itrackutil

Developer information

Developer information for this product is non-existant. All information had to be obtained by monitoring the USB communication between device and computer and making sense of its content. Keep in mind, that this compilation is a work a progress and information may change.

Warning

Information generated by reverse engineering is never complete. Any unexpected communication with the device, especially when programming it, may lead to its destruction. Use the information at your own risk. If you have any additional information, please let me know.

Acknowledgements

Most of the initial research was performed by Hartmut Schimmel and "his crew". His tools can be found at http://itu4l.schimmelnetz.de/.

Index

Know devices
BlueTooth
USB
WAV files
Markers

Known devices

NameUSB idFeatures, remarks, chipset, memory size
XAiOX iTrackU with Nemerix chipset?no info
XAiOX iTrackU with SIRFIII chipset03eb:6125USB, Bluetooth, tag start/stop (250 sections), vibration sensor, 4 MB flash memory
Gisteq PhotoTrackr?no info
Gisteq PhotoTrackr Lite (DPL700)?no info

Compatible devices come in various shapes and colours:

  • a black rectangle shaped box
  • a key pendant
Two chipsets have been reported:
  • Sirf 3
  • Nemerix
Brands:
  • XAiOX
  • Gisteq

Features may vary:

  • Some devices have Bluetooth capabilities.
  • All devices obviously have an USB port.
  • All product infos I've seen show 4 MB flash memory (not confirmed)
  • Do all products have the "auto shutdown" feature?

If not noted otherwise, all information refers to my XAIOX model which a SirfIII chipset (although I'm not sure about this anymo

Bluetooth

The device must be paired (PIN: 0000) before a serial Bluetooth connection can be established. Auto shutdown of the device will disconnect the bluetooth link.

Bluetooth output

NMEA compatible positioning data using the following messages:

GPGSAactive satellites
GPRMCtime, position, course (minimum info)
GPVTGspeed and course
GPGGAtime, position, accuracy of the fix
GPGSVsatellites in view

WAV files

English voice files are on green-yellow-white CDROM labelled “GPS DATALOGGER” in the following folder: Utility/Utility-Demo/Utility-Demo/Voice File

The German voice files are on a white CD labelled “XAiOX GPS Empfänger” in the following folder: iTrackU/iTrackU-Extras/Set Data Log Utility

The files have the following audio format:
format = 1 (PCM), channels = 1 (mono) , rate = 8000 , av_bps = 8000 , blockalign = 1, size = 8

Sox command for conversion:

sox in_fnm -1 -c 1 -r 8000 out_fnm

Audio files are played when:

file nameremarks
battery_low.wavBattery is empty
BT_close.wavBluetooth is being switched off
BT_open.wavBluetooth is being switched on
Error_Beep.wav
  • attempt to open a tag, that is already open
  • attempt to close a tag, that is already closed
(see marker)
GPS_search_finished.wavGPS fix established
GPS_search.wavAcquiring satellite positions
OK1_Beep.wavTag opened/closed ok
OK_Beep.wav
  • GPS mouse is being switched off
  • Confirmation when changing loudspeaker volume

USB

USB connection

The USB connection can be used to:
  • download stored data from the GPS logger (memory dump)
  • change settings in the GPS logger
  • receive current data from the GPS logger (G-mouse) - (no info on that)

USBCommands

A detailed description can be found in the wiki.

  • Initialisation
  • Erase memory (command 61b60000 000000)
  • Get device settings (command 62b60000 000000)
  • Write configuration (command 55aaXXXXXXXXXXZZ)
  • Get memory dump (command 60b50000 000000)
  • Get GPS UTC time (command 64B80000 000000)
  • Get device information (command 5bb00000 000000)

Markers (tags)

The last field in the 16 bytes record from the memory dump is labelled "tag". This a 8 byte value. Product briefs mention 250 sections, which suggest 6 special values. 0xff seems to be the "off" value.

Tags will be set/unset by pressing the left and right button for a second or so.
These buttons are also used to increase and decrease the speaker volume (short press).

Pressing the left button will open a tag (marker ID is incremented by 1).
Pressing the right button will close a tag (marker ID is set to 0xff).

Action will be confirmed by playing the "OK1_Beep.wav" file.

"Error_Beep.wav" will be played if you try to close a tag, even though none is open, or open one even though there is one open already.

It has been suggested that waking up the device (using the vibration sensor) would create a special tag id. I could not confirm that.