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Re: [TowerTalk] wireless rotor

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] wireless rotor
From: Jim Lux <jimlux@earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:30:47 -0700
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 4/11/13 10:17 AM, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
I have the LDG  AT-1000 Pro II tuner with accessory analog meter.  I
would like to remote the meter and the push buttons (in the shack) so
the tuner can be closer to the antenna farm.  Has anyone tried this?
What success, what method?

When asked, the guys at LDG say you can remote the meter a "few" feet.
So we are on our own fellow LDG remoters!

If I am to be a/the pioneer I will try to remote the push buttons by
paralleling them with momentary contact push buttons.  First I will try
to gun the meter via the candidate remote cable (plain wire, no other
components).  If line losses interfere too much then I'll have to coble
up an integrated circuit op-amp to be a buffer. No doubt there is a high
probability of needing to do some filtering for RFI, maybe caps on the
switches and some RF chokes if needed (beads?)

A simple way to remote the LED lamps would be to physically move them.
Better would be to add a panel of LED's with each one having a "twin" in
series with those in the meter box.  This would reduce the intensity but
not enough to cause problems as I don't anticipate using the remote out
in full sunlight, just a comfortably lit radio shack. I would run the
remoting cable via a buried conduit not shared with coax.

Any suggestions, recommendations, prescriptions, warnings,
encouragement, psychiatric counseling... ;) ;)



The meter is tricky, since it's an analog signal.. you could use it with a base resistor to drive a common emitter transistor to form a current source.


For the buttons and LEDs.. there are a variety of kits (velleman and others) out there that have something simple like a shift register and a 555 low speed clock, or a CPLD that does serial to parallel. Another approach is a UART at each end.

Or, an Arduino.. measure the voltages using the 12 bit ADC. LEDs go to input pins, pushbuttons go to output pins or FETs or small relays. Then send the data using a serial port.

Actually, have you asked LDG whether they have a custom program for the processor in your tuner that replicates the capability of the AT-200 with the serial port?



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