Page 1 SM06 TAC/COM SERIES Control Head INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL REV 4.10 January 4, 2006 Northern Airborne Technology Ltd. 1925 Kirschner Road Kelowna, BC, Canada. V1Y 4N7 Telephone (250) 763-2232 Facsimile (250) 762-3374 Copyright 2005 by Northern Airborne Technology CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO NORTHERN AIRBORNE TECHNOLOGY LTD.
Page 3: Amendment Record
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Tac/Com Control Head Manual Periodically NAT will release manual amendments. In order to maintain the most accurate and up to date manual these amendments should be carried out immediately upon receipt and recorded on the following amendment record. AMENDMENT RECORD Amendment Amendment...
Page 5: Table Of Contents
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Section Title Description Introduction General 1.2.1 Tac/Com Control Head Family 1.2.2 Accessories Purpose of Equipment 1.3.1 Interface Considerations 1.3.2 Mixed Transceiver System 1.3.3 Radio Capability Increase With Tac/Com 1.3.4 Master/Slave Configuration 1.3.5 Frequency Data Considerations Hardware Design Features & Considerations 1.4.1 General 1.4.2...
Page 7: Section Title Page
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Section Title Troubleshooting 2.5.1 Weak Receive/Transmit, Intermittent Operation, Erratic Squelch 2.5.2 Strange Noises, No Receive Audio, Transmit Keying problems 2.5.3 Some Frequencies Can't be Edited 2.5.4 Display Brightness is Too Low, Can't Increase to Full Brightness 2.5.5 Amber (RX) Squelch light comes on, but no RX audio is heard.
Page 9: Section 1 Description
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Introduction This manual contains information on the NAT Tac/Com control heads. All derivative products and interface cards will be covered by manual supplements, which can be obtained from NAT as required. Information in this section consists of purpose of equipment, features and specifications. General The Tac/Com control head provides exceptional flexibility and ease of operation while using minimal panel space.
Page 10: Tac/Com Control Head Family
Tac/Com Control Head Manual SM06 Rev. 4.10 The Tac/Com control head carries its own operator's manual in internal software, and can provide on-line help to the operator for all functions. An initial help mode at power- up can provide a complete tutorial of the control head and its operating and storage functions, and pressing the HELP button during either EDIT operation brings up context-sensitive help for the specific storage or data entry function being carried out.
Page 11: Accessories
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Four-Radio Control Heads 1.2.2 Accessories The Tac/Com family encompasses numerous specialized accessories to extend system capability, as well as transceivers and the control heads reviewed in this manual. NAT transceiver capabilities are covered in separate manuals. additional system components include: 1.2.2.1 Remote Mount VHF FM Transceivers *NT030A-xxx...
Page 12 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 1.2.2.3 TE12/DTE12/DP12 DTMF Tone Generator/Keyboard Data Entry Unit These devices can output DTMF signalling tones from either keyboard control or stored sequences, and can serve as a direct keyboard data entry system for Tac/Com control heads to change channels and frequencies. Consult NAT Ltd. for further information. 1.2.2.4 RA10 Remote Attenuator This group of remote signal attenuators can be used to alter receive and transmit...
Page 13: Purpose Of Equipment
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Purpose of Equipment The Tac/Com series of control heads provides a centralized location for tactical radio control and channelling of up to four independent transceiver systems. Tac/Com II series will be considered; for further information, contact NAT Ltd.
Page 14: Interface Considerations
Tac/Com Control Head Manual 1.3.1 Interface Considerations Tac/Com offers direct plug compatibility for replacement of C-962/A and C-722/A control heads (for use with the RT-9600 and RT-7200), including the second audio connector. For USFS applications, Tac/Com provides some additional capability when used with the RT-9600.
Page 15: Radio Capability Increase With Tac/Com
SM06 Rev. 4.10 1.3.3 Radio Capability Increase With Tac/Com Wherever possible, NAT has increased the capability of other transceivers via the Tac/Com control head, and those features are summarized below, compared to the original controls: Feature Tac/Com I Stored Channels 32/56 per Radio 38 + 83 DPL PL Tones*...
Page 16: Master/Slave Configuration
Tac/Com Control Head Manual SM06 Rev. 4.10 1.3.4 Master/Slave Configuration One powerful configuration that NAT's Tac/Com controls support is the master/slave configuration. In this configuration, two controls can be active at the same time (flight crew and medical crew, for example), and both can select channels and radios. The extraordinary aspect of this interface is the fact that this interconnect requires only 6 additional wires to give full support to both stations.
Page 17: Frequency Data Considerations
SM06 Rev. 4.10 1.3.5 Frequency Data Considerations Tac/Com controls have an intelligent editor that prevents incorrect data entry when programming frequencies for a given agile radio. VHF radios can receive only valid VHF frequencies; UHF radios only UHF frequencies at the correct intervals, and so on. This greatly eases operator use, and prevents many common pilot errors.
Page 18: Hardware Design Features & Considerations
Tac/Com Control Head Manual Hardware Design Features & Considerations 1.4.1 General The Dzus mounted Tac/Com control heads use extremely high quality components, including sealed gold contact switches, gold contact connectors and fully masked, conformal-coated FR4 flame retardant circuit boards. Each unit is fully temperature cycled, life-tested, and then supported with a solid one-year warranty and extensive field support to ensure the best possible customer satisfaction.
Page 19: Specifications
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Specifications 1.5.1 Electrical Specifications Input Power: Current: Panel Indicators: Channel Storage: Data Interface: Scanning: Jan 4, 2006 ENG-FORM: 800-0108.DOT CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO NORTHERN AIRBORNE TECHNOLOGY LTD. Tac/Com Control Head Manual 16-33 Vdc. 0.25 A/LED Control 250 Series 0.35 A/LED Control 350 Series 0.45 A/LED Control 450 Series 0.15 A/LCD Control 400 Series...
Page 20: Physical Specifications
Internal Controls: Tac/Com I Only, pre-s/n 1129: QA/Manufacturing Processes: Page 1-12 ENG-FORM: 800-0108.DOT CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO NORTHERN AIRBORNE TECHNOLOGY LTD. Tac/Com Series 250/260 and 350/360 450A 450B and 460B 450/460 6.27 inches (159.3 mm) excluding connector 5.8 inches (146.1 mm) 2.2 to 2.9 lbs (1 kg to 1.3 kg) depending on model...
Page 21: Environmental Specifications
SM06 Rev. 4.10 1.5.3 Environmental Specifications Altitude: Temperature: Humidity: Vibration: Unit Nomenclature Tac/Com control heads are identified by two groups of numbers. The first defines the general capability of the control head in terms of the total number of radios controlled and type of display, and the second specifically defines the display filter and backlight type, as well as the radio types supported.
Page 22: Display Type
Tac/Com Control Head Manual 1.6.3 Display Type TH450 - 00 = LCD Display, Master (Discontinued) 10 = LCD Display, Slave (Discontinued) 50 = LED Display, Master 60 = LED Display, Slave 1.6.4 Display Filter/Lighting Suffix Information TH260 - 0 = Yellow/Green LED Filter, or Clear LCD Filter, Natural 28 Vdc lighting. (LCD Standard) 1 = Dark Green LED Filter, NVG-friendly LED 28 Vdc lighting 2 = Dark Green LED Filter, Natural 28 Vdc lighting.
Page 23: Interface-Specific Suffix Information
SM06 Rev. 4.10 1.6.5 Interface-Specific Suffix Information The position of the digit in the code reflects the position of the card in the control. The code position from left to right equals the relevant card position from top to bottom. TH450 - A = ARINC 2 of 5 Comm B = Blank (No Controls)
Page 25: Section 2 Installation
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Introduction Information in this section consists of: unpacking and inspection procedures, installation procedures, post-installation checks, and installation drawings. Unpacking and Inspection Unpack the equipment carefully and locate the warranty card. Inspect the unit visually for damage due to shipping and report all such claims immediately to the carrier involved.
Page 26: Cautions
Tac/Com Control Head Manual 2.3.2 Cautions All audio installations can be severely degraded by incorrect wiring and shielding, and may result in much higher cross-talk, hum, and ground-loop interference. This should be considered when installing audio wiring to and from the specific radio. Both the audio Hi and Lo wires must be connected from the radios (audio outputs are floating transformer windings on NT-series radios), and should be grounded only at the audio panel via the audio common.
Page 27: Mechanical Mounting
Mounting is accomplished in a standard Dzus rack or rail assembly with a clearance opening of 5", and full width dimension of 5.75". The rail height required for mounting the various control heads is shown below. Tac/Com Series 250/260 and 350/360 450A...
Page 28: Post Installation Checks
Tac/Com Control Head Manual Post Installation Checks Before the unit is permanently mounted, perform the following functional tests and make any needed adjustments and switch or jumper settings. Ensure that the unit is securely mounted before any flight is attempted. 2.4.1 Voltage/Resistance Checks DO NOT ATTACH THE TAC/COM CONTROL HEAD UNTIL THE FOLLOWING...
Page 29 SM06 Rev. 4.10 Make the following performance checks (refer to Section 3, Operation): Confirm that the desired radios are installed in the assigned Tac/Com control head slots (this data appears at power-up on the display). If any aspect of the radio assignments is incorrect, or if messages such as 'waiting for slave' appear when there is no slave, etc., the set-up of the control head may be incorrect.
Page 30: Troubleshooting
Tac/Com Control Head Manual Troubleshooting 2.5.1 Weak Receive/Transmit, Intermittent Operation, Erratic Squelch Ensure all antenna mounts are secure, cleanly grounded, and well terminated. Avoid sharp coax cable bends or crushed coax from tie wraps. Never mount any antenna on a composite surface unless a well-grounded and adequately sized (equal in radius to the height of the antenna) ground plane has been provided.
Page 31 There is currently no Technical Standing Order (TSO) for FM Communication systems, regardless of manufacturer. Continued Airworthiness Maintenance of the Tac/Com Series control heads is ‘on condition’ only. Periodic maintenance of this product is not required. Jan 4, 2006 ENG-FORM: 805-0108.DOT CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO NORTHERN AIRBORNE TECHNOLOGY LTD.
Page 32 Tac/Com Control Head Manual Installation Drawings This section has the complete interconnect drawing set for all installations, both current and previous revisions. Be sure to use the correct drawings for your installation. Any unique notes for a given installation type appear in the relevant Interface Card Supplement and in Section 2.3.5.
Page 39 Confidential and Proprietary to NAT...
Page 75: Section 3 Operation
SM06 Rev. 4.10 Introduction Information in this section consists of the functional and operating procedures for the Tac/Com Control Heads. General To understand the operation of the Tac/Com control, a quick review of basic FM radio operation is helpful here. It is normally a requirement to carry out the following general operations on any FM radio system.
Page 76 Tac/Com Control Head Manual Initial Operation 3.3.1 Power-up Help Turn the Tac/Com system on by rotating any radio volume control away from the OFF detent position. The software revision number will be briefly displayed, followed by a screen presenting an option for use of the on-line HELP system, as shown below. HE LP=Instruction RADIO=Operation If help is selected (i.e., the HELP button is pushed), the control head will present a...
Page 77 SM06 Rev. 4.10 NAT NT-150 or WULFS RT-7200 (etc.) This is the radio type designated for that transceiver slot in the control head (RT1-4), and will change if either the interface card, the stored software set-up or hardware jumper selections are changed in the control head. This message is to advise what the control head thinks should be in that interface slot.
Page 78 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 3.4.1 Radio Specific Controls Radio specific controls allow the general operation and function of each radio to be modified independently. The radios are identified as 'RT1, RT2', etc. to the left of the display, and the line of text continues through the display to connect to the specific controls for that radio on the right hand side of the control head.
Page 79 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.4.1.2 RX (Receive) Volume Control The RX volume control is adjusted via the round knob for each radio. Rotating this control fully counter-clockwise to OFF turns the specific radio off. If all controls are OFF, then the control head itself turns off. 3.4.1.3 RX/TX Status Indicator Next to the volume controls are bi-colour indicators that display TX (Transmit) status or...
Page 80 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 3.4.1.4 Radio Mode Switch The last radio specific control is the MODE or FUNCTION switch, which varies with the type of radio used. For NT-series transceivers, it selects either NORM or SCAN modes of operation, as specifically defined in the status line. For NT-series transceivers scanning occurs at 90 channels/second/radio, and the following scan modes (defined in the status edit mode) are: LIST (up to a block of 32 channels/list).
Page 81 SM06 Rev. 4.10 Tac/Com Control Head Manual The TOP ROW is for NORMAL OPERATION. CHAN RADIO SELECT NEXT EDIT HELP The BOTTOM ROW is for EDITING. To show that they are related, engraved panel lines tie the EDITING functions together. The alternate EDITING functions become active whenever the EDIT switch is in any position other than OFF.
Page 82 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 3.4.2.2 CHAN -/+ Toggle Switch - NORMAL Operation Channel Switch To change channels, press the CHAN switch in the desired direction, either + for ascending, or - for descending numbers. Channel selection can also be accomplished remotely if the remote channelling switch is installed.
Page 83 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.4.2.4 EDIT Switch Function - NORMAL Operation When the EDIT switch is in the centre-off locked position, all editing functions are off, and the control is in normal operation. It the switch is set to any other position, then editing is active, and either radio or channel data can be altered by the operator.
Page 84 Tac/Com Control Head Manual SM06 Rev. 4.10 Editing Editing is the general term for changing any information stored in the Tac/Com control head. There are two basic types of editing that can be selected from the front panel of the control head.
Page 85 SM06 Rev. 4.10 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 3.5.1 Channel Editing EDIT Switch When the EDIT switch is in the CH position, the ID, RX, and TX information may be edited. The position or character to be edited will flash or blink on and off. When channel editing of data is in progress, operation of the radios is suspended, and the dual function edit switches work in the following way: 3.5.1.1...
Page 86 Tac/Com Control Head Manual SM06 Rev. 4.10 Depending on which way the SELECT switch is set (+ or -), the choices will move around the circle in either direction. The editor removes numbers from this circle that don't apply to the particular cursor position. For example, VHF High Band radios can only have a 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 in the 10's of MHz position, so no other numbers are permitted during editing from the front panel in this location.
Page 87 SM06 Rev. 4.10 Note that a STAR appears at the right side of the RT #2 ID label in the diagram below. This means that the channel discrete line is enabled for that channel. This is a line to control external switching of a special function. It is programmed just like a scan flag, by advancing to that position with the NEXT button, and then toggling the entry with the SELECT switch.
Page 88 Tac/Com Control Head Manual SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.5.2 Summary of Channel Editing For each channel stored in the control head, there are three possible data entries; identification label (ID), receive frequency (RX) and transmit frequency (TX). equipped, the radio may also have tone and scan information associated with these entries.
Page 89 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.5.3 Summary of Channel Labels Tac/Com permits two kinds of channel numbers (set at installation time) for ease of use and as a memory aid. Block numbers begin with a letter, a-d, and have 32 channels per block.
Page 90 Tac/Com Control Head Manual As soon as the data is loaded into the radio, the next channel in the next block appears (d32). Channels wrap around from highest to lowest, so that it is never necessary to reverse direction to advance to any channel. 3.5.4 Summary of Subaudible Tones Subaudible tones are sometimes used to screen unwanted transmissions on shared...
Page 91 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.5.4.2 CTCSS or Subaudible Tone Table The following table shows the relationship of the supported tone codes. All of these are available in the control head, and when editing, the SELECT slew switch (+/-) will bring up only valid choices for each type of code. positions of the channel data will bring up the tone table for reference.
Page 92 Tac/Com Control Head Manual The additional codes and frequency display were added in the new control head software in 1991 for USFS/OAS contracts. Tone data is often received in the EIA sequential number format, or as the raw frequency, and requires additional tone support for ease of use.
Page 93 SM06 Rev. 4.10 Tac/Com Control Head Manual Status Line Editing The status lines for each radio contain all the extra functions supported by the radio. Because this is largely defined in software, it also provides a very cost-effective method of upgrading the system performance or features through simple software (EPROM) changes, rather than radical panel re-design.
Page 94 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 3.6.1 NEXT and SELECT Switch Use SIMPLEX This choice will cycle with the SELECT switch. TX MODE This function will cycle with the NEXT switch. Cycling SELECT will change the choice displayed for any given function. To advance to the next function, press NEXT, and it will appear.
Page 95 SM06 Rev. 4.10 To illustrate the choices possible in the STATUS EDIT MODE, the following diagram shows all the current options and choices for an NT-series transceiver. While this appears complicated as a chart, it is very simple to use and just represents a sequence of clear choices that cycle around for user selection.
Page 96 Tac/Com Control Head Manual This is used where the tones are needed only to open the repeater and serve no RX squelch function. 3.6.2.3 POWER= Some radios, such as NAT's NT-series and the RT-9600/7200 support a high and low power transmitter function. altitude, and must be set to low TX power above 5,000' for legal operation.
Page 97 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.6.2.8 PWR-UP CHAN= This is the channel the control head will go to when it is powered up. This may be set for each radio. On early Tac/Com I controls, only a specific channel could be set, but current generation Tac/Com I &...
Page 98 Tac/Com Control Head Manual NAT NTX138 radios provide wide-band and narrow-band operation. The bandwidth flag indicates the selected mode. transmit deviation mode. When a wide-band mode. When a band mode A typical NTX138 ID line might look like this a01= FORESTRY Channel 3.7.2 Display Switch Set to 'RX'...
Page 99 SM06 Rev. 4.10 Changing Display Brightness There is one additional display function, which is the INTENSITY/CONTRAST setting. On LED controls, this is selected by advancing the cursor past the bottom radio. The display brightness screen below will be shown. On a two radio control, simply press the RADIO button two times if the cursor is set to the top radio, or once if set to the bottom radio, and the screen below will appear.
Page 100 Tac/Com Control Head Manual approximately 90 channels/second. It takes almost half a second to provide tone or DPL decoding, which would result in virtually useless scanning of 2 channels/second. It is therefore recommended that when using either the NT150 or the NTX138, the tones should be turned off to prevent slow scanning.
Page 101 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.9.1 Scan Modes If priority scan channels are enabled through the status editing mode, the channel label will then be followed by the ident: P1 or P2 viewed in the ID display mode, indicating priority status. If the channel was added to the list scan mode, the SC flag will also be displayed when viewing the channel label.
Page 102 Tac/Com Control Head Manual 3.9.1.3 LIST+PRIORITY Scanning In this mode, both LIST & PRIORITY features are combined, so that a list can be checked while still periodically testing for activity on two priority channels. This is a new feature and only exists on software revisions 2.13 and later for Tac/Com II, and 1.45 and later for Tac/Com I controls.
Page 103 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.11 Master Edit Mode USE THIS MODE WITH GREAT CARE. SERIOUS PROBLEMS CAN DEVELOP IF THIS MODE IS USED INCORRECTLY, RESULTING IN SEVERE CHANNELING DIFFICULTY. This mode is intended for service related activities, but is presented here briefly for reference, and to aid with any field related data problems.
Page 104 Tac/Com Control Head Manual SM06 Rev. 4.10 Anything visible on the screen may now be edited, SO BE CAREFUL!!! If channel numbers are being changed, be sure that they are CORRECT! A mistake here can be very difficult to correct later. IMPORTANT! This mode stays active until the unit is powered down, and is active for ALL RADIOS, not just the one initially selected.
Page 105 SM06 Rev. 4.10 3.12 Installation & Configuration Mode This mode of operation is also not required for normal operation and is intended to aid in servicing and control head set-up. Some firmware functions of the control head can be set via this mode, including the following installation parameters: -Transceiver selection for each interface slot.
Page 106 Tac/Com Control Head Manual Using the normal editing procedure (SELECT/NEXT), select a valid option for each feature presented. The configuration mode may not be left until all options are completed. It is up to you to ensure that the selected options are compatible with each other and with the hardware being used.
Page 107 SM06 Rev. 4.10 FEATURE VALID OPTIONS CHANS. INST. 6, 12, 16, 22, 32, 64, 80, 96, 99, 100, 125, 126, 127, 128 **RT9600 TONES 8, 32 **RT9600 GRD NONE, ST-ED, F/P **NTX MODE FM ONLY/FM & AM **RT9600 P/BW P/BW **NT GRD INST YES, NO **NT136...

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Northern Airborne Technology TAC/COM SERIES Installation And Operation Manual

1 Section 1 Description

2 Section 2 Installation

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Summary of Contents for Northern Airborne Technology TAC/COM SERIES

Page 3: Amendment Record

Page 5: Table Of Contents

Page 7: Section Title Page

Page 9: Section 1 Description

Page 10: Tac/Com Control Head Family

Page 11: Accessories

Page 13: Purpose Of Equipment

Page 14: Interface Considerations

Page 15: Radio Capability Increase With Tac/Com

Page 16: Master/Slave Configuration

Page 17: Frequency Data Considerations

Page 18: Hardware Design Features & Considerations

Page 19: Specifications

Page 20: Physical Specifications

Page 21: Environmental Specifications

Page 22: Display Type

Page 23: Interface-Specific Suffix Information

Page 25: Section 2 Installation

Page 26: Cautions

Page 27: Mechanical Mounting

Page 28: Post Installation Checks

Page 30: Troubleshooting

Page 75: Section 3 Operation

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