W2DRZ Controller Support Web
Welcome | Overview
| Controller | Assembly | Control
Program
What's New | FAQ
| Ordering | Download
Detailed Configuration Settings
| This page explains all of the configuration settings for the DrzSetup program. When first getting started, all that is required is to select the correct encoder type for Azimuth and for Elevation, and set the appropriate ranges, but once you have the initial setup and testing done you may need to fine tune the controller to your requirements. The configuration window and explanation for each item follow. Since the settings for azimuth and elevation are the same, I will only explain for azimuth. |
| Rotation range should be set to the maximum travel that your antenna can do for azimuth or for elevation. This allows the controller to calculate the number of degrees for each change in position from the encoder. Note that the F1EHN and Nova programs do not handle rotation values greater than 360 degrees, so even if you can rotate your antenna in a greater range, 360 degrees is all you will be able to use with these programs. |
| Move precision and Move timeout work together to
control the controller's motion detector and emergency
shutdown feature. In normal operation the controller
receives motion commands from the controlling program
(Tracker, Nova, or DrzSetup). It then operates the relay
to start a position motor. The antenna starts moving and
the controller monitors and reports the current position
back to the controlling program. When the antennas reach
the desired position a stop command is sent and the
controller disengages the motor relay. However if the
antenna rotation mechanism is jammed, or a stop is
reached, the antenna may not move when commanded. This is
where the motion detector comes into play. The Move Timeout value specifies a number of seconds, from 0 to 15, with a default value of 5 seconds. As long as the antenna is moving, the controller board checks every 5 seconds (or whatever period you have Move Timeout set for) to see if the antenna has moved during that period. It compares the position at the beginning of the period to the current position. If the values are the same, or not reasonably different, the controller goes into it's emergency shutdown procedure. It stops all motion motors and disables itself so it will not act on any further motion commands from the controlling program. However it is not sufficient to merely check to see that the antenna has not moved at all. Even a jammed antenna may rock back and forth slightly as the motors attempt to move it. If the antenna were to hit something with a little 'give' like a tree branch, it may rock back and forth quite a bit. This would provide enough motion to 'fool' the motion detector. For this reason we have Move Precision. Move precision is a value, in tenths of a degree, of how much motion can be reasonably expected from the antenna in the period specified by Move Timeout. The default value is 10 tenths (1 degree). The minimum value is 1 tenth and the maximum value is 100 (10 degrees). So, with default settings, if the antenna does not move at least 1 degree every 5 seconds, the emergency shutdown will operate. Your antennas may move significantly faster or slower than this, or you may wish to check more often or more seldom than every 5 seconds. Set the values of Move Timeout and Move Precision to suit your installation. Once the emergency shutdown has operated, the controller will accept no more commands until it has been reset. This can be done with the reset button on the DrzSetup main window, or by power cycling the controller board. |
| Most antenna rotation mechanisms cannot instantly reverse direction without the possibility of damage to the mechanism or to the antenna itself. The Restart Time setting is used to prevent whiplash. It is the time, in seconds, that the antennas must be stopped before starting motion again. The value can range from 0 to 15 seconds. |
| The Nova program does not monitor the position of the
antenna, but rather only sends the desired position to
the controller. So it is up to the controller to
determine when the antenna has reached the desired
position, and stop motion. The Nova Stop Range is a
measurement of how close to the position specified by
Nova the antenna must be, before it is stopped. The value
is in tenths of a degree and ranges from 1 to 100 (.1 to
10 degrees). If your encoders can read to within .1
degree and if your rotation mechanism and mount backlash
are good enough, you will be able to stop the antenna
within .1 degree of accuracy. But most systems are not
that good so you will have to use a stop range that is
reasonable for your system. Note that when running the F1EHN Tracker, the stop range is set and controlled from the tracker program and you have to set the appropriate settings there. |
| Clicking the Az or El defaults button at any time will load a set of default values into the screen fields of the configuration dialog. These defaults are slightly different depending upon what encoder you have selected. This provides an easy way to get a reasonable starting point for changes you may wish to make. |
| When first entering the Configuration dialog, the DrzSetup program reads the current configuration data from the controller board (if the board does not respond, the setup program will show an error message and will not show the configuration window). If you should start to make changes and then decide that you wish to change back to the original settings, you can use the "Get" button to reread the settings held by the controller. |
| Once you have made the changes you wish to the configuration window's values you use the Set button to save those values. They are sent to the controller board and stored in it's nonvolatile memory. The next time you enter the configuration window you will see the new values that you set. |
| The Cancel button abandons any changes you may have made in the configuration window, and returns you to the main setup window. |