This page describes the device driver and the device window for the Research Concepts RC1500 single axis / polarmount antenna control unit.
The drivers was tested with model RC1500A and does not include support for tracking, AGC and AutoPol features and you cannot use the included satellite positions (targets). Please use the sat-nms Antenna Pointing logical device to store and recall satellite positions.
Device window pages
The following table shows which device window pages are available with this individual device type. Tool-bar functions not mentioned here are described at the general description of device windows .
--- The main parameter page displays/controls the antenna pointing. Actual readings and set points are shown in separate fields, so you can see where the antenna is going to while it is moving.
--- The faults page.
--- The device info page.
--- The maintenance page. The configuration parameters described below are set at this page.Configuration parameters
| parameter | description |
|---|---|
| address | This is the only parameter that must be set. Factory default for the serial remote control port is 50. |
| jogduration | You can configure the jog duration of the antenna controller. This allows you to define, how long the antenna is moving if you press one of the arrow-buttons on the main pointing page. |
| polAdjust | Set to ON if you want to control the polarization. See chapter Polarization above. |
| posLoLimit | Position low limit (ccw). This is only a software limit and not the limit stored while the RC1500 setup procedure. Use a value which is greater then the internal limit of the controller. |
| posHiLimit | Position high limit (cw). This is only a software limit and not the limit stored while the RC1500 setup procedure. Use a value which is smaller then the internal limit of the controller. |
| plLoLimit | Polarization low limit (ccw). This is only a software limit and not the limit stored while the RC1500 setup procedure. Use a value which is greater then the internal limit of the controller. |
| plHiLimit | Polarization high limit (cw). This is only a software limit and not the limit stored while the RC1500 setup procedure. Use a value which is smaller then the internal limit of the controller. |
| Serial | Remember to set the line parameters for the serial interface connected to the up-converter. It is recommended to operate the device at 9600,7,E,1 . |
Remarks
Polarization
If you have a movable polarization, you have to set the setup parameter polAdjust to ON. This enables the required parameters. The drivers detects if you have an Polarrotor or a Rotating Feed installed (option RC2KPOL). Regarding this you have different ranges for the polarization. The polAdjust parameter on the Info page will show you the detected type.
Variables defined by this device driver
| name | type | flags | range |
|---|---|---|---|
| info.driver | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| lowLevel.cmd | TEXT | StringRange | |
| lowLevel.reply | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| faults.99 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Communication) |
| faults.commstat | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.type | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.port | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.frame | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.version | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.model | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.polAdjust | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| internal.state.pos | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| internal.state.pl | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| internal.state.pl2 | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.f1 | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.f2 | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.rpn | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.test | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| config.jogduration | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.polAdjust | CHOICE | SAVE SETUP | EnumRange (OFF ON) |
| config.posLoLimit | INTEGER | SAVE SETUP | IntegerRange (0 .. 65635) |
| config.posHiLimit | INTEGER | SAVE SETUP | IntegerRange (0 .. 65635) |
| config.plLoLimit | INTEGER | SAVE SETUP | IntegerRange (0 .. 1023) |
| config.plHiLimit | INTEGER | SAVE SETUP | IntegerRange (0 .. 1023) |
| position | INTEGER | IntegerRange (0 .. 65535) | |
| polarization | FLOAT | DoubleRange DIS (0 .. 0) | |
| step | TEXT | NOPRESET | StringRange |
| target.name | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| state.pos | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 65535) |
| state.pl | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O DIS (0 .. 0) |
| state.plui | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O DIS (0 .. 0) |
| state.moving | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| state.limit.pos.cw | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| state.limit.pl.cw | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O DIS (true false) |
| state.limit.pos.ccw | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| state.limit.pl.ccw | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O DIS (true false) |
| state.moving.pos | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| state.moving.pl | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O DIS (true false) |
| reset | TEXT | NOPRESET | StringRange |
| faults.01 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pos runaway) |
| faults.02 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pos jammed) |
| faults.03 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pos limit) |
| faults.04 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pos drive) |
| faults.05 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pol limit) |
| faults.06 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pol alarm) |
| faults.07 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Pol options) |
| faults.08 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Options) |
| faults.09 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Low batterie) |
| faults.10 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Antenna) |
| faults.11 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Count) |
| faults.12 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Limits corrupt) |
| faults.13 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Autopol cfg) |
| faults.14 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Slow speed) |
| faults.15 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Com port) |