Specifications
ELAN AUDIO - SENTINEL / RCU-01 RCU01R02 PAGE 28/49
8. RCU-01 Description
The RCU-01 is the Site end of the SENTINEL system. It is housed in a 2RU enclosure and incorporates the Control
Processor (NEC V25, 8bit), the I/O boards (one 8 port analog, two 8 port relay cards and three 8 port Opto input
cards), the front panel display/switch board and the Power supply.
The internal arrangement allows easy access to all the boards, fuses and settings.
The I/O ports are all on 25 pin male ‘D’ connectors and share similar pin configurations. All have an individually fused
12V (0.5A) and a ground available on each connector.
An RS-232 port (male 9pin ‘D’) and a RS-485 port are provided the rear. The RS-232 port will directly connect the
cable supplied with the modem.
Two DC connectors are provided on the rear panel, one for connection to a battery and the other is a switchable
9/12VDC output at 1 amp. The battery connection is fused to protect the unit from reverse polarity and the RCU has a
built in intelligent 'GELL CELL' charging circuit which is current limited to 700mA.
The recommended battery size is 12V 7 amp/hour. Larger batteries can be connected, but would require additional
charging capacity. ELAN discourages the connection of smaller batteries than the one suggested due to the fixed
charge rate. The charge current should be typically no more than 10% of the ampere/hour capacity of the battery
when using sealed lead acid batteries.
The switchable DC output is to provide power for the external modem or Radio transceiver. The voltage is set to 9V
from the factory for connection to the Maestro Woomera or Banksia PRO34 modem.
The rear connector arrangement from left to right while viewing from the rear is;
• Mains entry receptacle, 1A fused IEC mains.
• Battery connector (top) Pin 1 is GND, Pin 2 is +ve, Miniature XLR chassis male.
• DC output connector (bottom) Pin 1 is GND, Pin 2 is +ve, Miniature XLR chassis female.
• Battery fuse (3A)
• RS-232 port. (9 pin ‘D’ male)
• RS-485 port (RJ45)
• Opto inputs 1 to 8 (25pin male ‘D’)
• Opto inputs 9 to 16 (25pin male ‘D’)
• Opto inputs 17 to 24 (25pin male ‘D’)
• Relay outputs 1 to 8 (25pin male ‘D’)
• Relay outputs 9 to 16 (25pin male ‘D’)
• Analog inputs 1 to 8 (25pin male ‘D’)
The front panel has an array of LED’s, a 16 character 2 line backlit LCD, a key switch and 5 push button switches.
The front panel LED’s are as follows;
• The 'AC POWER' LED shows that mains power is available to this unit.
• The 'ON LINE' will show if a valid connection is in progress.
• The 'RS-232 RX' LED shows data is being received.
• The 'RS-232 TX' LED shows data is being transmitted.
• The 16 Status LED’s show their respective states as per the Site configuration. (Set by the Host)
The switches are as follows;
• ACTIVATE. This switch must be pressed for other switch actions that change the state of the unit. This is to
prevent accidental operation. This switch has a LED in it which will flash if the unit is set to LOCAL mode as a
reminder.
• ON. Will set a state to ON whilst ACTIVATE is pressed and the appropriate screen is showing on the LCD.
• OFF. The same as above but for OFF.
• UP. Allows scrolling of the LCD in one direction.
• DOWN. Allows scrolling of the LCD in the reverse direction.
• LOCAL/REMOTE Key Switch. Sets the RCU mode to either state. Remote mode is for normal operation,
whereas Local mode prevents any external operation of the relays. As an added safety feature, the key is
removable in the LOCAL position so the person in charge of the site can prevent the unit being set back to
REMOTE inadvertently. For Firmware V2.2 onward, no alarms are generated while in LOCAL mode.