| The controller may be used
"stand alone" as a display device for your
antenna system, by adding an LCD
display unit. The LCD will display the current
azimuth and elevation. This would be useful for portable
or rover operations if no PC was available to control the
antenna. Note that you will still need to configure the
controller with a PC, using the DrzSetup program to set
the correct encoder type and range settings. See Setup Program for further details.
However, once the controller is configured it can be
calibrated without use of a PC or use of the setup
program. The switches and push button are used to calibrate the controller, allowing you to set the minimum and maximum azimuth and elevation. Using the chart below, set the antenna to the minimum azimuth position, set the switches for "min azimuth", and then depress the button for 2 seconds or longer. When the button is released the azimuth display should change to read the minimum value that you have configured. Then set the antenna to your maximum azimuth (which must be equal to the value that was set for your encoder when it was configured with the setup program). Set the switches for "max azimuth", and then press the button for 2 seconds. The display should now indicate your maximum (usually 360 degrees). Repeat the above for elevation if you have elevation control and readout. In the chart below, note that 'on' is the down position. Sw1 is on the left, towards the push button. All switches must be off except for the ones shown for each function.
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| We sell the LCD display as part number
LCD-1, see the order page. This
consists of the display unit, an eight inch ribbon cable and attached
plug. The LCD that we supply is sold by Mouser, part# 668-C-S16205DFGSAY. It is a backlit display with two lines of 16 characters each, which is sufficient to show the Elevation and Azimuth. An older style LCD display we have used is the Optrex #DMC16207U. This display also has two lines of 16 characters each, but has no backlight. This can be purchased from Digikey as part number 73-1054. Either of the two display units will mount in the ENC-1 Enclosure that we sell. The 10 conductor flat ribbon cable consists of a 3M Color Ribbon Cable (Digikey #MC10M-X-ND) and a female 10 pin plug (CW industries SOCKET, Digikey #CSC10G-ND). The display has 14 solder pads along its bottom edge, with pin 1 being to the right when viewing the LCD from the front. Wire the board to the 10 conductor flat ribbon cable supplied with the kit. The connector on the other end of the ribbon plugs into SV1 on the controller board. Be sure to identify pin one on the ribbon cable properly, it is the wire that connects to the left edge of SV1 when viewed from the front of the board. Also be careful when plugging the connector into SV1, as some of the plugs are not keyed and may be able to plug in backwards.
Connect the 1/8 watt, 4.7k resistor between pins 1 and 5 on the LCD display pins. This is necessary or the controller firmware will not recognize that the display is attached. When the LCD is attached, it will display a sign on message whenever the board is powered up or reset, and it will display the current antenna azimuth and elevation, updated 10 times per second. Note that in firmware versions prior to 1.05, if the PC is not attached the LCD will update only once per second. |
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