Understanding CoT (Cursor-on-Target)
Overview
Every guide in this Integrations section — GRG, SLM-10, Neros Archer, and any future device — ends with the same result: data reaching MCHMR's TAK server and showing up on the map. This module explains what's actually happening when that works, in plain terms, so the setup steps in the other guides make more sense and troubleshooting is less of a guessing game.
What is CoT?
Cursor-on-Target (CoT) is the shared data format that TAK Server and every TAK client — ATAK, WinTAK, iTAK, WebTAK — use to describe a position, a chat message, a drone's telemetry, or a sensor reading. When your icon moves on someone else's map, or a drone's video feed shows up linked to a marker, CoT is the format that made it possible. You don't need to read or write CoT yourself — every app covered in these training modules generates and sends it for you — but it's worth knowing the name, since you'll see it referenced in app settings and error messages.
Two different "doors" into MCHMR
It helps to think of MCHMR as having two separate entry points:
- The login you use to view and manage things — signing into Tactical ID/auth.mchmr.ai, or opening WebTAK in a browser. This is for people looking at the map and managing accounts.
- The connection that streams CoT in — a dedicated address and port (
tak.mchmr.uson port8089) that ATAK, WinTAK, and iTAK connect to directly. This is the "door" that actually puts data onto the map. Every third-party device covered elsewhere in this section — a GRG kit, an SLM-10 ground station, a Neros Archer — reaches MCHMR through this exact same door, just via its own software instead of a person tapping around in ATAK.
How you get access: a certificate, not just a password
The CoT connection (port 8089) requires a security certificate, not just a username and password. The good news: you don't have to generate or manage a certificate yourself. When you set up a connection in WinTAK or ATAK using Auth Flow or Manage Server Connections → Enroll for Client Certificate, you enter your normal Tactical ID username and password once, and the app automatically trades that for the certificate it needs going forward. See Connecting WinTAK to MCHMR, Logging In (OAuth), or AuthFlow Configuration for the exact steps.
For a device rather than a person — a drone kit, a radio, a sensor — Apex Edge issues a device credential instead of a personal one (you'll see these referred to as an "NPE," short for non-person entity). GRG's kit-issued grg_tak.#.npe login, covered in GRG TAK Integration, is an example already in use in this section. Functionally it works the same way: that credential is what lets the device's own software connect and stream its data in, without a human logging in on its behalf.
Why "connected" doesn't always mean "visible"
Getting connected is only half the picture. Once you're in, whether your data is actually visible to others — and theirs to you — depends on which groups (also called channels) your account or device credential has been added to. It's entirely possible to connect successfully and see nothing at all, or to see your own data but have nobody else able to see it, simply because the right group memberships haven't been set up yet. This isn't something you configure yourself — if you're connected but not seeing what you expect, that's a sign to check with your admin about your channel/group assignments, not a sign that something in your app is broken.
Once you are seeing traffic, WinTAK's Channel Selection lets you filter which of your channels actually show on your map, which helps once there's enough traffic to get noisy.
Troubleshooting quick reference
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Connection never turns green / won't finish connecting | Wrong server address, port, or protocol; or the app can't reach the server at all | Double-check the address (tak.mchmr.us) and port (8089) against the relevant connection guide, and confirm your device has network access |
| Connected, but you don't see anything on the map | Your account or device credential hasn't been added to any groups/channels yet | Contact your admin to confirm your group/channel assignments — this is not something you can fix from within the app |
| A marker or feed appears and then disappears almost immediately | The device's clock is wrong | Confirm the device's date and time are set correctly (including timezone) and reconnect |
| Your map is flooded with dots you don't care about | You're in more channels than you need visible at once | Use Channel Selection to filter what's shown, without affecting what anyone else sees |
| Login fails right after entering your username and password | Credentials issue, or (if your account uses MFA) a missing/incorrect code | Re-enter your Tactical ID credentials; if MFA applies, see the note on appending your code in Connecting WinTAK to MCHMR |