Information Sheet

IS16008

NV Series –
Disabling Power
Symmetry

Issue 1.0 .............................17 August 2016

Nautel Limited
10089 Peggy's Cove Road,
Hackett's Cove, NS, Canada B3Z 3J4
T. +1.877 6 nautel (628835) or +1.902.823.2233
F.+1.902.823.3183 info@nautel.com

U.S. customers please contact:

Nautel Inc.
201 Target Industrial Circle, Bangor ME 04401
T.+1.877 6 nautel (628835) or +1.207.947.8200
F.+1.207.947.3693 info@nautel.com

e-mail: support@nautel.com
www.nautel.com

 Copyright 2017 NAUTEL. All rights reserved.

IS16008: NV Series – Disabling Power Symmetry
INFORMATION SHEET
1 INTRODUCTION
This document describes how to disable Power Symmetry in the NV series transmitter. This
function adjusts the PA bias to balance the current draw from the power supplies. With Power
Symmetry enabled, the operating parameters of the PA`s are constantly changing, thus
impacting the spectrum performance of the transmitter. By disabling power symmetry, the
transmitter’s spectrum performance will typically improve. Note that disabling the Power
Symmetry functionality will typically improve the transmitter’s spectrum performance, and
may also contribute to premature power supply failure. Nautel recommends careful
assessment of the need to disable this functionality.

1.1 Equipment Affected

This procedure applies to NV transmitters that are operating NV SW 4.3 software or later.
This procedure will have to be repeated after an ac power loss if running NV SW 4.2.

1.2 Responsibility for Implementation of Procedure

This procedure should be carried out by qualified station maintenance personnel who are
familiar with NV series transmitters.

1.3 Scheduling
This procedure should be completed at the earliest convenience of the transmitter
maintenance personnel. The transmitter must be off-air for the duration of this procedure.

1.4 Manpower Requirements

This procedure will require approximately 15 minutes to complete.

1.5 Special Tools/Test Equipment

 Laptop with serial communication software (TerraTerm, Hyperterminal, Putty, etc.)
 DB9 serial cable

1.6 Publications Affected

This upgrade does not affect your NV series documentation.

2 UPGRADE PROCEDURE

(a) Connect the serial cable between the computer’s serial port and the DEBUG port
(J20) of the NAPC156 Control/Interface PWB.

(b) Open ‘TerraTerm’, ‘HyperTerminal’ or Putty communication application and

configure the serial port settings as follows:
115.2 kbps 8 Data bits No Parity 1 Stop bit No Flow Control

NV Series – Disabling Power Symmetry Page 1

IS16008 Issue 1.0
 (c) From the terminal window type ‘Enter debug mode now’ (case sensitive) or
‘serialmenu’, press <ENTER> and confirm the Debug Menu appears. See Figure 1.
NOTE
While typing in the terminal window, the display will be blank unless ‘Local Echo’ is
enabled, which can be enabled in the port settings.

When typing ‘Enter debug mode now’ or ‘serialmenu’, if a mistake is made you
must hit ‘enter’ and repeat.

Figure 1: Main Menu

(d) Once the Debug menu appears, from the main menu,

Select option 6 (PA Current Biasing)

Select option 1 (The display should indicate “Currently Stopped” in brackets,
meaning the power symmetry function has been disabled.). See Figure 2.
Select option 2 to reset the Bias Values to factory defaults. See Figure 3.

Page 2 NV Series – Disabling Power Symmetry

Issue 1.0 IS16008
 Figure 2. Changing the balancing process to OFF

Figure 3. Reset Bias offsets to factory default

(e) Mark the rear panel of the NV transmitter with “IS16008” using indelible ink to indicate
it has been modified.

This completes the procedure.

If you have any questions or require additional assistance, please contact

Nautel’s Customer Service Department at:

Telephone: 1-902-823-5100
Email: support@nautel.com
NV Series – Disabling Power Symmetry Page 3
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