Dual Control of a Dual Synthesizer

The Valon 5009 is dual-channel radio frequency synthesizer covering 23.5MHz to 6000MHz. There are two independent RF sources contained within the same module. The Operations Manual refers to these as Source1 and Source2. Both Sources are phase locked to the same internal or external frequency reference frequency and either Source can be controlled by the USB port using any terminal emulator program, our supplied 5009term.exe text based terminal program, or the provided V5009 Configuration Manager GUI. 

The 5009 provides two serial interface options for the user. One is the standard micro-USB port that provides a convenient connection to any PC. The other available serial port is the USER port provided by the 8-pin Hirose 2mm connector next to the USB interface. The USER port has two pins, RXD and TXD (and ground), that are intended to connect directly to the users host such as an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or embedded microprocessor. RXD and TXD are 3.3V TTL logic signals.

Note that both serial ports can be used simultaneously; there is no conflict and neither port has priority over the other. Two separate terminals or controllers can control the same synthesizer and both Sources. The practical application is that one user could control Source1 while the other user controls Source2.

To interface the USER port to a PC, a suitable USB to 3.3V TTL adapter is required. There are a number of sources for USB to TTL cables and adapter modules. Some soldering will be required in order to interface to Hirose User Port connector.

An example of a USB to TTL adapter is the FTDI UM232H from Digi-Key. There are simpler adapters and cables available from other suppliers. If you need help or want more specifics, just e-mail or call us.

Figure 1 FTDI UM232H

Figure 2 USER Port Pin Assignment

User Port Pin Assignment Table
The USER PORT mating connector is a Hirose DF11-8DS-2C with pre-terminated cables H3BBT-10112-W4. All available from Digi-Key or you can order the 5009 List Mode Selector switch  (LMS-1).