Norsat ATOMControl User Manual

ATOMControl

Software Manual

Copyright © Norsat International Inc. All rights reserved.

Norsat P/N: INS001085_r1.1

NOTICE: Norsat International Inc. ("Norsat") assumes no responsibility for errors or
omissions that may appear in this publication. Norsat reserves the right to change this
publication at any time, without notice.

NORSAT ATOMControl – Software Manual. Copyright © 2014 -

2015. Norsat International Inc. All rights reserved.

All materials contained in this user guide are the property of Norsat International Inc.
except as noted here below:

All materials in this user guide are protected by United States and international copyright
laws. The compilation of all content in this user guide is the exclusive property of Norsat.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Purpose and Scope of the User Guide ............................................................................... 4

Audience ............................................................................................................................. 4

Revision History .................................................................................................................. 4

1 ATOMCONTROL BASICS ....................................................................................................... 5

Overview ............................................................................................................................. 6

Launching ATOMControl .................................................................................................... 7

ATOMControl User Interface .............................................................................................. 8

Initializing Communication .................................................................................................. 8

Deinitializing Communication ............................................................................................. 9

2 MONITORING DEVICE INFORMATION ................................................................................ 10

Monitoring Device Information .......................................................................................... 11

3 CONTROLLING ATOM DEVICES ......................................................................................... 14

Controlling the Mute State ................................................................................................ 15

Attenuation Control ........................................................................................................... 25

Sending Custom Commands ............................................................................................ 26

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: ATOMControl Start-Up Screen ........................................................................................ 7

Figure 2: The Device Info Tab ....................................................................................................... 11

Figure 3: Mute Tab Controls .......................................................................................................... 15

Figure 4: Standard Mute State Logic ............................................................................................. 16

Figure 5: Revised Mute State Logic .............................................................................................. 17

Figure 6: Hardware-Based Muting Controls .................................................................................. 19

Figure 7: Fault-Based Muting Controls .......................................................................................... 22

Figure 8: Software-Based Muting Controls ................................................................................... 23

Figure 9: Mute State ...................................................................................................................... 24

Figure 10: Attenuation Tab Controls.............................................................................................. 25

Figure 11: The Custom Commands Tab ....................................................................................... 26

Figure 12: Command and Response Strings Showing <CR> and <LF> ...................................... 28

Figure 13: Command and Response Strings Without <CR> and <LF> ........................................ 28

TABLE OF TABLES

Table 1: Product Type Values ....................................................................................................... 12

Table 2: Detectable Faults ............................................................................................................. 12

Table 3: Number of Expected Power Modules for Each ATOM Device Type ............................... 13

Table 4: Hardware-Based Muting .................................................................................................. 18

Table 5: Standard Fault-Based Muting .......................................................................................... 20

Table 6: Individual Fault-Based Muting ......................................................................................... 21

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Preface

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Date

Nature of Revision

Release

May 2014

Initial Release

1.0

March 2015

Added attenuation control, Mute
On Fault Details, and Safety info

1.1

CAUTION:

Do not stand in front of the waveguide during operation. In particular, do
not look into the waveguide.

CAUTION:

Do not allow any items to fall into the unit from the waveguide opening.

CAUTION:

Always ensure that the waveguide is properly terminated during
operation.

CAUTION:

Apply voltage to the DC input connector only as specified in the original
configuration of this unit. Application of a voltage outside of the specified
range may cause the unit to become damaged or non-functional.

WARNING:

DO NOT ALLOW EQUIPMENT TO BE IN STANDING WATER.
While the BUC/SSPA is designed to be used outdoors, the equipment is

not designed to operate in standing water. Failure to follow this
precaution could result in electric shock and injury to persons.

Preface

Purpose and Scope of the User Guide

The user guide explains the usage of the Norsat ATOMControl monitor and control
application for ATOM Series Block UpConverters (BUCs) and Solid-State Power
Amplifiers (SSPAs).

This user guide is specifically written for the ATOMControl application. Additional
information can be found in the ATOM Series BUC or SSPA User Manual.

Audience

The guide will be of interest to the following personnel:

 Field users
 Systems administrators (or IT; Lifecycle/Sustainment Managers)

Revision History

READ THE MANUAL BEFORE USING

THE ATOMControl APPLICATION

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Preface

1 ATOMControl Basics

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1 ATOMControl Basics

ATOMControl is a program designed for monitoring and controlling Norsat’s ATOM
Series of BUCs and SSPAs.

Overview

Norsat’s ATOMControl software features an intuitive User Interface that provides the
ability to monitor and control Norsat’s ATOM Series of Block Up-Converters and Solid­State Power Amplifiers. Basic device information can be monitored along with fault,
temperature, and RF power data. ATOMControl also provides full control over an ATOM

Series device’s mute state, and gives users the ability to monitor and set the value of an
ATOM BUC’s digital attenuator. Users may also communicate directly with the BUC or

SSPA using a custom communication protocol.
ATOMControl is a stand-alone application that communicates with ATOM Series BUCs

and SSPAs using a serial RS-485 connection via a COM Port on a host PC or laptop
computer.

ATOMControl is currently supported on Windows® XP and 7.

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1 ATOMControl Basics

Launching ATOMControl

ATOMControl should be launched like any other standard application: by double-clicking
on the application’s EXE file. ATOMControl does not require any Administrator-level
privileges to run, and can thus be run by any user on the host PC.

At startup, ATOMControl will scan the host PC’s available COM Ports and will populate
the COM Port drop-down list with the names of the COM Ports that are discovered. The
drop-down list can be repopulated at any time by pressing the Re-Scan COM Ports
button. ATOMControl will not attempt to communicate with the BUC or SSPA until the

Initialize button is pressed.

Figure 1: ATOMControl Start-Up Screen

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