In areas with no terrestrial internet options, a satellite internet connection may be useful. The Cobham Explorer 540 is a BGAN satellite terminal designed for machine-to-machine installations, such as with a DigiSnap Pro. It is designed to be powered by DC and has an ethernet connection which allows it to be interfaced with the DigiSnap Pro.
NOTE: Before installation, confirm that your SIM card is activated with your service provider.
Physical Connections
A custom ethernet and power cable can be ordered with your Cyclapse system to power the Explorer 540 with the DigiSnap Pro.
Ethernet and Power Wiring
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NOTE: There are two ethernet connections X1 & X2, but only one can be used at a time. X1 is LAN/PoE, Spring-loaded terminals. X2 is LAN/PoE, RJ-45 connector.
Satellite Terminal Settings
Follow the Explorer 540 user guide to setup and aim the satellite terminal. The best way to aim is by using a laptop computer to read the signal strength values while slowly panning the southern sky in both azimuth and elevation axes (if you are in the southern hemisphere, pan the northern sky).
Configure the terminal like the following to automatically establish an internet connection when powered:
NOTE: When getting ready to install the Explorer 540 Terminal be sure to go into the DigiSnap Pro application > Network Settings > Network Connection Timeout and set your network board timeout to "5 minutes". If the network board times out and powers off the PoE connection to the Explorer 540, you will lose connection to the web interface.
DigiSnap Pro Settings
Harbortronics can supply a custom power cable to allow the DigiSnap Pro to power the satellite terminal. To conserve power, configure the DigiSnap Pro to only supply power to the satellite terminal when the network hardware is active:
- Open the DigiSnap Pro app and connect to your DigiSnap Pro.
- Tap Device Settings
- Under Output Signals > Switched Battery, choose "Network board powered on".
Transfer Settings
Optionally, you may want to limit the number or size of transferred images, preserving the full resolution images on the camera or local USB drive.
Only Upload 1 of every N Images
Use the Network Data Reduction feature to only upload one image for every 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, or 500 taken.
- Open the DigiSnap Pro app and connect to your DigiSnap Pro.
- Locate the Image Transfer Settings option, tap it.
- Under the Image Transfer Settings section, find the "Network Data Reduction" field and set it to the desired value.
Upload Lower-Resolution Images
To resize images before upload, use the Image File Selection feature.
- Open the DigiSnap Pro app and connect to your DigiSnap Pro.
- Locate the Image Transfer Settings option, tap it.
- Under the Image Transfer Settings section, find the Image File Selection field and set it to the desired value.
Transfer Size Options
| Image Size Setting | Dimensions | Typical File Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| All Files | original image from camera | 700 KB - 30 MB depends on camera and camera settings |
| JPEG only | Depends on camera and camera settings | Depends on camera and camera settings |
| JPEG extracted from RAW | Depends on camera and camera settings | Depends on camera and camera settings |
| Tiny Thumbnail | larger dimension limited to 160 pixels | 7 KB - 64 KB |
Image file sizes will vary based on camera model, camera settings, DigiSnap Pro image size setting, and photo subject. To be sure you will be within your data quota, take one day of test shots on site, sum the file sizes on your FTP server for that day, and multiply that by 35 to estimate your required monthly data quota.