1 Introduction

TronLink-EPIRB is a utility that can be used to program Jotron EPIRBs. It supports

all beacons that can be programmed with the PRU-50 infrared programmer:
• Tron 40S/40GPS original and MKII
• Tron 45S/SX
• Tron 60S/60GPS
• Tron SVDR
• Tron 40VDR
The programming session is based on a sequence of pages that must be filled in
before a beacon can be programmed. The required number of pages may change
depending on what kind of beacon that is about to be programmed.
When a beacon is programmed, a programming report may be generated as a pdf
document. The programmed beacon is stored in a local database for later
reference.
It is also possible to readback information from an already programmed beacon
and generate a report from this beacon.

2 Installation
TronLink-EPIRB can be installed on a personal computer running the Windows
operating system. Supported versions of Windows is from Windows 7 and newer.
It is recommended that the PC screen supports 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixel screen
resolution) The minimum size of the application window is 1024 x 800.
To install the program, double click the setup file in the file browser. The name of
the setup file is TronLink-EPIRB. Version information is typically appended to the
file name.
Please verify that the installer displays “Jotron AS” as verified publisher. This
ensures that the installer and application are originally made and signed by Jotron
AS.

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Typically, the default settings should be fine. After the installation has completed,
the application can be found in the Start menu, and it will show up on the
desktop if the create shortcut option is activated during the install process.
Before Tronlink-EPIRB can be used, the PRU-50 infra-red programmer must be
plugged into the PC. Windows will automatically install a driver supporting the
PRU-50 hardware.

PRU-50 programmer

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3 Starting the TronLink-EPIRB program
When TronLink-EPIRB is starting up, it will show the initial screen:

In the rightmost position of the top menu, a setup popup menu can be accessed.
Press the Program button to switch back to the initial programming screen.
From this screen, the programming session can be started by pressing the “Get
Started” button. On the top menu bar, it is also possible to switch to the Reports
view showing programmed beacons, or the Readback view which can be used to
check an already programmed beacon.

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4 Initial configuration
Before starting to use TronLink-EPIRB, press the setup icon to the right on the top
menu bar and access the Options page:

Fill in the Operator, Programming Station and Dealer No. These parameters will
be displayed on the PDF programming report. The com port normally does not
have to be changed. If more than one is shown in the drop down list, detach the
PRU-50 programmer, press Program on the menu bar and then re-enter the
configuration page. The serial port missing from the list is the one to use. Plug in
PRU-50 and finish the selection.
Press "Program" in upper left corner to return to the initial screen.

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4.1 Protocol
Available protocols depends on the beacon type to be programmed. Protocols to
be displayed during the programming sequence can be further restricted if not in
use. Press the setup icon and select Protocol. Unmark protocols that are not
required.

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5 Programming a beacon
When the “Get started” button is pressed on the initial screen, the Beacon Identify
page is displayed:

This page is used to identify the beacon model and readback all the parameters
currently programmed into the beacon. Follow the on-screen instructions and the
pictures. The readback is indicated by the progress bar. Most beacons will fill the
progress bar twice. Doing this readback is required to enter the programming
sequence.

If the progress bar is not advancing, make sure that the programming session is
done in an environment with moderate light conditions. Turning the PRU-50
programming 180 degrees to better align transmitter and receiver may also help.

Note the programming sequence indicator at the bottom of the screen. At this
point it indicates that the first page in the sequence is active. Forward and
backward arrows will show up in the coming pages. A “greyed out” arrow
indicates that mandatory input is required.

The programming sequence can always be terminated by use of the “Exit

Programming” button found on the menu bar.

The following sub chapters are used to show and discuss the different pages in
the programming sequence.

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5.1 Beacon identified
When the beacon identify is complete, the Beacon Identified page is shown. This
is for information only, showing a picture of the identified beacon, listing model
and serial number. Please check against the physical beacon to verify that the
information is correct. Both the forward and the backward buttons are available
at this stage.

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5.2 Select bracket type
The select bracket type will show brackets relevant to the selected beacon. The
currently programmed bracket type is selected as default. Some beacons do not
have multiple bracket options. For these buoys, this page is bypassed.

Note that moving the mouse pointer over the picture of the bracket shows an
enlarged picture of it.

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5.3 Bracket serial number
The Bracket serial number page shows the actual bracket or the bracket together
with the EPIRB. Some EPIRB models have no mandatory serial number. In this
case the serial number can be omitted.

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5.4 Select country code
The select country code page contains the list of country codes distributed by ITU.
The currently selected country is shown. This page has a powerful search feature.
When entering a search text in the search bar, the number of available selections
are restricted to items that incorporate this text only. This applies to both the
Country Code and the Country columns.

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5.5 Select protocol
The select protocol page shows the available protocols for the selected beacon.
By disabling protocols in the configuration menu, the number of available
protocols can be further restricted.

The protocol already programmed in the beacon will be selected by default.

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5.6 Protocol details
The protocol details page displays parameters relevant to the selected protocol.
If you have selected the same protocol already in the beacon, the information will
be filled in.

For the serial protocols, it is mandatory to use the beacon serial number. The
protocol details dialog will in this case only serve as a reference page, showing
the beacon serial number and the corresponding Cospas-Sarsat approval number
(TAC).

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5.7 Vessel information
The Vessel information page makes it possible to enter information about the
vessel for use in the report. The items on this page is not a part of the EPIRB’s
Cospas-Sarsat protocol. Usually Call Sign and Vessel Name must be entered, but if
these fields cannot be determined, use a single space to allow moving forward.
The Additional Info field will not be stored in the EPIRB itself, but will be available
in the report database locally.

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5.8 Battery expiry date
When the battery expiry dialog is entered for the first time, it is required that one
of the three button controls is selected. If you re-enter the dialog during the same
programming session, the selection will be remembered.
New installation and Battery replacement:
Selecting one of these options will enable the drop-down boxes for manufacture
date. These selections may be empty by default. Carefully check the production
date found on the battery label on the beacon and enter the date in the dialogs.
The expiry date will be calculated, taking EPIRB model, special regulations and
shelf time into consideration.
The picture below shows the dialog with New installation selected. Date and year
of battery production date can be entered, and expiry date calculated.

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Re-programming:
In case an already installed beacon requires reprogramming, the expiry date of
the battery shall not be changed. In this case the expiry date of the battery
already programmed into the beacon is displayed. The manufacture date of the
battery is displayed in the drop-down boxes for most beacon models but may be
empty. The drop-down boxes are disabled in this case and cannot be changed.
The picture below shows the dialog with Re-programming selected. Date and year
of production date cannot be changed, and the expiry date will remain as it is.

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5.9 Verify before programming.
This page summarizes the input done earlier in the programming sequence.
By pressing the copy indicator behind the Hex Msg or 15 Hex Id, a copy of the
message can be pasted from the clipboard directly into the Cospas Sarsat
message checker for control.

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5.10 Transfer Data
The transfer data page is activated just like the readback sequence at the start of
the programming sequence. The sequence starts with a readback to verify that
we are programming the same physical unit that we started with. Next, the actual
programming takes place, followed by a verify sequence. Most EPIRBs requires
two progress bar cycles for each of these sequences. After successful transfer the
programming sequence is finished.

If the PRU-50 is accidently removed during the programming sequence, a timeout

message will be shown below the progress bar after some time. To retry
programming, move one step back in the sequence and try again.

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5.11 Programming summary and report
After the programming sequence has finished, the programming report page is
shown.
Press the Make Report button to produce a report in PDF format. The report may
be shown directly in an external PDF viewer for printing.
The TronLink-EPIRB program creates a catalog called TronLink-EPIRB-Reports in
the current user’s Documents folder. The PDF report is stored in this catalog
automatically when created.
Press Exit Programming on the menu bar to finish programming.

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6 Reports
After an EPIRB is programmed, the programming data is stored in the local
database on the PC. Pressing the Reports button on the menu bar makes it
possible to select and access previous programmed beacons in a scrollable view.
• Using the Search bar makes it possible to quickly reduce the number of
items displayed.
• By pressing the column identifier text, the entries are sorted according
to values in the actual column.
• Double click a row to select an EPIRB and show additional information

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6.1 EPIRB programming data
When double clicking on a report item in the Programmed beacon list, this page is
opened. Here, details about the programmed beacon can be seen.
In addition, it is possible to delete a previously programmed unit from the
database by using the “Remove Beacon” button. When removing a beacon, a
pop-up window will appear to validate the selection.
The Additional Info field may contain text added during programming of the
EPIRB.
When making a PDF-report, a note will be added to the report made from the
database, saying that it is created from the database, and when the beacon is
originally programmed.

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7 Readback
By pressing Readback on the menu bar, a page similar to the first in the
programming sequence appears. Follow the on-screen instructions and the
pictures. While reading back, the progress bar will indicate successful readback.
Most beacons will fill the progress bar twice. When reading back from an EPIRB,
nothing will be stored in the database.

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7.1 Readback - EPIRB programming data
This page is equal to the page shown at the end of the programming sequence.
Making a report from this page will add a note informing that the report is
created from an EPIRB readback, and when the beacon was originally
programmed.

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8 PDF report
An example of a programming report is shown on the next page. Note the hyper-
link on the last line. By clicking this link in the PDF viewer, the Cospas Sarsat
“Beacon Registration Contact Information” page is opened in the web browser.
(internet connection required). If the report is a printed paper, key in the link in
the web browser.
From this page information of registration for the required country can be found.

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9 Additional technical information
In this chapter some technical information that may be useful, but not
required for normal operation can be found.

9.1 Database
The database file is stored in the user profile. If more than one user on a
single computer uses Tronlink-EPIRB, they will have separate databases.
The database file is located here:
<User>\AppData\Roaming\Jotron\TronLinkEPIRB
The name of the file is TronLink.db. The file contains a checksum, and is
read during the startup of the program. If it is found to be good, a backup
file (TronLinkbackup.db) is created.
The backup file can be renamed to the database file if required.

9.2 Country codes

The country codes and accompanying texts are retrieved from the ITU
published list. Jotron will provide a separate installer for update of the
country code list. The country code list is in the installation catalog
(Program Files) with the name Country.txt. If required this file may be
edited with the notepad editor using a semicolon as separator.

9.3 Licencing
Copyright 2019 Jotron as.
This program is based on the QT library (GLPL) from the QT Company LTD.

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10 Amendment

Rev Date Reason By

1.0 310119 First revision Mads-l
1.1 030519 Added new dialog and updated text for Mads-l
battery expiry text.
1.2 20.0619 Added info about serial protocols in the Mads-l
protocol details dialog.

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