PCS Electronics CyberMax Series Manual

And universal amplifier control board v4.0
Table of Contents

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CyberMax series amplifiers
And Universal Amplifier control Board v4.0
Manual
Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com

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Table of Contents
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Summary of Contents for PCS Electronics CyberMax Series

  • Page 1 CyberMax series amplifiers And Universal Amplifier control Board v4.0 Manual Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 2 BEFORE YOU CONNECT AMPLIFIER TO THE EXCITER FIRST MAKE SURE EXCITER OUTPUT POWER DOES NOT EXCEED AMPLIFIER MAX. INPUT POWER. EVEN A VERY BRIEF OVERLOAD OF YOUR AMPLIFIER'S INPUT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE AMPLIFIER. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    <TEMP ALARM> ................9 <SWR ALARM> ................9 <U AMP ALARM> ................9 <DRIVE LIMIT> ................9 <OUTPUT LIMIT> ................. 10 <FIRMWARE VER> ..............10 <PASSWORD> ................10 WINDOWS CONTROL PROGRAM – CyberMaxAmp+ v4.1 .. 11 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 4 Temperature sensors ..............28 DIGIAMP interface ................ 28 Standby switch (J8) and LED (J10)..........28 BIAS DISABLE output ..............28 ON-BOARD attenuator ..............28 Appendix F – Warranty and legal info ........30 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 5 Warranty and servicing! ..............30 Legal info ..................30 Limitation of liability ............... 30 Also available from www.pcs-electronics.com ......30 Revisions and errata .............. 31 Index ..................32 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 6: Cybermax Series Amplifiers

    With new v40 control board CyberMax series amplifiers are available for analog or DAB+ radio signal, analog or digital TV signal and other special bands. They monitor output power, drive power, reflected power, amplifier supply currents and voltages and internal temperatures.
  • Page 7: Front And Back Panel Layout

    Some models also have VU meter (4 bars). When used for amplifier only last w bars work (power and reflected power). Table 1: Front panel in 2H model Fig. 2: Back panel for 2H model Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 8 Balanced audio inputs, left and right channel XLR (Canon). Only when used as FM transmitter. Ethernet (optional) port for remote control. Not shown. There is also N female RF input connector. Table 2: Back panel for 2H model Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 9: 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 10: So What Is This Swr (Vswr) Everyone Talks About

    Signal exciter for your amplifier Make sure the driving exciter/signal source is of power level the amplifier is designed for. Over-driving and under-driving both results in poor performance or even damage. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 11: Wiring Everything Together

    Wiring everything together Wiring things up and first power-up Wiring the CyberMax series amplifier is easy, just make sure you read the previous chapter and setup antenna, cable and exciter properly. - Make sure your antenna is ok (low reflected power).
  • Page 12: Menu System And Settings

    Select the temperature at which the fan will automatically turn on. You can also set it to run all the time or never turns on. Fig. 4: Setting amplifier temperature at which the fan turns on automatically Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 13: View Select

    You can set the sensitivity of amplifier current alarm here. We recommend you set these according to your amplifier. Current meter accuracy is not very high so allow for some tolerance. Some models don’t have current meter enabled. Fig. 8: Current alarm Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 14: Temp Alarm

    You can set the level of input drive at which the gain of amplifier will fall once this level is reached. This can help protect against excessive driving of amplifier. Fig. 12: Drive power limit Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 15: Output Limit

    Once you’re happy with the highlighted number you can move on to the next one by pressing menu key. Starting from the left you slowly move towards the end until all numbers are changed. Default password is 000. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 16: Windows Control Program - Cybermaxamp+ V4.1

    The selected COM port must match the COM port detected under Device Manager. To open device manager, enter “Device Manager” into search box in Windows, than click Device Manager: Fig. 16: COM port in device manager must match the one in CyberMaxAmp program. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 17: Cybermaxamp+ Program Explained

    (Read TX or Auto read TX). Update logo Changes the welcome text when you power-up the amplifier. This feature is experimental so we don’t give you any warranty for changing logo – welcome text. Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 18: Troubleshooting

    Fig 18: So, do you think you can handle it? We think you sure can! Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 19: Problem Description

    SWR. You may need to adjust SWR ALARM slightly higher (but first make sure your antenna and cable are OK). Unit blows fuses and draws excessive You may have burned the output transistor. current Table 3: Troubleshooting amplifiers Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 20: Appendix A - Io Board And Pc Remote Control

    (you cannot read the RDS data, we are working on adding this functionality at some time in the future). Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 21: Using Existing Com Port

    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: Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 22: Setting Up Com Port In Cybermaxfm+ Program

    USB it will usually be COM5, when using RS232 it will usually be COM1 or 2. You can use Communication test tool to verify the selected COM port. Fig. 24: Set COM port to 1 or 2 for RS232 IO board Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 23: Appendix B - Setting Up Remote Control Via Ethernet

    Now create and configure a connection between the PC and CYBERMAXAMP+ as shown below. Note the IP will differ, but make sure the port is set to 5005! Fig. 25: Setting up Ethernet connection for CYBERMAXFM+, screen 1 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 24 Fig. 26: Setting up Ethernet connection, screen 2 Fig. 27: Setting up Ethernet connection, screen 3 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 25 Fig. 28: Setting up Ethernet connection, screen 4 Fig. 29: Setting up Ethernet connection, overview Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 26: Appendix C - Universal Amplifier Control Board Layout

    Appendix Appendix C – Universal amplifier control board layout Main board layout Fig. 30: Universal amplifier control board v4.0 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 27 J2 - Digiamp header, carries all relevant signals from PCS LPF 5000 PCS LPF 6000 filter boards (they include current meter), greatly simplifying design and assembly. Table 5: Description of various elements of the Universal Amplifier Control Board v4.0 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 28: Lcd Module Layout

    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 6: Description of various elements of the LCD display module Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 29: Rf And Lcd Module Drill Template/Cutout

    LCD control module is pretty simple and self-explanatory, but let us have a quick look; Fig. 33: LCD module cutout and holes, all measurements in mm Fig. 34: Drill template for main board Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 30: Appendix D - How Does It Work

    The block diagram of the amplifier control board in a system is shown below. It is simplified as the actual block diagram would be too complex for this manual. Only the basic building blocks are shown and briefly explained one by one. Fig. 35: Block diagram of the Amplifier Control Board v4.0 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 31 Universal amplifier control board v4.0 FM amplifier under control LCD control module TEMP sensor, 10K NTC resistor 5000 or 6000 series filter from PCS Electronics RF drive On-board 12V power from on-board DCDC converter, 2A max (including 12V fan) Automatic 48V FAN Automatic 12V FAN Table 6: Description of various blocks of the Universal Amplifier Board v4.0...
  • Page 32: Controlling The Power

    TV amplifiers. Low power adjustable attenuators are relatively easy to construct. For more advanced users here is a diagram of the control circuitry. Fig. 37: Diagram of the control circuitry of the Amplifier Control Board v4.0 Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 33: Appendix E - Wiring The Amplifier Control Board V4.0

    Using a small attenuator at the input of an amplifier is recommended and levels up the matching between the exciter and the amplifier. The on-board attenuator can take about 5-7W of power and also supplies a small sample of the signal to the Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 34 If you do not wish to use it draw a small sensor wire from the RF input of the control board to the RF input of the amp (just couple it loosely via 1pF-10pF capacitor depending on used frequency band). Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 35: Appendix F - Warranty And Legal Info

    - 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 36: Revisions And Errata

    Revisions and errata V1.0 (August,2020): Release version Please report any errors you see in this manual, you will be helping us and many other users out there. Thank you! Brought to you by PCS Electronics, www.pcs-electronics.com...
  • Page 37: Index

    Index block diagram, 7 menu system, 11 LCD module layout, 5 module drill template, 6 Lock Keys, 5 Technical specifications, 2 Main board layout, 3 Troubleshooting, 14...

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