Using Certus Mini Manager

Certus Mini Manager is a software tool provided by Advanced Navigation for logging, testing, display and configuration of Certus Mini. It is designed to be simple and easy to use. It should run on most Windows, MacOS and Linux computers.

Note: Java 11 is required to run Certus Mini Manager. Adoptium JRE 11 is the recommended Java installer to be used on all platforms. Install the latest version of Java 11 from Adoptium, selecting the correct operating system and architecture for your computer.

Screenshot of Certus Mini Manager

Certus Mini Manager Software Changelog

Version Date Changes
7.4 19 Aug 2024 Release to support Certus Mini hardware
7.0 13 February 2023

Updated from JDK8 to JDK11. JRE11/JDK11 required to run this release
Refresh Port Mode information on reconnection
Refresh Packet Rates information on reconnection
Improved reliability of firmware update
Fixed issue with NTRIP client streaming from some servers
When the NTRIP sourcetable says authentication type is any of '', 'B', 'N', then use Basic Authentication. This is to workaround NTRIP servers that incorrectly populate the authentication field
Overwrite/clear existing packet rates on import of configuration
Added Disable Dual Antenna Heading option
Updated Seastar frequencies for Trimble receivers
Updated RTX frequencies for Trimble receivers
Added support for ARM (aarch64) processors with 64-bit OS
Added support for Apple M1 processors and improved MacOS support
Various UI improvements

Certus Mini Manager Software Changelog

System Requirements

Certus Mini Manager is only available for systems with x64 and ARM architectures.

Certus Mini Manager includes a 3D mapping display which requires an internet connection. If your machine does not meet the graphics requirements the mapping view will only show space without a globe.

Note, when Certus Mini is running at very high output rates e.g. 1000 Hz, Certus Mini Manager can consume significant system resources handling such large quantity of data.

Installation and Starting

The latest version of Certus Mini Manager can be downloaded from the Certus Mini product page of the Advanced Navigation website. Installation notes are as follows:

  • Java 11 is required to run Certus Mini Manager.
    Adoptium JRE 11 is the recommended Java installer to be used on all platforms. Install the latest version of Java 11 from Adoptium, selecting the correct operating system and architecture for your computer.

  • No installation process required for the Certus Mini Manager application on a Windows system — it can be run from any directory by simply double clicking on it. To open the program on some systems it may be necessary to right click and select open with → Java Runtime Environment.

  • On MacOS systems it may be necessary to run the application from a terminal window:
     java –jar -XstartOnFirstThread Certus MiniManager.jar

  • On Linux systems it may be necessary to run the application from a terminal window:
    java –jar Certus MiniManager.jar

The Certus Mini Evaluation Kit includes an FTDI USB to circular push-pull adaptor cable. The drivers are normally installed automatically, but if not they are available for download from www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm.

Troubleshooting

If the application will not start, the most common reason is that you have 32-bit Java installed on a 64-bit operating system. Uninstall Java and reinstall the 64-bit version.

If the globe does not appear in the 3D map area, this indicates that either your graphics card is not powerful enough, your graphics card driver is out of date, or you have no internet connection.

  • Ensure the RS232 / RS422 switch is in the correct mode. The Certus Mini factory default mode is .
  • Ensure you select the correct COM port. This can be easily identified by unplugging and re-plugging in the USB connector.
  • Ensure you have the correct baud rate selected in Certus Mini Manager. The factory default value for the baud rate is 115200 bps for the Primary, GPIO and Auxiliary ports.

Contact technical support support@advancednavigation.com if you have any questions or require further assistance.

Windows

There is a well known problem with USB serial devices under Windows known as “crazy mouse”. The problem occurs when the system mistakenly installs the USB serial device as a mouse. If you experience this problem, often a restart will resolve it. Otherwise there is a tool that can fix this issue available at
http://www.stentec.com/anonftp/pub/wingps/pnpblockersetup.exe.

If the serial port does not show up when you plug in the FTDI USB to RS232/RS422 adaptor cable, you may need to install the drivers from www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm.

When operating Certus Mini on Windows at a high data rate, data can be lost due to the latency of the FTDI driver. To resolve this problem the latency of the driver should be reduced to 1 ms:

  1. Start the Windows Device Manager (1) and find the Ports section (2).
  2. Identify the specific COM port being used (3) by dis-connecting and re-connecting the USB to RS232 / RS422 adaptor cable.
  3. Right click on the identified COM port and select Properties. Select the Port Settings tab (4) and select Advanced (5).
  4. Change the Latency Timer value (6) to 1 msec then press OK (7), and OK again for the previous window. 

Setting the Windows Port Latency Value - 1

Setting the Windows Port Latency Value - 2

Setting the Windows Port Latency Value - 3

Linux

If serial ports do not show up, the typical reason is a lack of permissions. The user should add themselves to the dialout group with the command:

sudo adduser username dialout

Compiz causes issues with the 3D mapping. If you are experiencing problems it is recommended to turn off Compiz.

Modemmanager can also sometimes cause problems on Linux installations. If you are not using a modem, it is recommended to remove modemmanager with the command:

sudo apt-get remove modemmanager