1 

# Portable Ground Control Station

A Universal Off

- the Shelf Solution

User manual V 1. 12 

## Contents

1 System overview

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 3

2 Specifications

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 5

3 System Descrip tion

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 6

3.1 Power distribution system

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 6

3.2 The modular electronics compartment

................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 6

3.3 Connections

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 9

3.4 Switch description

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 12

4 GCSsetup

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 13

4.1 Electronics instal lation in MEC

................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. 13

4.2 Battery installation

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 14

4.3 Battery charger

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 15

4.4 External power connection

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 15

4.5 Toughbook installation

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 16

4.6 Fo ldable stand

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 17

5 Operation

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 18

5.1 Power Status Display

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 18

5.2 VGA setup

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 19

5.3 17” LCD display setup

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 20

6 Troubleshooting

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 22

7 Contacts

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 23

8 User manual version history

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 23

9 References

................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 233 

## 1 **System overview** Thank you for purchasing UAV Factory’s portable ground control station. UAV Factory’s off

- the

- shelf portable Ground Control Station (GCS) is a flexible and universal solution for controlling unmanned vehicles and payloads. The general
overview of the GCS i s given in Figure 1

.

The GCS can be configured to control unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV), ground robots, bomb disposal robots, remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and o ther robotic devices. The GCS can also be configured to control and monitor other measurement and sensing equipment.

Based on Panasonic’s field proven CF

- 31 Toughbook (1) , the GCS has additional 17’’ sunlight readable touch screen display, advanced power distribution system with hot

- swappable dual batteries and status monitoring features. The GCS is housed in a military grade rugged

, lightweight case which makes it ideal for use in harsh environments.4 Figure 1 Portable ground control station system overview * Panasonic Toughbook CF

- 31 is not included with the GCS and needs to be purchased separately from your local supplier5 

## 2 **Specifications**

Mechanical Specifications

Dimensions 1000 x 420 x 170 mm Weight (excl. Panasonic Toughbook CF

- 31) 18.9 kg Environmental protection IP66 when closed Operating temperature

- 20 to + 7 0 °C (if equipped with wide temperature display) Electronics compartment dimensions 320 x 270 x 80 mm Mounting base M4 threaded mounting grid, 45 mm pitch, aluminum mount kit included Accessory bag internal dimensions 220 x 160 x 70 mm
Case features Rugged plastic case, side handles, carry handle, wheels, pressure purge valve, shoulder strap (optional) Computer mounti ng type Docking Electrical Specifications DC input 10

– 32 VDC
Over

- voltage protection, reverse polarity protection Battery type Lithium Ion Battery Capacity 108 Wh Battery Operation time 2 hours ( typical ) Connections (all routed to Panasonic CF

- 31) 2 serial (RS

- 232), 5 USB, 2 Ethernet, 1 Composite Video in (IMPERX video
device needed ) , 1 Microphone in, 1 Audio out, PCMCIA slot, HDMI Connections to 17” display Composite Video (Optional), external VGA input ( Optional) DC power output 1 12V 5A fused, 50 W DC power output 2 12V 5A fused, 50 W Antenna pass

- through Two 50 Ohm antenna pass

- through to upper lid
SMA

- RP termination, RG 142 Computer Specifications (not included with GCS)
Model Panasonic Toughbook CF

- 31 ( all specifications as per manufacturer datasheets) Durability MIL

- STD

- 810G & IP65 certified (6' drop) Display Type 13.1" XGA touch screen LED 1024x768 Brightness 1100 nits 17” Display Specifications Display Type 17 " TFT 1280 x 1024 (SXGA) Optional touch screen Optional AR glass Brightness 1 4 00 nits Touchscreen type ( optional) Resistive6 

## 3 **System Description**

**3.1 Power distribution system** 
Portable Ground Control Station has an integrated power system which has three independent power sources

- one external power input and two Lithium battery cartridges

. All three power sources are interchangeable and GCS will switch automatically between availablesources, with preference given to the external power input.

Th e required external power input voltage is in the range of 10 to 32 Volts DC

. In case both batter y cartridges are discharged and external power voltage is below 10 Volts

, the system shuts down automatically to prevent battery damage

.

F igure 2 shows schematic drawing of the power distribution system in the GCS

. External power and batteries are connected to the power source selector which provides power to the Laptop, LCD display an d to two auxiliary power outputs located in MEC .Each power source and output is fused to protect the system from short circuit and overload ; fuses are marked with blocks numbered from F1 to F7

. The external power input has additional overvoltage protection and reverse polarity protection.

Figure 2 Power distribution diagram of Modular Electronics Compartment



### 3.2 **The modular electronics compartment** The modular electronics compartment (MEC) , shown in Figure 3 allows installing the application

- specific hardware inside
the GCS .Using theM4 mounting grid and included standard mounting kit

, most hardware devices can be quickly installed
in MEC . Circuit boards can be installed directly on the base of the electronics compartment using standoffs. The MEC is protected by a removable lid, shown in Figure 4 . Once the user

- specific devices are installed in MEC, the lid is closed and remains closed, unless modification to the internal device configuration is required. The lid has an additional configurable connection panel as shown in Figure 4 . This connection panel is used for routing additional connections or switches from equipment installed in the MEC. The GCS comes with three blank connection panels and with the
additional l abel set described in Table 1 . Connection panels can be further machined to accommodate additional
connectors and switches. F7 External

F6 Battery 1

F5 Battery 2 Power Source Selector F3

F2

F1

F4 LCD

DC OUT 1

DC OUT 2

Laptop7 Figure 3 Layout of the modular electronic compartment.

Figure 4 MEC protection lid with configurable connection panel

.

Two SMA

- RP terminated antenna pass

- through cables ( Figure 3 ) can be used to connect the SMA

- RP antennas in the upper lid to the hardware devices located in the modular electronics compartment. Alternatively, antenna connectors
can be located on the user

- configurable connection panel as shown in Figure 4

.

If Omni

- directional antennas are used, it is convenient to use the integrated antenna pass

- through. If antennas need to be routed outside the GCS, such as to an antenna mast or tracking antenna, it is more convenient to use the antenna
connections loc ated directly on the connection panel. M4 Mounting Base

Removable lid Dual antenna

pass - through

Connection panel User serviceable fuses8 Table 1 Label set description

Label Label Description

Antenna Connection

Antenna Connection

GPS connection

RC transmitter connection

DC OUT 1

DC OUT 2

USB

Ethernet

COM1 connection

Composite video connection VIDEO IN

|O|O| 1

DC DC RC GPS ANT 4 ANT 39 

### 3.3 **Connections** Ground Control Station is designed to provide a complete set of connections for electronics located inside the MEC

. There are three groups of electrical connections in the GCS ( Figure 5 ). Group 1 is intended for external device connectionand features one serial (RS

- 232) port, one microphone in, one Audio out and one USB. One VGA input for t he 17” display can be optionally installed in the GCS . This option allows users to switch between the VGA input and the Panasonic Toughbook.

Group 2 is located inside the MEC and is used for connecting application specific hardware to the GCS . Group 2 features one USB, one serial (RS

- 232), one Ethernet

, one Composite Video (Video In 1) and two power outputs . Please note that for capturing composite video on the Panasonic CF

- 31, the IMPERX VCE

- PRO capture device is needed. An optional Composite Video (Vi deo In 2) can be factory installed to provide direct connection to the 17” display

. The overview of Group 1 and Group 2 connectors is given in Figure 6

.

Additional two USB ports and one Ethernet are accessible in Toughbook itself

- these connections are marked as Group 3
in Figure 5

.

Figure 5 Communication diagram

.
* IMPERX VCE

- PRO capture device is needed.

** Video input connected directly to the 17” display (optional). 17” LCD

Docking station USB 2

RS

- 232 (Com 2)
VGA IN (Optional)

USB 1

Ethernet 1

RS

- 232 (Com 1)

Video In 1*

Video In 2** Group 2 (MEC) Group 1 (EXTERNAL)

VGA switch (Optional)Touchscreen Toughbook

USB 3 Microphone in

Audio Out USB 4

USB 5

Ethernet 2 Group 3

VCE

- PRO Capture10 Figure 6 Group 1 and Group 2 connectors overview

.11 External power connector is the XLR type connector which is located in the top right corner of the MEC ( Figure 6 ) . The

externa l connector pinout is given in Figure 7

.
Modular electronics compartment provides two power outputs for application specific electronics, marked as ‘DC OUT 1’
and ‘DC OUT 2’, as shown in Figure 6 . Each output provides up to 50 W of continuous power for internal electronics. Figure 8 shows power output socket polarity diagram.

Figure 7 External power socket pinout

Figure 8 Power output socket polarity diagram GND + VCC NC GND + Vs12 

### 3.4 **Switch description** The g round control station has five switches on the control panel as shown in Figure 9

. Each switch is labeled and has two positions

- “ON” and “OF F” respectively. Switch descriptions are given in Table 2

. Additional switch is factory installed on the control panel if optional VGA input is integrated in the GCS

.

Figure 9 C ontrol panel

Table 2 Switch description

Switch name Description
MAIN Main power switch. Turns on the GCS. LCD Turns on the 17 ” LCD display

. DC OUT 1 Turns on power supply ‘ DC output 1 ’ in MEC DC OUT 2 Turns on power supply ‘ DC output 2 ’ in MEC PC When switch is “ON” ,the Toughbook is power ed from the GCS ’s power supply. When switch is “OFF”

, the Toughbook is powered from its internal battery. VGA (Optional) VGA source selection for the 17” display . When “PC” is selected

, the display is connected directly to Toughbook’s VGA and acts as ‘extended display’

. When “EXT” is selected

, the display is connected to the external VGA source.13 

## 4 **GCS setup** 

**4.1 Electronics installation**  **in MEC** The MEC lid can be opened by removing four screws as shown in Figure 1

. Application specific electronics can be installed into the modular electronics compartment using M4 mounting grid and included standard mounting kit

. Mounting kit includes 6 mounting brackets, 1 meter of 20mm Nylon webbing and 12 plastic slides

. Place electronics in the MEC and
attach it with the Nylon webbing to the mounting brackets. Use supplied M4 screws to attach mounting brackets to the MEC mounting grid . MEC has a suite of connections dedicated for application

- specific electronics (please refer to section
3.4 ).

The example of application specific electronics installation is shown in Figure 10 and Figure 11

. Figure 10 shows Procerus Technologies Kestrel autopilot (2) communication module installation. The module is connected to the DC OUT 1 power output which provides 12 V suppl y. The autopilot communication module uses ANT 1 pass

- through connection for antenna and COM 1 for serial connection to Toughbook.

Figure 11 shows typical Kestrel aut opilot communication module installation with Rotoconcept’s digital video receiver (3) . In this configuration, video receiver uses ANT 1 and ANT 2 pass

- through coaxial cables, DC OUT 2 power source and
Ethernet connection for com munication with Toughbook. The Procerus autopilot module is powered from DC OUT 1
, and connected to COM1 serial. Antenna connectoris located on the configurable panel on the top of the MEC protection
lid

.

Figure 10 Example of hard ware mounting inside MEC usi ng adjustable aluminum mounts14 Figure 11 Example of hardware installation in MEC for an unmanned aircraft vehicle



### 4.2 **Battery installation**
Ground c ontrol station uses two COTS Lithium

- Ion MAKITA BL1830 batteries ( Figure 12 )

. Use only original 18V BL1830
MAKITA batteries (4)

. To remove the battery push the release button as shown in Figure 12 and pull the battery cartridge away from the mount

.

The battery cartridgesand external power supply can beremoved or connected any time during normal operatio n

- t he power system automatically controls power source selection. The external power is a priority source.

Figure 12 Battery installation15 

### 4.3 **Battery charger**
GCS comes with the standard MAKITA charger ( Figure 13 ) for the BL1830 batteries. Charging time for one battery is approximately 30 minutes. Both 240 V AC and 110 V AC charger versions are available. The 12V DC charger versi on can be purchased separately.

Figure 13 MAKITA battery ch arge



### 4.4 **External power connection**
GCS comes with the AC/DC adapter ( Figure 14 ) which is used as externa l power source from 110

– 240 VAC mains supply . When external power is connected

, the LED which is located near the connector should light green.

Figure 14 AC/DC power adapter16 

### 4.5 **Toughbook installation** 
The GCS has an integrated CF

- 31 Toughbook docking station. The docking station is also compatible with the CF

- 30 Toughbook.

Before installing the Toughbook

, insure that protection lid on the back side is opened ( Figure 15 ). Install the Toughbook into the docking station as shown in Figure 16

. Once the Toughbook is located i n the docking station, the docking handle needs to be engaged as shown in Figure 16 . To remove the Toughbook from the GCS, first disengage the docking handle and then remove the Toughbook.

Figure 15 Protection lid is opened

Figure 16 Toughbook docking17 

### 4.6 **Foldable stand** The optional foldable stand is availablefor the GCS. Place the GCS on the top of the stan d as shown in Figure 17 and
attach it to the stand using two clamps from both sides.

Figure 17 Foldable stand attachment18 

## 5 **Operation**

To turn on the Ground Control Station turn on the “MAIN” switch on the control panel (see Figure 9 for details)

. All GCS power parameters are displayed on a dedicated display located in the upper part of the GCS ( Figure 1 )

.


### 5.1 **Power Status Display**

T he power status display shows the GCS power status as shown in Figure 18

. The following parameters are displayed on the power status display : the total system power, internal temperature, external power voltage and battery voltage.If system is running on batteries

, the display shows “arrow” above the appropriate battery symbol as shown in Figure
18

. Power status symbol description is given in Table 3

.

Figure 18 Power status display

Table 3 Power status symbol description

Label Description
Ps System total power in Watts.
Ts Internal board temperature in Celsius.
DC External power voltage. Displays “LOW” when voltage is below 10 Volts.
BAT1 Battery 1 status. Upper value shows battery voltage. Lower value shows remaining battery capacity
BAT2 Battery 2 status. Upper value shows battery voltage. Lower value shows remaining battery capacity 

## Ps 19W

Ts 21 ° C

DC LOW BAT1 BAT2 19.7V

100% 17.2 V

30%19 

### 5.2 **VGA setup**
In order t o configure the Toughbook connection to the 17” LCD

, navigate to Screen Resolution window as shown in Figure 19 for Windows 7 . Make sure that Toughbook is docked and 17” LCD is switched on as well as VGA switch (optional) is in “PC” position

. Set 1280 x 1024 resolution for second display and select “Ex tend these display s ” in the multiple display bar. Click “Ok” to save changes.

Figure 19 Second display setup screen20 

### 5.3 **17” LCD display setup** 
Once the Ground Control Station is turned on

, the 17” LCD display can be powered on to extend the Toughbook display. Alternatively, the 17” display can show the information from optional composite video input or optional VGA input

. To

turn on the LCD display , use the “LCD” switch ( please refer to section 3.4 for details ). T he LCD display brightness

, contrast and signal sour c e can be configured using the integrated LCD control panel ( Figure 20 ). The control panel has an additional LCD power switch which can be used to turn off the LCD.

Figure 20 LCD display control panel
To adjust brightness and contrast of the LCD press “OSD Menu” (On Screen Display) button on the LCD control panel.

Figure 21 shows the brightness sub page in the OSD menu. Press “OSD Menu” once more and select brightness or

contrast using navigation buttons. Press “OSD menu” button and adjust brightness or contrast from 0 to 100 using

navigation buttons

. To save adjustment press “OSD menu” and navigate to for exit.

Figure 21 Brightness sub page
To select the signal source press “OSD menu” and navigate to the signal source sub page ( Figure 22 ). Press “OS D menu” once more to enter into the sub page and select the necessary signal source by navigation buttons. In case of using Navigation

OSD Menu

LCD Power Power indicator21 Toughbook VGA output or external VGA (optional) select VGA source. In case of using composite video source (Video input 2) select AV source. Press “OSD menu” to save changes and exit from the sub page.

Figure 22 Signal s ource sub page
The color adjustment should be done when Toughtbook is connected for the first time to the LCD. Press “OSD menu”

and navigate to the color settings as shown in Figure 23 . Select the automatic color adjustment and press “OSD
menu” button. Make sure that Toughbook is connected to the LCD and PC switch is “on” before using the color auto adjust . This function will improve image quality but s ome minor flickering c an be still observed on the 17” display while Toughbook is charging the internal battery. This is common issue for the external display connection through the docking station via the VGA. High charging current goes through the same docking connector as VGA signal.

Figure 23 Color settings sub page22 

## 6 **Troubles hooting** 

Problem Possible reason Solution GCS is connected to external power supply , but does n’t work

. Not enough voltage Connect batteries or appropriate power supply in the 10

– 32 V DC range

.

External power fuse is blown Check fuse F1. Replace if necessary. Batteries are connected

, but GCS does n’t work Both batteries are empty Replace batteries
B attery fuse s are blown Check fuses F2 and F3 . Replace if
necessary. 17” display does n’t work LCD display fuse is blown Check fuse F7. Replace if necessary. LCD was switched off on the control panel Turn on LCD using power button on the LCD control panel 17” display shows “No signal” Dock handle is not engaged Check that Toughbook is docked. Wrong VGA configuration Refer to section 0

. VGA switch position is wrong Check VGA switch position Wrong signal source Refer to section 0

. No power at DC OUT 1. DC OUT 1 fuse is blown Check fuse F5 . Replace if necessary. No power at DC OUT 2. DC OUT 2 f use is blown Check fuse F6 . Replace if necessary. No power output to the Toughbook when switch “PC” is on. Fuse is blown Check fuse F4 . Replace if necessary.23 

## 7 **Contacts** Please use the following information to contact UAV Factory:

UAVFACTORY LTD.

24A

- 52 Ganibu Dambis

Riga, Latvia, LV1105

Tel: +371 29119398

Email: info@uavfactory.com



## 8 **User manual v**  **ersion h**  **istory**

Version Comments, Updates Date Author
1.0 First manual version for Portable Control Station 03.06.2012 AG

1.1 Added note regarding the 17” display and VGA setup 0 7 .2 3 .2012 AG



## 9 **References**

1. Panasonic. [Online] http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/fully

- rugged

- laptop

- toughbook

- 31.asp.

2. Procerus Technologies. [Online] http://www.procerus.com/index.php.

3. Rotoconcept Robotics. [Online] http://www.rotoconcept.com/.

4. Makita BL1830. [On line] http://www.makita.com.au/products/lxt/lithium

- ion/item/lithium

- ion/bl1830

- 18v

- li

- ion

battery?Prodid=.