4O3A Signature ANTENNA GENIUS 8x2 v2 PLUS User Manual
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4O3A Signature ANTENNA GENIUS 8x2 v2 PLUS User Manual

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ANTENNA GENIUS
User Manual
Software Version 4.1.0 - rev 1

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Summary of Contents for 4O3A Signature ANTENNA GENIUS 8x2 v2 PLUS

  • Page 1 ANTENNA GENIUS User Manual Software Version 4.1.0 - rev 1...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................1 WELCOME ..........................3 1.1. Software Version 4.1 ......................3 1.2. Considerations Before Upgrading ..................4 1.3. Backing Up Your Configuration .................... 5 SPECS & FEATURES ........................7 LEGAL ............................
  • Page 3 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.4. Initial Configuration ......................37 9.5. The Configuration Menu ....................37 9.6. Always On Top ......................... 38 9.7. View Output Relays ......................38 9.8. Device Settings ........................ 39 9.8.1. Basic Information ......................39 9.8.2.

  • Page 4: Welcome

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual WELCOME Congratulations on your purchase of an Antenna Genius 8x2 v2 Plus Network-Enabled (TCP/IP) High-Isolation Antenna Switch, a member of the 4O3A Genius System advanced station automation line including Power Genius , Rotator Genius , and Tuner Genius .

  • Page 5: Considerations Before Upgrading

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual We are committed to providing our users with the best possible experience, and this new version of Antenna Genius firmware is a testament to our dedication to excellence. We are confident that this new firmware will exceed your expectations and provide you with an even better experience than before.

  • Page 6: Backing Up Your Configuration

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 1.3. Backing Up Your Configuration Important! During the process of upgrading to the new firmware the configuration will be lost. However, the new version is completely backwards compatible with the previous generation configuration file.
  • Page 7 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 2. Click on the Export Configuration button. 3. Choose a path and name and save your config file. You can load this file into your Antenna Genius again after upgrading the firmware to version 4 Index...

  • Page 8: Specs & Features

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual SPECS & FEATURES Manufacturer 4O3A Signature by Sky Sat d.o.o. Model Antenna Genius 8x2 Plus v2 Functionality 8 antenna 2 radio RF matrix switch controlled via TCP/IP (LAN or WAN), BCD, or +12 VDC Pin-To-Port...

  • Page 9: Legal

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual LEGAL Radio & Television interference 3.1. (FCC Part 15 - §15.21 and §15.105) This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.

  • Page 10: Product Updates

    (90) calendar days from the date of installation or repair, whichever is longer. 4O3A Signature will also correct any failure caused by defective parts and materials. The complete unit must be sent to 4O3A Signature at your expense in the original shipping container or other packaging sufficient to prevent damage in transit.

  • Page 11: Trademarks

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual responsible for reimbursement for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including but not limited to any loss of business or profits, loss of property, loss of revenue, loss of use, loss of data, inconvenience or cost of unauthorized service.

  • Page 12: What Can Antenna Genius Tm Do

    - prevent the same antenna from being connected to both radios. This, along with AG’s ultra- high port-to-port isolation help protect your radios from front end damage. AG in action with SmartSDR @ 4O3A (AG Always on top option engaged) Multiple control options 4.1.
  • Page 13 GENIUS TIP! All 4O3A Genius System products use standard TCP/IP protocols to communicate with each other and with other suitably-equipped devices. The 4O3A Signature team believes in open standards in ham radio and makes its APIs (library of commands) available freely to other manufacturers and software authors.

  • Page 14: How It Works

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual HOW IT WORKS Antenna Genius brings together a powerful CPU, fast network interface, rugged, high power relays and a programming/control App that runs in all supported versions of Windows. We are confident AG is the best antenna switch you can buy.

  • Page 15: Online Resources

    , SmartSDR and Maestro https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/ EXPERT TIP! Join the 4O3A Signature Web Site Forum 4O3A or 4O3A Genius Products Google Group or to stay up-to-date, network with other users, and get helpful tips: Google Group: or 4O3A Signature Web Site Forum:...

  • Page 16: Hardware

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual HARDWARE EXPERT TIP! Read this and the following Software section carefully before changing any DIP switches or software settings. Front panel 8.1. Front panel features: • SO-239 (or N-female) connector for Port A •...

  • Page 17: Top Panel

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Top panel 8.3. The top panel features: • A DC power connector for stacking multiple AG units. This enables a single switch to switching between 16, 24 or 32 antennas. • Two pairs of dedicated PTT input and output RCA ports for hot switching protection.
  • Page 18 EXPERT TIP! For outdoor UTP (Ethernet) cable runs, be sure to use outdoor-rated cable including UV-resistance properties if located in direct sunlight. 4O3A Signature encourages all amateur radio operators to employ single point ground systems for both protection from lightning induced power surges and also for RFI mitigation. A good Index...

  • Page 19: Dc Power Connection

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual source for information on this topic is the ARRL Handbook, updated annually and available from the ARRL Bookstore: https://arrl.org Another excellent resource for station grounding information and RFI mitigation are several documents written by Jim Brown, K9YC, available for free download at: http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/K9YC/K9YC-old...

  • Page 20: Dip Switch Configurations

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Use a Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a UTP cable (not supplied, please don’t use a cheap cable here; poor- quality high-speed data cables are never a good idea!) between the Ethernet port on your AG and your station LAN switch or hub (switches preferred over hubs).
  • Page 21 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual DIP 8 force bootloader mode normal operation The most typical scenario of bricking an AG is interrupting a firmware upgrade or failing a firmware upgrade due to a bad network connection. AG features a bootloader software enabling you to reinstall the firmware at any time.

  • Page 22: Lan Control Mode

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual LAN Control Mode 8.8. LAN Control Mode is used if you want to obtain band data from a FlexRadio. In this mode AG gets band data from a FlexRadio using the TCP/IP network.
  • Page 23 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Click on the FlexRadio under Bands and your FlexRadio will be discovered automatically and listed on the right: Set Antenna: option to assign the desired Flex antenna port to Port A and Port B, respectively.

  • Page 24: Bcd Control Mode

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Click Save. BCD Control Mode 8.9. In this mode AG gets band data from radios using the standard BCD protocol (Yaesu, Elecraft etc) ��Important tip: From software version 4.1.0 DIP switches are no longer used to set band data sources.

  • Page 25: Pin-2-Port Control Mode

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual This is the pinout when looking at the device connector: This is the BCD data table: Band 160M None Frequency Band A Band B Band C Band D HEX Code Note that it is not possible to select 60M band through BCD.
  • Page 26 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual You will be able to switch up to 8 different antennas per port. In order to use P2P mode on your Antenna Genius, go to the app and click on the band source button then select P2P.

  • Page 27: Automatic Mode

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual For this purpose, you can use the 4O3A Manual Antenna Controller S8: 8.11. Automatic Mode Automatic band selection is a new mode based on the priority of the data on the port (automatic detection).

  • Page 28: Manual Mode

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 8.12. Manual Mode The manual mode is a new, special mode that’s used for testing and debugging of your configuration. When the manual mode is enabled, you will be able to see the band manually and by doing so, verify that your configuration is exactly as you want it to.

  • Page 29: Initial Set-Up

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 6. Allowing remote operation. 7. Updating AG with the latest firmware. EXPERT TIP! AG will default to last antenna selected for a particular band in automatic mode after which operator can manually select an alternative antenna for that band. Note that you will be prohibited from switching to antennas which have not been programmed for the band in question.
  • Page 30 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Select Destination Location, we recommend you keep the default location: C:\Program Files (x86)\4O3A Signature\Antenna Genius and hit Next: Now you should see the Ready to Install window. Double check the data, if correct, hit Install. If...
  • Page 31 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.1.2. Using DHCP to set the network address AG comes factory preset for using your network’s DHCP server (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), which is built into an Ethernet switch or DSL router on most home networks.
  • Page 32 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.1.3. Launch the Windows App When you first run the AG Windows App, it will open the AG Launch window: Your AG should be detected automatically by the app. If so, just click on Connect.

  • Page 33: Device Information

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual You should see the AG Control window (Both - SO2R mode pictured) EXPERT TIP! You can select “Always on top” the AG App in Windows to make it easy to find and launch. Just click on configure and select Always on Top Device Information 9.2.
  • Page 34 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual The Device Information selection in the Windows App Gear menu has comprehensive info on your Antenna Genius and its settings. You cannot change any settings in this window, it is for displaying device status only.

  • Page 35: Is Your Firmware Up-To-Date

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual IP Address Internet Protocol Address, a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protoco for communication, AG uses IPv4 addresses set by DHCP or manually Subnet Mask Set by DHCP or manually, usually 255.255.255.0...
  • Page 36 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Your AG will be detected on the network automatically. Double click and connect to your AG. You will be prompted to confirm the upgrade process. Considerations: Make sure your network connection is stable and reliable.
  • Page 37 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual The firmware installation file comes pre-loaded with the Utility application. Click the Upgrade Firmware button and wait for the process to finish. Should not take longer than a few seconds. Click the OK button when done.

  • Page 38: Initial Configuration

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Initial Configuration 9.4. If you have selected Port A or Port B mode, your AG Control Window prior to initial antenna programming will look like this, in this example both Radio Port A and Radio Port B are using LAN mode.

  • Page 39: Always On Top

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Always On Top 9.6. Check the Always On Top option to keep the window on top of all other windows. Clicking on this option will toggle between enabled and disabled. View Output Relays 9.7.

  • Page 40: Device Settings

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Device Settings 9.8. Click on the Device Settings in the config menu to access the main configuration menu for the AG. 9.8.1. Basic Information Under the basic information tab, you can name your Antenna Genius device.

  • Page 41: Antennas

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.2. Antennas Fill in your antenna info giving each antenna a unique name. For each antenna, select the applicable band or bands that are usable with that particular antenna. The bands assigned to the antennas are listed here for an overview.

  • Page 42: Output Relays Designer

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual bands, for example, a long wire to be used to listen to WWV or shortwave broadcast stations. After you’re done programming your antenna and band connections, select Save and Reset, AG App will write your antenna-band logic to your AG. The Reset device button re-sends the current antenna-band data to AG.

  • Page 43: Output Groups

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.5. Output Groups Relay outputs are organized into Groups of buttons. A group can be bound to Antenna Ports or a band (or multiple bands). The green plus button adds another Output button.
  • Page 44 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Groups are listed on the left side of the window. Clicking the green plus icon on the left adds one more group. You can delete groups by clicking on the Delete Group button on the bottom of the screen.
  • Page 45 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Selected relay outputs will be show in the relays text box. Again, If Toggle is checked this button will turn off all the other buttons in the group. If Toggle is unchecked you will be able to turn on multiple buttons in the group at the same time.

  • Page 46: Keyboard Shortucuts

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.6. Keyboard Shortucuts Clicking on the keyboard symbol on the right will allow you to assign a custom keyboard shortcut to activate your relay outputs. You can use any combination of ctrl, alt, shift keys, as well as just plain keystrokes.

  • Page 47: Bands Range Configuration

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.7. Bands Range Configuration Like in the previous version you can fully customize your band ranges. Note you have 4 custom bands at the bottom of the table. The frequency ranges are relevant when using FlexRadio as band source only.

  • Page 48: Bcd

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Click Save. 9.8.9. BCD BCD as band source works exactly the same as in version 3 and has the exact same pinout. If your radio doesn’t have a BCD output but rather a CAT or CI-V you can use the B2BCD Genius accessory to convert it to BCD: https://4o3a.com/b2bcd-band-to-bcd-decoder...

  • Page 49: Ptp

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.10. PTP P2P or Pin To Port is the most direct and primitive way to control AG, turning it into a classic switch. One pin corresponds to the port on the AG, not taking into account frequency at all.

  • Page 50: Stacking

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.12. Stacking This version (4.1.0) supports 16x2 stacking only. Support for other stacking modes will be added in the next release (24x2, 32x2 and 8x4, 8x6, 8x8. To activate stacking check the Enable Stacking (16x2) checkbox.

  • Page 51: Advanced Options

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual All 16 antenna ports will now be available. Note: You will be able to connect to the slave AG in order to see and verify that switching is occurring correctly but you will not be able to control it directly.

  • Page 52: Static Entries / Remote Operation

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.14. Static Entries / Remote Operation You can add a static entry for your AG if it has a fixed IP address. This is mainly used for remote operation. The other prerequisite for remote operation is setting up your router with port forwarding so you can access the switch from outside the network.

  • Page 53: Auto Connect On Startup

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual 9.8.15. Auto Connect on Startup If you use only one AG you can check this option to connect to your AG automatically, bypassing the selection menu. If you are using DHCP, the app will connect to your AG based on the serial number so you don’t have...

  • Page 54: Operation

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual OPERATION AG can operate both locally and remote. Locally, it is the part of your own LAN and the most common Remotely, AG is part of another network. It is up to you to choose how to access to that other network.
  • Page 55 4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual Internal voltage is used for testing and programming, and it is strongly recommended to use proper external power supply and set jumpers to EXT. Internal power supply in AG is 1A, which is on the margin if all relays are in use.

  • Page 56: Troubleshooting

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual TROUBLESHOOTING 12.1. Re-riving a bricked device The most typical scenario of bricking an AG is interrupting a firmware upgrade or failing a firmware upgrade due to a bad network connection. AG features a bootloader software enabling you to reinstall the firmware at any time.

  • Page 57: Changelog

    4O3A Signature – Antenna Genius User Manual CHANGELOG This log is not exhaustive, but covers the significant changes between versions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Acronyms: AG - Antenna Genius ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- App v4.1.0 Release 28-Aug-2021 Firmware version: v4.1.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- New generation of AG firmware and Windows app released.

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