User Manual

BattleTac Commander

Preface

Precautions

Commander is not rugged and not water resistant. If you use it on a wargame event, you have to use additional protection against rain, frost and bullets. Never operate Commander while under fire!

Furthermore, attention should be paid to the following basic precautions when operating the device:

The SD card should be removed only when Commander is switched off.
Never press the power button repeatedly or continuously, otherwise the unit could be damaged.
Never expose the device to strong sunlight or heat for extended periods of time. The acceptable operating environment of the device is 0-70 Celsius and 0-90% humidity. The acceptable storage environment is -10-80 Celsius and 0-90% humidity.

Also, when using Commander as a GPS car navigation device, these additional precautions apply:

Every turn by turn route guidance system functions as a reference for navigation only, and should never be used for accurate measurements of direction, distance, location, etc.
For GPS satellite positioning to work, stay at the same location until the positioning process is complete. It is best to stay in an open, uncovered location. The process may need more than 5 minutes.
When the system is located in a building or a tunnel, or is close to a high obstacle, the system may temporarily be unable to provide positioning and navigation information.
Any radio transmitters (including mobile phones) might interfere with GPS satellite signals, thereby resulting in incorrect positioning information.
If your car is equipped with sheathing paper or explosion-proof plaster, these features might interfere with the quality of the GPS signal.
Route planning advice is for reference only. Road properties (such as one-way status and turn restrictions) may change according to local conditions, and therefore may not be consistent with the information given by the device. You should comply with all local traffic regulations and drive as local road conditions require. When the device is placed inside a car, it should be positioned in place by means of a car tripod.

Getting Started with Commander

Commander at a glance

1	Power button - press and hold down for 3 seconds to switch on
2	SIM card slot
3	SD card slot
4	USB/Power connector
5	Earphone Jack
6	Volume buttons
7	External GPS antenna connector - the internal GPS antenna is there too
8	Holder slot - to attach the surface mounting adapter
9	Nothing - just testing if you are reading this
10	Stylus - you may need it when entering text using the touch screen
11	Power indicator led - green when the device is on, red during charge, orange when both
12	Speaker
13	Reset hole - we hope you will never need it

Charging the battery

Commander has an internal rechergeable battery which is not user replaceable. It can only be replaced by an authorized service provider.

To charge the battery, connect the device to the wall charger or the car charger inlcuded in the package. You can use any mini USB power adapter to charge Commander, or you can simply connect the device to a computer using the USB cable which is also included.

The power indicator led will glow red while charging. If the led goes dark or green, Commander is fully charged. If you want faster charging, power off the device while connected to the charger.

The car adapter should not be connected to a vehicle when the vehicle is being started. Otherwise, the instantaneous current impact might damage the device.

Mounting

For a tight grip, the mounting surface should be cleaned of dirt and oil.
Place and press the suction cup against the mounting surface. While maintaining pressure, push on the lever near the suction cup until the suction cup grips the surface tightly.
Adjust the swivel/tilt arms by loosening the adjustment nuts and turning the swivel cradle to obtain the best viewing and GPS reception position. Then tighten the nuts to hold the arm in place once it is snapped into the slop of the unit.

Caution: Be sure to check the adhesiveness of the suction cup every time the mounting system is used. Aging and temperature fluctuation inside the car will eventually loosen the seal of the suction cup.

Inserting the SIM card

Please insert the SIM card before you turn on Commander.

Make sure the SIM card does not require a PIN code and you have an active mobile data (internet) plan so it can be used for data transfer.

Setting up the GPRS connection

In order to use the GPRS internet connection, you have to set up the GPRS first. This can be done if a working SIM card is inserted into the device.

Check the GSM signal indicator icon to be sure that the SIM card is working. If there is no signal, GPRS won't work.
Go to Settings/GPRS Settings in the menu of the device:
Select your country (Region) and network carrier/data plan. Tap the down arrows to open the lists.
Tap the Connect button.

If you check 'Auto connect at power on', the device will connect to the GPRS network automatically. Note that the active GPRS connection costs some battery power and the device may make some noise when the GSM signal is weak and the GPRS is connected.

We recommend to leave the 'Reconnect when disconnected' checkbox always checked because sometimes the GPRS connection breaks due to communication problems (e.g. if you have no GSM signal for a long time). If this checkbox is enabled, Commander will try to reconnect periodically.

If your network carrier or data plan is not available in the list, then just select your region and tap on the name of the default network. You will see a new screen where you can edit the settings of this network, or create a new one. Press the 'Add' button to create a new network, then enter the data (you have to consult your network carrier to get the apn name, user name and password) and press save. Please tell us your settings and we will include it in the next firmware version.

Checking the GPS signal

Go to Settings/GPS Info to check the GPS signal:

The antenna icon is green when the GPS has fixed your position. You can check the number of visible GPS satellites and the signal strength for them on the bar display. Satellites with green bars are involved in the position calculation.

The GPS system needs at least 3 visible satellites to work, but sometimes (e.g. if you are moving or the signal is weak) this is not enough to fix your position. Stay on a position where the sky is visible for 2 minutes. If this doesn't help, then press the AGPS button and wait for the AGPS process to finish.

Starting the BattleTac client

Tap the icon in the main menu to start the BattleTac client. At the first start you have to enter your BattleTac User Name and password.

You have to connect the GPRS before starting the BattleTac client. Consider using the 'Auto connect at power on' feature. In future versions this limitation will be eliminated.

The BattleTac client on the Commander behaves exactly like the Windows Mobile version, except that you don't need to set up the GPS. Read the Client User Manual for more information.

Using the additional features

Navigating with Commander

If you have bought Commander together with PolNav Car Navigation software then insert the SD card into the device and tap the 'Navigation' icon in the main menu to start it. You can find the documentation of the Navigation software on the SD card or here.

If you want to use your own navigation software then you have to set the executable path for that in order to link the Navigation icon and the navi software. To do this insert the SD card which contains the software, go to Settings/NavPath Set in the menu, tap the green button, browse for the executable of the navi software, tap OK and go back to the menu by tapping the orange arrow twice in the upper left corner.

Commander as a Bluetooth Hands-Free

You can use Commander as a Bluetooth Hands-Free device in your car.

Pairing

As always with bluetooth devices, you have to pair Commander with your phone to allow communication between them. Tap the 'Pair' icon to start pairing. Commander starts counting and is discoverable during this. On your phone go to the Bluetooth settings and start a new Bluetooth pairing (consult the documentation of the phone for more information). The phone will find Commander and it will ask for the PIN. The default PIN is 1234. After succesful pairing the two devices will be connected and Commander will work as a Hands-Free.

Connecting to previously paired phones

If you have previously paired Commander with your phone then you can start the Bluetooth communication by tapping 'Phones', selecting your phone from the list tapping the connect icon. After the successful connection Commander will work as a Hands-Free.

Bluetooth Settings

Device Name - The Bluetooth name of Commander, you will see this name on your phone while pairing the devices.
PIN code - The PIN code you have to enter while pairing.
Run in background - Check this if you want to use Commander while you run the Navigation software or the BattleTac client.
Auto answer - Check this if you want to auto-answer incoming calls without touching the screen.

Media Capabilities

Commander plays music and video files and displays photo slideshows with background music. You just have to store the media files on your SD card, Commander will find them.

The media player interface is not designed to handle hundreds of media files. Please consider this if you store your media on large SD cards.

Music Player

Commander creates a list of your music files when you go to the music player. You can play all the files or select/deselect the files you want to play by tapping the checkbox left to the name of each file.

While playing music, you can go to the Photo Viewer by tapping the image icon and play a slideshow of your photos.

Photo Viewer

The Photo Viewer behaves similar to the Music Player: You can select the photos you want to play as a slideshow, then they will be played automatically, or you can switch between them manually.

Rendering a big (several Megapixel) photo can take a while for Commander. For best results resize your photos to 480x272 before storing them on the SD card.

Video Player

The Video Player plays avi, vmw, and 3gp files. For best results convert the movie to fit the screen resolution (480x272) before storing on the SD card. We recommend the use of H.264 video encoding.

Extras

The functions you can find on the 'Extras' page are experimental, we do not guarantee their usability.

Internet

The internet browser of Commander is capable to display and handle most websites, but note that the GPRS internet may be very slow, especially when the signal is weak.

Phone

Commander operates as a simple mobile phone too, you can make emergency calls, or even normal calls. Note that the default behavior is to use the external speaker while speaking on the phone which can be very loud. You can find a simple phonebook in Commander for storing your contact numbers.

SMS

You can send and receive SMS messages using this function. This is helpful if your internet plan needs regular SMS activation.

Mailbox

You can read your POP3 mailbox with this function. Commander acts as a simple mobile e-mail client.