St100 Functional States; Pre-Operational States; Configuration Mode; Staged For Activation Mode - Globalstar ST100 User Manual

8545-0194-01 v1.0

2.2. ST100 FUNCTIONAL STATES

Over the ST100's lifetime, it transitions through the following states.

2.2.1. PRE-OPERATIONAL STATES

Note that these states are conceptual, rather than hard "states" that the device can be commanded to be in directly. They are
defined by events that have occurred prior to the device becoming fully operational.

2.2.1.1. Configuration mode

This describes the state in which the unit leaves the factory. No operational profile and no lifetime have been programmed into
it. The unit's solar panel has not been uncovered and the battery has not been allowed to charge. The VAR transitions the unit
to be staged for activation mode by setting a lifetime and a profile into the unit, as described in the section below.

2.2.1.2. Staged for activation mode

The device is considered to be in staged for activation mode when the following things have been programmed.
• Device lifetime in months.
• A reporting profile: This is set using the "track" command. (See section on ASCII commands). The track command
takes arguments for the reporting interval in minutes, and the values of the user programmable bytes (bytes 0, 7, and
8) of the on-air message.
• Optional: GPS fix timeout. The unit comes from the factory with a GPS fix timeout of 4 minutes. Note, this is the
MAXIMUM time it will attempt to obtain a GPS fix before giving up for that report cycle. If a fix is obtained in less time
(about 40 seconds is typical with a good view of the sky) the unit will de-power the GPS as soon as a fix is obtained.
Leaving this value at the factory default of 4 minutes is strongly recommended for GPS reliability.
• Optional: A low battery report rate. This is the report rate the ST100 drops to when the battery voltage is below 3.6
volts. The unit is shipped from the factory with this value set to 24 hours (one transmission per day). If the VAR desires
a different value here, it may be set via the "slbatrate" command.
• Note, the low battery rate MUST be greater than the normal rate. If, for example, the VAR intends to set the normal
reporting rate to 24 hours (via the "track" command) he must first set the low battery rate to greater than 24 hours,
and then issue the track command. While not required, it is recommended that the low battery rate be a multiple of
the normal track rate. For example, a common configuration is to set the track rate to 6 hours and the low battery
rate to 24 hours (4 times the track rate).

2.2.1.3. Activating mode

The unit enters this mode when it detects that the unit is apparently in sunlight and the battery is charging, defined as a positive
current flow into the battery for 5 consecutive minutes.
NOTE: A minimum amount of sunlight may be required for the solar panel to begin charging the battery, in order to enter
the activating mode. If sunlight is not available (cloudy day), the device can be commanded to enter the activating mode.
Once charging of the battery is detected, the unit will attempt to obtain a GPS fix. If the fix is not obtained within the GPS
timeout, the unit will sleep for 5 minutes and try again. This cycle will continue until a fix is successfully obtained. This cycle will
"pause" if the battery level drops below 3.4 volts and resume after it has had some time to charge.
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