User Manual XC Tracer V1.0
Rev 01 22.2.2016
Introduction
XC Tracer is a proven and reliable flight instrument for paraglider pilots. Many pilots use XC
Tracer for competitions and for long XC flights. The lag-free indication of lift / sink makes it
much easier to find and core thermals than when using a conventional variometer. You can
also use XC Tracer as an IGC logger
– the files are accepted by the FAI for competitions.
XC Tracer has a built-in lithium polymer battery
– when fully charged the battery will power
XC Tracer for more than 14 hours. The battery is charged using the Micro USB cable that
was shipped with XC Tracer. The device as a built-in Bluetooth Low Energy BLE 4.0 module
– the BLE strings that your phone, tablet or e-reader needs are configured in the XC Tracer
configuration file. A list of compatible iOS and Android apps and their corresponding BLE
string seetings can be found on
Of course XC Tracer also indicates the climb / sink rate with beeping tones and the good
thing is that you can modify the tone settings using the tone simulator on
Mounting
XC Tracer uses data from a 9-DOF IMU (9 Degrees Of Freedom Inertial Measurement Unit),
and from a pressure sensor, to compute the real-time climb rate and altitude, avoiding the
undesired time lag that conventional variometers suffer (due to data filtering). For this reason
mount your XC Tracer in such a way that it moves as little as possible whilst you’re flying.
Important: make sure
the XC Tracer isn’t dangling from a cord or attached to your helmet.
The best approach is to attach XC Tracer to your cockpit, or on the shoulder strap of your
harness, or on your thigh.
Switch On/Switch Off
Turn XC Tracer on by pressing and holding the red button until you hear beep-beep. Next the
battery charge status is indicated by a series of beeps (this feature is described further
below). It will then take a further 5-60 seconds for the GPS to get a fix. XC Tracer will then
make beep-beep-beeeeep
and it’s now ready for flight.
Turning XC Tracer off is just the same
– press and hold the red button until you hear beep-
beep. XC Tracer will write the log file to the SD card and switch off.
