Frequently Asked Questions What monthly cost do I have ? In what environment will the unit survive?
How do I get my data?
Can this unit interfere with any of the electronics on a rig (e.g., TV, cell phone, CB)?
How I do secure the device to the trailer?
What RF channel should be used?
How does the motion sensor work?
How do we set up GEO fencing?
How long will the battery last?
What is the effect on battery life for selecting low& high power, # of transmits and # of GPS fixes per day?
How does the GPS fix retry work?
What if the unit never gets a GPS fix?
Does the unit transmit immediately when it wakes up from its initial delay-to-start or does it wait the first interval amount and then transmit?
What are all the interval settings for?
What does the time in the XML message mean?
In what environment will the unit survive?
The unit is specified to operate –30˚ to +60˚ C. The unit will survive operating from –40˚ to +85˚ C operating, though there will be some loss of RF transmit power above +60˚ C where the radio transmitter is specified. Extreme cold or hot will impact battery life as well. The unit is tested to vibration, shock, humidity, salt/fog, pressure washing, dust/sand and UV exposure per SAEJ1455 and MIL810E/F standards. It has been tested in conformance for use in Europe (CE), US (FCC) and Canada (IC) as well as EMC/EMI tested. Reports are available by request under NDA.
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How do I get my data?
Data from the AXTracker is received through an authorized Globalstar data service provider. Axonn is the designer and high volume manufacturer of the AXTracker device. Axonn partners with value added resellers (VARs) who integrate the AXTracker with data services to provide applications solutions to various markets and regions. Axonn does not ordinarily sell AXTracker units directly to end-users.
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Can this unit interfere with any of the electronics on a rig (e.g., TV, cell phone, CB)?
Extremely doubtful. This unit is very tightly controlled on output spectrum, conforming to FCC part 25 and ETSI TBR41 emissions standards for operation in band of use. Transmit frequencies are controlled in the 1.615 GHz spectrum, very far from TV, CB and Cell phone. The unit is also certified under FCC part 15 as a non-intentional radiator and able to accept radiation as prescribed by ruling. Even if the device was operating on an exact frequency of another device (which is illegal as the band is licensed to Globalstar), the extremely low duty cycle and low output power would require the other unit to be within 30 feet to even observe the radio energy. Also, it is interesting to note that this device is designed to coexist with Globalstar satellite telephone operating in the exact same band. The signal strength and structure provides for the signal to actually ride under the active voice channel. The voice users don’t even know it is there as the signal power is buried in the noise floor of the cell phone channel.
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How I do secure the device to the trailer?
The device may either be screwed to the container using the mounting feet or affixed using adhesives. Axonn has a die-cut adhesive tape kit that permanently bonds the box to the asset. The battery is field replaceable without removing the box from the container.
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What RF channel should be used?
The device is multifrequency capable but Globalstar specifies the channel of use for geographies of use. Currently channel A is the only available channel for use for North America. Channel C in the Middle East and Europe and Channel D for Russia.
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How does the motion sensor work?
The device contains an integral motion sensor capable of simulating the unit into alternate reporting based on detected motion and stop. Users may configure the sensor to engage fast updates while in motion or simply send start/stop messages.
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How do we set up GEO fencing?
The GEO setup is via serial interface. Users may write their own GEO tool using the product specification which defines the serial protocols. Axonn is writing a graphical GEO tool as a separate support application but this has not yet been released. Specification is available under NDA with Axonn.
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How long will the battery last?
The AXTracker has the longest battery life of any similar device on the market today, using high-density lithium primary batteries. These are not rechargeable. Axonn doesn’t recommend rechargeable systems due to the harsh environmental requirements for AVL applications. The internal battery will last 7 years for twice daily location reports. Faster update rates will reduce the battery life of the product. Axonn doesn’t recommend battery operation for applications that require more than 4-6 reports per day due to service life of the battery. At 4 reports a day, service life is reduced to about 4 years. At 6 reports a day, 2.5 years. Axonn recommends using the line-powered version of the product for applications that require more frequent updates.
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What is the effect on battery life for selecting low& high power, # of transmits and # of GPS fixes per day?
Low or high settings have minimal impact to battery life. The predominate battery user is the GPS function. The setup tool includes a battery life estimation function where each of the above questions may be traded off. The OPTIONS/BATT tab has a field for user input of GPS failure estimate based on application obstruction-to-sky estimates. Retransmit settings can be entered into OPTIONS/XMITTER tab. The term used here is ATTEMPTS which equals the total number of transmits per unique information. Modifications to the device settings in the configuration tool are reflected in the battery life estimator. This provides immediate feedback for evaluating the battery impact for different settings of the device.
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How does the GPS fix retry work?
If the unit fails to acquire GPS location, it assumes the sky is obscured from view. The AXTracker returns to low-power sleep state for 15 minutes and retries. If it fails on the second attempt, it aborts the location function altogether. Failed GPS fixes are counted in a 2 bit field for next successful transmission clipping at count of 3.
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What if the unit never gets a GPS fix?
The AXTracker will not transmit messages that contain location information without valid location data. Only those message types that have no location information will be transmitted (such as SETUP or RAW or Alarm without fix type messages).
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Does the unit transmit immediately when it wakes up from its initial delay-to-start or does it wait the first interval amount and then transmit?
The unit sends a type 3-0 (SETUP) message on activation (either RUN or alarm wakeup). The SETUP message is transmitted the configured number of redundant times. The unit next enters into the delay-to-start interval. On completion of the delay-to-start, the unit executes the first interval delay. After the first delay is complete, the unit will perform the first supervisory report function. The next supervisory report function occurs after the second interval delay etc.
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What are all the interval settings for?
The device may be programmed to wake on a fixed (single) interval. This configures the device to repeatedly sleep the interval time, waking to perform location fix and transmit. The unit will step through additional intervals sequentially and repeat the entire list if more than one interval is provided. For example, the device may be configured with interval 1 = 1 hour, and interval 2 = 23 hours. The units will sleep one hour, locate & transmit, then sleep 23 hours to the next locate & transmit. The two intervals will repeat forever providing twice daily reports separated by an hour. Up to 12 intervals may be programmed.
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What does the time in the XML message mean?
Message time is tagged by the ground-earth-receiver at time of reception of the message. The first message received is sent to the user with subsequent redundant messages removed if all is provisioned correctly. The UNIXTIME field in the XML message is the time-tag of message receipt by the Ground Earth Appliqué.
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What ongoing monthly cost do I have??
The AxTracker uses a built in satellite phone for communication to send the data to the control center for mapping and reporting. The monthly cost $12.75 to keep the unit alive with the satellite phone and $0.23 cents per report. The monthly cost also provides you with 1 position report and 1 start-stop report per day, plus statistical usage reports. There is a $30.00, TOTAL, activation fee to set up the Satellite phone and mapping account. The AXTracker will be pre-provisioned to report at your specified before shipping. To change the reporting schedule, you will need to buy the provisioning kit and software, to be able to change the schedule whenever you wish.
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