Programming Satellites - RESEARCH CONCEPTS RC2000A DUAL AXIS Instructions Manual

30 RC2000A Dual Axis Antenna Controller Chapter 3 Installation
voltage code of 1 is the minimum voltage which can be delivered to the actuators. A voltage code of 24
is associated with the maximum voltage which can be delivered to the drive.
The azimuth slow speed is set in AZIM SLOW mode. In this mode the SCROLL UP and SCROLL
DOWN keys are used to change the speed code, the LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys can be used to jog
the antenna in azimuth at the selected slow speed, and the ENTER key is used to store the selected
speed code in non-volatile memory.
When jogging the antenna in the AZIM SLOW mode after the speed code has been changed through
the use of the SCROLL UP/DOWN keys, note that it may take 5-10 seconds for the speed to settle out
to a steady state value. Watch the voltage code displayed in the lower right hand corner of the display.
When the steady state condition is reached it should it should slowly toggle back and forth between a
pair of adjacent voltage codes.
After the voltage code settles to a steady state range of values, check the rate of movement to make
sure that it is slow enough to be useful but not so slow that the motor stalls or moves in a jerky fashion.
If the movement is not satisfactory, increase or decrease the speed code using the SCROLL UP and
SCROLL DOWN keys. Increasing the speed code will result in a faster slow speed. For most 36 volt
motors, an appropriate slow speed code will be in the range of from 140 to 175.
The elevation slow speed is set in ELEV SLOW mode. Note the values for the azimuth and elevation
slow speed codes may be set via the CONFIG mode Azim Slow Speed and Elev Slow Speed prompts.
Note that if the speed code for a given axis is set to 254 (the maximum speed code) the slow speed
system is disabled and full voltage is applied to the axis whenever slow speed is selected. If the speed
code is set to 254 and slow speed is selected, the SLOW banner and a voltage code will be displayed,
but the drive will move at fast speed and the voltage code will not change.
3.6

Programming Satellites

After the limits have been set and the slow speed code determined, satellites can be programmed into
the controller's memory. If the controller is used with an elevation over azimuth type of antenna mount,
the user should review this section along with the following section before programming in any
satellites. The following section discusses the display of azimuth and elevation position data in an
angle format and explains the use of the IBM PC programs found on the disk included with the
controller. Displaying the azimuth and elevation position in an angle format can be a great aid in
locating satellites.
All satellites are programmed into memory via SETUP mode. In SETUP mode the user can jog the
antenna in azimuth and elevation to peak up on a satellite, specify the satellite name and jog the
polarization to assign H and V polarization values. This information is retained in the controller's non-
volatile memory. The user can automatically position the antenna on a satellite which has previously
been programmed into memory by invoking the AUTO mode and using the SCROLL UP and SCROLL
DOWN keys followed by the ENTER key to select the satellite.
SETUP mode is straightforward. If the user wishes to assign a satellite name which is not in the list, the
USER entry in the satellite name list may be selected. The user is then prompted to enter an
alphanumeric string using the SCROLL UP, SCROLL DOWN, and ENTER keys.
After the satellite name has been selected the user is prompted to enter in the satellite's longitude
position. If the satellite name came from the controllers internal list, the user is presented with a
longitude value also from the controller's internal list. The range of longitude values accepted by the
controller ranges from 0 to 180 West and 0 to 180 East. Satellites located over North America have
West longitude values. Satellites located over Asia have East longitude values. Some Intelsat literature
gives satellite longitude values in a range of 0 to 359. In this scheme, values from 0 to 180 correspond
to East longitudes. Values from 180 to 359 correspond to West longitudes. To convert from the Intelsat
scheme to the scheme used by the controller, a simple example is presented. If the satellite longitude
is specified as 325 degrees in the Intelsat scheme, to convert to the value needed for entry into the
controller, calculate 360 - 325 (= 35). The value entered into the controller would then be 35.0 West.
The user also has an option in specifying the H/V polarization data. After at least one satellite has been
programmed into non-volatile memory, the user can specify that the horizontal and vertical position data
for a satellite which is about to be entered into non-volatile memory can be copied from the satellite in
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