Dct An0023en Antares Analog Interface Rev4

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DCT AN0023EN ANALOG INTERFACE FOR ANTARES SB REV

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DCT AN0023ENANALOG INTERFACE

FOR ANTARES SBREV4

November 27th , 2009

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIE

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES

CONFIDENTIAL: This document is for the exclusive use of Digital CommunicationsTechnologies. All type of reproduction or divulgation must be authorized.November 27th, 2009 http://www.digitalcomtech.com
http://www.digitalcomtech.com/http://www.digitalcomtech.com/


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Note: Serial cable is not included.




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Document history

Revision Comments

001 18/11/2009 First release

002 20/11/2009 Added serial cable picture.

Grammar corrections.

003 26/11/2009 Added examples for the Extended EV tag.

004 27/11/2009 Added Pin-out diagram of the RS-232 Input port.




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Introduction

This application note explains the functionality of the Analog Interface for the Antares SB tracking device

The Analog Interface has three inputs that measure resistance1 and can work with any type of sensothat reflect changes on their resistance value to measure certain physical phenomena changes, foexample: temperature, weight, pressure, tension, water levels, humidity, etc. The resistance measured presented as a TAIP message which contains three millivolts values (one for each input) that feeds thEvent Machine of an Antares device with firmware version 5.31, so a user can define thresholds, evereports and extended EV tags.

IMPORTANT:

The Antares SB Firmware that supports the Analog Interface is 5.31 or superior.

This note is intended for people already familiar with the Antares SB device

1 Depending on the hardware version of the Analog Interface, it is also possible to measure voltages from 0V to 5V. Please contact

[email protected] more information.


mailto:[email protected]://www.digitalcomtech.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.digitalcomtech.com/


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Operation

The integration with the Antares Event Machine can be done in the following ways:

Defining thresholds with the >SXAEA< TAIP message. These thresholds configure how the events a

triggered by the M boolean signals.

The values measured by the Analog Interface can be obtained using Extended EV tags and using th>QXAADCSXAEA< an

>QXAADC< TAIP messages.

The Analog Interface inputs will only work correctly with ranges between 0 and 35K. This should bconsidered when choosing the sensors for the Analog Interface. It is possible to use all the three inpuat the same time or just two or one if desired. Additionally, it is possible to use an average of the valueof all the inputs with a sensor connected for more precise measurements.

The output of the Analog Interface is connected to the Antares' RS-232 port through a one-to-one sericable (Cable not included). This cable must have all the 9 pins connected one-to-one. No external powesource is required, the Antares' RS-232 port will provide the necessary power to the Analog Interface. N

additional configuration is necessary. Simply connect the Analog Interface to Antares' RS-232 input andwill be ready to be used. The Analog Interface is designed to work with Antares but it can be connecteto other RS-232 serial interfaces, like a computer. To connect the Analog Interface directly to a computethe serial cable must be crossed and it must have a 7V to 12V input to the Analog Interface's pin 9 so can work properly, and pin 9 on the computer's RS-232 must be left disconnected. The RS-232 port the Analog Interface is a DTE port.

The interface sends the values measured every five seconds to Antares. When Antares stops receivinthe data from the Analog Interface, it will hold the last values received, and after 30 seconds if no data received again, Antares will undefine the signals on the Event Machine associated to the AnaloInterface.




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Analog Interface as a Temperature Sensor

Different temperatures can be measured using NTC thermistors (Included with the Analog Interface). thermistor is a type of resistor with variable resistance that changes according to its temperature. ThNTC thermistors increase resistance at lower temperatures.

The thermistors included with the Analog Interface are color coded like this:

Input 1 : Yellow Input 2 : Blue

Input 3 : Red

The following diagram shows the pins where each sensor is connected on the Analog Interface's RS-32input port:

The voltage outputs can be used by Antares' Event Machine to generate reports. This is done by settina threshold with the XAEA TAIP message (See the TAIP Messages section on this document.)

The use of the Analog Interface as a Temperate Sensor is intended for temperatures from -23C to 60Cworking more accurately at the lower temperatures. A table and a graphic which contains the averagVoltage output of the Analog Interface for a range of temperature from -23C to 60C, can be found othe Appendix A section of this document.




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With the Analog interface as a Temperature Sensor you can:

Use thresholds to Trigger Events using the rising or falling edge of the M00-M09 signals.

Create periodic reports that are controlled by the Event Machine.

Change the status of the Antares' outputs.




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ExamplesThe following are some examples of how the Analog Interface can be used as a Temperature Sensor.

For more information on the TAIP messages please refer to the TAIP Messages section of this documen

Trigger Events:

First set a threshold that will use the average of the value measured by the three sensors for

temperature of -6C (Please refer to Appendix A on this document for voltage vs temperature valuesuse the following message:

>SXAEA001A1700SED00NV0;M00-SGC00TR00300SED01NV0;C00+;ACT=QXAADCSXAEA011A1106

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Dct An0023en Antares Analog Interface Rev4