AMERITRON RCS-10, Instruction Manual

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Ameritron RCS-10 Instruction Manual
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Wire gauge is not important, as long as the total resistance of the control wire used is less
than 20 ohms. This means very long small-gauge wires will normally work fine. Normal
telephone-type #24 wires will work at distances well over 500 feet. The largest concern
related to wire selection is mechanical life rather than electrical characteristics.
If you use another brand of control head, ports A, B and C are encoded with BCD 1,2,
and 4 respectively. Antenna 1 is BCD zero, while antenna 8 is BCD 7. The switch
requires 12 volts DC of either positive or negative polarity.
Indoor Control Unit
The indoor unit can be located at any convenient location, as long as it is not exposed to
moisture. It should be grounded to the station ground, and preferably powered from a
separate wall adaptor. Current draw is approximately 300mA maximum, but we
recommend a 500mA power supply for headroom.
This unit is polarity sensitive. It requires the following power connection:
The sleeve is negative, and can be grounded or floated at the power supply. The center
pin is positive, and MUST be ground isolated. The supply must be capable of supplying
300mA continuous at 12-15 volts dc, when using the standard RCS-10 outdoor relay box.
To ensure the supply meets these requirements, we recommend using 500mA or larger
power adaptors (“wall-warts”). This unit will accept voltages of 25 volts if you want to
use it with other relay systems.
The rear-panel connections (figure 2) are labeled A through C for BCD control outputs
used with the RCS-10 remote relay box, and 1 through 8 for one-of-eight inputs or
outputs (such as used with RCS-8 and other switching systems). Maximum current
capability is one ampere.