FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System
User Manual

FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

Firmware v22-12-22

FlexiDisplay GPS Locator System

RED BUTTON

• Power ON (Pres & hold for 2 seconds)
• Transmits DT Signal to the compatible BMK Receivers.
• Enter / Select
• Force Shutdown (Pres & hold for 10 seconds then release)
  *not recommended if the device is responding to the commands.

EDGE BUTTON

• Power OFF (Pres & hold for 6 seconds)
• Next Display / Next Option
• Flıght Recorder Start/Stop (Pres & hold for 1-5s)

Micro USB Socket
Charges the onboard battery in ~4 hours.
Antenna Socket
Female SMA Antenna socket for antenna connection. You can use any compatible antenna.
Wifi Antenna
It’s an onboard antenna under the enclosure.
GPS Antenna
It’s an onboard antenna under the enclosure.
*Please do not cover this part of the device for a good GPS reception.
Features

• FlexiDisplay Hand unit ON time: +20 hours (>100 hours @low power)

• Flight Memory(1MB): records all received data and summary.

• RCDT: Long Range, BMK B1 and B2 compatible.

• RSSI Indicator: useful under low accuracy or No-GPS conditions.

• Last Known Location: FD records and shows the last known location of the beacon.

• GPS LOW indicator: It appears if the GPS accuracy is low and you will know the search radius may be >10m.

• Altimeter: Altitude, Climb and Sink rates on your display.

• QR code: Just scan with your phone and google maps will show the beacon location.

• Flight Summary: Max altitude and other useful information about your last flights.

• Smart Beacon Selection: It shows all active beacons on your display. You can choose your beacons or friend’s to help them. No binding is required,multiple FDs can follow the telemetry data of a beacon.
  or Touch the FlexiDisplay antenna to Beacon antenna and wait for ~10 seconds and it will bind to the beacon automatically.

• Battery Capacity: 820mAh ~20 hours of continuous use.

BMK GPS Beacon Features

Battery Input

• MicroJST 1.25mm socket
• Compatible with 1-3S Lithium battery (3.5-13v)
• 30mA@flight, ~7mA@stationary, 1mA@gps-off

Radio Antenna
164mm long Gauge 8 Steel Guitar Wire
GPS Antenna
Ceramic GPS Antenna.
Top 8mm of the beacon must be out of the carbon fiber fuselage. (Marked as Antenna Zone above)
Altimeter
The hole of the barometric pressure sensor must be alway open to measure the air pressure.
Keep away from the direct airstream or wind to measure correct altitude.
RED LED
The led shows the device status, blinks when transmitting and fast blinks when the GPS locked.
Breakaway Mounting Ears
You can break these ears by using a small plyer or wire cutter.
Beacon Features

• 20x21x6mm with ears, 13x21x6mm without ears.
• 1.5g weight.
• GPS Beacon current consumption: 30mA@flight, ~7mA@stationary, 1mA@gps-off
• Update rate: 0.5s@climbing 1s@flight 4-8s@stationary
• The range: >20km in the air(UK conditions)
• Low battery mode: The beacon disables the GPS unit for lower battery consumption and transmits the last locked GPS point if the battery is under 3.3v. You can still receive this location info and signal strength value until 1.8v.
• Altimeter: 0.1m Resolution, 5.5km max, -1km min.
• 434-435MHz , 40 channels, 25khz channel spacing.

Battery Consumtion:
Supplied 40mA button batteries will be enough for 1 hours of flight or 4-5 hours stationary.
100mAh battery will be enough for a flight day.

LOCATOR DISPLAY

This is the default display to track your model. Beacon & Display GPS Status

• NO-GPS >> GPS is not fixed
• GPS-LOW >> The accuracy is low
• GPS-OFF >> The battery is too low to supply GPS, The beacon is transmitting the last known location)

Beacon & Display Battery Level
Displays the voltage level in Volts. “LOW” text blinks if the battery level under the preset values(3.6v)
Signal Strength Indicator
Displays the strength of the last received signal from the beacon. Higher numbers are better. It’s also useful for very short distances or NO-GPS conditions.
The device can measure the signal level from 0 to 120 but usually, you will lose the signal when it’s below 10.
The indicator will disappear in 20 seconds if the device cannot receive any fresh data from the beacon.
Q Values / GPS Accuracies
The GPS modules use the triangulation method to find their location. Usualy more satellite is better but also the satellite positions are important. If the GPS can’t see the horizon from one direction(a brick wall, buildings etc) the calculated location will slide to the other direction. The modules generate HDOP value from the satellite positions but this value is too complicated for field use. This is why we use a simple 1 to 5 stars system. 5 is the best accuracy, usualy you will see these numbers in a flat field and you can expect the model in a 3 meters range from the spotted location.
1 is the worst value and the model can be anywhere in a 20-80m radius.
If the Q values are something like “Q:2/3”, this means the beacon GPS accuracy is 2 Stars and the FlexiDisplay GPS accuracy is 3 Stars rated. Better use the Signal Strength Indicator to find your model when you arrived at the location.
Beacon ID / Name
Every beacon has its Unique ID Number. You can track any beacon by using your FlexiDisplay but you must know the channel number and the ID of the beacon to recognise it (See the Beacon Selection menu). You can also name them if the 6-digit hexadecimal numbers are too confusing to remember. (See the Config.ini File Section)
Altitude Indicator
You can follow the live altitude of the beacon from this part of the display. The arrow will turn up or down depending on the altitude change.
Distance Indicator
It shows the distance between the model and the user by using both GPS location data.
The Arrow
The arrow indicates the model’s location when you hold your FlexiDisplay level to the ground like a compass.

ALTIMETER DISPLAY

The second display mode to track your model’s performance In addition to the previous display mode:
Max. Altitude
Maximum altitude from the current/last flight.
The device resets this value automatically when it recognises a new launch pattern.
Variometer
Live climb or sink rate of the model. This value will be zero when the model is stationary but may show some small changes if the weather is too windy. The arrow shows if it’s climbing or sinking.
Line Of Sight Distance
The LOS distance between the model and the user. It’s different from the ground distance in the locator display.
Direction Arrow
It will appear when only the device is in the compass position.

QR CODE DISPLAY

QR Code is a unique method to recover your model if you are more confident with your phone display or your helper will retrieve your model from the landing position. Just scan this code by using your smartphone and Google Maps will pin the beacon’s location. You can also take a photo of the display to share or track it later.
*You may need a QR Code Scanner App if you are using an Android phone. Selected Beacon No
Click the RED button to toggle between the received beacons.
The device will not send any RCDT command.
This is another way to select a beacon.
Last update date and time
The date from the GPS satellites and its UTC. You must add or remove your local time zone

FLIGHTS SUMMARY DISPLAY

This display gives short summaries of the last 10 flights.
You can toggle between the flights by using the [RED Button]. The device will not send any RCDT command. Flight Number
It’s an incremental value and it’s not resettable.
Date/Time
The date from the GPS satellites and its UTC. You must add or remove your local time zone
Max.Climb / Sink Rates
The maximum variometer values during the flight..
Flight Time
Estimated flight duration. The flight time can not be used for the timing requirements because the launch and landing data is related to the altimeter only and the beacon may delay transmitting the correct value.

SETTINGS

This is the last of the 5 main displays.
You can enter the Settings system by using the [RED Button]. The device will not send any RCDT command. 5.1.Main Settings

• Beacon Select
• Channel Set
• WiFi
• Raw Data
• Compass Calibration
• Battery Calibration
• Contrast Calibration
• Shutdown
• Return

5.1.1.Beacon Select
You can select the active beacon by using this menu. The beacons will appear in the list soon after they transmitted a valid data. The signal strength is minus(-) dB but shows only the positive part of the value because of the small display size. So a lower value means a better reception. You can toggle between the beacons by using the [EDGE Button] and select by using the [RED Button]. It will return to the main menu in a few seconds  if you don’t press any button. 5.1.2.Channel Set
More than 10 beacons can work at the same frequency as a locator thanks tothe unique IDs and randomised transmit times but most of the signals will interfere with each other and it is not ideal for tracking the live altitude in a competition. To solve this problem, the beacons are configurable for 40 different channels and you will receive your beacons and the hand unit configured to a dedicated channel. You don’t have to change the channel number unless you are searching for your friend’s beacon or helping them as a spotter etc. It will return to the main menu for a while if you don’t press any button.
5.1.3.WiFi Mode
The device will open a WiFi access point(AP) with a unique SSID name and Password and they will be shown on your display when the WiFi mode is enabled. Search for the WiFi network name by using your phone, tablet or computer and connect by using the provided password. Then open a web browser and type 192.168.4.1 into the address bar to enter the web-based admin menu.
You can update the firmware, change the device settings or download the complete flight data in CSV format by using this menu. You can download the latest firmware and upload it to the device easily.

• Check the startup screen for the current version number (AKA Pennington Indicator™) and make sure the downloaded firmware version is newer than the current one before updating.
  ** The latest firmwares here: https://github.com/melihkarakelle/FlexiDisplay- Firmware-Releases

Config.ini File System

The device stores the user-configurable values under the config.ini file. This is a standard configuration file system based on the sections marked with “[ ]” and variables. You
can also comment out a line by using the “#” character.[SETTINGS] ### The beacon radio channel number must be between 0-39

RADIO_CHANNEL = 15

RCDT Code must be 6 digit hesadecimal(0-F) ###

RCDT_CODE=B20001
METRIC_SYSTEM=1

METRIC_SYSTEM=0

SLEEP_AFTER_STATINARY_SECONDS=600
BEEP_AFTER_STATINARY_SECONDS=180
BEEP_EVERY_X_SECONDS=10
SAVE_FLIGHTS_TO_MEMORY = 0
[RECORDED_VARIABLES] LAST_SELECTED_BEACON = B344E7
Display_Lat_last = 51.906683
Display_Lon_last = 2.429880
Beacon_Lat_last = 51.906835
Beacon_Lon_last = 2.429575
[CALIBRATION] BATTERY_ADC_CONSTANT = 4.527158
Mag_X_max = 1320
Mag_Y_max = 1215
Mag_Z_max = 1343
Mag_X_min = -1196
Mag_Y_min = -1342
Mag_Z_min = -1115
[MY_BEACONS] B374FD=RED-E20
B38EE9=F1A
B39EA2=MY BEACON (1)
5.1.4.Raw Data
You can find raw sensor data under this menu. You can toggle between the variables by using the [EDGE Button] and return by using the [RED Button].
5.1.5.Compass Calibration
The compass must be recalibrated if; the device is showing the wrong direction and you must complete the calibration process if you have entered this menu. The calibration process is simple: turn the device in your hand in every possible direction. You can make 8 figures and also flip them. The device will measure the minimum and maximum magnetic field strength and the down counting progress bar will refresh if it measures a higher value or saves and return if the values are not changing anymore. 5.1.6.Battery Calibration
The battery sensor must be recalibrated if; the device is showing lower voltage than 4.1volts after fully charged. The calibration process is simple: Enter this menu and it will calibrate the sensor for 4.2V. If you enter this menu accidentaly when the battery level is lower, just charge the device and it will recalibrate itself automaticaly.
5.1.7.Contrast Calibration
You can calibrate the display contrast from here if the display is dark or faded. Press the RED button to darker and Edge button for lighter results.
Recovery Mode:
If you cant read the display becouse of a contrast calibration error, there is another way to calibrate it.

1. Press and hold the RED button for 10 seconds then release to force shutdown the unit.
2. Press and hold the EDGE and RED Buttons together for 3 seconds. The device will turn on at the recovery mode.
3. Release both buttons together.
4. Click the RED button 10-30 times for a darker display or the EDGE button for a lighter one.
5. Wait for an auto restart when you are happy with the results.

Single Page Field Manual for FlexiDisplay 434MHz

Automatic Beacon Selection (Aka: Antenna Kiss™ by Chris Edge)
If you have more than one active beacon, you can use this smart feature to switch between your beacons.

1. Make sure the beacon and the FlexiDisplay in the same channel,
2. Touch the FlexiDisplay antenna to Beacon antenna and wait for ~10 seconds.
3. The FlexiDisplay will measure the signal level and bind to the beacon automatically if it’s too close.

Calibrating the Compass
Compass calibration may require if you carried your FlexiDisplay unit and a strong magnet together or flying near to an iron mine etc.

1. Goto SETTINGS>COMPASS CAL.>
2. Turn the device in your hand in every possible direction for at least 10 seconds.
3. It will record the maximum magnetic field strength and return back automatically.

Channel Selection (FlexiDisplay & GPS Beacon)
Changing the radio channel is not suggested if there is no obvious reason.
FlexiDisplay

1. Goto SETTINGS>CHANNEL SET>
2. Click the RED(+) or EDGE(-) button to select, Wait a few seconds and it will return back automatically. GPS Beacon
3. Use the tip of a ball pen to find the click point of the micro button. It’s a very small black dot below the altimeter’s air inlet.
4. Click and hold the button before plug the battery, then plug the battery and release the button.
5. Click the the button and count the blinks until the desired channel number then release the button.(6 blinks for CH6)
6. The LED will flash continuously, cycle the power to use.

Charging
*Do NOT store your lithium batteries at fully charged(4.2V). 3.7V will be best for a longer battery life.
FlexiDisplay

1. Plug the Micro USB cable to the charge socket
2. The RED LED behind the display will turn on during the charging. It takes about 4 hours for a depleted battery.

GPS Beacon

1. Plug the Micro USB cable to the 25mA Charger,
2. Plug the battery and the RED LED will turn ON until fully charged then it will turn to GREEN.
3. The charge time is ~1.5 hours for a 40mAh battery and 4 hours for 100mAh.

Changing the Antenna

The stock antenna is selected for general use and small enough to fit in your pocket but sometimes you may need a better and bulky antenna if you are planing a long flight etc. Please bare in your mind:

• You can search for 433MHz, 434MHz and UHF antennas. There is no consensus on their names.
• Compare the signal strength readings to make sure your new antenna is better than stock antenna.
• The antenna connector must be SMA MALE (Not RP-SMA MALE)
• Compass calibration may required depend on the antenna material and size.

Credits:
Beta Testers and People behind the most of the features
Chris Edge & Julian Pennington
Copyright. BM.Karakelle
The information furnished by BM.Karakelle is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed for inaccuracies and specifications within this document are subject to change without notice. The material contained herein is the exclusive property of BM.Karakelle and shall not be distributed, reproduced, or disclosed in whole or in part without prior written permission of BM.Karakelle.

Copyright 2023 © By BM.Karakelle rev.02/02/2023
www.bmks.co.uk

References

• BMK's Store for Free Flight – BMK's Free Flight Store
• BMK's Store for Free Flight – BMK's Free Flight Store
• GitHub - melihkarakelle/FlexiDisplay-Firmware-Releases: Repository for the available FlexiDisplay Firmware

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