Keo SkyScan4 Instructions for use

Keo SkyScan4
Articulated Mirror Assembly
Hardware User Manual
Version 1.3
July 2023

© Copyright 2004 –2023
Keo Scientific Ltd.
430 –11979 40 St. SE
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
T2Z 4M3
TEL: [phone]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written
permission of Keo Scientific Ltd.
Printed in Canada.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
SmartMotor and Combitronic are registered trademarks of Animatics Corporation.
PowerGrip and GT are registered trademarks of Gates Corporation.
The information in this publication is believed to be accurate as of the publication date. However,
Keo Scientific Ltd. does not assume any responsibility for any consequences including damages
resulting from the use thereof. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
Revision of this publication may be issued to incorporate such change.

Table of Contents iii
Table of Contents
1Introduction............................................................................................................... 7
2System Components ................................................................................................ 9
2.1 System Components Overview ................................................................................... 9
2.2 SkyScan Unit................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.1 Drive System............................................................................................................................9
2.2.2 Electrical Brush System........................................................................................................ 10
2.2.3 Coordinate System ............................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Power Supply Unit ...................................................................................................... 12
2.4 Cables.......................................................................................................................... 12
2.5 User Manuals .............................................................................................................. 13
2.6 Software ...................................................................................................................... 13
3Installation Overview............................................................................................... 15
4System Setup ......................................................................................................... 17
4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 17
4.2 System Requirements ................................................................................................ 17
4.3 Unpacking the System ............................................................................................... 18
4.4 Equipment and Parts Inventory ................................................................................. 18
4.5 Mounting ..................................................................................................................... 19
4.6 Driver Installation........................................................................................................ 20
4.7 Software Installation .................................................................................................. 20
5Operation ................................................................................................................ 21
5.1 The First Power-Up .................................................................................................... 21
5.2 Communicating with the SkyScan4........................................................................... 22
5.3 Firmware Updates ...................................................................................................... 22
6Command Reference.............................................................................................. 23
6.1 Command Overview ................................................................................................... 23
6.2 Error Codes................................................................................................................. 24
6.3 Help Menu Command................................................................................................. 24
6.4 Report a Configuration Parameter Command.......................................................... 24
6.5 Set a Configuration Parameter Command................................................................ 25
6.6 Start a Trajectory Command ..................................................................................... 25
6.7 Start a Homing Routine Command ........................................................................... 26
6.8 Report Axis Offsets Command .................................................................................. 26
6.9 Report Current Axis Positions Command................................................................. 26
6.10 Move to Position Command ...................................................................................... 27

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6.11 Stop All Motion Command .........................................................................................28
6.12 Stop Position and Velocity Motion Command ..........................................................28
6.13 Stop Trajectory Command .........................................................................................28
6.14 Report Operating Status Command ..........................................................................29
6.15 Initialize Trajectory Command ...................................................................................30
6.16 Define a New Trajectory Command...........................................................................30
6.17 Report Current Velocity Command............................................................................31
6.18 Move at Velocity Command........................................................................................31
6.19 Exit Custom Command Mode Command..................................................................32
7Configuration Parameters........................................................................................33
7.1 Parameter 0: Azimuth Home Offset ...........................................................................33
7.2 Parameter 1: Zenith Home Offset ..............................................................................33
7.3 Parameter 2: Cam Interpolation Mode ......................................................................34
7.4 Parameter 3: Serial Number .......................................................................................34
7.5 Parameter 4: Default Velocity.....................................................................................35
7.6 Parameter 5: Azimuth Counts per Revolution...........................................................35
7.7 Parameter 6: Zenith Counts per Revolution ..............................................................36
7.8 Parameter 7: Enable Expanded Range Mode............................................................36
8Warranty & Service ..................................................................................................39
8.1 Limited Warranty.........................................................................................................39
8.2 Contact Information....................................................................................................39
Appendix A Specifications ........................................................................................41
Appendix B Outline Drawings ...................................................................................43
Appendix C Firmware Update Procedure .................................................................47

Table of Figures v
Table of Figures
Figure 1: The SkyScan4 ................................................................................................................................7
Figure 1: Typical System Components .........................................................................................................9
Figure 2: SkyScan Coordinate System ...................................................................................................... 11
Figure 3: Top-Down Coordinate System View........................................................................................... 11
Figure 4: SkyScan in Parked Position ........................................................................................................ 12
Figure 5: SMI Port Properties ..................................................................................................................... 47
Figure 6: SMI View Layout.......................................................................................................................... 48
Figure 7: SMI Hex String Entry ................................................................................................................... 49
Figure 8: SMI Response to X!..................................................................................................................... 49
Figure 9: SMI Browse for SMX File ............................................................................................................ 49
Figure 10: SMI Select Motor Dialog ........................................................................................................... 50
Figure 11: SMI Upload Progress ................................................................................................................ 50
Figure 12: SMI Upload Finished ................................................................................................................. 50

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Section 1 Introduction 7
1Introduction
Thank you for purchasing a Keo SkyScan4 system from Keo Scientific. This latest version of our
SkyScan system is the culmination of several years of design iterations and is our most capable system
yet.
The Keo SkyScan4 is a dual first-surface mirror assembly that can be pointed towards any point in the
sky by rotating the two mutually perpendicular axes, one of which is vertical and the other horizontal, to
the desired positions. Rotation about the vertical axis varies the azimuth (compass bearing) of the
pointing direction while rotation about the horizontal axis varies the zenith angle of the pointing direction.
Both axes are capable of full 360-degree continuous rotation through the use of electrical brushes and
slip rings for transferring power and communication through to the rotating axis. This improvement over
our legacy systems, which were limited to approximately 200 degrees of azimuth travel and required
complicated calculations for achieving full 360 degree pointing, allows for simplified control of the device
and smooth tracking of trajectories.
The SkyScan system is suitable for use with space weather, aeronomical, and surveillance
instrumentation such as photometers, narrow-field imagers and Fabry-Pérot Interferometers (FPIs). It
can also be used as a heliostat or trajectory tracker.
High-reflectance, first-surface quality mirrors and a high-transmittance entrance window are used to
minimize light loss through the system. Modern servo-motor technology is used drive the axes to
provide fast, repeatable, and high-precision pointing or scanning.
All that is needed to communicate with and control the SkyScan system is a suitable computer with an
available USB2 port.
Figure 1: The SkyScan4

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Section 2 System Components 9
2System Components
2.1 System Components Overview
A standard SkyScan4 system consists of the SkyScan unit, a power supply unit with AC cord, a power
tether cable, a data tether cable, a USB cable, a user manual, and software USB stick.
Figure 1: Typical System Components
2.2 SkyScan Unit
This is the main component of the SkyScan system. It is a self-
contained unit comprising two mutually perpendicular axes (azimuth
and zenith) each of which has an Animatics SmartMotor™for precise
motion control.
2.2.1 Drive System
This new and improved SkyScan4 uses PowerGrip® GT®2 synchronous belts
for transmitting power from the gearboxes to the axes. The unique curvilinear
tooth profile delivers smooth, quiet operation and precise registration with
virtually no backlash. These belts are combined with precision gearboxes and
Animatics Class 5 SmartMotor integrated servo motors to provide a high
accuracy, long lasting, and zero maintenance drive system.

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The Class 5 SmartMotors used on the SkyScan communicate with each other using the Combitronic™
protocol over the CAN bus which allows for one of the motors to act as a master and execute
commands on the other, all at a blazing fast 1MBaud data rate. This greatly simplifies the programming
of the system and improves the coordination of the two axes.
The floating point capabilities of these motors allow for the user to specify all positions and velocities in
their native units (degrees and degrees per second) rather than having to calculate them in device units
(encoder counts). The modulo encoder count capabilities completely eradicate any position overflow
issues found in previous SkyScan devices.
2.2.2 Electrical Brush System
The original Keo SkyScan was limited to 200° of travel in the azimuth axis due to limitations put in place
by having wired power and communications. The new SkyScan uses electrical brushes and brass slip
rings to transfer power and communications into the rotating device. This allows for full 360° continuous
rotation about both axes. No longer is it necessary to flip the zenith axis to the inverted position to point
in some directions.
2.2.3 Coordinate System
Important Information
All references to cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) in this
manual are with respect to the earth’s geographic coordinate system, not
the magnetic coordinate system. Aligning the device with magnetic north
may cause significant errors in the pointing accuracy of the system.
The SkyScan system uses a spherical coordinate system defined by an azimuth angle and a zenith angle
where the azimuth angle is measured clockwise from north and the zenith angle is measured from the
zenith in the direction of the azimuth angle (see Figure 2). Since all possible points can be described with
a 0 to 360° azimuth range and a 0 to 180° zenith range, negative zenith values are not strictly necessary.
The SkyScan will however accept negative zenith angles which are simply interpreted as a positive
zenith angle in the azimuth angle + 180° azimuth direction.
Note
The SkyScan mounting plate is designed so that the power connector is oriented in
the south direction.