ROYALTEK RBT2300 data downloader for Pocket PC (PPC)

 

HUNGARIAN VERSION in Word document

 

Intro

 

I recently purchased a Royaltek RBT-2300 Bluetooth GPS unit. This device meets my needs perfectly:

sensitive
lifespan of the battery:> 17h (version shipped by Cricel)
and most importantly "datalogger" function : it is capable of storing up to 650000 points (time and position) in its 64mb internal memory,

The single drawback is that the provided software only runs on PCs, and I needed an equivalent pocket PC software.

After having contacted Cricel and Royaltek, I came to the conclusion that I had to develop my own software ...

I would like to clarify that it is not very fast  ... but it includes interesting features that even the royaltek sofware does not provide:

 

Usage

installation

The software is freeware. It can only be distributed from this web site. If you've appreciated it and want to support me for further improvements, you can make a secure donation via PayPal. Be warmly thanked!
 

download the latest stable version v2007 :

DOWNLOAD PPC VERSION .CAB here

Install it on the PPC. You will probably also need to install the. NET FRAMEWORK from microsoft

 .CAB install creates a directory "RBT_2300" under "program files" containing "RBT_2300.exe."


DOWNLOAD PC VERSION : .EXE here

On the PC, the file itself is sufficient. No installation is required.

The code is identical  to the PPC version described below.  The only difference is the presence on the PC MMI of a SILENT button "" which is used to interrupt the NMEA frames broadcast (useful for debugging!)

language selection

Since version 1300, the RBT_2300 downloader has a language configuration. Therefore, a  MMI.txt file must be copied into the install directory.

For now, only the English and German versions are available (in addition to the default French  language ). All people of goodwill are welcome ;-)

english version (thank you Brendt ! )

Deutch version (thank you Tino)

Espagnol and Catalan (thanks Dany)

Hungarian  (thanks K09)

geoid correction

Since v1400,  the RBT_2300 downloader  includes a function to apply geoid correction to dumped altitude values.

In order not to consume too much memory, I've chosen to generate a small geoid grid with a 1° step and an altitude accuracy of 1 m, which is good enough compared to the 5m GPS accuracy ...

The geoid grid is stored as an image file in PBM (portable bitmap) format, with pixel value set to the geoid + 110m. This leads to a very compact format, which is useful given the limited memory of a PDA

 

If you prefer to store the raw values (Mean Sea Level altitudes) just remove the geoid.pbm file which is in the install directory on the PCC). The only drawback is that when the program is launched, a message will pop up to remind you that the goid file is not present ...

The PC version, in contrast, does not include the geoid.pbm file. If you're interested in this function, just copy the file in the install directory.

Here is the geoid.pbm file

Should you still have some doubts on the utility of correcting the altitude using the geoid, here are two screenshots of the same flight take off in London Gatwick airport. The upper one is without geoid correction, the other with geoid computation ... no comment !

initialisation

The very first time, a message "no preference file" will appear to remind you that you  must enter your  user  preferences:
 

click OK to get rid of it.

and start the entry phase, preferably from the next screen by clicking on pref ...:

If you click pref ..., a second page should appear asking you to click Dir ...

enter the location to store your dumps: here the Compact Flash card. You can also enter the name of an existing folder. Do not enter anything in the area of the filename, it is useless!

Once the location is determined, click OK; the text box will retain the selected directory .  Incidentally  a file pref.txt is created in the install directory. Close the window in the upper right and you'll be directed to the start screen:

 

 pref.txt file contains also the COM port default value name. Warning, some PCs or bluetooth devices suffer from a bug (in .NET FrameWork): listed serial ports names end with random character like COM10c COM12i. In that case you will need to manually edit the  pref.txt file to add the COM port you wish to use:

C:\Documents and Settings\Alain\Bureau\
COM2 OZI X24

and everything should work ...

You can also edit the default values "OZI X24" after the COM port number in the pref.txt file using one of the following values for the output format (OZI, GPX, NMEA) and for the multidump option (see below) (1, X, 24, X24)

values shall be separated with SPACE character.

eg : COM12 GPX 1

 

 

You have to choose the Bluetooth serial port .

Once the port is chosen, click OPEN ...  it opens the port (cool isn't it ;-))
new buttons should appear :

file dump

If you click LIST, the name of files in memory are listed:
 

    

The program then retrieves the available memory capacity : free mem 99%

For information, on the names of files, parameters behind the comma are:

To dump a file, click on the file name and then OK

 

Note that the time of the first fix in the file appears in the information area

if you just want to see the time without  launching a dump do not confirm by clicking Cancel

If you click OK: the dump starts, you'll see  frames progressing by the message:

>>> xxx / total frames to dump up to the end of file

    

 

The dumped file is stored in the directory selected during the preferences process. Depending on the output format choice, you will get files:

here is an OziExplorerCE file :

OziExplorer Track Point File Version 2.1
WGS 84
Altitude is in Feet
Reserved 3
0,2,255,Compliments_Aeropic,0,0,2,8421376
0
43.51322, 1.49925,0, 653.9943, 39488.65,,15:33:51, 0.7908441
43.51322, 1.499253,0, 649.4207, 39488.65,,15:33:53, 0.4039021
43.51322, 1.499253,0, 646.2142, 39488.65,,15:33:55, 0.3498632
43.51322, 1.499253,0, 643.5519, 39488.65,,15:33:57, 0.2184534
...

useful lines include :

latitude, longitude, 0, altitude in feet, date and time in  day fraction, , text time, speed.

(those two last parameters "text time, speed." are not used by OZI)

to open a .plt file under OZIce:
-  launch OZIce on the PDA
- At the bottom  click on Toolbars and then check track toolbar
-  Click on "opening folder  ..."
- Select the file. Plt
The track will appear on the map background.
You can then close the "track toolbar."

other functions

The program can be used to set the GPS configuration:

fill in the desired configuration using the pull-down menus (within 4 seconds ...), then click OK and SET
 

  

 

Finally, if you press ERASE after confirmation OK, the memory content is erased !

pull down menus functions

from version 1003 new functions have been added (see the middle of the screens capture images)

two pull down menus have appeared:

multidump :

If you select X (default) the dump of the selected file will automatically go on including the following files, provided they have been recorded under these conditions:

A single output file is then generated.

thus, for example, if the memory contains:

a request to dump file 1 will  automatically dump the linked  file 2. The resulting file in the PPC will be named 1_20080210.plt

It can be very handy for long trips because the RBT2300 breaks files into memory in order not to exceed about 4000 frames, it will avoid the tedious job of appending files to rebuild your great trip!
 

If you select 1, a single file will be dumped at once.

Release  2.000 includes nex functions.    "X options" (X ou X24) allow to dump the whole RBT 2300 memory in one click .

files are dumped:

 

new in version 1500 on 30/05/2008

New functions are accessible when clicking on the little green square at the bottom right of the screen.

 

This form collects :

 

conclusion

The RBT-2300 is a beautiful toy, coupled with the 17h CRICEL battery , it has remarkable autonomy and is easily forgoten  in a pocket or backpack.

Enjoy your RBT during mountain trips. Here are the result of a day of skiing:

Google Earth DTM is not perfect on the red needle!

For the curious, here is my analysis of the RBT protocol.

 

keep me informed if everything works fine ! (please include your configuration) ...

history of versions

version 2007 :

version 2006 :

version 2004 :

version 2003 :

version 2002 :

version 2000 :

version 1501 : added NMEA form

version 1402 : geoid is coded in a .pbm picture

version 1401 : increased accuracy in geoid computation

version 1400 :

version 1301 : bug fixed when pref.txt was not present

version 1300 : language management ...

version 1203 : removal of white lines in PLT which disrupted OZI ...

version 1202 : To be compatible with LOCr, NMEA frames checksum is calculated

version 1201 : When a dump file, already exists, the old version is overwritten

version 1200 : Adding the IHM capture preferences (path of the directory safeguard dumps)

version 1101 : bug fix on the negative longitudes and latitudes (South and West) in the frame NMEA

version 1100 : improvement in performance

version 1007 :

version 1006 : fixed a bug in sync frames LOG102 (some files could not finish)

version 1005 : fix a date OZI (crash on OS USA)

version 1004 : fix a date OZI