BMK s FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System User manual

Brand: BMK s

Model: FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

Category: GPS receiver modules

Type: User manual

Home » BMK s » BMK s FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System User Manual

FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

User Manual

Contents

1 FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

2 FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

3 BMK GPS Beacon Features

4 LOCATOR DISPLAY

5 ALTIMETER DISPLAY

6 QR CODE DISPLAY

7 FLIGHTS SUMMARY DISPLAY

8 SETTINGS

9 Conﬁg.ini File System

10 Single Page Field Manual for FlexiDisplay

434MHz

11 Documents / Resources

11.1 References

12 Related Posts

FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

Firmware v22-12-22

BMK s FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System User Manual

Manuals+ — User Manuals Simpliﬁed.

FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

RED BUTTON

Power ON (Pres & hold for 2 seconds)

Transmits DT Signal to the compatible BMK Receivers.

Enter / Select

Force Shutdown (Pres & hold for 10 seconds then release)

*not recommended if the device is responding to the commands.

EDGE BUTTON

Power OFF (Pres & hold for 6 seconds)

Next Display / Next Option

Flıght Recorder Start/Stop (Pres & hold for 1-5s)

Micro USB Socket

Charges the onboard battery in ~4 hours.

Antenna Socket

Female SMA Antenna socket for antenna connection. You can use any compatible antenna.

Wiﬁ Antenna

It’s an onboard antenna under the enclosure.

GPS Antenna

It’s an onboard antenna under the enclosure.

*Please do not cover this part of the device for a good GPS reception.

Features

FlexiDisplay Hand unit ON time: +20 hours (>100 hours @low power)

Flight Memory(1MB): records all received data and summary.

RCDT: Long Range, BMK B1 and B2 compatible.

RSSI Indicator: useful under low accuracy or No-GPS conditions.

Last Known Location: FD records and shows the last known location of the beacon.

GPS LOW indicator: It appears if the GPS accuracy is low and you will know the search radius may be >10m.

Altimeter: Altitude, Climb and Sink rates on your display.

QR code: Just scan with your phone and google maps will show the beacon location.

Flight Summary: Max altitude and other useful information about your last ﬂights.

Smart Beacon Selection: It shows all active beacons on your display. You can choose your beacons or friend’s

to help them. No binding is required,multiple FDs can follow the telemetry data of a beacon.

or Touch the FlexiDisplay antenna to Beacon antenna and wait for ~10 seconds and it will bind to the

beacon automatically.

Battery Capacity: 820mAh ~20 hours of continuous use.

BMK GPS Beacon Features

Battery Input

MicroJST 1.25mm socket

Compatible with 1-3S Lithium battery (3.5-13v)

30mA@ﬂight, ~7mA@stationary, 1mA@gps-oﬀ

Radio Antenna

164mm long Gauge 8 Steel Guitar Wire

GPS Antenna

Ceramic GPS Antenna.

Top 8mm of the beacon must be out of the carbon ﬁber fuselage. (Marked as Antenna Zone above)

Altimeter

The hole of the barometric pressure sensor must be alway open to measure the air pressure.

Keep away from the direct airstream or wind to measure correct altitude.

RED LED

The led shows the device status, blinks when transmitting and fast blinks when the GPS locked.

Breakaway Mounting Ears

You can break these ears by using a small plyer or wire cutter.

Beacon Features

20x21x6mm with ears, 13x21x6mm without ears.

1.5g weight.

GPS Beacon current consumption: 30mA@ﬂight, ~7mA@stationary, 1mA@gps-oﬀ

Update rate: 0.5s@climbing 1s@ﬂight 4-8s@stationary

The range: >20km in the air(UK conditions)

Low battery mode: The beacon disables the GPS unit for lower battery consumption and transmits the last

locked GPS point if the battery is under 3.3v. You can still receive this location info and signal strength value

until 1.8v.

Altimeter: 0.1m Resolution, 5.5km max, -1km min.

434-435MHz , 40 channels, 25khz channel spacing.

Battery Consumtion:

Supplied 40mA button batteries will be enough for 1 hours of ﬂight or 4-5 hours stationary.

100mAh battery will be enough for a ﬂight day.

LOCATOR DISPLAY

This is the default display to track your model.

Beacon & Display GPS Status

NO-GPS >> GPS is not ﬁxed

GPS-LOW >> The accuracy is low

GPS-OFF >> The battery is too low to supply GPS, The beacon is transmitting the last known location)

Beacon & Display Battery Level

Displays the voltage level in Volts. “LOW” text blinks if the battery level under the preset values(3.6v)

Signal Strength Indicator

Displays the strength of the last received signal from the beacon. Higher numbers are better. It’s also useful for

very short distances or NO-GPS conditions.

The device can measure the signal level from 0 to 120 but usually, you will lose the signal when it’s below 10.

The indicator will disappear in 20 seconds if the device cannot receive any fresh data from the beacon.

Q Values / GPS Accuracies

The GPS modules use the triangulation method to ﬁnd their location. Usualy more satellite is better but also the

satellite positions are important. If the GPS can’t see the horizon from one direction(a brick wall, buildings etc) the

calculated location will slide to the other direction. The modules generate HDOP value from the satellite positions

but this value is too complicated for ﬁeld use. This is why we use a simple 1 to 5 stars system. 5 is the best

accuracy, usualy you will see these numbers in a ﬂat ﬁeld and you can expect the model in a 3 meters range from

the spotted location.

1 is the worst value and the model can be anywhere in a 20-80m radius.

If the Q values are something like “Q:2/3”, this means the beacon GPS accuracy is 2 Stars and the FlexiDisplay

GPS accuracy is 3 Stars rated. Better use the Signal Strength Indicator to ﬁnd your model when you arrived at the

location.

Beacon ID / Name

Every beacon has its Unique ID Number. You can track any beacon by using your FlexiDisplay but you must know

the channel number and the ID of the beacon to recognise it (See the Beacon Selection menu). You can also

name them if the 6-digit hexadecimal numbers are too confusing to remember. (See the Conﬁg.ini File Section)

Altitude Indicator

You can follow the live altitude of the beacon from this part of the display. The arrow will turn up or down

depending on the altitude change.

Distance Indicator

It shows the distance between the model and the user by using both GPS location data.

The Arrow

The arrow indicates the model’s location when you hold your FlexiDisplay level to the ground like a compass.

ALTIMETER DISPLAY

The second display mode to track your model’s performance

In addition to the previous display mode:

Max. Altitude

Maximum altitude from the current/last ﬂight.

The device resets this value automatically when it recognises a new launch pattern.

Variometer

Live climb or sink rate of the model. This value will be zero when the model is stationary but may show some

small changes if the weather is too windy. The arrow shows if it’s climbing or sinking.

Line Of Sight Distance

The LOS distance between the model and the user. It’s diﬀerent from the ground distance in the locator display.

Direction Arrow

It will appear when only the device is in the compass position.

QR CODE DISPLAY

QR Code is a unique method to recover your model if you are more conﬁdent with your phone display or your

helper will retrieve your model from the landing position. Just scan this code by using your smartphone and

Google Maps will pin the beacon’s location. You can also take a photo of the display to share or track it later.

*You may need a QR Code Scanner App if you are using an Android phone.

Selected Beacon No

Click the RED button to toggle between the received beacons.

The device will not send any RCDT command.

This is another way to select a beacon.

Last update date and time

The date from the GPS satellites and its UTC. You must add or remove your local time zone

FLIGHTS SUMMARY DISPLAY

This display gives short summaries of the last 10 ﬂights.

You can toggle between the ﬂights by using the [RED Button]. The device will not send any RCDT command.

Flight Number

It’s an incremental value and it’s not resettable.

Date/Time

The date from the GPS satellites and its UTC. You must add or remove your local time zone

Max.Climb / Sink Rates

The maximum variometer values during the ﬂight..

Flight Time

Estimated ﬂight duration. The ﬂight time can not be used for the timing requirements because the launch and

landing data is related to the altimeter only and the beacon may delay transmitting the correct value.

SETTINGS

This is the last of the 5 main displays.

You can enter the Settings system by using the [RED Button]. The device will not send any RCDT command.

5.1.Main Settings

Beacon Select

Channel Set

WiFi

Raw Data

Compass Calibration

Battery Calibration

Contrast Calibration

Shutdown

Return

5.1.1.Beacon Select

You can select the active beacon by using this menu. The beacons will appear in the list soon after they

transmitted a valid data. The signal strength is minus(-) dB but shows only the positive part of the value because

of the small display size. So a lower value means a better reception. You can toggle between the beacons by

using the [EDGE Button] and select by using the [RED Button]. It will return to the main menu in a few seconds if

you don’t press any button.

5.1.2.Channel Set

More than 10 beacons can work at the same frequency as a locator thanks tothe unique IDs and randomised

transmit times but most of the signals will interfere with each other and it is not ideal for tracking the live altitude in

a competition.

To solve this problem, the beacons are conﬁgurable for 40 diﬀerent channels and you will receive your beacons

and the hand unit conﬁgured to a dedicated channel. You don’t have to change the channel number unless you

are searching for your friend’s beacon or helping them as a spotter etc. It will return to the main menu for a while if

you don’t press any button.

5.1.3.WiFi Mode

The device will open a WiFi access point(AP) with a unique SSID name and Password and they will be shown on

your display when the WiFi mode is enabled. Search for the WiFi network name by using your phone, tablet or

computer and connect by using the provided password. Then open a web browser and type 192.168.4.1 into the

address bar to enter the web-based admin menu.

You can update the ﬁrmware, change the device settings or download the complete ﬂight data in CSV format by

using this menu.

You can download the latest ﬁrmware and upload it to the device easily.

* Check the startup screen for the current version number (AKA Pennington Indicator™) and make sure the

downloaded ﬁrmware version is newer than the current one before updating.

** The latest ﬁrmwares here: https://github.com/melihkarakelle/FlexiDisplay-Firmware-Releases

Conﬁg.ini File System

The device stores the user-conﬁgurable values under the conﬁg.ini ﬁle. This is a standard conﬁguration ﬁle system

based on the sections marked with “[ ]” and variables. You

can also comment out a line by using the “#” character.

[SETTINGS]

### The beacon radio channel number must be between 0-39 ###

RADIO_CHANNEL = 15

### RCDT Code must be 6 digit hesadecimal(0-F) ###

RCDT_CODE=B20001

METRIC_SYSTEM=1

#METRIC_SYSTEM=0

SLEEP_AFTER_STATINARY_SECONDS=600

BEEP_AFTER_STATINARY_SECONDS=180

BEEP_EVERY_X_SECONDS=10

SAVE_FLIGHTS_TO_MEMORY = 0

[RECORDED_VARIABLES]

LAST_SELECTED_BEACON = B344E7

Display_Lat_last = 51.906683

Display_Lon_last = 2.429880

Beacon_Lat_last = 51.906835

Beacon_Lon_last = 2.429575

[CALIBRATION]

BATTERY_ADC_CONSTANT = 4.527158

Mag_X_max = 1320

Mag_Y_max = 1215

Mag_Z_max = 1343

Mag_X_min = -1196

Mag_Y_min = -1342

Mag_Z_min = -1115

[MY_BEACONS]

B374FD=RED-E20

B38EE9=F1A

B39EA2=MY BEACON (1)

5.1.4.Raw Data

You can ﬁnd raw sensor data under this menu. You can toggle between the variables by using the [EDGE Button]

and return by using the [RED Button].

5.1.5.Compass Calibration

The compass must be recalibrated if; the device is showing the wrong direction and you must complete the

calibration process if you have entered this menu. The calibration process is simple: turn the device in your hand

in every possible direction. You can make 8 ﬁgures and also ﬂip them. The device will measure the minimum and

maximum magnetic ﬁeld strength and the down counting progress bar will refresh if it measures a higher value or

saves and return if the values are not changing anymore.

5.1.6.Battery Calibration

The battery sensor must be recalibrated if; the device is showing lower voltage than 4.1volts after fully charged.

The calibration process is simple: Enter this menu and it will calibrate the sensor for 4.2V. If you enter this menu

accidentaly when the battery level is lower, just charge the device and it will recalibrate itself automaticaly.

5.1.7.Contrast Calibration

You can calibrate the display contrast from here if the display is dark or faded. Press the RED button to darker

and Edge button for lighter results.

Recovery Mode:

If you cant read the display becouse of a contrast calibration error, there is another way to calibrate it.

1. Press and hold the RED button for 10 seconds then release to force shutdown the unit.

2. Press and hold the EDGE and RED Buttons together for 3 seconds. The device will turn on at the recovery

mode.

3. Release both buttons together.

4. Click the RED button 10-30 times for a darker display or the EDGE button for a lighter one.

5. Wait for an auto restart when you are happy with the results.

Single Page Field Manual for FlexiDisplay 434MHz

Automatic Beacon Selection (Aka: Antenna Kiss™ by Chris Edge)

If you have more than one active beacon, you can use this smart feature to switch between your beacons.

1. Make sure the beacon and the FlexiDisplay in the same channel,

2. Touch the FlexiDisplay antenna to Beacon antenna and wait for ~10 seconds.

3. The FlexiDisplay will measure the signal level and bind to the beacon automatically if it’s too close.

Calibrating the Compass

Compass calibration may require if you carried your FlexiDisplay unit and a strong magnet together or ﬂying near

to an iron mine etc.

1. Goto SETTINGS>COMPASS CAL.>

2. Turn the device in your hand in every possible direction for at least 10 seconds.

3. It will record the maximum magnetic ﬁeld strength and return back automatically.

Channel Selection (FlexiDisplay & GPS Beacon)

Changing the radio channel is not suggested if there is no obvious reason.

FlexiDisplay

1. Goto SETTINGS>CHANNEL SET>

2. Click the RED(+) or EDGE(-) button to select, Wait a few seconds and it will return back automatically. GPS

Beacon

3. Use the tip of a ball pen to ﬁnd the click point of the micro button. It’s a very small black dot below the

altimeter’s air inlet.

4. Click and hold the button before plug the battery, then plug the battery and release the button.

5. Click the the button and count the blinks until the desired channel number then release the button.(6 blinks for

CH6)

6. The LED will ﬂash continuously, cycle the power to use.

Charging

*Do NOT store your lithium batteries at fully charged(4.2V). 3.7V will be best for a longer battery life.

FlexiDisplay

1. Plug the Micro USB cable to the charge socket

2. The RED LED behind the display will turn on during the charging. It takes about 4 hours for a depleted battery.

GPS Beacon

1. Plug the Micro USB cable to the 25mA Charger,

2. Plug the battery and the RED LED will turn ON until fully charged then it will turn to GREEN.

3. The charge time is ~1.5 hours for a 40mAh battery and 4 hours for 100mAh.

Changing the Antenna

The stock antenna is selected for general use and small enough to ﬁt in your pocket but sometimes you may need

a better and bulky antenna if you are planing a long ﬂight etc. Please bare in your mind:

You can search for 433MHz, 434MHz and UHF antennas. There is no consensus on their names.

Compare the signal strength readings to make sure your new antenna is better than stock antenna.

The antenna connector must be SMA MALE (Not RP-SMA MALE)

Compass calibration may required depend on the antenna material and size.

Credits:

Beta Testers and People behind the most of the features

Chris Edge & Julian Pennington

The information furnished by BM.Karakelle is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, no responsibility is

assumed for inaccuracies and speciﬁcations within this document are subject to change without notice. The

material contained herein is the exclusive property of BM.Karakelle and shall not be distributed, reproduced, or

disclosed in whole or in part without prior written permission of BM.Karakelle.

www.bmks.co.uk

Documents / Resources

BMK s FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System [pdf] User Manual

FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System, GPS Locator System, Locator System, System

References

BMK's Store for Free Flight – BMK's Free Flight Store

GitHub - melihkarakelle/FlexiDisplay-Firmware-Releases: Repository for the available FlexiDisplay

Firmware

Manuals+,

BMK s FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System User manual

Brand: BMK s

Model: FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

Category: GPS receiver modules

Type: User manual

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BMK s FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System User manual

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