Manual Interlock-IP – User guide
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Introduction
The Interlock is a device intended for use by multioperator contest groups, which
allows monitoring and control of up to 5 radios, and avoiding rule violation in M/S or
M/2 in so far as number of signals on the air refers.
The interlock connects to each radio through two ways:
•
PTT: This is an output signal (TX) from the radio which pulls to ground
whenever the radio transmits.
•
TX Inhibit: An input signal to the radio which serves to inhibit or
disable transmission of that radio
Note: Not all radios have a TX inhibit input. Rigs such as some Yaesu (FT1000,
1000MP, 2000, etc) or the Elecraft K3 have a connector for TX inhibit
This way, the interlock monitors the TX status of each radio (PTT signal) and after
analyzing priorities and statuses, determines whether it should action the Inhibit in
any of them to block transmission
The interlock has 5 levels of priority and the user assigns a level to each radio, this
level can be changed during a contest. The maximum priority is level 5 and the
minimum priority is level 1. If at a given moment the device detects 2 radios and
determines that one of them should be blocked, it uses the priority level for this. The
radio with the lowest level will be blocked when the Interlock activates the signal
inhibit. In the case of two radios having the same priority level, the last radio to start
transmitting will be the one that is blocked.
It is very important that you read the manual Although the product is
designed to be pure plug & play and is very intuitive, it is worthwhile knowing fully
the different options, both of hardware and software, to be able to get the most
out of it.
