Hamplus MBD-8F Operation Manual

MBD-8F is an intelligent controller compatible with all eight-antenna switches manufactured by
Hamplus. It has a band decoder to receive the information coming from the connected radio
addition to antenna switching, the MBD-8F also offers five frequency-driven GPOs ( General Purpouse Output),
one Band Data BCD Output, one output to command Band Pass Filter, 12 GPOs to automate the operation with
TopBeam's Waller Flag receiving antenna. The MBD-8F also commands the RS-24 and RS-44 Rotator switches.
There are four ways that antennas and enabled rotators can be selected; 1) manually by the front panel of the
MBD-8F, 2) manually by frequency or band change on the front panel of the transceiver, 3) automatically by
frequency or band change by the remotely controlled transceiver, or 4) automatically by a remotely controlled
personal computer via RS-232 serial port to the MBD-8F.
On the front panel is a set of eight illuminated push buttons for manual selection of antennas, eight "Busy" LEDs
to indicate which antennas are in use by other MBD-8F Controllers, four LEDs to indicate rotator selection, one
LED to indicate when the radio is transmitting, one LED to indicate the controller is in "Split Antenna" mode and
one LED to indicate when the MBD-8F is connected to +13.8 Vdc power.
Functions and operation
1- Startup (after all cable connections are made to switches, controllers and transceivers)
Powering the MBD-8F will energize the antenna switch relay for the previously, manually selected antenna. Or,
when connected to a transceiver, the controller will check the frequency or band the transceiver has selected
and will immediately trigger and light the push button switch of the last antenna selected at that frequency or
on that band. If connected, the rotator switcher, or other external equipment that is programmed using the GPO
outputs, the MBD-8F will select the last used devices.
2- Activation of the antennas
To choose any antenna, just press the corresponding push button. When the push button is pressed, it changes
the state of the antenna switch control line that activates the corresponding antenna relay on the AS-81, AS-82F,
AS-84F or AS-86F Antenna Switch. It also activates the selected rotator for that antenna through one of the
Rotator Switches, model RS-24 or RS-28, if used. Antenna and rotator switching are reported on the Busy Net
network so the other MBD-8F busy and rotator red LEDs signal, not allowing any other MBD-8F to switch to any
antenna and rotator already in use. Any conflict is signaled on the front panel of the MBD-8F by blinking the
MBD-8F
Automatic Antenna Switch Controller
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