Quantar

Quantar/Quantro info

There is a bunch of info here about the technical aspects of the Quantar Stations.

The info on the modification and changing ranges of the various modules is on the respective pages. There is some conversion info below, but it's being migrated and reformatted under the respective pages. I feel this is more logical.

If you find anything to be wrong here, please feel free to make an account and change it. I've had to lock down account creation, so you'll need to have it approved. If you want to email me directly, my email is bryan@bryanfields.net

Programming

Links to programming stuff

CSS 007.13.R022.0035 for EPIC4 Smart Zone SCM

WinRSS 14.08.01 Current Windows RSS

Firmware

The newer SCM modules can be upgraded via SLIP connection over the tty port, or via IP over the 10Base2 connector (anyone have a hub?).

The Wireline typically will upgrade during this too, unless it has the older EPROM memory. At that point you'll have to swap the chips.

The exciter is still a hard chip swap upgrade, but programed EPROM's are $20 shipped on eBay. Unless you have more than a few to upgrade it's not cost effective to buy the programer and chips yourself.

Quantar Conventional Firmware Upgrade Package R020-14-048

SIMM Images

Conventional Firmware for U1-U4 on the SIMM module 20.14.048

Media:Quantar-Flash-Simm-EPIC2-NON-IR-FW-20.14.048-Boot-020.10.001.zip

IntelliRepeater (IR) Firmware for U1-U8 on the two bank SIMM module 20.14.520

Media:IR-SIMM-20.14.520.zip

Hacking info

How to combine the firmware into a single binary image

srec_cat -Output 20.14.038-SIMM.bin -Binary \
"U4.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 0 \
"U3.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 1 \
"U2.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 2 \
"U1.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 3

srec_cat -Output 20.14.048-SIMM.bin -Binary \
"20.14.048 - epic 2 - u4.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 0 \
"20.14.048 - epic 2 - u3.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 1 \
"20.14.048 - epic 2 - u2.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 2 \
"20.14.048 - EPIC 2 - U1.bin" -Binary -unsplit 4 3


How to Split it back into a per chip image.

srec_cat 20.14.048-SIMM-920mhz.bin -Binary -split 4 0 -Output U4-920.bin -Binary
srec_cat 20.14.048-SIMM-920mhz.bin -Binary -split 4 1 -Output U3-920.bin -Binary
srec_cat 20.14.048-SIMM-920mhz.bin -Binary -split 4 2 -Output U2-920.bin -Binary
srec_cat 20.14.048-SIMM-920mhz.bin -Binary -split 4 3 -Output U1-920.bin -Binary

0x00000 is the start of boot1
0x40000 is the start of boot2  
BEBE CAFE BEBE CAFE then object name
FEED BEEF FEED BEEF is the end then  4 bytes 
EEnd of ROM
0x80000 is the start of sc.o
0018FC54 is the start of wl.o

Wireline Images

Wireline 20.10.816 for AT27C010 Chips. This works with the 20.14.048 Conventional Firmware

Wireline U134 Upper 20.10.816

Wireline U135 Lower 20.10.816

Exciter Images

This is the matching Exciter Image for a AM27C512 UV EPROM

Exciter 020.09.018

Manuals

• 

Hardware info

Part numbers

Here are part numbers and what the correspond to

Station Control info

Station Control Module or SCM is the heart of the Quantar station. The SCM comes in different revisons known as EPIC.

• EPIC I - TTN4094
• EPIC II
• EPIC III
• EPIC IV - This is only for the Smart Zone trunking. IT will not work for conventional
• EPIC V

The only difference between the various versions of the EPICs (excluding EPIC IV) is the hardware is newer. There is no difference in functionality for conventional analog/astro/P25 operation.

SIMM info

The SIMM used for firmware in the Quantar EPIC 2/3 is an 80 pin SIMM and is basically unobtanimum. It is possiable to use a Motorola Console Operator Interface Module SIMM if you want to modify it.

The conventional uses 4, 29F040 chips arranged to be 32 bits wide. This means each chip stores every 4th byte.

Example we store "QUANTAR MOTOROLA" in the SIMM

Chip 1	Chip 2	Chip 3	Chip 4
Q	U	A	N
T	A	R
M	O	T	O
R	O	L	A

So if we read Chip 1 we'd see QTMR.

The IR uses a two bank SIMM with the same layout (8 chips total)

It's possible to pull these chips and read/write them if you have the right programmer. Taking advantage of this I was able to build a SIMM programmer for the soldered in place SIMM's that essentially programs one chip at a time (8bits).

80 Pin SIMM Programmer

It's not pretty but it works.

The SIMM has the ability to be upgraded via the SCM download procedure, but the IR SIMM and NON-IR SIMMs cannot be interchanged. This is do to the boot code being different. Using the SIMM programmer or the socketed SIMM you can reprogram the SIMM's for either.

Receiver

Like the rest of the unit the receivers are frequency dependent and consist of their own modules. The basic receiver has a preselector which is 4 MHz wide on VHF and 6 MHz wide on UHF.

The receiver is an excellent high side injection design (exception for 800/900 which is low side). The first IF is +21.45 MHz on VHF and +73.35 MHZ on UHF/800/900. The second IF is 455 KHz. In many cases barefoot (minus preselector) the receiver sensitivity is under .112μV (-126 dBm) for 12 dB SINAD. Couple this with the great built in selectivity and it's truly a bullet proof design idea for high RF sites.

The receiver is pretty dumb, there is not a μP on the board, making it easier to troubleshoot. The devices receive their programming from the main CPU on the SCM via SPI bus. The two main chips are the U2500 receiver IC and U2401 PLL IC. U2401, the PLL, is a custom chip responsible for locking the VCOs to the proper frequency, and selecting the high or low VCO. U2500, the receiver IC, contains the 2nd IF/VCO and final processing of the intended signal. Unlike other designs, the receiver IC presents the recovered audio/data as two digital signals to the SCM where A/D conversion happens (if needed).

There are a couple other chips which present various

UHF R0 was added later and extends the coverage and tuning range of the unit down to 380 MHz. The preselctor for this covers the whole range as well.

Each item has more information on it's own page and covers conversions there as well.

Svc Man P/N	CLD	FRU P/N	Range	Preselector	Description
TRD6361	CLD1250	TLN3250	VHF R1	TFD6511	VHF Receiver 132-154 MHz
TRD6362	CLD1260	TLN3251	VHF R2	TFR6512	VHF Receiver 150-174 MHz
CRX4022	CRX1027	DLN1215	UHF R0	CRX4001	UHF Receiver 380-433 MHz
TRE6281	CLE1190	TLN3313	UHF R1	TLE5991	UHF Receiver 403-433 MHz
TRE6282	CLE1200	TLN3314	UHF R2	TLE5992	UHF Receiver 438-470 MHz
TRE6283	CLE1210	TLN3373	UHF R3	TLE5993	UHF Receiver 470-490 MHz
TRE6284	CLE1220	TLN3374	UHF R4	TLE5993	UHF Receiver 490-520 MHz
TRF6551	CLF1530	TLN3315	800	N/A	800 MHz Receiver 806-825 MHz
TRF6552	CLF1540	TLN3316	900	N/A	900 MHz Receiver 935-941 MHz

Exciter

The exciters contain their own CPU which communicates with the SCM over a SPI bus. This CPU runs it's own firmware and requires a socketed UV EPROM to upgrade it. This also controls the PA meeting and the bit of EEPROM in the CPU stores the alignment settings for the exciter and PA. Generally a Exciter/PA pair will not need to be realigned if moved from one chassis to another, although it should be checked.

Svc Man P/N	CLD	FRU P/N	Range	Description
TLD9831	CLD1270	TLN3252	VHF R1	VHF Exciter 132-154 MHz
TLD9832	CLD1280	TLN3253	VHF R2	VHF Exciter 150-174 MHz
CLX4000	CLX1000	DLN1214	UHF R0	UHF Exciter 380-433 MHz
TLE5971	CLE1230	TLN3305	UHF R1	UHF Exciter 403-433 MHz
TLE5972	CLE1240	TLN3306	UHF R2	UHF Exciter 438-470 MHz
TLE5973	CLE1210	TLN3375	UHF R3	UHF Exciter 470-490 MHz
TLE5974	CLE1220	TLN3376	UHF R4	UHF Exciter 490-520 MHz
TLF6920	CLF1510	TLN3307	900	800 MHz Exciter 850-870 MHz
TLF6930	CLF1520	TLN3308	900	900 MHz Exciter 935-941 MHz

Troof Table

There is a ID code representing the exciter type, it consists of R3700 to R3710. These are either pull up or down resistors on a 6 bit code and are identified on the schematic on the left side of U3700, the μP. Below is the table in MSB-LSB format, with a 1 being high (5v) and a 0 being a low (0v).

Dip switch!	Band!	Binary!	Notes in the RSS!
0	VHF_R1	000000
1	VHF_R2	000001	VHF R2 SL
2	UHF_R1	000010
3	UHF_R2	000011
4	800	000100
5	VHF_R3	000101	sl
6	VHF_R4	000110
7	VHF_R1	000111
8	VHF_R2	001000	VHF R2 FL
9	VHF_R3	001001
10	VHF_R4	001010
11	900	001011
12	UHF_R3	001100
13	UHF_R4	001101
14	blank	001110
15	blank	001111
16	blank	010000
17	blank	010001
18	blank	010010
19	blank	010011	uhf r0 from book
20	blank	010100
21	blank	010101
22	blank	010110
23	blank	010111
24	blank	011000
25	blank	011001
26	blank	011010
27	blank	011011
28	blank	011100
29	blank	011101
30	blank	011110
31	blank	011111
32	blank	100000
33	blank	100001
34	blank	100010
35	blank	100011
36	blank	100100
37	blank	100101	boot
38	blank	100110
39	blank	100111
40	blank	101000
41	blank	101001
42	blank	101010
43	blank	101011
44	blank	101100
45	blank	101101
46	blank	101110
47	blank	101111	"RSS only"
48	blank	110000
49	blank	110001
50	blank	110010
51	blank	110011
52	blank	110100	RAP says VHF_R2 SL
53	blank	110101
54	blank	110110
55	blank	110111
56	blank	111000
57	blank	111001
58	blank	111010
59	blank	111011
60	blank	111100
61	blank	111101
62	blank	111110
63	INVALID	111111	Exciter is in reset all LED's are on and the PA fans turn on

Power Amp

The power amps are actually a cool design.

Their are two basic power amps, a 25W, and a 100/110/125w (depending on band). The power amps all use the same general board layout, with the frequency dependent parts separate from the support components. The 25W PA is a passively cooled unit with a massive heatsink, while the 100/110/125W unit has active cooling with a horizontal heatsink and two cooling fans moving air front to back.

There are a couple different revisions of the PA's so the main PCB has changed a bit over time.

PCB Layout High Power

PCB Layout Low Power

[[|thumbnail|center]]

The PA doesn't contain any CPU, it's controlled via the exciter CPU with basic analog level lines going over to the exciter. Some of what's measured by the exciter

• Intermediate PA drive level - this is the output of the IPA to the final PA pallet
• Driver PA Level - output of the final PA before the circulator (FPA_DETECT).
• TX Power Forward - Output measured at the output of the Low Pass Filter
• TX Power Reverse - Reflected Power from the antenna port
• OMNI voltage - this is the control voltage on the IPA which comes from the SCM as a 0-5V control signal (V_CONT). This 0-5v controls a transistor making a 0-14v signal to provide the gain of the IPA. This is the basis of the power control. The Control Voltage from the SCM is only present during keydown.
• IPA Current detect
• DPA Side A & B current sense
• Temperature of the PA
• Fan on/off and alarm
• PA_ID bits A & B - resistor divider that programs to reference voltages in .5v increments to ID the PA hardware to the exciter.

All these are measured over an TDM bus that selects each at a 200ms interval using a single analog input on the exciter CPU.

PA types

Svc Man P/N	Other P/N	Rated Power	Range	Description
CTX1146	DLN1216	110	UHF R0	Second Generation UHF PA 380-433 MHz
TTE2061	TLN3444	110	UHF R1	First Generation UHF PA 403-433 MHz
CLE6164	Example	110	UHF R1	Second Generation UHF PA 403-433 MHz
TTE2062	TLN3446	110	UHF R2	First Generation UHF PA 438-470 MHz
CLE6165	CLE1308	110	UHF R2	Second Generation UHF PA 438-470 MHz
TTE2063		110	UHF R3	First Generation UHF PA 470-490 MHz
TTE6373		110	UHF R3	Second Generation UHF PA 470-490 MHz
TTE2064		100	UHF R4	First Generation UHF PA 490-520 MHz
TTE6374		100	UHF R4	Second Generation UHF PA 490-520 MHz

PA Type	PA_ID_A	PA_ID_B	R4162	R4163	R4164	R4165	Official?
900 100W	3.0	.5	20.5k	10k	1k	OPEN	YES
800 100W	0.5	1.0	OPEN	0	1.5K	15K	YES
800 20W	0.0	1.0	OPEN	1k	1.5K	15K	YES
UHF 110W R0	0.0	1.5	OPEN	0	390	1k	YES
UHF 110W R1	1.0	0.5	15k	1.5k	560	10k	YES
UHF 110W R2	1.5	0.5	1k	390	100	1k	YES
UHF 110W R3	3.0	1.0	2.2k	2.7k	1.5k	15k	YES
UHF 100W R4	3.5	1.0	18k	15k	1.5k	15k	YES
UHF 25W R1	5.0	0.0	33.2k	OPEN	0	OPEN	YES
UHF 25W R2	0.0	0.5	OPEN	0	1k	OPEN	YES
VHF 125W R1	3.0	0.0	20.5k	10k	0	OPEN	YES
VHF 125W R2	0.0	0.0	OPEN	0	0	OPEN	YES
VHF 25W R1/R2	4.5	0.0	12k	68k	0	OPEN	YES
VHF 25W R1	3.5	0.0				NO

UHF 110W Generation 1 UHF 110W Generation 2

CTF1091A 100 W 800 MHz CTF1092A 100 W 900 MHz CTX1146A Range 0 Power Amplifier TLF1800B 100W Power Amplifier Module TLF1930C 100W Power Amplifier Module TLF1940B 20W Power Amplifier Module TTE2061A 110W Power Amplifier UHF R1 TTE2062A 110W Power Amplifier UHF R2 TTE2063A 110W Power Amplifier UHF R3 TTE2064A 110W Power Amplifier UHF R4

TLE2511A/ 110W Power Amplifier Module TLE2512A TLE2521 TLE2572 TLE2731B 25W Power Amplifier Module UHF R1 TLE2732B 25W Power Amplifier Module UHF R2 TLD3101G 125W Power Amplifier Module VHF R1 TLD3102G 125W Power Amplifier Module VHF R2 TLD3110C 25W Power Amplifier Module VHF R1/R2 CLX4002A 100/110W Power Amplifier Module (UHF; R1-R4) CLE6164A 100/110W Power Amplifier CLE6165A Module (UHF; R1-R4)

TTE6373A/ 100/110W Power Amplifier TTE6374A Module (UHF; R1-R4)

Conversions

Work in progress on moving Qunatar bands. These are depreciated, refer to the pages on each FRU.

Going to move this to the various exciter/PA/receiver pages verses having its own page.

VHF R2 to R1

Looks like it should work

Exciter

Parts difference and re-tune the VCO's

Amplifier

25W PA

This covers both R1 and R2.

125W PA MODELS TLD3101/TLD3102

The 125W PA is the same PA pallet, Low Pass Filter, and IPA. The circulator is different, and about 300 from MOTO. Should be a matter of changing the ID bits

CLD1298 and CLD1299 newer 125W PA's look like they are them same.

VHF R2 to 220 MHz

Software works, it's putting the R4 code plug in, verified the 212.5 cross over frequency for the VCO's. Still need to work out some bugs in it. Should use the 800 MHz for the 220 MHz programing.

Exciter is working.

PA is a complete rebuild, working on it, circulator is being reworked. The A+B voltage feeds are a problem. Right now it keys up, and then shits the bed as the PA is fail. I've tested it by putting good voltage on the IPA, PA, FPA and SWR sense lines. Still doesn't like the PA not drawing current and craps out after like 30 seconds, but it was long enough to test the output from the exciter, it's 13.5 dBm on the Rigol.

Receiver VCO is working, need to modify the image filter and test.