ULSToolsX User Manual

ULSDC-PBUM021126 · version 0.2.0 · issued November 3, 2026
The numbered PDF is the controlled copy: download it from the portal.

Introduction

Purpose

ULSToolsX is the configuration and diagnostics tool for UAVLAS devices. Use it to connect to devices, read their live status on a dashboard, change and save their settings, and update their firmware.

This manual explains how to use the application and how to read each dashboard widget.

Scope

This manual covers the application’s screens, its widgets, and the values those widgets display. It does not explain what each device’s settings do or which values to choose. For those, see the Operation Manual of the product:

• ULS-Heli-G3: ULSDC-PBOM110426
• ULS-XSpot-G3: ULSDC-PBOM190426

About the Figures

All figures come from the real application connected to simulated devices. The values, serial numbers and firmware names shown (such as SIM-1.0) are simulated, and the firmware versions on the firmware screens are samples. Your devices will show their own values.

Each device describes its own settings and dashboard, so the tabs, card titles and values you see depend on the device and its firmware.

Installation

ULSToolsX runs in a browser with nothing to install, or as an installed application. See Web Version below for the browser. For an installation file, contact UAVLAS support at support@uavlas.com.

Table: Installation Files

Web Version

The web version is at utx.tools.uavlas.com.

The browser decides what the application may use. The first time, select Choose… on the card, then pick the port or device in the browser’s dialog. Serial ports you have already approved are listed as “Granted port 1”, and so on.

Interface Overview

Tabs and Links

A link is one open connection to a device or a bus. Each link has its own tab at the top of the window, so you can work with several at once.

• + (tooltip “Connect another device”) opens the connection page in a new tab.
• × on a tab closes that link (tooltip “Close link”).
• The icon at the right end of the tab bar shows two links next to each other (tooltips “Side by side” and “One link at a time”). It appears when the window is at least 1100 pixels wide.

Figure: Two Links Open in Tabs

Figure: Two Links Side by Side

Theme

The theme button in the app bar switches between System, Light and Dark. Figures in this manual use the dark theme.

Figure: Connection Page in the Light Theme

User Levels

The user level decides how much of each device you see. The level applies to the whole application, and the application remembers it. Choose it from the button in the app bar.

Figure: User Level Menu

Table: User Levels An object’s header shows how many fields your level hides, for example “24 hidden”.

Connecting Devices

Connection Page

The connection page lists everything the application can connect to, grouped by connection type. Select a row to connect.

Figure: Connection Page

Table: Connection Types If a card reads “Searching…” the search is still running. “No devices found” means the search finished empty, and “Not available on this platform” means this connection type does not work on your platform. Use the refresh button in the app bar to search again.

Connecting over Serial

1. Connect the device and power it.
2. Set the baud rate on the Serial card. The default is 230400 baud.
3. Select the port.

USB ports ignore the baud rate setting, so you only need it for a real serial connection.

Figure: Baud Rate List

Connecting over Bluetooth

Select the device on the Bluetooth LE card. The rest of the application works the same as over serial.

Devices behind a Bridge

You only connect to one device, but you see every device on its bus. When a device connected to the computer is also on CAN with other devices, those devices appear in the device list too, and you can configure and update them over the same link.

Several Links

To add a link, select + and choose another port. Rows of open links read “Connected · show its tab”; select one to go to its tab.

Figure: Connection Page with Two Links Open

Device List

After you connect, the link’s tab shows the devices on the bus. The header reads “Joining the bus…” and then “On the bus as id N”, and the list fills as devices answer. Explore asks the bus for its devices again.

Figure: Device List

Each device has a card. Select a card to open the device.

Figure: Device Card

Table: Device Card Fields While the application fetches a device’s description, the schema line shows progress (“Asking for schema…”, then “schema a/b”). “No schema — signature only” means the device gave no description, so the application can show only its signature.

Device Page

Tabs

The device page has one tab per part of the device:

Table: Device Page Tabs If the device stops answering, the page reads “The device stopped answering; showing the last values read. Waiting for it to come back…”. Values on screen are then old.

Viewing an Object

An object’s header shows its layout name, address, size, access type, the age of the last read and any hidden field count. Live keeps reading the object four times a second, and read-only objects start with it on. Read now (the refresh icon) reads it once and discards any unwritten edits.

Figure: Read-Only Object with Live On

Changing Settings

This section explains how to change a setting. For what each setting does, see the product’s Operation Manual.

Figure: Configuration Object

1. Change a value. The field is highlighted, and the button becomes “Write 1 change”.
2. Select Write to send your changes to the device.
3. Select Save to flash to keep them after a power cycle.

Figure: Configuration Object with an Unwritten Change

Table: Configuration Buttons

Configuration Files

A configuration file (.ulscfg) holds all of a device’s configuration objects. Use one to back up a unit or to copy settings to another.

Loading a file writes nothing by itself. The application compares the file with the device and lists each difference with a tick box. Untick anything you do not want, then select Write N changes. Afterwards it offers Save to flash.

Figure: Comparing a Configuration File with the Device

Schema Tab

The schema tab lists the device’s type, its schema details and all its objects with their address, type, access and size. It is mainly useful for support and integration work.

Figure: Schema Tab

Updating Firmware

Before You Start

• Power the device from a stable supply. It must stay powered and connected until it has restarted.
• The application downloads firmware from the UAVLAS server, so it needs internet access unless you load a file.

Choosing a Build

Select Firmware on the device list. The page lists builds on the selected channel and the devices on this link.

Figure: Firmware Page, Stable Channel

Table: Firmware Channels Select a build with its radio button. The newest is marked “latest”. Expand a build to read its changes.

Figure: Beta Channel

Using a Firmware File

To install a file you already have, such as one from UAVLAS support, select Load from file… and choose the .ulsbndl file. The application checks the file’s integrity first. A banner shows the file’s version, name and image count, and the close button (tooltip “Back to the server”) returns to the channels.

Figure: Firmware Loaded from a File

Installing

Each device row shows where it stands:

Table: Device Status on the Firmware Page

1. Select Update on a device, or Update all for every device the build covers.
2. Read the confirmation and select Install.
3. Wait for the update to finish. Update all updates devices one at a time.

Figure: Install Confirmation

Installing from Beta or Development adds a warning, such as “This is a beta build, not a release.”

Figure: Install Confirmation for a Beta Build

Progress appears on each device’s row. The stages are Preparing, Restarting into the loader, Erasing, Writing, Finishing and Restarting, ending in Updated or Failed.

Figure: Update in Progress

If an Update Fails

The failed device shows the reason in red, and any others keep their results. Check power and the connection, then select Update to try again. See Troubleshooting for what each message means.

Figure: One Device Updated, One Failed

Dashboard

The dashboard tab shows a device’s live data as widgets, grouped into titled sections. The device decides which widgets appear. The grid changes its number of columns with the window width.

Figure: Receiver Dashboard

Figure: Transmitter Dashboard

The application reads the device only while the dashboard is on screen, and leaving the tab stops the updates. Widgets that build up history have the first two of these buttons:

Table: Widget Card Buttons

Figure: Widget in Fullscreen

Widget Reference

There are eleven kinds of widget. A card’s title and contents come from the device, so this chapter describes each kind and names the example shown.

Health Lamps

One lamp per part of the board, showing what works. Examples: “Receiver hardware”, “Board health”.

Figure: Health Lamps, Receiver

Figure: Health Lamps, Transmitter

Table: Health Lamp Colors

Counters Table

A table of counters, one row per interface or item. Example: “Links”.

Figure: Counters Table

Each cell shows the running total and, beneath it, its rate per second. A count that goes backwards, as after a restart, starts the rate over.

Table: Counters Table Colors

Receiver Panel

A receiver’s main parameters on one card. A device may show only some of these parts. Example: “Receiver”.

Figure: Receiver Panel

Table: Receiver Panel Parts

Position Chart

An X-Y plot of one position with a fading trace of where it has been. The readout below gives the current values. Example: “Relative position”.

Figure: Position Chart

Line Chart

A scrolling chart of values over time, newest at the right. The legend names each line and gives its current value and unit. Examples: “Distance”, “Relative position NED”.

Figure: Line Chart, Distance

Figure: Line Chart, Relative Position

Bar Chart

One bar per value, updated live. The columns are numbered or named by the device, and some cards print each value above its bar. A value below the bottom of the axis has a number but no visible bar. Examples: “DACS power”, “LED current by section (median)”, “Satellites”.

Figure: Bar Chart, DACS Power

Figure: Bar Chart, LED Current

Figure: Bar Chart, Satellites

Spectrum Waterfall

A spectrum over time. The top chart shows the spectrum now. Below it, each row is an earlier spectrum, with the newest at the top (“now”), and brighter colors mean a stronger signal. A peak that moves sideways as you read down is a signal changing frequency over time. Example: “FFT”.

Figure: Spectrum Waterfall

Pulse Capture

The last capture of a pulse-position packet, not a history. Example: “DPTF receiver - last capture”.

Figure: Pulse Capture

Table: Pulse Capture Parts

IMU Charts

One inertial sensor source at a time, chosen by tab. Example: “IMU sources”, with Internal, External primary and External secondary sources. Hidden sources keep recording.

Figure: IMU Charts

Table: IMU Charts Parts

Compass Calibration

Shows the magnetometer’s readings on three planes (X-Y, X-Z, Y-Z) and calculates a calibration from them. Sources appear as tabs. A source calibrated by another device can be captured and checked, but not written.

Figure: Compass Calibration

Table: Compass Calibration Values To calibrate:

1. Select Recalibrate and confirm. The calibration in use is reset to offset 0 and scale 1, so the device reports the raw field. Flash keeps the old calibration until you save.
2. Turn the board through all axes, as the message on the card asks. The points should build up evenly in all three plots.
3. Select Apply to write the new calibration to the device.
4. Select Save to flash and confirm. This saves every setting in that object as the device holds it now.

Clear points discards the captured points so you can start over without resetting the calibration.

Figure: Recalibrate Confirmation

Figure: Capturing Points After a Reset

Position Map

A position on a map, with the marker pointing along the heading. Map tiles come from OpenStreetMap, so they need internet access. The i button at the bottom right shows the map attribution. Example: “GNSS position”.

Figure: Position Map. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Table: Position Map Readout Two buttons sit at the top right. One re-centers the map (tooltips “Center on the fix” and “Following the fix”). The other switches the background (tooltips “Coastline only” and “Map tiles”). Without a position, the readout shows “No fix”, or “No fix — last position” when an earlier position is known.

Diagnostics

Event Log

The log tab appears at the Service level on devices that keep a log. Select Read to fetch it.

Figure: Event Log

Table: Event Log Contents

Table: Event Log Buttons

ADC Capture

The capture tab records raw receiver samples, for engineering analysis. It appears at the Developer level on devices that support it. Set the trigger and channels, select Arm, and wait for the capture to download. Use Save to keep it as a .ulscap file, or Open to view a saved one.

Figure: ADC Capture

Packet Log

The packet log shows the raw traffic on a port, for debugging. On the connection page, select the terminal icon on a row (tooltip “Raw packet log”). This opens the port for logging only, without joining the bus.

Each line shows direction, bytes, time and length. To send a packet, enter it in Packet (hex) and select Send.

Figure: Packet Log

Remote API

On desktop, ULSToolsX can let another program on the same computer use its open link, so scripts can read and write devices without closing the application. It is off by default. Turn it on with the network icon in the app bar. It listens only on this computer. For the protocol description, contact UAVLAS support at support@uavlas.com.

Troubleshooting

Table: Connection and Device Messages

Table: Firmware Messages