You are here

Anatomy 101 

Small & Powerful

The GSatMicro is the smallest, self-contained, Iridium tracker in the world.

Learn More..Purchase Now

GSatMicro: External Anatomy

Interconnecting the device with other hardware, user input interfaces, monitoring hardware, or environment data becomes very simple.

  • Two 1A Relay Outputs (Active Low) - Control external relays or outputs which have external power.
  • Two ADC Inputs (0-30V) - Measure input voltage, and trigger wakeup conditions for the GSatMicro.

Built to be rugged and reliable, the GSatMicro case prevents the intrusion of sand, dust, water, snow, mud, oil or just about anything else thrown at it. The case is designed with rugged plastics to start, sealed with a custom built silicon molding, and tightened with stainless steel screws. Internal to the unit is both moisture and pressure elimination to ensure functionality at various altitudes and temperatures. The connector is also a fully sealed IP67 connector with gold plated pins to ensure weatherproof functionality. The unit functions in the harshest conditions and the most extreme environments.

The GSatMicro has a button pad with LED lights, and is weatherproof with an Intrusion Protection rating of IP67. The GSatMicro has gone through rigorous testing and has proven that it can withstand full submersion for an extended period of time and still continue to work once removed from those conditions.

  • Liquid immersion with a depth up to 1 meter
  • Dust tight; no ingress of dust; complete protection against contact (dust tight)

Power Button

Settings Button

Check-In Button

= Alert Button

Activate by pressing both the 'Settings' and the 'Check-In' buttons at the same time. By activating alert mode, your positions are transmitted on the “alert” sleep time instead of the “normal” sleep time, allowing you to increase the reporting interval by simply switching to alert mode. The unit will also flag the transmitted positions with an alert flag that will display on the platform.

LED Default Function
Green LED (Icon: Lightning) Power
Orange LED (Icon: GPS) GPS
Orange LED (Icon: Satellite) Iridium
Blue LED (Icon: Envelope) Messages
Red LED (Icon: !) Alert Mode

GSatMicro: Internal Anatomy

Antenna

The helical antenna built into the GSatMicro provides the ultimate Iridium coverage by utilizing a self radiating element without a limiting ground plane. Tuned for Iridium and GPS, the integrated high-gain helical antenna provides 180 degrees radius of coverage. Also, a single antenna feed provides both Iridium and GNSS coverage to minimize weight and size of the GSatMicro.


Iridium 9602

The Iridium 9602 is the next-generation SBD Transceiver from Iridium. Designed for integration into complete wireless solutions, it provides the critical global data communications necessary for today’s global solutions.

The Iridium 9602 is designed to exclusively support Iridium’s Short Burst Data Service. The small size and ease of integration make the Iridium 9602 ideal for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions such as automatic vehicle location, asset monitoring, marine and personal tracking applications.

GSatMicro Core

The core of the GSatMicro Series terminals is a processing engine which allows communication between any and all of the built in interfaces including satellite, GPS, USB, encryption, serial port, analog inputs, digital outputs, accelerometer, battery/charging information, temperature, and shock/motion.


Battery

The GSatMicro can rest on the shelf for years without needing to be charged. For self powered operation, or operation on USB, an optional 2500 mAh LiPo battery pack can be added. This battery pack was custom designed with special LiPo materials to achieve a 20% increase in battery density. Also, the size was custom built to fit within the outline of the GSatMicro board for an efficient stackable design.


GSatMicro OEM: Anatomy

Using the latest 32 bit ARM Cortex technology, the GSatMicro is both fast and very power efficient. The processor itself consumes only a few microamps when sleeping, and wakes up to full power mode in a millisecond to process high speed data. Using this power to run the eLua core is what empowers the GSatMicro technology.

With its accelerometer and magnetic compass paired with onboard intelligence and I/O technology the GSatMicro eliminates restrictions to position information. Instead, the GSatMicro offers you the freedom to truly understand the behavior of your asset. The GSatMicro lets you control how and why the device is going to report. And furthermore, because the device is a scriptable device reporting intervals can be performed remotely over the air.

The Accelerometer and Magnetic Compass offer the ability to now measure the following:

  • How fast the device is moving
  • The heading of the device
  • The Pitch and Roll of the device (such as on a ship in rough seas)
  • A quick and sudden descending motion of the device (such as in an aircraft)
  • A quick motion upwards

Two flex circuit connectors on the GSatMicro OEM provide all of the I/O functionality and can be easily interfaced to with the I/O Board. The I/O Board provides both common connectors and solderable pins for your project. It includes Micro USB, DB9 RS232, DC power, 2 analog inputs, 2 relay outputs, 5 LEDs, and 3 N/O push buttons.

SiRFstarV GPS with an amazing sensitivity:

The GSatMicro is capable of sending and receiving data anywhere in the world, this include positional data such as latitude, longitude and altitude. It acquires this data by using the latest GPS technology that integrates multi-constellation data to include GPS plus other positioning networks to enhance accuracy and availability of location data. It allows full control over the sensitivity settings through a simple configuration setting. Transmission time is enhanced through the utilization of advanced hot start data for acquiring new locations within 10 seconds after a sleep cycle.

Dual band antenna with U.FL/IPEX connector. The GSatMicro uses a shared antenna design to utilize a single antenna for Iridium and GPS connectivity. We have multiple antenna options available including helical or flat ceramic, or integrate your own antenna design.