Networked Receiver Controller NRC-2.0.1 Users’ Guide 11th October 2005 DUNS: CAGE: 826771508 1RKF1 www.aegis-inc.net Telecom Engineering Services & Products 8610 Washington Blvd. Suite 213 Jessup, MD 20794 240.568.9006 240.568.
Proprietary Statement All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission. Disclaimer Information furnished in this manual is believed to accurate and reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed for its use, or for any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties that may result from its use.
Table of Contents General Information........................................................................................................................ 5 Channel Architecture .................................................................................................................. 6 Audio Data Capture .................................................................................................................... 6 Universal Receiver Translation/Abstraction..................................
Connect to NRC Server Dialog............................................................................................. 22 The Main Application Window ............................................................................................ 23 Change Receiver Model Dialog............................................................................................ 31 Change Antenna Model Dialog ............................................................................................
General Information The Networked Receiver Controller (NRC) is a single node network device capable of simultaneously: • • • controlling and configuring up to 8 attached receivers for data collection collecting and digitizing each receiver’s analog audio output signal formatting and routing the digitized receiver’s signal to an attached network client. A simple diagram of the NRC system is shown below.
Channel Architecture A channel defines a virtual connection between a client application and a receiver connected to the NRC. There are two types of channel connections which can be established to a receiver; a Primary connection and a Piggy-back connection. 1. A Primary Connection a. A Primary connection is established with a receiver when the receiver is free of any other client connections. b. A Primary connected client has full access and control of the receiver and its resources. 2.
Universal Receiver Translation/Abstraction The NRC abstracts the user from each receiver’s proprietary low-level communications protocol by presenting a common receiver translation software tasking interface to the user. This common software interface allows the user to task the receivers at a logical level without the need to worry about how to implement this tasking.
Capabilities Summary Receiver Controllable Settings • • • • • • • • Client Connection Options Frequency Detection Mode IF Bandwidth AGC mode BFO Reset / Reboot Pass native commands to the receiver o By-pass the generic receiver interface and send the receiver proprietary commands Receiver Memory Interface Support o Save, recall and query receiver configuration memory settings Remote NRC System Monitoring • • • Up to 64 simultaneous client connections Primary - connection to a receiver when it is free
Specifications System Hardware • • Supported Receivers CPU System: o PC x86 SBC based system Operating System o Linux OS, Compact Flash based file system • • • DRS WJ-8723 HF Receiver Ten-Tec RX-331HF Receiver Additional Receivers available upon request Physical Inputs/Outputs • Number of controllable receivers: 1 to 8 • Connections/Receiver o 1x Audio Input Port (DB-15) o 1x Control Port (RJ-45, RS-232) • Network Port (RJ-45, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet) • Remote Serial Terminal Port (DB-9, RS-232) • Exter
Users’ Guide: Networked Receiver Controller - NRC-2.0.1 11th October 2005 Copyright © 2005 Aegis, Inc PAGE 10 wwww.aegis-inc.net [ph.
Installation Contents The following is a list of items delivered with the NRC unit.
Hardware Installation Step 1: Receiver Audio Signal Termination Type The NRC supports both differential and single-end audio signals, with the factory system default being configured to support Differential Mode. If Single-End mode is required, proceed as follows: 1. Ensure the NRC is powered off 2. Remove the top cover of the NRC. 3. Locate the two banks of 4x DIP switches, D1 and D2. 4. Set all switches to the ON position for single-ended operation. a.
NRC Configuration Prerequisites: In order to successfully configure the NRC for operational use, the installer must have access to: a. a terminal emulation program i. Before using it on the network the NRC must be properly configured, by running a configuration utility on the NRC through a remote terminal session. This requires connecting serially to the NRC from another computer. The operating system of the computer is not important as long as it has a compatible terminal emulation program.
If this is the first time the NRC has been turned-on, once the NRC has completed its initial system boot-up process, the NRC system LCD graphics files will be uploaded into the LCD display. The NRC’s LCD display will indicate which LCD memory location the current image is being uploaded into and once this image upload process is finished, the LCD display will be activated and display 8 channel status windows above the status message “www.aegis-inc.net”.1 7.
Step 3: Configure Network Settings Before the NRC can be accessed from the network, it must be assigned a network address. Select option 2 to configure the network options. Below is a screen sequence example as the IP address settings are configured. Configure network settings: Present settings for device eth0: Local IP address = 192.168.1.159 Netmask = 255.255.255.0 Broadcast address = 192.168.1.255 Network address = 192.168.1.1 Enter the following new values.
(mmddhhmmyyyy) : 070615292005 Time and Date set to: Wed Jul 6 15:29:00 UTC 2005 Please note the time/date format - month/day/hour/minute/year (MMDDHHMMYYYY). For the above example, if it was 3:29pm (15:29) on July 6, 2005 If you enter return without entering a new time string the time and date will not be changed.
After the above change sequence is complete set the ntp.conf file contains the following: restrict default ignore restrict 192.168.1.146 nomodify noquery notrap server 192.168.1.146 Once the ntp information has been configured the ntp daemon needs to be started and added to the server startup. Select option 2 from the NTP Configuration Utility. Below is a screen sequence example as the NTPd daemon is enabled. Add ntpd to server startup? (y/N) y Added to startup. Start ntpd now? (Y/n) y Starting ntpd ......
Restart NRC: Halt or Reboot (h/R)? r Reboot system. Do you wish to proceed (y/N)? y Proceeding with shutdown process. Terminated ~ # flushing ide devices: hdd Restarting system. Note: Normal operation is suspended in the NRC when using the remote terminal. Be sure to restart the NRC after using the remote terminal to resume normal operation. Users’ Guide: Networked Receiver Controller - NRC-2.0.1 11th October 2005 Copyright © 2005 Aegis, Inc PAGE 18 wwww.aegis-inc.net [ph.
Step 8: Configure the NRC for Receivers From a computer, start the NRC Java Client. See the section, Using the NRC Java Client Application for details on requirements and running the NRC Java Client. Configure the signal termination type and DAQ Channel Gain After connecting to the NRC from the NRC Java Client, right click on the NRC node, identified by its machine name or IP address. Click Properties and the “NRC Properties” dialog will appear. Configure the necessary options.
Operation Using the NRC Starting the NRC After pressing the power button, the NRC may take up to 60 seconds to initialize and be ready for operation. Initially the display will show “Networked Receiver Controller” and NRC version. When initialization is complete, the NRC LCD display will be activated and display 8 channel status windows above the Aegis status message “www.aegis-inc.net”.
The LCD display symbols are listed – from highest to lowest priority, along with their meaning in the following table. The NRC is not configured for this channel; Configure the correct receiver for this channel. The receiver attached to this channel is currently offline. - Caused when the NRC is unable to communicate with the receiver via the RS-232 connection.
Using the NRC Java Client Application Requirements The NRC Java Client application can be executed on any computer that supports the Java 2 platform and is connected to the network. It is most thoroughly tested with the Sun Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (version 1.4), which can be downloaded freely from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html. It is recommended that the newest version of the Java 2 Platform be used.
The Main Application Window The window is split into several functional areas. On the left is the tree, and to the right is the content panel. A toolbar is found at the top, and a status bar can be seen at the bottom of the window. Each of these components is discussed in detail below. Tree The tree control is found on the left-hand side of the main application window and functions much like the similar control found in file browsing applications. Each component in the tree is referred to as a node.
• • • • • Gray: Beige: Green: Red: Yellow: no receiver is attached to that channel the channel is free a primary client is attached to that channel with full access privileges the channel is in use by another client a piggyback client is attached to that channel with limited privileges Content Panel The content panel contains a display corresponding to the current selection in the tree.
• NRC Server’s Performance information • Length of time the NRC server has been running - uptime • Current CPU usage - average over the last 5 seconds • Current memory usage • Current network usage (outgoing and incoming data) • NRC Channel Summary Information • Summary of each channel's current status and receiver configuration • Summary of all clients currently connected to each channel Users’ Guide: Networked Receiver Controller - NRC-2.0.
Channel Node Most of the functionality of the NRC Java Client is provided in the content panel when a channel node is selected in the tree. This panel is separated into three areas: • Connect state Positioned at the top, this area gives the current connection state of the channel and the ability to connect to, piggyback to or disconnect from the channel, if applicable. If the channel is connected to another client, the network address of that client appears.
Query – This button allows you to query the receiver to find out which parameters are stored in memory. Some receiver types also support the ability to display what values are currently stored at a specific memory location. Below is a query on a WJ receiver. Load – This option loads the receiver configuration from the specified memory location into the receiver’s current configuration. If nothing is stored at the memory location the behavior of this operation is dependant on the type of receiver.
expected from the receiver and it will be delivered back to the client. If the box is checked but no response is generated by the receiver then the receiver will briefly go offline while the NRC re-synchronizes communication. If a receiver response is generated when the box is not checked, the response is simply discarded. The “Response” box should not be checked unless a response is required by the user.
Toolbar The icon buttons on the top toolbar provide quick access to common functions. The below table summaries these: “Connect to NRC server” button: when clicking this button, the “Connect to NRC server” dialog is raised, allowing the user to connect to an NRC server. “Disconnect from NRC server” button: this button is enabled when an NRC server is selected in the tree. When clicking this button, the user can choose to disconnect from the selected NRC server.
“Receiver configuration” button: This button is enabled when a connected channel node is selected in the tree. When clicking this button, the configuration options of that receiver are presented. The receiver provides the actual text, so the user is referred to the receiver operating manual to decode the text. “Receiver status” button: this button is enabled when a connected channel node is selected in the tree. When clicking this button, the status of that receiver is presented.
Change Receiver Model Dialog The model of the receiver attached to a channel may be changed from the channel node in the tree if the client is currently connected to that channel. Right-click on the channel node, select “Change receiver model” and the “Change receiver model” dialog appears. The current receiver is displayed, and a dropdown box contains a list of receiver models supported by the NRC server.
Change Antenna Model Dialog The name of the antenna connected to a receiver may be changed from the channel node in the tree if the client is currently connected to that channel. Right-click on the channel node, select “Change antenna”, and the “Change antenna” dialog appears. The current antenna name is displayed. Type in the new antenna name in the text box provided. Press Enter or click the Enter button and the dialog will be dismissed.
NRC Properties Dialog Global NRC properties can be viewed and modified from the respective NRC node in the tree. Right-click on the desired NRC node, select “Properties and the “NRC Properties” dialog appears.
Capture Channel Data Dialog The capture dialog allows the user to start capturing digital audio samples from the channel and forward the samples to a variety of destinations. Clicking the Capture button from the content panel launches this dialog. This button is only available if the displayed channel is connected. Destination • • • View signal display: This option displays the Signal display dialog and uses the audio samples from this channel to drive the display.
Signal Display Dialog This dialog represents the audio samples graphically in two possible forms. The first is signal mode, where data is graphed along the time domain. The second is a spectral mode, where the data is graphed in the frequency domain.6 Switch between modes by right-clicking on the display and using the Display menu. Additional information about the signal can be gleaned by moving the mouse cursor around the signal display.
In addition to providing different graph domains, the data can be viewed using various wellknown windowing functions: Rectangular, Bartlett, Hanning, Hamming, Blackman. Switch between modes by right-clicking on the display and using the Window menu. The display signals levels can be set using the Display Range menu options, which provides: • Dynamic scaling: dynamically adjusts the signal amplitude to maximize the size of the data in the viewing window. This is the default scaling option.
Appendix A- Receiver Configuration BAE Systems WJ-8723 • • • • • The WJ-8723 must be configured to operate and communicate with the NRC units.
Appendix B - Software Upgrades From time to time Aegis may release an upgrade the NRC system software. This can be integrated into the NRC by either replacing the NRC systems’ internal compact flash card or by remotely downloading new files into the NRC system. This appendix discusses the second option of downloading remotely new files into the NRC. This information is provided for reference and is not expected to be needed by every user.
UPDATE Command If the UPDATE command file is present in code_changes directory during an NRC system bootup, a check will be made to see if there are valid NRC system files in update (CCPServer, RCPServer, CCPConfig.xml, RCPconfig.xml, DDPConfig.xml, LCDConfig.xml, Receivers.xml, WJ8723.xml and/or RX331.xml) and/or any “.bmp” files in the update/lcd directory which need to be integrated into the NRC file system.
CLEAN Command The CLEAN command removes all command, command acknowledgement files and system files from code_changes directory tree. If the CLEAN command file is present in code_changes directory during an NRC system bootup, all the files in the code_changes directory tree will be deleted and hence cleaned. Once this process is completed the CLEAN command file in code_changes is simply deleted – there is no acknowledgement file generated for this activity.
eg. to copy all bmp display files into the appropriate NRC directory: # scp *.bmp root@:/root/code_changes/updates/lcd # password - an acknowledgement of 100% complete will be echoed back to the terminal window for each file transferred. Part 3 - Download the Command files Step 1: In the console session on the unix workstation create an empty command file (either UPDATE, RESTORE or CLEAN) eg. # touch UPDATE Step 2: Download the command file eg.
Users’ Guide: Networked Receiver Controller - NRC-2.0.1 11th October 2005 Copyright © 2005 Aegis, Inc PAGE 42 wwww.aegis-inc.net [ph.