RVS-8 Eight Channel Repeater Voting System

Manual Version 1.0

LDG Electronics
1445 Parran Road, PO Box 48 St. Leonard MD 20685-2903 USA Phone: 410-586-2177 Fax: 410-586-8475
ldg@ldgelectronics.com www.ldgelectronics.com
Copyright LDG Electronics 2006. All rights reserved.

RVS-8 Eight Channel Repeater Voting System

Introduction Specifications Overview Installation Setup Operation Application Notes Care and Maintenance Technical Support Warranty and Service Firmware Upgrades Feedback

3 3 4 6 7 9 11 13 14 14 14 14

Introduction Congratulations on selecting the RVS-8 voter. This system allows you to add up to eight satellite receivers to your repeater system. It selects the one with the best signal-to-noise ratio and channels the audio and Carrier Operated Relay (COR) output to your repeater input. A wide variety of options is available via the front-panel controls and display. You can even "cascade" up to eight of these units for a system of 64 satellite receivers. LDG pioneered the automatic, wide-range switched-L tuner in 1995. From its laboratories near the nations capitol, LDG continues to define the state of the art in this field with innovative automatic tuners and related products for every amateur need. Specifications

8 Channels (expandable) True Signal-to-Noise Voting Microprocessor Controlled Software Upgradable Menu Driven, 10 Menus Programmable COR and Disable Inputs Programmable Hysterisis Digital S/N Meter Frequency response 30 to 20,000 Hz Crosstalk > 60db Distortion < 1 db Power requirement: 12 Volts DC @ 500 ma Board Size: 6 x 9 inches Rack Size: 1 Rack unit, 7 inch depth Enclosure size: 19 x 7.0 x 1.25 (measured in inches)

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING Never install antennas or transmission lines over or near power lines. You can be seriously injured or killed if any part of the antenna, support or transmission line touches a power line. Always follow this antenna safety rule: the distance to the nearest power line should be at least twice the length of the longest antenna, transmission line or support dimension.

Overview Your RVS-8 repeater system is a quality, precision instrument that will give you many years of service; take a few minutes to get to know it. Your RVS-8 is designed to be mounted in a standard 19" rack. The front panel is integrated with the rack mount. Your RVS-8 comes fully assembled, tested and aligned, and is ready to install and use.

Front panel controls include: Power On/Off Power indicator LED COR operation LED Menu button Parameter selection button Data input button

The LDC display shows current system status information, and menu options when selected.

On the rear panel are connections for audio and COR inputs from up to eight receivers, COR switching output, voted audio output, and DC power input. Other useful outputs are also provided; see Installation.

Installation Your RVS-8 is intended for indoor use only; it is not water resistant. If you install it in a remote location, you must insure that it is protected from moisture and temperature extremes. 1. Connect the audio output from each of your receivers to the screw connections on the header labeled "Audio In J5". Each audio input is relative to the ground connection on that header. 2. Connect the corresponding COR output from each receiver to the respective screw connections on the header labeled "COR In J4". Be sure to correctly match the COR inputs to the audio inputs on J5; that is, COR 1 matches audio 1, etc. 3. If you wish, you can remotely disable receivers via the inputs on the header labeled "Disable In J3". To remotely disable a receiver, set the corresponding contact on J3 to either a high or low voltage state, depending on how you set up that channel in the menu; see Setup. You can disable as many receivers in this manner as you wish. 4. The header labeled "Select Out" provides an output indicating which of the eight receivers is voted. One of the eight pins on this header will be at +12vdc indicating the voted receiver. The other pins will be at zero volts. +12vdc at 10ma is also provided on this header. All voltages are relative to the ground connection on this header. You might use this output to drive an array of LEDs so you could see which receiver is voted from a distance. Use of these outputs is optional; you may simply leave them disconnected if you wish.

5. The main voter outputs are on the header labeled "Output". Audio output and its dedicated ground are the rightmost two connectors on this header. COR output is the leftmost three, providing normally closed, normally open and common connections. The COR outputs are "dry" contact closures; no voltages are output on these connectors. 6. DC power input is via the coaxial connector labeled "Power". Connect this to a source of 12 volts DC capable of providing at least 500 ma, using the provided 2.5 by 5.5 mm coaxial plug. Best practice is a regulated DC power supply connected to the AC line through a highquality surge protector.

Setup Setup your RVS-8 via the front panel buttons and LDC display. Setup data is stored in nonvolatile EEPROM, and remains intact when power is removed. Hysteresis The hysteresis level is the amount of signal-to-noise ratio improvement needed over the currently voted site for a new site to be voted. Press the Menu button until the present hysteresis value is displayed. Press the Data button to select the desired value. Available values are 0 - 8. You should adjust this to a higher value if you experience excessive switching between receivers. A higher value requires more improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio for switching to occur. The normal value should be 3 or 4.

Disabled Channels Press the Menu button until the presently disabled channels are displayed. To disable or enable a channel, press the Selection button to scroll across to the desired channel. Press the Data button to toggle between enabled and disabled. The channel is disabled when the channel number appears in the Disabled Channels display. This display also reflects channels disabled via hardware connected to J3. Channels disabled in software via this menu cannot be enabled via hardware, and vice versa. Be sure not to disable all channels. This would effectively turn off the repeater as no inputs would be passed through.

Disable Active State You can choose whether a receiver is disabled by means of a high or low voltage state input to J3. This selection can be made for each channel; that is, you can set each channel to either high or low separately. Press the Menu button until the "Dis Active State" menu is displayed. Press the Selection button until the desired channel is displayed, then press the Data button to select high (HI) or low (LO). Active HI means your controller or other external device must produce a positive-going voltage (6.5 to 20 volts) when the channel is to be disabled, and a low-going voltage (0.0 to 4.5 volts) when the channel is to be enabled. Active LO means that your controller or other external device must provide a low-going voltage (0.0 to 4.5 volts) when the channel is to be disabled, and a high going voltage (6.5 to 20 volts) when the channel is to be enabled.

COR Active State You can choose whether a high or low voltage state indicates an active COR input on J4. This selection can be made for each channel; that is, you can set each to channel to either high or low separately. Press the Menu button until the "COR Active State" menu is displayed. Press the Selection button until the desired channel is displayed, then press the Data button to select high (HI) or low (LO). Active HI means that your receiver COR must produce a positive-going voltage (6.5 to 20 volts) when the squelch is open (receiving a signal) and a low-going voltage (0.0 to 4.5 volts) when the squelch is closed (no signal). Active LO means that your receiver COR must provide a low-going voltage (0.0 to 4.5 volts) when the squelch is open and a high-going voltage (6.5 to 20 volts) when the squelch is closed.

Operation On power-up, the display shows a title screen and current firmware version for a few seconds, then the default screen: "Current Voted". The currently voted receiver is displayed. As the repeater operates, the red COR LED on the front panel will light when the repeater is activated. The Current Voted display continuously updates as the system switches from receiver to receiver.

Several other useful items of information are available on the LCD display. Press the Menu button to display the following: Current CORs: displays the CORs that are presently active, showing a received signal on that receiver.

Signal / Noise: displays the signal to noise ratio of each channel. Press the Selection button to view this information for each channel (receiver). The value displayed is between 0 and 255, with 255 representing the highest ratio (also the best signal).

Most Voted: Displays the channel most often voted, out of the last 100 COR cycles. This count is reset when DC power is cycled.

Least Voted: Displays the channel least often voted, out of the last 100 COR cycles. This count is reset when DC power is cycled.

Hits per Chan: Displays the number of times each channel was activated out of the last 100 COR cycles. The value will be between 0 and 100. This count is reset when DC power is cycled. Press the Select button the view data for each channel.

10

Application Notes The following diagram shows a basic setup with eight satellite receivers. Typically, one of the receivers is the "main" receiver, co-located with the transmitter. The other receivers are usually "link" receivers bringing audio from remote satellite receivers.

Audio

Receiver 1

COR J5

Audio

J4

Receiver 8

COR Audio

RVS-8

Output COR

Repeater Transmitter

11

Should the need arise, you can use up to 64 satellite receivers by "cascading" eight RVS-8 voters. Each of the eight voters can input eight receivers, for a total of 64. The outputs of these eight RVS-8 voters are then input to a ninth RVS-8 unit which provides final selection of audio and COR outputs to the repeater transmitter. Frankly, if you're using 64 satellite receivers, you've got our respect.

Receiver 1

RVS-8 #1
Receiver 8

RVS-8

Receiver 63

RVS-8 #8
Receiver 64

Repeater Transmitter

12

Alignment The first step in alignment is to make sure that each channel is matched to the proper COR and Disable Active State. Test each input to make sure that when the COR becomes active on your receiver, the voter responds properly and shows that channel as having an active COR. The calibration process is fairly simple. Start with the eight audio pots and eight noise pots centered. Each channel will be calibrated in the same manner, so only the first channel will be discussed and the user can then calibrate the other channels as needed. An RF signal generator and oscilliscope will be useful in the alignment process, but you can be creative with other test equipment and achieve proper calibration. Start by transmitting an on-frequency signal of 1000 Hz at 3.0 KHz deviation to your first remote receiver. Be sure that the signal is full quieting. Place the scope on test point AUD1 and adjust the AUD1 pot for 1.0 volts peak to peak. Remove the test signal and open the squelch of the first remote receiver. Place the scope on test point Noise1 and adjust the Noise1 pot to read 3.5 volts. Repeat for channels 2 through 8, or for the number of channels used. The Audio Out pot is used to set the overall output level of the voter. Tips If you dont have a signal generator, you can use a transceiver and press the touch tone pad to generate a tone signal. This can be used to get the voter adjustments close. If you have a difficult time getting the Noise adjustment down to 3.5, lower the AUD adjustment to 0.5 volts peak to peak. If you do this, make sure that all receivers are set to 0.5 volts. As long as all inputs are set to the same voltage level, you can lower the signal down to 0.2 volts peak to peak if needed. They type of audio used from the receivers can be just about any type as long as all of the receivers use the same audio. Audio types that are acceptable are line level and speaker audio. Also, it does not matter if the audio is de-emphasized or not as long as all of the receivers are the same. The biggest problem seen in getting the voter to work properly is a mis-match in the audio characteristics between the receivers. Many times, doing a frequency sweep with expose differences in the audio response. Since there are literally dozens of different receivers that you could use, there could be dozens of different audio responses possible. Usually the best way to get near identical audio responses is to use the same brand and model of the remote and link receiver. Care and Maintenance Your RVS-8 voter is maintenance-free. As with any modern electronic device, your RVS-8 can be damaged by water, temperature extremes, impact or static discharge.

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Technical Support We are happy to help you with your RVS-8. Telephone technical support is available at 410-5862177 weekdays from 9 am to 5pm Eastern Time. Inquiries by Fax at 410-586-8475 are welcome, and prompt e-mail support is available at ldg@ldgelectronics.com. Warranty and Service Your RVS-8 is warranted against defects in parts or workmanship for two years from purchase. The warranty does not cover damage due to abuse or exceeding specifications. This warranty applies to the original purchaser only; it is not transferable. A copy of the receipt showing the purchasers name and the date of purchase must accompany units returned for warranty service. All returns must be shipped to us pre-paid; we will not accept units with postage due. A return form is provided on our web site for your convenience. If you need to return your RVS-8 to us for service, package it carefully, keeping in mind that we will re-use your packaging to return the unit to you. Download the return form from our web site (ldg@ldgelectronics.com), fill it out and return it with your voter. A self-addressed returnshipping label, while not required, will help insure speedy and accurate delivery of your repaired unit. Include a full description of the problem, along with your name, address and a phone number or e-mail address where we can reach you with any questions. Repairs average about 3 to 6 weeks. We will be glad to service your RVS-8 after the warranty period has ended. We will notify you of repair charges by phone or e-mail, and bill you after repairs are completed. Firmware Upgrades From time to time LDG may release upgraded firmware for the RVS-8, refining operation and adding features. Your RVS-8 is not field programmable; you will have to remove the present chip and replace it with the upgrade chip. Upgrades are expected to cost about $10-$20, and will be announced on our web site when available. Feedback If you have an idea to improve our software or hardware, please send us a description. If we incorporate your idea in the RVS-8, we'll send you a free upgrade as a thank you. We encourage everyone who uses the RVS-8 to contact us (card, letter or e-mail preferred) telling us how well it works for you. We are also always looking for photographs of our products in use; we frequently place such pictures on our web site (www.ldgelectronics.com).

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1 U1 68HC11 26 C50 0.1uf 1 8 D X1 8mhz C51 10pf R5 1M 7

C52 10pf

4 +5 J8 11 12 13 14 6 5 4 2 3 1 D4 D5 D6 D7 ENAB R/W RS +5 CONT GND

5 U9 4503 3 5 7 9 11 13 1 15 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 DA DB U10 R33 R34 R35 R36 R37 R38 R39 R40 15k 15k 15k 15k 15k 15k 15k 15k +5 VR17 100K 3 5 7 9 11 13 1 15 3 5 7 9 11 13 1 15 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 DA DB U11 4503 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 DA DB D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 +12 GND 2 4 6 10 12 14 16 8 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 +12 GND 2 4 6 10 12 14 16 8 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 +12 GND 2 4 6 10 12 14 16 8

+5

VDD

AS R/W E B0 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7

4 6 5 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

VSS EXTAL

D4 D5 D6 D7 ENABLE WR DATALCD CONTRAST

RAWCOR1 RAWCOR2 RAWCOR3 RAWCOR4 RAWCOR5 RAWCOR6

+12

RAWCOR1 RAWCOR2 RAWCOR3 RAWCOR4 RAWCOR5 RAWCOR6 RAWCOR7 RAWCOR8

R41 R42 R43 R44 R45 R46 R47 R48

10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k

J4 COR
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k

XTAL

4503
RAWDIS1 RAWDIS2 RAWDIS3 RAWDIS4 RAWCOR7 RAWCOR8

+12
RAWDIS1 RAWDIS2 RAWDIS3 RAWDIS4 RAWDIS5 RAWDIS6 RAWDIS7 RAWDIS8

R49 R50 R51 R52 R53 R54 R55 R56

+5 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 D2 D3 D4 D5 E0 E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 31 30 29 28 27 22 23 24 25 43 45 47 49 44 46 48 50
SO SI SCK CS CDS COR SELA SELB SELC

10k

C53 0.1uf

R73 R58 R59 R61 R63 R65 R67 R69 R71

R116

17

RESET

IRQS

C
MODB

18 19 52 3 2 C54 0.1uf

XIRQ IRQ VRH MODA MODB

R1 +5 470 CORLED

R12 470

RAWDIS5 RAWDIS6 RAWDIS8 RAWDIS7

R76 R77 R78 R79 R80 R81 R82 R83

10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k

J3 DIS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k 100k

10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k R75 R74 R72 R70 R68 R66 R64 R62

+12
AUDOUT

A2 A1 A0

51 20 21

VRL D0 D1

A/D0 A/D1 A/D2 A/D3 A/D4 A/D5 A/D6 A/D7

+12

10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k 10k

J2 1 2 3 4 5 R98 R99 R100 R101 R102 R103 R104 R105 J7 Data Menu CORLED POWERIN 1 3 5 7 9 2 4 6 8 10 Select OnOffLED Return POWEROUT Front Panel TP1 +12 TP2 +6 TP20 +5 B +12 +6 +12 U5 VoltReg 1 C55 47uf R8 10K C57 0.1uf +6 GND Vin Vout PAD 3 +5 C58 0.1uf +5 AUDIO/COR

R115 10k U6 LM339 5 7 9 11 4 6 8 10 U3 X250XX 2 5 6 1 SO SI SCK CS VCC VSS WP HOLD 8 4 3 7 +5

OUTSELA OUTSELB OUTSELC COROUT

U2 LM339 2 1 14 13 3 12 5 6 9 11 4 7 8 10 2 1 14 13 3 12 D2 +12

K1
COMMON N/O N/C

TP19 COROUT RLY DIODE_1N4148 Q1 R6 10K B E 2N3904-SOT23 C +6

32 33 34 Return Select Data Menu

MENU DATA SELECT

+12 GND

+12 GND

Audio Out B
AUDOUT

C200 .01uf

TP21

+12 +12 +6

R4 1K

U7 4051
OUTAUD1 OUTAUD2 OUTAUD3 OUTAUD4 OUTAUD5 OUTAUD6 OUTAUD7 OUTAUD8 OUTSELA OUTSELB OUTSELC

C59 0.1uf U8 4051

13 14 15 12 1 5 2 4 6 11 10 9 8 7 X0 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 INH A B C VSS VEE X 3 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +12 16

C60 0.1uf

C61 .01uf

C49 1.0UF X 3 VR18 100K

13 14 15 12 1 5 2 4 6 11 10 9 8 7

X0 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 INH A B C VSS VEE

J6
J1 POWERIN PWR GND

POWEROUT 0

POWEROUT D1 1N4001 +12 R7 1k +5

3 2 1 +12 +12 16 JPR1

COROUT

POWERIN +5 OnOffLED R9 10K +6 C56 47uf R84 R8510k R8610k R8710k R8810k R8910k 10k
SELECT MENU MODB IRQS

2 GND

Title Size

RVS-8 Voter
Number 17-Oct-2005 C:\Contracting\LDG\RVS-8\Voter.DDB 7 Revision

DATA

A3 Date: File: 6 Sheet 2 of 4 Drawn By: AA3AV 8

3.2

C9 1.0UF

VR1 100k

+12

U12A TL084

S/N Gate 1
OUTAUD1

TP11 AUD1

C1 0.47uf D AUDIN1
AUDIN1

2 R107 1k 11 1 3 R25 4.7k 4 C17 .0047 R125 100k +6 +6 R24 10k R117 C10 1.0UF VR2 100k 10k C25 .0047 5 7 6 +12 8 3240 U12B TL084 U16A C33 .0047 2 1 3 R90 10k C41 10UF
A/D0

VR9 100K

R11 1.0M D

TP3 Noise1

U12C TL084 C2 0.47uf AUDIN2

AUDIN2

S/N Gate 2
OUTAUD2

TP12 AUD2

9 R108 1k 8 10 R26 4.7k U16B C18 .0047 R126 100k +6 +6 R23 10k R118 10k C26 .0047 12 14 13 U12D TL084 3240 C34 .0047 6 7 5 R91 10k C42 10UF
A/D1

VR10 100K

R10 1.0M

TP4 Noise2 J5 AUDIN1 AUDIN2 AUDIN3 AUDIN4 AUDIN5 AUDIN6 AUDIN7 AUDIN8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Audio

C11 1.0UF

VR3 100k

+12

U13A TL084

S/N Gate 3
OUTAUD3

TP13 AUD3

C3 0.47uf AUDIN3 B
AUDIN3

2 R109 1k 11 1 3 R27 4.7k C19 .0047 R127 100k +6 +6 R22 10k R119 10k C12 1.0UF VR4 100k C27 .0047 5 7 6 +12 8 3240 U13B TL084 C35 .0047 2 1 3 U17A R92 10k C43 10UF
A/D2

VR11 100K

R3 1.0M

MH1 1 TP5 Noise3 CON1 MH2 1 CON1 MH3 1 CON1 MH4 1 CON1

U13C TL084 C4 0.47uf AUDIN4

AUDIN4

S/N Gate 4
OUTAUD4

TP14 AUD4

MH5 1 CON1 MH6 1 CON1

9 R110 1k 8 10 R28 4.7k U17B C20 .0047 R128 100k +6 +6 R21 10k R120 10k C28 .0047 12 14 13 U13D TL084 3240 C36 .0047 6 7 5 R93 10k C44 10UF
A/D3

VR12 100K

R2 1.0M

TP6 Noise4

Title Size A3 Date: File:

Number

RVS-8

Voter

Revision

3.2
17-Oct-2005 C:\Contracting\LDG\RVS-8\Voter.DDB 7 Sheet 3 of 4 Drawn By: AA3AV 8

C13 1.0UF

VR5 100k

+12

S/N Gate 5
U14A TL084
OUTAUD5

TP15 AUD5

C5 0.47uf D AUDIN5
AUDIN5

2 R111 1k 11 1 3 R29 4.7k U18A 3240 C37 .0047 2 1 3 R94 10k 4 C45 10UF
A/D4

VR13 100K

+12

R16 1.0M

C21 .0047 R129 100k +6 +6 R20 10k

C29 .0047 5 6

U14B TL084 7

TP7 Noise5

R121 C14 1.0UF VR6 100k 10k

U14C TL084 C6 0.47uf AUDIN6 C C22 .0047 R130 100k +6 +6 R19 10k C30 .0047 12 13
AUDIN6

S/N Gate 6
OUTAUD6

TP16 AUD6

9 R112 1k 8 10 R30 4.7k U14D TL084 14 U18B C38 .0047 6 7 5 3240 R95 10k C46 10UF
A/D5

VR14 100K

R15 1.0M C TP8 Noise6

R122 10k C15 1.0UF VR7 100k +12

U15A TL084

S/N Gate 7
OUTAUD7

TP17 AUD7

C7 0.47uf AUDIN7
AUDIN7

2 R113 1k 11 1 3 R31 4.7k U19A 3240 C39 .0047 2 1 3 R96 10k 4 C47 10UF
A/D6

VR15 100K

+12

R14 1.0M

B R131 100k +6

C23 .0047

C31 .0047 5 6

U15B TL084 7

TP9 Noise7

+6

R18 10k R123 10k

C16 1.0UF

VR8 100k

U15C TL084 C8 0.47uf AUDIN8

AUDIN8

S/N Gate 8
OUTAUD8

TP18 AUD8

9 R114 1k 8 10 R32 4.7k C24 .0047 R132 100k +6 +6 R17 10k R124 10k C32 .0047 12 14 13 3240 U15D TL084 U19B C40 .0047 6 7 5 R97 10k C48 10UF Size A3 Date: File: 5 6 17-Oct-2005 C:\Contracting\LDG\RVS-8\Voter.DDB 7 Sheet 4 of 4 Drawn By: AA3AV 8
A/D7

VR16 100K

R13 1.0M

TP10 Noise8

Title

Number

RVS-8

Voter

Revision

3.3