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Table of Contents
Summary of Contents for Astromi.ch MGBox
- Page 1 MGBox Manual...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
General Requirements ....................... 6 Windows Operating Systems ....................6 Other Operating Systems ....................... 6 ASCOM Connections ......................... 6 MGBox usage ..........................7 Windows Application ........................8 Temperature, Pressure and Dew Chart ..................8 Chart Details .......................... 9 Temperature, Pressure and Dew point values ................ 10 Offsets .......................... - Page 3 Page 3 Serial Port settings RJ10 ......................24 Protocol ............................ 25 Setting, resetting, receiving Calibration data and other commands ........26 Setting pressure calibration....................26 Setting temperature calibration .................... 26 Setting humidity calibration ....................27 Resetting calibration values ....................27 Getting calibration values .....................
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Page 4: Introduction
MGBox provides and thus improve the accuracy in their calculations. Because of the small size of MGBox, it can be used in both mobile astronomy as well as stationary setups inside an observatory. -
Page 5: Overview
Only relevant for the 10Micron specific Firmware Indicates if communication with the mount has been established. If the LED is on, MGBox and the mount are not communicating with each other. 4 – Micro USB Connector Version 0.7... -
Page 6: System Requirements
Page 6 System Requirements MGBox was tested on WindowsXP, Windows 7 and Windows 10 in a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It is assumed that the Windows OS is updated to the latest patches and updates. General Requirements Windows Operating Systems ... -
Page 7: Mgbox Usage
MGBox usage MGBox can either be used with or without a computer. If you use the RJ10 interface of MGBox, please check the pinout of your mount’s computer before hookup. We take no responsibility for possible damages resulting from improper configurations! Please see Chapter “RJ10... -
Page 8: Windows Application
Temperature, Pressure and Dew Chart As soon as MGBox is connected by the application the chart region (1) will begin to be populated with data. The Chart features a temperature scale on the left side that is used for temperature and dew point, and a pressure scale on the right side used to indicate current relative air pressure. -
Page 9: Chart Details
Below the chart the current measurements are displayed as clear text (2), along with information about configured offsets, GPS information, the port used for communication and firmware version of MGBox. Chart Details Moving the mouse pointer inside the chart area will change it to a crosshair that provides detailed information about a certain point on the chart when hovered over a line. -
Page 10: Temperature, Pressure And Dew Point Values
Page 10 Save as JPG Saves the currently displayed chart in a picture on your computer. Export to CSV Exports all data points available into a CSV file that can later be used with 3 party Software (e.g. Excel) to recreate the graphs. ... -
Page 11: Offsets
Page 11 Offsets Should you find your MGBox to not be accurate enough in either temperature, pressure or humidity, you can apply a linear offset. Double clicking either the offset label or the numeric value for the offset in question will bring up a small window asking for a new offset to be applied. -
Page 12: Gps-Location, Altitude And Utc-Time
Once MGBox receives valid GPS-Data, information about the location is displayed in the GUI. Connection indicator Below the dew point information, the connection status is displayed. If no MGBox is detected by the software, “Waiting for MGBox” is displayed. Once a connection has been established the Com-Port used for the connection along with the Firmware-Version of the connected MGBox is displayed. - Page 13 Page 13 Version 0.7...
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Page 14: Setup And Close Buttons
“scan” all available com-ports on your system for a MGBox. It does so by connecting to the port, “listening” to the data coming from the port and deciding whether the data looks valid or not. If no MGBox is detected, the application will try again after a short delay. -
Page 15: Close Button
The Firmware can only be updated if connected via Serial Port NOTE 1: When connecting thru ASCOM, “Hot-plugging” of MGBox is not supported. MGBox needs to be connected to the PC and the Com Port available on startup of the application. ... -
Page 16: Running Multiple Instances Of The Application
It is possible to run multiple instances of the MGBox application. The instance number is displayed in the title bar of the application the second and each subsequent instance that is launched. Please note that each MGBox sensor can only be connected to one instance of the application at a time. -
Page 17: Firmware Versions
MGBox to your mount using the supplied RJ10 cable. Note: If you want to use MGBox as the “one-and-only” data source, please ensure that no other software or driver also synchronizes data as this could lead to unpredictable results. -
Page 18: Differences In Windows Application
10Micron specific Firmware. Main Window Mount Model and Firmware Information Once MGBox and your Mount communicate with each other, information about the Mount Model and the installed Firmware is displayed. Version 0.7... -
Page 19: More Details
Log-Button The Log-Button opens an additional Window that contains Logging information sent from MGBox to the application. The entries in this window are sorted by time, so the newest ones are always at the top of the list. Clicking with the right mouse button will bring up a context menu that allows you to either copy the content to the clipboard, or to save it to a file. - Page 20 Refraction data is updated If MGBox misses an update to the mount (e.g. because the mount has been tracking for the last 15 minutes), it will update the mount as soon as the tracking state is anything but tracking.
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Page 21: Hardware Information
Page 21 Hardware information MGBox uses a Bosch Sensortec BME280 Sensor that delivers pressure, temperature and Humidity with very high accuracy. The following is an excerpt from the specifications of the sensor depicting its tolerances and operating limits: Pressure Sensor... -
Page 22: Microprocessor
Page 22 Microprocessor The “heart” of MGBox is an Atmel ATmega644P microprocessor that interfaces with the Sensor over the I C protocol. It features 64KB of flash memory, 2KB of EEPROM, 4Kbytes of internal SRAM and general-purpose I/O lines. In order to reduce circuit complexity and part count, the ATmega644P is configured to use its internal oscillator running at 8MHz. -
Page 23: Rj10 Interface
The supplied cable is a standard RJ10 cable and the pinout is as follows (colors may vary): Important: Please consult your mount manual before connecting MGBox to it. We will not take responsibility for possible damages resulting from wrong connections! -
Page 24: Application Interface
Page 24 Application Interface This section provides information about how to interface with MGBox from your own application or script. Serial Port settings Use the following settings to connect to MGBox and start receiving data: Baud: 38400 Data-Bits: Stop-Bits: Parity:... -
Page 25: Protocol
Page 25 Protocol MGBox uses, for compatibility reasons, the NMEA 0183 Protocol that is used by various navigation devices. MGBox sends data from the sensor in the following format: $PXDR,P,96276.0,P,0,C,31.8,C,1,H,40.8,P,2,C,16.8,C,3,0.8*39<cr><lf> This breaks down into the following, more readable format: Start of sentence... -
Page 26: Setting, Resetting, Receiving Calibration Data And Other Commands
UT: Synchronize mount’s time Disabled (1 = Enabled) Checksum Setting, resetting, receiving Calibration data and other commands In order to set, reset or query calibration data from the MGBox, similar formatted sentences can be sent to the device: Setting pressure calibration :calp,50*... -
Page 27: Setting Humidity Calibration
Page 27 Setting humidity calibration :calh,50* :calh Set calibration value for pressure Calibration value multiplied by 10, e.g. 5.0°C End of message indicator Resetting calibration values :calreset* :calreset Resets all calibration values End of message indicator Getting calibration values :calget* :calget Resets all calibration values End of message indicator... -
Page 28: Getting Mount Firmware Version (10Micron Specific Firmware Only)
Page 28 :mmget Returns the Mount Model if MGBox has this information End of message indicator Getting Mount Firmware Version (10Micron specific Firmware only) :mfget* Returns the Mount’s Firmware if MGBox has :mfget this information End of message indicator Query the status of the initial time sync (10Micron specific Firmware only) -
Page 29: Troubleshooting
Page 29 Troubleshooting If your MGBox does not work as expected, please check the following: Verify in Device Manager the FTDI Serial Port shows up. Install / reinstall the driver if necessary (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm) If configuring ASCOM Connection and it appears that nothing happens when you click the “Configure”...
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