Rhotheta RT-600 Light User manual

User Manual
RT-600 Light

Direction Finder RHOTHETA RT-600 Light
RHOTHETA Page 2 of 22 User Manual
Edited by:
RHOTHETA Elektronik GmbH
Dr.-Ingeborg-Haeckel-Str. 2
82418 Murnau
Germany
Tel.: [phone] - 0
Fax: [phone] - 15
Internet: www.rhotheta.de
E-Mail: em[email protected]
Copyright
 RHOTHETA Elektronik GmbH
All rights reserved
Issue: [2017/12/08] [Rev 1.00]
Document-ID: 12-9-1-0021-3-1-60
LoJack is a registered trademark of LoJack Corporation.
Note:
The manufacturer reserves the right on making modifications of the product described herein at any
time and without previous information.

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Index
1LEGEND OF SIGNAL WORDS ......................................................................................................................... 5
2SAFETY.............................................................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 General Safety Information ......................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Basic Safety Instructions............................................................................................................................. 6
3GENERAL INFORMATION................................................................................................................................ 7
4INSTALLATION ................................................................................................................................................. 8
4.1 Antenna unit................................................................................................................................................ 8
4.2 Influence of antenna location and environment on the bearing accuracy................................................... 9
5CONFIGURATION ........................................................................................................................................... 10
5.1 Mounting ................................................................................................................................................... 10
5.2 Offset of Bearing....................................................................................................................................... 10
6OPERATION .................................................................................................................................................... 11
6.1 Operational Modes.................................................................................................................................... 11
6.2 Squelch ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
6.3 Frequency Band........................................................................................................................................ 13
6.4 Tracking in the 216 to 220 MHz band (only available with version LE)..................................................... 14
7TECHNICAL DATA .......................................................................................................................................... 15
7.1 Electric features ........................................................................................................................................ 15
7.2 Interface.................................................................................................................................................... 17
7.3 Mechanical features.................................................................................................................................. 18
8LEGAL INFORMATION ................................................................................................................................... 19
8.1 Legal Limitations of Use within the EU ..................................................................................................... 19
8.2 EU Declaration of Conformity ................................................................................................................... 19
8.3 Disposal within the European Union ......................................................................................................... 19
8.4 Disposal outside the European Union....................................................................................................... 19
9APPENDIX ....................................................................................................................................................... 20
9.1 Frequency Ranges.................................................................................................................................... 20
9.2 Frequencies of channels on maritime band.............................................................................................. 21
10 NOTES ............................................................................................................................................................. 22

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List of Figures
Fig 1) RT-600 Light Front View................................................................................................... 7
Fig 2) Antenna Mounting Drawing, all dimensions are in [mm] ................................................. 8
Fig 3) Worst case example of the installation............................................................................. 9
Fig 4) Connector Amphenol (PT07GS1) .................................................................................. 17
Fig 5) Mechanical Drawing (all dimensions in [mm]) ................................................................ 18
Reference Documents
Ref
Document-ID
Document Title
Rev
Editor
[1] 12-9-4-5-00002-2
Interface Specification for Antenna Units
(RT-500-M RT-600 RT-800)
[Rev 1.00] RHOTHETA
The reference document is issued from RHOTHETA separately on request.

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1 Legend of Signal Words
Note
This symbol designates tips or additional notes that must be paid attention to and make work
easier.
Caution
means that ignoring the instructions may lead to property damage or loss of data.
Warning
means that ignoring the instructions, there may be a danger to health or life.
2 Safety
2.1 General Safety Information
RHOTHETA Elektronik GmbH is constantly trying to keep the safety standard of the products up to
date and to offer the customers the highest possible level of safety.
RHOTHETA products are designed and tested in accordance with the valid safety regulations. The
compliance with these standards is continuously monitored by our quality assurance system.
This product is tested and left the factory in perfect technical and safety-relevant condition. To maintain
this condition and to ensure safe operation, the user must pay attention to all instructions and warnings
given. For any questions regarding these safety instructions, RHOTHETA Elektronik GmbH can be
contacted at any time.
The observance of the safety instructions will help to prevent personal injury or damage caused by all
kinds of dangers. This requires that the following safety instructions must be read carefully and
understood before using the product, as well as observed when using the product. The additional
safety instructions such as for protecting persons appear in relevant parts of the product
documentation and must also be paid attention to.
The use of this product other than its designated purpose or in disregard of the instructions of the
manufacturer is the responsibility of the user. The manufacturer takes no responsibility for the misuse
of the product.
The manufacturer is not liable beyond the scope of legal rules!
This guide is part of the product RT-600 Light and is retained throughout the lifetime and to pass with
the product.
For the reasons explained in 6.3 “Tracking in the 216 to 220 MHz band” RHOTHETA does not offer -
and is not to be held responsible for - any guaranteed minimum range or distance to a transmitter in
this band.

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2.2 Basic Safety Instructions
Caution / Warning
Read and observe the following instructions, warnings and safety instructions of the
manufacturer!
•At all work, the local or national safety and accident prevention regulations must be
observed.
•When installing or operating with the product always follow the manufacturer's instructions.
•Do place the product on appropriate locations.
•Do not expose the product environmental conditions (heat, humidity, wind load etc.) that
exceed the specified conditions in the manuals.
•Use only the manufacturer prescribed components and/or use only recommended material
and do not change this. Any other use or unauthorized modifications to the product will void
the authorization to operate it.
•Connect only approved accessories kits or additional equipment.
•Ensure that the connections with information technology equipment, e.g. industrial
computers, comply with the IEC 60950-1/EN 60950-1 standard that applies in each case.
•The product may only be opened by authorized personnel. The connector must always be
disconnected before opening.

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3 General Information
The RHOTHETA direction finder system RT-600 Light is designed to receive and locate emergency
signals and special application signals on the international distress and application specific frequencies
in the VHF / UHF frequency range.
The system consists of an Antenna Unit (AU), which is designed light and robust for typical use on
unmanned aircraft.
The RT-600 Light is a modern precision direction finder intended for professional SAR (search and
rescue) and LE (Law Enforcement) purposes, and there are two versions of the RT-600 Light:
•The STANDARD or “A” version receives and locates signals on all international VHF-UHF
emergency frequencies, including marine channel 16 and all COSPAS/SARSAT channels
•The LAW ENFORCEMENT or “LE” version receives and locates special signals tracked by law
enforcement and special organizations, but it also receives and locates signals on international
VHF emergency frequencies including marine channel 16 and all COSPAS/SARSAT channels.
The system is based on the proven and reliable RT-600 system for manned aircraft, which was
designed for usage in harsh conditions, mounted on aircraft or vehicles.
The excellent performance of the RT-600 Light is possible due to our revolutionary patented wide band
antenna and it’s sophisticated bearing analyzing algorithms, which deliver quick and steady
information.
The system is operated over the serial interface. The appropriate communication protocol is described
in the reference document (please s. Ref. [1]).
Fig 1) RT-600 Light Front View

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4 Installation
4.1 Antenna unit
A convenient position of the monopole bearing antenna is crucial for good bearing results. The antenna
needs an effective ground connection to the body of the aircraft or to the roof of the vehicle. If there is
no metallic mounting surface available, a metallic sheet or similar (e.g. net) with connection to ground
has to be applied first between aircraft-body and antenna.
For optimal function of the direction finder it is recommended to use a metallic ground plane with a
minimum diameter of 470 mm.
In the hatched area, the antenna touches the body of the
aircraft
/ vehicle
. In order to obtain a good ground
connection, the surface of the body should be bared.
(Measuring unit [mm])
8 x holes for mounting the
antenna unit to the
aircraft / vehicle.
Fig 2) Antenna Mounting Drawing, all dimensions are in [mm]
For the electrical and data connection, the antenna should be connected to the aircraft by a suitable
cable (corresponding to the used Control Unit). The mating connector is included in the scope of
delivery. For the pinout description please s. chapter 7.2 Interface.

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4.2 Influence of antenna location and environment on the bearing
accuracy
The bearing accuracy of the direction finder antenna unit is severely influenced (comparable to an
airspeed sensor) by the environment. For comparison, a perfect high quality speed sensor will not
indicate the true airspeed, if this sensor is interfered by strong turbulences.
The direction finder antenna unit acts as a sensor for electromagnetic waves. In the near field of this
antenna unit, any conductive (e.g. metallic) obstacle will influence the incoming wave field and create
reflections which decrease the bearing accuracy. These are general physical limitations concerning all
types of direction finder systems.
Note
To achieve the best bearing results, it should be considered that the antenna unit is installed as far
away as possible from any other vertically polarized conductive structure. If possible, there should be
no reflectors within an area of 2-3 feet (0,5 – 1 m) around the antenna unit.
Fig 3) Worst case example of the installation
In this example, the antenna unit is located too close to the cable cutter of the helicopter. This cutter
will produce strong reflections, especially as the length is equal to Lambda/4 within the VHF airband
and the direction finder system will not work properly.

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5 Configuration
5.1 Mounting
The RT-600 Light can be mounted in a “top”-position (e.g. roof of the vehicles) or a “bottom”-position
(e.g. bottom of the aircraft).
The mounting position is crucial for the correctness of the bearing results.
The mounting position has to be adjusted over the mounting parameter of the serial interface data
protocol (for data protocol please s. Ref. [1]).
Based on this, the bearing is calculated considering the angle of incidence of the wave and the
mounting position of the antenna. This setting is crucial for correctness of the bearing results.
To guarantee a correct configuration and performance of the system, the user should verify – and
change if necessary – the mounting parameter via the serial interface data protocol by setting the
appropriate byte (for detailed information please s. Ref. [1]).
5.2 Offset of Bearing
The RT-600 Light has to be mounted on the aircraft in the way that, the 0° - marker ("North"-marker) is
on the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and points in the flight direction. If the antenna cannot be
mounted (for different reasons) in such way, the deviation correction has to be done via the setting of
the appropriate byte in the interface data protocol (please s. Ref. [1]). The offset is adjustable from 0°
to 359° (e.g. -15° = 345°).