The table below shows the complete list of M&C parameters the ACU knows in alphabetical order. For each parameter the valid range and a short description is given.

Remarks:

1) Software capabilities are summed from the following values:

2) ACU variants with compass support provide other choices beside NONE for this parameter.

3) To set a I11 parameter set from extern, first select the parameter set to edit (0..99) by writing the parameter set number to ‘i11s’, then set the I11 parameters (‘i11d’), the I11 prediction values (‘i11p’) and optionally the parameter set name (‘i11n’). For details, see I11 parameter data below.

4) ACU variants with inclinometer support provide other choices beside NONE for this parameter.

5) for single step move, use following commands:

6) Use the ‘time’ parameter to read the actual time used by the ACU. Use the ‘stim’ parameter to set the time.

7) This parameter reports the description (name and pointing angles) for a given target number. ‘tdsc=12’ e.g. is interpreted by the ACU as a request to report the target description for target no. 12. The reply to this command is something like ‘tdsc=ASTRA 19.2 (167.335/43.412/-15.455)’

8) To set a TLE parameter set from extern, first select the parameter set to edit (0..99) by writing the parameter set number to ‘tles’, then set the two TLE lines (‘tle1’, ‘tle2’) and optionally the parameter set name (‘tlen’). For details, see TLE parameter data below.

9) ACU variants without tracking support only accept NONE for this parameter.

10) The polarization prediction mode controls if the ACU shall calculate and command the polarization angle during tracking. The following modes are defined:

The polarization prediction status shows from which data the polarization prediction is actually calculated in a free format string.

11) This parameter is only avaliable with ACU models equipped with a four axis position control. With 3-axis models, this parameter returns a dummy value when read, setting this parameter has no effect in this case.

Bit definitions in ‘ibit’ (input bits and flags):

The ‘ibit’ value is returned as a 32 bit hexadecimal number. The bit number 0 means the least significant bit, bit number 31 the most significant bit in this number.

Bit definitions in ‘ibi2’ (input bits and flags for the 4th axis):

The ‘ibi2’ value is returned as a 16 bit hexadecimal number. The bit number 0 means the least significant bit, bit number 31 the most significant bit in this number.

Bit definitions in ‘obit’ (output bits):

The ‘obit’ value is returned as a 32 bit hexadecimal number. The bit number 0 means the least significant bit, bit number 31 the most significant bit in this number.

The meaning of the ‘FWD’ / ‘REV’ motor control outputs depend on the motor control mode set for this axis.

Bit definitions in ‘obi2’ (output bits 4th axis):

The ‘obit’ value is returned as an 8 bit hexadecimal number. The bit number 0 means the least significant bit, bit number 7 the most significant bit in this number.

The meaning of the ‘FWD’ / ‘REV’ motor control outputs depend on the motor control mode set for this axis.

AUX output control

By means of the ‘auxo’ command, the ACU’s auxiliary outputs may be controlled. The command expects two numbers, separated by a comma character. The first one is the AUX output number (1..10), the second one is 0 or 1 to switch this output off or on. Example:

auxo=2,1

switches the AUX2 output on.

Bit definitions in ‘tflt’ (tracking faults):

The ‘tflt’ value is returned as a 9 bit hexadecimal number. The bit number 0 means the least significant bit, bit number 9 the most significant bit in this number.

Tracking coefficients on ‘acoe’ / ‘ecoe’:

In adaptive tracking mode the ‘acoe’ / ‘ecoe’ commands may be used to read the coefficients of the actual model. The coefficients are returned as a comma separated list of numbers in scientific notation. The number of coefficients returned depends on the size of the model:

• SMALL: a0,a1,a2 (1)
• MEDIUM: a0,a1,a2,a3,a4 (2)
• LARGE: a0,a1,a2,a3,a4,a5 (3)

If the beacon signal drops below it’s theshold, the antenna movement is calculated from these coefficients using the formulas shown below:

I11 parameter data

The ACU permits to monitor and control the I11 parameter sets used from remote. The commands used for this have been designed to be compatible with third party SNMP based software which may limit the amount of data transferred with a single command. The typical sequence to update an I11 parameter set is as follows:

1. Select the number of the I11 parameter set to write to by setting the ‘i11s’ parameter to this number (0..99).
2. Write the I11 parameters formatted as described below to the ‘i11d’ parameter.
3. Write the I11 prediction values formatted as described below to the ‘i11p’ parameter.
4. Optionally update the name of the parameter set by writing this name to the ‘i11n’ parameter.

You should ensure, that the ‘i11s’ parameter is not changed until all parts of the I11 parameter set have been set. This implies, that only one remote control instance may update I11 parameters at a time. After this command sequence the I11 parameter set is stored at the ACU. When changing the parameter set which is actually in use for a STEP-I11 or a I11 tracking mode, the updated parameters will be used when the next tracking step ist started.

I11 parameters (‘i11d’) are expected as a semicolon separated character string containing the coefficients in the following order:

EPOCH;LM0;LM1;LM2;LONC;LONC1;LONS;LONS1;LATC;LATC1;LATS;LATS1

The epoch has to be (exactly) defined in the format ‘YYYY MM DD HH MM SS’. Numbers hare to be given with (exactly) 4 digits precision, except for the LM2 parameter which expects 6 digits following the decimal point.

The I11 prediction values are expected as two numbers LON;LAT, each with 4 digita precision.

TLE parameter data

The ACU permits to monitor and control the TLE parameter sets used from remote. The commands used for this have been designed to be compatible with third party SNMP based software which may limit the amount of data transferred with a single command. The typical sequence to update a TLE parameter set is as follows:

1. Select the number of the TLE parameter set to write to by setting the ‘tles’ parameter to this number (0..99).
2. Write the TLE line 1 to the ‘tle1’ parameter.
3. Write the TLE line 2 to the ‘tle2’ parameter.
4. Optionally update the name of the parameter set by writing this name to the ‘tlen’ parameter.

You should ensure, that the ‘tles’ parameter is not changed until all parts of the TLE parameter set have been set. This implies, that only one remote control instance may update I11 parameters at a time. After this command sequence the TLE parameter set is stored at the ACU. When changing the parameter set which is actually in use for a STEP-TLE or a TLE tracking mode, the updated parameters will be used when the next tracking step ist started.

The ‘tle1’, ‘tle2’ parameter expect the line 1 / line 2 of the TLE parameter set exactly as defined in the TLE specification.

Controlling the target editor from remote

The target editor available at the ACU’s WebGUI can be controlled remotely. This is done by simulating the same steps which would be done by an operator at the ACU’s WebGUI.

The first step to do ist to load as target into the editor. The ‘tedt’ command does this. Seting ‘tedt’ to 25, for eample, loads the target memory 25 into the editor. Now the settings stored in this preset can be read for the external UI by inspecting the parameter commands of the editor. A target preset consists of about 25 parameters which are set when the preset is recalled. Editing the target contents meand to load these values into copies of the real destiniation paramets.

These parameters have 5-character command names, they all start with ‘e’ for ‘edit’. The remaining four characters are identical to the parameter to edit. Example ‘eatar’ is the edit copy of the ‘atar’ parameter, the azimuth target angle. Commanding ‘atar’ immediately moves the antenna to the commanded angle, but commanding ‘eatar’ simply overwrites the value in the editor.

‘tsav’ is command to write the edited values back to a target memory in the ACU. ‘tsav’ also expects a target number, if the number is not the same as used with ‘tedt’, ‘tsav’ act as a ‘save as’ command. Again, saving the edited target does not recall the target, does not change any acitve parameter. The edited target memory is only executed if it is explicitly recalled.