u-center 2 user guide

User guide release date: February 09, 2024

u-center 2 version: v24.01.89221

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Legal disclaimer

u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos, and designs included in this document. Copying, reproduction, or modification of this document or any part thereof is only permitted with the express written permission of u-blox. Disclosure to third parties is permitted for clearly public documents only.

The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u-blox assumes no liability for the use of the information. No warranty, either express or implied, is given with respect to, including but not limited to, the accuracy, correctness, reliability, and fitness for a particular purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u-blox at any time. For most recent documents, visit www.u-blox.com.

Copyright © 2023, u-blox AG

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1 Overview

u-center 2 is u-blox's powerful tool for configuration, evaluation, and debugging of u-blox GNSS receivers and services.

It allows the end users to assess and test u-blox positioning chips, modules, evaluation kits, application boards and similar devices for navigation and positioning performance.

This document provides a guide for starting to use the features of this software and explains how to resolve common use cases.

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2 System requirements

u-center 2 has been tested on Windows 10 (64 bit) platform and runs on Windows 11 as is. It currently supports u-blox gen 10 GNSS devices.

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3 Getting started

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3.1 Installing u-center 2

u-center 2 can be downloaded from u-center website. The u-center 2 package comes with a setup file. Click the file and follow the steps to install the application (administration rights might be needed). Once the installation has completed successfully, you need to enter your u-blox support portal account credentials and log in with a browser. FireFox is the recommended browser for u-center 2.

After login, having internet connectivity, u-center 2 will start and can also be used offline.

3.1.1 Updating u-center

After each start - or for continuously running software every 24 hours - the application will check for possible updates. If an update is available, then the application will download it in the background and will inform the user by a notification. User settings and login credentials are not affected or changed.

If the user dismisses the update it will still be available from the "Help" menu in case the user intends to perform it later on.

When the user starts the update process, the installer starts and asks the user to close the running application. After finishing the installation the software will be restarted.

3.1.2 User feedback

If you want to share your feedback to improve u-center 2 further, select User feedback option in help menu.

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3.2 Connecting a device

To evaluate u-blox devices, make sure you have the appropriate USB driver installed in your system. To connect a device to the u-center 2:

1. Click the Devices icon on the left menu bar.

1. Click Add device.
2. Select the COM port of the device. For connecting the device in safeboot mode, check safeboot in Device management.

1. Select autobauding for automatic detection of the baud rate or deselect it to manually select the baud rate.

The connection switch turns green as a signal of a valid communication and an indicator will show if u-center 2 is receiving messages.

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4 Device management

Once you have connected the device, you can view the device information by selecting the arrow pointing to the right in the device menu.

The device information shows the hardware and firmware versions as well as a drop-down menu to change the baud rate from a list of predefined baud rates.

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4.1 Configuration actions

To save, load and revert to default configuration, use the Save, Load and Revert buttons in Device info > Configuration actions.

1. Save: Saves the current receiver configuration to battery backed RAM (BBR) and flash from read access memory (RAM) of the receiver

   

2. Load: Loads the last configuration that was saved to BBR and flash, ignoring what is configured in the RAM layer.

   

3. Revert: Reverts to the default firmware configuration and clears all the configurations done in BBR, flash or the RAM layer of the receiver

   

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4.2 Restarting a device

When a device is connected and u-center 2 is receiving data, the Restart section gives the option to perform a Cold start or Hot start.

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4.3 Enable debug messages

Selecting Debug will enable a range of messages best suited for debugging the device configuration.

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4.4 Access a device in safeboot mode

Sometimes receiver need to be in safeboot mode to be able to configure some specific configuration. To add a u-blox device that is in safeboot mode to u-center 2:

1. Ensure that your device is in safeboot mode. For details check the device integration manual, which you can be found on u-blox.com.

2. Click the Devices icon on the left menu bar.

   

3. Click Add device.

4. Select the COM port of the device.

   
   

5. Select the safeboot option for connecting to the device in safeboot mode. This will also send the training sequence in the background to be able to synchronize with the external clock.

   

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5 Device configuration

To access the device configuration menu:

1. Open the Devices menu by selecting the Devices icon on the left menu bar.

2. Select the Device configuration button.

   

   This will display the Device configuration window.

   Note that you can pop out the Device configuration window and move it outside the u-center 2 application. It can remain open while you are working with the other windows in the u-center 2 application.

3. Select Quick configuration for user-friendly configurations, or

4. Select Advanced configuration for expert configuration options.

5. Select one of the Saved configurations to apply a previously saved set of advanced configuration items.

Note that the configuration menu is also available even without connecting devices.

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5.1 Quick configuration

Quick configurations are an easy way to configure the device.

5.1.1 Constellation configuration

To enable or disable satellite constellations including signals, select the Constellation configuration item.

5.1.2 Time Mode

This section allows the simple configuration of time mode compatible devices which support CFG-TMODE-* configuration items. Your selections will be used to construct a set of CFG-TMODE-* configuration items grouped in a single UBX-CFG-VALSET message that can be configured in three different layers of the connected device.

If no device is connected, it is still possible to copy the generated string and share it.

To set the timing device into base mode, enable the survey-in procedure or specify fixed coordinates. To find the appropriate values to configure in different modes, check the product Integration manual. The following configuration options are available:

• Disabled: Disables any base mode configuration that has been done on the device before.
• Survey in: Sets the device to survey-in mode. This requires setting how long the survey needs to at least last and the minimum required accuracy, both of which will depend on the environment of the base location.
• Fixed: Configures the device in the timing mode in which the fixed coordinates, position accuracy and position type are given to the device. The position type can be provided as geocentric coordinates or geographic coordinates.

5.1.3 Time Pulse Mode

This section allows the simple configuration of time pulse mode compatible devices which supports CFG-TMODE-* configuration items. Your selections will be used to construct a set of CFG-TMODE-* configuration items grouped in a single UBX-CFG-VALSET message that can be configured in three different layers of the connected device. If no device is connected, it is possible to copy and share the generated string in need.

Check the device integration manual for the parameters to choose for device global settings and Time pulse settings.

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5.2 Advanced configuration

The Advanced configuration panel allows a device to be configured by sending individual configuration item key ID and value pairs to the device's random access memory (RAM), battery backed RAM (BBR) and flash configuration layers. In addition, the current configuration of the device can also be viewed by retrieving configuration items from the device's configuration layers.

5.2.1 Reading the device's configuration items

To read configuration items of the connected device, select the configuration item of interest from the Items panel. This sends a poll request to the device. If the device supports the selected configuration item, it will send back the corresponding value for each configuration layer, which will then be displayed.

To be able to poll all the supported configuration item values from all configuration layers, click on the three dot burger menu and select Capture all configuration layer values. This will poll all the values from all possible layers for the configuration items that are supported by the FW version of the connected device. You will get a configuration items column only with supported items.

To create a configuration list from these items, select Create configuraiton list option from three dot burger menu. This will transfer all the configuration items to right hand side configuration changes list. The list can be then saved as a file in Saved configurations section to export or share. This file can be imported later to apply to any relevant receiver for debug purposes.

5.2.2 Filtering configuration items with presets

Use the preset filters added in the filter field of the middle configuration items column.

Click the drop down menu to get the preset filter options:

1. Show items with values: Click that to get the filtered configuration items list which are only supported in connected receiver FW version. Remember to capture the values for all the items first from the three dot burger menu first.
2. Show RAM != Default: Click that to get the filtered list of configuration items which has updated values from FW default in any layer.

5.2.3 Setting the device's configuration

A device is configured by sending individual configuration item key ID and value pairs to the device's RAM, BBR and flash configuration layers.

To do this:

1. In the Items panel, select the configuration group to expand the item tree.

2. Within this group, select the configuration item to show its current configuration on all layers, and its details in the right hand panel.

   

3. Select the layer to write

   

4. Enter/select an appropriate value.

5. Select the Set button. This will add the item, its value and the layer to the Configuration changes list.

6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 to build up your list of configuration item changes

7. Review the list configuration item changes to send to the device. The order each configuration item is sent to the device is top down. To change the order, drag an item in the Configuration changes list to the new position. To remove an item select Clear.

   

   Each configuration property in the list will be sent as an individual UBX-CFG-VALSET message. By selecting Send configuration in batch mode these properties will be grouped together into one UBX-CFG-VALSET message per layer. This will result in fewer messages which can be send to the connected device faster.

   To change the value of an item or its layer, select Edit or double click on the item. In the top panel the item will appear allowing its value and/or layer to be changed. Select Update to add any changes to the item back to the Configuration changes list, or Cancel if any changes are not wanted.

   

8. To review the configuration items as hex codes, select the Message hex codes tab. This shows the hex representation of UBX-CFG-VALSET or UBX-CFG-VALDEL, and UBX-CFG-VALSET messages for each configuration item if applicable. Select Send configurations in batch mode to view the the hex code of the configuration items grouped together for each layer.

   

9. Click Send to send the changes to the device. The configuration items successfully accepted by the device are indicated with a green check mark . A red alert triangle indicates the key is unknown to the device firmware or the configuration is not valid (the validity of a configuration is checked only if the message applies to the RAM configuration layer).

   

10. To save the Configuration changes list and add it to the list of Saved configurations, click Save as....

5.2.4 Quick preset examples

A list of use case-based, quick preset examples are available in the Advanced configuration category in the configuration window.

By selecting one of the preset examples, the configuration is loaded into the configuration changes list shown on the right panel. For the preset examples, a short description is shown on the right panel explaining the typical use case in which this set of configurations is applicable in.

 

5.2.5 Saving configuration files

 

In the device configuration dialog, the panel on the left shows a list of saved configurations. Saved configurations can be useful if a set of configurations shall be applied for a certain use case, but the device is used for different use cases. It can be helpful to compare the performance of a device when applying different saved configurations. Saved configurations can also be imported and exported for an easy exchange between different users.

To load a configuration, just select it. The configuration changes defined in the file will appear in the configuration changes list on the right.

Once loaded, the configuration changes can be sent to the connected device indicated in the top right corner of this dialog by selecting the Send button.

You can edit the configuration list by adding more items or use the Clear button to remove them. Afterwards you can save the original file, save the list to a new file, or revert to the file's original content.

The symbol * in front of the saved configuration name indicates that this list has been changed.

By selecting Save changes, the configuration list will be saved back to the configuration file it originated from, that is highlighted with a * in front of its name in the list of Saved configurations.

By selecting Save as.., the modified configuration list can be saved in a new file. Once it is saved it will be shown in the list of Saved configuraitons.

By selecting Revert changes, the configuration list can be reverted to when it was loaded from the selected configuration file.

To rename a saved configuration, hover over the chosen configuration name and select the more options menu. Then select 'Rename' from the menu.

In the dialog that appears, enter the new name, and click Rename. Click Cancel if you decide not to rename this file.

To delete a saved configuration, hover over the chosen configuration name and select the more options menu. Then select 'Delete' from the menu.

In the dialog that appears, click Delete. Click Cancel if you decide not to delete this file.

To import a saved configuration file, select "Import".

In the dialog that appears, navigate to the .cfg file you wish to import. Select it and click OK. The selected file will be imported and will appear in the configurations list.

To export a saved configuration, hover over the saved configuration name and select the more options menu. Then select Export from the menu.

In the dialog that appears, navigate to the folder you wish to export the configuration to and specify the name of the file to be created, then click OK. The configuration .ucf file will appear in the selected folder.

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6 Log player

u-center 2 has a device log file recording feature to collect and play back the log file.

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6.1 Recording a new log file

Prepare to record a new log file by selecting the Record log button. On the dialog displayed, select the file location by selecting the Change option and type in the log file name.

By selecting/deselecting the "Enable all debug messages" checkbox you decide if additional debug messages will be stored in the log file. Enabled debug messages may help with log file analysis during playback.

By selecting/deselecting the "Add GNSS device configuration data to the log file" checkbox, you can choose to have the active device's configuration read and saved in the log file. The configuration data can be very useful when using a log file to debug the operation of a device.

Select Record log to start recording.

When recording a log file, the recording control panel is displayed in the top area.

This panel allows you to stop the recording, view how long you have been recording for, if you have enabled debug messages, and if you have chosen to save the device configuration. If you did not select either debugging messages or saving the configuration at the start of the recording, then selecting the corresponding indicators will enable these at any time during the log file recording. Once selected, they cannot be deselected from this panel.

Press Stop recording to finish recording. Two log files with different formats will be saved at the selected location. One with extension .uc2 and another with extension .ubx.

Log files with the .ubx extension are created only for backwards compatibility with existing scripts and u-center legacy. They cannot be used directly by u-center 2. u-center 2 can only play log files with the .uc2 file extension which have the timing information.

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6.2 Converting a log file

It is possible to convert legacy .ubx log files to the new .uc2 log file format but the conversion is limited for now. The conversion is needed to be able to use the u-center 2 features. The converted log file has only message-based navigation, there is no timing information.

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6.3 Playing a log file

To play any existing log file, select the Play log button and select a log file. If there is a device actively connected to u-center 2, a pop-up will inform that the device will be disconnected. If opening the log file was successful, the top bar of the application should look similar to this:

When you select Play, all the views in the tab will use and show the messages, and the information stored in the log file. With the new .uc2 format it is possible to navigate log files based on time or message number, by selecting the navigation mode with this button:

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For log files recorded with u-center 2 both modes are available, while for log files converted from the raw .ubx format only message-based navigation is supported, and the time option is disabled for now:

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1. Message based navigation and playback speed:

   • This mode is available for converted and natively recorded .uc2 files

   • It is possible to play back a log file at different speeds selected from the drop-down menu:

     

   • Drag the slider to navigate in the log file

   • The Jump to feature is activated by selecting the message number indicator. It will turn into an input field and pause the playback. Enter the message number to jump to the selected time.

     

   • Note that jump to will navigate to the message that is right before the requested message.

2. Time-based navigation and playback speed:

   • This mode is currently available only for log files recorded with u-center 2

   • It is possible to play back a log file at a higher speed by selecting 1x or 2x from the drop-down menu:

     

   • Drag the slider to navigate in the log file

   • The Jump to feature is activated by selecting the time indicator. It will turn into an input field and pause the playback.

     

     ,

     Just enter the time to jump to

     

     .

   • Note that jump to will navigate to the message that is before the requested time.

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7 Workspaces

To open the workspace menu, either select the workspaces button on the left menu bar, or click on the name of the active workspace in the left of the top menu bar.

The active workspace indicator shows the state of the current workspace. The state is either saved, unsaved or read-only.

Only the Preset workspaces can be in the read only state.

Once the workspace menu is open, it will show under Your workspaces a list of user defined workspaces, and under Preset workspaces some system defined workspaces.

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7.1 Preset workspaces

With preset workspaces, the application can be used without any initial modifications or preliminary knowledge of the views, they are populated with a basic set of views and with the usage of the simple message enabler (see chapter 8.1) customers can easily start evaluating our products.

To avoid any exidental overwrite, the workspaces in this list are read only.

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7.2 Creating your own workspaces

Select New workspace to create a user-defined workspace which is listed in the Your workspaces list. The workspace can be new or based on an existing workspace and requires a unique name.

A new, empty workspace contains a single tab. If based on an existing workspace, the workspace is a duplicate of the selected workspace.

Tabs can be renamed by a double click, replaced by dragging and deleted with the icon. In each tab, you can add different views by clicking on the add view icon at the top of the left menu bar. The Add view panel will open over the main window. Multiple views can be added this way to the active tab.

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7.3 Managing workspaces

By hovering over any workspace in the Your workspaces or Preset workspaces lists, a kebab menu with additional options to manage the workspace will appear.

The user-defined workspaces can be deleted, saved as, renamed, duplicated or exported depending on the currently active status. For the Preset workspaces, only the duplicating option is available.

The export feature enables you to share your custom workspace with another u-center 2 user. The exported workspace can be easily imported to u-center 2 and used for evaluation.

To import the workspace, click on the Import workspace button.

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7.4 Active Workspace

The active workspace controls are always available, quickly allowing actions to be performed on the active workspace without having to open the workspace panel.

If the status icon shows that the active workspace has been modified, selecting it will save the workspace.

By clicking the arrow to the right of the status icon, a menu of more options will be displayed. These options allow the active workspace to be saved, saved as, renamed or deleted.

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8 Views

To visualize and evaluate data coming from the device, views can be added to any workspace tab. To select and add a specific view to your actual tab, select on the left side of the application.

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8.1 Simple message enabler

On most views, it is possible to enable all necessary messages with the ease of clicking a button. New users can study information coming from the receiver without preliminary knowledge about the underlying technology. Experienced users will also benefit from this feature as it saves time.

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8.2 Message View

Message View captures the latest received instance of each message known by the device. It can be used to capture the contents for the latest messages received and to poll, enable, or disable a message.

Selecting a message from the tree, you can view the contents of a message. To see how recent the message is, check the timer on the top right.

8.2.1 Message tree navigation and message documentation

The message tree displays all the available messages for inspection. It is the filtered version of the messages valid for the connected device firmware and protocol specification version. Selecting a message in the the tree will show its content on the right side panel. If the selected message has not been received and autopolling is disabled the right panel should be empty.

Recent messages are highlighted in bold on the message tree. Each message in the tree has its own (i) information button which, when clicked, will bring up the message documentation dialog.

Note that the Documentation window is a detachable separate window that can be moved anywhere outside of u-center 2 application and does not have to be closed in order to keep working in the main u-center 2 application.

8.2.2 Enabling, disabling and polling messages

Hovering over a message in the tree brings up an options menu (three dots).

When you select the three dots, the options Poll, Enable, and Disable will be available.

1. Poll message: this is only available for UBX protocol messages. It will ask the device to send the message only once to u-center 2.
2. Enable message: the message becomes enabled and will be sent periodically by the device.
3. Disable message: the message will not be sent periodically anymore by the device.

Another way to enable a message is by double clicking on the name of the message. If the supported protocol specification of the connected device and u-center 2 are not compliant, some options could be grayed out.

8.2.3 Message inspector

With the message inspector, you can view the detailed content of a message. To see how recent the message is, check the timer on the top right. Open the documentation dialog to get help about the different attributes of a message.

8.2.4 Lock messages

Prevents updates of the view with new incoming messages.

8.2.5 Autopoll

Enables automatic polling for messages as you select them in the tree.

8.2.6 Filtering

Use the filter field to filter incoming messages based on the text entered in the field. By default, the filter is case-sensitive and applies logical "and" for all the separately entered filter conditions. Using standard regular expressions in the filter field is also supported.

8.2.7 Input messages

Although most messages a receiver supports are just output messages that come from the receiver, there are some messages which allow a host (u-center 2 in this case) to control the receiver in various ways. These are input messages.

If one of these input messages is selected, the Message View will show the message's input fields as a form.

Select the version of the message to be sent.

Then enter values into the various fields and select any options presented. Finally press the Send button to send the message to the receiver.

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8.3 Console View

The Console View captures messages from the connected device or from the log file player and shows the number of messages and UTC time if available.

8.3.1 Console view types

You can view the Console View in three different ways.

1. Packet (default) displays each message name, size and short description.
2. Binary displays each message in hex format.
3. Text displays NMEA messages in text format.

8.3.2 Lock data

Locking data prevents updates of the Console View with new incoming messages.

8.3.3 Clear data

To clear the contents of the Console View, click Clear data.

8.3.4 Message inspector

With message inspector, you can view the contents of a message. To inspect the contents of a message, click Inspector .

Select the (i) information button which, when clicked, will bring up the message documentation dialog.

8.3.5 Filtering messages

Use the filter field to filter incoming messages based on the text entered in the field. By default, the filter is case-sensitive and applies logical "and" for all the separately entered filter conditions. This also supports all the regular expressions to filter the messages. The regular expression must be written inside slash icons. Valid regular expression filters are shown in red.

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8.4 Data View

Displays various important values used for GNSS navigation.

They are:

• Fix mode - GNSS fix type
• TTFF - Time to first fix (only available when UBX messages are enabled)
• Longitude - Longitude
• Latitude - Latitude
• Altitude - Altitude
• Velocity - Velocity
• UTC time - Time of the last message
• 3D acc. - Position Accuracy Estimate
• 2D acc. - Horizontal accuracy estimate
• PDOP - Position DOP
• HDOP - Horizontal DOP
• Satellites used in navigation
• Satellites not used in navigation
• Satellites not tracked

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8.5 Map View

The map view displays the reported location from the connected device or a log file playback on a map. You can use normal map controls to zoom in and out or switch the map type.

 

When a map view is displayed for the first time, the map is not automatically loaded. Click on the map view to load the map.

 

 

Advanced markers button provides the following options:

 

1. Protection level (PL): By selecting the Protection level option, the map view displays the protection level surrounding the fix position. The protection level information is provided by the UBX-NAV-PL message, so this needs to be enabled. To enable the message, press the map view's message enable button.

2. Position accuracy (PAcc): By selecting the Position accuracy option, the map view displays the position accuracy surrounding the fix position.

When both of these are selected, the Map view displays the protection level and position accuracy.

The Breadcrumb trail button displays a map view with the played log file's breadcrumb trail. Click on an epoch in the breadcrumb trail to open up an information pane with information on the latitude, longitude, altitude, velocity, UTC time and the number of the satellites used.

 

Follow current position: OFF button provides following current position option, draggable map and breadcrumb trail point coloring based on the fix type. Turn it ON to enable following current position.

 

 

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8.6 Satellite Position View

The Satellite Position View displays the position of the satellites. By hovering over a satellite name, its constellation and position are displayed.

Only enabled constellations of the connected device or recorded in the log file playback will be visible. On the right there are checkboxes to enable/disable satellite constellations in the view. The number of satellites used for navigation and the total number of tracked satellites are given.

 

Other useful information:

 

1. Legend - See which GNSS constellations are in use and filter out any of them.
2. Show not tracked - See information for satellites not used in tracking. Satellites not used in tracking means that the device knows the probable position of the satellite from the almanac received but no signal is available.

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8.7 Satellite Signal View

The Satellite Signal View provides a graphical view of the satellite signal strength of the connected device or a log file. Multi-band is supported for relevant devices, meaning that multiple signals from a single satellite are displayed if this information is available. Signals are grouped by their satellite, and satellites are grouped together by their GNSS constellation.

The name of every signal is listed on the x-axis of the graph, grouped to the satellite and constellation accordingly. The signal strength in dBHz is given on the y-axis.

The bar representing the signal strength is transparent if the signal is not used in the navigation solution.

Click the settings button to show the signal view's settings panel. This is displayed within the view and can be closed at any time by clicking the settings button again or the X button inside the panel.

The settings panel allows the following content to be controlled in the signal view:

• Constellation filters controlling which constellations are displayed. This does not change the satellite signal information being output from the device.
• Show signals not used in navigation
• Show a legend of the GNSS constellation colors
• Show a navigator bar allowing you to zoom in to a section of the graph

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8.8 Table View

The Table View allows individual message fields, from a connected device or a playing log file, to be displayed in a tabular form. This is very useful when analyzing message field values in detail.

Each column of the table represents a message field of interest, and each row represents the value of the message fields within a navigational epoch.

To choose a message field you would like to view, first enter/select the message name in the first drop down list (in the top left corner of the Table View). Once the message is selected, the next drop down list will contain all the field names known to that message. Select the field name of interest. In some cases there are additional selections required, e.g. for satellite properties. Select the Add button to create a new column in the table view.

Once added, columns can be reordered by dragging the column header. Columns can also be resized by moving the separator between column headers.

Using Message View, you will need to enable the messages corresponding to the selected fields in the table. If the message is not enabled, then the cells in message/field column will be empty.

UBX-NAV-EOE message must be enabled when using Table View. If not enabled, then table rows will never be updated.

To remove a column, hover over the corresponding heading until an X button appears then click it.

The id column represents the epoch number and cannot be removed.

To export data, click on Export. This will generate a CSV file representing the contents of the Table View.

Whenever the workspace containing any table views is saved, then the columns in the table are persisted.

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8.9 Chart View

The Chart View allows individual message fields from a connected device or a playing log file to be displayed in a graph.

UBX-NAV-EOE message must be enabled when using Chart View. If is not enabled, the graph will never be updated.

To choose a message field you would like to put on the graph, first enter/select the message name in the first drop-down list (in the top left corner of the Chart View). Once the message is selected, the next drop-down list will contain all the field names known to that message. Select the field name of interest. In some cases there are additional selections required, e.g. for satellite properties. Use the Set X or Set Y buttons to set the field as an axis for the graph.

Once both x and y axis have been selected the graph will appear and display incoming data.

Pressing Reset removes the current information in the chart.

You can zoom on the values in the Chart view by adjusting the navigation bar at the bottom. Drag the handles at either edge of the bar to adjust the zoom area size. You can adjust the zoom position by dragging the middle section of the navigation bar.

Whenever the workspace containing any chart views is saved, then the selected axis in the chart are persisted.

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9 Tools and services

u-center 2 has a range of tools and services. These can be found by selecting the Tools and Services icon in the left hand toolbar.

 

 

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9.1 Converting log to KML

The convert log file to KML tool allows a log file to be loaded, searched for UBX-NAV-PVT messages and then generating a .kml file of corresponding positions that can be loaded into a KML-viewer (e.g. Google Earth) for visualization.

Begin by selecting Convert Log to KML.

The file open dialog is displayed. Select the log file to be converted and press open. The dialog to specify the resulting KML file is presented. Enter the KML file name and where to store it. Press Save.

A notification panel appears on the bottom right of the application window showing the progress of the conversion process. A cancel button is also shown. Selecting this will cancel the conversion process. The progress panel is not displayed after the completion of the conversion.

The converted .kml file can be loaded into a KML-viewer (e.g. Google Earth) for visualization.

To add the protection level information in the KML file, enable the UBX-NAV-PL message from the message view before you start recording. Back to top

9.2 Updating firmware

The firmware update tool allows the firmware of a device to be updated.

Select Firmware update from the Tools and Services panel.

The Firmware Update dialog is displayed.

 

 

 

Note that you can pop out the Firmware update window and move it outside the u-center 2 application. It can remain open while you are working with the other windows in the u-center 2 application.

 

To update the firmware:

1. Enter the path and filename of the firmware file image to be flashed on to the device.

2. Select the baud rate for the update.
   Note this speed is only applied during the transfer of the firmware image and is not related to the current device connection speed. The current connection speed is restored once the update is completed.

3. Select the required operation from the following options:

• Erase flash: instructs the firmware update utility to erase the device's flash memory. After this, the device is no longer able to boot from the external flash firmware and boots from ROM firmware.

• Enter safeboot before update: instructs the firmware update utility to place the device in the safeboot mode before erasing and transferring the firmware image to then device's flash memory.

• Send training sequence: instructs the firmware update utility to send the UART training pulse sequence to the device to allow it to calibrate itself for communication.

• Transfer image to RAM: instructs the firmware update utility to send the necessary commands to the device to store the firmware image directly into RAM and not to store it permanently in the flash memory.

• Use chip erase: instructs the firmware update utility to erase the flash using a single command instead of erasing individual sectors while uploading the firmware. This feature reduces the firmware upload time.
  Note this feature only works if the flash connected to the device supports the chip erase feature.

1. Press Update. In case the update button is not active, check if a device is connected, a firmware file has been selected, and the baud rate has been set.

The stop button will become active only when a firmware update is in progress. Press it to terminate the firmware update process. The state of the device will vary depending on what part of the update process was interrupted and you may need to power cycle the device. After power cycling, the device may be in safe mode.

The firmware update is now ready.

Additional options

For particular use cases, the additional options field allows the use of any firmware update utility options that are not supported above. Just enter the options as you would if using the command line. You will see the command line field update appropriately. These additional options are possible to get from u-blox technical support to debug customer issues.

Command line

The command line display shows what the resulting command line for launching the firmware update utility and what options, based on the selections, will be passed to it.

Receiver information

The receiver information fields shows information about the current connected device to check if the right target device is connected.

Erased

When the firmware update is in operation, the progress bar shows how many flash memory blocks have been erased with respect to the total number of flash blocks.

Written

When the firmware update is in operation, the progress bar shows how many memory blocks have been written with respect to the total number of blocks the firmware will occupy.

 

 

 

 

In addition to the progress bars, any output from the firmware update utility is placed in the Firmware update log field. If the firmware update does not complete correctly, this log indicates the block number the failure occured.

 

 

 

 

To clear the log, press the clear button in the Firmware update log window.

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9.3 Hex utilities

This view allows customized UBX messages and raw byte codes to be sent to a device.

By selecting the Send UBX message tab, a customized UBX message can be constructed. Begin by selecting the UBX message class and ID, then enter the message's payload as hex codes. The full message with header and checksum will be calculated, and the corresponding hex byte codes displayed. To send to the device, agree to the warning and then press .

The Send raw data tab allows any random custom hex codes to be sent to the device.

There is a risk of device damage. Before configuring the device, check the product specification and ensure the configuration data is correct to avoid permanently changing the receiver's configuration.

To activate the Send button, tick the box to confirm that you have read the hazard statement and you are aware of the risk of damaging the receiver by sending the wrong configuration data to it. Back to top

9.4 Measuring current

The current measurement feature allows the user to easily measure the GNSS current and the power consumption with supported u-blox GNSS evaluation kits. This feature is available for EVK-M101 and EVK-F10N devices.

In EVK-M101, total current consumption consists of the current through the DC-DC converter which supplies the GNSS chip I (V_DCDC), and the current at the V_IO domain which supplies the LNA and peripherals I (V_IO). In EVK-F10N, the total current is the VCC which supplies the core and RF domains. All these currents can be measured separately.

Begin by selecting Measuring Current from the Tools and Services panel.

Note that you can pop out the Current measurement window and move it outside the u-center 2 application. It can remain open while you are working with the other views in the u-center 2 application.

To measure the current contribution, follow these steps:

1. Connect EVK to a PC with the USB cable. Connect only one device at a time.

2. Go to u-center 2 Tools and Service > Tools > Current measurement.

 

1. To start measuring the current, press the Start button. The current measurement window continuously updates the current and power values.

2. To finish the current measurement, press the Stop button.

 

 

 

 

The current measurement tool starts measuring the current from the device connected to PC even if it is not connected to the u-center 2 evaluation tool. It is recommended to measure current for one device at a time as the user cannot select from multiple connected devices which one to measure current from.

 

Refer to EVK-M10 user guide for further details.

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9.5 AssistNow Offline

To benefit from fast acquisition times and improved position accuracy after coldstart, the connected device can be evaluated using the u-blox AssistNow Offline service. For more information, see the AssistNow Offline User guide.

Begin by selecting AssistNow Offline from the Tools and Services panel.

The AssistNow Offline dialog is displayed.

 

Note that you can pop out the AssistNow Offline window and move it outside the u-center 2 application. It can remain open while you are working with the other windows in the u-center 2 application.

 

9.5.1 Modifying AssistNow Offline server details

To retrieve AssistNow Offline data from u-blox services, u-center 2 needs to know the offline server address and have a valid offline token. To enter these details, expand MGA Offline settings by selecting the arrow.

 

 

 

 

The default server for u-blox services can be restored at any point by selecting Default server. If you need to use other than u-blox server, enter it into the Server field.

Enter an AssistNow Offline token into the Token field. To request an offline token, register a new account on u-blox website by selecting Register. After that, request a token on the web site.

 

Select Save settings to permanently save these settings.

 

Collapse MGA Offline settings by selecting the arrow.

Note that the offline server and token settings can also be changed using the Preferences icon located in the application's top right corner.

 

 

 

 

9.5.2 Selecting AssistNow Offline data

To control what AssistNow Offline (ANO) and Almanac (ALM) data is requested from the AssistNow Offline server, select the desired satellite constellations, the duration and resolution of the offline data in the MGA offline data selection dialog.

The Request string field is updated according to the selected options. It displays the actual request made to the server.

Note this request string can be used directly into your product's host application code.

Select the Download from server button to request and download the AssistNow Offline data from the server.

Show details button opens up a table with details of the data downloaded from the server. Hide details minimizes the details view. The circle image toggles between views with more or less information.

Note that downloaded assistance data is stored as a file called assistance-data.bin in the .ucenter user folder. This file is loaded whenever the MGA Offline dialog is opened. This allows the assistance data to be downloaded and then used some time later. i.e. while testing when there is no internet connection present.

9.5.3 Time and position aiding

Time aiding

When transferring assistance data to the device, providing an approximate time will speed up TTFF. u-center 2 adds time aiding information using the PC's UTC time. The user can select how accurate the device should treat this time using the Time aiding field.

The following options are available:

Options	Description
Assume accurate PC system time	When selected, the downloaded data is transferred to the device and the time aiding accuracy is set to 0.5s.
Assume coarse PC system time	When selected, the downloaded data is transferred to the device and the time aiding accuracy is set to 1 s.
Specify accuracy	When selected, the user enters the accuracy and latency values in the displayed fields.

Position aiding

Also when transferring the assistance data to the device, providing an approximate position will also speed up the TTFF. u-center 2 can provide this position aiding information if given.

The approximate location can be entered manually into the Position aiding fields, or by selecting Use current which will populate the position aiding fields with the reported position from the last received UBX-NAV-PVT message.

Note that if either the Latitude or Longitude fields are empty, then no position aiding data will be sent to the device.

9.5.4 Transfer and restart device

u-center 2 provides the following ways to use AssistNow Offline data:

• Transfer to the device's flash memory for future use.
• Transfer to RAM and perform a coldstart immediately to show improvements to the TTFF.

Transfer to flash

With transfer to flash, the assistance data downloaded from the service can be transferred to the device's flash memory (assuming flash is present). Future device restarts will always use this data to assist when starting up.

To transfer to flash simply select Flash as the Storage for ANO, and the select Transfer with reset and aiding.

A Flash-based restart performs the following actions:

• Transfers the downloaded AssistNow data to the device's flash memory.
• Issues the selected reset command.
• If at least Latitude and Longitude have been entered, then transfer position aiding data to the device using the selected flow control.
• Transfers time aiding data to the device using the selected flow control.

As the transfer process will take some time to perform, a progress dialog will be displayed. This allows you to see how the transfer is progressing and also stop the operation by selecting the Stop button. The dialog can be cleared by selecting the Close button.

Clear flash

To remove any AssistNow data from external flash, select Clear flash.

Host based transfer

To perform a host based transfer simply select Host as the Storage for ANO, and the select Transfer with reset and aiding.

A host based transfer performs the following actions:

• Issues the selected reset command.
• If at least Latitude and Longitude have been entered then transfer position aiding data to the device using the selected flow control.
• Transfers time aiding data to the device using the selected flow control.
• Transfers the downloaded AssistNow data to the device using the selected flow control.

As the transfer process will take some time to perform, a progress dialog will be displayed. This allows you to see how the transfer is progressing and also stop the operation by selecting the Stop button. The dialog can be cleared by selecting the Close button

Note reset command and flow control operate the same as with a Flash based transfer described above.

Reset command

The reset command specifies what type restart the device performs and hence how fast the TTFF takes place.

Flow control

The flow control options control how the downloaded AssistNow data is sent to the device. The data is divided into several UBX messages.

• Simple: Sends one message at a time. Waits for the device to acknowledge a message before sending the next. Any failures in receiving the message will be reported.
• Smart: Similar to Simple except initially as many messages that can fit into the device's receive buffer are sent in order to transfer the data slightly faster.
• None: Sends all messages as quickly as possible without waiting for acknowledgements. No guarantee of data delivery or reporting of failure to deliver.

Using AssistNow Offline data

Now that the assistance data has been transferred to flash or host, try a cold start. The device now uses the stored data to help it get a faster first fix. This can be seen by checking TTFF in the Data View.

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9.6 AssistNow Online

With the AssistNow Online tool the connected device can be evaluated using the u-blox AssistNow Online service to benefit from fast acqusition times and improved position accuracy after coldstart. For a detailed explanation on AssistNow Online, see the user guide which can be found here.

Begin by selecting AssistNow Online from the Tools and Services panel.

This will display AssistNow Online dialog.

Note that you can pop out the AssistNow Online window and move it outside the u-center 2 application. It can remain open while you are working with the other windows in the u-center 2 application.

9.6.1 Modifying AssistNow Online server details

To retrieve AssistNow Online data from u-blox services, u-center 2 needs to know the online server address and have a valid online token. To enter these details, expand MGA Online settings by selecting the arrow.

It is unlikely that the server address will need to be changed from the default address, but if a different server address is needed then enter it into the Online server field. The default server can be restored at any point by selecting Default server.

Enter an AssistNow Online token into the Online token field. To request an online token, register a new account on u-blox website by selecting Register. After that, request a token on the web site.

Select Save settings to permanently save these settings.

Collapse MGA Online settings by selecting the arrow.

9.6.2 Selecting AssistNow Online data

MGA online data selection controls what AssistsNow Online data is requested from the AssistNow Online server by selecting

• Which satellite constellations you are interested in
• The type of assistance data required
• Applying ephemeris data filtering based on the satellite seen at a given position
• What time aiding to include
• What position aiding to include

The Request string field is updated according to the selected options. It displays the actual request made to the server.

Note this request string can be used directly into your product's host application code.

GNSS and Data Type

Select which GNSS constellations and the type of assistance data you need to download.

Filter ephemeris on

If selected, the assistance data request will ask the server to return ephemeris data for satellites that are likely to be visible from the approximate position provided.

Time aiding

When transferring assistance data to the device, providing an approximate time will speed up TTFF. u-center 2 adds time aiding information using the PC's UTC time. The user can select how accurate the device should treat this time using the Time aiding field.

The Time aiding drop-down list provides the following options to define what time aiding data is downloaded from the server:

Options	Description
Assume accurate PC system time	When selected, the downloaded data is transferred to the device and the time aiding accuracy is set to 0.5s.
Assume low network latency	when selected, an accuracy of 0.5s and latency of 0.5s are included in the server request. The server will will add these values to the downloaded data.
Assume coarse PC system time	When selected, no accuracy or latency information is passed to the server. The server puts its default accuracy of +/- 10s into the download data.
Specify accuracy and latency	When selected, the user enters the accuracy and latency values in the displayed fields. These values are passed to the server where they are packaged into the downloaded data.

Position aiding

Position aiding allows an approximate location, if known, to be provided to the server. The server uses this location to decide what assistance data to package and download.

Enter the location manually into the Position aiding fields, or select Use current to populate the Position aiding fields with the reported position from the last received UBX-NAV-PVT message.

9.5.3 Using assistance data

Once you have entered all the required settings, press the Download and transfer button. This transfers the downloaded AssistNow Online data to the device and restarts it.

Once downloaded, the transfer of data to the device can be controlled by Flow control and this is the same as for AssistNow Offline here.

The type of receiver reset can be controlled by the Reset command and this is the same as for AssistNow Offline here.

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10 Revision history

Revision	u-center 2 version	Date	Status/comments
R01	v23.03.52230	08-Mar-2023	Initial release
R02	v23.03.54868	20-Apr-2023	Added sections Legal disclaimer, Time Mode and Time Pulse Mode quick configurations, and Workspace import/export feature.
R03	v23.07.66910	21-Jul-2023	Added Hex utilities, Breadcrumb trail and Position accuracy circle information in Map View, Spectrum Analyzer in UBX-MON-SPAN, UBX-NAV-SAT custom view, Hex utilities, Baud rate limit detection
R04	v23.10.78326	26-Oct-2023	Updated sections map view, workspace, log player and current measurement. Updated images for the latest release build version
R05	v24.01.89221	09-Feb-2023	Updated satellite signal view and UBX-CFG-VALGET string in device configuration window