POWER AMPLIFIER NEW ADVENTURES IN BROADCASTING Technalogix TAU-100
You’ve already unpacked it, haven’t you? You’ve unpacked it and plugged it in and turned it on and fiddled with the knobs. No? Okay, good. Please take a few minutes to read the manual and familiarize yourself with your new Technalogix power amplifier. We believe that this manual, and of course our equipment, should be everything you need to get on the air with superb broadcast quality video.
Table of Contents SECTION I- SAFEGUARDS ..............................................................................................I-1 SAFETY AND FIRST AID .....................................................................................................I-2 OPERATING SAFEGUARDS ................................................................................................I-3 SECTION II - WARRANTY .............................................................................................
SECTION VIII - INSTALLATION ...................................................................................VIII-1 BUILDING RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................................VIII-1 HEATING AND COOLING REQUIREMENTS .....................................................................VIII-2 ELECTRICAL SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................VIII-3 ANTENNA AND TOWER RECOMMENDATIONS ............................
Section I - Safeguards General Safeguards This section is written as a general guide to keep all 5 fingers on your hand and is intended for those having previous knowledge and experience with these kinds of equipment. It is not intended to contain a complete statement of all safety precautions, which should be observed by personnel using this or other electronic equipment. DOCUMENTATION - Read, retain and follow instructions before operating the equipment.
Safety and First Aid Personnel engaged in the installation, operation, maintenance, or servicing of electronic equipment are exposed to the hazard of high voltage. It is imperative that all safety regulations and precautions are consistently observed. Knowledge of first aid procedures is recommended. The following information is presented as a reference only. • At all times, avoid placing any part of the body in series between ground and circuit points, whether power is on or off.
Operating Safeguards It is a known fact that our broadcast transmitters and translators enjoy 50-ohm load impedances. So much so, that it is imperative you maintain 50-ohm impedances throughout your system. In return, your equipment will provide you with maximum power transfer to the antenna and decreased reflected power heading back towards the amplifier pallets, reducing the amount of magic smoke that gets let out of the power amplifier.
Section II - Warranty Our legalese is straightforward. It is simply designed to give you peace of mind and helps you resist the temptation to have your electronics friend try to repair your Technalogix product. Technalogix Ltd. products have been completely tested and found to meet specifications and be in proper operating condition. They are warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment.
To claim your rights under this warranty: • Contact Technalogix and describe the problem in as much detail as possible. See troubleshooting section in this manual. If a solution cannot be found at this time, it may be determined that the unit will have to be returned to Technalogix for repair, once a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number is provided. • Package equipment carefully for prepaid shipment to Technalogix.
Section III - Overview Standard Features • No sync compression to ensure power amplifier is digital compatible • Narrow output bandpass filter allows adjacent channel operation • Front panel Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to monitor forward and reflected RF power, and DC voltage • Microcontroller-based monitoring and control ensures amplifier will never be overdriven and high VSWR will not damage amplifier • AC circuit breaker on back panel to eliminate replacement of fuses • RF/EMI filtering on A
Principle of Operation The TAU-100 power amplifier supplies a 100 watt peak video signal with 10% aural power on any of the UHF television channels 14 through 69. Please note that channel selection must be made at time of order, as the transmitter or translator is calibrated and tested to the channel requested and is not field tuneable.
Block Diagram The RF signal enters through the RF Input connector on the power amplifier enclosure from the modulator or processor. It then passes through an RF attenuator to limit the output power level of the power amplifier and to help buffer any transients that may come into the power amplifier. After attenuation, the signal is amplified through the UHFTV-10 driver and UHFTV-150 T final pallets before the signal passes through an isolator (circulator with load) and a bandpass filter.
FILTER UHFTV-10 UHFTV-150 DIRECTIONAL COUPLER CIRCULATOR ATTENUATION RF INPUT RF OUT V V A=+26dB min. A=+12dB min. A=-0.2dB typ. V A=-0.1dB To Wattmeter and Antenna A=-0.
Specifications The following specifications were taken with a Technalogix modulator/processor. Should a different modulator or processor be used, specifications could vary. For this reason, we recommend that any different modulator/processor be shipped to Technalogix so the system can be matched and set up optimally. In addition, the audio/video ratio the input to the power amplifier needs to be –10 dB in order for the software and LCD readout to be accurate.
Aural Characteristics Input Level for 25 kHz Deviation Frequency Response (Standard Pre-emphasis) Harmonic Distortion (25 kHz Deviation) Amplitude Modulation Noise Frequency Modulation Noise Intercarrier Stability 0.
Section IV – RF Components Amplifier Pallets The UHFTV-10 pallet is a two stage ultra linear class-A linear pallet. It has a minimum gain of 38dB and draws no more than 2.75Adc total drain current (the exact bias and drain currents of your system are found in the spec sheet supplied with each manual). The quiescent and drain currents can be measured on the UHFTV-10 pallet by measuring the voltage drop across the current sense resistor found directly at the DC power supply lead input to the pallet.
Isolator The power amplifier pallets are protected in part by the isolator located in the filter enclosure. It is actually made up of a circulator and 50-ohm dump resistor. The circulators’ specifications include an insertion loss of less than 0.2dB with an isolation rating better than 20dB. Any reflected power gets dumped into the flanged power resistor. This way, there is instantaneous protection due to the isolator setup and long term protection due to the software.
Section V – Power Supply Switching AC-DC power supplies are used to power the amplifier pallets, the control circuits, and all of the fans. There is (1) power supply used to generate the necessary current for the amplifier pallets, set to 28.3 Vdc nominally. The power supply is a Mean Well SP-500-27. This switching power supply is fully protected against short circuit and output overload. Short circuit protection is a cycling type power limit.
MEAN WELL SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY SP-500 SERIES ISO-9001 CERTIFIED MANUFACTURER .LOW COST, HIGH RELIABILITY .COMPACT SIZE, LIGHT WEIGHT .COOLING FAN ON/OFF AUTOMATICALLY .100% FULL LOAD BURN-IN TEST .BUILT IN REMOTE CONTRAL .105 º C OUTPUT CAPACITOR .INTERNATIONAL AC INPUT RANGE .BUILT IN EMI FILTER, LOW RIPPLE NOISE .HIGH EFFICIENCY, LOW WORKING TEMPERATURE .BUILT IN PFC CIRCUIT .SOFT-START CIRCUIT, LIMITING AC SURGE CURRENT .SHORT CIRCUIT, OVERLOAD, OVER VOLTAGE, OVER TEMP.
Section VI – Monitor and Control System Control Board Overview (Series II-H) The control printed circuit boards (PCB) are located at the front of each enclosure connected directly to the back of the liquid crystal displays (LCD) and are identified as Series II-H PCBs. The main purpose of the Series II-H PCB is to monitor the RF power and the DC supply voltages in the power amplifier and filter enclosures and to monitor just the DC supply voltages in the power supply enclosure.
Interface Components The interface section of the Series II-H PCB includes the front panel switch interfacing in addition to the buzzer and carrier disable output circuits. The (3) momentary switches found on the front panels of each enclosure are tied to the microcontroller through an isolation stage to avoid any static discharge or noise on the switch wiring from reaching the microcontroller.
simply turns off the buzzer. The carrier disable circuit simply applies a shutdown voltage to the driver pallet in the system. The U14 generates the signal out of pin 21 and controls relay Q2 through R17. When Q2 is turned off, the shutdown voltage to the driver is floating and the carrier is on. During a fault condition, when Q2 is turned on, the shutdown voltage is applied to the carrier disable on the driver.
Signal Conditioning Components The signal processing section of the Series II-H PCBs is used to buffer potentially noisy or damaging signals from the ADC. Power supply samples and forward and reflected power from a directional coupler are then digitized. Firstly, all analog signals are protected with a resettable fuse and transient voltage suppressor (TVS) combination. These components ensure that voltages above the Vbr breakdown voltage of the TVS get clamped and do not pass farther down the circuit.
Display Components The display section of the Series II-H PCB is comprised of the LCD and the components that make up the data bus to send the data from the microcontroller to the LCD. Specifically, the LCD is an alphanumeric 20X4 display that uses the industry standard 44780 controller and a parallel interface for data communications. Firstly, the microcontroller sends out the data to be displayed via a serial bus where the signals are latched with U11 and U12 and converted to a parallel data stream.
Microcontroller Components The heart of the monitor and control system found in Series II-H PCBs is microcontroller U14. This microcontroller analyzes all RF power levels and voltages to ensure that all operating parameters are within their predetermined safe operating levels. If a fault is found, appropriate action is taken to help protect the system from damage, which may include turning the RF carriers off. A full description of all faults and their respective actions is found later in this section.
Fault Shutdowns On the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) the following messages may appear: If you see this message, the system will: - shut amp down for 1 minute - automatically turn amp on after 1 minute and check again for overdriven amplifier - come back to the same power level that it was set If you see this message, the system will: - shut amp down for 5 minutes - automatically turn amp on after 5 minutes and check again for high VSWR - come back to the same power level that it was set VI-7
Remote Port The remote port allows external control of the transmission system via the DB25 connector on each enclosure.
Series II - Bill of Materials revision: H date: 2-Dec-04 Item Qty 1 1 2 2 3 2 4 5 Components BZ1 C1 (solder side), C5 (solder side) C2 (electrolytic), C6 (solder side) Description 6 2 2 8 5 9 1 1 Tolerance BUZZER, magnetic, 5V, single tone Package Through hole Equivalency Challenge Electronics TDB05; Global Components TDB05, Tranducers USA TRIE-1205P Panasonic ECE-V1JA101P, NIC NACEW101M63V10x10.5 Panasonic ECE-V1VA331P, NIC NACEW331M35V10x10.
Series II - Bill of Materials revision: H date: 2-Dec-04 Optional part depending on power level of TV or FM 39 1 R17 40 1 R26 (next to VR2) 41 1 R26 (next to VR2) 42 1 R31 43 1 R31 44 45 2 1 R28, R30 R33 46 1 RLY1 47 1 U1 48 49 1 1 U2 U3 50 1 U4 51 52 2 1 U5, U6 U8 53 54 1 1 U9 U10 55 2 U11, U12 56 1 U13 57 1 U14 58 59 60 1 1 3 J10 U15 VR2, VR3, VR4 RESISTOR, 4.99 kohm, 1/10 watt, thick film RESISTOR, 2.
SERIES II, REV. H - Control System Vin Cond U1 C1 ELECTROLYTIC SOLDER SIDE + D1 L1 L5 Vout 2 +5Vdc C4 0805 CHIP NEAR BUZZER + 3 5 On/Off 1 Vin Vin 3 Gnd J1 Feedbk 4 F1 C2 ELECTROLYTIC D2 C14 J1 GND 4 U2 Feedbk 4 L3 R1 Vout 1 D3 BK LT CTRL SELECT C6 ELECTROLYTIC SOLDER SIDE J2 BkLtCtrl U3 IN Pin15LCD COMPONENT SIDE + 5 On/Off 3 Gnd C5 ELECTROLYTIC SOLDER SIDE + 2 Vin J1 +8V OUT OUT 1 C7 1206 CHIP NEAR POW. CONN.
SERIES II, REV. H - Control System +5Vdc R4 PWR In J3 R5 R6 R8 1 J4 1 +5Vdc P1 P2 P3 P4 R7 VW In NAV In R9 U5 J3 2 J4 2 P8 P7 P6 P5 VW uPC PWR uPC +5Vdc R10 R11 R12 R14 NC(RC6) SEL In J3 4 J4 4 R15 U6 P1 P2 P3 P4 +5Vdc P8 P7 P6 P5 PIN17uPC RES uPC R13 RES In Ground J3 3 J4 5 J3 5 J4 3 +5Vdc BZ1 J5 R16 Buzzer Q1 Buzzer delete +5Vdc J6 +5Vdc J7 2 Rly. COM J7 Rly. N/O RLY1 D4 3 J7 Rly. N/C 1 R17 Rly.Ctrl Q2 A.
SERIES II, REV.
SERIES II, REV. H - Control System +5Vdc PSU L7 C11 C12 + Isoltd 1 C25 R33 FWD L3 Isoltd 2 C1 0805 CHIP COMP.
1 J9 2 J9 3 J9 4 J9 5 J9 6 J9 14 J9 13 J9 12 J9 11 J9 10 J9 9 J9 8 J9 7 J9 15 J9 LED K LED A LCD D0 LCD D1 LCD D2 LCD D3 LCD D4 LCD D5 LCD D6 LCD D7 LCD E LCD R/*W LCD RS LCD Vo LCD Vdd LCD Vss SERIES II, REV.
SERIES II, REV. H - Control System Vcc U13 Reset Reset GND Vcc +5Vdc C47 C48 U14 Dclk DfromUPC DtoUPC Latch1CS Latch2CS Buzzer CR1 GND OSC1 OSC2 CONVST MCLR/Vpp RB7 RA0 RB6 RA1 RB5 RA2 RB4 RA3 RB3 RA4 RB2 RA5 RB1 Vss RB0/INT OSC1/CLKin Vdd OSC2/CLKout Vss RC0/T1CKI RC7/RX/CK RC1/CCP2 RC6/TX/CK RC2/CCP1 RC5/SD0 RC3/SCK/CLRC4/SDI/SDA Dig.Out1 Dig.Out2 Rly.Ctrl Dig.In 3 Dig.In 2 Dig.In 1 D12 R36 U15 Vcc *HOLD SCK SI + *CS SO *WP Vss C49 C50 A.
Section VII – Mechanical Section The heat sink allows the amplifiers to operate at a cooler temperature and prevents overheating, which helps the longevity of the entire system. The heat sink has hollow fins, which help dissipate the heat from the amplifiers faster than a conventional serrated or corrugated fin. In addition to the cooling effects of the heat sink, there is a fan that provides 110 cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air flow (into zero static pressure).
Section VIII - Installation This section contains installation recommendations, unpacking, inspection, and installation instructions for the power amplifier. We are sure that you are chomping at the bit to install your new system, so we recommend that you read the following sections very carefully. Building Recommendations The quality of the building is of great importance if you are to expect long life and continued performance from the power amplifier.
Heating and Cooling Requirements The environment’s temperature will contribute greatly to the length of the power amplifier’s life. Technalogix recommends that the building’s filtered air intake must have capacity for all air-flow in the building plus an additional 20%. Keep the intake below the roofline to avoid intake of solar heated air. Please ensure that the intake and exhaust areas are on the same side of the building to avoid pressure differentials during windy conditions.
Electrical Service Recommendations Technalogix recommends that a qualified, licensed local electrician be consulted for the required electrical service. We suggest local electricians because: • The personnel knows the local codes • The personnel can be on site readily • You are apt to get better overall support if you give what business you can to local suppliers Technalogix recommends that proper AC line conditioning and surge suppression be provided on the primary AC input to the power amplifier.
Antenna and Tower Recommendations Your preliminary engineering workgroup should establish your antenna and tower requirements, both for receiving and transmitting antennas. Construction of sturdy, high quality antenna/tower systems will pay off in terms of coverage of your service area, the overall quality and saleability of your radiated signal, and reduced maintenance expenses. Technalogix provides complete turnkey antenna systems if needed.
Shelter Security The FCC requires that the transmitter or translator be secure from entry or control by unauthorized persons, and that any hazardous voltages or other dangers (including most tower bases) be protected by locks or fences as necessary to protect personnel and prevent unauthorized tampering or operation. Security of the building further implies that it be secure from wildlife. Use sturdy construction materials, including sheet metal if necessary.
Unpacking and Inspection Check the outside of the container. Carefully open the container and remove the power amplifier. Retain all packing material that can be reassembled in the event that the equipment must be returned to the factory. Exercise care in handling equipment during inspection to prevent damage due to rough or careless handling. Visually inspect the enclosure of the power amplifier for damage that may have occurred during shipment.
Location and Function of Controls and Connectors (TAU-100 Power Amplifier) The following illustration depicts the location of the connectors when installing the 100-watt power amplifier (TAU-100). Technalogix Ltd.
POWER - Tactile button to turn carriers on and off. To turn off, must be depressed for at least 2 seconds. Tied internally through DB9 connectors to all other POWER buttons. NAVIGATE - Tactile button to refresh screen after two minute screen saver times out. All monitoring and protection continues during screen saver. SELECT- Tactile button to refresh screen after two minute screen saver times out. All monitoring and protection continues during screen saver.
Initial Hook Up 1. Place the transmitter/translator in its permanent location near a receptacle supplying required AC voltage. DO NOT APPLY AC POWER AND TURN ON POWER TO THE TRANSMITTER / TRANSLATOR AT THIS TIME SINCE THE RF OUTPUT MUST BE PROPERLY LOADED BEFORE OPERATION. 2. Place an appropriate AC power line protector, conditioner, and/or surge suppressor across the AC supply line. 3. Hook up the modulator or processor as shown in their respective manuals for a transmitter or translator.
Section IX - Operating Procedure Assuming the previous installation instructions have been completed and cautions noted, and the TAU100 power amplifier is ready to receive a properly modulated video and audio signal, proceed with the following steps to place the system in operation. The TAU-100 power amplifier has been factory aligned for channel frequency (per system specification), signal levels and optimum performance.
10. The TAU-100 LCD shows the user the present status of the amplifiers. Adjust RF output power to desired level (see Important RF Power Notice in previous section). Verify that the FWD Power reads 80 to 100 Watts on the filter enclosure - depending on signal content. The system is set up for 100 watts peak visual power using the sync and blanking signal and should read 100 watts FWD Power on the LCD under this condition only.
Section X – Maintenance and Troubleshooting Periodic Maintenance If your unit employs a filter on the air inlet for the fans, the filter should be cleaned every 30 days. If the equipment is operated in a severe dust environment, the filters on the inlet fan may need to be cleaned more regularly. Turn the system off and unplug all of the AC inlet cords. The filter can be lifted off the fan and cleaned using an air compressor at low pressure.
Troubleshooting The first and most important aspect of troubleshooting anything is to be systematic. Note where you have looked and what you found. Look first for the obvious. • Make a physical inspection of the entire facility. Are all necessary connections properly made? Do you see any signs of obvious damage within the equipment? • Is the AC power ‘ON’ to the site and the equipment? (Check fuses and circuit breakers if necessary.
Symptom Weak output or picture Possible Fault Low level input signal Low output power High reflected power Incorrect modulation depth Incorrect load X-3 Correction Verify presence and level of input signal Verify power amplifier output with wattmeter and dummy load Adjust to meet specification Ensure amplifier connected to transmission line Ensure correct antenna impedance (50 ohms) Check antenna tuning and VSWR.
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