS.
Range: n/a
Default: pitch
roll
yaw
lat
lonG
alt
temperature
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.34 calmode
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: In-Field Calibration Mode – see the “In-Field Calibration” section for an
overview and see the “Magnetic In-Field Calibration” for the NMEA protocol.
Or see the “3D Compass In-Field Calibration” or “2D Compass In-Field
Calibration” sections for the NorthTek protocol.

A NorthTek example is “calmode 1 set drop” and a NMEA command

example is “$PSPA,CAL=3D”. Or use an RFS set command to set calmode to 1.

Use the numbers for NorthTek and RFS and use the all-caps names for NMEA.

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The User mode is a legacy carry-over and has no functionality associated with
it.
Range: 0..3
0 = OFF
1 = 3D
2 = 2D
3 = USER
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.35 calCommand
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Commands the next step in the “in field” calibration procedure after the
calmode has been set to 2D or 3D.

See the “In-Field Calibration” section for an overview. For the NMEA protocol,
see the “Magnetic In-Field Calibration”. For the NorthTek protocol, see the
“3D Compass In-Field Calibration” or “2D Compass In-Field Calibration”
sections. RFS can be used to follow the same sequence using the “Set”
command.

The commands are ignored unless calmode is 2D or 3D.

The cal_reset command sets the magnetic field calibration values back to the
default settings of (0.0, 1.0).

The lower case names are used by NorthTek and the upper case names are
used by NMEA. The numeric values are used by RFS and can be used in
NorthTek.
Range: 0..4
0 = cal_start, START_CAL
1 = cal_capture, CAPTURE
2 = cal_end_capture,END_CAPTURE
3 = cal_end,END_CAL
4 = cal_reset,CAL_RESET
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.36 calNumPoints
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Number of points collected for the magnetic calibration procedure - see the
Magnetic In-Field Calibration section in which it is reported by the
$PSPA,CAL_CMD=CAPTURE,POINTS= response, but can also be read directly via
RFS or NorthTek, see the NorthTek section for the display command (di.), see
also the 3D Compass Calibration subsection in the NorthTek section for a script

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that uses these variables.

Range: 0..12
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.37 magErr
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Magnetic error term resulting from the magnetic calibration procedure – this is
not the actual error but is a quality factor that is a function of the points
collected in the “in field” calibration procedure, see the Magnetic In-Field
Calibration section in which it is reported by the $PSPA,MAGERR,RPT=0.5
command, but can also be viewed directly using RFS or NorthTek, see the
NorthTek section for the display command (di.), see also the 3D Compass
Calibration subsection in the NorthTek section for a script that uses these
variables
Range: N/A
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

1.1.38 wlim
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant – Controls the reliance on gyros that is motion dependent.
Rotations that exceed wlim will tend to favor the gyro estimates.
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

1.1.39 alim
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant – Controls estimator sensitivity to transient acceleration
anomalies
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

1.1.40 mlim
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant – Controls estimator sensitivity to transient magnetic
anomalies
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

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1.1.41 km0
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant - magnetic gain. This variable sets an overall reliance on
the magnetometers versus the gyros that are independent of motion. Lower
values will force the compass to rely more heavily on the gyro estimates rather
than the absolute magnetometer values. CAUTION: Setting this value too low
may cause the heading orientation to drift due to accumulated errors in the
estimation process.
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

1.1.42 ka0
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant - acceleration gain. This variable sets an overall reliance on
the accelerometers versus the gyros that are independent of motion. Lower
values will force the compass to rely more heavily on the gyro estimates rather
than the absolute accelerometer values. CAUTION: Setting this value too low
may cause the heading orientation to drift due to accumulated errors in the
estimation process.
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

1.1.43 emlim
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant – Controls the convergence between actual magnetometer
sensor orientation and the internal estimator during periods of excessive
magnetic disturbances.
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

1.1.44 ealim
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Algorithm constant – Controls the convergence between actual accelerometer
sensor orientation and the internal estimator during periods of excessive
acceleration disturbances.
Range: N/A
Default: N/A
Persistence: Permanent

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Access: Read/Write

1.1.45 kgyrooffset
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Algorithm constant – Controls the
sensitivity of the gyro offset tracking.
Range: 0 .. 1000.0
Default: 0.1
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.46 magOffset
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Calibration offset for the magnetometer – is subtracted from magr as part of
computing magp, this is a computed value based on the magOffsetTC variables
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.47 magCalTemperature
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Base temperature for the magnetometer temperature compensations.
Range: -45 .. 90
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.48 magOffsetTCX, magOffsetTCY, magOffsetTCZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Factory temperature compensated calibration offsets for the magnetometer -
is used to compute the offset compensation based on current temperature
(magOffset).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.49 magLinearityXTC0 ,magLinearityXTC1, magLinearityXTC2, magLinearityYTC0,

magLinearityYTC1, magLinearityYTC2, magLinearityZTC0, magLinearityZTC1,
magLinearityZTC2
Type: ArrayFloat32

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Detailed Description: Factory temperature compensated calibration scalars for the magnetometer -
is used to compute the linearity compensation factors based on current
temperature (magLinearityX, magLinearityY, magLinearityZ).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.50 magLinearityX ,magLinearityY, magLinearityZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Computed calibration scalars for the magnetometer - is used to “linearize”
the magnetic vector after the offset has been applied. Computation is based
on the current temperature and the factory temperature compensated
calibration scalars for each axis (e.g. magLinearityXTC0). In each array, the
first component is the scalar that multiplies the X (or Y or Z), then the second
multiplies the X (or Y or Z) squared and the third multiplies the X (or Y or Z)
cubed and then they are summed to yield the processed mag X (or Y or Z).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.51 magCrossAxisCorrectionX, magCrossAxisCorrectionY, magCrossAxisCorrectionZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Factory calibration cross axis correction – these are the 3 rows of a matrix that
is multiplied (dot product) by the calibrated magnetometer vector to get the
final (magp) vector
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read Only

A.1.52 magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY, magFieldCalZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: In field calibration offset and scalars. This is computed by the 2D or 3D
calibration procedure (see In-Field Calibration section). The first component is
subtracted from the factory calibrated mag X/Y/Z and the second component is
a scaler.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

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A.1.53 accelrange
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Accelerometer full scale range setting. The higher range is a trade-off with less
resolution. A reset or power cycle must be performed for this change to take
effect in the accelerometer.
Range: 0..1
0 = 4g (default)
1 = 8g
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.54 accelOffset
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Calibration offset for the accelerometer - is subtracted from accelr as part of
computing accelp, this is computed based on the accelOffsetTC variables.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.55 accelGyroCalTemperature
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Temperature (deg C) at which the Rate Table temperature compensation
parameters for both accelerometer and gyro are computed.
Range: -45 .. 90
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.56 accelOffsetTCX, accelOffsetTCY, accelOffsetTCZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Temperature compensated calibration offsets for the accelerometer which
are used to compute the offset compensation based on current temperature
(accelOffset).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.57 accelLinearityXTC0, accelLinearityXTC1 , accelLinearityXTC2, accelLinearityYTC0,

accelLinearityYTC1, accelLinearityYTC2, accelLinearityZTC0, accelLinearityZTC1,
accelLinearityZTC2
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Factory temperature compensated calibration scalars for the accelerometer -
used to compute the linearity compensation factors based on current
temperature (accelLinearityX, accelLinearityY, accelLinearityZ).

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Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.58 accelLinearityX ,accelLinearityY, accelLinearityZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Computed calibration scalars for the accelerometer - used to “linearize” the
accelerometer vector after the offset has been applied. Computation is based
on the current temperature and the factory temperature compensated
calibration scalars for each axis (e.g. accelLinearityXTC0). In each array, the
first component is the scalar that multiplies the X (or Y or Z), then the second
multiplies the X (or Y or Z) squared and the third multiplies the X (or Y or Z)
cubed and then they are summed to yield the processed accel X (or Y or Z).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.59 accelCrossAxisCorrectionX, accelCrossAxisCorrectionY , accelCrossAxisCorrectionZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Factory calibration cross axis correction – these are the 3 rows of a matrix that
is multiplied (dot product) by the calibrated accelerometer vector to get the
final (accelp) vector
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read Only

A.1.60 gyroOffset
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Calibration offset for the gyro is
subtracted from gyror as part of computing gyrop. For AHRS-8, this value is
computed from the accelOffsetTC variables.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

1.1.61 gyroMaxRate
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. The gyro full scale range is fixed at 500
degrees per second. This variable defines the point at which the inertial
system switches to using just the magnetometer and accelerometer and
ignores the gyro value.
Range: 0 .. 50000.0
Default: 450

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Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

1.1.62 gyroMaxReturnCnt
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. After the gyro has exceeded the
gyroMaxRate, this variable defines the number of in-range gyro values that
must occur before switching back to using the gyro data.
Range: 0 .. 10,000
Default: 25
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.63 gyroOffsetTCX, gyroOffsetTCY, gyroOffsetTCZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Factory temperature compensated
calibration offsets for the gyro - is used to compute the offset compensation
based on current temperature (gyroOffset).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.64 gyroLinearityXTC0, gyroLinearityXTC1 , gyroLinearityXTC2, gyroLinearityYTC0 ,

gyroLinearityYTC1, gyroLinearityYTC2, gyroLinearityZTC0, gyroLinearityZTC1,
gyroLinearityZTC2
Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to AHRS-8 only. Factory temperature compensated calibration scalars
for the gyro -used to compute the linearity compensation factors based on
current temperature (gyroLinearityX, gyroLinearityY, gyroLinearityZ).
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.65 gyroLinearityX, gyroLinearityY, gyroLinearityZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Temperature compensated linearity
coefficients for the gyro, these are computed from the gyroLinearityXTC0, etc.
variables and temperature.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.66 gyroFieldCalX, gyroFieldCalY , gyroFieldCalZ

Type: ArrayFloat32

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Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. In field calibration offset and scalars.
This is computed by the Gyro calibration command (set InvokeGyroOffsetCal to
1). The first component is subtracted from the factory calibrated gyro X/Y/Z
and the second component divides into the difference.
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read Only

A.1.67 gyroCrossAxisCorrectionX, gyroCrossAxisCorrectionY, gyroCrossAxisCorrectionZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Calibration cross axis correction for the
gyro
Range: n/a
Default: n/a
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.68 InvokeGyroOffsetCal
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Command the gyro offset calibration to
start by setting this to 1. The inertial system will set this to zero upon initiation
of the process. This variable will not remainat 1 or’ON’ during the process
Range: 0..1
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.69 boresightMatrixX, boresightMatrixY , boresightMatrixZ

Type: ArrayFloat32
Detailed Description: Boresight orientation – these arrays make up the rows of the boresight matrix,
this rotation matrix is used to transform from the inertial system reference
frame to the host reference frame. This affects yaw, yawT, pitch, roll, quat,
pMatrix
Range: N/A
Default: Identity matrix
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.70 lowpower
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Setting this variable to 1 makes the inertial system enter low power mode. All
functions stop and the inertial system enters the lowest power state. The
inertial system is restarted with any serial port activity. The reset is identical to
a power up reset.
Range: 0..1
Default: 0

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Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.71 temperature
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Internal temperature in degrees Celsius
Range: -1000 .. 1000
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read Only

A.1.72 kgyroOffsetCalFactor
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Gyro offset field cal factor
Range: N/A
Default: 0.996
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.73 nmeaecho
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Setting this variable to 1 makes the NMEA protocol parser echo input
characters and properly handle backspace characters. For human interactive
use, set this variable to 1.
Range: 0..1
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.74 nmeaignorechecksum
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Setting this variable to 1 causes the NMEA input parser to ignore incoming
checksums. For human interactive use, set this variable to 1(default).
Range: 0..1
Default: 1
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.75 restoreFieldCal
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Command to set magnetic in-field calibration data back to factory default
Range: N/A
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.76 pMatrix0, pMatrix1, pMatrix2

Type: ArrayFloat32

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Detailed Description: Platform matrix (rotation matrix) – provides 3D orientation, each array is a row
in the platform matrix, the transform from the inertial system reference to the
host reference is included as defined by the boresightMatrix.
Range: N/A
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.77 printmask
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Setting this variable selects items which are to be printed out for the ASCII
formatted print statement. Section 3.4.3.7
Range: N/A
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.78 printtrigger
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Used to select triggers (data updates) that will cause the printmask selected
items to print.
Range: N/A
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.79 printmodulus
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Setting this variable defines when to print out based on this many triggers as
defined by printtrigger.
Range: 0..10000
Default: 4
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.80 centripetalCorrection
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: (GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only) Enable Centripetal acceleration correction of
acceleration
Range: 0 = Off
1 = On
Default: On
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.81 calPointsNumToAvg
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: Number of magnetic samples to be averaged for a 3D/2D Calibration Mode

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capture point. Note that the DC-4E collects samples at 10 Hz and GEDC-
6E/AHRS-8 collect samples at gyroSampleRate. The device is required to be
static during each point capture sampling period.
Range: 1..6000
Default: 4 (DC-4E)
10 (GEDC-6E and AHRS-8)
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.82 InvokeTare
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Command to update the boresight matrix based on current orientation. The
tare is complete once InvokeTare goes back to 0. The host device must be
pointed to North in an accurate and level condition.
Range: 0 = Off
1 = On
Default: Off
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.83 magErr2
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Magnetic heading error estimate in degrees based on the current (real-time)
magnetic environment relative to the magnetic environment during the last in-
field calibration. This variable will give feedback showing an estimated heading
accuracy based upon the real-time magnetic environment and how it relates to
the magnetic environment during the last in-field calibration. The firmware
computes a real-time error estimate to detect changes in the magnetic
environment indicating a need for in-field calibration. Deviations in magnetic
field strength are an indication of potential heading errors.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0 - 360
Default: ~45.0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read

A.1.84 magFieldCalErr
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Magnetic field calibration heading error estimate, in degrees, as a result of the
last in-field calibration (smaller is better). The magnetic data collected during
field calibration will be analyzed for variability in field strength. This variability
can be related directly to heading error providing feedback as to the quality of
calibration. This variable gives an estimate of the error in degrees and is
computed once at the end of the in-field calibration process.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0 – 360
Default: 999.0

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Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.85 magFieldCalTot
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Average of magnetic field calibration point vector magnitudes.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: -3.0E38 .. 3.0E38
Default: 99999.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.86 magHorzFieldCalTot
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Average of the horizontal component of the magnetic field calibration points.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: -3.0E38 .. 3.0E38
Default: 99999.0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.87 gyroSigma
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Applies to GEDC-6E and AHRS-8 only. Gyro stability factor. This feature will
zero the processed gyro data for a unit that is not moving. Set this variable to
0.0 if you wish to turn off this feature.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: -3.0E38 .. 3.0E38
Default: 8.9E-5
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.88 infieldCalMu
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: In-field calibration offset convergence factor.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0..100
Default: 2.0E-2
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.89 infieldCalMu2
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: In-field calibration scaling convergence factor.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0..100
Default: 2.0E-7
Persistence: Permanent

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Access: Read/Write

A.1.90 infieldCalMu3
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: In-field calibration cross-axis convergence factor.
Versions 4.2.10 or later.
Range: 0..100
Default: 2.0E-8
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.91 restartCompassCalcs
Type: Ordinal
Detailed Description: Used to resync the magnetic based and gyro based heading/attitude
computations.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0 = Off
1 = On
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read/Write

A.1.92 magPointQF
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Quality factor for the field cal captured magnetic calibration points (higher is
better). As each calibration point is selected, magPointQF that indicates how
well the magnetic values in the points collected cover the expected possible
range for each axis. By default, the expected possible range is 2 times 450
mGauss (world average). If the Auto Variance (magvar) is computed using the
World Magnetic Model, then the expected magnetic field strength computed
for the given location will be used which should yield a more consistent
indicator for different world locations (assuming no external magnetic
interference).
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0..50000
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read

A.1.93 possibleMagPointQF
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Possible quality factor if the current magnetic point is added to the captured
calibration points during an in-field calibration. By using possibleMagPointQF
during an in-field calibration, the user can find calibration point positions that
increase the quality factor.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0..50000
Default: 0

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Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read

A.1.94 wmmGDMagnitude
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Magnitude of the World Magnetic Model computed Earth Field (used for
magPointQF), defaults to 450 milliGauss.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0.1 .. 50000
Default: 450
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read

A.1.95 calPointDistribution
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Factor indicating magnetic distribution of in-field calibration points (exactly 12
points must be collected, larger is better). The collected magnetic data is
analyzed to estimate the level coverage of the magnetic sphere. Using
magnetic samples for calibration that are grouped too closely together will
result in a poor overall calibration. Insuring that the samples are sufficiently
spaced will dramatically improve accuracy and increase speed of convergence
in the adaptive calibration algorithm.
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: 0 .. 1000
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read

A.1.96 calPointDistSigma
Type: Float32
Detailed Description: Used in computing the calibration point distribution indicator
(calPointDistribution).
Versions 3.0.0 or later.
Range: -3.0E38 .. 3.0E38
Default: 30
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

A.1.97 timeStamp
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: This variable gives the processor time (milliseconds from power-up) at the
beginning of the pitch/roll/yaw computations. So it is basically a time stamp
for the raw sensor data going into the P/R/Y computations.
Version 4.0.2 or later.
Range: 0..0x7FFFFFFF (msecs)
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary

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Access: Read

A.1.98 currentTime
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: This variable gives the processor time (milliseconds from power-up) at the time
of the variable request.
Version 4.0.2 or later.
Range: 0..0x7FFFFFFF (msecs)
Default: 0
Persistence: Temporary
Access: Read

A.2 calStatus
Type: Int32
Detailed Description: This variable is stored in non-volatile memory and gives the status of the in-
field calibration result data in magFieldCalX, magFieldCalY, magFieldCalZ,
magCrossAxisCorrectionX, magCrossAxisCorrectionY and
magCrossAxisCorrectionZ.
0 = DEFAULT, 1 = INPROGRESS, 2 = COMPLETED, 3 = ABORTED
Version 4.2.10 or later.
Range: 0..3 (msecs)
Default: 0
Persistence: Permanent
Access: Read/Write

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B Troubleshooting
B.1 NMEA commands are not echoed.
Choose one of the following options:
 turn on echoes using the command “nmeaecho 1 set drop”
 turn on local echo on your terminal emulator. For example, using HyperTerminal: File-
>Properties->Settings tab->ASCII Setup->”Echo typed characters locally”. Note that the
disadvantage of this option is that you have to turn it back off for NorthTek commands.

B.2 NMEA commands don’t respond to “enter” key.

 set your terminal emulator to send <cr><lf> for the “enter” key. For example, using
HyperTerminal: File->Properties->Settings tab->ASCII Setup->”Send line ends with line feeds”

B.3 Repeating output is not appearing.

 type <ctrl-Q> since you may have previously typed a <ctrl-S>

B.4 NMEA commands are taking a long time to respond

 Send the <lf> by itself instead of the <cr><lf>

B.5 Repeating output is making typing a new command difficult.

 enter <ctrl-S> to pause the repeat display and type in your new command, restart any repeat
displays with <ctrl-Q>

B.6 The compass is providing an inaccurate heading:

 check for magnetic interference in the area, electric motors, chairs, door, cables, cell phone
 in-field calibration may need to be reset (restoreFieldCal 1 set drop) or rerun
 gyro calibration may need to be rerun (InvokeGyroOffsetCal 1 set drop)
o this could also manifest as a spinning pitch/roll/yaw
 if you have modified the calibration data, use the restorefactorycal command (restorefactorycal
1 set drop)

B.7 The compass does not output any response.

Check the following (reference the Data Sheet for your product):
 that there is a TTL logic level connection to compass pins USER_RXD (P2-2) and USER_TXD (P2-3)
 that the baud rate matches the baud rate setting on the compass (initial factory setting is
115200), note that the NDS-1 GUI has an option to try all baud rates if the baud rate is unknown
 that the other serial interface properties are 8 bit, no parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control
 compass is seated properly (we recommend that it be keyed by blocking the socket for P1-4)
 compass has power on P2-1 (+4V – +10V DC) and ground on P1-7, P2-6, P2-7
 Factory use pins (P2-4 and P2-5) are high

130-7524-001, Rev K 83