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Campbell RF401A-Series, Instruction Manual

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RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio 

Approved Antennas 

Campbell Scientific 

Part Number 

Description 

14201 

900 MHz 9 dBd Yagi Antenna with Type N Female 
and Mounting Hardware 

14204 

900 MHz 0 dBd Omnidirectional 1/2 Wave Whip 
Antenna with Right Angle and RPSMA Male 

14205 

900 MHz 6 dBd Yagi Antenna with Type N Female 
and Mounting Hardware 

14221 

900 MHz 3 dBd Omnidirectional Antenna with 
Type N Female and Mounting Hardware 

14310 

900 MHz 0 dBd Omnidirectional 1/4 Wave Whip 
Antenna, Straight 3 inches Tall with RPSMA Male 

15730 

900 MHz 0 dBd Omnidirectional 1/4 Wave Whip 
Antenna with Right Angle and RPSMA Male 

15731 

900 MHz 0 dBd Omnidirectional 1/4 Wave Whip 
Antenna, Straight 2 inches Tall with RPSMA Male 

15970 

900 MHz 1 dBd Dipole Antenna with Adhesive 
Mount and RPSMA Female 10ft Cable 

 

7.7.2  Electrostatic Issues and Surge Protection 

Many radio installations are out of doors and therefore susceptible to lightning 
damage, especially via the antenna system.  Also, depending on climate and 
location, electrostatically-charged wind can damage sensitive electronics, if 
sufficient electric charge is allowed to accumulate on the antenna and cable. 

To protect against electrostatic damage, the antenna connector of the radio is 
connected to the radio case which can be tied to a good earth ground for 
discharge of electrostatic build up.  

Also to protect against electrostatic damage, Campbell Scientific offers pn 
14462, Antenna Surge Protection Kit.  The surge protection kit includes a 
Polyphaser surge protector, a coax jumper for connecting the RF401A-series 
radio to the Polyphaser, ground wire lead, and mounting hardware.  The 
Polyphaser has Type N jack connectors on both ends; one for connection to a 
COAXNTN-L cable and the other for connection to the 18-inch length of 
COAXRPSMA cable included in the kit. 

7.7.3  Antenna Cables 

Some antennas require an additional antenna cable to connect to the radio 
directly or to an interconnected surge protector.  

COAXRPSMA-L is a LMR195 coaxial cable terminated with a Type N plug 
on one end and a RPSMA plug on the other.  The COAXRPSMA-L can be 
used to connect antennas with a Type N jack connector directly to the 
RF401A-series radios.  Such antennas include the 14201, 14204, 14205, and 
14221.  

10 

Summary of Contents for RF401A-Series

Page 1: ...INSTRUCTION MANUAL RF401A Series Spread Spectrum Radios Revision 4 15 C o p y r i g h t 2 0 0 1 2 0 1 5 C a m p b e l l S c i e n t i f i c I n c ...

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Page 4: ...ner Campbell Scientific s shipping address is CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC CANADA CORP RMA _____ 14532 131 Avenue NW Edmonton Alberta T5L 4X4 Canada For all returns the client must fill out a Statement of Product Cleanliness and Decontamination form and comply with the requirements specified in it The form is available from our web site at www campbellsci ca repair A completed form must be either emailed t...

Page 5: ...tion and take other appropriate safety precautions while working on or around tripods and towers x Do not climb tripods or towers at any time and prohibit climbing by other persons Take reasonable precautions to secure tripod and tower sites from trespassers x Use only manufacturer recommended parts materials and tools Utility and Electrical x You can be killed or sustain serious bodily injury if ...

Page 6: ...z ounce 28 35 g 1 lb pound weight 0 454 kg Pressure 1 psi lb in2 68 95 mb Volume 1 US gallon 3 785 litres In addition part ordering numbers may vary For example the CABLE5CBL is a CSI part number and known as a FIN5COND at Campbell Scientific Canada CSC CSC Technical Support will be pleased to assist with any questions About sensor wiring Please note that certain sensor configurations may require ...

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Page 8: ...ies and RF430 Series Radios 3 5 1 2 RF400 Series Radios 3 6 Specifications 3 7 Product Description 6 7 1 Mounting 6 7 2 Power 6 7 3 USB 6 7 4 CS I O 7 7 5 RS 232 8 7 6 LEDs 9 7 7 Antenna 9 7 7 1 Compatible Antennas 9 7 7 2 Electrostatic Issues and Surge Protection 10 7 7 3 Antenna Cables 10 8 Configuring the RF401A Series 11 8 1 Device Configuration Utility 11 9 LoggerNet Setup 11 9 1 Basic Setup ...

Page 9: ...ersion 24 11 3 4 Received Signal Strength 24 11 3 5 Retransmit Failures 24 11 3 6 ME Baud Rate 24 11 3 7 RS 232 Parity 25 11 3 8 RS 232 Stop Bits 25 11 3 9 RS 232 Character Length 25 11 3 10RS 232 Auto Power Down 25 11 3 11AT Sequence Character 25 11 3 12Silence Time Before Command Sequence 25 11 3 13Silence Time After Command Sequence 25 11 3 14AT Command Mode Timeout 25 11 3 15Net Address Mask 2...

Page 10: ...I O Pinout 9 PIN D SUB MALE 7 7 3 RS 232 Pinout 9 PIN D SUB FEMALE 8 B 1 RF Path Examples B 1 B 2 Transmitter Power B 3 B 3 Cable Loss B 4 B 4 LMR 195 Cable Loss vs Length 900 MHz B 4 B 5 Antenna Gain of Recommended Antennas B 4 B 6 Free Space Path Loss B 5 B 7 900 MHz Distance vs Path Loss Lp in dB per Three Path Types B 6 B 8 Path Type vs Path Characteristics Selector B 7 iii ...

Page 11: ...Table of Contents iv ...

Page 12: ...Appendix A Part 15 FCC Compliance Warning p A 1 for more information x Ensure maximum protection against surges Use coaxial antenna surge protection Keep RS 232 CS I O and USB connections short or use protective isolation and surge protection when appropriate x Where an AC adapter is used Campbell Scientific recommends pn 15966 Any other AC adapter used must have a DC output not exceeding 16 5 vol...

Page 13: ...e setting should match that of the device you are connecting to Apply the change s close Device Configuration Utility and leave the radio connected to the PC via USB 4 3 LoggerNet Setup The next step is to run LoggerNet and configure it to connect to the datalogger via the radio link x From the EZ View of the LoggerNet Setup screen press Add select your datalogger type enter a name for your datalo...

Page 14: ... mW The RF401A series radio has a maximum transmit power of 250 mW configurable via software Please ensure that when replacing an existing RF401 series or RF430 series radio with an RF401A series radio that the legal transmit power limits are not exceeded with existing cabling and antenna configuration 5 1 2 RF400 Series Radios The RF401A series have a choice of three communication protocol settin...

Page 15: ...0 baud rate supported CS I O DB9 Male Provides power connection from datalogger for normal operation Supports SDC 7 8 10 11 and Modem Enable Master communication modes Does not support Modem Enable Peripheral mode Diagnostics LEDs Power Tx Rx Received Signal Strength Indicator for Last Packet PakBus mode Retransmit Failure Counter PakBus mode Operating Temperature Standard 25 to 50 C Extended 40 t...

Page 16: ...RF401A Series Spread Spectrum Radio FIGURE 6 1 RF401A series dimensions 5 ...

Page 17: ... connectors that will fit the RF401A series Damage that occurs from the use of an AC adapter that is not the 15966 AC to DC power adapter will not be covered by warranty If using a different AC adapter be sure that the adapter s no load voltage is below the 16 5 Vdc measure the output with a DC voltmeter while the AC adapter is plugged into the outlet but not powering anything 7 3 USB The radio ha...

Page 18: ...ta The CS I O port is not a typical RS 232 connection and is specific to Campbell Scientific products CS I O cannot be used for radio configuration using the Device Configuration Utility For a typical remote radio site the radio need only be connected to the datalogger CS I O port using the supplied SC12 cable This connection will supply operational power to the radio and serve as the data connect...

Page 19: ... commonly used when connecting the radio to a device without a CS I O port or when linking two communication peripherals for example directly connecting the radio to an Ethernet serial server The RS 232 port can be connected to a DTE device like a computer or NL201 using the pn 10873 9 Pin female to 9 Pin male serial cable The RS 232 port can be connected to another DCE device like a datalogger RS...

Page 20: ...ponds with that of the RF401A series Where a neighboring network exists it is a good idea to choose a unique hopping sequence 7 7 Antenna The radio has a reverse polarity SMA RPSMA jack antenna connection It is important to note the distinction between RPSMA and SMA connectors when selecting a mating antenna or antenna cable 7 7 1 Compatible Antennas Campbell Scientific offers antennas to satisfy ...

Page 21: ...cally charged wind can damage sensitive electronics if sufficient electric charge is allowed to accumulate on the antenna and cable To protect against electrostatic damage the antenna connector of the radio is connected to the radio case which can be tied to a good earth ground for discharge of electrostatic build up Also to protect against electrostatic damage Campbell Scientific offers pn 14462 ...

Page 22: ...Click the Install the USB device driver link and follow the prompts x Open Device Configuration Utility x Under Device Type select Radio RF401A Series x Carefully review the Connect Instructions text provided on the right x With the USB device driver installation complete connect the supplied USB cable between the USB port on your computer and the USB port on the radio x Click the browse button ne...

Page 23: ...RF401A Series Spread Spectrum Radio Finally click the Close button on the Add submenu Your setup tree should appear as shown below 12 ...

Page 24: ... the configuration of each element Start with selecting the ComPort element at the root of the tree Under ComPort Connection select port labeled RF401A Series Set the Extra Response Time to match the Power Mode of the RF401A series The image below is for a radio with Power Mode set to 1 sec 13 ...

Page 25: ...RF401A Series Spread Spectrum Radio Select the PakBusPort element in the tree and select the PakBus Port Always Open checkbox Set the Maximum Baud Rate to 115200 14 ...

Page 26: ...tree Set the PakBus Address field to the PakBus address of your datalogger Enter the Security Code if security has been set up in your datalogger Press the Apply button to save your changes You are now ready to connect to your datalogger using the LoggerNet Connect screen 15 ...

Page 27: ... helpful to display it in the network map However it does not force routes to go through the repeater 10 Installation Best Practices 10 1 Avoiding Interference In band interference within view of either radio in a link can significantly degrade communications Attempt to avoid locating radios and antennas near other transmitters or transmitting through commercial communication tower locations Addit...

Page 28: ...ting directly over or across system components o Avoid routing conductors carrying low level analog signals in close proximity and parallel to conductors carrying digital signals or switched voltage levels x Bend Radius o The RF cable used to interconnect the radio and antenna has a specified minimum bend radius Exceeding it will lead to a degradation of system performance extra losses high VSWR e...

Page 29: ...n linking two communication peripherals for example directly connecting the radio to an Ethernet serial server Also see RS 232 Baud Rate and the advanced settings RS 232 Parity Stop Bits Character Length and Auto Power Down USB Use this setting when connecting the radio to a computer This setting is the most common when the device is used as a base radio for a network A computer s USB port can sim...

Page 30: ...capable of performing RF level retries and acknowledgements and provide a more reliable link than Transparent mode used for broadcast messaging You do not need to manually set a unique RF Radio Address or a unique PakBus Address This device will not appear in PakBus Graph PakBus Node This mode is similar to PakBus Aware but it requires the device to have a unique PakBus Address specified Because t...

Page 31: ...iver As such it governs the amortized current drain for the radio Note that choosing a low power mode that requires a long transmission header for a network with frequent communications can actually cause a higher average power draw a large percentage of the communication interval is spent in high power transmission Power Mode Typical Avg Current Draw Description Always on No Header 15 mA The radi...

Page 32: ...der with the first transmission occurring after a period of RF inactivity This is the most common setting in networks that contain CR200 X series dataloggers 8 Second 0 3 mA The radio receiver is turned on every 8 seconds for 100 milliseconds to look for RF activity The radio transmits an 8 2 second wakeup header with the first transmission occurring after a period of RF inactivity Only use this s...

Page 33: ...s radio to a maximum effective radiated power of 36 dBm If the radio is set to transmit at 24 dBm 250 mW the maximum gain antenna that may be attached is 11 dBi 8 5 dBd 11 2 PakBus 11 2 1 PakBus Address This setting specifies the PakBus address for this device The value for this setting must be chosen such that the address of the device will be unique in the scope of the PakBus network Duplication...

Page 34: ...address between 1 and 4094 When set the RF401A series will act as a branch router Specifying a central router address can reduce the amount of PakBus RF traffic by eliminating the exchange of neighbor lists with routers beyond the central router This is especially true when the network contains many transient or intermittent PakBus routers If the RF401A series does not know how to explicitly route...

Page 35: ... multipath interference or other environmental effects it may not give a true indication of communication performance or range However received signal strength can be useful for activities such as x determining the optimal direction to aim a Yagi antenna x determining the effects of antenna height and location x trying alternate reflective paths x seeing the effect of vegetation and weather over t...

Page 36: ...equence Specifies the amount of time in tenths of seconds that the RS 232 interface must be silent after accepting the AT command sequence before the RF401A series will enter command mode 11 3 13 Silence Time After Command Sequence Specifies the amount of time in tenths of seconds that the RS 232 interface must be silent after accepting the AT command sequence before the RF401A series will enter c...

Page 37: ...RF401A Series Spread Spectrum Radio 26 ...

Page 38: ...s no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures x Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna x Increase the separation between th...

Page 39: ...Appendix A Part 15 FCC Compliance Warning A 2 ...

Page 40: ...You should arrange for a line of sight signal path between radios At 900 MHz there is little signal bending however there is reflection from hills water and conductive objects Sometimes reflections provide a helpful path around an obstacle There can be some trees and bushes in the signal path with reduction in signal strength but a hill will block the signal effectively Thick trees can limit range...

Page 41: ...und reflections They are all important though and affect how well the RF system performs Probably the best approach to take in making range estimates is to do a site survey that considers the topography location of antennas and radios and cable lengths make some assumptions about the path losses and see if there is still some net gain If there is or if it is close the next course is to actually tr...

Page 42: ... link margin All of these elements are known or are easily determined with the exception of Lp Unfortunately signal path loss can make the difference between a marginal link 1 2 mile apart and a reliable link 10 miles apart B 2 3 Transmitter Power Transmitter output power is often expressed in dBm which is a decibel power rating relative to 1 milliWatt The formula is dBm 10 log Pt with Pt expresse...

Page 43: ...ain is specified either in dBi decibels of gain relative to an isotropic radiator or in dBd decibels of gain relative to a dipole The relationship is dBi dBd 2 15 Some antennas that are FCC approved for use with the RF401A series are TABLE B 5 Antenna Gain of Recommended Antennas Mfg Antenna Type Band Model CSI Part Number dBd Gain dBi Gain Size Astron Omni 1 2 wave 900 MHz AXH900 RP SMA R 14204 0...

Page 44: ...e you double the distance you lose 6 dB of signal under free space conditions Or put another way if you add 6 dB of gain for example with 6 dB of additional antenna gain or 6 dB less cable loss you can double the distance for free space conditions As mentioned before free space conditions are the ideal but seldom actually seen The higher the antenna height relative to the terrain in the line of si...

Page 45: ... by 12 dB instead of 6 dB Vegetation Losses due to vegetation trees bushes etc cause the path loss to increase by the 3rd to 4th power of the distance instead of the 2nd power This is just like in the severe ground reflection case above Rain Snow and Fog Below 10 GHz these don t have much effect on path loss see Ground Reflections B 3 Real World Distance Estimates From the above discussion of depa...

Page 46: ...These examples will all use the RF401A series 900 MHz radio at maximum transmitter power and will use 106 dBm as the required power level at the radio receiver This is 3 dB higher than the quoted sensitivity of 109 dBm which will give us a 3 dB margin Here s the equation we will use from the first page Pt Lt Gt Lp Gr Lr Pr Solved for Lp Lp Pt Lt Gt Gr Lr Pr Example 1 Antenex FG9023 antennas on eac...

Page 47: ...the surge arrestor VSWR of 1 1 75 0 34 dB loss Use 106 dBm for Pr Lp 24 5 55 11 15 11 15 0 55 106 0 34 146 dB Use the 3rd to 4th power tables Range from 18 4th power to 30 3rd power miles Example 3 You need to run 125 ft of cable for the transmitter How much loss if I use LMR195 cable 125 ft 11 1 dB 100 ft 13 9 dB How much loss if I use LMR400 cable 125 ft 3 9 dB 100 ft 4 9 dB If I am using path l...

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Page 49: ...m br Campbell Scientific Canada Corp CSC 14532 131 Avenue NW Edmonton AB T5L 4X4 CANADA www campbellsci ca dataloggers campbellsci ca Campbell Scientific Centro Caribe S A CSCC 300 N Cementerio Edificio Breller Santo Domingo Heredia 40305 COSTA RICA www campbellsci cc LQIR FDPSEHOOVFL FF Campbell Scientific Ltd CSL Campbell Park 80 Hathern Road Shepshed Loughborough LE12 9GX UNITED KINGDOM www cam...

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