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Antenna Rotator System

1. connect the two wires attached to the azimuth or elev rotator s potentiometer to J4 Most rotors use a similar system to read the position in the control unit The illustration below offers an overview of this operation Control Unit Potentiometer 5000hms Cable to the Rotator ROTATOR Inside the rotator there is a potentiometer engaged with the antenna mast axis The voltage feedback changes when the antenna is turned The existent voltage will change at both ends of the rotation cycle Normally this will be O V at one end CCW The other end will show the maximum value in the rotation cycle It will be called V This value depends on each model of rotator optimized for a specific rotor by the manufacturer A 500 Ohms linear potentiometer is normally used As examples voltage V in a HAM IV rotor is 12V in the Kenpro KR 600RC or YAESU G 2000 it is 3 6V In some rotors the value is 5V Again this depends on the individual rotor It is very important to know the voltage V provided by your rotator This voltage V may not be specified in the manufacturer s documentation so it must be checked with a voltmeter for correct operation of the ARS System If the Pot is Grounded you can connect the V Input at J4 J4 4 for Azimuth and J4 1 for Elevation to Ground at J4 3 As the RCI USB board must obtain the voltage feedback from the external Pot the two wires that join the control unit with the rotator
2. KBD 2 the Lef CCW movement will be activated e KBD 6 to KBD 2 the Right CW movement will be activated e KBD 8 to KBD 2 the Down movement will be activated KBD 10 to KBD 2 the Up movement will be activated Note When the RCI USB LCD board is ordered a ribbon cable will connect those 4 buttons into this KBD socket This module is always included when the ARS is ordered with the enclosure Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 20 Part 3 Working with the RCI USB Once you have wired the RCI USB board with your rotor and the driver is installed now you can begin to control the interface There are 2 ways you can interact with the product e COM Port this port is automatically created each time the PC detect the RCI USB e 4Keypad F1 F2 F3 amp F4 3 1 COM Port Via the COM port the user or a 39 part program can send and receive commands to from the RCI USB The manual RCI USB Commands describe all commands that are supported Some of them are commands for configuring and calibrate the interface Some other are used for controlling the appointing Basically a satellite tracking program or a logging program will use only those commands for control the appointing IMPORTANT NOTE The RCI USB emulates a Yaesu GS232A interface so any program that supports this tracker interface with work with it 3 2 Keypad F1 F2 F3 amp F4 If you have ordered the RCI USB LCD optional PCB
3. amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 16 When positive the Voltage feedback that the external rotor provides will be connected to the V input The reference voltage that normally is Ground will be connected to the V input Remember that most rotors are referenced to a real ground and it is highly recommended to connect the V input to the Ground reference Example for Azimuth rotors referenced to Ground Positive Potentiometer Feedback P J4 5 J4 4 If the Negative is referenced to Ground connect J4 4 to J4 3 Negative Potentiometer Feedback Once connected there is a Pot that can be adjusted for correct input to the RCI USB ADC input Azimuth Input Adjustment e will adjust the Gain of the Amplifier CCW movement will attenuate the input voltage while CW movement will increase the input voltage You can additionally use the ARSVCOM software calibration procedure to read the maximum ADC value While doing this use a screwdriver to adjust POT1 Of course you can place a voltmeter at point X2 1 and adjust the POT1 in the same manner until the voltmeter displays 5V This adjustment must be done when the rotor is placed at the CW Right limit Elevation Input Adjustment e POT2 The procedure to calibrate the Elevation Gain at is the same as the Azimuth calibration with POT1 Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 17 2 5 X1 Point Led point The RCI USB includes at t
4. the one from the cursor of the potentiometer and the other from the ground or reference must be connected in parallel with the J4 terminals J4 4 amp J4 5 Remember that J4 1 amp J4 2 are only used in elevation rotators By this method the RCI USB board can read the voltage present at the rotator potentiometer and thus calculate the beam direction The A D converter has 10 bits resolution This equates to 1024 possible values For example if the maximum rotation is 360 degrees a positional resolution of 0 35 degrees is possible This capability will be more than adequate for most applications Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 13 Unfortunately as previously discussed not all rotors have a standard voltage value for V The A D converter accepts 5V as maximum voltage To obtain the maximum digital output level the signal from the rotor will have to either be attenuated or amplified Again this will depend on the individual rotor In the previous example we found that a HAM IV or T2X rotator gives 12V when it is fully turned clockwise CW limit Therefore voltage from the rotor will have to be attenuated to 5 V by adjusting In other examples mentioned rotators like the Kenpro KR 600RC or YAESU G 2000 may show a maximum voltage that is negative 3 6V Therefore the signal to the RCI USB board will have to be amplified to avoid losing resolution in the converter Polarity will also change from negative
5. 18 2 6 LCD Socket and contrast adjustment 19 2 7 d RE dcm TE 20 Working with the HCI USB ici 21 Rl P 21 3 2 Keypad F1 F2 iii 21 3 3 Special Keypad 22 As Bootloader FT susccssccsncdenscrunenencatieeas EEEE NE EEEE EEES 22 B Absolute Mod F2suoial liane 22 C Factory default configuration F3 FA 22 SHSCINCAUON L 23 24 25 Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 25
6. Antenna Rotator System BA4TX RCI USB PI RCI USB Reference Manual September 2011 Rev 1 3c Introduction Thank you for purchasing the ARS RCI USB Interface Presently the ARS System provides the most powerful highest performance and lowest cost universal rotor interface available anywhere in the world It can be connected into any rotor providing 10 bits ADC resolution 2 10 1024 states can work with any azimuth rotor or azimuth amp elevation rotor and a large list of control and tracking programs are also supported Moreover it will convert your rotor into the latest technology automated rotor tracking system available It s very important that you read this manual carefully Failure to understand the contents of the manual could lead to damaging the rotor or the RCI USB circuit board through incorrect wiring Remember that the time you spend reading the manual and understanding how the system works and how the RCI USB board will interface with your rotor could save you time and money by avoiding an incorrect installation If any questions occur when reading the manual please contact us Our goal is to provide you will a state of the art antenna tracking system The ARS System has been developed to operate with most rotators available at the market If you don t find your rotor mentioned in the Quick Start Guide again you should contact us We will provide assistance to help you successfull
7. Port Settings tab and then click the Advanced button 4 Pull down the scrollbar on the bottom left side You will see several COM ports listed Select one that doesn t say in use next to it Then click OK 5 Click OK again Notice that the device will now appear on the previously unassigned port you just selected Verify this by closing Device Manager and selecting it again 6 Close device manager 7 This process is illustrated on the following page Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 6 USB to UART COM3 Properties General Pot Setings Driver Dei Ports COM amp LPT Custom Computer Services Inc Location 0 RCI USB COM Device status This device is working properly If you are having problems with this device click Troubleshoot to start the troubleshooter Device usage Use this device enable v USB to UART COM3 Properties AE General Port Settings Driver Details Bits per second Data bits 18 Parity None v Stop bits 1 v Flow control None iret 757537775 Advanced Settings for COM3 Us Select lower settings to correct connection problems Select higher settings for faster performance Receive Buffer Low 1 0 High 14 14 Transmit Buffer Low 1 g High 16 16 COM Port Number COM3 w Setup amp Hardware Reference Manu
8. W or left CCW An additional relay AUX located between them may be used to control a brake in rotators requiring a braking function These relays are 2 position with 2 circuit switches Each circuit supports 5A at 220V One of the two circuits of each relay is already wired and attached to its connector as it appears in the following image LEFT relay RIGHT relay AUX relay In this manual the 9 terminals of this connector will be called J1 1 J1 2 J1 3 J1 4 J1 5 J1 6 J1 7 J1 8 and J1 9 In de energised position J1 2 is switched to J1 1 When it s activated J1 2 is switched to J1 3 In de energised position J1 5 is switched to J1 4 When it s activated J1 5 is switched to J1 6 In de energised position J1 8 is switched to J1 7 When it s activated J1 8 is switched to J1 9 Relay OFF Relay ON Right CW J1 2 to J1 1 J1 2 to J1 3 AUX J1 5 to J1 4 J1 5 to J1 6 Left CCW J1 8 to J1 7 J1 8to J1 9 This first circuit available at J1 will be used to control movement to the right or left If necessary the second circuit can be used to make a second electric circuit active on the rotor It is silk screen printed on the circuit board It is next to the relays and identified with the following references ABC DEF GHI Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 9 Bto A a EtoD a HtoG a BtoC EtoF e Switching is similar to J1 The de energised positio
9. al RCI USB PCB Page 7 Part 2 RCI USB circuit Setup The RCI USB circuit fulfils the two following objectives gt It reads the current antenna position by means of an incorporated A D converter It controls the movement of the rotor For an azimuth rotor this would be right or CW and left or CCW This is accomplished through relays using the data obtained from the A D converter The RCI USB has the following connectors J1 The azimuth antenna rotation is controlled by means of this connector It is attached to 3 relays on the RCI USB Board One of the relays provided AUX is able to control a brake 42 Similar than J1 J2 is used for elevation control J3 Power input Connection point for the required 12 14 Vdc regulated power supply Correct polarity is required J4 Input to the A D converters for the azimuth amp elevation rotators This input is used to read the antenna position This point will be connected in parallel with the wires attached to the rotors potentiometer enabling the readout of the antenna position X1 USB Port LCD IDC connector used to attach the LCD KBD IDC connector used by the Keyboard The following image is the RCI USB circuit schematic allowing easy location of the different connectors Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 8 2 1 Connector J1 Azimuth Relay connections The RCI USB has two relays to control the Azimuth movement right C
10. are hex file into the microcontroller You can use Hyperterminal send the firmware as a text file or use the RCI Load program included on the CD ROM So locate inside the CD ROM the directory Teleloader and run the setup exe and the RCI Load will be installed on your computer B Absolute Mode F2 The Absolute mode is enabled if F2 button is pressed during the power on of the RCI USB The absolute mode allows to e Disabled the watchdog limits e Display on the LCD the ADC value 0 1022 By default the RCI USB includes a watchdog and if it detects that the rotator has reach one of their limits CCW Left or CW Right on Azimuth Up or Down on Elevation the relay which control the movement in that direction is disabled Imagine that the RCI USB reads ADC 0 so it suppose that the motor is at the CCW Left limit So the CCW Relay will be disabled The Absolute mode disables this feature so you can move any relay This option is useful when you have done a wrong calibration and you don t want a factory default configuration C Factory default configuration F3 F4 If you want to load the default configuration you must press F3 and F4 both buttons at the same time and power on the unit Immediately the default configuration will be restore Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 22 Specifications J1 AZIMUTH RELAY CONNECTOR 3 x Relay 2 circuits 5A at 220V J2 ELEVATION RELAY CONNECTOR 2
11. end will correspond to OV and the other to the maximum voltage V Note If you Potentiometer rotor is grounded it s highly recommended to connect the V input J4 4 to the RCI USB ground J4 3 Azimuth Calibration Move the Azimuth rotor to the CW limit right limit Check the voltage at X2 pin 1 The X2 ADC pin 1 is located close to the 40 pin IC close to C13 It is the ADC analog Azimuth Input of the uController Adjust Poti until you obtain a reading of 5 0V When Pot1 is moved CW the signal input will be attenuated When it s moved CCW it will be amplified Elevation Calibration Similar to the azimuth calibration elevation calibration is accomplished by a similar process at X2 pin 3 close to C14 Note Instead of using a voltmeter connected at X2 pin 1 and pin 3 you can use the calibration function in the software for making the Pot1 or Pot2 adjustments Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 15 2 4 1 PCB Description Elevation Input V 2 i i i Azimuth Input V Elevation Input V 3 1 te Azimuth Input Acimut V Ground J4 is the Voltage feedback Input In most cases this Input is referenced to ground so V should be connected to GND From left to right the inputs are J4 1 J4 2 J4 3 J4 4 J4 5 Elevation V Elevation V Ground Reference Azimuth V Azimuth V Note Most rotors are referenced to ground so J4 1 V and J4 4 V must be wired to J4 3 Setup
12. found will be installed Search removable media floppy CD ROM C Include this location in the search Don t search will choose the driver to install Choose this option to select the device driver from a list Windows does not guarantee that the driver you choose will be the best match for your hardware Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 4 The driver is included in the CD Rom Once you finish the installation process a COM Port will be added Found New Hardware Wizard Completing the Found New Hardware Wizard The wizard has finished installing the software for E USB to UART P Click Finish to close the wizard Finish Now determine if the port was added correctly and verify the COM Port number assigned by the system 1 Go to the Device Manager Windows XP Vista Win7 gt Start gt Control Panel gt System gt Hardware gt Device Manager Windows 2000 2003 gt Start gt Settings gt Control Panel gt System gt Hardware gt Device Manager 2 Click plus next to Ports 3 If the device is installed properly you will see USB to UART COMx Note that x is the number of the COM Port Any program that needs to communicate with the RCI USB Board logger satellite tracking etc needs to use the new this COMx port Device Manager DER File Action View Help e Eg RM W7 1D7C916CE048 Batteries 1 Computer Se Disk d
13. he X1 connector a check point for each relay Left Aux and Right Down and Up The pins available at the X1 socket can be connected with 5 Led s However a 470 Ohms resistor must be inserted Those points will supply OV when not activated and 5V when each pin is activated The common point for each Led is wired with the ground at the RCI USB PCB X1 Pin assignment X1 1 GND X1 2 Up relay X1 3 Down relay X1 4 CW Right relay X1 5 Aux relay X1 6 CW Left relay Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 18 The RCI USB can handle a 16x2 LCD display This connector is used to attach the LCD module to the RCI USB VR1 can be used to adjust the LCD contrast There is an optional PCB that you can order with the unit This RCI USB LCD supports a 16x2 LCD and 4 bush buttons This module is always included when the ARS is ordered with the enclosure Optional RCI USB LCD board Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 19 2 7 KBD Socket The RCI USB includes a connector labeled KBD This allows 4 buttons to be used for manual control of the RCI USB There are 4 inputs plus common signal available at the KBD socket The 5 pins used this IDC 10 pins are KBD 2 5Vdc common e KBD 4 Manual Left CCW control e KBD 6 Manual Right CW control e KBD 8 Manual Down control e KBD 10 Manual Up control Note Pins 1 3 5 7 and 9 are unassigned If you connect e 4 to
14. ns are And the energised positions remain switched Relay OFF Relay ON Righ CW B A B C AUX E D E F Left CCW H G H 1 Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 10 2 2 Connector J2 Elevation Relay connections In addition to the 3 azimuth relays the RCI USB Board includes 2 relays for elevation control if an elevation rotor is present Relay OFF Relay ON UP J2 2 to J2 1 J2 2 to J2 3 Down J2 5 to J1 4 J2 5 to J2 6 The extra second circuit is also available Relay OFF Relay ON UP 2 1 2 3 DOWN 5 4 5 6 Up relay Down relay 20 30 20 Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 11 2 3 Connector J3 Power input The RCI USB Board must be powered at 12 14 Vdc gt Note the polarity Incorrect polarity can damage the board J3 1 is the positive terminal J3 2 is the negative terminal Note Although the CPU and some parts of the RCI USB could be powered from the USB it requires an external power supply Some components as the replays requires a 12Vdc Remember to connect this J3 terminal into a 12 14Vdc power supply Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 12 2 4 Connectors J4 Operation of the ADC The Analog to Digital converter ADC allows the computer to determine the direction the rotor and antenna are pointing To enable
15. on Guide After reading the manual if you have questions or concerns please contact Interlanco Communications You may check our website or reach us by email We are committed to helping you achieve a successful implementation of the ARS System Address Interlanco Comunicaciones Attn Pablo Garcia EA4TX Albasanz 48 50 4 Derecha 28037 Madrid SPAIN E mail jpgarcia interlanco com Web http www ea4tx com Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 3 Part 1 Driver Installation for the RCI USB Plug your board into a USB Port and wait for Windows to begin It will guide you through the driver installation process When asked Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for Windows Select No not this time Click next to continue Found New Hardware Wizard Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard Windows will search for current and updated software by looking on your computer on the hardware installation CD or on the Windows Update Web site with your permission Read our privacy policy Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software O Yes this time only O Yes now and every time connect a device O No not this time Click Next to continue Found New Hardware Wizard Please choose your search and installation options OE Use the check boxes below to limit or expand the default search which includes local paths and removable media The best driver
16. rives Display adapters 4 DVD CD ROM drives Floppy disk controllers Floppy disk drives Human Interface Devices IDE ATAJATAPI controllers ae Keyboards j Mice and other pointing devices B Network adapters JY Ports COM amp LPT E Communications Port COM1 IT Communications Port COM2 of Printer Port LPT1 BALE to UART COM3 5888 Processors SCSI and RAID controllers Sound video and game controllers Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 5 1 1 Port reassignment If you need to change the port assigned 1 Go to Device Manager Windows XP Vista Win7 gt Start gt Control Panel gt System gt Hardware gt Device Manager Windows 2000 2003 gt Start gt Settings gt Control Panel gt System gt Hardware gt Device Manager V Device Manager File Action View Help R SA w7 1D7C916CE048 Batteries Computer Se Disk drives Display adapters DVD CD ROM drives 4 Floppy disk controllers JB Floppy disk drives Human Interface Devices 423 IDE ATA ATAPI controllers Keyboards 1 Mice and other pointing devices HE Network adap 7 Communications Port COMI Communications Port COM2 7 USB to UART COM3 SCSI and RAID controllers 9 Sound video and game controllers 2 Right click on the USB to UART Click properties 3 Click on the
17. to positive The is also accomplished by adjusting the gain at Pott The RCI USB has a potentiometer for each input providing all of these adjustments Azimuth input Poti adjusts the Gain Attenuation between 3 24V Elevation input le Pot2 adjusts the Gain Attenuation between 3 24V Even though your rotator may appear in Part 3 in this manual it is highly recommended that you check the data with your own rotor by means of a voltmeter The insertion of the RCI USB in parallel between the Rotor and the Control Unit should not cause any error or modification in the readout of the original instrument The RCI USB circuit presents high impedance at the J4 input Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 14 The following illustration shows the correct Rotator Control Unit RCI USB wiring Potentiometer 5000hQ Control Unit NIS ROTATOR You can find the two wires by looking at the circuit diagram included with the rotator Be very careful with the polarity J4 4 is the negative input or reference connection and J4 5 is the cursor of the potentiometer It is important that you check the actual voltage at these points with a voltmeter This can be achieved by turning the antenna from one end to the other and writing down all the voltage readings at both ends You should also observe that the voltage increases or decreases between its ends while the rotator and antenna are turning Remember that one
18. x Relay 2 circuits 5A at 220V J3 POWER CONNECTOR Input voltage 12 14V Power consumption Standby lt 200mA with LCD or lt 110mA w o LCD Power consumption with relays switched on lt 250mA with LCD or lt 160mA w o LCD J4 INPUTS J4 5 amp J4 4 are the azimuth rotor feedback input It is adjusted by means of Pot1 Gain control J4 2 amp J4 1 are the elevation rotor feedback input It is adjusted by means of Pot2 Gain control Input signals between 3 to 24V can be regulated by means of Pot1 or Pot2 CONNECTOR 1 USB socket CIRCUIT DIMENSIONS 12cm x 12cm x 3 5cm Deep Wide High 4 7inch x 4 7inch x 8inch Deep Wide High Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 23 Notes The remainder of this page has been left intentionally blank Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 24 Index INIFOGUGHON cia 2 About this manual I neen 3 Driver Installation for the 4 1 1 Port feas SITIO lai 6 RCI USB circ it Set p c H 8 2 1 Connector J1 Azimuth Relay 9 2 2 Connector J2 Elevation Relay connections 11 2 3 Connector J3 12 2 4 Connectors J4 Operation of the ADC i 13 2 4 1 PCB elia 16 2 5 X1 Point Led poni
19. y connect your rotor to the RCI USB circuit board It is certain that no changes will be required in the RCI USB circuit design This board is the product of design evolution of previous RCI SE circuits beginning in 2002 major enhancement with the current ARS System is the use of a USB port instead a traditional LPT port LL The board is not powered by the USB port from your computer It requires a 12 14Vdc from a power supply When connected to the computer and a 12 14 VDC regulated power supply and the proper driver installed a virtual COM Port will be added to your computer The RCI USB firmware will emulate a Yaesu GS232A interface Any 3 party program that supports a Yaesu rotator will be able to control the board Additionally you may use a supplied program called ARSVCOM that will control the board and allow adjustment and configuration of the RCI USB product in an attractive package Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 2 About this manual The manual is divided into several parts It covers the installation and configuration of the ARS System hardware and software on your computer Another manual the Quick Installation Guide is also supplied It provides information on connecting your RCI USB board to many popular rotors Please be sure to properly install and configure the hardware and software as described in this manual Once this is completed you may continue with the Quick Installati
20. you have an additional board with a 16x2 LCD and 4 buttons that are labeled as Ft Which control the Left CCW movement F2 Which control the Right CW movement F3 Which control the Up movement F4 Which control the Down movement So pressing those buttons you can control manually the motors If you own an Azimuth model the Up Down buttons are not required so in this case those buttons are assigned as PRESET control So pressing F3 F4 you can change the preset and after a idle period the RCI USB will start the appointing into that preset value Remember that you can cancel an appointing at any time just press F1 or F2 and it will stop Setup amp Hardware Reference Manual RCI USB PCB Page 21 3 3 Special Keypad options If some buttons individual or combined are pressed meanwhile the RCI USB is energized we can get some extra functions A Bootloader F1 Some time ago the only option for upgrade a microcontroller with a new firmware code was to request a new chip from the manufacturer As you can imagine this is a slow and expensive method A bootloader is an option for loading a new firmware into the microcontroller and the RCI USB includes it You can enabled the bootloader code by pressing F1 button during the power on So as simple as pressing F1 and power on the RCI USB Immediately you can release F1 The bootloader will be enabled Now you need a program that helps you to send the new firmw

Antenna Rotator System

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