A E R O c o n t r o l

U s e r M a n u a l
Vers. 3.1.5 d
P/N:CAE-53-100-00492
Date: 15.01.2007

IGI mbH
Langenauer Straße 46
57223 Kreuztal
Germany
Phone: +49 2732 - 55 25 0
Fax: +49 2732 - 55 25 25
E-mail: info@igi-systems.com
1. End-User License Agreement

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Further, this publication and features described herein are subject to change without notice.

3. Other

IGI is in any case thankful for reports on occurring errors, for suggestions and critique.
1 OVERVIEW ..........................................................................................................1
1.1 Airborne System....................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Office System ............................................................................................................................................ 1

2 INSTALLATION OF AEROCONTROL.................................................................2
2.1 Installation of the aircraft plate .............................................................................................................. 2
2.2 Installation of IMU................................................................................................................................... 2
2.3 Installation of GPS Receiver.................................................................................................................... 2
2.4 Cabling AEROcontrol with CCNS........................................................................................................... 3
2.5 Cabling AEROcontrol Stand Alone......................................................................................................... 4

3 OPERATING AEROCONTROL ...........................................................................5

3.1 Before Flight ............................................................................................................................................. 5
3.1.1 Power up ................................................................................................................................................ 5
3.1.2 Start the System ..................................................................................................................................... 5
3.1.3 System Alignment.................................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 Rules for an optimal Flight Mission........................................................................................................ 6
3.3 After Landing ........................................................................................................................................... 7
3.3.1 Shutdown the System............................................................................................................................. 7
3.3.2 Download GPS/IMU Raw Data ............................................................................................................. 7
3.4 Operation of AEROcontrol with CCNS................................................................................................... 8
3.4.1 CCNS4 Setup ......................................................................................................................................... 8
3.4.2 AEROcontrol Info Page ......................................................................................................................... 9
3.4.3 SET SYSTEM Page............................................................................................................................. 10
3.5 Operation of AEROcontrol Stand Alone............................................................................................... 13
3.5.1 AEROcontrol Screens .......................................................................................................................... 13
3.5.2 AEROcontrol Status LED .................................................................................................................... 15

4 CONNECTION TO EXTERNAL DEVICES.........................................................17

4.1 AUX Connector ...................................................................................................................................... 17
4.2 BNC Connector for 1PPS ...................................................................................................................... 17

5 ADDITIONAL OUTPUT ......................................................................................18

5.1 Time Synchronization ............................................................................................................................ 18
5.2 1PPS Output ........................................................................................................................................... 18
5.3 Time Tag ................................................................................................................................................. 18

6 APPENDIX .........................................................................................................20
6.1 User Manual Aircraft Connector Plate ................................................................................................ 20
6.2 Installation Examples............................................................................................................................. 27
6.3 Preflight Checklist.................................................................................................................................. 29

7 SPECIFICATIONS..............................................................................................32
7.1 Power Consumption ............................................................................................................................... 32
7.2 Temperature ........................................................................................................................................... 32
7.3 Weights: .................................................................................................................................................. 32

I
1 Overview
The AEROcontrol GPS/IMU system is the IGI solution for precise position and attitude
determination. This system is divided into the airborne and the office based part, which is the
software package AEROoffice. The airborne part contains the AEROcontrol computer hardware
with firmware, the IMU and the GPS receiver. The system is used to precisely determine the
position, velocity and attitude of an airborne sensor, e.g. the projection center of an aerial camera
system. The data can be provided continuously with selectable rate or at certain times, e.g. the
instant of exposure.

1.1 Airborne System

The airborne computer is used for:

• Recording of IMU data (angular rate and acceleration)

• Recording of GPS data (raw measurements, position and velocity)
• Recording of the actual orientation of a stabilized sensor mount
• Real time platform calculation of position, attitude and velocity
• Calculation of leveling information for the sensor mount

The airborne computer can be interfaced to various internal and external GPS receivers and
different types of IMUs. All data is stored on a PC card (PCMCIA standard).
The system records approximately 18 MB of data per hour at 128 Hz sampling rate (32MB at
256Hz). With a 512 MB PC card the possible mission time is about 28 hours (16 hours at 256Hz).

1.2 Office System

AEROoffice is a software package running on standard PCs under Windows NT/2000/XP operating
systems. The main features of the software are:
o PC-Card handling for AEROcontrol DATA CARDs:
• Preflight preparation of the DATA CARD
• Postflight data download from the DATA CARD
o Export of airborne GPS data to the external GPS postprocessing software
o Postprocessing of GPS data and IMU data:
• Using real time (D)GPS position or
• Importing externally processed GPS data e.g. Novatel/ Waypoint GrafNav
o Lever arm correction for stabilized sensor mounts
o Datamanager to output processed data
o Output of the processed positions, velocities and angles
• For discrete events (e.g. the feedback signal of an aerial camera) or
• Continuous datasets for the processing of continuously operating sensors (e.g. LIDAR
or SAR)
o Selectable output formats
o Transformation of the results into the local coordinate systems:
• Predefined and tested coordinate systems from all around the world.
• User definable coordinate systems.
o Tools for Quality Control of the processing result
o An integrated AT program (GIP BINGO or BINGO30) for boresight calibration and
Integrated Sensor Orientation (ISO)

1
2 Installation of AEROcontrol
2.1 Installation of the aircraft plate
For the installation of the a/c plate, see 6.1. This manual is part of the a/c plate shipment.

2.2 Installation of IMU

To ensure the correct measurement of the angles of the airborne sensor, the IMU has to be mounted
rigidly to the sensor. Standard mounting kits are available for

• Vexcel ULTRACAMD™
• Vexcel ULTARCAMX™
• Intergraph DMC®
• Intergraph RMK TOP
• Leica RC20/30
• Zeiss Jena LMK

! The IMU is a delicate measurement unit with shock sensitive parts. If the unit is not in
operation, the IMU should be handled like raw eggs.
The electric connection of the IMU is done via the IMU connector unit (Part No. IMU-30-005-
02000). One side is connected directly to the IMU. This plug has a small switch to switch the IMU
power on and off, and three pairs of LEDs. The yellow LEDs are on if the connector unit is
connected to power. The green LEDs are on if the IMU is switched on.

! If you mount the IMU inside an aerial sensor like the DMC® or the ULTRACAM™, make sure
that the IMU power switch is switched on.

The two cables on the other side of the connector are the power cable and data cable. They have to
be connected to CCNS4 a/c plate for power and to the IMU connector on the AEROcontrol
computer, respectively.

2.3 Installation of GPS Receiver

AEROcontrol can be equipped with an internal GPS receiver or with an external receiver. In case of
an internal receiver, only the GPS antenna has to be connected. For external GPS receivers, the
receiver has to be connected to the GPS plug of the AEROcontrol and to the GPS antenna.

The Thales Z-Xtreme and the NovAtel OEM4 GPS receivers are completely integrated into the
AEROcontrol system. This means that the user does not need to enter any command to the receiver.
For other receivers, contact IGI for further information.

! Most planes are equipped with GPS antennas of L1 only and L1/L2 types. Ensure to connect the
right antenna (L1/L2 type) to the GPS receiver. In case of connecting the L1 only antenna the
systems seems to work normally but GPS post-processing will discover that L2 frequency data
is missing.

2
2.4 Cabling AEROcontrol with CCNS
The AEROcontrol computer has to be connected to the CCNS4 with two cables:

• Data cable between NAV plug on the AEROcontrol and the GPS plug on the CCNS4
containing data and power wires
• Event cable between one MIDPULSE output of the CCNS4 and the event input on the
AEROcontrol

! Ensure to use the MIDPULSE output of the CCNS4 according to the used camera port on
CCNS4.

Figure 1: Midpulse Cable Configuration; Cam Port 1 in use

Figure 2: Midpulse Cable Configuration; Cam Port 2 in use

3
 Figure 3: Midpulse Cable Configuration; Two Cameras in use

! Two EVENT INPUT ports are available for AEROcontrols with an internal Novatel OEM4 GPS
receiver only. All other AEROcontrol systems have one port only, thus they can handle events
of one camera only.

2.5 Cabling AEROcontrol Stand Alone

The AEROcontrol computer has to be connected to the used equipment via the following cables:

• Data cable between NAV plug on the AEROcontrol and the Aircraft Plate to provide
Power.
• Event cable between one EVENT INPUT port and the event output of the used camera.
• GPS antenna plug has to be connected to an L1/L2 antenna.
• The IMU has to be connected to the IMU plug.

! AEROcontrol expects an active low (falling edge) signal to recognize the time of exposure. If
the used camera provides an active high (rising edge) signal only, please contact IGI.

4
3 Operating AEROcontrol
3.1 Before Flight
Before the AEROcontrol can be started, a prepared data card has to be inserted. This data card
provides necessary information to the AEROcontrol computer. The information, like

• type of IMU
• type of GPS receiver
• lever arms
• usage of data ports

has to be defined in the “prepare data card” procedure in the AEROoffice program. For details, see
the AEROoffice manual.

! It is recommended that the flight crew have a notebook computer available at the airport to
prepare the data card and to backup the data after the flight.

! Without a proper preparation of the AEROcontrol datacard the system will NOT run. Please
have a look into AEROoffice manual.

3.1.1 Power up
The AEROcontrol has no power switch. It will be powered up with the circuit breaker controlling
the power of the CCNS4 a/c plate. The IMU may be installed on the same circuit with its own fuse.
The IMU and AEROcontrol have to be powered up as soon as possible after the engines are
running.

3.1.2 Start the System

After being powered up, the system is in IDLE mode, which can be seen on the AEROcontrol info
page on the CCNS4 CDU and on the LEDs on the front panel of the AEROcontrol computer box.
When GPS and IMU data are OK and enough free space is available on the AEROcontrol data card,
the system can be started using the CCNS4 setup mode (first menu entry on the set system page) or
with the RUN/STBY switch in case of AEROcontrol Stand Alone.

! Ensure that there is enough space left on the data card for the whole mission. Recording will be
inhibited if the card is full while navigation data for the CCNS4 will still be provided. The
remaining space on the data card is displayed on the AEC-INFO page.

! The aircraft must be on ground to start an AEROcontrol mission.

3.1.3 System Alignment

After starting the system the AEROcontrol is in ALIGN mode doing a gyro compass alignment to
initialize heading. This takes two minutes. During this time the aircraft must be static without any
movement (do not switch on the camera mount which may rotate around its axes after power on).
After this alignment time the system is ready and the NAV OFF symbol on the CCNS4 screen will
disappear or LED will start flashing slowly.

! The aircraft has to stand still, when align is active!

5
3.2 Rules for an optimal Flight Mission

Figure 4: Example for an AEROcontrol Mission

! Rules: 1: During the two minutes of the IMU initialisation the aircraft must not move.
2: For a good GPS solution the bank angle should not exceed 20 deg (loss of lock).
3: Try to fly alternate left and right turns. Try to avoid flying full circles.

! For a successful flight mission it is essential to cover the complete mission area by GPS
master/ base station data (1Hz).
Take care that the GPS Base/ Monitor Station has a free horizon that all available SV’s can be
observed.
The Elevation Mask of the GPS Base/ Master Station should be set to 0°.
At least 6 SV’s and a PDOP better than 2.5 should be available. The GPS constellation should
be checked with the GPS postprocessing software (e.g. with the “Mission Planner” tool in the
GrafNav software) before starting a mission.

6
3.3 After Landing

3.3.1 Shutdown the System

Now stop the AEROcontrol system by using the CCNS4 setup mode second page.

! Do not power down the system without using the STOP command from CCNS4 described
above, otherwise up to five minutes of data will be lost!

3.3.2 Download GPS/IMU Raw Data

When the system is powered down, remove the AEROcontrol data card and download the data
using AEROoffice. To avoid loss of data, it is recommended to make a backup copy of the data on
an external storage device.
For further information please read AEROoffice manual.

7
3.4 Operation of AEROcontrol with CCNS

3.4.1 CCNS4 Setup

In the CCNS4 the AEROcontrol is used for position and heading information. In the setup menu on
system configuration page #3, the user has to select AEROcontrol as GPS receiver. If the IMU is
mounted on the aircraft frame instead of being mounted on the camera, you can select the
AEROcontrol for gyro input. Otherwise select the aircrafts directional gyro for gyro input.

Figure 5: CCNS4 System Config Page #2 and #3

GDLY A GPS system DELAY, taking into account that the GPS receiver
needs some time to calculate a valid position.
AEC DRIFT (Only with GSM 3000 mount)
Determines the base on which the calculation for the camera
mount is made.
Possible settings are:

TTK TRUE TRACK. In this case, the Drift is calculated as

correction necessary due to wind only. TTK drift angle is
calculated between true track and heading of the aircraft.
DTK If DESIRED TRACK has been selected, the CCNS4 will
include the angle in between heading of the aircraft, true track of
the aircraft and desired track of the planned flightline. This will
keep the camera always parallel to the planned flightline.
AEC LEVL (Only with GSM 3000 mount)
If the camera is mounted in a GSM 3000 mount, the automatic
stabilization should be done by the mount. Therefore, this option
has to be set to GSM GYRO. In this mode, the AEROcontrol will
only provide the levelling information to the mount, while the
stabilization will be performed by the mount.
It is also possible to let the stabilization be done by the
AEROcontrol but this method will not work as smooth as the first
one.

8
3.4.2 AEROcontrol Info Page
Access the INFO page for AEROcontrol by pressing the MODE button for INFO MODE and then
pressing the PAGE button to select the AEROCTRL INFO #1 page.

Figure 6: AEROcontrol Info Page

3.4.2.1 GPS Status

The AEROcontrol info page displays information about the GPS constellation, which is shown by
number of satellites and the PDOP value. The PDOP value „Positional Dilution of Precision", is
ranging between 1 and 99.
This value is calculated by the GPS receiver and will be determined by the number of satellites
received and their constellation and can not be influenced by the operator.

3.4.2.2 AEROcontrol Status

The AEROcontrol status is displayed in the AEROcontrol info page in two lines.
The upper line displays the AEROcontrol mode and the lower line gives details for an error
condition.
There is also an overall status displayed at bottom of the page
NAV DATA VALID Meaning that the system is running fine and that the stored
positions are valid.
NO VALID POS Will be lit 15 seconds after the CCNS/AEROcontrol has reported
the last position.
PAUSE YOUR MISSION AND REFLY ALL PICTURES
MADE IN THE LAST 15 SECONDS.
NO NAV DATA Will be lit 60 seconds after the CCNS/AEROcontrol has reported
the last position. This indication is flashing.
PAUSE YOUR MISSION AND REFLY ALL PICTURES
MADE IN THE LAST 60 SECONDS.

3.4.2.3 AEROcontrol Operation Modes

IDLE System on stand by.
INITIAL Initialization process of the system (automatic) following the start
command.
ALIGN Static Alignment of the IMU. This process takes two minutes.
NORMAL Normal operation of the AEROcontrol system, meaning IMU and
GPS function o.k..
9
 UNAUGMNT This can happen automatically in sharp turns (large bank angle)
and enables the system to keep a high accuracy in periods of very
poor GPS.
Longer illumination of UNAUGMNT will most probably indicate
a GPS failure.
SYS ERR System Error.
THE FLIGHT SHOULD BE CANCELED AT ONCE.
Check the Error Conditions Line for possible errors.

3.4.2.4 AEROcontrol Error Conditions

SYS OK System o.k., no errors.
CARD ERR AEROcontrol data card error.
FILE ERR Initialization File error.
IMU FAIL IMU failure
CARD CHG AEROcontrol data card change. The system recognizes that the
AEROcontrol data card has been removed.
CRD FULL AEROcontrol data card full. Stop the mission and land to transfer
the data to a PC.

! In any case, delete those files that have already been transferred to the PC, once you have
landed.
PCM ERR PCMCIA interface error.
GPS FAIL The GPS receiver does fail to provide information.
DTA FAIL Software error.

3.4.3 SET SYSTEM Page

This page is mainly used to start or stop an AEROcontrol mission. To access the SET SYSTEM
page, enter the SETUP MODE and select the SET SYSTEM page using the PAGE BUTTON.

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3.4.3.1 Indications on SET SYTEM Page
If a CCNS/AEROcontrol system has been interfaced to the CCNS4, there will be the mode of
the AEROcontrol system displayed.

IDLE The AEROcontrol system is waiting for a mission start

command. Refer to the AEROCTRL INFO page to check the
system status before you start the system
RUN The AEROcontrol system is running, recording all data for later
postprocessing
... (Three dots) There is no data from the AEROcontrol system.
Check the connection between the CCNS4 and the
AEROcontrol system

3.4.3.2 Commands being entered on SET SYSTEM Page

Start a Mission
Before you start an AEROcontrol mission, check the status of the AEROcontrol system on the
AEROCTRL INFO page. The status must be OK and the mode must be IDLE. Otherwise the start
command has no effect.
On the SET SYSTEM page you will see the line AECTRL: IDLE.
Select this line, turning the SELect knob. Then press the ENTer button. The thin cursor line will
change to a thick one and you can change with the SELect knob from IDLE to START. Now press
the ENTer button to confirm the start command. Wait a few seconds and the mode will change to
RUN. The AEROcontrol starts the alignment.
Change to the AEROCTRL INFO #1 page. After two minutes the alignment is finished and the
status will change from ALIGN to NORMAL. Check the status from time to time during an
AEROcontrol mission.

Figure 7: CCNS4 SET SYSTEM page, starting a mission

11
 Stop a Mission
To stop an AEROcontrol mission, change to the SET SYSTEM page. You will see the line:
AECTRL: RUN.
Select this line, turning the SELect knob. Then press the ENTer button. The thin cursor line will
change to a thick one and you can change with the SELect knob from RUN to STOP. The
AEROcontrol mission will stop recording data and the mode will change to IDLE.

Figure 8: CCNS4 SET SYSTEM Page, stopping a mission

12
3.5 Operation of AEROcontrol Stand Alone
The AEROcontrol is designed to be used together with the CCNS4. For special applications it is
also possible to operate an AEROcontrol system stand alone.
The user may watch the mode and status of the AEROcontrol computer on the service CDU or on
the LEDs on the AEROcontrol front panel. The start and stop command for the AEROcontrol which
are normally sent from the CCNS4 are input by using the RUN/STBY switch.

3.5.1 AEROcontrol Screens

There are three different screens displayed on the Service Monitor. Two of them are displayed
in the IDLE mode depending on the status of the AEROcontrol data card. The third screen is
displayed in the RUN mode.
3.5.1.1 IDLE Mode, first screen
The first screen is displayed in IDLE mode until the setup information is read from the
AEROcontrol data card.

Figure 9: AEROcontrol service monitor, first screen in IDLE mode

If the AEROcontrol data card is prepared properly by the prepare card function of AEROoffice and
inserted to the AEROcontrol computer the setup information is read and the systems will display
the first screen.
• The first line displays Firmware version and release date
• The next block of four lines displays information about the installed interface cards and
their firmware revision.
• The next line is the Status of the system.
• The following three lines display information about the internal clock, the time of the last
1PPS and the last event received by the system.

3.5.1.2 IDLE Mode, second screen

After reading the setup information from the AEROcontrol Data Card the AEROcontrol does
display the second screen.

13
 Figure 10: AEROcontrol service monitor, second screen in IDLE mode

Now all interfaces (GPS, IMU, AUX port) are initialized and status information is
displayed.
• The second line displays the Type and orientation of the IMU:
• The used lever arms are displayed for the GPS antenna and the sensor (e.g.
projection center of aerial camera).
• The Status line is the same as in the first screen.
• The Options field shows used interface options of the AEROcontrol computer.
“M” indicates that the switch for manual operation (RUN/STBY) is
recognized and will be used for start and stop of the system.
• The Flags field will give more detailed status information. There are five
letters to indicate different error conditions:
• A: IMU Error
• G: GPS Error
• F: Card Full
• P: PC-Card Error
• I: Init-File Error
• The timing field is the same as in screen 1.
• The following four lines are used to display type and status of the attached
GPS receiver. After initializing the receiver and until a valid position is
received the lower lines will change and display Satellite numbers and signal
strength.
• The next two lines show remaining recording space on the AEROcontrol data
card in Kbytes and the estimated recording time. Also the next file index
which will be used to store the data is displayed.
• The bottom line displays different messages like warnings from the Ashtech
receivers. The example shows that the GPS receiver initialization is done.

14
3.5.1.3 RUN Mode screen
After all interfaces have been initialized, GPS and IMU are sending valid data and enough space is
left on the AEROcontrol Data Card the system can by started by putting the switch to position
RUN.
If the switch is in position RUN before the above noted conditions are matched the system will
remain in IDLE mode.

Figure 11: AEROcontrol service monitor, screen in RUN mode

• In RUN mode the Date/Time/Tsys Block displays current date (30042006= April 30th,
2006), the actual GPS time and the time since the RUN mode was entered.
• The Mode field may display
• INIT: during the first 5 seconds of the alignment
• ALIGN: for the rest of the alignment procedure
• NORMAL: after alignment if everything is OK
• UNAUGMENT: after alignment if GPS data are poor or missing
• ERROR: if IMU data are missing
• Free indicates the remaining recording time, calculated with an average of nine satellites.
• The Flags field is the same as in IDLE mode.
• Lat/Lon/Alt show the geographical position.
• VelN/VelE/VelU shows the velocity components in North/East/Up direction.
• Track is the track over ground, may jump in static.
• Roll/Pitch/Yaw shows the attitude of the IMU.
• The next two lines display some information about the GPS data and the number of PPS
pulses received since entering the IDLE mode.
• Prj/Area/Line shows the CCNS4 flight line information which is not available in stand
alone operations.
• EVT is the number of events since entering the IDLE mode.
• Num: is the event number of the aerial camera synchronized by the CCNS4. In stand alone
operations this counter will start with 0 when entering the RUN mode.

3.5.2 AEROcontrol Status LED

If no service monitor is available the LEDs on the front panel also show mode and status of the
AEROcontrol system.

15
 The two upper LEDs (red color) indicate error conditions (STATUS), the lower LEDs (green
color) indicate received event signals and the MODE of the AEROcontrol system.

Figure 12: AEROcontrol stand alone version, Front panel

3.5.2.1 LED1, IMU & GPS Status

IMU and GPS status is shown by the upper LED. The following conditions may be indicated:
Off IMU and GPS are sending valid data.
2x Flash GPS data are invalid or missing
3x Flash IMU data are invalid or missing
2x / 3x Flash GPS and IMU data are invalid or missing
3.5.2.2 LED2, PC-Card Status
The second red LED is used for the status of the AEROcontrol Data Card. The following conditions
may be indicated
Off Card is OK, AEROcontrol setup data is read
2x Flash AEROcontrol setup data not found or invalid
3x Flash Card is full or missing

3.5.2.3 LED3, Event

The third LED will be on for 300ms after an event is received. Until the next event will be received
the LED will be off.

3.5.2.4 LED4, Mode

The lower LED is used to indicate the MODE of the AEROcontrol system. The following
conditions may be indicated:

Off System is booting, will be in this state for less than five minutes after power
up
2x Flash System is in IDLE mode
4x Flash System is in ALIGN mode (120sec.). During this time the aircraft must stand
still!
Slow Flash System is in RUN/NORMAL mode
Fast Flash System is in RUN/ERROR or UNAUGMENT mode. Maybe caused by GPS
or IMU failure.

16
4 Connection to external devices
4.1 AUX Connector
The AUX connector is used for special applications like time information related to 1PPS output
and/or readout of mount angles of PAV30 or T-AS.
Usage of this port depends on the application.

Pin Signal Remark

G RX+ RS422-Communication Port
H RX-
J GND RX/TX direction
K TX+ related to the
L TX- AEROcontrol interface
Table 1: Pinning AUX connector

4.2 BNC Connector for 1PPS

The 1PPS signal from the GPS receiver is buffered and output on a BNC type connector on the
AEROcontrol computer. Depending on installed options, a time tag string will be output on the
serial interface of the aux port.

17
5 Additional Output
5.1 Time Synchronization
For synchronization of external sensors the AEROcontrol is able to supply a timing pulse and a
time tag message. Synchronization is done in GPS week seconds except the GPS receiver
connected to the AEROcontrol does supply UTC time instead of GPS time.

5.2 1PPS Output

The 1PPS signal provided by the GPS receiver is output by the AEROcontrol using an inverting
buffer. For this output signal the inverting output of a driver is used so that the output is also
capable of driving a 50 Ohm load.
See two examples of this signal created with an AEROcontrol using an Ashtech type GPS
receiver (Z-Surveyor). The first edge determines the full GPS second.

Figure 13: 1PPS output with 1MOhm load

Figure 14: 1PPS output with 50 Ohm load

5.3 Time Tag

Depending on the firmware options the AEROcontrol computer does provide a timing message
across the serial link. For hardware details see the installation section of this manual.

18
Frame format is 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop and no parity.
Example:
$PPS, 123456<CR><LF>
$PPS, 123457<CR><LF>
$PPS, 123458<CR><LF>
The output starts with the alignment and ends with stopping the AEROcontrol.

19
6 Appendix
6.1 User Manual Aircraft Connector Plate

CCNS4
Computer-Controlled-Navigation-System

User Manual

Aircraft Connector Plate

Part No. ACP-02-002-00630

Version 1.3 Jun-18-2004

This document may, wholly or partially, be subject to

change without notice.

All rights are reserved: No one is permitted to reproduce

or duplicate, in any form, the whole or parts of this
document without IGI's permission.

IGI will not be held responsible for any damage to the

user that may result from accidents or any other reasons
during operation of the user's unit according to this
document.

© Copyright 2003
Ingenieur-Gesellschaft für Interfaces mbH
Langenauer Str. 46 • 57223 Kreuztal / Germany
Phone +49 2732 5525 0 • Fax +49 2732 5525 25

20
Introduction
This manual provides information about the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the CCNS4
Aircraft Connector Plate. The plate is the connection interface between the aircraft installation and
the CCNS4 system.

Mounting location
The plate should be mounted near the place where the CCNS4 CCU will be located. The standard
length of the a/c cable (Part No: ACC-01-001-00435) for connecting CCU and Aircraft Connector
Plate is 1.0 meter (3.3 feet)

A/C CONNECTOR (Soriau 851-00RC16-26S50)

Pin Function
#
A +28VDC
B Power Ground
C Synchro Y
D Synchro X
E Synchro Z
F Exitation H
G Exitation C
H Com1 RXD +
J Com1 RXD -
K Com1 TXD -
L A429 RXD +
M A429 RXD -
N Signal Ground
P A429 TXD +
R A429 TXD -
S Com2 RXD -
T GS +
U GS -
V CDI +
W CDI -
X TO/FROM +
Y TO/FROM -
Z CDI OFF +
a GS OFF +
b Com2 TXD -
c Signal Ground
Comment
Input voltage from aircraft / Recommended Fuse: 6 Amp
Input signal from Directional Gyro 11.8VAC/400Hz
Input signal from Directional Gyro 11.8VAC/400Hz
Input signal from Directional Gyro 11.8VAC/400Hz
Input signal from Directional Gyro 26VAC/400Hz
Input signal from Directional Gyro 26VAC/400Hz
Serial Communication Input \ RS 422
Serial Communication Output \ RS 432
Optional Serial Communication Input \ ARINC 429
** not available in Standard CCNS4 **
Common Ground for Serial Communication Ports
Optional Serial Communication Output \ ARINC 429
** not available in Standard CCNS4 **
Serial Communication Input \ RS 432
Glide Slope Indication \ +/- 150mVDC
Course Deviation Indication \ +/- 150mVDC
TO/FROM Indication \ +/- 150mVDC
CDI OFF Valid Flag \ +150mVDC
Glide Slope Valid Flag \ +150mVDC
Serial Communication Output / RS 432
Common Ground CDI-OFF - / GS OFF -

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 IMU POWER (Soriau 851-00RC12-3S50)
Pi Function Comment
n
#
A + 28VDC Output 28VDC aircraft power / Recommended Fuse: 2 Amp
B Power Ground
C Not used

GPS1 Connector for the first GPS Antenna Type: TNC

GPS2 Connector for a second GPS Antenna Type: TNC

DGPS Connector for a DGPS Antenna Type: BNC

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 Size ( L x W ): 150 mm x 75mm ( 5.91’’ x 2.95’’ )

Depending on installation the GPS2 and/or DGPS connector may be not installed and
covered with a cap.

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 Examples for connecting a directional gyro
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25
26
6.2 Installation Examples

Figure 15: Installation example, CCU-03-06 or CCU-03-07 with CAE-01-06

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 Figure 16: Installation example, CCU-03-06 or CCU-03-07 with CAE-01-05

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6.3 Preflight Checklist
overview plots Are all overview plots available for the mission(s) that is/are to be flown?
data cards Prepare the data cards carefully (IMU orientation, GPS receiver, Time Tag Signal, Mount readout). Insert the
data cards into the CCNS and AEROcontrol computers and switch the system ON.
start CCNS
Check Memory Enter the SELECT MODE using the MODE button and step to the MISSION CARD page using the PAGE 4
of Datacard button. Check if there is enough memory on the datacard for the number of pictures intended to be taken
Battery/Ground Power/

during your mission on the data card (bottom of the page). 17

Engines running

Switch to INFO MODE page using MODE button. Select AEROctrl Info page by using the PAGE button.
Check if there is enough storage capacity on the AEROcontrol data card.
check SYSTEM Enter the SETUP MODE by using the MODE button. Turn the SEL/ENT knob one click counterclockwise 10
CONFIGuration to select SYSCFG. Press SEL/ENT, select yes and confirm with ENT. Check the system configuration 11
settings as written in the table below. Switch between the SYS CONFIG pages #1, #2 and #3 with the PAGE
button. Leave with the MODE button.
stop CCNS, Enter the SETUP MODE by pressing the MODE button. Change to the SYSTEM TEST page and set EXIT to 9
switch CCNS NAV. Switch the system off by using the POWER ON/OFF SWITCH.
off
start engines
switch CCNS on Switch the CCNS/AEROcontrol system On by using the POWER ON/OFF switch
start AECTRL SETUP MODE, SET SYTEM page: Set AECTRL to RUN. The static alignment takes 2 minutes. In the 6
AEROcontrol meantime additional settings can be checked but the aircraft must not be moved.
STAT INFO MODE, AEROCTRL-INFO: check if ALIGN can be seen under STAT. 17
Engines running

check system SETUP MODE, SETUP SYSTEM page: Check if all parameter settings have the necessary values for the 6
parameters mission to be flown.
DATE Check the current DATE.
TIME Check the current TIME (UTC or LOCAL).
IDENT Enter the IDENTifier you want for this project.
SET CAMERA SETUP MODE, SET CAMERA#1 page: Check, if all parameter settings have the necessary values for the 7
#1 mission to be flown.
EXPO Synchronize the photo numbers of the aerial camera and CCNS by choosing a number between 0 and 9999. o
FOCAL Choose the correct focal length to annotate the correct photo scale on the film. o

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 EXPO DLY Aerial camera systems that feature a feedback signal can be set to AUTO. The EXPO DLY depends on the o
shutter speed. Because of this it is recommended to take 5-10 photos before reaching the first flightline, so
that CCNS can calculate the correct delay.
In case of no feedback signal, the EXPO DLY can be taken from photo indices of already flown missions.
EXPO ADD Number of photos taken before and after remaining photos of an incomplete flightline. o
EXPO WPT Defines whether the CCNS (ALL/EVEN/ODD) or the camera system (TRIG/NONE) initiates exposures. o
FMC CTRL Defines which device takes control of the Forward Motion Compensation. Additional cables and settings on o
the camera could be necessary especially when using a RMK Top (see manual).
DRIFT CTRL Defines which device takes control of the drift. Additional cables and settings on the camera could be o
necessary especially when using a RMK Top (see manual).
DRIFT SET Corrective value to compensate constant drift offsets. o
DATA ANNO Activates or deactivates the data annotation on film. o
ON LINE Set the distance from the first WPT where the online command should be sent to the camera (erection of the o
mount, setting of the drift, etc.).
SET CAMERA SETUP MODE, SET CAMERA#2 page: If a second camera is connected to the CCNS, check the camera o
#2 settings for camera #2 as well. Confer the SET CAMERA #1 description above.
SYSTEM TEST SETUP MODE, SYSTEM TEST page: Use the offered test function to check the CCNS4 and the cabling o
between the camera system and/or flight instruments and CCNS.
EXP TEST After entering a certain number of photos, and pushing the ENT knob the camera will take the photos in o
intervals of 4 seconds. Cabling and communication between CCNS and camera is correct if everything works o
as mentioned above. Check EXPO of increasing numbers. INFO MODE, AEROCTRL-INFO: Check EVT of 7
increasing numbers.
DRIFT TEST Enter a certain value of drift. The camera should move to the entered value. o
ON Gyro mount test. Select ON and check if the mount works correctly.
FLIGHTLINE
SIGNAL
ANNUNCIATR The CDI and GSi and TO/FROM FLAG can be tested. o
TEST
AEROcontrol STAT: INFO MODE, AEROCTRL-INFO: If the STATus of AEROcontrol has changed from ALIGN to NORMAL o
Alignment CCNS/AEROcontrol is ready for flight mission.. 7

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31
7 Specifications
7.1 Power Consumption
The AEROcontrol computer is powered by the CCNS4 and supplies also power to the attached
GPS receiver. The following table shows the typical power consumption of AEROcontrol
computers and GPS receivers:
Maximum power
Item
consumption
CAE-01-05 30W
CAE-01-06 40W
Z-Fly 20W
Z-Xtreme 15W
Z-XII 20W
Maximum power consumption of AEROcontrol components

7.2 Temperature
Operating Temperature -10°C to 40°C
Storage Temperature -30°C to 75°C
Operating Humidity max. 85% RH
Storage Humidity max 85% RH

7.3 Weights:
Item Approx. Weight
CCNS4 computer box 4.5 kg
AEROcontrol computer box 4.5 kg
IMU IId 3.0 kg
Tray 0.3 kg

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