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Simulate the satellite network

Learn how to use the WiFi Board

1. Create a Wi-Fi access token

  1. Go to the Astrocast Portal.
  2. In the bottom left corner, click on ⚙️ Settings.
  3. Click on Access Tokens.
  4. Click on ➕ create new access token.
  5. Enter the access token's Name, set an Expiration date and assign a Role.
  6. Click on Create.
  7. 🗒️ Copy the access token and store it in a safe place.

2. Hardware setup

Connect the Astronode Wi-Fi Board to your computer with either the UART Cable 1.8m or the RS232 Cable 5m, see Interfaces.

3. Send a message with the Astronode GUI

The Astronode GUI is a Windows application helping you to configure the Astronode DevKit.

See Astronode GUI for more information.

Select COM Port

Connecting the Astronode DevKit to your computer through a TTL cable should mount a COM Port on your computer. You need to select the right port.

Here is the process on Microsoft Windows 10:

  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Click on View in the menu bar and select Show hidden devices.
  3. Locate Ports (COM & LPT) in the list.
  4. Check for the COM ports by expanding the list.

Setup Wi-Fi network

info

Only 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi access points are supported.

  1. Enter the SSID of your Wi-Fi network.
  2. Enter the Password for your Wi-Fi network.
  3. Enter the Astrocast Token generated above.
  4. Click on Set Wi-Fi config.

Enqueue a message

  1. Enter your message into Enter your message textbox. A message can be up to 160 bytes.
  2. Click on 📨 Queue message.

Get an ACK from the satellite

If the transmission is succesful, your DevKit will get an acknowledgement (ACK) from the server.

You will see the "Acked" circle on the Astronode GUI turn to green. 🟢

Screenshot

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4. Retrieve your message in the Portal

  1. Go to the Astrocast Portal.
  2. Click on Messages in the sidebar.
  3. Find your message in the list.