AlfaSpid Rotator and Controller Instruction Manual
Contents
1. the remaining term of the original limited warranty 4 Under no circumstances is Alfa Radio Ltd liable for consequential damages to person s or property by the use of this product 5 Alfa Radio Ltd reserves the right to make changes or improvements in design or manufacture or firmware without incurring any obligations to install such changes upon any of the product previously manufactured All claims of defect or shortage should be sent prepaid to Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 Street Edmonton Alberta T5M 1X8 CANADA All shipments must be accompanied by the letter describing the problem in detail along with a copy of your proof of purchase Contact AlfaRadio for authorization be for shipping www alfaradio ca 780 446 8958 WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL Page 20 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 21 NOTES Page 21 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 22 Typical travel of the AlfaSpid Rotator 0 360 2708 270 180 180 Blue 0 to 180 is the dot not flashing PH over travel Right 180 side of diagram Red 0 to 180 is the dot flashing PL over travel Left 180 side of diagram Page 22 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid2. 11 S Setup Mode The S button steps through the setup menu The display cycles through each of the setup menu items 1 00 or 0 50 ratio setting Default is 1 00 oO n Programmable High Limit Default flashing DOT 180 Programmable Low Limit Default not flashing DOT 180 O nn Oc 3 L Programmable Reset Value or 180 Preset 1 Preset 2 Preset 3 Preset 4 DOC Preset 5 P O Preset 6 nu im 5 Program Simulation f Heading Adjust numbers blinking 3 O Pa Programmable High Limit By reducing this value the maximum clockwise rotation travel can be restricted Use the J and L buttons adjust the value These limits can be used when side mounting the rotor to keep the antenna from colliding with the tower Page 11 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 12 Di LL Programmable Low Limit The Programmable Low Limit is a user adjustable counter clockwise travel limit value By increasing this value the minimum counter clockwise rotation travel can be restricted Use the S and L buttons adjust the value Programmable Reset Value The Programmable Reset Value can be set to either 0 degrees or 180 degrees This is the beam heading set when a power on reset event is triggered If you wish to reset your rotato
3. diode rectifier on the input will provide the proper polarity to the electronics and provide reverse polarity protection as well as A C operation TIP Because of several steering diodes in the motor path the voltage delivered to the motor neglecting wire loss will be about 1 4 volts less than the power supply voltage For longer runs and or thin wiring a higher voltage up to approx 24V to the control unit is beneficial A simple way to estimate if the voltage to the motor is adequate is by timing the rotation Under no or a very small load the 360 degree rotation time with 12V DC at the motor is about 120 second 2 minutes With 24 V DC is about 60 second 1 minute A DC Ammeter in the motor lead is also useful it should indicate between 1 and 3 amps with a small load On windy days or heavy load the current may fluctuate up to 3 to 5 amps Notes testing and troubleshooting A It is highly recommended to ground the Control Box Pressing J should make the rotator move clockwise Pressing LS should make the rotator move counter clockwise If rotation is reversed switch lines 1 and 2 on the back of the controller Impulse sense lines 3 amp 4 have no polarity concerns Part of the protection circuitry involves removing motor power if the controller receives no sense indication If the motor turns for a few seconds and then you hear the relay in the control box drop out the motor has either stalled or there is a problem in
4. may have been caused by the shipping company Check the Limits PH and PL settings and rule out overlap Simple resistance tests can reveal incorrect or shorted wiring Pins 1 and 2 are the motor winding and will have a low resistance Typical 2 3 ohms Pins 3 and 4 are the sense lines and typically will have either an open circuit or have about 1200 ohms depending on the status of the reed switch in the rotator and the length and gauge of used wire There should be no conductivity between 1 and 3 or 1 and 4 or between 2 and 3 or 2 and 4 All lines should have no conductivity to ground Page 15 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK _Manual_Sept15_ 2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 16 Be careful not to over wind your coax with the next test as there will be no protection from over turning Find a small 12 volts supply which will deliver 3 to 4 amps a small 12 Volt battery will work just fine To confirm that the motor runs you may connect 12 volts D C to the lines that go to the motor pins 1 and 2 it should turn Reversing the 12 Volts D C should cause the motor to turn in the reverse direction To confirm that the sense circuit in the rotator is working connect an ohm meter to the senses lines pins 3 and 4 apply 12 volts to the motor lines pins 1 and 2 you should see the ohm meter reading alternate between open circuit and about 1200
5. of the 4 wire cable to connect the control unit to the rotator depends upon the distance between rotator and controller The wire for the impulse sensing may be quite thin 22 or similar even for relatively long distances Length Gauge Motor 10m 32 18 1 19 mm 30 m 100 16 1 42 mm 60m 200 14 1 75 mm AN CAUTION Do not accidentally switch the motor wires with the impulse wires Damage to the control unit may occur Remove cover from the motor body as shown and make connections as follows 1 Motor Drive to 1 on controller terminal 2 Motor Drive to 2 on controller terminal 3 Impulse Sense to 3 on controller terminal 4 Impulse Sense to 4 on controller terminal We suggest that the coax from the antenna be made with extra length to allow for the Over Travel 720 degrees in total You may wish to also allow for the coax to come off the South side of the tower 180 degrees Page 6 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 7 Bench Testing of Control Box The control box is normally expected to be operated from a 12 Volt DC supply however it may be operated from other unregulated DC or AC sources as well DC or AC voltage levels between 10 and 26 Volts capable of at least 5 Amps are acceptable typically 12 or 14 Volts The polarity of the power to the control box input leads is not critical for D C operation a
6. ohms Pin on Rotator not Your controller Typical Reading reading Depends on the length of Pins 1 to 2 About 2 to 4 Ohms wire to rotator Depends on the status of Pins 3 to 4 Open or 1200 Ohms the read switch Pins 1 to 3 Open Pins 2 to 3 Open Pins 2 to 4 Open Pin 1 to Ground Open Pin 2 to Ground Open Pin 3 to Ground Open Pin 4 to Ground Open Voltage on controller Depends on the supply Pins 1 to 2 About 12 volts with motor running voltage 14 volt applied About 8 5 volts or 2 5 Depends on the status of Pins 3 to 4 volts the read switch and the Supply voltage Page 16 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 17 Using the AlfaSpid Rotator with LONG Cable Distances By VE6JY Since the motor uses relatively low voltage DC a combination of long cable runs and or thinner than required cable may reduce the voltage at the motor to an unacceptably low value It may turn in warm weather or light winds but the power will not be available to rotate under more severe conditions While it is easy to say just use a heavier cable this may be costly impractical or both have one tower that is over 1700 feet approx 500 meters away and running large cable out there would be very expensive My solution is to use this rotator controller s output voltage to control another set of relays that will feed a higher voltage DC to the motor In the above mentioned e
7. the impulse sense wiring Page 7 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 8 Resetting the Controller Since there are no mechanical limits in the rotator it may be installed with the antenna pointing in any direction There is no reason to locate TRUE NORTH until you are ready to calibrate the control box Use the controller to position the antenna to physically point north then reset the controller as follows Turn the unit OFF Then while holding the F button depressed turn control unit back on This will now show on the display The controller is now set for North Display adjustment Press the S button to cycle thru to the normal i e blank setting until you see the display after P5 X X is the mode for computer interface It will be blinking The display shows the normal degree reading i e 30 degrees with the left or right arrows the display reading can be changed with out turning the rotator in this mode this feature can be used if for any reason the direction of the antenna becomes incorrect This may be caused by antenna to mast slippage or incorrect initial alignment The Rotator to mast will not slip unless there is improper installation See Heading Adjust numbers blinking else where in this document IMPORTANT The AlfaSpid rotator is now set at the counter clockwise end of it
8. AlfaSpid Rotator and Controller Instruction Manual This manual is for use with units sold by AlfaRadio Ltd of Edmonton Alberta Canada Units sold by others may have different firmware and may operate from different voltages Last updated on September 08 2008 Copyright AlfaRadio Ltd 2002 2008 2008 01 15 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 2 Table of Contents HrOUG UON onar E I E EEO 4 Shipping ConiehiiS sili lia 4 TCehnice Palagano 4 COnuorFoinelasiaa ai I 5 ReFill aa 6 IKSGIE Aree e A E OA l DENchi US SUING arena A 8 Resetting the CONHFOller scr ieri 9 ControllerOperalioh xi c ria 10 FUDGUON ANMOdCa nana 10 Normal Operations Mode i 11 tle ACO MOO ear 11 AUIO NIO C scccciirrnriaieaiii ia 11 FF FESCU VOC C anc asadeciwsannncnaabiiwin sieetalintGaesad ioni 11 SCUD IW OGG sicilia 12 Programabie HIGRLCIMIE lore ana 12 Programmabie LOoW LIMit sssrnpa eriadan lesioni 13 Programmable Reset Value ii 13 PIOSCH birreria ina 13 Vouse Controller 15 Using the AlfaSpid Rotator with LONG Cable Distances 18 Wills cicala 21 NOS 22 This manual is for use with units sold by AlfaRadio Ltd of Edmonton Alberta Canada Units sold by others may have different firmware and may operate from different voltages Last updated on September 15 2008 Page 2 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www al
9. Rotator Page 23 Technical Data INpurvoltage Typical cacrstcesucgcsnacauacduandcasne sansuadescnedneniededsniteassesievectces 13 8 24 Volts DC Input Current Nominal Draw at 12 Volts with no or small load 3 4 Amps FSC sia EEA 8 0 Amp GMA Rotation Speed 360 Deg 120 sec 120 sec Specifications AlfaSpid controllers When used with RAK or REAL When used with RAS or REAL ii assy aco Connections to Rotator 4 wires 2 sens 2 motor 4 wires 2 sens 2 motor EL 4 wires 2 sens 2 motor AZ Total 8 wires RAS 4 wires for REAL All specifications may change with out further notice and all values are approx Page 23 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc
10. e a solution to the long cable run situation If you do not feel comfortable wiring basic circuitry to do this please contact Alfa Radio Ltd www alfaradio ca for a pre wired solution Prepared for Alfa Radio Ltd by VE6JY Don Moman Dec 6 2001 Page 19 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_ Sept15 2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 20 12 MONTH LIMITED WARRANTY AlfaSpid Rotator and controller Alfa Radio Ltd Warrants to the user who originally purchased the product that the product will be free from defects in material and workmanship for the following periods after such date of purchase Material 12 months Workmanship 12 months Alfa Radio Ltd will at its option repair or replace free of charge such defective products subject to the following conditions 1 Delivery of the product prepaid to Alfa Radio Ltd or its authorized dealer 2 Determination by the Alfa Radio Ltd that a defect exists and is covered by the limited warranty Defects due to alteration pinning the mast to the rotator repair by an unauthorized person misuse accidental damage lightning strikes use of the equipment for purpose other than those for which it was designed and the like are NOT COVERED by this limited warranty Repairs therefore will be subject to normal service charges 3 Repairs and replacement parts are covered under this limited warranty only for
11. faSpid_Rotator RAK _Manual_Sept15 2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 10 n 88881 Normal Operations Mode In Normal Operations Mode the LS and L buttons cause rotation as long as the buttons are pressed Pressing S while in normal operations mode will take you to setup mode ot W Half Auto Mode In Half Auto Mode the LS and buttons can be used to pre select the desired beam heading The heading displayed on the controller will rapidly change in the direction of desired rotation Once the desired beam heading is shown on the display release the key Approximately of a second after no key presses have been detected the display will revert back to the actual beam heading and rotation towards the desired heading will take place Pressing any key while in transit to the desired heading will cancel the action O m LI L Auto Mode In Auto Mode the controller will respond to commands from control software running on an attached computer The LS and L buttons can still be used as a manual override O 7 l l f Preset Mode requires optional mouse In Preset Mode the J and L buttons cause rotation as long as the buttons are pressed With the optional mouse attached the six preset buttons can be used to select a desired beam heading Preset beam heading values are set in Setup Mode Page 10 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page
12. faradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 3 Introduction The AlfaSpid rotator is an extra heavy duty rotator designed to run large communication antennas and comes complete with an electronic control unit The rotator is designed to be mounted pipe to pipe or on an optional adaptor plate for conventional in tower mounting It can also be mounted outside of the tower on the mast or used in a side mount configuration Shipping Contents Optional Custom Mouse i i 1 Page 3 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 4 Control Panel Buttons Left Decrease Right Increase S Setup F Function Indicators E gt Overlap Not currently used 7 segment 4 digit display Page 4 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 5 Rear Panel LL 00 Terminal Strip 4 Pin Connector DB 9 connector female DB 9 connector male Female for CPU RS232 Male for AlfaSpid Mouse Page 5 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK _Manual_Sept15_ 2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 6 Installation Wiring Connections The rotator unit must be wired to the control unit with 4 wire cable The gauge
13. he controller Page 13 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 14 Mouse Controller Optional Z N The optional mouse controller allows easy desktop access to the most commonly used front panel controls These buttons are functionally equivalent to the corresponding front panel controls Left Decrease AN The mouse controller is a Right Increase highly modified computer mouse You can not use a regular Stop also the wheel between left and mouse with the AlfaSpid right buttons In addition to the above controls you will find 6 programmable preset buttons on the mouse Programmable preset buttons are only available via the optional mouse controller Preset headings are programmed via the Setup Mode The mouse ball serves no function the mouse simply provides an ergonomically pleasing case in which to mount the controls Page 14 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 15 Alfa Radio Ltd Trouble shooting tips Before contacting AlfaRadio Ltd Please make the following tests The following are some trouble shouting tips if for some reason your AlfaSpid will not operate correctly It is important to confirm correct operation before installing on the tower This will rule out any damage that
14. r to south set this value to 180 O 1 Preset 1 P1 Thru P6 Oog C OL Preset 6 These 6 presets are user adjustable values that map to the 6 preset buttons on the optional mouse controller You can set each preset to a commonly used beam heading allowing rapid single button heading selections Page 12 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 13 De E Program Simulation Program Simulation allows the user to set the serial communication protocol used by the rotator When set to emulate another brand of rotator the AlfaSpid will respond to commands and send responses back to the computer as if it were the rotator brand selected If your favourite software supports a rotator chances are the AlfaSpid will be able to interface to your software There are 4 modes available Note some programs may not support the 1200 Baud requirements of the controller in emulation mode 9000 Spid AlfaSpid Recommended tJ G Orion DE CIC Hygain Oc J 0000 Yaesu 3 Heading Adjust numbers blinking This setting can be used to make minor heading adjustments without causing the rotator to turn If you notice that the heading displayed on the controller to a known signal source is out by a few degrees you can change the heading displayed on the LED readout to match the known heading rather than having to turn back to North and reset t
15. s normal rotation range Normal rotation range is in a clockwise direction for 360 degrees From the reset position you can rotate counter clockwise an additional 180 degrees in over travel as well 360 degrees clockwise plus an additional 180 degrees into clockwise over travel Counter clockwise over travel is indicated by a steady dot above the over travel icon gt Rotation past 359 degrees into the clockwise over travel is indicated by a blinking dot above the over travel icon k gt Technical Note Page 8 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 9 Controller Operation You will need to leave sufficient coax length to accommodate the additional 180 degrees of over travel on each end of normal rotation Failure to do so can cause damage to your coax and or antennas The AlfaSpid controller has multiple modes of operation You will need to become familiar with these modes to be able to make full use of your rotator F Function Mode The LF button steps through the function menus The leftmost character on the display indicates the function mode you are currently in E Normal Operations Mode A The O in the displays to I oat GIO Meds the left will be replaced by your n Auto Mode actual beam heading O aE Preset Mode Page 9 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 Al
16. xample find a voltage between 60 to 80 volts gave suitable performance This is a pretty extreme case but it illustrates the versatility of this design The external DC supply voltage needed will vary depending on the DC voltage rating of your motor the cable size and length of the run Typically 36 to 50 volts at 3 5 amps should be quite adequate These DC motors are quite tolerant on their voltage ratings Page 17 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 AlfaSpid_Rotator RAK_Manual_Sept15_2008 doc AlfaSpid Rotator www alfaspid com Page 18 Relay Board Schematic Page 18 of 23 Alfa Radio Ltd 11211 154 St Edmonton Alberta Canada T5M 1X8 780 466 5779 www alfaradio ca AlfaSpid Rotator Page 19 Relays chosen should be suitable for the proper coil voltage as well as appropriate current carrying capability A relay capable of 5 to 10 amps DC is adequate The diode in series with Relay K1 is any general purpose 1 amp style such as the 1N400x series If the motor rotates incorrectly simply reverse the leads to the motor or from the External DC Supply The controller also has the capability to with a small modification allow you to input your external DC voltage into the unit and use the internal relays to control the rotator as usual Ln CINA a Toir Paas al in al af y n i H A ttt eLetter Seem Se AE dla 6 This information is presented as a guide to help the user realiz
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