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Card Edition

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Linar Yusupov edited this page Dec 12, 2024 · 47 revisions


Card Edition is a variant of SoftRF DIY GA proximity awareness device been implemented in a small, lightweight credit card form factor.

It is supposed to require minimal skills from a builder to begin with and gives an opportunity to evaluate if the SoftRF technology is appropriate for your needs.

The Card is based on third-party's hardware - Seeed SenseCAP T1000-E tracker, which is available for direct purchase from manufacturer at more or less reasonable price (40+ USD).

SenseCAP Card Tracker T1000-E specifications:

  • SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840
    • CPU – 32-bit Cortex-M4 core with FPU running at 64 MHz
    • Flash – 1 MB
    • RAM – 256 kB RAM
    • Arm TrustZone Cryptocell 310 security subsystem
  • Wireless
    • Semtech LoRa Edge LR1110 Asset Management Platform
      • LoRa/(G)FSK Half-Duplex RF transceiver working in the 150 – 960MHz
      • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi ultra-low-power passive scanning
    • Bluetooth 5.x LE
    • Mediatek/Airoha AG3335 GNSS chip to provide high-precision positioning services
    • Antennas – Internal antennas for GNSS, LoRa, and WiFi/BLE
  • Sensors
    • Temperature sensor with +/- 1°C accuracy, -20°C to +60°C measurement range
    • Light sensor from 0% (dark) to 100%
    • QMA6100P 3-axis IMU to detect movement
  • Misc
    • 1x LED and 1x buzzer for status indication
    • 1x button for device operation
  • Power
    • Input voltage – 4.7 to 5.5V DC via USB magnetic charging cable
    • Battery – 700 mAh rechargeable lithium battery
  • Dimensions – 85 x 55 x 6.5mm
  • Weight – 32 grams
  • Temperature Range
    • Operating : -20°C to +60°C
    • Charging Temperature: 0 to +45°C
  • Operating Humidity – 5% – 95% (No condensation)
  • IP Rating – IP65 dust and water resistance
  • Certifications – CE/FCC


Compatibility 1

Type Protocol FLARM OGN tracker PilotAware Skytraxx SoftRF
Radio FLARM AIR V6

 

OGNTP

 

P3I

 

FANET+

 

SRD 860
ADS-L

Data FLARM NMEA

  Garmin GDL90

 

Dump1090  

1 - it is necessary for a reader to distinguish the difference between statement "compatible" and statement "fully compatible".
     SoftRF implements only a reasonable minimum of the protocols specs. No "bells and whistles" so far.

Certificates

Seeed SenseCAP T1000-E has the following certificates of compliance :

It means that this device is approved by corresponding agencies for:

  • land use and
  • with genuine factory firmware.

Card vs Badge

This is a picture of Badge and Card Editions, side by side.


Edition Badge  Card 
First appearance 2021 2024
Manufacturer LilyGO Seeed Studio
SoC Nordic nRF52840 Nordic nRF52840
QSPI flash memory 2 MB
sub-1GHz radio Semtech SX1262 Semtech LR1110 
sub-1GHz antenna external, SMA internal, PCB
NFC antenna internal, PCB
Battery Li-Ion 850 mAh Li-Ion 700 mAh
GNSS HZM AT6558 Airoha AG3335
Display 1.54" e-Paper with backlight 
USB 2.0 device 2.0 device
LED visible - red, green, blue
obscured - CHARGE, GNSS PPS		 green
Buttons 2 pcs. 1 pc.
Buzzer 1 pc.
Sensors touch
air pressure Bosch BME280 
optional TDK MPU-9250 IMU
optional TDK ICM-20948 IMU		 QMA6100P accelerometer
light
temperature
Expansion power and GPIO adapter 
Water and dust
resistance		 IP65 
Certificates FCC  CE FCC  CE
Weight (g) 74 32 
Thickness (mm) 24.3 6.5 

Disclaimer

Source code of SoftRF firmware for Card Edition is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Author of SoftRF firmware:

  • will reject any hardware related claims associated with Seeed SenseCAP T1000-E tracker. Ask for support from seller or manufacturer ;
  • reserves the right to suspend or terminate support of the T1000-E device in the firmware at any time.

For the time being ( Oct '24 ) there were no critical hardware issues reported for current version of the SenseCAP T1000-E tracker. However things my change over the time...
If you have issues with bringing up your new T1000-E or just not happy with the device - be prepared to execute your Purchase Protection plan.

Bill of materials

Required

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 Seeed
SenseCAP
T1000-E 2
tracker		 1 AliExpress 1 2
Seeed Store

Important

2 - Seeed Studio SenseCAP T1000-A, -B, -C and -D products are using different hardware and therefore NOT supported by SoftRF project !
Please, double check that you are ordering right T1000-E model.


Quick start

Use these instructions to start operating with your delivered Card device.

Settings

Procedure of settings change is explained on this page.

Basic (radio) settings description is located here.

Important

EASA ADS-L radio protocol selection is not applicable for current version of SoftRF Tool app for Android - use Online Tool method instead.

Default settings

Protocol Aircraft type
FANET Paraglider

If you are an application developer and you think about to add the Card configuration menu into your software, please, use:

Antenna

Built-in sub-1GHz antenna specs are available in the FCC report.

LED

Green LED indicates unit power on status.
Flashing green LED indicates low battery charge level.

Buzzer

The buzzer makes a four-tone sound at boot time to indicate completion of initialization sequence.

When air traffic situation needs attention from a pilot - the Card makes one tone beep.

Button

When unit is Off:

  • press and release the button to turn the unit On.

When unit is On:

  • press, keep holding for 2 seconds then release the button to turn the unit Off.

Important

The Off button function has no effect until completion of boot sequence indicated by the buzzer sound.

Bluetooth LE

Factory default data output setting is to deliver GNSS and air traffic information over Bluetooth LE in NMEA plain-text format.


This data is sufficient for an app (such as XCSoar) to facilitate a Radar view:



These Bluetooth LE services are available:

  • UART
  • Battery
  • Bluefruit device information
  • OTA firmware update


This is a list of mobile applications that are known good to operate with the Card Edition over Bluetooth LE:

Please, use the Bluetooth LE page for Badge Edition to get more information.

Battery life

Current consumption from 3.7 Volt battery:

Mode Average current
Active

40 mA
Sleep 3

0.02 mA

3 - the value may vary depending on the firmware version


This screenshot is a courtesy of Seeed Studio Lab.



Operating time from a full charge depends on your actual battery capacity.

When battery charge level is getting low - the green LED will start flashing to indicate that charging is necessary.
When battery charge level is almost "zero" - the Card will enter into low power (deep sleep) mode.

Charging

  • device is ON

Use a Bluetooth LE app to monitor charging progress / battery voltage.

  • device is in Sleep

A tool like that can help to realize when charging process is complete.

Optional equipment

SkyView

SkyView EZ is a DIY companion device for SoftRF Card Edition.
Recommended connection method is Bluetooth LE.


   


SkyView Pico 

   


WebTop

SoftRF WebTop USB (USB to Wi-Fi adapter)

  



3D Accessories

Dock


Frame


Holster


Additional information on T1000-E Tracker

  1. Seeed Studio T1000-E Wiki
  2. Meshtastic T1000-E Wiki
  3. T1000-E Tracker Teardown video

Hardware

SoftRF

SkyView

Flight Recorder

Adapters

Software

Firmware

Tools

Protocols

Clone this wiki locally