[aprssig] APRN status?

[Alan P. Biddle]

Scott,

The way the GS-232A works is that you send the controller the AZ and EL
information out the computer serial port using the Easycomm protocol.  The
controller, using AD converters, reads the current positions from the
rotator analog pots, then closes the appropriate relay to slew the rotators
so that the positions to match.  The motors are either on or off, and of
course there is a dead band.  The relays themselves are in the G-5500.
(Earlier units in this series did not have internals relays.)  All you need
to do is ground the appropriate pin on the G-5500 8 pin DIN connector.  The
current draw, on mine, is a few ma.  All the major tracking programs, such
as SATPC32 and HRD, support this protocol, which you can find by Google.

The GS-232A is a solid unit, but wildly overpriced.  For about a third the
cost, you can get a fully assembled G6LVB interface which is functionally
equivalent, plus having a USB port option.  A bare board is $20.  You also
support AMSAT operations, since all the profits go there.  (Full disclosure:
I am on the AMSAT BoD, so I have an interest, though NOT a personal
financial one.)

http://sites.google.com/site/wa4sxm/home

https://www.amsat-na.com/store2/category.php?c=Hardware

I friend who is a professional PIC programmer wrote his own code to convert
the position data, though the output is for stepping motors rather than
analog. 

Anyway, I would look around before buying the GS-232A unless I found one
used at a great price.

Alan
WA4SCA





-----Original Message-----
From: aprssig-bounces at tapr.org [mailto:aprssig-bounces at tapr.org] On Behalf
Of Scott Miller
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 1:20 PM
To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
Subject: Re: [aprssig] APRN status?

> Yaesu sells the GS-232A matching controller.  This controller has the
relays on board plus the RS232 interface and a smart processor to provide
quite a few advanced commands.  For example, the controller can
automatically slew the antenna at whatever speed you specify for whatever
segment of arc you specify.  You don't have to keep watching the controller
using those modes, just set and let it go.  It also has just the plain
manual commands (e.g. rotate on/rotate off) and combinations of both.

Is there some sort of speed control to it, then, or is it just pulsing 
the control inputs?

Scott
N1VG

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