rouggy
031fcbd543
The RT-21 speaks the Hy-Gain DCU-1 command set in its default protocol setting, and internal/rotator/dcu1 has driven that since it landed — AP1nnn/AM1 to point, AI1 to read back, over a COM port or over TCP. Nothing was missing except a way to find it: "Green Heron" sat in a parenthesis after "Hy-Gain DCU-1", which an operator scanning the list for RT-21 does not see. So the dropdown leads with the controller people actually own, and the hint says the two things that decide whether it works: the RT-21's protocol must be set to DCU-1 / Rotor-EZ (on GS-232 it belongs to the GS-232 entry instead), and with the Ethernet option TCP reaches it directly rather than through a serial-over-IP bridge, which is what the hint used to imply was necessary. The package doc now also records what is NOT here: the native Green Heron protocol is a third command set, with 0.1° readback and a real stop, and writing it from memory is exactly the mistake this repo warns about for wire protocols.
93 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
# Maps and Antennas
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## Main view
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The Main view is **two configurable panes** (per profile, Settings → General →
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*Main view*), with a **draggable divider** between them (double-click it to
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even them out). Choose from: great-circle map, locator (street) map, the
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cluster grid, the worked-before grid, recent QSOs, the **FlexRadio** controls,
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the **Icom** or **Yaesu** console, or the **Net control** panel.
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## Great-circle map
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- Short/long-path **distance & azimuth** to the worked station.
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- Selectable, **key-free** basemaps: Light / Voyager / Street / Satellite.
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- The **antenna beam lobe(s)** are drawn from the rotor azimuth.
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- **Day/night terminator** and twilight band (button at the top right).
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## Locator (street) map
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An OSM street map centred on the contacted grid square — handy for local /
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portable contacts. No API key.
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## Rotators
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An azimuthal-equidistant **click-to-turn** compass; the current heading and
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target are shown. The needle follows a turning antenna smoothly — OpsLog polls
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faster while the position is changing and backs off once it is parked.
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**Two rotors** can be configured (two towers, or a Rotator Genius driving two).
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A Rotor 1 / 2 selector appears on the compass; OpsLog turns and displays the
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one you pick.
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### Types (Settings → Rotator)
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Every rotator interface is configured here, once — including the az/el ones a
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satellite pass needs. The satellite page does not configure a rotator; it picks
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one of these.
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| Type | Axes | Connection | Notes |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| **PstRotator** | Az, or Az + El | UDP | Enable PstRotator's UDP listener (Setup → Communication → UDP). Tick *This rotator has an elevation axis* if the mast behind PstRotator has one — PstRotator itself will forward elevation to a rotor that cannot use it. |
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| **Rotator Genius** (4O3A) | Az | TCP, port 9006 | Native. *Rotator #* picks which of the two the box drives; *Two rotors* adds the second as its own rotor. |
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| **GS-232 azimuth** (microHAM ARCO, ERC) | Az | LAN or USB | Set the controller's CONTROL PROTOCOL to *Yaesu GS-232A*. An **ERC** must be in GS-232 emulation, **not** Hy-Gain DCU-1. |
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| **ERC-M by DF9GR** | Az + El | USB COM or LAN | The az/el interface for a **Yaesu G-5500** and its relatives. GS-232 emulation, 19200 baud out of the box. Pick this rather than the GS-232 azimuth entry: it is what tells OpsLog the mast has an elevation motor. |
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| **Green Heron RT-21 / Hy-Gain DCU-1** | Az | COM port, or TCP | Also Idiom Press Rotor-EZ and RotorCard DXA. Set the RT-21 to DCU-1 / Rotor-EZ — on GS-232 use the GS-232 row instead. With the Ethernet option, TCP reaches it directly; no serial-over-IP bridge. A DCU-1 is 4800 baud; others may differ — match the controller. |
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| **SPID / AlfaSpid** | Az + El (Rot2Prog) | COM port | Native, so PstRotator is not needed in between. See below. |
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| **EasyComm II** | Az + El | COM port or TCP | What SatPC32, Gpredict, Hamlib and K3NG firmware speak — the usual choice for a home-built az/el controller. |
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Each interface carries an **Az** or **Az + El** badge beside its name, so you can
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see at a glance which of your rotors can follow a satellite.
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**Rotator range (360° / 450°)** appears for the interfaces OpsLog drives itself.
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A 450° mast follows a pass straight through north instead of unwinding. It is
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deliberately absent for PstRotator: PstRotator knows which controller is on the
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other end and does its own overlap, and two programs each deciding to go the
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long way round is how an antenna unwinds mid-pass.
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### SPID / AlfaSpid
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Pick the dialect to match the controller — they are not interchangeable:
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- **Rot2Prog** — RAS, BIG-RAS/HR, MD-01, MD-02. Azimuth **and** elevation.
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600 baud.
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- **Rot1Prog** — the older azimuth-only controllers (RAK, RAU). 1200 baud.
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The two use different frame lengths, so a wrong choice shows up at once: the
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**Test** button reports a reply of the wrong length rather than leaving you to
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find out when the antenna turns oddly.
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Two towers means two controllers, each on its own COM port and each a separate
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rotor in OpsLog.
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> **The Test button on a SPID, an ARCO or a DCU-1 only READS the heading** — it
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> confirms the port, the speed and the dialect without moving anything, and
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> says so. (PstRotator and a Rotator Genius are instead sent a move to 0°.)
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## Motorized antennas (Ultrabeam / SteppIR)
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Both follow the **rig frequency** (band change → retune) and retune immediately
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when you click a spot, with three modes — **Normal**, **180° reverse**,
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**Bidirectional**:
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- The **radiating direction** is shown in green and the **mechanical boom** in
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grey, on both the compass and the map.
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- On a FlexRadio, transmit is **inhibited while the elements move**, and
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released as soon as the antenna is tuned.
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- **SteppIR — Tunable range** (Settings → Hardware → Antenna, default
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13–54 MHz): outside it OpsLog leaves the antenna and the TX interlock
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completely alone, so tuning to 30 m on a 20 m–6 m SteppIR does nothing.
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Related hardware: [[Amplifiers and Switches]] (Antenna Genius switch, Tuner
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Genius, relays).
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