Remote Coax Relay Board

Rev 2
Overview
The remote coax relay is a handy station accessory that provides a single pole, 4 throw RF coax
switch function. This allows you to select one of four radios to a single antenna, or one of four
antennas to a single radio. You can also use two board, connect the common connectors
together and have a 4x4 switch.

The circuit is designed to provide good performance over the entire HF spectrum from 0-30
MHz and up to 6m. The maximum rated power is 100 watts.

The built in connectors are BNC and spaced wide apart in case you need to use adapters to
UHF connectors If you mount the board in a box and want to use UHF or N connectors, you
can leave off the BNC connectors and put a short wire from the chassis mount connector to
the center pin of the footprint where the BNC connector goes.

The circuit is constructed from four latching relays. This means that you don’t need to keep
power applied to the board to keep it in the last state. The current relay selection is done by
pressing one of the built in push buttons on the board. To make remote operation easy, there
are solder pads that allows you to wire up 4 remote push buttons that switch to ground. Each
press of a port selection button will cause all relays to go to the open position then the one
port you want to select will then close into the operational position. On board LED’s will show
the current port that is enabled.

The on board microcontroller’s UART is connected to a jumper block which is then connected
to an RS485 interface, a wireless Xbee digital data radio socket and a header that can be used
with a FTDI USB to TTL converter cable. The jumper block selects which one of these
communications ports is connected to the microcontroller’s UART.

You can build software programs or hardware that can generate the proper ASCII strings to
control the board. The UART is set to 9600 baud. The ASCII command format is very simple as
follows:
//RY1 Selects RF port 1
The commands are the same regardless of the communications channel used.
 Key Features

12v power input RF Ports

2.1mm DC coaxial connector
Terminal block 4 3 Common 2 1

Serial port config

jumpers

RS485
PIC programming
terminal block
jack

Xbee data radio

TTL header to
Config DIP switches USB cable

External button
connections

Manual control
buttons
 Insertion loss < 0.1 db at 30 MHz

0
MHz
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
-0.02

-0.04

-0.06

-0.08

Isolation > 64 db Below 30 MHz

0.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 3

-10.0

-20.0

-30.0

-40.0

-50.0

-60.0

-70.0

-80.0

-90.0
What do I need to buy and install?
Things You MUST Buy

The PCB and a programmed CPU chip are available form the Ham Radio Workbench web store.
The rest of the required components are available from Digikey with a handy link to populate
the shopping cart all the basic parts you need.
If you want to add the optional components, you will have to buy them manually on the web
site.

http://www.digikey.com/short/jp978p

See the details at http://www.360workbench.com

Things You MUST Install

The remote coax relay board supports a core set of functionality and optional communications
ports. You must install the CPU and all the components from the base parts list to the PCB.
This will provide the core relay board features when controlling from the built in push buttons
or wiring external push buttons to the solder pads in the lower left corner of the board.
Order of assembly is not critical. The general advice is to install the lowest parts first. Start
with resistors, capacitors, IC sockets, LEDs, etc. Finish up with the tall stuff like the relays, coax
connectors, push buttons. The board silkscreen indicates the value of components.

Optional Parts

The optional components are for external communications with the board over RS485, USB or
Xbee data radios. If you don’t plan to use any of these remote control ports, you can leave
those parts out. If you are not sure what you want to do eventually, you can install all
components including all the optional parts.

Optional – Choosing RS485

RS485 defines the physical interface on which you will transit ASCII control codes to the board.
RS485 uses a simple twisted pair of wires and can be run for up to a few thousand feet. This is
a great option when you can easily run cable. You will need to provide 12v DC at the remote
end. If you don’t have remote power, one popular option is to use common CAT5 network
cable. You will need a total of 4 conductors. +12v, ground and the two RS485 data wires. You
can twist together 3 of the wires for ground, twist together 3 wires for 12v and the remaining 2
wires for data. This will minimize the voltage drop if you are running a very long cable.
Optional – Choosing Xbee Data Radios

Digi International makes a very popular line of data radios in a small form factor called an
Xbee. These are 20 pin modules that are about 1” x 1”. The make several different versions
running different protocols, frequency bands and power levels with a variety of antenna
connectors. The beauty of these little radios is that there is a simple mode that only uses the
UART on the data radios. Any ASCII characters that enter the Rx port on the Xbee will be
transmitted to the other Xbee and the characters will pop out the Tx pin. You have just made a
wireless serial cable with little or no effort. To get going we recommend the 2.4 GHz radios
running the DigiMesh protocol stack (IEEE 802.15.4 plus Digi’s meshing stack). On the bill of
materials we listed various versions of the radios that are all compatible. They only vary in
power and RF connector. Just make sure you use the same version on both ends.

The radios will need to be configured with the Digi International X-CTU configuration software.
You need to select the following parameters.
Protocol Digimesh
Version 8073 (the version we test)
Channel D (can be any of the legal channels the software allows you to set)
VID 1234 (this is a 4 digit number and is like an SSID for the data network)

Optional – Choosing USB

If you want to connect directly to your computer, FTDI makes a great cable that will plug into
your computer’s USB port and connect to the six pin header on the board. The signals at the
header are +5v TTL logic so if you want to get creative and connect to your own custom logic,
you can interface there.
Assembly Tips

1000 uf Capacitor
When inserting the 1000uf capacitor, put the long +
lead into the hole with the square solder pad and the
shorter
- lead in the hole with the round solder pad.

Resistor Networks
When installing resistor networks, pin 1 is the left pin when reading the Pin
text on the side of the resistor. On the silkscreen the end of the outline ON
that is highlighted is pin 1. Some have a X over the pad of pin 1, some
have a thicker silkscreen outline on pin 1.

100 uH Inductor
The inductor in the power supply circuit is non-polarized and can be
installed in either direction.

Crystal
When installing the crystal, make sure you put the crystal insulator
between the bottom of the crystal and the top of the PCB. The crystal
is not polarized and can go in either direction.
Parts Placement Diagram
Bill Of Materials
HRWB Remote Coax Relay Kit
Integrated Circuit 1 PIC18F4620 PIC18F4620-I/PT-ND
PCB 1 Remote coax relay board

Base Parts List http://www.digikey.com/short/qjm4b1

Part QTY Value Digikey Part Number
Capacitor 2 22 BC1055CT-ND
Capacitor 4 0.1 BC1084CT-ND
Capacitor 1 1000 uf Capacitor P5533-ND
Capacitor 1 330uf P5542-ND
Connector 1 DC_JACK CP-102AH-ND
Connector 5 BNC right angle connector A97569-ND
Crystal 1 10 MHz Crystal 300-8487-ND
Crystal Insulator 1 Crystal Insulator 492-1039-ND
Diode 1 1N5822 497-11370-1-ND
Header 1 2x6 header 609-3237-ND
Inductor 1 100uh 811-2046-ND
Integrated Circuit 1 ULN2803 296-15777-1-ND
Integrated Circuit 1 LM2576-5.0 576-1518-5-ND
LED 5 LED 732-5017-ND
Relay 4 RELAY_LATCHING_8A PB1088-ND
Resistor 10 10k 10KQBK-ND
Resistor 1 2k 2.0KQBK-ND
Resistor network 1 10k 5 bussed resistors 770-61-R10KP-ND
Resistor network 1 10k 9 bussed resistors 4609X-101-103LF-ND
Resistor network 1 270 5 bussed resistors 770-61-R270P-ND
Shunt 10 Shunt S9001-ND
Socket 1 40 Pin IC Socket ED90059-ND
Switch 1 10 pin DIP switch 450-1339-ND
Switch 5 SWITCH Push button CKN4078-ND
Transistor 2 2N7k 2N7000FS-ND

Optional RS485 Parts

Part QTY Value Digikey Part Number
Integrated Circuit 1 75176AP 296-1739-5-ND
Resistor 2 620 620QBK-ND
Terminal block 2 TERMINAL_BLOCK_0.1"_2_PIN Green terminal block - 2 pos

Optional Xbee Data Radio

Part QTY Value Digikey Part Number
Choose 1 radio from the list below
Radio 1 mW TXRX MODULE ISM>1GHZ U.FL ANT 602-1274-ND
Radio 1 mW RF TXRX MODULE 802.15.4 WIRE ANT XB24-AWI-001-ND
Radio 63 mW TXRX MODULE 802.15.4 U.FL ANT XBP24-AUI-001-ND
Radio 63 mW TXRX MODULE ISM>1GHZ RP-SMA 602-1281-ND
Socket 2 1x10 pin female socket 2mm spacing S5751-10-ND
Integrated Circuit 1 AP1117-3.3V AZ1117EH-3.3TRG1DICT-ND
Capacitor 1 10uf P980-ND

Optional USB Interface parts

Part QTY Value Digikey Part Number
Header 1 6 Pin right angle male header A1918-ND
Cable 1 FTDI 5v USB to 6 pin header cable 768-1028-ND

Optional Right angle front panel pushbuttons

Part QTY Value Digikey Part Number
Switch 5 SPST_PUSHBUTTON_RA PN21SJNA03QE
 Connections
Manual External Switches
The connections to the 5 manual control switches on the PCB are also wired to a set of solder pads.
This allows you to build your own simple remote control head or connect the inputs to your own
control system. To activate a port on the board simply momentarily ground the connection. Do not
use a switch that will keep the input always connected to Ground.

1 2 3 4 A

GND

Ground
Ground
RS485-B
RS485-A
UART routing jumper
Insert a pair of jumpers for
the desired external
communications channel. Xbee Data Radio

Ground
n/c
+5v in
Data in
TTL UART
Data out
n/c
Configuration - Setting the DIP Switches
DIP Switch
The 8 position DIP switch is used to select operating parameters. The DIP switch is broken into two
sets of switches, the MODE switches and the ADDRESS switches.

MODE Switches
The 4 mode switches are read by the processor when the board boots up. On initial release of the
firmware rev 1 build 10, the mode switches do nothing. They are reserved for future features.
They can be put into any configuration until you install a version of firmware that has features that
support multiple modes.

ADDRESS Switches
The 4 address switches are used to assign the address of the board. In a simple configuration,
where you are using the mechanical buttons or external buttons to switch relays, the address is not
used so any setting is OK. If you are using any of the serial communication ports (RS485, Xbee,
USB), you can set the address of the board which allows you to run multiple boards on one control
network. With 4 DIP switches, you can set one of 16 addresses from 0 to 15. 0 is reserved for a
master PC or controller. You can select any devices address between 1 and 15. We suggest starting
with 1.

ADR A B C D
ON Position 1 2 4 8 (Bit value)
00 OFF OFF OFF OFF (Master PC)
01 ON OFF OFF OFF (Default)
02 OFF ON OFF OFF
03 ON ON OFF OFF
04 OFF OFF ON OFF
05 ON OFF ON OFF
06 OFF ON ON OFF
07 ON ON ON OFF
08 OFF OFF OFF ON
09 ON OFF OFF ON
10 OFF ON OFF ON
11 ON ON OFF ON
OFF Position 12 OFF OFF ON ON
13 ON OFF ON ON
14 OFF ON ON ON
15 ON ON ON ON
Configuration - Serial Port Jumper Settings
Jumper Settings
The serial port (UART) on the microcontroller can be connected to one of three external
communications ports. An RS-485 serial port, an XBEE data radio, a header connector to connect an
FTDI USB serial cable. Only one of the communications channels can be used at a time. To enable a
channel you will need to insert two jumpers as seen below.

RS485
RS485
RS485 is a two wire, half-duplex communications standard. The big advantage
XBEE of RS485 is it’s ability to transmit data over very long distances with a
maximum of about 4,000’. The two wires are called the A and B wires. It’s
USB recommended to provide a ground wire as a third wire for long runs. RS485 is
a multi-drop network meaning that you can put multiple devices in parallel on
the bus. This lets you put multiple coax relays or other controllers in the same
system.

XBEE
RS485
Xbee is a brand name of Digi International and refers to the 20 pin form factor
XBEE they defined. Digi and many other manufacturers make products that are pin
compatible. We recommend using Digi International’s Series 1 modules.
USB These radios provide a wireless serial connection between the controller and a
base station unit plugged into a PC. The Xbee radios are available on multiple
bands. We recommend the 2.4 GHZ radios running either 1 mW or 63mW
depending on the range needed. Radios are available with various antenna
options including a ¼ wave wire, RP-SMA and u.fl for external antennas.

USB
RS485
The USB mode provides TTL logic level signals at the 6 pin header connector.
XBEE The configuration of the header is compatible with an FTDI to USB cable. The
cable is the FTDI model TTL-232R-5V. You can order it from Digikey with the
USB part number 768-1028-ND.

XBEE Data Radio FTDI USB to TTL Cable

Advanced Board Communications
Board Addressing

When using a single board, you prefix all commands with // as all the examples
above show. In a network environment with multiple boards, you can assign an
address to each board. RS485 and the Xbee data radio communications options
are multi-drop networks. This means you can have multiple devices listening on
the network at the same time. If you have multiple devices and send a command
like //RY1, all boards will switch to position 1.
You can set each board’s address with the 8 bit DIP switch on the board. 4 bits
of the switch are reserved for the board address. 00 is reserved for the master PC
so boards can be anything between 1and 15. When the board powers up, it will
read the DIP switch to get the address.

In addition to the // prefix that talks to all boards, the addressing format allows
you to communicate with a single board using it’s address. The format is

/0001:RY1:xx

• The start of command is a / slash.

• The next two characters 00 are the source address, typically the master.
• The next two characters are the target board’s address. In this case 01
• Followed by a delimiter :
• Then the payload command to be executed. RY1
• Then another delimiter :
• Finally a placeholder for a CRC check with dummy data of xx.
Command Set
//RYn
Selects relay RF port and de-selects all other ports.
Example: //RY1 Selects port 1
Example: //RY2 Selects port 2
Example: //RY3 Selects port 3
Example: //RY4 Selects port 4

//STATE
Returns the status of the relay board including relay port state.

//STATUS
Returns a long list of configuration parameters.

//ALL
Bla bla bla blab lkjd lfkj lbkjkbj lkjblva bla bla bla.

//HELP
Displays the current short help screen

//PING
Responds to the master showing the device is present.