PRAXSYM DB-12 User Manual

CW Transmitter

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User’s Manual

Warranty Statement

PRAXSYM warrants that all items will be free from defects in material
and workmanship under use as specified in this guide for a period of
one year from date of delivery. PRAXSYM further agrees to repair or
replace, at its discretion, any failure which upon PRAXSYM's
inspection appears to be a result of workmanship or material defect.
In no case, shall PRAXSYM's liability for breach of warranty exceed
the purchase price of the items in question. PRAXSYM's liability on
any claim of any kind, for any loss connected with, or resulting from
the use of, performance or breach thereof, installation, inspection,
operation or use of any equipment furnished by PRAXSYM, shall in
no case exceed the purchase price of the goods which give rise to the
claim.

Praxsym, Inc.

120 S. Third Street

Fisher, IL 61843

Phone [phone]

Fax [phone]
[e-mail]
www.praxsym.com

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Overview

The Praxsym CW Transmitter is a portable continuous wave test
source capable of transmitting test signals on two channels
simultaneously. The output from each channel can be enabled
independently. The output level can be adjusted between -10 dBm
and +12 dBm, in 0.1 dB steps.

Each channel contains four
up to four saved output configurations (frequency, amplitude, and
channel spacing) per channel. The transmitter also contains

which cycles through the

Mode

The transmitter frequency and output level for each channel can be
set from the touch keys on the front panel or from the touchscreen
display. The transmitter status can easily be monitored from the
backlit LCD display. The transmitter also contains a USB interface
enabling the user to control the transmitter remotely.

The transmitter can be powered using the internal 6 AA
rechargeable batteries for 6 hours of continuous operation or from
the AC/DC wall adapter included.

Setups. Setups

Setups

1.2 Functional Description

The transmitter will power on to a splash screen with the Praxsym
Logo, and immediately proceed to the main operation screen. The
previous settings from the last use will be retained. The transmitter
will not power on transmitting RF energy, though it may have been
powered off previously while transmitting. The transmitter may
safely be powered off in any state using the ON/OFF button.

The transmitter is configured with channel spacing of many common
wireless standards. Once the channel spacing is selected within the
Channel Setup menu, the step size may be adjusted from the main
operation screen. This function makes stepping across multiple
channels quick and easy during testing.

allow the user to program

Scan

at an adjustable scan rate.

1.3 Items Supplied

A

E

D

B

Item Description

A CW Transmitter

With 6 Internal NiMH AA Batteries

B 12V 1.5A AC/DC Supply

C Power Cord

D USB Cable

E Flash Drive, Users Manual, Driver Software

C

1.4 Looking at the Transmitter

G

C

D

E

F

A

B

Item Description

A Channel 1 Output, N-Type Connector

B Channel 2 Output, N-Type Connector

C Battery Charger Status LED

D Battery Charge Jack

E USB Port

F LCD Touchscreen Display

G Front Panel, Touch Keys

2.0 Operation

2.1 Battery Charging

The transmitter is fully operational while the batteries are being
charged. Charging can occur whether or not the unit is powered on.

When “batt low” appears in the battery icon, the battery life is nearing
its end. The transmitter will shut down soon. Connect the AC/DC
adapter (12 V /1.5 A) to the unit’s CHARGE jack. Plug the adapter into
a wall outlet. An internal battery charger will control and terminate
the charging of the 6 NiMH cells within each unit. When beginning a
charge cycle with batteries which have been completely depleted,
allow about two and a half hours for a full charge to be restored. A
top-off charge is recommended immediately before use for maximum
battery life.

A flashing red LED indicates a precharge state. Usually it will flash
for a few moments and then enter a fast charge state, indicated by a
solid red LED. The precharge state may last up to a few hours with
drained batteries and indefinitely if one or more cells have failed. All
cells must be replaced in the latter case. When the LED turns green,
the batteries are fully charged and enter trickle charge mode
indefinitely. Fully charged batteries will give six to eight hours of use.
Also, the battery icon on the display will be completely darkened. If
the AC/DC adapter is left connected to the transmitter, the charger
will initiate a new charge cycle once the batteries have discharged.
This will occur continually. Unless the transmitter is in operation, it is
not recommended to leave the AC/DC adapter connected for more
than 24 hours.

Though designed for many recharge cycles, the batteries are user
replaceable. Replace the batteries every 2-3 years. Use only
Energizer® NH15 AA NiMH rechargeable batteries, as supplied
originally. The internal charge circuit will only work with NiMH
rechargeable batteries. Attempting to charge other AA battery types
such as Alkaline or Lithium Ion will result in damage to the
transmitter.

Do not store the transmitter with discharged or failed batteries.
Discharged NiMH batteries can leak acid causing damage to the
transmitter.

2.2 Using Channel Setups

Each channel, 1 and 2, contain four
program up to four saved output configurations (frequency,
amplitude, and channel spacing) per channel. The
accessed by repeatedly touching the tabs on the left side of the
display, depressing the 1 or 2 number keys, or by choosing

Setup

or

Channel 2 Setup

When selecting the desired

SEL (Select)

size. The arrow keys change the values of the selected option. On
applicable transmitter models, touching the listed frequency band
allows for selection of a new band. These same changes can be made
from the

Main Menu

Touching
enable and disable the RF output for the selected

button toggles between frequency, amplitude, and step

Channel 1 Setup

.

RF ON/OFF

from the main menu.

Setup

or

or depressing the 0 key on the keypad will

Setups. Setups

from the home screen, pressing the

Channel 2 Setup

allow the user to

Setups

can be

Channel 1

menu options in the

Setup

.

Continuing to
touch the
channel tabs
will cycle
through the

Setups.

Setups

for
channel 1 can
also be changed
through the

Channel 1 Setup

Menu, likewise
for channel 2.

2.3 Scan Mode

Each channel, 1 and 2, can be independently set to

Scan Mode

scan rate. The

Channel 1 Setup

Selecting
the various configurations associated with
likewise for channel 2.
key will modify the scan settings. Selecting
to choose which
Selecting
each
transmitter to begin the
enabled until
key will also start the

Selecting The

Scan Setup

option available
in the

Setup

modifies the

Scan

, the transmitter cycles through the

Scan Mode

and

Scan Setup

Setups

Dwell Time

Setup

will be enabled. Selecting

Scan ON/OFF

configurations are accessed through the

Channel 2 Setup

from the

Using the up/down arrows and

allows the user to select the duration at which

Scan

Channel 1 Setup

will be used in the scan (AB, ABC, ABCD).

Scan

. The

is pressed on the main screen. The Zero

.

channel 1

menu,

settings

Setups

options in the

menu portion displays

Scan Mode

Scan Order

Scan Armed

Scan

, RF Output, will not be

Scan Mode

at an adjustable

Main Menu

on channel 1,

SEL (Select)

allows the user

prepares the

. In

.

The

Scan Setup

configurations
are available in

Scan Setup

the
menu.

After the scan is
armed, touching

SCAN ON-OFF

begins the scan
(enables the RF
output).

2.4 Keypad Definition

ON/OFF: Turns unit on or off

Numerals 0-9: Enter a new frequency, amplitude level or step size,
select corresponding menu item choice where applicable

Numerals 1&2: From the main screen, pressing 1 or 2 will toggle
the LCD between channel 1 and channel 2 set up screens.
Pressing 1 while on the channel 1 will cycle between the four

setups

channel

Numeral 0: From the main screen, pressing 0 will toggle the RF on
and off or turn the SCAN on and off when the SCAN is armed.

SEL: Select. Toggles between frequency, amplitude and step size
on the main screen or chooses highlighted menu option in
applicable screens. Also the same as the “OK” touch screen
button.

UP/DOWN ARROWS: Adjust frequency, amplitude or step size of
highlighted channel in the main screen using the arrows.
Adjustments to frequency are made in the set step size. In
applicable sub-menus, the arrows control selection of menu
options.

PLUS/MINUS SIGNS: Change to a positive or negative amplitude
value.

LOCK/DECIMAL POINT: Locks the keypad from any unintentional
changes. Indication of lock status is on the display when on the
main screen only. The keypad may be locked and unlocked from
the main operation screen only. The Decimal Point is for use when
numerically entering a new frequency, amplitude or step size.

MENU: This brings up the Main Menu screen from the main
operation screen, returns to main screen from Main Menu and
backtracks through menus within sub-menu screens.

. Likewise for channel 2.

2.4 Keypad Definition (Continued)

B

F E

Item Description

A On/Off

B Numerals 0-9

C Select

D Up/Down Arrows, Plus/Minus Signs

E Lock/Decimal

F Menu

A

C

D

2.5 Display Definition

A

B

C

E D F

Item Description

A Toggle between active channel screens by touching the tabs on the left

side of the screen, the active channel band is noted at the top. Continuing
to touch the tabs will cycle through the channel

B Frequency, Amplitude, and Step size for both channels may be controlled

using the SEL key to change between the three, while the arrow keys
make adjustments to the values

C Touch screen control of RF transmission

D Lock status of the keypad is indicated by the padlock icon

E Indicates setting which may be adjusted using the arrow keys

F Battery level indicator

G Numbers present indicate the channel and

H Animation will run when either or both channels are transmitting

Setups

Setup

which is transmitting

G

H

.

To ensure proper care is taken of the touchscreen; avoid leaving the
screen exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time, clean with
non-abrasive cloths (microfiber cloth), do not store in temperatures
lower than –20°C and higher than 70°C, avoid touching the glass
touchscreen with sharp or hard objects.

2.6 Menu Navigation

MENU

Pressing the
up the

Main Menu

menu. Pressing
operation screen.

Using the arrow keys will change the highlighted menu option.

SEL

chooses the highlighted menu option. Pressing the
corresponding menu option on the keypad will also select menu
options directly.

The

Channel Setup

Amplitude and Step Size. Within the

Setups

and

Scan Mode

Display Settings

duration of Backlight Timeout and also Backlight Level brightness.

System Settings

Enable Transmitting when the Frequency is changed. If Disable
On New RF is ‘ON’, the transmitter will not transmit when a new
frequency is entered. If a new step size does not require change of
frequency, the unit will continue transmitting.

Pressing the
backtrack through the menu hierarchy.

button from the main operation screen brings

. All transmitter settings are available from this

MENU

again from this screen returns to the main

options allow for setting of Frequency,

Channel Setup

are also configured.

contains user-selectable parameters for the

contains options to change Baud Rate or Disable/

MENU

button while in any menu screen will

options,

2.7 Controlling the Transmitter Remotely

The transmitter can be controlled by a PC or embedded controller
via the USB interface. Procedures in this section also describe
control with terminal emulation software on a PC or laptop
computer.

Install the supplied cable between a USB port on the PC/laptop
and the USB port on the transmitter.

Start the terminal emulation software and setup with the
following parameters.

Baud rate 9600, 38400, or 115200 (user selectable)
Data bits 8
Stop bits 1
Parity none
Com port assigned by PC operating system
Local echo ON
Select line feed (LF) after carriage return (CR) when receiving

The settings may be found in various places depending on the
terminal emulation software used. Generally, check the Serial
Port and Terminal configuration menus.

Power up the transmitter by depressing the ‘ON/OFF’ button. The
transmitter frequency is stored in non-volatile memory. When
power is applied to the transmitter, it will return to the last entered
frequency.

When connecting the transmitter to your PC for the first time, you
may need to install the virtual USB-Serial Driver. This driver will be
installed automatically on most PCs with Windows 7, Windows 8,
or Windows 10 operating systems.

3.0 Serial Interface Operation

3.1 Configuring Tera Term Pro

Open the Terminal setup window from the Setup Menu. Select
CR+LF for Receive and CR for Transmit. Enable Local Echo. Also
within the Setup menu, choose the Serial Port option. Ensure
parameters are matched to what settings were configured within
the transmitter for communication.

Tera Term must be closed and the USB cable removed before
manually powering down the transmitter.

3.2 Commands

Commands may be sent in lower or upper case. All
commands should be followed by <CR>. <CR> represents
‘ENTER.’

Spaces are represented by underscores (_).

Note: The equal (=) can be replaced with a space, and the
commands will still execute.

SET COMMANDS

The response to successfully executed SET commands is the
message OK <CR>.

XXXX.yyyy

FR =

AMP=+/-

CH=

XX.y

XX

Sets the channel you wish to configure. Valid

Sets output frequency (in MHz). The inclusion
of the decimal point and digits to the right of
the decimal are optional.

Sets the output amplitude for the current

channel.

values are 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D.
Defaults to 1A.

TX=

X

If current CH is scanning transmitter will report:

If current CH is armed for scanning but not

X.yyyy

ST=
Example: ST=0.0125 (12.5 kHz Channel

Sets the channel spacing (in MHz).

SCANSU_X_YYYY_ZZ.z

The addressed channel cannot be currently

Example: SCANSU 2 ABC 12.2

Sample alerts:

-

Enable/Disable output command. TX=1 turns
the output on for the current channel. TX=0
turns the output off for the current channel.

DISABLE CHANNEL BEFORE MAKING CHANGE

scanning, transmitter will report:

OK. SCAN DISARMED

Spacing)

Scan Setup, where X is 1 or 2 (the physical
channel being set up for scanning. YYYY is
either AB, ABC, or ABCD (the setups being
armed for schanning). ZZ.z is a number
between 0.2 and 99.9 seconds (The desired
dwell time).

active.

DWELL TIME MUST BE 0.2 TO 99.9 SECS

- DISABLE SCAN BEFORE CHANGING SCAN
PARAMETERS

- SCAN ORDER NOT VALID FOR THIS CHANNEL

SCAN_

X_Y

X is 1 or 2 (the physical channel being started

The addressed channel cannot be currently

Sample alerts:

-

Start/Stop Scan where:

or stopped) Y is 1 (Start Scanning) or 0 (Stop
Scanning)

active, and must have been previously set up
for scanning.

DISABLE CHANNEL BEFORE MAKING

CHANGE

- SCAN NOT SET UP FOR THIS CHANNEL

BAND_
X is 1 through 4, one of the internal calibrated

Sample alerts:

-

X

Assign band to current CH where:

bands. The band’s parameters are loaded into
the setup previously selected by the CH
command. The current channel cannot be
currently active. Loads default parameters each
time a band is changed.

NOT A VALID BAND!

- DISABLE CHANNEL BEFORE MAKING
CHANGE

Example: to select Band 2 for Setup 1A, type

this:

Ch_1A
Band_2

Then, change the default parameters as

required.

QUERY COMMANDS

Note: Must enter underscores (_)

FR? Returns the current frequency setting in the form
XXXX.yyyy (MHz).
Example: 1710.0000

MN? Returns the lowest frequency that the currently

selected channel can be set in the form XXXX.yyyy (in
MHz). See “FR?” for example.

MX? Returns the highest frequency that the currently

selected channel can be set in the form XXXX.yyyy (in
MHz). See “FR?” for example.

ST? Returns the synthesizer step size setting in the form
X.yyyy (MHz).
Example: 0.0100

AMP? Returns the current output amplitude in the form +/­ XX.y (dBm) for the current channel.
Example: +5.0

BAND? Returns the current band for the current channel.
Sample Response:

Channel 1A is set to 617-698 MHz.

BANDLIST Returns the available bands for CH

Sample Response:

These are the available bands for Channel 1A:
Band 1 - 617-698 MHz
Band 2 - 698-960 MHz

Example: to select Band 2 for Setup 1A, type this:

Ch_1A
Band_2

Then, change the default parameters as required.

SCANX? Lists the scan settings for CH X, where X is 1 or 2.

Sample Response:

AMN? Returns the minimum output amplitude in the form +/­ XX.y (dBm) that the current channel can output. See
“AMP?” for example.

AMX? Returns the maximum output amplitude in the form
+/-XX.y (dBm) that the current channel can output.
See “AMP?” for example.

LD? Returns “0” if the synthesizer for the current channel is
unlocked. Returns “1” if the synthesizer for the current
channel is locked.

VR? Returns software version of the receiver board in the
form X.yy.
Example: 1.15

VD? Returns software version of the keypad/display board
in the form X.yy.
See ‘VR?” for example.

BV? Returns the battery voltage level “BV=XX.y”.
Example: BV=07.4

TX? Returns ‘1’ if channel’s amplifier is turned on or ‘0’ if
off, or reports “This channel is scanning.”

OFF DISARMED AB 5 SECS

3.3 Error Responses

Invalid commands will be acknowledged with an error
response. An error response will consist of 4 ASCII bytes
followed by a carriage return. The error code consists of the
two characters ER followed by a two-character error status
code.

ERIC<CR> Invalid command

The command was not recognized because it was not in the
proper format.

ERIN<CR> Invalid number or range

The data included in the previous command was invalid or out­of-range.

4.0 Specifications

4.1 Electrical Specifications

310-010108-014 (N-type)

Channel 1
Band 1 frequency 617-652/663-698 MHz
Band 2 frequency 698-960 MHz
channel spacing 10, 12.5, 30, & 200 kHz, 1.25 MHz
Channel 2
Band 1 frequency 1710-2180 MHz
Band 2 frequency 2305-2320/2345-2360 MHz
Band 3 frequency 2495-2690 MHz
channel spacing 50, 60, & 100 kHz, 1 MHz, 1.25 MHz

Output Power -10 to +12 dBm
adjustable 0.1 dBm

Harmonics < -40dBc

310-010108-008 (N-type) & 310-010108-010 (SMA)

Channel 1
Frequency 698-960 MHz
Channel spacing 10, 12.5, 30, & 200 kHz, 1.25 MHz
Channel 2
Frequency 1710-2180 MHz
Channel spacing 30 kHz, 200 kHz, 1.25 MHz

Output Power -10 to +12 dBm
adjustable 0.1 dBm

Harmonics < -60dBc

4.1 Electrical Specifications (Continued)

310-010108-011 (N-type)

Channel 1

Frequency 136-174 MHz
channel spacing 12.5 kHz, 25 kHz

Channel 2

Frequency 396-512 MHz
channel spacing 12.5 kHz, 25 kHz

Output Power -10 to +12 dBm
adjustable 0.1 dBm

Harmonics < -50dBc

4.2 Environmental Specifications

Temperature Range: 0-50° C

4.3 Mechanical Specifications

RF Connectors: SMA or N-type

Display: Transflective 128x64 Black/White
White LED Backlight

Keypad: Sixteen keys

Enclosure: aluminum

Power Source: 6 AA NiMH cells rechargeable

Size: 7” x 5” x 2.75” (excluding RF connectors)

Weight: 4 lbs.

Notes

PRAXSYM

900-000015-001 Rev B