Summary of Contents for PCS Electronics MAXPRO5015+ v2
- Page 1 MAXPRO5015+ v2 High performance FM radio exciter and the perfect pallet driver Manual Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 2 See appendix for additional tips on driving amplifiers. Study local regulations and ensure you are operating in compliance. Never ever operate any exciter/transmitter or amplifier without a properly tuned load/antenna! Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
<RF AMP CONTROL>..........................23 <RF POWER ALC> ............................ 23 DESCRIPTION OF WINDOWS CONTROL PROGRAM................. 24 ................................24 ETUP FM TX ............................... 25 MAIN FM TX ............................27 ALARMS PI, PTY............................... 28 PS0................................29 PS1................................30 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 4 APPENDIX L: COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL EXPLANATION............62 APPENDIX L – WARRANTY AND LEGAL INFO ................... 68 !............................. 68 MPORTANT NOTICE ! ........................68 ARRANTY AND SERVICING ..............................68 EGAL INFO ..........................68 IMITATION OF LIABILITY Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 5 ALSO AVAILABLE FROM WWW.PCS-ELECTRONICS.COM............. 69 REVISIONS AND ERRATA........................70 INDEX................................70 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 6: Introducing The Max Pro 5000+ Fm Exciter Series (V2.0)
- MAXPRO5000+ series has smaller output power adjustment steps (smoother adjustment). - MAXPRO5000+ series has additional alarm for amplifier current and amplifier voltage. - MAXPRO5000+ series is more efficient, it needs less current for the same output power. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 7: Technical Specifications
We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do and remember to tell your friends about it. Please feel free to leave your comments at our website or post your experience in our forum. From all of us we wish you happy broadcasting! Your PCS Electronics team Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 8: Maxpro50Xx+ Rf And Lcd Board Layout
Chapter MAXPRO50XX+ RF and LCD board layout RF board layout Fig. 1: MAX PRO 5000 series + RF board layout Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 9 RF output connection. BNC jack. Use a properly matched FM band antenna. The range and success of your transmissions will depend primarily upon the quality and position of your antenna so invest your energy and money into a proper solution. Poor unreliable connections may damage the final transistor. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 10: Lcd Module Layout
LCD control module is pretty simple and self-explanatory, but let us have a quick look, note you can disable keys by soldering over the “Lock Keys” solder bridge: Fig. 2: LCD module layout, front and back Fig 3: Installing display board into an enclosure, side view Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 11 LCD module, with backlight 14-pin connector for flat cable going to the RF board Microcontroller with software Connections to the IO board (RS232 or USB) Table 2: Description of various elements of the LCD display module Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 12: Rf And Lcd Module Drill Template/Cutout
The pink hole is exclusive to MAX PRO 50XX and MAXPRO4025+, it does not exist in MAXPRO3000+. The other holes are identical to those in MAXPRO3000+. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 13: What's Under The Hood
The block diagram of the MAXPRO5000+ series exciter is shown below. It is simplified as the actual block diagram would be too complex for this manual. Only the basic building blocks of the exciter are shown and briefly explained one by one. Fig. 6: Block diagram of the MAXPRO5000+ series FM exciter Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 14 This is a 14-pin connector, designed for controlling RF amplifiers. You can read more about connecting and controlling amplifiers at the back of this document. Table 3: Description of various blocks of the MAX PRO 5000+ series block diagram Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 15: Before You Start
I hope this basic introduction will not scare you too much, it should be sufficient for the time being although we encourage you to explore this exciting subject further with the help of a book such as the ARRL Antenna Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0872598047/mightyspiraterad Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 16: So What Is This Swr (Vswr) Everyone Talks About
If you ordered and received our mains power supply (which is recommended) you’ll notice the mains cable is not included, but can be obtained in any radio/computer/hardware shop at the cost of about 1 US$. It is the type used in your PC for Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 17: Audio Source With Mixer, Microphone Etc
19KHz notch filters, a limiter and balanced inputs, if possible. Balanced inputs are an instant cure for most noise problems and this is why all professional installations usually take advantage of balanced inputs. Of course you can use any stereo encoder out there. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 18: Wiring Everything Together
- Observe SWR and output power. If everything seems ok you can enter <RF power> menu again and increase power to full. Remove or reposition the power limit jumper (J12) if more power is desired. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 19 Fig. 7: Setting up MAX PRO 50XX+ Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 20: Using The Max Pro 50Xx+ Exciter
<STEREO MODE> You can set your transmitter to MONO or STEREO here. This only works when you connect stereo encoder to the MAX PRO 50xx+ with MAXLINK cable (6-pin flat cable). Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 21: View Select
Digital signal processor starts compressing the signal beyond that point. The higher the ∞ compression ratio the higher the compression. For example, compression ratio of 1: would in effect be a limiter. Fig. 9: Explanation of the compressor settings Fig. 10: Setting the compression level Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 22: Lcd Contrast
This option allows you to precisely adjust the input sensitivity of both audio channels. This is very useful when your audio source has either too high or too low output level. Fig. 16: Changing right input channel gain Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 23: Pll Step
(for example 500W) and exciter will reduce its output power if needed to prevent overdriving. This is a very usefull feature when you are for example building a 500W, 1000W or stronger FM transmitter, it ensures constant power across the band without overdriving. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 24: Description Of Windows Control Program
Use this feature to find correct settings easily. Try different settings and check them by clicking the button. Autoscan Use this feature to find correct settings even more easily. Just click it and wait to program find the connected transmitter by itself. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 25: Fm Tx Main
Transmitter output power Set the desired output power. Stereo/Mono Select audio mode. Audio input level Select audio gain for left and right channel separately. Bass and Treble Select boost level for Bass and Treble. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 26 With longer integration interval, on the other hand, compressor only responds if a long spike or a substantial number of spikes is detected (meaning more signal energy). Threshold: Set the compression threshold. Compression: Set the compression level. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 27: Fm Tx Alarms
Here many operating parameters can be observed including alarms. Threshold values of alarms can be set too. Read TX Click this button to get the current status of your hardware. Auto read TX Check this box to activate automatic continous hardware status reading. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 28: Pi, Pty
This facility is particularly useful in the case of car and portable radios. When the PI code indicates local coverage-area, i.e. only one frequency is used, AF list may contain this frequency. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 29: Ps0
Example: If you wish to just have one static PS, set all delays to 0 and set just PD00 to 1. Than set PS00 to desired statis PS, which will be displayed indefinitely. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 30: Ps1
Next level of PS messages. Last level of PS messages. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 31: Time, Msg
To activate these messages attach 8 switches to header J10 (EXTMSG). These switches must be going to ground from each of the 8 pins and are activated when you ground the corresponding pin. Message is scrolled, if larger than 8 characters. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 32: Auto Ps, Rt
RDS MAX driver to read song name from that file. Also make sure you setup VtitleSpy plugin to limit song name to 64 characters. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 33: About
About Firmware version Here can be found firmware version of your hardware. At least one TX read must be proceeded to get the proper firmware version. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 34: Common Controls
Every time the transmitter status is read, a new audio level value is added at the histogram. Status may be read manually (by clicking Read TX button ) or automatically (by checking Auto TX read checkbox). Levels above 80% are marked in red colour. Status window Some communication activities can be observed here. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 35: Scheduler
Click Add... button to open Add form to add a new line into list box. Edit Select desired line first, then click Edit to open Edit form. Remove Select desired line first, then click Remove to delete it. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 36 Add or Modify Click this button to accept changes. In the case of adding lines more lines can be entered subsequently. Close or Cancel Click this button to finish adding lines or to cancel editing. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 37: Troubleshooting
Next check the troubleshooting table on the next page. If you have problems you cannot solve yourself, please see our website for contact information and support resources in our forum. Fig 17: So, do you think you can handle it? We think you sure can! Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 38 - Did you miss the part about metal enclosure? Put your unit in enclosure!! - Keep audio cables short and away from antenna and RF coaxial cable - Form a coil from coaxial cable going to the antenna, make a few turns. This stops Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 39 If unit is overheating it will start reducing output power, make sure it is sufficiently cooled! Reduced power will return only after you power off and on the unit (or change power setting). Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 40: Limiting Maximum Adjustable Power For Driving Pallets
It seems 1dB will be just perfect. You can use 2x820ohm 2W resistors and 1x5.6ohm 2W resistor. Use regular carbon 2W resistors (not! wire-wound), they will work well for this purpose at 100MHz, just keep the leads very short. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 41: Step4 - Verify Performance Before Connecting The Pallet
PWR trimmer on the PCS LPF 5000/6000/7000 filter. PERFORM STEPS 1-4 BEFORE CONNECTING AMPLIFIER/PALLET! ALWAYS MAKE SURE OUTPUT POWER OF THE EXCITER DOES NOT EXCEED AMPLIFIER INPUT POWER! Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 42: Appendix A: Diy Antenna And Improvement Tips
For a suitable SWR meter check: http://www.pcs-electronics.com/cn101l-daiwa-power-meter-p-347.html If you can’t get much range with your homebrew antenna, have a look at these: http://www.pcs-electronics.com/antennas-c-38.html Still not enough range? Well, how about a 750W amplifier? http://www.pcs-electronics.com/750w-digital-amplifier-19inch-rack-p-1295.html Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 43: Appendix B: Connecting Stereo Encoder
Set the audio level (P1) on MAX PRO 50xx+ so that the stereo indicator on the radio just turns on, than increase it slightly more (make sure you are in stereo mode when you do this alignment). Fig. 20: Connecting stereo encoder to FM exciter. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 44: Appendix C: Adding An Amplifier - Complete Fm Transmitter Block By Block
Voltage rating for mains power supply depends primarily on the type of amplifier used. Most pallets accept 24-28 or 48-50V. You can find all kinds of mains power supplies here at our website: http://www.pcs-electronics.com/transmitter-accesories-mains-power-supply-c-71_74.html Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 45 The board contains directional couplers for power and swr, SWR protection and ALC system. For better description look at the next appendix. We are now shipping these boards and 10 cm Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 46 Insulation in RG58 or similar lossy cheap coaxial cables can literally melt and cause a short between the center and shield already at moderate power levels around 300W. You can buy suitable Teflon coaxial cable here (I suggest RG188 for low power and RG142, RG316, R303 for higher power levels): http://www.pcs-electronics.com/semirigid-25ohm-other-special-coaxial-cable-p-1275.html Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 47: Appendix D: Controlmini 2
Note there is a special solder post for supply voltage (Uamp), connect +24 or +50V from your amplifier mains power supply here. You will be able to monitor this voltage on the LCD. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 48 10. The photo above shows how to attach the two connectors to the flat cable. The 4 left-over cables can be cut off. You can also purchase this cable from our website. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 49: Appendix E: Controlling Output Power - Controlmini 1
Now connect the output that usually goes to the trimmer to the power supplies controlling input. Select mode A or B depending on how output voltage follows control voltage (proportional or inversely proportional). Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 50: Appendix F: Digiamp Connector Pinout
You can use this to construct your own ALC circuit with another directional coupler. TEMP sensor is a 10K NTC resistor, connected to ground. There is also 12K resistor going from this NTC resistor to +5V. Fig. 26: DIGIAMP wiring for power and ALC Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 51: Appendix G: Telemetry Connector Pinout
This can be used to disable transmitter when a switch is closed, for example when a door is opened, if there is no signal from STL or similar. Fig. 27: DIGIAMP pinout Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 52: Appendix H: General Tips For Setting Up Transmitters
MPX signal is passed to its MPX input (all mono transmitters have this input). Such exciters can than optionally drive big amplifiers with powers going into tens of KW with maximum range. You can check our amplifiers here: http://www.pcs-electronics.com/fm-amplifiers-c-41.html You can check our wireless STL links here: http://www.pcs-electronics.com/wireless-audio-links-c-42.html Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 53: Typical Fm Broadcasting Antenna Setups
C to 9dBd you’d need 8 dipoles. And for 12dBd you’d need 16 dipoles. 16 dipoles would in theory increase your range 4x compared to a single dipole. In practice there would be some losses in combining so many dipoles. You can use circular dipoles in very similar configurations. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 54: Wiring Antennas In Multi-Bay Configurations
It is also possible to have cables of different lengths, but you have to know velocity factor of the cable so we have omitted this for simplicity reasons. If you want more info please contact our technical staff. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 55: Appendix I - Using Wireless Audio Links
Fig. 31: Using external stereo/rds processor with wireless link It is important that you set the pre-emphasis on the MAX PRO 50xx+ board to Off (None). If you get stuck or need our advice please contact our technical department. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 56: Appendix J - Io Board And Pc Remote Control
Fig. 32: Setup is about to start Once the installation is done you are ready to start the program. You are now ready to establish connection with the MAX PRO 50xx+ and configure all the parameters. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 57: Configuring Communications Port
Now run the IO BOARD USB-COM port.exe file. Wait for the following screen to appear and select the installation directory (best left alone at default location). Click Install and wait for the installation to finish. Fig. 35: Installing USB driver Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 58: Configuring Usb Driver
If you wish to change this port right click on the PCS USB-COM port and select Properties. Now select the Port settings tab and click Advanced. Note you can set the COM port number as you wish: Fig. 37: Configuring Com port for USB driver Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 59: Appendix K - Setting Up Remote Control Via Ethernet
MAC address is shown on the adapter. Now create and configure a connection between the PC and CYBERMAXFM+ as shown below. Note the IP will differ, but make sure the port is set to 5005! Fig. 30: Seting up Ethernet connection for CYBERMAXFM+, screen 1 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 60 Fig. 31: Seting up Ethernet connection for CYBERMAXFM+, screen 2 Fig. 32: Seting up Ethernet connection for CYBERMAXFM+, screen 3 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 61 Fig. 33: Seting up Ethernet connection for CYBERMAXFM+, screen 4 Fig. 34: Seting up Ethernet connection for CYBERMAXFM+, overview Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 62: Appendix L: Communication Protocol Explanation
VB basic example: MSComm1.Output = "1" 'sets TA to ON <EndByte>: Signals the end of complete incoming command including command/parameter value, it tells encoder to process the received data VB basic example: MSComm1.Output = Chr$(2) ‘End Command and value Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... - Page 63 RTs' coffin" is the fact that typical receiver only displays a maximum of 8-characters at a time meaning the message needs to be scrolled. However popular or unpopular it may be, we support it. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 64 If Len(temp) = 0 Then temp = "000" MSComm1.Output = temp MSComm1.Output = Chr$(2) 'Finished transmission 'Sending PTY MSComm1.Output = Chr$(0) 'Start (0) MSComm1.Output = "PTY" MSComm1.Output = Chr$(1) 'End command and start of data (1) Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 65 'Send PS MSComm1.Output = Chr$(0) 'Start (0) MSComm1.Output = "PS00" MSComm1.Output = Chr$(1) 'End command and start of data (1) temp = “your text” MSComm1.Output = temp MSComm1.Output = Chr$(2) 'Finish command 'Sending ECC Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 66 MSComm1.Output = Chr$(2) 'Finish command 'Sending DSP settings - Integration MSComm1.Output = Chr$(0) 'Start (0) MSComm1.Output = "FDI" MSComm1.Output = Chr$(1) 'End command and start of data (1) MSComm1.Output = Chr$(Integration + 4) Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
- Page 67 'Sending Store command, commits changes MSComm1.Output = Chr$(0) 'Start (0) MSComm1.Output = "FW" MSComm1.Output = Chr$(1) 'End command and start of data (1) temp = 0 MSComm1.Output = temp MSComm1.Output = Chr$(2) 'Finish command Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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Page 68: Appendix L - Warranty And Legal Info
PRODUCT or U.S. $5.00; because some states and jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability, the above limitation may not apply to you. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 69: Also Available From Www.pcs-Electronics.com
- A large number of beginners guides to get you started - A large selection of free schematics is as well available at our website. If you can’t get much range with your homebrew antenna, have a look at these: http://www.pcs-electronics.com Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com... -
Page 70: Revisions And Errata
..............14 grounding ............14 short circuit............14 SWR............14, 15 H-500 ..............15 Technical specifications ........6 key features ............6 Troubleshooting..........23 tune ..............14 LCD module layout ..........9 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
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