Antenna Rotator System Setup & Hardware Reference Manual RCI-SE August/2002 Rev 2.1a
Introduction Thank you for purchasing the ARS interface. At the present day, the ARS is the more powerful, high performance and low cost universal rotor interface available at the world. It can be connected into any rotor, and different ADC resolutions are supported: 8, 10 & 12 bits. It can works with any azimuth rotor or azimuth & elevation rotor, and a large list of programs are also supported. Sure it will convert your rotor into the last technology rotor. It s very important that you read careful the manual because you could harm your rotor or the RCI-SE circuit due to an incorrect wiring. Remember that some minutes lost now reading the manual, could save you much time later, even money, for an inadequate manipulation. Once read the manual and in case of doubts, contact with EA4TX. The ARS has been developed in order to operate with most rotators available at the market. If your rotator is not in the included lists you should consult EA4TX to check the possible differences, although, it s sure, it will not be necessary to make changes on the RCI-SE circuit. The Board will be connected into any free LPT port. Remember that a computer can support till 4 LPT ports simultaneously, so if you want to use the printer and the RCI-SE Board you can install a second lpt port by less than $10 or 10 uros. The RCI-SE is not using any IRQ interruption so you can disabled the IRQ at the LPT port where the RCI-SE Board was plugged. Also you can place a manual port switch, so just with one LPT port will be Ok. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 2
About this manual The manual is divided into several parts On another document, you will get how to interface the RCI-SE on several rotators. So, after you read this manual, you can continue with: Quick Installation Guide Please, you must read carefully the manual, before to install the Board. There s no need to be hassled or frustrated, contact with EA4TX if you have any question at: Address: Pablo García - EA4TX Fresno 67 28529 Rivas Madrid - SPAIN E-mail: ea4tx@ea4tx.com World Wide Web Site: http://www.ea4tx.com Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 3
Part 1 RCI-SE circuit Setup The RCI-SE circuit fulfils the two following objectives: Read the current antenna position by means of the incorporated A/D converter, and on other hand, Controlling the turn (right or CW and left or CCW) by means of relays. The RCI-SE has the following connectors: J1: The azimuth antenna rotation is controlled by means of this connector. It s is attached to 3 relays at the RCI-SE Board. One of the relays (AUX) is able to control a brake or speed control if it s applied. J2: Similar than J1, it s used for elevation control. J3: Power input. It requires a power supply: 12-14 VDC. J4: Input to the A/D converters for the azimuth & elevation rotators. This input is used to read the antenna position. This point will be connected in parallel with the wires attached to the rotor s potentiometer allowing the antenna position readout. DB-25: Female DB25 connector to be attached with the parallel port at your computer. The following drawing is the RCI-SE circuit schematic for an easy location of the different connectors: Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 4
1.1 Connector J1: Azimuth Relay connections The RCI-SE has two relays to control the Azimuth movement: right (CW) or left (CCW). An additional relay (AUX), located between them, could be used to control a brake in those rotators that require it or as a speed control for those Control Units that support this feature. These relays are 2 position and 2 circuit switches. Each circuit supports 5A at 220V. One of the two circuits of each relay is already wired and attached to this connector in accordance with the following drawing: RIGHT relay AUX relay LEFT relay Through this manual, the 9 terminals of this connector will be called as: 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 J1-8 to J1-9 This first circuit (available at J1) will be used to control the turn to right or to left. If it is necessary, the second circuit can be used to make a second electric circuit active on the rotor. It is silk-screen printed on the printed board, next to the relays, with the following references: A B C D E F G H I Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 5
Switching is similar than J1, remaining switched in de-energised position: B to A E to D H to G When it s energised, remain switched: B to C E to F H to I Relay OFF Relay ON Right/CW B - A B - C AUX E - D E - F Left/CCW H - G H - I Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 6
1.2 Connector J2: Elevation Relay connections Additionally to the 3 azimuth relays, this RCI-SE Board includes 2 relays for elevation activation. 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 Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 7
1.3 Connector J3: Power input The RCI-SE Board must be powered at 12-14 VDC. Pay Attention to the polarity J3-1 is the positive terminal. J3-2 is the negative terminal. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 8
1.4 Connectors J4: Operation of the ADC By means of the Analogical-to-Digital converter (ADC) you could get in your computer where is the antenna appointing. So it is necessary to connect the two wires attached to the azimuthal (or elev.) rotator s potentiometer into J4. Most rotors use a similar system to read the position in the control unit. The drawing below offers an overview of this operation: Control Unit Potentiometer? 500Ohms N S Cable to the Rotator V ROTATOR < > Inside the rotator there is a potentiometer engaged with the antenna mast axis. The voltage feedback changes when the antenna is turning. So you get a voltage that will change between the existent voltage at both ends: normally 0 V at one end (CCW) and the maximum value that will be called V. This value depends on each model of rotator and each manufacturer chooses which it considers better. A 500 Ohms linear potentiometer is normally used. As a reference, this voltage V in a HAM-IV rotor is 12V, in the Kenpro KR- 600RC or YAESU G-2000 is -3.6V, some models is 5V, etc. It is very important to know the voltage V provided by your rotator. This voltage V is not reflected at the manufacturer s documentation so you should check it with a voltmeter. If the Pot is Grounded, you can connect the V- Input at J4 (J4-4 for Azimuth and J4-1 for Elevation) connected with the Ground: J4-3. As the RCI-SE must get the voltage feedback from the external Pot., you have to attach these two wires that join the control unit with the rotator (the one from the cursor of the potentiometer and the other from the ground or reference) in parallel with the J4 terminals (J4-4 & J4-5). Remember that J4-1 & J4-2 are only used in elevation rotators. Therefore the RCI-SE, by means of its circuits, can read the voltage and so, it calculates the beam direction. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 9
The A/D converter has a 8 bits resolution (or 10 and 12 bits), it means 256 possible values are available; supposing that the maximum turn is 360 degrees you get a resolution of 1,4 degrees. On most cases, this performance will be enough for most applications. Unfortunately, as you could seen before, not all the rotors have a standard voltage V. As the A/D converter accepts 5V as maximum voltage, then giving the maximum digital output level, either you will have to attenuate the signal given by the rotor or amplify the signal. Following with the previous example, a HAM-IV or T2X rotator gives 12V when it is fully turned clockwise (CW limit), therefore you will have to attenuate the signal by means of Pot1 to just get 5V. In other cases, like the Kenpro KR-600RC or YAESU G-2000 rotator, the maximum voltage is negative (-3.6V), therefore you will have to amplify the signal in order to avoid losing resolution in the converter as well as change the polarity, (opposite way V- and V+). By means of P1 you adjust the gain. The RCI-SE has 2 potentiometer for each input to carry out all these adjustments: Azimuthal input: Pot1 adjusts the Gain/Attenuation between 3-24V. Pot3 adjusts the CCW (left) limit or Zero Offset. Elevation input: Pot2 adjusts the Gain/Attenuation between 3-24V. Pot4 adjusts the Horizon (down) limit or Zero Offset.. Although your rotator would appear at Part 3 in this manual, it is highly recommended you check that the data match with your own rotor; use a voltmeter. The insertion of the RCI 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 Circuit presents a high impedance at the J4 input. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 10
The following drawing shows the correct Rotator + Control Unit + RCI-SE wiring : Control Unit Potentiometer? 500Oh? N S ROTATOR < > RCI-SE J4 You can easily find the two wires by looking at the circuit diagram included with the rotator. Be very careful with the polarity! : J4-3 is the ground or reference connection and J3-2 is the cursor of the potentiometer. It is convenient that you check with a voltmeter that the selected points are correct, by turning the antenna from an end to the other and writing down all the readings at both ends. You should observe at the same time how the voltage increases or decreases between its ends while you are turning the antenna. One end will correspond to 0V and the other to the maximum voltage V. If you Potentiometer rotor is grounded it s highly recommended to connect the V- input at the RCI-SE to ground (J4-3) Azimuth Calibration: Move the Azimuth rotor to the CW limit (right limit). Check the voltage you can read at IC2 pin #2 (Test point = X2). This is the ADC analogue input. Move Pot1 till you read 5V. When Pot1 is moved in CW the signal input will be attenuate. When it s moved in CCW it will be amplifier. Elevation Calibration: Similar than azimuth calibration, for elevation the point to be checked will be at IC4 pin #2 (X3). Note: Instead to use a voltmeter and the X2 or X3, you can use the software for making the Pot1 or Pot2 adjustment. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 11
1.4.1 PCB description: J4 is the Voltage feedback Input. On most cases, this Input is referenced to ground, so V- should be connected to GND. From left to right, those inputs are: J4-1: Elevation VJ4-2: Elevation V+ J4-3: Ground Reference J4-4: Azimuth VJ4-5: Azimuth VNote: Most rotors are referenced to ground, so J4-1 (V-) and J4-4 (V-) must be wired to J4-3 Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 12
The Voltage feedback that the external rotor provides, will be connected to V+, when this Voltage is positive, and the reference voltage, that normally is Ground will be wired to V-. Remember that most rotors are referenced to a real ground, so it s highly recommended to connect that V- input to the Ground reference. Example for Azimuth rotors referenced to Ground: Positive Potentiometer Feedback - -----? J4-5 Negative Potentiometer Feedback -----? J4-4 If the Negative is referenced to Ground, connect J4-4 to J4-3. Once connected, there is 2 Pot that can be adjusted peer input: Azimuth Input Adjustment:?? POT1: will adjust the Gain of the Amplifier. CCW movement will attenuate the Input, meanwhile CW movement will increase the Input Voltage. You can use at this point the ARSWIN calibration procedure to read the maximum ADC value, and a screwdriver to adjust this POT1. Also you can place a voltmeter at X2 points (near to the ADC IC2), and adjust the POT1 till the voltmeter displays 5Vcc. This adjustment must be done when the rotor is located at the CW (Right limit).?? POT3: Allows to adjust the Zero Offset. POT3 will allow to adjust the ADC for the CCW (Left) limit. Normally when the rotor is turned at the CCW Limit, the Input Voltage should be Zero, but some rotors provide any value higher as 0.5V or similar. So, you must adjust POT3 till the ARSWIN Calibration Menu will display the current ADC value equal Zero. Elevation Input Adjustment:?? POT2: The same meaning as POT1 for the Elevation Gain.?? POT4: The same as POT3 for Elevation Zero Offset. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 13
1.5 X1 Point, Led point: The RCI-SE includes at the X1 connector, a check point for each relay: - Left, Aux and Right - Down and Up Those pins available at X1 socket, can be connected with 5 Led s, but you must insert a 470 Ohms resistor. Those points will supply 0V when no activation, and 5V when each pin is activated. The common point for each Led will be wired with the ground at the RCI-SE PCB. Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 14
Hardware wiring with the rotor This new Rotor Control Interface Second Edition, RCI SE, will be wired in a similar way than the previous model: RCI or RCI-EL PCB. So you can follow as it s suggested at the RCI Hardware.Pdf Manual. However there is a very important point that must be noticed. The output relays for Elevation are inverted, as it can be checked below: RCI-EL Board UP RELAY DOWN RELAY J1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Relay OFF Relay ON UP J2-2 to J2-3 J2-2 to J2-1 Down J2-5 to J1-6 J2-5 to J2-4 RCI-SE Board UP RELAY DOWN RELAY J2 1 2 3 4 5 6 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 Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 15
Specifications J1: AZIMUTH RELAY CONNECTOR 3 x Relay: 2 circuits, 5A at 220V. J2: ELEVATION RELAY CONNECTOR 2 x Relay: 2 circuits, 5A at 220V. J3: POWER CONNECTOR Input voltage: 12-14V Power consumption (Standby): <60mA. Power consumption with relays switched on : <150mA. J4 INPUTS J4-5 & J4-4 are the azimuth rotor feedback input. It is adjusted by means of Pot1 (Gain) and Pot3 (Zero offset). J4-2 & J4-1 are the elevation rotor feedback input. It is adjusted by means of Pot2 (Gain) and Pot4 (Zero offset). Input signals between +/-3 to +/--24V can be regulated by means of Pot1 or Pot2. DB-25 CONNECTOR : Needed pins: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,16,17,25(Gnd) The parallel port of your PC has to be connected pin to pin with this connector by means of a male-male DB25 cable. If a cable has all 25 wires connected, this does not affect the normal operation of the RCI-SE interface. CIRCUIT DIMENSIONS 12cm x 12cm x 3,5cm (Deep, Wide, High) 4.7inch x 4.7inch x.8inch (Deep, Wide, High) Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 16
Index Introduction...2 About this manual...3 RCI-SE circuit Setup...4 1.1 Connector J1: Azimuth Relay connections...5 1.2 Connector J2: Elevation Relay connections...7 1.3 Connector J3: Power input...8 1.4 Connectors J4: Operation of the ADC...9 1.4.1 PCB description:...12 1.5 X1 Point, Led point:...14 Hardware wiring with the rotor...15 Specifications...16 Index...17 Setup & Hardware Reference Manual: RCI-SE PCB Page 17