User guide

100
External Stow Monitoring – Vehicle Mounting
Every month, TracStar receives tech support calls due to antennas
striking an immobile object while the antenna is deployed and a
vehicle is moving. There is little an OEM can do to absolutely prevent
the occurrence, as the responsibility is on the operator of the vehicle
to safely maneuver same.
Refer to Section 3.5 in the manual – Move/RF_SAFE. This feature is
DISABLED by factory default. Enabling Move/RF_SAFE may help
but still can’t guarantee safe operation (see Section 3.5) if procedures
are not followed.
There are multiple methods of using external stow sensing to assist in
safely securing the antenna prior to moving a vehicle. The 1.2 Meter
antenna has a switch located in the stow bumper and the wiring for
the switch is secured to the IFL cable bulkhead on the antenna
pedestal, as shown in Figure A. This switch can be wired to a user
provided SPST relay circuit that would provide power to an
illumination device in the cab of the vehicle indicating the antenna is
still deployed. Alternately, the circuit could lockout the ignition or
prevent the transmission from engaging while the antenna is
deployed.
Figure A
Figure B
Alternately, an external stow switch, Figure B, could be engaged to
assist in safely sensing the antenna is stowed prior to moving a
vehicle and used in the same manor as previously mentioned.
TracStar assumes no liability or responsibility for physical damage to
antennas or from loss of service or operation due to physical
damage incurred while the antenna is deployed.