Integration for JIT Roving

1
Integration for JIT Roving

• Follow-up from previous Aurora presentations
• Rover Noise 2000
• Rover Packaging - 2001
• Presented by
• Jim, K0MHC/R
• froemke_at_attglobal.net, e-Mail
• http//www.k5rmg.org/k0mhc.html, web page
• AURORA/2002, April 27th, 2002

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Integration for JIT Roving

• Preface
• Operating Environments
• Project Objectives
• Internal Power Platform Integration
• Low Band Stack Integration
• The Care-and-Feeding of Bricks
• Cooling System
• Transceiver Stack Integration
• Integrated FT-847 and Low Band Controller
• Operator Console Integration
• Microwave Cluster Integration
• External Tower Integration
• Summary
• Integration Scoreboard
• Work in Progress
• References

3
K0MHC Station Environments

• Winter BASE station operation from Austin, TX
  (EM-10)
• Shack in extra bedroom
• Stealth antennas due to covents
• January ROVER operation throughout TX/OKA
• Temporary installation in my wifes minivan
• No holes mounting of antennas, etc.
• 8 wide space between front seats for equipment
• Frequent MOBILE operation on I35/I29
• Summer PORTABLE station operation from
  Alexandria, MN (EN-26ha)
• Shack in lake cabin/garage
• Located in-a-hole with surrounding hills and
  trees
• Fixed tower (120 cable run from shack)

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Winter Rover/Mobile Installation
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Summer Portable/Base Station
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Challenge

• One of the biggest contributors to lower scores
  is not getting out-of-the-gate on time. You cant
  activate many grids from your driveway.
• Unless you have a permanent mobile installation,
  you have to uninstall your base station
  components prior to installing them in your
  rover.
• Upon completion of your rover operation you have
  to uninstall your rover station components prior
  to reinstalling them in your base station.
• Continued set-up (installation) and take-down
  (uninstallation) of your station components tends
  to introduce component failures.

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JIT Roving - Project Objectives

• One hour set-up time for rover station
  installation
• Improving rover performance Year-to-Year
• Idiot proofing of electronic equipment
• Use low cost, light weight readily available
  fasteners
• Provide easy access to components for service
• Adaptable to mixed vendor equipment
• No equipment modifications except moving/removing
  rubber feet
• Minimum vehicle modifications
• Reduce overall space (volume) required
• Reduce overall width (lt 8 in.) required
• Improved safety

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Rover Station Configuration
Summary
Tower Stack
Transceiver Stack
Operator Console
Laptop
Rotor Control
GPS
uW Band Switch
FT-847
Key
Notepad
FT-100
Microwave Cluster
Amplifiers, Transverter, Cooling Control
Low Band Stack
Transverters, Amplifiers, Cooling Control
2304
432
222
3456
2304
3456
222
144
50
902
1296
902
1296
Rotor
Power Platform
DC/AC Inverter
Aux. Battery
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Minimize Inter-Connections

• Reduce Inter-connections between equipment stacks
  by grouping of related functions.
• RF, IF and AF cables
• Various control cables
• DC and AC power cables
• RF ground cables
• Sharing of Inter-connections (multiplexing)
  between equipment stacks can reduce installation
  time, clutter and overall cost.
• Single RF Coax for multiple bands
• High capacity DC distribution for multiple
  components
• Multiplexed controller interface for multiple
  band selection

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Harden Intra-Connections

• Harden Intra-connections within the equipment
  stack to become resistant to vibration and reduce
  failures.
• Perform a pull/twist/shake/drop test on all
  jumpers while you monitor the SWR into a dummy
  load before installation.
• Once a cable is installed successfully, dont
  mess with it.
• The use of good cables, connectors, assembly
  installation practices, physical securing and
  electrical/mechanical testing should insure
  longer service lifetime.
• Improper soldering of connectors to cables
  contributes to most failures.
• Eliminate adapters by using natural connectors.

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JIT Roving Power Platform Objectives

• Quick installation into vehicle
• Base for mounting of Low-Band Stack
• All DC and AC power sources
• 110 VAC inverter and 12 VDC battery
• Primary DC and AC power distribution
• Safey tie-down of battery and equipment

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Power Platform Configuration
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JIT Roving - Low Band Stack Objectives

• Quick installation into vehicle
• Service Access
• Accessibility of Controls Indicators
• Placement within Rover, Base or Tower
• Integration with Other Equipment
• Volumetric Efficiency (overall size)
• Equipment Reliability
• DC and RF Grounding

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Low Band Stack Configuration
Amplifiers, Transverter, Cooling Control
432
222
144
50
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Low-Band Stack Service Access
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The Care and Feeding of Bricks

• DC voltage effects power output linearity
• An open output can damage final amplifier devices
• Overdrive can damage input/final amplifier
  devices
• Transceiver PTT sequencing ALC operation
• The pre-amp within the brick is very sensitive to
  static discharges from the antenna
• The pre-amp also picks up RF noise sources
  (radiated and conducted) from within the vehicle
• Mode of operation and duty cycle
• Temperature effects Power Output, Efficiency
  Life

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JIT Roving - Cooling System Objectives

• Improved equipment lifetime
• Improved equipment efficiency
• Minimum RFI and acoustic noise generation
• Automatic operation (unattended)
• Minimum impact on space and power
• No impact on station set-up time
• Minimum cost

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Cooling System Design

• Amplifier power dissipation, inlet air
  temperature, air flow restriction, temperature
  rise and heat sink size and heat sink
  illumination are key parameters.
• Each TelTec dissipates 80W _at_ 180W PO
• Each TE Systems dissipates 150W _at_ 350W PO
• Cooling System Design Assumptions
• Temp. Rise between inlet and heat sink (15 C or
  27 F)
• Air flow restriction not measured (included in
  safety factor)
• 10 loss of air flow due to copper screens
  covering both fan surfaces
• 70 heat sink illumination with forced air
  impinging on heat sink
• Cooling System Controller Algorithms
• DC fans and amplifiers at the same voltage level
  (13.8 VDC nominal)
• 100 cooling with PTT On to either of the
  selected amplifier pair
• Active fan speed control based on thermal sensor
  control loop
• Avoid stalling the fan rotor (due to low voltage)

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Example of Poor Cooling Design

• Small fan size (relative to surface being cooled)
• Partial heat sink illumination
• High air flow resistance
• Thermal feedback

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Cooling Fan Selection Criteria

• Adequate CFM for cooling of amplifier(s)
• Physical Size
• Wide and deep for increased air flow at lower
  RPMs
• Very Low RFI hash generation
• Tested with a hand held (HT) sniffer at 50 MHz
  AM
• DC brushless type and operation at lower RPMs
• Acceptable Acoustic Noise Level
• Lower RPM, active speed control and proper
  mounting
• Fan Cost and Lifetime
• Ball bearing type and lower RPMs
• Safety (watch your fingers)
• Safety grills/screen mounted on BOTH sides of the
  fan

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Cooling Fans

• Cooling Flow Dissipation W / (20 Temp Rise
  C)
• TelTec U150 CF 72 / (20 15) 72 / 300
  0.24 m3/min 16 CFM
• Duel TelTecs and 1.5-2X Safety factor 48-64 CFM
  required
• One brushless 53 CFM 80x32mm Sanyo Denki fan
  selected
• TE Sys 0552G CF 100 / (2015) 100/300 0.33
  m3/min 22 CFM
• Dual TE Sys. And 1.5-2X Safety factor 66-88 CFM
  required
• Four brushless 21 CFM 60x35mm Sanyo Denki fans
  selected
• Preliminary Results
• Five 80mm samples meet cooling/acoustic
  requirements but, failed RFI
• Replacement 80x32mm Panaflo 40 CFM fan met
  acoustic/RFI but, is marginal for cooling in FM
  mode.
• 60mm fan samples (4) meet all requirements
  (cooling/acoustic/RFI)

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Dual TE Systems Amplifiers Cooling
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Dual TelTec Amplifiers Cooling
25
Amplifier Cooling Summary

• All fans generate some RFI (radiated and/or
  conducted)
• A fan mounted near the pre-amplifier can be bad
  news
• Test a sample fan with your hand held RF
  sniffer (6 mr. AM)
• Some additional RF shielding may be necessary
  using copper screen, copper/brass strips and
  ferrite beads
• Recirculation of hot air degrades cooling results
• Use air ducting/shielding to reduce feedback
• Inlet temperature and back pressure are important
• Dont mount amplifiers inside a closed area
  (trunk, etc.)
• Duty cycle, mode, DC voltage and SWR effect
  amplifier heat
• Design for the worst case conditions
• Fan filters will fill up with dust, etc. and
  block air flow

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JIT Roving Transceiver Stack Objectives

• Quick installation into vehicle
• Quick release from top of Low-Band stack
• Dont use operator console space
• Rotate front of transceivers for optimal viewing
  from driver or passenger seat
• Integrate low-band controller onto FT-847
• Integrate DEM TIB (transceiver interface board)
  into DEM 222 transceiver unit
• Include uW band control and monitoring equipment

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Transceiver Stack Configuration
Rotor Control
uW Band Switch
FT-847
FT-100
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Integrated FT-847 and Low Band Controller

• The Yaesu FT-847 designers left out several
  VHF/UHF functions
• Individual power output adjustments for each band
  (6, 2, 1.25 0.7 mr)
• Individual band indication for controlling
  external antenna relays
• High power drive for external antenna relays (up
  to 0.5 amp with 50 V breakdown)
• Variable delay between PTT On and the start of
  RF output
• Full CW break-in capability when using external
  amplifiers/pre-amps
• Adequate drive current capability from the STBY
  outputs (only 100 ma)
• An external band select switch box was previous
  used but can be out of sync with the internal
  FT-847 band select switch (operator error).
• These missing functions were integrated into a
  small box that mounts onto the rear of and is
  powered from the FT-847.
• No modifications are necessary to the FT-847
• Error conditions are detected to avoid damage to
  external equipment
• The CAT interface can now control both the FT-847
  and external equipment

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FT-847 Controller for Low Bands
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JIT Roving Operator Console Objectives

• Quick installation into vehicle
• No holes or marks on vehicle dash board
• Quick disconnect from side of Low-Band stack and
  overhead visor mount
• Easy to enter/exit passenger seat
• Efficient use of limited surface area

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Operator Console Configuration
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JIT Roving Microwave Cluster Objectives

• Quick installation into back of rover vehicle
• Mast mountable at top of base station tower
• Very low loss components throughout
• Plug-and-Go capability on 902 3456 MHz
• Extendable to 5760 10 GHz
• Cooling and remote monitoring capability
• Minimize component failures due to handling
• Static and lightning protection (RF, DC control
  cables)

34
Microwave Cluster Configuration

• Work In Progress

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JIT Roving Tower Stack Objectives

• Quick installation onto vehicle
• Rapid push-up/down times (2 minutes by driver)
• Strong mast to handle total wind load at 80 MPH
• Light enough stack to manually push-up
• Full rotation while in-motion (radius of
  rotation)
• Extend to 25 while stopped
• Travel at 13.5 while in-motion
• Retract to 10 while traveling off highway
• Cable management for reliable telescoping

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Tower Stack Configuration
37
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Summary

• Integration of your equipment can save
  considerable time, money and frustration.
• The volume occupied by equipment components can
  be significantly reduced.
• The reliability of your equipment can be
  improved.
• You can be on-the-air by the start of the contest.

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Volumetric Efficiency Examples1999 2000
2001 2002
40
Rover Set-up Time Budget

• RF/AF/Power/Control Cables

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Work in Process (2002)

• Continuing RFI Noise Reduction
• Active Temperature Control of Fan Speed
• New Microwave Controller
• DC Voltage Regulation
• Computer Control (hardware integration)
• Software Integration
• Audio Integration
• Navigation and Aiming Improvements (Roving)
• Antenna Improvements