RC2000 dual axis antenna controller

[Manikm909]

thanks @John this is when the unit is just "resting" and not at any extremity

 

[s-band]

thanks @John this is when the unit is just "resting" and not at any extremity

As John says, the error is due to lack of feedback pulses if it's trying to move but can't thereby preventing damage if the dish jams. If I forget to switch the motor supply on it takes about 2-3 seconds to trip. It will also trip if the pulse rate is too low e.g.if I reduce the motor speed too much.

I have something in the back of by mind that it would also trip if there are pulses when movement is not commanded. I think that happened when I forced an actuator to move manually. Check that you don't have any intermittent connections in the pulse sensor lines.

 

[Manikm909]

im still being hammered by this error - it doesnt happen during the dish move (it can, but its co-incidence) i.e i can move to 3w - to 19e for example, no problem, then after any amount of time, could be 5 minutes, or 2 hours, i'll suddenly hear a CLICK - and the error has happened - such a strange one.

if i turn the unit off (as it doesnt need to be on all the time, until i need to move the dish) - when i next switch on, the error will be there and need a reset. very very odd.

is there something i can clean inside perhaps, contact cleaner?? who knows - its a pain, but not a massive pain having to reset it every now and then.

 

[s-band]

im still being hammered by this error -

I suppose it could be an EMC problem but it would need to be a big spike from something that couples to the lines. You could try something like a 10n capacitor across the pulse inputs to ground and/or a resistor, say 1k between inputs and ground. The resistor will drop the impedance of the inputs. Beware that the capacitor may make counting erratic if it is too big a value. It will depend on the cable length amongst other things.

A remote possibility might be that the actuator stops on the edge of giving a pulse and vibration tips it over. That seems very unlikely unless there's something loose in the actuator.

There are some internal connectors and many socketed ICs. This really is clutching at straws but you could try re-seating them all. There's risk of damage if not done correctly though. Another straw: if you disconnect the pulse inputs and leave it for along time and it still does it, perhaps it's an internal problem.

 

[Manikm909]

I checked the manual again . And have disabled simultaneous movement as it can overload the circuits or something like that ....it's been 35 mins. No error yet...

 

[Manikm909]

Nope ...36 mins after. Clunk. Error

 

[John]

Nope ...36 mins after. Clunk. Error

You could try this - disconnect all outgoing cables from it , reset the RC2K, switch it back on but don't do any keypad button pressing and see if it still does the trip into the 'fault' error message ...
Or , - Have you got a spare functional actuator by any chance ? , doesn't need to be anything large or special and a short piece of good undamaged four core cable to do a temp bench set up . Adjust the temp actuator physical limits up with a separate supply for max in and out safe travel. Go through the RC2K software limits set up again and see what results you get , a bit of a faff i know but it might highlight the problem area ie: RC2K internals or External cables and actuator faults.

 

[Manikm909]

Thanks @John .

I had a thought this morning. When it first started happening I did do a reset and I also switched the sensor wires over. To no avail.

I'm now thinking of swapping over the elevation and sensor wires over with azimuth . To see if the problem follows / to see if I get the elevation fault still or if I get an azimuth error instead. Then I'll know if it's the rc2k or the actuator /wiring.

I do have a spare 12 inch actuator to try your test also.

What I've noticed is that if I reset the error after any dish movement and then don't move the dish again I don't think the error comes up. I think I'm correct in saying that .

Thanks everyone

 

[John]

Thanks @John .

I had a thought this morning. When it first started happening I did do a reset and I also switched the sensor wires over. To no avail.

I'm now thinking of swapping over the elevation and sensor wires over with azimuth . To see if the problem follows / to see if I get the elevation fault still or if I get an azimuth error instead. Then I'll know if it's the rc2k or the actuator /wiring.

I do have a spare 12 inch actuator to try your test also.

What I've noticed is that if I reset the error after any dish movement and then don't move the dish again I don't think the error comes up. I think I'm correct in saying that .

Thanks everyone

Yep, good idea regarding swapping over the AZ for the EL, i'd leave the suspected AZ 4core wiring disconnected as well for the test. PS, swapping the pulse cable polarity around shouldn't make any difference

 

[scopus]

thanks @John this is when the unit is just "resting" and not at any extremity

Check the green connector blocks at the back are fully home, they pull out to make it easier to connect any wires. Might be worth pulling them out and back in again. Check all screws are tight etc..

You could always email RC, last time I did they were very helpful.

 

[Manikm909]

Check the green connector blocks at the back are fully home, they pull out to make it easier to connect any wires. Might be worth pulling them out and back in again. Check all screws are tight etc..

You could always email RC, last time I did they were very helpful.

i dont know if im tempting fate or not, but since re-seating the green blocks i've not had the issue!

thank you @scopus

 

[marrull]

Hello guys,

I finally got my RC2000A but like usual there are some questions. Mine came with no extra polarization board and it has a quite new firmware compared to what I saw posted but other users in the thread.
On the EPROM sticker it is written "v4.10 W". EPROM is a M27C512 and the programmer identified it with ID 203D.

Now the question is can I use this firmware in Central Europe? According to the table posted here in the thread "W" stands for West and for EU I should use the "u" version.

RC3000 is using the GPS to find out the position of the antenna and most probably it does some computation based on user location to start the correct tracking of the satellite. But how does the RC2000 work because I cannot see any option to input my location and it doesn't have any GPS input?! Probably that's why they made multiple versions of the firmware for different regions?

Thanks!

 

[Channel Hopper]

I doubt it makes much difference, you may find the coordinates of the ground station need to be entered differently, perhaps a negative value since you are the other side of Greenwich.

 

[marrull]

I doubt it makes much difference, you may find the coordinates of the ground station need to be entered differently, perhaps a negative value since you are the other side of Greenwich.

Hi Channel Hopper,

I don't plan to use this antenna controller for geo satellites I was more curious how it works to find the satellite without the location info.
I am interested if I can control it via serial port to track ham radio satellites.
I remember that I found a post from one user here which is controlling this unit via serial but I cannot find it anymore.

Also would be nice to maybe upgrade/downgrade the firmware and use the correct "u" version for my EU location.

 

[s-band]

@marrull Manuals and some simple RS485 software are all here Research Concepts, Inc. » RC2000 The manual tells you how to set it up and one of the steps is to manually set your location.

I'm not sure about later versions than those listed but RC are quite responsive to queries. They charge a lot for firmware upgrades and I have never been sure if FPGA changes are needed when changing firmware.

The full RS485 command set is in the manuals. However, not being a coder, I found it easiest to make a simple interface that connected to the keypad connector. I controlled it using an F1EHN system. My pan and tilt is AC driven so I use variable frequency drive to control the speed. I only used the RC2k initially as I already had it configured for geo, I've since removed it and use the F1EHN controller alone.

<edit> I shoud have said that my experience is based on RC2000X units.

 

[7mdish]

The RC2000A does not perform any calculation on itself as, say, the Egis system.
You can't introduce your location because it is not needed.
The W or E firmware versions differs only for the satellite that are stored from the factory, not else.
So, in the RC2000A initial setup, you must only set East/West/Down/Up limits, then set any single satellite manually.
If I remember correctly, the RC2000C version adds Autotracking, but it always starts from a preprogrammed situation. For example, it can autofocus an inclined orbit satellite but after the satellite location was set in its memory.
From my side, I daily use the RC2000A to drive my 2.4m dish and I'm very happy with it.

 

[Channel Hopper]

@marrull Manuals and some simple RS485 software are all here Research Concepts, Inc. » RC2000 The manual tells you how to set it up and one of the steps is to manually set your location.

I'm not sure about later versions than those listed but RC are quite responsive to queries. They charge a lot for firmware upgrades and I have never been sure if FPGA changes are needed when changing firmware.

The full RS485 command set is in the manuals. However, not being a coder, I found it easiest to make a simple interface that connected to the keypad connector. I controlled it using an F1EHN system. My pan and tilt is AC driven so I use variable frequency drive to control the speed. I only used the RC2k initially as I already had it configured for geo, I've since removed it and use the F1EHN controller alone.

<edit> I shoud have said that my experience is based on RC2000X units.

From my time with the inclined orbit tracker the 2000 had just one RS422 interface, is the A series Ethernet compatible with a floating earth system?