138 lines
5.0 KiB
PHP
138 lines
5.0 KiB
PHP
== Configuration
|
|
|
|
There are three things you need to configure identically in each unit
|
|
that is part of a TeleLaunch system for wireless communications to
|
|
succeed. Those are the operating frequency, the callsign, and a key
|
|
for the AES encryption algorithm. Additionally, each TeleFire unit
|
|
also needs to be configured with a unique bank number.
|
|
|
|
Please note that these values must match exactly, or the system will
|
|
not operate as expected. That means the callsign needs to have the
|
|
same choices of upper or lower case, no trailing spaces, etc. And
|
|
the operating frequency and AES key must match.
|
|
|
|
=== Connecting to a Unit
|
|
|
|
Configuring each unit of a TeleLaunch system requires use of
|
|
a micro USB cable, and a computer with a suitable terminal
|
|
emulation program. Connect a suitable cable, open your
|
|
favoriate terminal emulation program, and power up the unit.
|
|
By pressing <enter> you should see a command prompt.
|
|
|
|
=== TeleLCO
|
|
|
|
The USB connector on TeleLCO is accessible without
|
|
opening the lid of the Pelican box. Look for the
|
|
blue dust cap over the connector under the handle.
|
|
|
|
=== TeleFireEight
|
|
|
|
The USB connector on TeleFireEight is located on the
|
|
circuit board. To access it, open the box and flip
|
|
the lid up. you should be able to spot a vertical
|
|
micro USB connector on the board near the DIP switch.
|
|
|
|
[WARNING]
|
|
Please take care when closing the TeleFireEight lid
|
|
not to pinch any wires.
|
|
|
|
=== Operating Frequency
|
|
|
|
The TeleLaunch system supports operation over much of the
|
|
"70cm" Amateur Radio band, with the filters optimized for a
|
|
center frequency of 435 MHz. For each system, a single
|
|
operating frequency should be selected and programmed into
|
|
each unit.
|
|
|
|
The default frequency for units leaving the factory is
|
|
435.750 MHz. Since Altus Metrum flight computers operate
|
|
by default on 10 100khz channels from 434.550 to 435.450 MHz,
|
|
we chose this frequency to be far enough away from flight
|
|
computers to avoid any interference, but still close enough
|
|
to the radio subsystem design center frequency for great
|
|
performance.
|
|
|
|
To configure the frequency, use your terminal emulator to
|
|
issue two commands. First, use 'c F xxxxxx' where the xxxxxx
|
|
is replaced with the desired operating frequency in kHz. Then
|
|
use the 'c w' command to save this value into non-volatile
|
|
memory. For example, the default 435.750 MHz would be
|
|
configured using
|
|
|
|
c F 435750 +
|
|
c w
|
|
|
|
Note that the 'f' parameter is a frequency calibration value
|
|
that you really, really, really don't want to change. So,
|
|
please be careful to make sure you use capital 'F', not lower
|
|
case 'f' when changing the operating frequency!
|
|
|
|
=== Callsign
|
|
|
|
In the US, you need an
|
|
link:http://www.altusmetrum.org/Radio/[amateur radio license]
|
|
or other authorization to legally operate the radio
|
|
transmitters that are part of TeleLaunch.
|
|
|
|
The default callsign shipped from the factory is "N0CALL",
|
|
which is not a valid callsign and meant to humorously point
|
|
out that the callsign hasn't been configured yet.
|
|
|
|
Individual owners of a TeleLaunch system should use their
|
|
own callsign.
|
|
|
|
Club owners of a TeleLaunch system should pick the callsign
|
|
of one club member who is willing to be designated as the
|
|
control operator of the system. Under FCC Part 97 rules,
|
|
being the control operator does not mean you have to be LCO
|
|
all the time, it just means taking responsibility for ensuring
|
|
the system is being operated in compliance with the rules.
|
|
|
|
To configure the callsign, use your terminal emulator to
|
|
issue two commands. First, use 'c c callsign' to set the
|
|
callsign, then use 'c w' to write to non-volatile memory.
|
|
For example, to set the default N0CALL, the commands would
|
|
be
|
|
|
|
c c N0CALL +
|
|
c w
|
|
|
|
=== AES Key
|
|
|
|
For safety, TeleLaunch uses cryptographic checksums to help
|
|
prevent interference, intentional or un-intentional. This
|
|
means each system must have a shared AES encryption key
|
|
identically configured into each unit.
|
|
|
|
The key size required is 128 bits, which must be expressed
|
|
as a 32-digit hexadecimal number.
|
|
|
|
To configure the AES key, use 'c a key' followed by 'c w'
|
|
to write the key to non-volatile memory. For example, to
|
|
configure your system with a key that is the answer to life,
|
|
the universe, and everything, the commands would be
|
|
|
|
c a 00000000000000000000000000000042 +
|
|
c w
|
|
|
|
=== Bank Number
|
|
|
|
Each TeleFire unit needs to be configured with a bank number,
|
|
and bank numbers should be unique within a given system. For
|
|
most systems with 8 or fewer banks, just use the DIP switch
|
|
on the circuit board inside the TeleFire unit to select the
|
|
desired bank. Only one switch should be turned on. Switch
|
|
one means bank one, etc.
|
|
|
|
To allow systems to have more than 8 banks, if all the DIP
|
|
switches are "off", the unit will use the bank configured in
|
|
non-volatile memory.
|
|
|
|
To configure the bank number, use 'c B bank' followed by
|
|
'c w' to write to non-volatile memory. For example, to
|
|
set the bank to 42, the commands would be:
|
|
|
|
c B 42 +
|
|
c w
|
|
|