TDT SYSTEM 1 - PA3 ATTENUATOR CONTROL:
Initial Release: 5-22-99 INTRODUCTION:This TDT1.ATN driver supports Tucker-Davis System 1 PA3 attenuators using the PLX1 plastic "device caddie" with the IM3 Interface Module. This system uses the A and B ports of a 8255-type parallel port (not a standard printer port) for control.You can control up to four PA3s with this TDT1.ATN driver. Note that this only controls attenuators using the "legacy" System 1, not the newer System 2 which uses a serial port or fiber-optic link. The PA3 attenuators suport 00.0 to 99.9 dB attenuation, though this driver ignores the 0.1 dB position. Please contact us if you need tenth-dB control. The control menu for this board is activated by CTRL-F10... think of "F10-uator" as a mnemonic.
CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS:
PARAMETER OVERVIEW:This driver allows you to specify certain parameters on the TDT1.ATN line, which may come anywhere after the first four lines of the DQA.CFG file. Each parameter is given as a letter and colon, followed immediately by a value or a letter-plus-value combination. Use a space to separate parameters. For example:
TDT1.ATN A:h310 D:A3 R:2
The order of the parameters is not important.
If you place the .ATN line too early in the DQA.CFG file, Daqarta will exit with:
'Non-ADC module must not appear before 5th line of
DQA.CFG file.'
You can check to see which parameters have been set, either via the configuration line or by default, by checking the board information summary available via the ALT-H Plug-In Help system.
A: ADDRESS:Use this to tell Daqarta the base I/O address of the 8255-type parallel port that controls your TDT equipment. A single 8255 can control up to 7 Racks, with each Rack consisting of up to 8 Devices. However, only 4 devices will fit into a standard PLX1 "device caddie".To tell the Daqarta parameter parser that the value is in hexadecimal, precede it with an 'h', as in:
TDT1.ATN A:h330
The default address is h310.
Daqarta checks at the address given, and if it does not find a valid 8255-type port there it exits with a message giving the address it tried:
'8255-type parallel port for WILSONIC attenuator control
not found at 0330h.'
The only exception is if you set A:0 to allow
viewing of this board
Help system without having a board installed.
C: COUPLING (AC or DC):By default, this driver set AC coupling for all PA3 modules on start-up. This inserts a simple high-pass filter with a -3 dB cutoff between 1 and 2 Hz.If you would prefer DC coupling, use the C:1 parameter. Note that the TDT1.ATN driver does nothing to change the coupling after start-up. You are free to change individual PA3 modules via their front-panel pushbuttons.
D: DEVICE NUMBER:The IM3 Interface Module in the plastic PLX1 "device caddie" controls up to 8 devices per Rack, though typically only 4 are installed per PLX1. Devices are numbered from 0 to 7 in each Rack.This TDT1.ATN driver supports up to four PA3 attenuator devices. If you don't give any D: parameter, four PA3s will be assumed, numbered 0 through 3. Otherwise, you must give the Device Number of any PA3 modules to be controlled. You must also precede the number itself with an 'A' to indicate Attenuator, since other device types may be supported in the future. For example, if you have two PA3 modules and they are set to Device Numbers 1 and 3, you would set:
TDT1.ATN D:A1 D:A3
The order of appearance on the configuration line is not
significant. The devices will be assigned to positions in
the control menu in Device Number order, from the top down.
F: HELP FILE OMIT:This driver normally attempts to load this associated Help file on start-up, and exits with an error message if it can't find it. Setting F:0 on the TDT1.ATN configuration line tells the driver not to look for the file. You would probably only want to use this option if you are really short of DOS memory, since loading the Help file only increases memory use by a few hundred bytes for its separate link stack and directory. (The file itself shares the text buffer of the Main Help file.)Note that ALL Help files, including main, can be omitted via an F:0 parameter on the INIT line (first line) of the DQA.CFG file. If this is present, no individual module Help will be loaded.
R: RACK NUMBER:The IM3 Interface Module can control up to 7 Racks of Devices, where each Rack can hold up to 8 Devices. Racks are numbered from 1 to 7... there is no Rack 0. By default, Rack 1 is assumed. If the PA3s that you want to control with this module are in a higher Rack, you must specify that with the R: parameter, as in:
TDT1.ATN R:2
U: UP SCROLL PREFERENCE:Many users naturally think of attenuation controls in the same sense as ordinary "volume" or "level" controls, where "up" always gives higher level output. This is the default setting for Daqarta attenuation modules. Level is shown in negative dB, so when you scroll up to get higher output you get less-negative dB values. Maximum output is at 0 dB.Others prefer that "up" actually increase the attenuation, since that is the variable being controlled. You can tell Daqarta to use that convention via the U:1 parameter, as in:
TDT1.ATN U:1
With this option the maximum output is still 0 dB, but now
you must scroll DOWN to get to there from the starting Off
(high attenuation) state. Attenuation is shown in positive
dB.
This is simply a matter of personal preference. Note that for direct entry, you never need to include a minus sign... it will be ignored if you do, regardless of which option has been chosen.
ATTENUATION CONTROLS:Controls the dB setting of the indicated PA3 attenuator. The headers like 'Attn0 dB' refer to Device Number 0, which may or may not correspond to the PA3 location in your Rack or caddie.If you have used the U:1 parameter option, then scrolling up will give increasing attenuation, which means less output. The default will give decreasing negative dB values as you scroll up, which means more output. For direct entry, you never need to enter a minus sign. If you enter or scroll to a value beyond 99 dB, the display will show 'Off' and the output will be muted. In that case the total attenuation will be much more than 100 dB.
CONNECTOR PINOUT DIAGRAMS:
IM3 Interface Module
DB37 Female
.------.
-15 V | 19 \
+15 V | 18 37 | Gnd
+5 V | 17 36 | Gnd
AIN-B | 16 35 | Gnd
AINA | 15 34 | Gnd
NC | 14 33 | Gnd
DC0 | 13 32 | NC
DC2 | 12 31 | DC1
DC4 | 11 30 | DC3
DC6 | 10 29 | DC5
NC | 9 28 | DC7
AD0 | 8 27 | NC
AD2 | 7 26 | AD1
AD4 | 6 25 | AD3
AD6 | 5 24 | AD5
IN0 | 4 23 | AD7
IN2 | 3 22 | IN1
IN4 | 2 21 | IN3
Gnd | 1 20 | IN5
| /
`------'
IM3 Interface Module
DB25 Male
.------.
TRG | 13 \
AIA | 12 25 | MMK
ANAGND | 11 24 | AIB
SIGGND | 10 23 | GND
SYNTRG | 9 22 | ACT
AD6 | 8 21 | AD7
AD4 | 7 20 | AD5
AD2 | 6 19 | AD3
AD0 | 5 18 | AD1
DC6 | 4 17 | DC7
DC4 | 3 16 | DC5
DC2 | 2 15 | DC3
DC0 | 1 14 | DC1
| /
`----- '
PIO-12 or PIO-24
8255 Parallel Port
DB37 Female
.------.
Gnd | 19 \
+ 5 V | 18 37 | PA0 (TDT - DC0)
Gnd | 17 36 | PA1 (TDT - DC1)
+ 12 V | 16 35 | PA2 (TDT - DC2)
Gnd | 15 34 | PA3 (TDT - DC3)
- 12 V | 14 33 | PA4 (TDT - DC4)
Gnd | 13 32 | PA5 (TDT - DC5)
- 5 V | 12 31 | PA6 (TDT - DC6)
Gnd | 11 30 | PA7 (TDT - DC7)
(TDT - AD0) PB0 | 10 29 | PC0
(TDT - AD1) PB1 | 9 28 | PC1
(TDT - AD2) PB2 | 8 27 | PC2
(TDT - AD3) PB3 | 7 26 | PC3
(TDT - AD4) PB4 | 6 25 | PC4
(TDT - AD5) PB5 | 5 24 | PC5
(TDT - AD7) PB6 | 4 23 | PC6
(TDT - AD7) PB7 | 3 22 | PC7
Int | 2 21 | Gnd
Int Dis | 1 20 | + 5 V
| /
`------'
TDT1.ATN INDEX:NOTE: The actual Daqarta TDT1.ATN index allows you to move through it by hitting the first letter of any entry. We apologize for this "dumbed-down" Web substitue: You may scroll through it as usual, select a letter from the following line, or simply use your browser's "Find" function to search this page.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A:AC Coupling Address Parameter A: Attenuation Control Attenuation / Level Preference
C:Configuration Parameters Connector Pinout Diagrams Control Menu F10 Coupling (AC / DC) Parameter C:
D:DC Coupling Device Number Parameter D:
F:F: Parameter (Help File Omit)
H:Help File Parameter F:
I:IM3 Interface Module TDT IM3 Interface Module, DB25 Male TDT IM3 Interface Module, DB37 Female
M:Mute, Output
P:PA3 Atttenuator Parallel Port Connector Pinouts Parameters, Configuration Pinouts, Connector PLX1 Plastic Device Caddie
R:Rack Number Parameter R:
S:Scroll Direction Preference System 1, TDT
U:Up Scroll Parameter U:
W:Wiring Diagrams, Connector |