Waveguide Switch
It’s important to note that
although the UPL-2 was designed to be used with
either a Waveguide or COAX switch, any 2 position
switch with a control voltage of 20-30 volts may be
controlled with this unit.
(The other assumption is that the
current is below 3 amps, and a low loss cable is
being used.)
A waveguide switch is a 4 port
device. On the front panel of the UPL-2, the
waveguide switch has the designation of S1B.
S1A represents the input switch.
This switch(es) may be a ganged
waveguide/coax switch, or your application may
handle the input to the amplifiers in a different
manner. In your application, the S1A (input)
switch may be replaced with an input divider or
power splitter. Whether the input switch (S1A)
actually exists in your system or not, does not
matter.
If you have 2 switches , it is
also possible to get a little creative and control
the input and output switches together using a
specially made cable with one end interfacing to the
controller, and the other end having 2 separate
connectors. This assumes the voltage and
polarity are the same for both switches and you
don’t exceed the current capacity of the controller.
Switch position status should
always come from the output switch since this is
where the inhibit function is generated. In
short, whatever position indicators are fed into the
switch interface connector at the rear of the
chassis will determine what gets displayed on the
front panel.
Waveguide switch status is
constantly monitored and displayed on the front
panel of the control unit. Changing a
switches’ position is accomplished by setting the
control unit in MANUAL, then depressing the switch
command button located inside the switch icon on the
front panel. After entering a switch command,
a command relay inside the control unit
closes, activating the W.G. switch to change
position. The command relay is activated for
about 500 mSec. There is a command relay each
for position 1 and for position 2.
A led is mounted on the control
unit circuit board next to each command relay.
The led is lit as long as a command voltage is being
sent out to the waveguide switch. With no
switching taking place, both (position 1 and
position 2 commands) LED’s should be off. The
waveguide switch is in position 1 when amplifier 1
is “online” and amplifier 2 is working into the
load.
A switch position may be changed
by using the manual override knob (if provided) on
top of the switch without effecting the operation of
the control unit. The inhibit function will
work no matter what method of changing the switch is
used.
The UPL-2 will interface to
(almost) any wave guide switch (Not Included, but we
can get one for you if needed.). The switch to
be operated should have a specified voltage of
20-36V (with the common being negative. If
your application is different, contact factory.)
S1B is the waveguide switch.
CABLES
Cables can be purchased from C&M
Systems. The mating connector of the waveguide
switch must be supplied to C&M, and the length
specified.
If you are making your own switch
cable, remember to factor in the resistance of the
cable your using. The gauge of the wire and
the length are the two factors that should be used
when calculating the resistance.
The voltage drop (or loss in the
switch cable) is dependant on how much current your
switch will draw.
Copper wire resistance table
AWG Feet/Ohm Ohms/100ft Ampacity* mm^2 Meters/Ohm Ohms/100M
10 490.2 .204 30 2.588 149.5 .669
12 308.7 .324 20 2.053 94.1 1.06
14 193.8 .516 15 1.628 59.1 1.69
16 122.3 .818 10 1.291 37.3 2.68
18 76.8 1.30 5 1.024 23.4 4.27
20 48.1 2.08 3.3 0.812 14.7 6.82
22 30.3 3.30 2.1 0.644 9.24 10.8
24 19.1 5.24 1.3 0.511 5.82 17.2
26 12.0 8.32 0.8 0.405 3.66 27.3
28 7.55 13.2 0.5 0.321 2.30 43.4
These
Ohms / Distance figures are for a round trip
circuit. Specifications are for copper wire at 77
degrees Fahrenheit or 25 degrees Celsius.
|
