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The bottom row of the LCD is intended to indicate the frequency segment where the AATU is tuned. Now you have 
to set the needed frequency on the transceiver and to select the needed antenna where the AATU will be tuned. 
  

C A U T I O N  

Before giving a tuning command, you have to stop any transmission and put the 
amplifier (when available) to bypass (STBY mode). Never apply more than 100W 
tuning power in order not to trip either AATU protection! 

 

C A U T I O N 

If you use more than one antenna you have to select the proper antenna 
corresponding to the needed frequency and/or desired direction. 

 
a) 

AUTO TUNE

 procedure. 

 
When the antenna is selected and with no RF applied to the AATU, you can start the auto-tune procedure pressing 
the button 

AUTO TUNE

 on the RCU:  

 

Mode: AUTO TUNE  . 

Apply 10-100W RF (  ) 

 
The AATU will then wait for you to apply between 10 and 100W continuous carrier (CW) signal with the desired 
frequency.  If you leave the AATU waiting longer than 20s, then it will inform you: 
 

Mode: AUTO TUNE 

Timeout   Expired

 

 
When you apply a tuning signal as needed, an asterisk will appear between two brackets at the right-low corner on 
the LCD. It will indicate the presence of a proper tuning signal: 
 

Mode: AUTO TUNE  . 

Apply 10-100W RF ( * ) 

 
The process of automatically matching the antenna impedance begins when the power remains constant within the 
needed boundaries. After about one second, tuning begins and the indication changes: 
  

Mode: AUTO TUNE  . 

In Progress …    ( * ) 

 

This way, the AATU reports that the essential matching process (via impedance measurements and assessment, 
and switching the relays) has been initiated in the remote unit. This takes various periods depending on the 
frequency and the antenna impedance for this frequency but never in excess of 8s (typically 2s). After the procedure 
has finished, the AATU will call to stop tuning power (for at least one second before starting transmission with a 
tuned AATU): 
 

Mode: AUTO TUNE  . 

Stop RF  …               . 

 

At last, after you stop the tuning power, you will be informed about the results: 
 

Mode: OPERATE  . 

06970-07110 * OK * 

 
b) Indication. 
 
The frequency segment where the AATU is currently tuned is shown on the bottom line (

к

Hz). It spans about 

±

 1%

 

around the tuning frequency that you have applied. Normally you can use this frequency segment with excellent 
results without a retune of the AATU. 
 
To the right of the frequency-segment indication, you will see the procedure result as described below. 
  
If for some reason matching cannot be accomplished successfully, the process ends up with a “

SWR>1.5

” or 

Unstable RF Power”

 indication instead of the usual * 

OK *

. This is a rare case caused for example by excessive 

antenna SWR or unstable tuning power). 

Summary of Contents for 03AT

Page 1: ...AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNNING UNIT AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNNING UNIT OPERATING MANUAL OPERATING MANUAL ...

Page 2: ...N 4 2 2 LINE VOLTAGE 4 2 3 REMOTE UNIT INSTALLATION 4 3 POWER ON RCU CONTROLS AND MENU 11 4 OPERATION 12 4 1 FUNCTION OPERATE AND AUTO TUNE PROCEDURE 12 4 2 USING THE MEMORY 14 4 3 FUNCTION BYPASS 15 4 4 FUNCTION STATUS 16 4 5 FUNCTION SWR CHK 17 4 6 USING STATUS AND SWR CHK FUNCTIONS FOR RF PATH DIAGNOSTICS 17 5 MAINTENANCE 18 5 1 CLEANING 18 5 2 FUSES REPLACEMENT 18 5 3 ACOM 03AT MATCHING CIRCUI...

Page 3: ...stallation accessories a second internal carton containing the power supply cable and a third internal carton with the optical control cable NOTE A coaxial cable to the station is not included It is normally a part of the antenna set Use type RG213 or equivalent Options Unbalanced output with 50Ω UHF SO239A connector Serial control port for the ACOM2000A HF Linear Amplifier and for ACOM2000S Autom...

Page 4: ...ble problems Protection against atmospheric electricity via sphere spark gaps and a bleeder choke Options Unbalanced output with 50Ω UHF SO239A connector Control for the ACOM2000A HF Linear Amplifier and for ACOM2000S Automatic Antenna Selector PC control via RS232 or RS422 serial port Nonvolatile memory for user tunings 1 5 Safety Considerations Explicit Definitions The ACOM 03AT Automatic HF Ant...

Page 5: ...e is noticed notify your dealer immediately Delay may infringe carrier s warranty conditions Keep all packing for possible future transportation Take out the RCU its mains power cable and the serial control cables option Carefully check the RCU and the cables for any possible shipping damage Leave them оn the place where the RCU will be installed The remote main unit together with the remaining in...

Page 6: ... strokes Do not use casual ground connections Installation of the remote unit must be accomplished in the order described below before you connect the RCU and the cables to your station a Mount the AATU installation console to the antenna mast at a height at least 80cm 2 6 feet This is needed in order that winter snow cannot reach the height of the unit Use both U bolts M6 and the fixing screw M6x...

Page 7: ...nently installed on their optic connectors a split socket type to tighten the optic cable cores see fig 2 2 a 2 3 The black case device is the photo detector receiver while the white case is the optic emitter For now as the other cable end is still not connected it is meaningless which core to which device shall be connected Identifying is easy on the second end at the first power on see S 2 4 c F...

Page 8: ...ife Keep track to make a precisely vertical section The light loss and reflections depend strongly on this operation quality To improve the cut performance we recommend to pre heat the knife blade to about 70 80 deg C or 160 175F Be careful not to contaminate the blade while heating and not to over heat it Loose the split socket knurled nut of either optic device slightly fig 2 3 Then push either ...

Page 9: ... push into the cable gland Holding the plastic insert fixed to the cable push all four cable cores into the gland housing and direct them towards the Power Supply PCB inside fig 2 2 c d Use a small rotation around the insert axis in order to align its three guides to the corresponding grooves in the metal housing then carefully shove the insert into the gland body together with the shaped cable No...

Page 10: ...e bottom panel of the unit Screw in loosely all 10 captive screws М6 located on the bottom panel see fig 2 1 d Then tighten properly using a 5mm 0 2 Allan key h Connect the remote unit grounding clamp marked GROUND on the bottom panel to the lightning protection grounding system see fig 2 1 g i Connect the balanced antenna feeder to the terminals marked BALANCED ANTENNA OUTPUT on the bottom panel ...

Page 11: ...C A U T I O N To avoid damage not covered under warranty check carefully if the voltage for which the AATU is set corresponds to your mains nominal voltage see S 2 2 After following all instructions in S 2 3 2 4 a b c make sure that the main switch POWER located on the rear panel is in OFF position so that the red stripe on the switch is hidden and then connect the power plug of the RCU to the wal...

Page 12: ...e optic device aperture since this would obstruct the light beam Use only enough force while tightening in order that the cable be tight and could not slip out when pulled occasionally do not overdo in order not to damage the plastic case or the optic device Repeat the same operation with the non marked cable core and the other optic device U4 white plastic case Now install the top cover Screw in ...

Page 13: ...BYPASS BYPASS OPERATE STATUS SWR CHK To exit from an item press the Esc Escape button If you press it repeatedly you will escape from any menu level and you will eventually reach the main menu When that menu is reached the ESC button becomes inoperative and you have to select a function The purpose and use of these four functions is described in Section 4 To power off the AATU just switch the main...

Page 14: ... RF The process of automatically matching the antenna impedance begins when the power remains constant within the needed boundaries After about one second tuning begins and the indication changes Mode AUTO TUNE In Progress This way the AATU reports that the essential matching process via impedance measurements and assessment and switching the relays has been initiated in the remote unit This takes...

Page 15: ...970 7110 a Indication To the right on the upper line is shown the current memory cell number The characters in front and behind the number can be missing as explained below If the memory cell appears marked with an asterisk in front of the number this means that the cell contents is in effect and it is identical with the tuning relay settings in the remote unit If the asterisk is not present there...

Page 16: ...have memorized the tunings for all the frequencies of interest you can retrieve them in an arbitrary order from the memory using the command Ent RCL Recall i e to get them active The tunings do not disappear even after you switch off the power supply i e the tunings memory is nonvolatile After you have activated a memory tuning via an Ent RCL Recall command you may write its content in another mem...

Page 17: ...d in a standard low pass Pi circuit to perform the impedance matching in the remote unit See fig 5 1 and S 5 3 for details The following symbols are used CT comprises a group of 8 capacitors connected in parallel to the transmitter input L comprises a group of nine inductors connected in series between the transmitter input and the antenna output CA comprises a group of six capacitors connected in...

Page 18: ...osses in the feeder For instance moisture could be present below the cable sheath the insulation could be soaked with water unless it is dense or shielding braid corrosion could be present Such a coaxial cable should be replaced since it will cause much power loss and instability in both transmission and reception modes b If an OK is indicated after an AUTO TUNE but you find a bad SWR at the stati...

Page 19: ...fig 2 7 the right yellow arrow and fig 5 1 Find a plastic tooth at the center top of the contact opening the right yellow arrow on fig 5 1 Using a flat tip screwdriver catch the fuse lid with a drawer inside and pull it carefully towards outside Fig 5 1 Pulling out the AC line fuse Inside the drawer you will find two fuses One of them is bare while the second is hidden in a groove The bare fuse is...

Page 20: ...side closely to the RF input connector look at the vertical cover at the left corner on fig 2 2 To access these two fuses you have to unscrew all 8 screws M3x8mm fig 2 2 i and to remove this screen You will see the PCB RF Sensor under the screen with two fuses F1 F2 on it see fig 5 2 Fig 5 2 Fuses on the PCB RF Sensor The fuse F1 on the RF Sensor PCB must be of the ultra rapid type or at least fas...

Page 21: ...ingle capacitor is connected in series to the antenna output CSA that can be activated in the circuit via energizing the relay KCSA The normally closed contacts are used in order to shunt the capacitor when its relay is de energized In this way a 250pF capacitor can be inserted in series to the antenna Besides the components mentioned above there are two balanced transformers TV2 1 and TV2 2 inclu...

Page 22: ...21 Fig 5 1 RF matching circuit schematic diagram plus partly RF Sensor ...

Page 23: ...this way via placing the RFON control signal to a high level the micro controller can safely switch over the matching circuit relays with no danger for their contacts The tuning process runs in a discrete stepping way For each step the micro controller has to alternatively enable and disable the RF power fed to the sensors and to the matching circuit input Thus it can control the RF power as neede...

Page 24: ...nt Should the RCU display indicate a problem look up the message in the list below and before your contact the service of your dealer see S 1 2 try the recommendations about this message The messages are listed in an alphabetic order After having performed the recommendations try the function again In case of necessity of transportation see S 6 3 MESSAGE RECOMMENDATION Action cancelled A tuning ch...

Page 25: ... COM2 to the amplifier s rear panel connector RS232 INTERFACE the amplifier will automatically go to STBY see S 2 4 f Temperature too high Reduce the power fed to the AATU stop transmitting or switch OFF the AATU until the remote unit will get cool Timeout Expired Do not delay applying RF tuning power for more than 20s after you press the AUTO TUNE button Unstable RF Power Do not interrupt the RF ...

Page 26: ... 5MHz 8s 2 4s typical 5 16MHz 4s 1 2s typical h Power supply RCU 230V 10 25 172 253V 50 60Hz 80VA Remote unit fed by RCU output 24VAC 3A i Size weight operating Remote unit W 330mm 13 x D 215mm 8 5 x H 305mm 12 12kg 26 5 lb RCU W 175mm 6 9 x D 255mm 10 x H 77mm 3 2 5kg 5 5 lb j Operating environments Remote unit IP Protection Class IP 53 NEMA Type 3 temperature range 40 to 65 degs Celsius 40 150F ...

Page 27: ...ATU use the original packing as described below First pull the mains plug out of the mains outlet afterwards disconnect all cables from the rear panel of the RCU remove the ground connection last Then remove the top cover of the RCU use a Philips 2 screwdriver and disconnect the optic cable via loosening both optic device knurled plastic nuts of the split sockets and the strain relief on the rear ...

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