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HAM ©
2016
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ROTATOR TAB
The Rotator tab allows configuring the internal rotator control interface for your particular rotor hardware.
To the left side of the Rotator tab is an azimuth circle with direction needle and orange line around the circle.
The orange line displays the operating range of the rotor; the black areas at the ends of the
spiral
are the portion
of the operating range that is protected by the software limits. The black circle on the spiral shows the current
azimuth in relation to the full operating range. The picture below demonstrates a rotor with multi-turn capability –
in this case slightly over three turns.
The current azimuth is displayed numerically in upper left corner and indicated by the black needed. The “target”
azimuth is displayed in the upper right corner and indicated by the gray needle. When the rotor reaches the
target value, the current and target values will be the same and the black needle will cover the gray one.
The right side of the Rotator tab contains controls for configuring the rotor interface and controlling its operation.
Rotator control parameters
ENABLE ROTATOR:
enables the rotor interface.
ROTATOR CONTROL ALWAYS ACTIVE:
enables control of rotator, even if none is present on the current
band. See description of this feature in OPERATING STATION MASTER chapter, under Antennas
with Rotator heading.
SENSOR:
displays the type of position feedback sensor. Options are:
Analog
if the position feedback is a
potentiometer or variable voltage position signal or
Pulse
for pulse (magnetic/reed switch) feedback.
The sensor type is chosen during the calibration process and can not be changed directly. The
sensor must be connected as described in the “Connecting the Rotator” section of this manual.
AUX OUTPUT:
displays the function of the AUX relay. Options are
Speed, Brake,
or
None.
Aux relay function
is set during the calibration process and can not be changed directly. When set to
Speed,
the rotor
interface energizes the the Aux relay once the antenna has moved a preset distance and releases
the relay a predetermined distance before the target. When set to
Brake,
the rotor interface
energizes the Aux relay before the rotor stats its movement and holds the relay for the “Brake tail”
period after the antenna reaches its target.
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