Tron DEC 406 MHz Decoder

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OPERATORS MANUAL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0. SOFTWARE REVISION HISTORY:.............................................................................................3

1. INTRODUCTION. ............................................................................................................................4

2. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION. ......................................................................................................4

3. OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS......................................................................................................4 3.1 CONNECTIONS ..............................................................................................................................4 3.2 CONNECT TO PC OR STAND-ALONE USE ....................................................................................5 4. DECODING OF USER PROTOCOLS...........................................................................................6 4.1 ORBITOGRAPHY USER PROTOCOL...................................................................................6 4.2 AVIATION USER PROTOCOL. ..............................................................................................7 4.3 MARITIME USER PROTOCOL. .............................................................................................7 4.4 SERIALIZED USER PROTOCOL. ..........................................................................................8 4.5 RADIO CALL-SIGN USER PROTOCOL................................................................................8 4.6 TEST USER PROTOCOL..........................................................................................................9 5. PRACTICAL ADVICES. .................................................................................................................9

6. EXAMPLES.....................................................................................................................................10

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0. SOFTWARE revision history:

1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.0 Decoding of serial numbers for UK (MID 232) included. Removal of bug in receiving routine. Removal of minor bug in initialisation routine. June -91, Decoding of swedish serial numbers included. Removal of minor bug in decoding routine. October -93, Decoding of UK serial numbers higher than 8192.(Type appr.no:32). Display of last received Hexcode when the TronDEC are switched off and on again within approx. 1 sec. (Not 100% !). 2.1 2.2 8.nov.-93, Removal of display bug in RADIO CALLSIGN decoding procedure. 17.feb.-94, A warning message is diaplayed if the tested EPIRB is transmitting a real live transmission (transmission with normal frame sync). 7.apr.-94, Improved error correction of frame sync. Protected message are now displayed USA & Canada serial numbers are diplayed. 2.4 29.jun.94, Decoding of Great Britain country code 233 is now implemented. If frame sync = FFFD0 (test) and Test prot.= true, the message will be decoded as maritime protocol. . 3.0 4. feb.96, Serial port (RS232 ) are now included, and routines to print out data at 9600 baud are now implemented.

2.3

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1. INTRODUCTION.
Tron DEC is a decoder for COSPAS-SARSAT EPIRBS, developed by JOTRON electronics a.s in Norway. It is designed to receive and decode transmissions from an EPIRB, and present the coded information on a display. It will decode transmissions from all kinds of COSPAS-SARSAT EPIRBS.

2. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION.
Tron DEC consists of a small UHF receiver for 406.025 MHz. The detected signal is handled by a microprocessor which decode the coded message and present the information on the display. With the built-in antenna, the range of the Tron DEC is upto 10 metres from the beacon being tested. With external antenna, longer distance is possible. With an attenuator of at least 40 dB, direct connection to a SARSAT-COSPAS EPIRB is possible if the EPIRB does not have test message with inverted frame sync. (FFFED0... in the start of the message). WARNING! - THIS MEANS THAT THE EPIRB TO BE TESTED ARE TRANSMITTING EMERGENCY MESSAGE AND HAVE TO BE PLACED IN A ROOM WHERE NO RADIO SIGNALS CAN ESCAPE FROM THE ROOM AND BE RECEIVED BY AIRCRAFTS OR SATTELITES The unit is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. When the battery voltage is low, a warning is shown on the display. The batteries are charged with an external charger unit. The TEST/OFF switch is springloaded in both positions, and if the receiver does not receive any signal within 3 - 4 minutes, the unit is automatically switched off to save battery.

3. OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS
3.1 Connections
There are now tree connectors on the TronDEC, and they are: BNC to external antenna or attenuator between EPIRB and TronDEC. Charger input - will accept 12 to 15 volt DC. RS232 output - can be connected to a PC for logging. The cable are 1-1, which means that pin 1 on PCs COMx port goes to TronDECs pin 1 etc. - Any terminal program may be used with fixed baud rate: 9600,n,8,1

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3.2 Connect to PC or Stand-alone use

The earlier versions of TronDEC (before 3.0) didnt got any possibility to connect to a PC, but you can still use the newer versions as a stand-alone unit: If you want to connect to a PC for logging of test results, connect cable between PCs COM1 or COM2 port, and TronDECs 9-pin connector. Start a terminal program like WINDOWS own TERMINAL. Check that the COM port and baudrate are properly set and you are ready to test COSPAS-SARSAT EPIRBS: Activate Tron DEC by pressing the TEST/ OFF switch to "TEST" position. The switch is springloaded and will return to neutral position. The following display is shown: *** JOTRON *** COSPAS-SARSAT Test Unit v.x.x

x.x indicates software version number. This message will be shown on the display in about 2 seconds. At the same time, this text will also appear at the PC display. After initializing, the decoder will wait for data and present the message "Waiting for data..." If the battery needs to be charged, the message "Battery voltage low" will be shown on the bottom line. When a signal is detected on 406.025 MHz, the message "Receiving data..." is shown on the display. If the signal is not a COSPAS-SARSAT coded signal, or if the coding is not according to a standard protocol, the message "Error in data! - Can not be decoded" is presented. See practical advices in section 5. In the coded signal, there is an error correcting code which can be used to detect errors. If errors are detected by the processor, the following warning is given: Error detected. This warning is shown for 2 seconds, afterwards the decoder returns to stand by. If the signal is successfully decoded, the received decoded string is presented as hexadecimal numbers. Received data: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Here the xxx.... is the hexadecimal string. This message is present for about 6 seconds, and after that the display shows the same information but now decoded according to the protocol being used. At present there are 6 different user protocols in the COSPAS-SARSAT system: 1. Orbitography 2. Aviation 3. Maritime 4. Serialized 5. Radio call sign 6. Test

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The displayed information will depend on which protocol being used in the EPIRB, below this is described in detail for each of the protocols. When the decoded information is displayed, this will be shown until a new transmission is received. If no transmission is received within 3 to 4 minutes, the decoder will switch itself off.

4. DECODING OF USER PROTOCOLS

4.1 ORBITOGRAPHY USER PROTOCOL.
The orbitography user protocol is used by special system calibration transmitters. Coding of these transmitters are not standarized, the Tron DEC is therefore not able to decode these transmitters. The following is shown on the display:

xxx is the country code in decimal form, according to the MID number. yyy.... is the hexadecimal string. Cntr:xxx Prot:Orbit. Will not be decoded! yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy If PC are connected,the following will be displayed:

Received data ...: yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy Country .........: xxx Protocol ........: Orbitography Will not be decoded!

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4.2 AVIATION USER PROTOCOL.

Cntr:xxx Prot:Aviat. Reg.no: yyyyyyy Homing dev: zzzzzzzz

xxx is the country code in decimal form, according to the MID number. yyyyyyy is the aircraft registration number. zzzzzzzz is the EPIRB's auxillary homing device. This can be either None, 121.5 MHz, SART or Other. If PC are connected,the following will be displayed: Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Reg.no. .........: Homing device ...: www.. is HEX data received wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww xxx Aviation yyyyyy 121.5 Mhz

4.3 MARITIME USER PROTOCOL.

Cntr:xxx Prot:Marit. Id: yyyyyy Epirb no: zzzzz ttttttttttttttt uuuu

xxx is the country code in decimal form, according to the MID number. yyyyyyy is the radio call sign or trailing 6 digits of ship station identity. zzzzz is the EPIRB's number in case of more EPIRBS on the same ship. tttttttt is protected message (bit 26-85) in hex format. uuuu is the EPIRB's auxillary homing device. This can be either None, VHF, SART or AUX. VHF is here 121.5 Mhz. If PC are connected,the following will be displayed: Received data ...: wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww Country .........: xxx Protocol ........: Maritime Call sign/MMSI no: yyyyyy EPIRB no.........: zzz Protected message: tttttttttttttt Homing device ...: uuuuu www.. is HEX data received

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4.4 SERIALIZED USER PROTOCOL.

Cntr:xxx Prot:Serial. Serial no: yyyyyyy Beacon type:zzzzzzzz tttttttttttttt uuuu

xxx is the country code in decimal form, according to the MID number. yyyyyyy gives the beacon serial number. zzzzzzzz gives the beacon type; selected between the following types: Aviation, Maritime, Survival and Personal. tttttttt is the protected message. uuuu is the EPIRB's auxillary homing device. This can be either None, VHF, SART or AUX. VHF is here 121.5 Mhz. If PC are connected,the following will be displayed: Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Serial no........: Beacon type .....: Protected message: Homing device ...: www.. is HEX data received wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww xxx Serial yyyyyyy Maritime ttttttttttttttttt uuuu

4.5 RADIO CALL-SIGN USER PROTOCOL.

Cntr:xxx Prot:Call.S. Call sign: yyyyyyy Epirb no: zzzzz tttttttttttttt uuuu xxx is the country code in decimal form, according to the MID number. yyyyyyy gives the radio call-sign. zzzzz is the EPIRB's number in case of more EPIRBS on the same ship. tttttttt is the protected message. uuuu is the EPIRB's auxillary homing device. This can be either None, VHF, SART or AUX. VHF is here 121.5 MHz. If PC are connected,the following will be displayed: Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Call sign .......: EPIRB no.........: Protected message: www.. is HEX data received wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww xxx Radio call sign yyyyyyy zz ttttttttttttttttttHoming device ...: uuuu

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4.6 TEST USER PROTOCOL.

Cntr:xxx Prot:Test Bit no 37 - 84 Hex: yyyy yyyy yyyy tttttttttttttt uuuu

xxx is the country code in decimal form, according to the MID number. yyy... is the hexadecimal presentation of bit 37 - 84. tttttttt is the protected message. uuuu is the EPIRB's auxillary homing device. This can be either None, VHF, SART or AUX. VHF is here 121.5 Mhz. If PC are connected,the following will be displayed: Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Bit no.37-84 HEX.: Protected message: Homing device ...: www.. is HEX data received wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww wwww xxx Test yyyy yyyy yyyyy ttttttttttttttt uuuu

5. PRACTICAL ADVICES.
Tron DEC is able to decode transmission from all existing COSPAS-SARSAT beacons available. However, be aware that when beacons are activated, they will be recognized by the satellite system as a distress alarm. Beacons should only be activated in RF-screened chamber to avoid false alarms. If used together with JOTRON's Tron 30S with extended internal self-test, all beacons with serial number higher than 1200 will have this facility, testing of the beacon can be done outside screened chamber if the Tron 30S is operated in the TEST position. The beacon will transmit a signal with inverted framesync which will not be recognized by the COSPAS-SARSAT system as a distress alarm. Inverted framesync means that the message transmitted from the beacon start with hex FFFED0 instead of FFFE2F which is the start of a "normal" transmission. On version 2.2 and up a warning is displayed if the received signal does not have the test synk. NB!: If a buoy is not decoded the first time trying, it might be because the oscillator in the buoy has not achived the right "working temperature" and therefore is getting wrong frequency. When the environment is very cold, it might take 5 - 6 times before the buoy decodes. The Sarsat specifications say max. 15 min. from turned on to that the spesifications is OK. The battery capacity is enough to operate. If the voltage is low, the battery must be charged before any further testing is done. If operated at low voltage, the data received could be distorted and the Tron DEC will notdecode the signals. The decoder may be operated while charging the battery.

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6. EXAMPLES
Here are some examples of printouts after logging data to a PC, saving to file and print out : JOTRON TRONDEC - SARSAT/COSPAS test unit v.3.0 Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Call sign .......: EPIRB no.........: Protected message: Homing device ...: Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Call sign/MMSI no: EPIRB no.........: Protected message: Homing device ...: Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: Serial no........: Beacon type .....: Protected message: Homing device ...: FFFE D054 3D4F 0502 CF06 8952 EC40 323 Radio call sign LA45678 0 A87A9E0A059E0D12 VHF FFFE D050 1525 3C19 6DEE 8FB9 0D00 257 Maritime LA8PV 1 A02A4A7832DBDD1F VHF FFFE D04E 8685 B7C6 0000 0D24 CFC0 232 Serial 22-7139 Maritime 9D0D0B6F8C00001A VHF

Note that the Serial no. on the above decoding are special for U.K. which have split the serial number in a two digit manufacturer approvel number and the serial number. If the serial number was higher than 8191, another manufucturer app.no is printed together with a number between 0-8191. If the EPIRB had serial no. 10000, the printout for serial number would show: Serial no........: 32-1809(10000) Where 32 are Manuf. app.no (JOTRON) for serial number between 8192 and 16383, and 1809 are serial number to be calculated as 8191+1809 = 10000 which is the actual serial number. Received data ...: Country .........: Protocol ........: ID ..............: EPIRB no ........: Protected message: Homing device ...: FFFE D050 1F24 94F0 65B7 8847 8F80 257 Test LA8PV 0 A03E4929E0CB6F10 VHF

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JOTRON Electronics a.s

P.O. Box 54, NO-3280 Tjodalyng Tel: +47 33 13 97 00, Fax: +47 33 12 67 80 Page 12 www.jotron.com