Setup and comissioning of Intellian System

Three Axis T Series TV antennas with Worldview LNB In the T series model number, the 't' stands for THREE axis and the W stands for Worldview LNB. While smaller vessels that would tend to watch TV only when tied to the dock, or at anchor, could get away with the simpler, economical, two axis antennas, the three axis antennas are recommended for medium and larger size vessels that expect to go deep sea, overnight and expect to watch TV in all sea conditions. Three axis antennas are stabilized against the movement of the vessel in azimuth, elevation and cross level axes.








Intellian t110 and t130, 3 axis Ku TV antennas


These three axis Ku-band TV antennas designed for larger, deep sea vessels that may experience more severe sea conditions.




Intellian d4 and d6 Ka+Ku (HD+SD) antennas


This is a combination Ku-Band / Ka-Band antenna designed to receive DirecTV High definition and Standard definintion TV on 99W, 101W and 103W.




Intellian i9/i9P, i6/i6P, i4/i4P Ku band with Polarization


The P behind the model number indicated auto skew adjustment for linear satellites.
The i6PE has extended elevation range (like the i9P) of -15 degrees to +90 degrees for trackiing in rough weather where the roll of the ship would cause the satellite to drop below zero degrees.




Intellian i1, i2, i3 Ku Band TV antennas

APTUS setup and configuration

AptusWeb is an internal web page within the ACU which can be accessed from any browser on the network just by typing in the ACU IP address.

AptusPC or the smartphone Aptus apps provide more indepth, diagnosis tools and very cool graphical interface. The software or app is installed on the PC or device and then directed to either a serial comm port, USB port, IP address, or even the ACUs built in ad hoc wifi antenna access.

There are several methods for accessing the ACU from a remote terminal. With AptusWEB and AptusPC the most common way is via the ship's network on the IP address assigned to the ethernet port at the back of the ACU, or via the ethernet port behind the door on the front panel, which assigns your PC an IP address or via the little wifi antenna on the back of the ACU. >P> Aptus PC can use any of the above connections as well as the USB, 9 pin, and serial comm ports on the front and rear of the ACU.

Run Aptus PC via USB Cable

2. If you have internet access, Click on button and update Aptus to the latest version.

3. Connect the special USB - USB cable between laptop and top USB on ACU front panel.

4. Run Device manager to determine the comm port on the PC.

5. Run Aptus and connect using comm port.

Username: Intellian

password: 12345678

Use ethernet cable from PC to ACU

Step 1: Change your computer IP settings to the following:
IP Address: 192.168.1.40
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: 192.168.1.1

Step 2: Connect your computer to the LAN Ethernet port on the front of the ACU.

Step 3: Open a browser and type in the IP Address: 192.168.1.2.

Step 4: Log into the ACU by using:
User: intellian
Password: 12345678

Step 5: Select “iARM Upgrade” and verify that the software is the latest approved version. Upgrade to the newest approved software if needed.

Step 6: Select “Antenna Firmware Upgrade” and verify if the firmware is the latest approved version. Upgrade to the newest approved firmware if needed.

IARM Upgrade

Step 1: Change your computer IP settings to the following:
Step 1.1: IP Address: 192.168.1.40
Step 1.2: Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Step 1.3: Default gateway: 192.168.1.1

Step 2: Connect your computer to the LAN Ethernet port on the front of the ACU.

Step 3: Open a browser and type in the IP Address: 192.168.1.2.

Step 4: Log into the ACU by using:
Step 4.1: User: intellian
Step 4.2: Password: 12345678

Step 5: Select “iARM Upgrade” and verify that the software is the latest approved version. Upgrade to the newest approved software if needed.

Step 6: Select “Antenna Firmware Upgrade” and verify if the firmware is the latest approved version. Upgrade to the newest approved firmware if needed.

Step 7: Go to Administration –> Network setting and set Network Service Configuration as follows:

IARM UPGRADE DONE

Step 7: Perform Rate Sensor calibration: Navigate to the Antenna Settings page and push the button “Rate Sensor Calibration”. Repeat this until the values don’t change more than about 10 counts (normally after 3-4 clicks.)

Step 8: Push Restart to save the new settings.

Step 9: Tilt sensor calibration, put the ACU in to Setup mode and navigate to the Antenna Setting page. Enable the Tilt Sensor Bias, and push Ready to bring the main reflector to zero degrees elevation.

Step 10: Go up into the antenna and verify the bubble is in the center of the ring. If it isn’t you will need to perform a Tilt sensor calibration by selecting Elevation or Cross Level and moving the arrow keys up or down until the bubble is located in the center ring.

Step 11: Press Restart to save the new settings.

Step 12: Verify ship gyro input, navigate to the Dashboard and verify that the LED beneath the Heading Device is stable blue.

Step 13: Navigate to Ship Settings, and change the Heading Device to NONE. The Antenna will then go into Search 1. Wait for the antenna to find the satellite.

Step 14: Verify that the antenna is tracking the satellite. (Signal level above the threshold level)

Step 15: Change the Heading Device to NMEA, ensure the Baud rate is set correct. Normally this should be 4800, but some gyros distribute the signal in 38400.

Step 16: Push Save Sat. to save the position, and verify that the Current Bow Offset changes.

Antenna Calibration

Tilt sensor Bias


1. Go to Setup

2. On Antenna Advanced Info Tab>Tilt Sensor Bias click Ready button.

Elevation will move to zero.

3. With radome removed, observe level bubble on Sensor Module.

4. Adjust EL and CL tilt sensor bias in Aptus to center the bubble.

5. You must REBOOT the antenna for changes to take effect.




Tilt sensor bias calibrates the level sensors to make the sensor module level.

Check Rate Sensor Bias

The rate sensors detect movement of the antenna in the azimuth elevation and crosslevel axes and cause the motors to produce a counteracting force. The Rate Sensor Bias zeros the sensors to give a nominal output when the antenna is not moving.

1. Go to Setup mode.

2. Click on button to stabilize the antenna.

While in progress the LED will change to green and then blue once completed.

4. Note the values in the right hand column.

5. Repeat the button again 2 or 3 times and verify that the numbers on the right do not change significantly.

6. Press the button to exit setup mode.

Set Conical Range

1. In Aptus PC, put the antenna in SETUP mode

2. On the Monitor tab start DEBUG mode

3. On the left hand side of the screen, turn TRACKING ON.

4. In in the monitor logs look for [S] Scan XXXXX. XXXXX , XX XX [ AZ EL].

the last two numbers in the square brackets are the conical scan azimuth and elevation numbers that need to be optimized for the particular model antenna. see the following table:

5. Experiment with changing the Conical Range numbers until the Scan numbers are close to the recommended numbers for this antenna model.
Note: To see the Scan numbers in the monitor logs, you must be in SETUP mode, with DEBUG ON and TRACKING ON.

NMEA Gyro Input

NMEA Heading Input to the ACU


Intellian antennas accept only NMEA 0183 or NMEA2000 heading input with a $HEHDT sentence. If you have other types of heading inputs, an external converter will be required. With a good heading input, the front panel of the ACU will show the Azimuth correctly, with the Relative Azimuth in brackets eg. AZ 328.2 (162.5). If there is no heading input, the front panel will show the Azimuth as dashes with the Relative Azimuth in brackets eg. AZ: - - -.- (162.5)

Initially Set Heading Device to None


1. Set the heading source to NONE and press SET.
This will cause the antenna to do a gyro-free, sky search (SEARCH 1) until it finds the satellite. If targeting a DVB TV satellite, the antenna will positively identify the satellite using the DVB tuner. If targeting a VSAT satellite, using the NBD tuner, the antenna will identify the satellite by receive lock on the modem.
Later, once the satellite has been located, the heading device will be set to NMEA



Targeting a test Satellite


While setting up the antenna it is best to target a known TV DVB satellite from the satellite library.


1. Select Tracking information from Library.

2. Select a known DVB satelite from the library that can be seen from your location.

3. Click on button.

4. Observe the antenna graphic on the right and the Signal Level meter.

The antenna will begin a gyro-free sky search (SEARCH 1) by rotating counter clockwise in Azimuth until it detects a signal above the red line detect threshold. It will then go into SEARCH 3 spiral search and attempt to peak the signal above the green line tracking threshold. On a DVB satellite, it will look for DVB receive lock and the dot on the right of the signal Level meter will go blue.


Set Heading Device to NMEA

1. Once it is confirmed that you are on the right satellite, switch the heading source to NMEA.

2. Connect the NMEA heading to the gyro connection at the back of the ACU.

The heading on the front panel of the ACU will change from dashes, Example AZ: - - -.- (162.5), to showing the correct gyro heading AZ: 362.5 (162.5). If not, try reversing the gyro input connections on the back of the ACU.

3. Continue on to set Bow offset




Set Bow Offset


The antenna can be mounted at any angle to the bow, with the hatch facing in the most convenient direction for safe access to the antenna. The offset angle will be compensated by the bow offset.


1. With the antenna tracking a satellite with DVB receive lock, or with modem receive lock, click the button on the top of the APTUS screen.

This will set the bow offset to compensate for any misalignment of the antenna with respect to the bow of the vessel, or any inacuracy of the gyro compass. You can also press the FUNCTION button on the front panel of the ACU to save satellite.

Gyro Cable

Tools

• Crimping tool for ferrules
• Knife
• Combination plier
• Side cutter
• Self-amalgamating tape
• UV protective electrical tape

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

STEP 3:

Commissioning & Testing

El Adjust


This sets the calculated target elevation to the same as the real tracking elevation, to target the satellite more quickly.
To check and adjust El Adjust setting,


1. Go to the Graphs tab and look at the EL GRAPH while the antenna is tracking.

2. Enter setup mode and look at the EL GRAPH again. (In setup mode the antenna moves to the target elevation)

3. If the EL graph did not change, then the El Adjust setting is good.

4. If the graph moved down 2 degrees in setup mode, adjust El adjust by + 2 degrees.


If the graph moved up 2 degrees in setup mode adjust El Adjust by - 2 degrees.

5. Restart and go back to tracking, and then repeat setup mode until the EL Graph remains the same when switching to setup.





Configuring openAMIP on iDirect modem




1. Connect modem LAN A to a network switch.

2. Connect Ethernet port (not Intellian LAN) to the network switch.

3. Load image and option file on the modem.

4. View option file in a text editor and note ACU IP address under [ANTENNA].

5. Note modem IP and subnet mask under [ETH0_1]

6. Connect ACU Ethernet port to switch.

7. Connect laptop Ethernet set to DHCP to ACU front panel port behind the door.


The ACU will give an IP address of 192.168.2.2.


8. Browse to AptusWeb at 192.168.2.1


Login user name intellian and enter password.


9. Go to Firmware&Configuration

>Administration

>Network Setting

>Modem Port Configuration

10. Set to the IP Address to the ACU IP from option file [ANTENNA]

11. Set Subnet Mask to subnet under option file [ETH0_1]

12. Set Gateway to modem Ip from option file [ETH0_1]

13. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen click button

14. Under Administration menu on left click iArm Save and Reboot

15. Click Save & Reboot button.





Setup Modem in the ACU




1. Enter Setup mode

2. Go to Modem Setting

Select Modem IDIRECT-AMIP,

Modem Port Ethernet,

Modem Protocol Open AMIP

GPS Out Sentence GPGLL

3. Click button

4. Reboot modem and and watch ACU screen for Satellite Change from Modem message, to confirm openAMIP operation.





Pol Sensor Calibration


You should only need to do this at initial installation, or after work has been done on the feed.
It is advisable to do this before doing Cross pol isolation setup with the Teleport.
1. Simply press the button.
The feed will rotate CCW to the -95 endstop, then CW to the +95 endstop and to calibrate the alignment of the feed.




Reset Mechanical Skew Offset


The Mechanical Skew is the pol alignment with the satellite conducted with the Network Operations Center (NOC). This should only be reset back to zero if one intends to do a Crosspol Isolation test (CPI) with the NOC.
1. To reset mechanical skew in preparation for a CPI, press button. This will set the mechanical skew back to zero. One must do a CPI with the NOC after resetting the mechanical Skew Offset.



Cross Pol Isolation Test (CPI)


Before doing CPI, you should be tracking the correct satellite and have a green receive light on the modem.


1. Call your satellite network provider Network Operation Center and inform them that you have a green receive lock on the satellite and are ready to do a crosspol isolation test. In some cases the NOC may need to schedule this in advance with the satellite provider.
In some cases, the NOC may require you to set up iSite software on the modem to control the CW carrier.
In other cases the NOC will command the modem remotely and put up the carrier.
In either case, you should be ready to adjust the POL on the Antenna basic info tab under antenna angle.

2. Set the POL adjustment value to 1 degree between the and buttons.

3. When requested by the NOC, adjust the Mechanical Skew Offset one degree at a time while reading the value back to the NOC. They may ask you to continue in the same direction, or go back in the other direction until an optimum pol isolation is achieved.


In most cases, an isolation between horizontal and vertical pols should be greater than 30dB.
When completed, note the resulting Mechanical Skew Offset for your records. No further action is necessary on the pol adjustment..



1dB CompressionTest




Normally the NOC will also do a 1dB compression point test after doing the CPI. They will adjust the CW carrier in 1dB steps up to the point where a 1db increase in modem power does not correspond to a 1dB gain in output power due to the transmitter amplifier in the antenna (BUC) going into saturation. The 1dB compression point is the modem Tx level where the BUC output is 1dB below the linear theoretical output. This determines the maximum output of the modem that the BUC can transmit.
The NOC will then push a new option file to the modem with the new maximum power setting.

Quick Checklist

• Update all software ✔
• LoS verified ✔
• Az/El/Skew set ✔
• Blockage zone set ✔
• Grounding & waterproofing ✔
• Photos & handover docs ✔