FAQs
QUICK START:
This page contains answers to common questions handled by our support staff, along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful and presented here as questions.
Note: In these answers we will follow a few shorthand conventions for describing user-interface procedures. Front panel keyboard selection of a particular parameter will be presented like this: <Mod: Data – Bit Rate>, which means that you should press the “Mod” button, then use the left or right scroll keys to select the “Data” column (viewed in upper left of LCD Display) and then the up or down scroll keys to select the “Bit Rate” parameter (viewed in upper right of LCD Display). The actual current parameter setting is shown on the lower line of the display.
Link Set Up & Installation
There are so many options and parameter settings! Where do I start?
The PSM-500/4900 is highly programmable. This can make the set-up daunting at first. If you are unfamiliar with the common terms and modes used in satellite communications you should first refer to Section 2 of the manual “Installation and Setup”. As a starting point the modem can also be taken to a default basic set of operating parameters by using the front panel parameter and select option “0” or “Factory”. From that point you make necessary changes to set the desired configuration. Once all parameters are set as required the configuration can be saved using the control. Once a configuration is saved you can always go back to this configuration by recalling it.
How do I make the PSM-500/4900 talk to a xxxx brand modem on the other end of a link?
The PSM-500/4900 has several new programmable features which should make this easier than ever. First, where possible if both modems adhere to Intelsat IESS standards then those defined parameters should be set the same. Still all modem manufacturers have their own conventions for setting parameters with no specified standard, so for example some modems may have a different modulation sense for data bits than others. This would make no difference between two modems of the same type, but would invert data between modems of different types on each end of a link. Most items of this type are programmable in the PSM-500/4900 modem.
See the “Compatibility” section below
Why doesn’t my PSM-500/4900 talk to another PSM-500/4900 over the satellite? I have set all the parameters the same.
Any satellite modem has a significant number of parameters, which are settable in order to achieve the maximum performance at the least cost. Because there are so many parameters it is possible to have one unit with a slightly different parameter set than that at the other end of the link. If after insuring that all parameters are set the same and that the acquisition range is correct and that there are no interfering carriers; one other method is to take both modems back to the factory default condition and rebuild the configuration from “scratch”. Use the front panel and select option “0” or “Factory”. You may want to save your current configuration before resetting to the default.
What is the delay from end to end using the PSM-500/4900?
The satellite link itself represents a fixed and very slightly variable delay due to the distance of the satellite from the two stations linked. This delay is approximately 250 milli-seconds. In addition the M5 Manual, “Appendix A” or this web site in “Tech Notes/Tech Note 5” lists the specified fixed and rate dependent delays incurred in the modem’s transmit and receive processing. These include delays or latency in the IBS Multiplexer, Reed-Solomon and Turbo Product Codes FEC if equipped and enabled.
| Abbreviation | Full Text |
| 1:1 | One for One |
| ACR | Automatic Configuration Recovery |
| AFC | Automatic Frequency Control |
| AGC | Automatic Gain Control |
| ALC | Automatic Level Control |
| Alm | Alarm |
| Alt | Alternate |
| AUPC | Automatic Uplink Power Control |
| AUFC | Automatic Uplink Frequency Control |
| BERT | Bit Error Rate Test |
| BUC | Block Upconverter, typically from L-Band to C or Ku Band. |
| Cal | Calibrate |
| Clk | Clock |
| Config | Configuration |
| Cntst | Contrast |
| CXR | Carrier |
| Dem | Demodulator |
| Dif | Differential |
| ESC | Engineering Service Channel |
| Erred | Errored |
| FEC | Forward Error Correction |
| Frmt | Format |
| Int’f | Interface |
| LCD | Liquid Crystal Display |
| LNB | Low Noise Block Downconverter, typically from C or Ku to L-Band |
| LO | Local Oscillator |
| L-Band | A common frequency band ranging from approx. 950 to 2100 MHz |
| Loopbck | Loop-back |
| Lvl | Level |
| Max | Maximum |
| Min | Minimum |
| Mod | Modulator |
| Mux | Multiplexer |
| Opt | Option |
| OverHd | Overhead |
| RCV, Rcv | Receive |
| Redundcy | Redundancy |
| Ref | Reference |
| Rqst | Request |
| RS, R-S | Reed-Solomon |
| Sat | Satellite |
| SCPC | Single Channel Per Carrier |
| SW, Sw | Switch |
| Sync | Synchronous or Synchronization |
| TPC | Turbo Product Codes |
| Tst | Test |
| VSAT | Very Small Aperture Terminal |
| XMT, Xmt | Transmit |
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