Mstrackitusersguide
Mstrackitusersguide
Mstrackitusersguide
20 APR 2017
Author: Simon Coulter
Megasquirt MSTrackIt Users Guide
Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4
2 Hardware and Configuration Requirements ............................................................................ 4
2.1 Hardware 4
2.2 Configuration Data 5
3 Overview .................................................................................................................................. 6
4 Initial Setup ............................................................................................................................ 11
5 Hot Buttons ............................................................................................................................ 13
5.1 Start/Stop Logging 13
5.2 Lock/Unlock Orientation 13
5.3 Show Peaks 13
5.4 Settings 15
6 Colour Preferences ................................................................................................................. 16
7 Demo Preferences .................................................................................................................. 18
8 Enable Demo Mode................................................................................................................ 18
8.1 Demo Update Rate(Hz) 18
8.2 Gear (used for shift lights) 19
9 Gauge Preferences ................................................................................................................. 20
9.1 Display Format 21
9.2 Maximum RPM 21
9.3 RPM Redline 22
9.4 Speed Source 22
9.5 Minor Gauges (1..6) 23
10 Hardware Configuration......................................................................................................... 26
10.1 Android GPS Required 26
10.2 ECU File Folder 26
10.3 ECU Interface 26
11 Logging Preferences ............................................................................................................... 27
11.1 Select Log Folder 27
11.2 Timestamp Format 28
11.3 Log Rate 28
12 GPS Logging Preferences ........................................................................................................ 29
12.1 Select Megasquirt Data 30
13 Shift Light Preferences ........................................................................................................... 31
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14 Unit Preferences..................................................................................................................... 33
15 Megasquirt/TunerStudio Notes ............................................................................................. 34
15.1 Gear Detection Configuration 34
15.1.1 Gear Number Calculation 35
15.2 Shift Light Configuration 35
Tables
Table 1: Megasquirt to Android Device Connection ............................................................................... 4
Table 2: Default View Components......................................................................................................... 7
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Figures
Figure 1: USB Male Connectors....................................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2:Landscape Default Gauge View......................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 3: Portrait Default Gauge View ............................................................................................................................ 8
Figure 4: Analogue Gauge Views ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 5: 1x3 Analogue Gauge View.............................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 6: Initial Loading Screen ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 7: Android Permissions ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 8: Defining ECU file location ............................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 9: Hot Buttons .................................................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 10:Gauge Peak Values ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Figure 11: Select Log File Menu .................................................................................................................................... 14
Figure 12: Root Preferences Menu ............................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 13: Colour Preferences Menu ............................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 14: Colour Picker ................................................................................................................................................ 17
Figure 15: Demo Preferences ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Figure 16: Demo Mode Update Rates ........................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 17: Demo Mode Shift Light Gears ...................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 18: Gauge Preferences Menu............................................................................................................................. 20
Figure 19: Display Formats (Landscape mode shown).................................................................................................. 21
Figure 20: Maximum RPM Options ............................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 21: RPM Redline Definition ................................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 22: Speed Sources .............................................................................................................................................. 23
Figure 23: Minor Gauge Configuration ......................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 24:Minor Gauges ................................................................................................................................................ 24
Figure 25: More Minor Gauges ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 26: Hardware Configuration Menu .................................................................................................................... 26
Figure 27: ECU Interfaces .............................................................................................................................................. 26
Figure 28: Logging Preferences Main Menu ................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 29: Logging Timestamp Formats ........................................................................................................................ 28
Figure 30: Logging Rates ............................................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 31: GPS Logging Preferences .............................................................................................................................. 29
Figure 32: GPS Lat/Long Formats .................................................................................................................................. 29
Figure 33: Megasquirt Data Selection ........................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 34: Shift Light Preferences Menu ....................................................................................................................... 32
Figure 35: Unit Preferences Menu ................................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 36: Configurable Units........................................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 37: TunerStudio Gear Detection ........................................................................................................................ 34
Figure 38: TunerStudio Shift Light Configuration .......................................................................................................... 35
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1 Introduction
This document describes the Android MSTrackIt App which can be used to display live Megasquirt 3 ECU values
and log data for subsequent analysis.
Connecting the two devices depends on the Android device's USB jack and what ports are available on the
Megasquirt ECU. A Bluetooth interface has not yet been implemented.
Note that only FTDI Serial USB adapters/cables are supported; Prolific USB adapters are not supported because
many cheap units simply do not.
There are multiple types of USB ports and if the Megasquirt ECU has one it will be a female port corresponding
to one of the male USB 2.0 cable connectors shown in the figure below.
Additionally, much of the data and its ranges are specific to a users current tune.
Luckily this only involves copying two files from the users current TunerStudio tune to the Android device,
CurrentTune.msq and projectCfg/mainController.ini into the same folder.
Eg. On a Windows PC, whose current tune is saved with the name Gina, the directory structure is:
F:\Hardware\MegaSquirt\BaseMaps\Gina>dir /s
Volume in drive F is Data1
Volume Serial Number is 3E66-3C65
Directory of F:\Hardware\MegaSquirt\BaseMaps\Gina
Directory of F:\Hardware\MegaSquirt\BaseMaps\Gina\projectCfg
These two files must be copied onto the Android device into the same folder.
Eg. I like to create a folder on the Android device called Megasquirt and copy the two files there.
Megasquirt
CurrentTune.msq
mainController.ini
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3 Overview
The original design goal of the MSTrackIt App was to replace the instrument cluster and present as much
information as possible to the driver whilst still being readable at a glance while driving.
Table 2 below describes the layout of this view; the IDs correspond to the annotations above and are referred to
throughout the document.
Different users have different requirements so apart from the main Tachometer/RPM and Speed gauges, (5) and
(6) respectively, six minor configurable gauges are supported.
The six minor configurable gauges are those in the bottom half of the screen, gauges one to three in column one
and gauges four to six in column two; these are described in Section 9.5 The minor configurable gauge labels
(12) are small because most users will know their selected gauge layout and rarely change it; it's more important
to make their values (11) and corresponding levels (13) as easy to read as possible.
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ID Description Notes
1 Connection Type Icon USB icon or Bluetooth icon (Bluetooth not yet supported)
2 ECU Connection Status Icon Red=Not Connected
Orange=Connecting
Green=Connected
3 Shift Light Indicators Refer to Section 13 for details.
4 Current Gear Displayed in the Dynamic Data colour (refer to Section 6)
The vehicles gearing MUST be configured correctly in TunerStudio for
the correct gear to be shown (refer to Section 15.1).
5 Tachometer (RPMx1000) Scale and labels are displayed in the Static Data colour (refer to
Section 6)
The RPM Indicator is displayed in the Dynamic Data colour when
below the redline.
The RPM Indicator is displayed in the High Threshold colour when
above the redline.
Refer to Section 9 for redline and range configuration.
6 Speed Red=Not Connected
Orange=Connecting
Green=Connected
7 Speed Source Icon Vehicle or GPS icon depending on selected speed source and GPS
availability (refer to Section 9.4)
8 Speed Unit km/h or MPH depending on configured units (refer to Section 14)
Displayed in the Static Data colour (refer to Section 6)
9 GPS Status Icon Red=Not Connected
Orange=Connecting
Green=Connected and receiving GPS data
10 Logging Status Icon Red=Not Logging
Green=Logging
Refer to section 11.
11 Gauge Value Displayed in the Dynamic Data colour (refer to Section 6)
12 Gauge Label Configurable (refer to Section 9.5)
Displayed in the Static Data colour (refer to Section 6)
13 Gauge Level The colour of the level depends on the gauge value, the thresholds
defined for the gauge and the configured low-threshold colour, normal
colour and high threshold colour (refer to Sections 6 and 9.5).
14 High Threshold Hit Indicator Indicates that the gauge has hit its high threshold value at some
time.
This indicator can be reset (refer to Section 5).
Table 2: Default View Components
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MSTrackit also supports Portrait mode. The layout is very similar to Landscape mode except that in Portrait
mode, the six minor gauges are all displayed in one vertical column:
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MSTrackIt also supports the display of the minor gauges in a more traditional 3x1, 1x3, 2x3 and 3x2 analog
format:
The static dial and annotations are displayed in the Static Data colour (refer to Section 6).
Gauge dials are annotated at 30 degree intervals based on the gauges configured minimum and maximum
values (refer to Section 9.5).
The colour of a gauge needle and its value depends on the gauge value, the thresholds defined for the gauge
and the configured low-threshold colour, normal colour and high threshold colour (refer to Section 6).
The High Threshold Hit Indicator is displayed at the 6 oclock position. This indicator can be reset by the user
when needed (refer to Section 5.3).
Configured low and high threshold ranges are also highlighted on the analogue gauges and can be seen more
clearly in the following figure:
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In this example:
The AFR gauge was not configured with any low or high threshold values so the needle and value will
always be displayed in the normal range colour and it will never display the high threshold hit
indicator.
The Battery Voltage gauge has a low threshold value of 10.5 volts; below this value, the needle and
value are displayed in the low threshold colour and above this in the normal range colour. There is
no configured high threshold colour so it will never display the high threshold hit indicator.
The Boost gauge defines the high threshold at 15psi; below this threshold the needle and value are
displayed in the normal range colour and above this in the high threshold colour. If the gauge passes
the high threshold, the high threshold hit indicator is displayed until reset by the operator (refer to
Section 5.3).
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4 Initial Setup
When the App starts, the following start-up screen is displayed:
The user will initially be nagged to permit file access and location access.
File access is needed to read the Megasquirt CurrentTune.msq and mainController.ini files (refer to 2.2)
and to read and write log files. If the user does not grant this, the App will exit since the Megasquirt files
are required because they define the format and location of data on the ECU and data specific to the
users configuration.
Location access is needed to use the Android devices GPS receiver and Bluetooth modem. The user may
elect NOT to grant this access, in which case they will not be used by the App.
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The user will then be prompted to define the location of the Megasquirt files which can be navigated to with the
file explorer thats subsequently presented:
Selecting the Megasquirt file location is achieved by using the File Explorer to navigate to the required folder.
The Megasquirt CurrentTune.msq and mainController.ini files are displayed with a yellow icon to make them easily
distinguishable from other files in the folder.
The Megasquirt folder can be selected by tapping the Select Current Folder icon/line (displayed only if the
Megasquirt files appear in the current folder), or tapping either of the Megasquirt file icons/lines.
These steps only need to be performed when the App is initially installed.
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5 Hot Buttons
The MSTrackIt App was designed to be an instrument cluster replacement so the main options need to be easily
accessible, not just via the common Android Options menu if the driver is wearing gloves it will be frustrating
to try and select an option from the Options menu.
Rather than leaving the buttons permanently visible, consuming valuable screen real estate, they are displayed
temporarily at startup before disappearing. Tapping the screen anywhere temporarily re-displays these buttons
and they can be selected when visible:
When the screen is tapped, the common Android options menu is displayed at the top of the screen and the
buttons on the bottom of the screen are displayed. These buttons are described below.
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Selecting a log file displays peak values for each data item logged in the format shown in Figure
10:Gauge Peak Values.
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5.4 Settings
This button displays the Apps configuration/preferences menu:
Tapping the Back button returns the user to the selected Gauge view.
Note: The App takes several seconds to return to the Gauge view after the Back button is pressed because all
preferences need to be saved and the gauges are all redrawn based on the preferences/settings (there
are far too many preferences and settings to determine what has changed and needs to be updated so
the entire configuration is saved and updated when returning from the Preferences menu).
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6 Colour Preferences
The Colour Preferences menu allows the colours used in the App to be configured:
Layout Colour used to draw the static components of the display such as gauge labels, borders and gauge
tick marks (these components do not change).
Dynamic Text used to draw dynamic values such as the gauge values on the Main Gauge View.
Gauge Normal Colour used to draw the analog gauge needle colour, analog gauge value and horizontal
gauge fill indicator when the gauge is not in the low threshold or high threshold range (refer to Section 9.5
for threshold assignment).
Low Threshold Colour - used to draw the analog gauge needle colour, analog gauge value and horizontal
gauge fill indicator when the gauge is below the low range (refer to Section 9.5 for threshold assignment).
High Threshold Colour - used to draw the analog gauge needle colour, analog gauge value and horizontal
gauge fill indicator when the gauge is above the high threshold range (refer to Section 9.5 for threshold
assignment).
Tapping one of these options displays the following Colour Picker pop-up window:
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1. Tapping the vertical bar on the right, or sliding a finger along it, allows
the colour to be selected.
2. The square box on the left allows that colours shade to be selected.
3. The bottom left rectangle shows the components current colour.
4. The rectangle on the right shows the color currently selected in the
pop-up window; tapping this rectangle selects this as the new colour
for the component and the pop-up window terminates.
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7 Demo Preferences
MSTrackIt provides a Demo mode that allows the user to play with the App without needing the ECU connected
to the Android Device. This mode is useful to demonstrate the functionality of the App and allows the user to
select their required colours and configure their gauges without needing to maintain a connection to the ECU.
Demo mode will terminate if enabled and the ECU is connected to Android device.
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9 Gauge Preferences
The Gauge Preferences Menu is used to define the gauge display format, gauge ranges, gauge low/high threshold
values and what data is displayed in the gauges.
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When the tachometer reads below this value, the RPM indicator is displayed in the Normal Range colour (see
Section 6) and above this value in the High Threshold colour.
If No GPS data is available, it will default to the Vehicles speed sensor value.
The Speed Source icon (7) on the All Gauges display will indicate the current source of speed information.
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Tapping any of the minor gauges presents the following menu that displays its current definition and allows the
gauge to be redefined or modified.
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Tapping any of the following gauge fields allows its value to be modified:
Label User-definable label for the gauge. This label is displayed next to the Horizontal Fill gauge in the
All Gauges view and on the analogue gauge in the Analogue Gauge views so be wary of making it too long.
Minimum Gauge Minimum value. In the All Gauges view, the Horizontal Fill gauge will only start filling
once the value exceeds this minimum value. In the Analog Gauge views, this will be the scales starting
range.
Maximum Gauge Maximum value. In the All Gauges view, the Horizontal Fill gauge will stop filling once
the value exceeds this maximum value. In the Analog Gauge views, this will be the scales ending range.
Low Threshold Defines the gauges low threshold; below this value, the gauge will be displayed using the
Low Threshold colour (refer to Section 6). This value is optional and defaults to the gauges Minimum value;
in this case the gauge can be considered as having no Low Threshold.
High Threshold Defines the gauges high threshold; above this value, the gauge will be displayed using the
High Threshold colour (refer to Section 6). This value is optional and defaults to the gauges Maximum
value; in this case the gauge can be considered as having no High Threshold.
Decimal Places Displayed Defines the number of decimal places for the gauge when displaying its
numeric value.
The Save button MUST be tapped to commit these changes; pressing the Back button leaves existing values
unchanged.
To select a different gauge, tap the icon at the top of the menu (in the example above its the % symbol) or the
label on its right (throttle in the example above) and select the required gauge from the scrollable list
subsequently displayed:
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When a gauge is selected, the list disappears and the newly selected gauge Is presented with default values. Most
of the time the default ranges are too broad so should be manually specified.
The Save button MUST be tapped to commit these changes; pressing the Back button leaves existing gauge
definition unchanged.
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10 Hardware Configuration
This menu allows the Hardware used by the App to be reconfigured.
Most Android devices support a GPS update rate of 1Hz which is not really sufficient for track data logging but its
better than no GPS data at all. If the user has a GPS receiver connected to the ECU, this option does not affect that
GPS data.
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11 Logging Preferences
Logging is only available when the ECU is connected to the Android device. In this state, the ECU Connection
icon (2) is green and the Start/Stop Logging hot button will be visible/available.
When logging has been started, by pressing the Start Logging button, the Logging Status icon (10) will turn green
to indicate this and the data selected for logging is recorded in a log file named
<YYYYMMDD>_<hhmmss>log.csv where <YYYYMMDD> is the year, month and day when the Start Logging
button was pressed and <hhmmss> is the hour, minute and second (eg. 20161017_040812log.csv).
Logging is terminated by pressing the Stop Logging button, selecting the Settings button, or disconnecting the
ECU. When Logging is terminated, the Logging Status icon (10) is red to indicate this.
Logging preferences are configurable via the Settings -> Logging Preferences selection.
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The faster rates are useful since they provide rates similar to the normal operation of the App.
The slower rates are useful to observe the behavior of fast-changing functionality such as the Shift Lights (refer to
Section 13).
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The format of the logged GPS Latitude and Longitude may be any of the following:
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There is a lot of ECU data that can be logged and this option allows the user to select the data to be logged.
All loggable data is presented in a scrollable list. The label on the top line is the label defined for the data in the
Megasquirt mainController.ini files [DataLog] section and the second line is the corresponding identifier used
elsewhere in the Megasquirt mainController.ini file for that data.
Data selected for logging is shown as a green Log file icon without the red circle and diagonal overlay.
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MSTrackIt displays shift light indicators diagonally in the top corners of the display; these are the pink dots in the
figure below:
If the user has defined shift points in their Megasquirt tune file, these values will be used automatically but they can
be overridden via the Shift Light Preferences menu so its not necessary to define them in the Megasquirt tuning
file.
The four shift lights are mirrored on each side of the tachometer.
The user must define an RPM Warning Threshold (see below) which defines when the shift lights start being
displayed based on the shift point defined for the current gear and tachometer value.
Eg. If Gear 5s Shift Point is defined as 6,000 RPM and the RPM Warning Threshold is 1,000RPM, since there are four
shift light indicators per side:
At 5,000 RPM, a single shift indicator is displayed in the lowest position in the Shift Warning Colour (see
below)
At 5,250 RPM, two shift indicators are displayed in the lowest positions in the Shift Warning Colour (see
below)
At 5,500 RPM, three shift indicators are displayed in the lowest positions in the Shift Colour (see below)
At 5,750 RPM, four shift indicators are displayed in the Shift Warning Colour (see below)
At 6,000 RPM, the shift indicators start flashing.
The Shift Light Preferences menu allows the shift light indicators to be configured:
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Enable Shift Lights Enable/Disable Shift Light functionality (some find it distracting).
Warning Threshold (RPM) When the tachometer is within this threshold of the current gears Shift Point,
shift light indicators are displayed.
Warning Colour Shift Light colour when two shift indicators (per side) are displayed.
Shift Colour Shift Light colour when three or more shift indicators (per side) are displayed.
RPM Gear Shift Points RPM Shift points per gear.
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14 Unit Preferences
The Unit Preferences menu allows the user to define the units to be displayed;
15 Megasquirt/TunerStudio Notes
15.1 Gear Detection Configuration
The Current Gear (4) displayed on the All Gauges display is provided by the Megasquirt ECU based on the
configuration in TunerStudios menu:
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When the Megasquirt configuration files are copied to the Android device, MSTrackIt will use these values as its
Shift Points.
In practice, unless the user has a shift light meter that needs this information, its better to configure these Shift
Points only in the Android App (ie. leave the TunerStudio Shift Light Output option set to Off) so that the ECU is
not doing unnecessary work calculating and publishing the data.
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