Salcom 20-62 User manual

Copyright © 2020 Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd. All rights reserved.
20-62
VHF / UHF Transmitter with Ethernet
PRODUCT MANUAL
Version 1.3.2
March 2020

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Warranty and Disclaimer
Salcom products are warranted for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase against
faulty materials and workmanship.
If any fault should occur, the unit should be returned to the vendor, freight pre-paid. Please
include a description of the fault to assist with prompt return. Any unauthorised alterations or
repairs will invalidate the warranty.
We reserve the right to change products, specifications, and installation data at any time,
without notice.
All information provided in this document is carefully prepared and offered in good faith as a
guide in the installation and use of Salcom products. Installers must ensure that the final
installation operates satisfactorily within the relevant regulatory requirements. Salcom accepts
no responsibility for incorrect installation.
Please refer to the product specifications for specific certification information.

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Contents
Warranty and Disclaimer................................................................................................................................1
Product Overview............................................................................................................................................3
Connectors and Indicators ............................................................................................................................5
Physical Dimensions.........................................................................................................................................6
20-62 Installation and Quick Start Guide......................................................................................................7
Salcom Protocol ..............................................................................................................................................9
Sacoto Configuration Tool - Quick Start Guide.........................................................................................10
Configuring the 20-62 using Sacoto............................................................................................................13
Salcom UDP/TCP Test Tool............................................................................................................................23
Virtual Serial Port over Ethernet ...................................................................................................................24
Store & forward systems................................................................................................................................26
Simulcast Modulation Delay ........................................................................................................................28
Over-Temperature Cutout ...........................................................................................................................30
Aerial Mismatch .............................................................................................................................................31
Antenna Selection and Installation.............................................................................................................33
Supported Messaging Protocols..................................................................................................................34
Trouble Shooting ............................................................................................................................................37
Glossary...........................................................................................................................................................38
Accessories and Related Products .............................................................................................................39
Technical Specifications...............................................................................................................................40
How to Contact Us ........................................................................................................................................42

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Product Overview
The Salcom 20-62 is a 5 Watt, stand-alone FSK transmitter with a POCSAG encoder and external
NRZ input. Models are available for the VHF or UHF bands. Each model covers its full specified
frequency range without the need for any mechanical adjustments or additional calibration. The
output power level can be programmed from 50mW to 5W.
Key Features:
POCSAG encoder: The 20-62 provides a built-in POCSAG encoder, supporting 512 and
1200 baud with numeric and alphanumeric messages. The 20-62 POCSAG encoder can
queue up to 40 messages for transmission, with a total of up to 1000 characters combined.
Individual messages can be up to 240 characters long.
External NRZ input: Externally generated NRZ data can be transmitted using the external
modulation input and PTT input.
USB, Serial and Ethernet ports: The 20-62 may be controlled through four ports: two physical
RS-232 ports, one USB serial port, and one TCP/IP or UDP Ethernet connection.
Message protocols: The 20-62 supports a wide range of messaging protocols, including
Salcom protocol, TAP (PET), TNPP, and many more. The 20-62 can support up to four
different messaging protocols concurrently, one on each port. For more details please
refer to the protocol list provided in this manual.
Triggered messages: Messages may be triggered using four input pins, the battery level,
or a regular watchdog timer. Messages may be triggering on rising or falling edges with a
programmable de-bounce delay. The input states and the battery state may also be
transmitted at startup, or at regular intervals with the watchdog timer. These pre-
programmed messages may be up to 40 character long.
Sacoto configuration tool: The Salcom “Sacoto” configuration software allows full
configuration of all functions of the 20-62 transmitter via any serial port, the USB port, or the
Ethernet port. Note that the Ethernet port cannot be used to configure the Ethernet port!
Store & Forward repeater: The 20-62 can be configured to operate as a store & forward
repeater when used with a separate paging receiver such as the Salcom 12-84. Messages
received by the receiver can be retransmitted by the 20-62 to extend the paging
coverage area. The 20-62 provides features to prevent loops and multiple retransmissions,
and can provide a delay at the originating transmitter to allow time for repeaters to
forward messages without interference.
Extended database tool: Some messaging protocols use a database of CAP codes that
are stored within the 20-62. Sacoto supports up to 100 CAP codes, which is sufficient for
most applications. However, if more are required an extended database tool is available
to allow up to 1000 CAP codes. This is a useful feature when used with the Salcom 12-36
Paging Telephone Voice Interface.

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Simulcast modulation delay: A simulcast synchronizing delay can be applied to externally
generated NRZ data. This delay can be configured to be between 10uS and 2550uS to
account for a difference in propagation delay in overlapping coverage areas. Note that
this features uses a different modulation input pin to the undelayed NRZ modulation input.
Aerial mismatch detection: When enabled, the 20-62 can provide serial reporting of a
disconnected or damaged antenna, and reduce output power to protect the transmitter.
The feature must be self-calibrated for each installation before use.
Over-temperature cutout: The 20-62 is protected against overheating. If the transmitter
operates for extended periods in a hot environment, a protective thermal cutout may
operate to reduce the output power to a safe level. It will reset when the unit temperature
has fallen to below 70C.

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Connectors and Indicators
Pin 1 on left side when viewed from front, as above.
Table 1: Connectors and Indications (L-R)
Item
Description
1
12V Supply
2
Transmit LED (Red)
3
Power LED (Green)
4
USB
5
Inputs (RJ45)
6
Serial ports x 2 (RJ12)
7
Ethernet
Table 2: Serial Connector (RJ12/6)
Table 3: Input connector (RJ45)
Pin
Connection
Pin
Connection
1
Ground
1
PTT OUT, 50mA max
2
Reserved
2
Ground
3
RS232 Port 2 TX
3
Trigger Input 4
4
RS232 Port 2 RX
4
Trigger Input 3
5
RS232 Port 1 TX
5
Trigger Input 2
6
RS232 Port 1 RX
6
Trigger Input 1
a
7
PTT Input for NRZ operation
8
Modulation Input for NRZ
operation

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Physical Dimensions
The 20-62 has an extruded aluminum case with a mounting flange and screw slots. A
dimensioned drawing is provided below.

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
20-62 Installation and Quick Start Guide
Power Supply
Power is connected to the green “Power”connector on the front panel with the polarity as
shown. Nominal supply voltage is 13.8V DC, but may vary between 10.8V and 15V. The power
source must be reasonably noise free. The 20-62 is protected against reversed polarity.
Antenna Installation
The antenna is connected to the SMA connector on the rear panel. Installing the antenna
outside, clear of obstacles, and high above the ground will most likely provide the best radio
coverage.
The antenna should present a nominal load of 50Ω, with a VSWR of better that 1.8:1. The
transmitter output power may be affected by a poorly matched antenna (ie if not 50 ohms at
the transmitter frequency).
The 20-62 is designed to operate reliably over large distances, however the actual distance can
vary depending on antenna height and position, obstructions, antenna cable length, local radio
interference, antenna specifications, and the sensitivity of the receiver.
Important! To comply with FCC Controlled/Occupational Exposure Limits the aerial must be
positioned or mounted to operate at least 0.26 metres (0.853 ft) away from operational staff and
0.57 metres (1.87 ft) away from the general public as a safeguard against radiated emissions.
Serial connections
The 20-62 may be configured to operate without a serial connection, transmitting regular
messages, or transmitting messages in response to trigger inputs or the battery level.
For other messages, the RJ12 serial connector provides two RS-232 serial ports. Serial connection
may also be made via the USB connector or the Ethernet port.
RS-232 serial ports
Two RS-232 serial ports are provided on the RJ12 serial connector. A standard 6 way RJ12 6P6C
cable and splitter may be used to separate the two ports if required.
The Salcom 12-45-0000 adaptor converts port 1 of the RJ12 to a DB-9 connector. The Salcom 12-
45-2000 converts port 2 of the RJ12 to a DB-9 connector.
The RG12 pin-out is provided above for custom cables.

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
USB serial port
The USB connector provides a standard USB serial port. In many cases drivers may already be
included with your computer, however if a driver is required it can be downloaded from Silicon
Labs:
https://www.silabs.com/products/development-tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers
… or search for the CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers
Download the driver for your version of Windows. The downloaded file is usually a ZIP file. Open
this file and run CP210xVCPInstaller_x64.exe for 64 bits systems or CP210xVCPInstaller_x86.exe for
older systems (Win XP and earlier, other 32 bit systems, or if the x64 version does not work).
Ethernet Port
To use the Ethernet port the 20-62 must first be correctly configured with the Salcom “Sacoto”
configuration software. Refer to the Sacoto Quick Start Guide below for configuration
procedures.
Powering-Up
When powered up the GREEN power indicator should flash once per second to indicate normal
standby operation, ready to transmit. A rapid GREEN flash indicates a low battery voltage.
The RED indicator will flash for a few seconds at power up if there is a problem. Error messages
are sent to RS232 serial port 1.
Configuration
The 20-62 can be entirely configured using the Salcom “Sacoto” configuration tool. Basic
configuration such as frequency, power, TCP/IP configuration, and input triggered messages are
covered in the Sacoto Quick Start Guide later in this manual. For more detailed configuration
refer to the “help” pages within Sacoto.
Message transmission
Standard COM port Terminal software can be used to initiate messages using Salcom protocol
(see below), or any of the other protocols when configured.
For example sending the text CA1234567 1 Hello, terminated with a carriage return (ASCII 13),
will initiate a 512 baud paging message, sent to CAP code 1234567. Sending messages is
described in more detail in the “Messaging” section later in this manual.
The RED TX indicator will light when the unit is transmitting. A flashing RED TX indicator while
attempting to transmit indicates a fault. This may be due to overheating or some other fault. If
overheating is suspected, please let the unit cool before trying again. Error messages are sent to
RS232 serial port 1.

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20-62 VHF & UHF TRANSMITTER
Product Manual
Sea Air and Land Communications Ltd, 10 Vanadium Place, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand March 2020
Salcom Protocol
Salcom protocol takes the basic form: PPXXXXXXX L MMMMMM<CR>
Where:
PP is either “CA”, “CN”, “ca” or “ca”.
Capital letters denote 512 baud, lower case denotes 1200 baud
“A” denotes Alphanumeric, “N” denotes Numeric
XXXXXXX is a 7 digit CAPcode.
Spaces as shown
L is the function code (beep level) from 1 to 4.
MMMMM is the message (up to 240 characters).
<CR> is a carriage return (enter key).
CA or ca
Usage: CA<pager#>[<space>]<level>[<space>]<message><CR>
Description: Call alphanumeric pager
Example: CA1119358 1 Please return to reception<CR>
Response: CA11193581<CR><SPACE>Page Sent<CR><LF>
CN or cn
Usage: CN<pager#>[<space>]<level>[<space>]<message><CR>
Description: Call numeric pager
Example: CN1119358 1 777<CR>
Response: CN11193581<CR><SPACE>Page Sent<CR><LF>
Other commands:
RES
Usage: RES<CR>
Description: Restart 20-62
Example: RES<CR>
Response: Restart, followed by SALCOM 20-62-0000 VX.XX Rel<CR><LF>
SN?
Usage: SN?<CR>
Description: Retrieve unit serial number and firmware revision
Example: SN?<CR>
Response: SALCOM 20-62-0000 VX.XX 1234567<CR><LF>