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2 operating group – Research Concepts RC3000 User Manual

Page 76

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RC3000 Antenna Controller

Chapter 3

Detailed Operation

68

3.2 Operating Group

Within the operating group of modes exists two high level modes – MANUAL and MENU. The MANUAL
mode allows the user to manually jog the antenna while the MENU mode allows the user to select the
modes that implement the RC3000’s automatic movement features. While in either one of these modes,
a momentary push of the Mode key will transition the RC3000 to the other mode.

POWER ON

Upon powering up the RC3000, an identification screen is displayed for five seconds. The software
version data is discussed in 1.2 (Controller Features).

RC3000A MOBILE ANTENNA CONTROLLER

(c) RESEARCH CONCEPTS INC. 2005

SHAWNEE, KANSAS (USA) 913-422-0210

SW:RC3K-P1-GTN version 1.55

MOUNT POSITION CONFIRMATION

Following the power on screen, the RC3000 transitions to the appropriate screen based on whether or
not a mount position (latitude/longitude/true heading) has been “saved”.

If the mount’s position has been previously saved via the POSITION mode (3.2.2.7) or the STORE
(3.2.2.4) mode, the following screen appears at power up requesting that the user confirm that this
position is correct (i.e. the mount hasn’t moved since the position was saved). The SAVED MOUNT
POSITION screen shows the position and the date and time that the position was saved.

SAVED MOUNT POSITION

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°56N 94°44W 218.1 31DEC99 23:59

USE SAVED POSITION

CLEAR POS (DELETES STORED SATS)

If the saved position is still appropriate, pressing the Scroll Up/Yes key will instruct the RC3000 to
continue to use that position. The RC3000 will use the saved position rather than attempting to
automatically determine position.

Note that using a saved position may be desirable because the position may have been previously “fixed”
to account for the local compass inaccuracy, etc. Also the saved position may have been manually
determined and inserted due to a possible navigation sensor (GPS receiver or fluxgate compass)
malfunction. Using a saved position also allows the LOCATE mode to instantly begin calculating pointing
solutions rather than waiting for the GPS receiver to form a navigation solution.

If the user determines that the saved mount position is no longer appropriate (the mount has moved),
pressing the BKSP key will invalidate the saved position. The RC3000 will then proceed to MENU mode.
The LOCATE mode will automatically attempt to determine latitude/longitude from the GPS receiver and
heading from the fluxgate compass. If the unit does not have the GPS and Fluxgate, control will pass to
the POSITION mode.