9.41 Andrew-APC100
This page describes the device driver and the device window for the Andrew APC100 antenna controller.
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 set point parameters are shown with a resolution of 0.1 deg for azimuth/elevation and 1 deg for the polarization. This to make the spin buttons work in a convenient way. You still may enter azimuth/elevation values with a 0.01 deg resolution, the antenna controller accepts this.
--- The faults page.
--- The device info page.
--- The maintenance page. The configuration parameters described below are set at this page.
Configuration parameters
At the maintenance page of the device window there are a couple of configuration parameters which must be set to make the software talk to the antenna controller.
| address |
The APC100 uses a one character device address in the range 'P' ... '_' (0x50 .. 0x5F). The factory default set by Andrew is 'P'. |
| polOffset |
A non-zero value entered here is subtracted from each polarization reading before it is sent to the operator and added to each polarization setting before it finally is sent to the device. See the paragraph 'Polarization offset' below. |
| Serial |
Remember to set the line parameters for the serial interface connected to the APC100. The APC100 expects 9600,E,8,1 . |
Polarization offset
With the APC100, polarization angles always are positive. A typical range for the polarization setting is 0...180 deg. The sat-nms software however expresses the polarization setting as an offset to the ideal polarization setting for a satellite located at the same longitude as the antenna. These polarization offsets are in the range -90 deg .. +90 deg.
To adapt the APC100 polarization setting/reading to the sat-nms internal standard, the device driver introduces a 'polOffset' configuration parameter. Set this parameter to the polarization reading the APC100 shows while the antenna is positioned to azimuth=180 deg and horizontal polarization.
Software limit ranges
The APC100 provides min/max software limits for all three axes. These limits are set at the APC100 front panel using the "SETUP" menu. The device driver reads the limits from APC100 and forwards them to the sat-nms user interface. An operator will not be able to set antenna pointing outside the limits programmed into the APC100.
Variables defined by this device driver
| 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 |
| internal.s1 |
HEX |
R/O |
HexRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.s2 |
HEX |
R/O |
HexRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.s3 |
HEX |
R/O |
HexRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.remote |
BOOLEAN |
R/O |
BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| internal.changed |
BOOLEAN |
R/O |
BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| internal.azLoLimit |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| internal.azHiLimit |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| internal.elLoLimit |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| internal.elHiLimit |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| internal.plLoLimit |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| internal.plHiLimit |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| internal.polarization |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| config.polOffset |
FLOAT |
SAVE SETUP |
DoubleRange (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| azimuth |
FLOAT |
|
DoubleRange (0.0 .. 0.0) |
| elevation |
FLOAT |
|
DoubleRange (0.0 .. 0.0) |
| polarization |
FLOAT |
|
DoubleRange (0 .. 0) |
| state.az |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| state.el |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.00 .. 0.00) |
| state.pl |
FLOAT |
R/O |
DoubleRange R/O (0.0 .. 0.0) |
| state.moving |
BOOLEAN |
R/O |
BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| state.limit |
BOOLEAN |
R/O |
BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| reset |
TEXT |
NOPRESET |
StringRange |
| faults.01 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Remote access) |
| faults.02 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Limit) |
| faults.03 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Position data required) |
| faults.04 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Motor inhibit) |
| faults.05 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Download limit) |
| faults.06 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Motor timeout) |
| faults.07 |
ALARM |
R/O |
AlarmFlagRange R/O (Undefined position) |