--- Presents the timer parameters
--- The device info page.
--- The maintenance page. The configuration parameters described below are set at this page.This page describes the device driver and the device window for the TX-OFF-Timer device. This device switches off a running transmission at a preprogrammed time within 24 hours. The device also controls an external LCD unit which displays the remaining time of the transmission.
Usage
The timer gets started by entering the desired stop time in the format hh:mm . Times in the past are assumed to refer to the next day. While running, the timer sets a flag 'running' which may be used to conditionally enable other M&C functions. When the timer expires, it issues the TX-OFF command defined at the device's maintenance/setup page.
Cisco 2800GSM Interface
The device may be configured to listen to some status variables of a Cisco 2800GSM / VPN router. The state of the VPN tunnel and the GSM receive level (RSSI) value gets displayed in the LCD and the info.gsmstate parameter.
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 .
--- Presents the timer parameters --- 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 integrate the device into the VLC/M&C.
| parameter | description |
|---|---|
| txOffId | The message ID of the parameter controlling the RF ON/OFF state of the transmission, e.g. EIRP.on . |
| txOffCmd | The command / value to be sent to the message id defined above in order to switch off the transmissions. In most cases this will be OFF . |
| txOffDisplay | The text to be shown in the external display while the timer is stopped. The default is OFF |
| showBars | If set to YES, the GSM receive level of the attached Cisco VPN router gets displayed as 0 to 5 bars, similar to a mobile phone display. NO makes the display show the level as digits 0..5. |
| gsmRssiId | The message ID telling the RSSI level to display, with a Cicso 2800GSM router something like: CICSO.c3gCurrentGsmRssi . Expects a level value in dBm to be reported with this parameter. |
| gsmVpnStatId | The message ID telling the VPN tunnel state. With a Cisco 2800GSM router e.g. CISCO.rttMonLatestRttOperSense |
| gsmRssiTable | This table is used to translate the RSSI level value (dBm) into 0 to 5 bars in the display. The table consists of 5 integer numbers, separated by commas. The first value defines the level necessary to show one bar, the second one is the minimum value for two bars and so on. If you supply less than five values, the device automatically fills the list in 3dB steps. |
| Serial | Remember to set the line parameters for the serial interface connected to the LCD unit ( 9600,N,8,1 ). |
NMS-VLC clock difference compensation
The TX-OFF-Timer takes the clock difference between NMS and VLC into account when calculation the (local) end time of a transmission. The transmission gets stopped at the programmed end time in terms of NMS time. This calculation may interfere with the clock adaption being done by the VLC's clktrim daemon. The latter tunes the VLC clock to run faster or slower about up to 10 minutes/day until the VLC clock matches the NMS time. The clock difference between VLC and NMS by and by becomes smaller. Hence, with large VLC clock deviations, the effective end time may differ from the NMS time. It is recommended not to use the clktrim daemon for VLCs which are only occasionally running for this reason.
Using the TX-OFF-Timer without the LCD unit
The TX-OFF-Timer also may be used without the external LCD unit. To do this, configure the TX-OFF-Timer with a 'null' interface and the 'Logical' protocol in the VLC's device setup. The TX-OFF-Timer will not occupy a serial interface when configured in this way.
Variables defined by this device driver
| name | type | flags | range |
|---|---|---|---|
| info.driver | 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.timeDiff | INTEGER | R/O | IntegerRange R/O (0 .. 0) |
| info.gsmstat | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| config.txOffId | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.txOffCmd | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.txOffDisplay | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.showBars | CHOICE | SAVE SETUP | EnumRange (YES NO) |
| config.gsmRssiId | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.gsmVpnStatId | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.gsmCommFaultId | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| config.gsmRssiTable | TEXT | SAVE SETUP | StringRange |
| txOffTime | TEXT | StringRange | |
| remainingTime | TEXT | R/O | StringRange R/O |
| running | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| extended | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| extendPossible | BOOLEAN | R/O | BooleanRange R/O (true false) |
| extend | TEXT | StringRange | |
| gsmstat | TEXT | StringRange |