This page describes the device driver and the device window for the SSE S-Series transceivers. The device driver is mostly self-configuring, it reads options like the frequency range or the presence of the TX/RX parts in the transceiver from the unit and sets up the list of available M&C parameters accordingly.
The device driver uses the NPI packet protocol to control the transceiver when operated at a RS485 interface. This protocol allows multiple SSE devices to be controlled via the same physical interface.
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 .
--- This page shows transmit part parameters of the device.
--- This page shows receive part parameters of the device. If the device is configured to "TX-ONLY" mode, all parameters of this page remain gray.
--- 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 parameter which must be set to make the software talk to the transceiver.
| parameter | description |
|---|---|
| address | The device driver expects the NPI address (LU, logical unit) of the transceiver entered here as a two digit, hexadecimal number. You should use upper case letters for the hex digits A..F, as the transceivers requires the address to be of this format. If the RS232 interface is used together with the Terminal-CR-CRLF-E protocol, the address is ignored, you may leave this field empty in this case. |
| powerOnDelay | You can force the transceiver to inhibit the transmitted signal for this time after power on. Setting the value to zero disables this feature. |
| txAutoOn | Defines the default TX ON/OFF state when the unit gets powered on. |
| Serial | Remember to set the line parameters for the serial interface connected to the transceiver. The transceiver either expects 1200,O,7,1 or 9600,N,8,1 for the RS232 interface, depending on the cable layout. The RS485 line speed can be set with a command at the RS232 port. |
Communication protocol / Interface type
This device either may be controlled via a RS422/RS485 interface using the SSE-NPI packet protocol or via a RS232 interface using the text based Terminal-CR-CRLF-E protocol. It is recommended to use the RS485 interface as the NPI protocol, which is only available with this interface type, provides a true multidrop device addressing and a checksum protection for the data packets exchanged.
Regardless of the interface type used, the transceiver must be placed into the NPI protocol mode before it can be used together with the software. Connect a RS232 terminal or a PC running a terminal program to the RS232 port of the transceiver and enter the command "NPI=ON" to program this setting.
Baud rate select
The RS232 interface of the S-Series transceivers normally works at 1200 baud, 7 bits, odd parity. You may connect the "baud select" line (pin H) to ground (pin C) in the transceiver's communication port connector to switch the line settings to 9600,N,8,1 .
The speed of the RS485 port in NPI mode is programmed by a terminal command which has to be entered at the RS232 port. Hence, to set the RS485 speed, you have to connect a RS232 terminal or a PC running a terminal program to the RS232 port of the transceiver. The RS485 line parameters always are 8 bit, no parity in NPI mode.
RS485 cabling
The SSE manual describes a 2-wire RS485 cabling with special termination circuits at both ends of the line for the NPI mode. The RS422/RS485 interface cards typically used with a VLC or M&C system do not support this cabling! Use the 4-wire cabling described for the "RS 485 multidrop mode" instead. It works fine with the NPI mode, too.
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 |
| config.powerOnDelay | INTEGER | SAVE SETUP | IntegerRange (0 .. 600) |
| config.txAutoOn | CHOICE | SAVE SETUP | EnumRange (OFF ON) |
| info.model | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.revision | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.rfband | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.ifband | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| info.mode | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.maxpower | FLOAT | R/O | DoubleRange R/O (0.0 .. 0.0) |
| info.twta | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.atten | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.synths | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| info.signal.on | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| rx.frequency | FLOAT | DoubleRange (0 .. 12750) | |
| tx.measuredLevel | FLOAT | R/O | DoubleRange R/O (-100.0 .. 100.0) |
| tx.frequency | FLOAT | DoubleRange (0 .. 14500) | |
| tx.gain | FLOAT | DoubleRange (0 .. 31) | |
| tx.on | CHOICE | EnumRange (OFF ON) | |
| tx.beam | CHOICE | EnumRange (OFF ON) | |
| reset | TEXT | NOPRESET | StringRange |
| internal.state | HEX | R/O | HexRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| internal.tx.fmin | FLOAT | R/O | DoubleRange R/O (0 .. 40000) |
| internal.tx.fmax | FLOAT | R/O | DoubleRange R/O (0 .. 40000) |
| internal.rx.fmin | FLOAT | R/O | DoubleRange R/O (0 .. 40000) |
| internal.rx.fmax | FLOAT | R/O | DoubleRange R/O (0 .. 40000) |
| internal.rpm | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| faults.01 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (RX Level) |
| faults.02 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (FFL1 Lock) |
| faults.03 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (FFL1 Level) |
| faults.04 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (FAL1 Lock) |
| faults.05 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (FAL2 Lock) |
| faults.06 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (HFLO1 Level) |
| faults.07 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (HFLO2 Level) |
| faults.08 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (TX Level) |
| faults.09 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Supply +15V) |
| faults.10 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Supply +10V) |
| faults.11 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Supply +5V) |
| faults.12 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Supply -5V) |
| faults.13 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (FFL2 Lock) |
| faults.14 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (FFL2 Level) |
| faults.15 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (Supply +12V) |
| faults.16 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (1400 MHz Lock) |
| faults.17 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (1200 MHz Lock) |
| faults.18 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (750 MHz Lock) |
| faults.19 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (TWT Summary) |
| faults.20 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (TWT Standby) |
| faults.21 | ALARM | R/O | AlarmFlagRange R/O (TWT Beam Off) |