Pickering LXI 60-891-045 User Manual
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Pickering LXI 60-891-045 User Manual

Custom microwave unit
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60-891-045 User Manual
LXI Custom Microwave Unit
pickeringtest.com
Issue 1.0, August 2023

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Summary of Contents for Pickering LXI 60-891-045

  • Page 1 60-891-045 User Manual LXI Custom Microwave Unit pickeringtest.com Issue 1.0, August 2023...
  • Page 2 © Copyright (2023) Pickering Interfaces. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, translated or stored in any form, or by any means without the written permission of Pickering Interfaces. Technical details contained within this publication are subject to change without notice.
  • Page 3 Pickering Interfaces strives to fulfil all relevant environmental laws and regulations and reduce wastes and releases to the environment. Pickering Interfaces aims to design and operate products in a way that protects the environment and the health and safety of its employees, customers and the public. Pickering Interfaces endeavours to develop and manufacture products that can be produced, distributed, used and recycled, or disposed of, in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.

  • Page 4: Product Safety

    Product Safety Safety Symbols The following safety symbols may be used on the product and throughout the product documentation. Meaning/Description Symbol PROTECTIVE EARTH (GROUND) To identify any terminal which is intended for connection to an external conductor for protection against electric shock in case of a fault, or the terminal of a protective earth (ground) electrode.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Installing the Software ..............................3.3 ............................3.3 Soft Front Panel Operation Section 4 Programming Guide .................................4.1 Programming Options for Pickering LXI Units ......................4.1 Programming the Microwave Unit ..........................4.2 Command Line Control ..............................4.8 Using the Soft Front Panel ............................4.14 Section 5 Connectors ..................................5.1 Section 6 Troubleshooting ................................6.1...
  • Page 6 Contents Section 7 Maintenance Information ..............................7.1 .............................7.2 Microwave Unit Parts List ..............................7.5 General Maintenance Appendix A Fitting Rack Mounting Flanges ............................A.1 Page (vi)

  • Page 7: Warnings And Cautions

    If the unit has removable modules, unused slots in the chassis must be populated with blanking panels to prevent access to user I/O signals that may be present. Blanking panels are available to order from Pickering. If the product is not used in this manner for example by using an extender card then additional care must be taken to avoid contact with exposed signals.
  • Page 8 Warnings & Cautions CAUTION - Product Documentation Symbol Suitably qualified & trained users should ensure that the accompanying documentation is fully read and understood before attempting to install or operate the product. Safety Instructions Safety Instructions All cleaning and servicing requires the equipment to be isolated and disconnected from the power source and user I/O signals (refer to the Maintenance Section).
  • Page 9 We are able to offer other microwave switching solutions, if Controlling the System you have a custom requirement for switching please contact your local Pickering Interfaces sales representative. The 60-891-045 is controlled through an LXI interface based on Ethernet 1000Base-T. This provides a quick and easy...
  • Page 10 Specifications 60-891-045 Section 1 - Technical Specification General Unit Information Specifications – 6 GHz 4-Way Power Splitter/Combiner Configuration: Five SP10T terminated microwave switches, Operating Frequency: 0.5 - 6 GHz Single 4-Way Power Characteristic Impedance: 50 Ω Divider and Triple 12-Way Connectors: Power Divider Insertion Loss:...
  • Page 11 Specifications 60-891-045 Section 1 - Technical Specification Power Source Cooling Fan assisted cooling, front air intakes and rear exhaust. Universal AC mains supply, 90-120/200-240 V 50-60 Hz Power Inlet: Male IEC connector Operating/Storage Conditions Power Rating: 100 VA maximum Fuse Rating: 5 A, 250 V Operating Temperature: 0 °C to +55 °C...

  • Page 12: Technical Specification

    5xSP10T Terminated, 18 GHz SMA, Plus Power Dividers: 60-891-045 Product Customization Pickering LXI units are designed and manufactured on our own flexible manufacturing lines, giving complete product 60-891-001 LXI 36:1 Microwave Multiplexer. Available With SMA Connectors (18 GHz) or BNC control and enabling simple customization to meet very Connectors (4 GHz).

  • Page 13: Technical Description

    Bridge board. Programming information for the processor is sent to the unit via the LAN interface from a remote computer using the unit’s unique Ethernet address. Programming documentation for the unit as well as data for Pickering’s other LXI compatible switching products is stored in the embedded processor and can be downloaded over the LAN interface.

  • Page 14: Installation

    The module is designed for indoor use only. Pre-operation Checks (Unpacking) 1. Check the module for transport damage and report any damage immediately to Pickering Interfaces. Do not attempt to install the product if any damage is evident. 2. Ensure that the designated area for the product is of flat and solid construction to support its weight.

  • Page 15: Setting The Ip Address

    Section 3 - Installation Figure 3-2. Rear view of the Microwave Unit showing the mains supply connection, LAN socket, IP address display & cooling air outlets Setting the IP Address To use the 60-891-045 Microwave Unit over a LAN connection it should be set up and configured as described in the “LXI Getting Started Guide”...

  • Page 16: Installing The Software

    Section 3 - Installation Figure 3-4. Example configuration window used to manually set the IP address of a Pickering LXI device Installing the Software From the device web page, select ‘Driver Download’ from the menu at the left of the page. This will retrieve the driver from the instrument and install it on your PC.
  • Page 17 Section 4 - Programming Programming Options for Pickering Interfaces LXI Units For information on the installation and use of drivers and the programming of Pickering’s products in various software environments, please refer to the Software User Manual. This is available as a download from: pickeringtest.com/support/software-drivers-and-downloads...

  • Page 18: Programming The Microwave Unit

    Section 4 - Programming Programming the Microwave Unit The 60-891-045 is a custom microwave unit constructed from five 10-channel (SP10T) terminated microwave switches as well as 4 and 12-channel power dividers. Signals paths on the SP10T switches can be set between the common terminal and any one of the 10 positions or to no connection.
  • Page 19 Section 4 - Programming Table 4-1. 60-891-045 LXI Microwave Unit - Sub-unit/Bit Allocation Switch Signal Path Signal Path Switch No. Sub-unit Type (relay energized) (relay de-energized) RL1 C to 1 RL1 Open RL1 C to 2 RL1 Open RL1 C to 3 RL1 Open RL1 C to 4 RL1 Open...
  • Page 20 Direct I/O Driver, piplx The Direct I/O driver is composed of a suite of separate libraries which interact to provide full control of a Pickering LXI unit. In the case of a switch card the communications library picmlx, and the switching library piplx, are needed.
  • Page 21 The following code snippet demonstrates the minimum steps required to operate a switch on a Pickering LXI unit. Firstly a device session is opened on the card located at bus 0, device 20 inside the LXI unit located at 192.168.1.100.
  • Page 22 Figure 4-2. 60-891-045 LXI Microwave Unit - IVI Architecture Showing Channel Names (default switch positions shown) The implementation of a MUX switch (comA to comE) in the Pickering driver requires explicit disconnection of a previously connected path before a new path may be selected.
  • Page 23 Section 4 - Programming SSH (Secure SHell) Interface Refer to the section “Command Line Control of Pickering LXI Instruments” on the following pages for details of how to open this interface and general information on the command set available. After opening an SSH session the 60-891-045 is controlled as follows:...

  • Page 24: Command Line Control

    Command Line Control of Pickering LXI Instruments Overview Command line control of the Pickering LXI device range was added in firmware release 2.11. The utility provided was ported to the LXI instrument from the Windows utility PILMon and provides identical functionality.
  • Page 25 Section 4 - Programming Step 2 - Enable the SSH server Select the Instrument Control page from the main menu Click on the Start button to start the SSH server. The SSH server is now operative and instrument control access is available from an external SSH client application. Notes: The password and state of the SSH server are stored in non-volatile memory within the LXI device and so will remain in effect even after a power cycle.
  • Page 26 Section 4 - Programming Instrument Control from an SSH Client In the following examples the SSH client PuTTY is used, the user will have to adapt the instructions for any other client. First start up the SSH client and enter the IP address of the LXI device. The user will be prompted for a login name and password.
  • Page 27 Before attempting to control a card it is important to understand the switch architecture of that card and to know how to address the required switch. Each Pickering switch card is represented as a set of one or more sub-units, each sub-unit containing one or more switches.
  • Page 28 Section 4 - Programming Commonly Used Mnemonic Commands Will list all the open cards, providing the Card Number of each which is essential for further control of a card, also provided are the details of the card model number and architecture. This is used to select the card and sub-unit to which commands will be addressed.
  • Page 29 = UNMASK|MASK an individual output MB <bit_pattern> = set OUTPUT sub-unit mask (to hex bit-pattern) = view sub-unit output mask (as hex bit-pattern) = take control of all Pickering switch cards = release control of all Pickering switch cards VO <bus> <slot> = open card at specified location VC <card>...

  • Page 30: Using The Soft Front Panel

    Section 4 - Programming Using the Soft Front Panel Enables the card to be Allows local control with other Allows exclusive access to a controlled by other users users seeing the card as read only card that has multiple users Switch Bank Conrol...

  • Page 31: Connectors

    Section 5 - Connectors Figure 5-1. Front Panel Layout for the 60-891-045 LXI Microwave Unit Note 1: Only the correct connector series should be mated with this unit. SMA connectors are used and the user should only mate the correct type to the unit, failure to do so may result in damage to the connector.
  • Page 32 Section 5 - Connectors Ethernet Port Reset Button Diagnostic Port (Pickering use only) Service Port (Pickering use only) IP Address Display Cooling Air Outlets Figure 5-2. Rear Panel Layout for the 60-891-045 LXI Microwave Unit Power Switch Fuses Mains Inlet pickeringtest.com...

  • Page 33: Troubleshooting

    Refer to the Warnings and Cautions at the front of this manual. Installation Problems The Plug & Play functionality of Pickering switch cards generally ensures trouble-free installation. If you do experience any installation problems you should first ensure that all cables are properly connected...

  • Page 34: Lan Reset

    All of my device’s lights are on, why don’t I see a green Ready light, even after a few minutes? Your device has a fault, contact your local sales office. Please contact your local Pickering Interfaces sales office for any further support or email: lxisupport@pickeringtest.com You can also visit our website for product updates, help and downloadable materials at: http://www.pickeringtest.com...

  • Page 35: Maintenance Information

    Section 7 - Maintenance Information Refer to the Warnings and Cautions at the front of this manual. Periodic Maintenance This product and its corresponding chassis do not require any periodic maintenance. General Cleaning • Isolate the electrical power from the chassis and ensure that no user I/O signals are being applied. •...

  • Page 36: Microwave Unit Parts List

    Section 7 - Maintenance Information Microwave Unit Parts List The 60-891-045 Microwave Unit chassis contains 5x SP10T terminated microwave switches, 1x4-way power divider, 3x12- way power dividers, 3x Relay Driver PCBs as well as 2 Power Supplies and a Microcontroller assembly. The following pages provide a parts list and internal layout for the PCBs and sub-assemblies that make up the LXI Custom Microwave Unit.
  • Page 37 Section 7 - Maintenance Information Table 7-1. 60-891-045 LXI Microwave Unit - Chassis Parts List Manufacturer Part Description Value/Type Pickering Part Number Number Multi-Rail Power Supply “PSU1” ±12V, +5V, +3.3V C-PS-009 Single Rail Power Supply “PSU2” +12V C-PS-016 Mains Inlet Connetor...
  • Page 38 Section 7 - Maintenance Information LXI Status LED Board Relay Micro- SP10T-T Driver Controller Switch Board 2 Board (RL1) SP10T-T Switch (RL2) & LED Board Relay Driver Board 1 Bridge SP10T-T Daughter Switch Board (RL3) 12-Way Power Divider (PD3) 4-Way Power 12-Way Power Divider (PD1) Divider (PD2)

  • Page 39: General Maintenance

    • Power Supplies and Power Distribution. • Figures 7.3 and 7.4 provide diagrams of how the PCBs are interconnected and gives Pickering part numbers for the various assemblies. Microcontroller and LAN Interface The microcontroller assembly performs the control functions for the unit and provides interfaces to the external ethernet connection and the relay driver boards.
  • Page 40 Section 7 - Maintenance Information SP10T Microwave Relay Assemblies (91-203-500-TI) The microwave relay assemblies consist of an SP10T RF multiplexer soldered to an interface PCB. Each microwave relay assembly has two ribbon cables that transfer switching signals to the interface PCB from the relay driver boards. Relay LED Boards (A-PC-1364) The microwave relays have a front panel LED to indicate when they are energized with one LED for each signal path of the relay.
  • Page 41 Section 7 - Maintenance Information External LAN Connection Microcontroller LXI Status Ribbon Cable (C-CN-951) LED Board Board (A-PC-1004) (A-PC-652) Ribbon Cable (C-CN-838 + C-CN-1576) Ribbon Cables (C-CN-1481 + C-CN1620) x2 Relay Control Relay PLX Bridge LED PCB 1 Driver PCB 1 Daughter Board (A-PC-1364) (A-PC-1363)
  • Page 42 Section 7 - Maintenance Information From Relay Driver PCB1 To LED PCB1 From Relay Driver SP10T Terminated Switch PCB2 Relay Assembly (91-203-500-TI) To LED PCB4 From Relay Driver SP10T Terminated Switch PCB1 Relay Assembly (91-203-500-TI) To LED PCB1 To LED PCB2 From Relay...

  • Page 43: Fitting Rack Mounting Flanges

    Fitting Rack Mounting Flanges Pickering’s LXI units are supplied with mounting flanges to enable fitting into a standard 19 inch rack. The following procedure describes the attachment of the flanges to the unit’s side extrusions, a No.1 cross head screwdriver will be required.

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