gohastings.com POWERPOD 400 - Manual (Page 7)

Page 7 of 42
The POWER POD -400 serves as a convenient control center that can be rack-mounted using standard half-
rack hardware or can be used as a bench top unit. The POWER POD -400 is equipped with a 4 X 20
character, vacuum fluorescent display (VFD). The display emulates a liquid crystal display in its
command structure but the VFD gives the unit a greater viewing angle and better visibility than available
with most conventional LED or LCD displays. The display can be set to four different brightness levels.
Use a lower brightness setting to extend the already long expected life time of the display. Use brighter
settings for viewing areas where ambient light may be too bright or cause glare, or where greater viewing
distances are required.
Most features are accessible via the membrane keys on the front panel. Consult the section on each
function to check its availability. Operators are guided through the many features and options by selecting
their choices from an intuitive menu structure.
FRONT PANEL LOCKOUT
ANALOG RANGE SELECTION
Analog signal and control ranges are operator selectable. The operator can choose between three different
DC ranges:
A fifteen (15) pin, high density, sub-miniature, D-type connector is provided for separate monitoring of
each channel’s analog transducer signal.
CAUTION: Consult the appropriate section for limits to the loading of these signals.
SERIAL COMMUNICATION
The POWERPOD-400 comes equipped with standard RS-232 and RS-485, serial communication. Most
functions, features, signals and alarms are accessible and modifiable via any remote computer.
3.0 Features
0 -5 VDC, 0-10 VDC or 4 -20 mA.
The Front Panel Lockout function is only available through serial communication. Manual
Overrides remain available during Lockout via a minimum number of keystrokes using
dedicated keys for this purpose and allow any command setting to be overridden in either the
high (open) or low (closed) state.
The following commands are manual commands only:
OPEN, AUTO and CLOSE.
The status of these settings can be read via serial communication but they cannot be changed
except manually, from the front panel.