Exhibit 6: User’s Manual External Radio Frequency Power Amplifier ACOM 600S Model 600S Array Solutions 2611 North Beltline Rd Suite 109 Sunnyvale, Texas 75182 USA Tel: 214 954 7140 fax: 214 954 7142 E-mail: info@arraysolutions.
ACOM 600S HF + 6 m SOLID STATE LINEAR AMPLIFIER OPERATING MANUAL File name: Manual_ACOM600SBT_EN.doc Last edited: 18 December 2013 CONTENTS 1. GENERAL INFORMATION ......................................................................................................................... 3 1-1. 1-2. 1-3. 1-4. 1-5. 2. INSTALLATION ........................................................................................................................................... 5 2-1. 2-2. 2-3. 2-4. 3.
1. GENERAL INFORMATION 1-1. Inroduction and description This manual describes the installation, operation, and maintenance of the HF+6m solid-state linear power amplifier ACOM 600S. ACOM 600S is a state-of-the art linear amplifier which covers all amateur bands from 1.8 through 54MHz and provides more than 600 W output power (PEP or continuous carrier) with less than 30W of drive. The working parameters of the amplifier are indicated on a multi-functional, high resolution color display.
Remotely controlled by RS232 interface. Takes care of itself during operation due to the continuously working protection circuits in all modes. The operator can monitor digitally more than 10 parameters concerning the working regime of the amplifier. Easy maintenance – detailed data (55 parameters) about each of the last 28 hard-fault protection trips is stored in the amplifier’s nonvolatile memory.
WARNING Do not undertake your own repairs or changes in hardware or firmware of your ACOM 600S amplifier. Doing so will endanger your or others' health or life or damage the amplifier and the equipment connected to it. Such repairs or changes are not covered by warranty and may void the warranty. The manufacturer is not liable for any such repairs or changes. Any such repairs or changes are strictly the responsibility of the person or persons engaging therein.
2-3. Connecting the amplifier within the shack WARNING Before you connect the amplifier to external grounding, you should advise with a licensed electrician and check-up whether such kind of connection is allowed by the national and local electrical code, safety rules, and regulations in force. Simultaneous connection to the earth grounding and bonding may be inadmissible or may fall under special requirements in some countries! WARNING Never use the gas installation tubing as grounding.
Fig. 2-1 Rear panel connections c) KEY-OUT jack - transmit-enabling control output from amplifier to the transceiver. The KEY-OUT jack on the rear panel provides an additional control signal from amplifier toward transceiver. It can be used for improving reliability of the receive/transmit (RX/TX) switching. When the amplifier is not powered up, KEY-OUT is connected internally to KEY-IN through the contacts of a relay inside the amplifier, thus always enabling transceiver transmission.
CAUTION If you use an amplifier for the first time in your shack, pay serious attention to the size of coaxial cable from your amplifier output to the antenna. The cable must be capable of handling the increased power safely, particularly on the 10m and 6 m bands. This warning refers equally to the antenna switch, tuner, and the whole antenna system, for example, for multi-band antennas with resonance circuits (traps etc).
connector of ACOM 600S. This will allow the amplifier to follow the changes of the frequency bands automatically and without any transmission, while the operator is operating with the transceiver. For control of the amplifier through the CAT/AUX interface you need a special cable between the transceiver and CAT/AUX connector (type HD-15) on the rear panel of the amplifier – Fig. 2-1.
b) RS232 Interface. Table 2-2 shows signals and pin out of the RS232 connector on the rear panel of the amplifier. Details about connecting and using the RS232 interface are given in the Technical compact disk (CD) – option to the amplifier and / or in the respective control programs. This connector can remain unconnected until you decide to use the amplifier with remote control. Table 2-2 RS 232 interface PIN NO.
Fig. 3-1 Front panel During operation with the amplifier the display is illuminated and the red LED above the ON/OFF button indicates the button location which can be very useful in case of fast switching off at poor light conditions. c) Keyboard with 6 buttons for manual (local) control of the amplifier. The function of each button is prompted on the display above it. Depending on the menu displayed, the buttons may have different functions.
Fig. 3-2 Basic screen b) Information area for measurements or alarm messages. Any two operator-chosen parameters will be normally displayed in this area on black background – see the list in S. 5-1 Measurements in the amplifier – AMP MEASURE. The alarm messages (either type WARNING or SOFT FAULT) appear with black font on yellow background on the area for measurements and are flashing frequently in order to attract the operator's attention (Fig. 4-1).
3-5. a) Control system – buttons and menus The OPR/STB and the BAND buttons are used for manual (local) control of the amplifier in the basic screen (Fig.
SWR are too high (over 5W or SWR over 2:1) immediately release the actuator and search for the reason as follows: - check-up again whether the output control is set at minimum; - check-up whether the frequency on which you transmit is within the operating range of the selected antenna; - check-up the good working order of the connecting coaxial cables, connectors, and feed lines from the transceiver antenna jack through the amplifier, the antenna switch or external tuner (if there is such) to the BALUN
d) Check-up of the RX/TX commutation and the idling current without RF power. Put the transceiver in such a regime that at pressed PTT or TX button a transmit request is applied to the amplifier but with no RF power on the transceiver output. For example, select SSB mode with microphone gain reduced to zero or CW mode with Morse key up to avoid any RF power while requesting transmit mode to the amplifier by PTT or TX button (do not use automatic CW keyer or VOX).
- the SWR indication of the transceiver must be below 1.2:1. Enter menu MEASURE and check-up additionally: - the drive power from the transceiver must be between 20 and 30W; - PA BIAS must be between 2.5 and 2.9V (typically 2.8V); - PA TEMPERATURE must be between the ambient and 80ºC (176ºF) depending on the power level and the duration of transmission.
- thread ferrite beads with medium permeability (800-4000) over the power cord, the feeder and the signal cables leading to the affected devices (TV etc); there are suitable “split” ferrites on the market for this purpose with different sizes, shapes and parameters, inserted in locking plastic shells, which do not need to be threaded through the cable and are simply put and locked over it; besides the size, consider the frequency range in which the offered ferrites are effective – normally they are optimiz
- manually (locally) – by successive pressing the OPR/STB button – see the basic screen in Fig. 3-2; - remote control – RS232 Interface; - automatic control – if the AUTO OPERATE option is activated – see next item and S. 5-4(b). through the respective command “OPR” or “STB”, received through the serial NOTE Access to the Operate mode can be banned in the menu USER PREFERENCES, the OPERATE ACCESS option (S. 5-4 and Fig. 5-4). The ban is universal.
When you rely on an automatic change with the built-in frequency counter, it is a good practice (although not compulsory), that selecting a new band the operator makes one quite short “preliminary” transmission (100ms is enough) and leave a pause (also short) before the main transmission. During this pause the amplifier will change the band according to the new frequency without RF power, after which the operator can continue his operation as usual.
Fig. 4-1 – Appearance of an alarm message a) The first protection level is the WARNING type. Only a warning message appears on the screen accompanied by a sound signal, but without any physical reaction from the amplifier – Fig. 4-1. This occurs when some of the values monitored by the control unit approach too close the threshold of tripping the respective protection. The transmission is not interrupted, but a message appears – for example “Drive Power too High”, “Drain Current too High”, or another.
If it is not obvious due to what reason the protection has tripped, you can try to turn on the amplifier again. If the amplifier allows turning on after the fault, the display will be lighted but instead of the basic screen, a fault message will appear with information about the reason for the latest automatic turning off (for example, overheating of the power supply unit or of the final stage and others).
5-1. Menu “Measurements in the amplifier” – AMP MEASURE The menu AMP MEASURE (Fig. 5-1) is accessible from the MENU SELECTION screen (Fig. 5) in all modes. It is possible to measure digitally 11 parameters in it, characterizing the amplifier operation and its regime. Fig. 5-1 Menu “Measurements in the amplifier” – AMP MEASURE Two identical lists appear on the left and the right halves of the screen, each one having the 11 parameters, whose values are refreshed continuously.
Fig. 5.2 Menu “Service functions in the amplifier” – AMP SERVICE 5-3. Menu “Selection of CAT/AUX interface” – CAT/AUX SETTINGS The type and parameters of the CAT/AUX interface for your transceiver are assigned here. If your transceiver has no CAT interface control, nor parallel or analog voltage output (BCD / VOLTAGE BAND DATA), you should select [OFF] at the uppermost row which will disable the amplifier CAT/AUX interface. Fig.
The manual selection of CAT/AUX interface (CAT/AUX SETTINGS) is accessible only during reception – Fig. 5 and Fig, 5-3. After entering the menu, with the ITEM buttons (up and down) the operator can mark the group of parameters which he will assign (top to bottom, as listed on the screen). The selected group is marked with color. Afterwards with the SELECT buttons (left or right) the desired parameter is selected – it is enclosed within square brackets.
a) AUTOMATIC MENU EXIT. To activate or deactivate the option, first select menu USER PREFERENCES (S. 5-4 and Fig. 5-4) and position the large colored window upon the AUTOMATIC MENU EXIT option with the ITEM buttons (up and down). Select ON or OFF with the SELECT buttons (left or right). Finally, exit the menu with the EXIT button – this will activate the currently selected state ON or OFF.
Fig. 5-5 Menu “Reading log with faults” – FAULTS LOG In the file title individual information about the amplifier and the options is given: model, user call sign (HELLO MESSAGE), serial number, revisions of the hardware, the firmware, and the boot loader, number of worked hours, availability and model of an automatic antenna tuner or antenna selector.
Fig. 5-6 Menu : RESTORE DEFAULT SETTINGS In order to confirm the selected action the operator must press the ACTION - left (YES) button once more. After its implementation the control returns to the MENU SELECTION screen - Fig. 5. If instead the ACTION - right (NO) button is pressed, the selection “NO” is selected again, and the control does not leave the current position.
6-2. Commands set Details of connecting of the RS232 interface and a full list of commands, as well as the protocol and rules for using them for amplifier control are given in the Technical compact disk (CD - option to the amplifier) and / or in the respective control programs. 7.
CAUTION The fuses must be rated for a current corresponding to your mains nominal voltage: 10А for operation from 100-120VAC or 6.3А for operation from 200-240VAC. Use only standard fuses! CAUTION Never replace any fuses inside the amplifier without special instructions from your dealer! Blown internal fuses can be a symptom of a more serious problem, which should be resolved beforehand. Unauthorized replacement of inside fuses infringes the warranty conditions! 7-3.
Fig.
From The Filters unit output (connector J302) and through connector J401, and the output relay contacts (located on the Wattmeter PCB), the amplified and filtered signal reaches the amplifier output - J402. The Wattmeter unit is based on a bridge circuit which comprises the current transformer T401 and some other components (not shown in the block diagram).
The Power Supply Unit (PSU) consists of two main assemblies: - a rectifier and switching mode stage, not insulated from the mains; they provide a preliminary regulation at 390V and power factor correction (PFC); the latter serves to minimize the mainsfrequency harmonics currents, ensuring a high power factor of the consumed current, and also limiting the start-up mains current; - mains-separated switching mode converter “390/50V” which supplies the power amplifier module with +50V, insulated from the mai
7-5. FIRMWARE UPDATES CAUTION Before you change the built-in firmware version, check its compatibility with the revisions of the hardware and of the boot loader in your amplifier - see S. 5-5 for establishing the proper version. If you have any doubts about the versions, please consult your dealer before you undertake any action. When ACOM publishes a new version of the built-in firmware, the user can upload it in the amplifier after he checks their compatibility – see the note above.
i) Mains power consumption in Low Energy (waiting) mode of the power supply: less than 1VA; j) Complies with EU safety regulations and electromagnetic compatibility standards, as well as with the FCC rules; k) Environment working conditions: - temperature range: -10ºC to +40ºC (14ºF to 104ºF); - relative air humidity: up to 95% @ 35ºC (95ºF); l) Dimensions (projections not included) and weight, operating: (W x H x D) 330 x 165 x 380 mm (13 x 6.5 x 15 In); 12 kg (26.5 Lbs). 8-2.
