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U S I N G   F R O N T   P A N E L   M O D E S

©

©

©

© RF Innovations Pty Ltd, 1998

Page: 14

223889, Revision 2.2

Mode 3

When the RFI-9256 is in Mode 3 the display changes to an LED bar graph display that indicates the

Transmitted RF power. The display has a resolution of 3dBm steps from a maximum output power of
+30dBm or 1Watt using the RED LEDs. Table  5-3, below, show the relationship between the LEDs and
the indicated output power (included on the front panel) under the heading Mode 3. This display is used as
an indicator to show the current level of the transmitted RF power.

To meet Spread Spectrum Standards, the total power rating leaving the antenna is not allowed to radiate

more than 1 Watt. The power settings, in the software, allow the user to adjust the power level to maintain
the maximum possible EIRP. For example, if the user wishes to use a gain antenna, he/she must set the
power level in the modem so the total power radiated by the antenna does not exceed the EIRP.

LED NAME

MODE 3 (dBm)

 

N

ETWORK 

L

INK

30

 

C

ARRIER 

D

ETECT

27

 

T

RANSMIT 

D

ATA

24

 

R

ECEIVE 

D

ATA

21

 

O

NLINE

18

 

P

OWER

15

Table 5-3 LED Indicators Mode 3

Mode 4

When the RFI-9256 is in Mode 4 the display changes to a LED bar graph display that indicates the

Temperature of the RFI-9256 Radio. The temperature is displayed using green LEDs for steps of 10

°

C

from 10

°

 to 60

°

C. Table  5-4 below shows the radio temperature according to the LEDs on the front panel.

When the unit is operating within the green area the radio is operating inside its operating window.

Temperatures above 65

°

C are displayed as a full red bar. Temperatures below 5

°

 are displayed as a

single red LED. These are both fault conditions.

LED NAME

MODE 4 (

°°°°

C)

 

N

ETWORK 

L

INK

60

 

C

ARRIER 

D

ETECT

50

 

T

RANSMIT 

D

ATA

40

 

R

ECEIVE 

D

ATA

30

 

O

NLINE

20

 

P

OWER

10

Table 5-4 LED Indicators Mode 4

Summary of Contents for RFI-9256

Page 1: ...RF INNOVATIONS PTY LTD RFI 9256 OPERATION MANUAL ...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...td will not be held liable for any damages that may be caused by incorrect information displayed in this manual This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation Caution Changes or mo...

Page 4: ...27 L Link Control Menu 28 Protocol Configuration Menus 28 Route Managing 28 Protocol Decoding Routing 29 Route Types 29 R Route Manager Menu 31 M Hayes Command Control Menu 32 A Advanced Functions Menu 34 S Serial Port Configuration Menu 36 B Baud Rate Menu 37 F Flow Control Menu 38 A Advanced Functions Menu 38 M Modem and I O Configuration Menu 38 H Hayes Command Control Menu Port Selection Menu ...

Page 5: ...er up Default 66 ATS84 Set Auxiliary I O Sample Timer 66 ATS90 Set DCD control 66 ATS91 Set RTS control 67 ATS100 Set Port baud rate 67 ATS101 Set Port parity 67 ATS102 Set Port data bits 67 ATS103 Set Port stop bits 68 ATS104 Set Port flow control 68 Register Commands 68 AT 20 Set Unit Name 69 AT 22 Set Menu Password 69 AT 62 Set RTC Date Time 69 Other Commands 69 8 DIALUP NETWORKING 73 Extension...

Page 6: ......

Page 7: ... correct unit The radio modems come from the factory configured as point to multipoint dialup The modem unit can be connected to a PC laptop or any RS 232 device e g terminals to display the inbuilt configuration menus or to directly control the operation of the modem via the inbuilt protocols One special feature of the modem is the two RS 232 ports provided Main and Auxiliary This allows the user...

Page 8: ... data blocks Data transmitted in the RF path is typically sent in large blocks or packets where many data bits represent a packet The data on the Terminal or DTE DCE end by comparison is sent asynchronous where start and stop bits are included in every block of 8 data bits This decreases the amount of useful data inside each block If data is transferred in one direction at one time only it is know...

Page 9: ...Terminal Equipment and DCE stands for Data Communications Equipment DTE is typically either a dumb terminal or the serial port on a computer workstation DCE is typically a modem or other piece of data communications equipment Where it gets confusing is when you start to talk about signal definitions and direction For example it s easy for someone to understand that when you transmit data you send ...

Page 10: ...coming off LF to CR on outgoing off Fasten the correct type of antennas as required to the modems ensuring they are properly seated Make one of the modems a Master by default they are Slave and set its Rx address modem s number by doing the following Connect the Local modem s Auxiliary Port to a COM port of a terminal Hold Mode Select Button on the front panel of the unit to select Mode 6 config T...

Page 11: ... as information is passed If both modems are connected to a terminal information typed at the computer connected to one modem will be shown on the screen connected to the other Once communication is finished hang up the modem with the following sequence Type on the terminal rapidly within 1 second Wait 1 second and the modem should echo OK Type ATH0 Both modems should echo NO CARRIER Point to Poin...

Page 12: ...in 20cm of where people may come in contact Placement of antennas is critical to a solid data link Other antennas in close proximity are a potential source of interference use the Radio Statistics to help identify potential problems It is possible that slight adjustments in antenna placement as little as 1 meter will solve noise problems Antennas systems should not be located within 20cm of where ...

Page 13: ...nu invoked is displayed in Figure 4 1 The user can configure the Modem or obtain diagnostic and statistical information from the Radio The changes made to the operation of the transceiver are stored in non volatile memory to maintain the latest configuration even with loss of power MirOS Main Menu Version 2 0 XXXXX Version 1 23 Rev B Unit Name Unit is a MASTER Serial No XXXXXXXXXXXX Manufactured D...

Page 14: ...es the status of the Network Link If the switch is pressed the display will change and indicate the current mode of operation by a RED LED If the switch is held down longer than 1 second the Mode LED indicator will begin cycling through each mode While the unit is in this cycling operation the rate at which the mode selection cycles can be increased by pressing the button at a faster rate than the...

Page 15: ...indicate the Radio internal functions are OK Red This indicator will flash when the Modem has serious faults such as channel synthesiser out of lock low power or power supply problems or software CRC errors The user Fault event log can be used to find the cause of any intermittent problems AUX port configuration Table 5 1 LED Indicators Mode 1 Mode 2 When the RFI 9256 is in Mode 2 the display chan...

Page 16: ...EIRP For example if the user wishes to use a gain antenna he she must set the power level in the modem so the total power radiated by the antenna does not exceed the EIRP LED NAME MODE 3 dBm NETWORK LINK 30 CARRIER DETECT 27 TRANSMIT DATA 24 RECEIVE DATA 21 ONLINE 18 POWER 15 Table 5 3 LED Indicators Mode 3 Mode 4 When the RFI 9256 is in Mode 4 the display changes to a LED bar graph display that i...

Page 17: ... DETECT DCD output TRANSMIT DATA TX RS232 data out of external port RECEIVE DATA RX RS232 data in from external port ONLINE CTS input POWER RTS output Table 5 5 LED Indicators Mode 5 Mode 6 config When the display is set to Mode 6 the Configuration Menu options are available on the Auxiliary port at 19200 8 N 1 A terminal must be connected to the Auxiliary port with appropriate terminal software t...

Page 18: ...liary Port of the RFI 9256 to any terminal program Set the baud rate for that terminal to 19200 8 N 1 On the modem press and hold the front panel switch until Mode 6 config is activated then release the switch METHOD 2 Local Hayes Command If the front panel of the radio is inaccessible and the modem has a port configured as a Dialup then setup menu can be invoked by Connecting either RFI 9256 Port...

Page 19: ...guration Menu The Radio Configuration Menu allows the radio s function within a network to be changed for different applications The following menu in Figure 6 2 is an example of what is displayed Radio Configuration Menu Unit is a MASTER Network Address 32 Rx Address 20 Hopping Pattern 0 Point to Point Connection M Set unit as Master S Set unit as Slave N Set Network address L Set Local Rx addres...

Page 20: ... is 32 by default L Set Local Rx address The Local Rx Address is used to identify individual modems within a point to multipoint network Each Radio must have a unique address otherwise more than one modem will answer when the address is dialed and destructive collisions will occur Point to point communication does not use dialing therefore both modems may have the same Rx number Radio units config...

Page 21: ...adios it can be thought up as grabbing a parcel and passing it to someone else Repeaters are in pairs back to back with one configured as a Master and one as a Slave They are interlinked by connecting the Main Ports of each so that data can be transferred via their RS 232 ports The Auxiliary I O ports must also be interconnected to provide pass through See Repeaters page 74 The Dialup Repeater mod...

Page 22: ... the master on the network This will synchronise transmission however the frame size length must be the same to enable synchronisation to work To change the Special Control parameters press 1 SPECIAL CONTROLS MENU Sync Mode Output Sync Signal 1 Follow Sync Signal 2 Output Sync Signal 3 Repeater Sync Mode 4 No Sync Mode Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 3Special Controls Menu 1 Follow Sync Si...

Page 23: ...5 50 ARQ can be set from 0 to 255 It is 50 by default F Network fail timeout The Network fail timeout controls the time the system waits when a signal is lost before attempting to re synchronise The NETWORK LINK LED on the front panel also indicates this loss The default setting is 5000ms To change the Network fail timeout press F The following will be displayed Network Fail Timeout value Must be ...

Page 24: ...abled The default is disabled D Set to Defaults Sets the parameters back to their defaults 3 Set Radio Characteristics To change the Radio Characteristics parameters press 3 Radio Characteristics Menu Hopping Pattern 0 Power setting 20 dBm RSSI trigger level 110 Frame Time 20 milliseconds Max Tx bytes per frame 113 Bias is Disabled H Hopping Pattern Sequence P Tx Power Menu R RSSI trigger level F ...

Page 25: ...may provide gain and your cables and connectors produce a loss Tx Power Menu Power setting 20 dBm 0 0 dBm 1 10 dBm 2 20 dBm 3 25 dBm 4 30 dBm 5 OFF Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 6 Tx Power Menu R RSSI trigger level This value can be set between 120dBm and 50dBm The RSSI trigger level is only used by a slave modem when the unit first looks to lock onto the operating network Different valu...

Page 26: ... 8 milliseconds 3 10 milliseconds 4 15 milliseconds 5 20 milliseconds 6 25 milliseconds 7 30 milliseconds 8 35 milliseconds Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 7 Frame Time Menu B D I R E C T I O N A L B I A S M E N U Also known as the Frame Bias This function is for systems that require high throughput in a single direction For example audio video and Internet applications This option allows ...

Page 27: ... Enter Choice Figure 6 10 Protocol Port Selection M Main Port Select to change the protocol on the Main Port A Aux Port Select to change the protocol on the Auxiliary Port After the port has been selected the user then enters the Link Port Protocol Menu Figure 6 11 From this menu the user can assign a new protocol to the port that has been selected and configure it using the two submenus available...

Page 28: ...tically discard duplicate messages so the only configuration issue is the ARQ settings must be adjusted for reasonable performance 1 to 5 retries Both Master and Slave units must be set to the broadcast protocol for them to coexist properly H Hayes Dialup For more information see R Radio Configuration Menu on page 17 In this mode Hayes Command Controls can be set see M Hayes Command Control Menu o...

Page 29: ...is mode the routing table and link control parameters and Timers can be set see Protocol Configuration Menu on page 27 X Disabled Disables any transmission of data though the selected port to a remote radio No protocol or mode is assigned The port can still receive and output data sent from a remote radio but cannot reply NOTE The configuration menu will still be accessible on the AUX port Protoco...

Page 30: ...ress This option only appears when the point to point protocol is selected The remote address option allows the user to change the Tx Address of the remote unit In a point to point communication this value needs to be set to correctly maintain a link between two modems To change the Remote Address press R The following will be displayed Point to Point requires a Tx Address Enter Remote Tx Address ...

Page 31: ...ion These ideas are demonstrated in the following figure using the Modbus protocol Default Route This route is mostly used by Slaves and is probably a must have entry for any Slave in a protocol network This route only requires the Rx address of the destination radio This route is used when no other route can be matched in the routing table Single Route This route explicitly maps an RTU address to...

Page 32: ...s 21 it subtracts it from the base RTU that would leave 1 this result is added to the Rx address would be Rx address 1001 RTU 21 Range Route This route mode routes any RTU address between a range of addresses to a single Radio Rx address It requests a start address for the range of RTU address an end address and an Rx address of the destination radio Figure 6 15 Relationship between Rx andRTU ...

Page 33: ...u Enter Choice Figure 6 16 Route Manager Menu X Delete All Routes This option is used to delete all routes in the routing table for the selected port To delete all routes press X The following will be displayed Are You Sure Y N Select Y if you want to delete all routes and N to abort L List All Routes In Figure 6 17 is an example of a Route table in a Master Base Radio configuration Slave RTU radi...

Page 34: ...Route Type Menu D Default Route S Single Route M Mapped Route R Range Route Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 18 Route Selection Menu D Delete a Route When this option is selected the route type menu Figure 6 18 is brought up to select the type of route to be deleted Once a route type is selected all the routes of that type is listed and the IDX route identification number is used to select ...

Page 35: ...t Timeout value in milliseconds 0 60000 10000 This time can be set between 100 30000ms The default is 10000ms X Escape character ie Allows the escape character to be changed This is the character that is used in the escape sequence to hang up the modem The escape sequence consists of the escape character being typed three times with a set communication free periods of time before and after the seq...

Page 36: ...ting between on and off every time it is selected This controls the RS232 data responses When toggled off while in local command state the character typed at the terminal will not be echoed back to the screen R Modem returns response codes ON OFF This toggles whether the modem returns response codes or not and is used to suppress codes that are sent from the Modem such as the CONNECT response D Se...

Page 37: ...em until the timeout period has expired Each character received on the Rx serial input resets this timer This clumps the data together in the buffers so that each RF frame buffer is completely filled It helps protocols such as MODBUS because they cannot tolerate inter character delays It can also help reduce latencies and increase efficiency of slow frame rates To change the Rx In Packetiser Timer...

Page 38: ...vious Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 21 Port Selection Menu Serial M Main Port Select to change the serial port settings on the Main Port A Aux Port Select to change the serial port settings on the Auxiliary Port Once the desired port is selected the serial port settings menu in Figure 6 22 is displayed This menu is the same for both ports Serial Port Configuration Menu Main Port 19200 Baud No Parity ...

Page 39: ...lections change the number of data bits used in the serial connection When a selection is made it is displayed in the menu but not implemented until the menu is exited To select size of the data within a packet press the corresponding number D Set to Defaults This selection restores factory defaults for the selected serial port see Factory Defaults page 88 for settings B Baud Rate Menu The baud ra...

Page 40: ...re flow control Flow Control Menu Main Port No Flow H Hardware Flow RTS CTS S Software Flow XON XOFF N No Flow Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 24 Flow Control Menu A Advanced Functions Menu For menu options please refer to A Advanced Functions Menu on page 34 M Modem and I O Configuration Menu The Modem Configuration Menu in Figure 6 25 below allows the lower levels of the modem s operatio...

Page 41: ...nse is ON Escape character Escape guard time 1000 ms Connect Timeout 10000 ms Aux Port Echo is ON Response is ON Escape character Escape guard time 1000 ms Connect Timeout 10000 ms M Main Port A Aux Port Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 26 Modem Port Selection Menu M Main Port Select to change the Hayes Command settings on the Main Port A Aux Port Select to change the Hayes Command settings...

Page 42: ...ctive when the radio unit is ONLINE 1 NETWORK LINK controls DCD DCD is active when the NETWORK LINK is active 2 CARRIER DETECT controls DCD DCD is active when a valid carrier signal is detected from another radio 3 Remote DSR controls DCD DCD is active when a remote radio s DSR input line is active 4 Local DSR controls DCD DCD is active when the local radio s DSR input line is active 5 Remote CTS ...

Page 43: ...Always ON 8 RTS Always OFF 9 RTS disabled Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 28 RTS Output Control Menu 0 ONLINE controls RTS RTS is active when the radio unit is ONLINE 1 NETWORK LINK controls RTS RTS is active when the NETWORK LINK is active 2 CARRIER DETECT controls RTS RTS is active when a valid carrier signal is detected from another radio 3 Remote DSR controls RTS RTS is active when a r...

Page 44: ...ice Figure 6 29 Auxiliary I O Control Menu S Sample Rate This allows the sampling time of the I O port to be changed To change the Sampling Rate press S The following will be displayed Update Timer value in milliseconds 8 5000 500 The sampling time can be set between 8ms and 5000ms 5seconds The default is 500 F Auxiliary I O Follows Remote This allows the I O port to be controlled by another radio...

Page 45: ...ice Figure 6 30 Auxiliary I O Bit Set Menu The I O pin is toggled between input and output when its corresponding bit number is selected The first line of the display shows the current status of the I O control P P O W E R U P D E F A U L T S M E N U Selecting this option allows the power up states of the I O lines to be configured If an I O line is set as an input then it cannot be configured to ...

Page 46: ...ality Menu Unit Name Time 08 36 55 Menu Password is Disabled Security Code is Disabled Menu Timeout is 15 minutes U Set Unit Name P Set Menu Password R Remove Menu Password S Set Security Code D Delete Security Code T Set Current Time M Set Menu Timeout Esc Previous Menu Enter Choice Figure 6 32 Radio Personality Menu U Set Unit Name This selection allows the name of the unit to be set This can he...

Page 47: ...ime clock s time to be set Allow the RFI 9256 doesn t contain a true real time clock it can maintain a fairly accurate notion of time M Set Menu Timeout This allows the user to select the amount time a menu remains idle before it is closed Default is 15 minutes D Diagnostics Menu The diagnostic Menu shown in Figure 6 33 is used to test functions of the Radio Modems performance Diagnostics Menu S D...

Page 48: ...ct Press Any Key to return Figure 6 34 Unit Status Display T Test Indicator LEDs Selecting this function starts a test of the front panel LEDs This is a visual test and the LEDs must be observed while this test is in progress It simply turns the LEDs on and off operating using all the colours in a predefined sequence N Show channel signal noise When this function is selected a table in Figure 6 35...

Page 49: ...Press Any Key to continue or ESC to quit Figure 6 35 Example of aChannel Signal Noise Log L Show Logging This function is the same as the in the Radio Statistics Menu explained previously M Test Link Margin This function displays the average signal and average noise the radio modem is measuring If the unit is configured as a Master then it will require an address of the Slave Enter Remote Tx Addre...

Page 50: ...Ext DestSrc DestExt DestAddr State Link Name 0 0 0 0 0 1000 5 MAIN Dialup Idx LocSrc DestSrc DestAddr State Link Name 1 1 1 1001 3 AUX PtoP Press Any Key to return Figure 6 37 Links Display Idx is the Index Number is used internally but indicates the number of links LocSrc is the local port number that is the source destination for the data LocExt is the extension that has been dial if a remote ha...

Page 51: ...e radio modem C Clear Log Used to clear the logging file so new data can be logged for debugging purposes L S E T L O G G I N G L E V E L Selected to change the type of information logged by the radio modem for display when using the V command as shown below in Figure 6 39 Log Level Menu Log Level Debug Information 0 Errors Only 1 Warnings and Errors 2 Status Information 3 General Information 4 De...

Page 52: ... throughput and information regarding the performance of both serial ports The following table in Figure 6 41 is an example of what is shown when this function is selected Frame count 63972 Empty Frames 63972 Good packets 0 Bad packets 0 Lost packets 0 Retries 0 Good Headers 0 Bad Headers 0 Lost Frame Lock 255 Low RSSI 0 Data Sent 187693 Data Recv 187693 Rx Overflows 0 Rx Overruns 0 Tx Overflows 0...

Page 53: ...ng up the remote modem for Point to Multipoint Communication The AT Commands The AT commands are a group of special commands recognised by your modem These commands derive their name from the letters AT which are used to prefix commands Before continuing Run your communications software and enter local mode or terminal mode at 19200 baud 8 bit data No parity One stop bit and no flow control or han...

Page 54: ... The Escape Sequence When there is no communications link established to a remote modem and you issue commands all dialogue is occurring between your computer and the local modem This situation is known as Local Command State When you connect to a remote modem dialogue is occurring between your computer and the remote modem or what is connected to the remote modem This is known as On line State On...

Page 55: ...t a full second before you type the escape sequence and then a full second after typing it As soon as the modem returns to local command state it will respond with the message OK This waiting period before and after the escape sequence is called the Escape Sequence Guard Time This allows the modem to distinguish the escape sequence from the normal flow of information between modems You can change ...

Page 56: ...your computer while dialing is being performed it immediately hangs up sends a NO CARRIER response message to the computer and returns to local command state After a few seconds the message CONNECT appears on the screen If a NO CARRIER message appears your modem has not been able to make a connection Check your communications software is set for 19200 bps operation and your modem is correctly conn...

Page 57: ...ation profile will be retained after you have switched your modem OFF The modem also has factory default settings stored internally allowing you to change the communication settings and S Register values and then recall the factory default configuration profile stored in your modem when you originally purchased it The factory defaults have been selected so most users will be able to make immediate...

Page 58: ...gs ATD Dial This command allows you to dial a telephone number The basic dialing command is ATDXXXX YY ATD followed by the remote modem Rx address XXXX and port number YY For Example To dial the number 2356 78 Type ATD2356 78 CR You may use hyphens or spaces They will be ignored by the modem but they will make it easier to read the command line For example Type ATD 2356 78 CR D command must be the...

Page 59: ... to On Line State The O command enables you to return to on line state from local command state When you are on line connected to a remote computer anything you type is sent on to the remote computer If you want to send commands to your modem you must return to local command state by typing the escape sequence When you are ready to return to on line state use the O command The O command must be th...

Page 60: ...t cannot cope with the high connection establishment speed of the radio then this option allows the response to be delayed for 1 second before returning the CONNECT response The W command enables you to select which type of response speed you want Command Description ATW0 Fast Response Mode ATW1 Slow Response mode AT C Controlling Data Carrier Detect DCD is an RS 232 signal used to indicate to the...

Page 61: ...or all communications settings and S Registers The F command enables you to restore the factory default values You must use the W command if you wish to save the factory default values to non volatile memory and thus preserve these values when you switch the modem off Command Description AT F0 Restore basic modem interface to factory defaults AT F1 Restore radio and modem interface to factory defa...

Page 62: ...ontrol The modem and computer use the XON and XOFF characters DC1 and DC3 to control the flow of data AT V View Active Profile The V command allows you to view many of the modem settings These values correspond to S register and other commands that were saved into the modem s non volatile memory and used as power up defaults Command Description AT V Display All Registers Except I registers AT V1 D...

Page 63: ...er Range 0 255 Default 43 the character S Register 2 contains the ASCII values of the character that form the escape sequence The default value for this register is 43 The modem will recognise three characters as the escape sequence Examples ATS2 36 Recognises three dollar symbols characters as the escape sequence ATS2 45 Recognises three minus characters as the escape sequence See Also ATS12 Esca...

Page 64: ... succession and then maintain another second s silence The guard time is in units of milliseconds or 1 1000 of a second S register 12 is also used to time the period between the escape sequence characters as they are typed If the period between the first and second escape characters or second and third escape characters being entered is greater than the value in S Register 12 the modem will not re...

Page 65: ...0000 ms Default 5000 ms Set the Network fail timeout parameter ATS43 Online requests timer Range 0 30000 ms Default 1000 ms Set the Online request timer parameter ATS44 Hopping Pattern Sequence Range 0 31 Default 0 Set the Hopping Pattern Sequence parameter ATS45 Max TX Power Range 0 10 20 25 30 dBm Default 20 dBm Set the Maximum Transceiver output power parameter ATS47 Frame Time Range 5 8 10 15 ...

Page 66: ...ault 32 Set the Network Address parameter ATS51 Unit Rx address Range 0 9999 Default 20 Set Unit Local Rx Address parameter Phone number ATS52 Unit Tx address Range 0 9999 Default 20 Set Remote Tx Address parameter Phone number This is only applicable if the unit is switched to Point to Point mode ATS60 Set Logging Level Range Description 0 Errors Only 1 Warnings and Errors 2 Status Information 3 ...

Page 67: ...0x00 0xFF 0 255 Default 0x00 Get Set the 8 bit auxiliary I O port ATS81 Get Remote Auxiliary I O Hex data Range 0x00 0xFF 0 255 Default n a Get Set the bit direction of the 8 bit auxiliary I O port of the remote radio You must already be connected to a remote radio either by dialing and returning to local command mode or by having the opposite port having already established a connection to a remo...

Page 68: ...4 Set Auxiliary I O Sample Timer Range 8 5000 ms Default 500 ms Get Set the sample timer for the 8 bit auxiliary I O Port sample timer ATS90 Set DCD control Range Description 0 ONLINE controls DCD 1 NETWORK LINK controls DCD 2 CARRIER DETECT controls DCD 3 Remote DSR controls DCD 4 Local DSR controls DCD 5 Remote CTS controls DCD 6 Local CTS controls DCD 7 DCD Always ON 8 DCD Always OFF 9 DCD disa...

Page 69: ...ays ON 8 RTS Always OFF 9 RTS disabled Set the RTS Control of a Serial Port Default 0 ATS100 Set Port baud rate Range 300 600 1200 2400 4800 9600 19200 38400 57600 115200 Default 19200 Set the Baud Rate of the Main Serial Port Must be used in conjunction with the AT W1 command ATS101 Set Port parity Range Description 0 No Parity default 1 Odd Parity 2 Even Parity Set the Parity of the Main Serial ...

Page 70: ...1 Software XON XOFF Flow 2 Hardware RTS CTS Flow Set the Flow Control of the Main Serial Port Must be used in conjunction with the AT W1 command Default 0 Register Commands The Registers usually store string values and data entry must be terminated with a Carriage Return CR String values may contain spaces but will have leading and ending spaces removed The Register commands cannot be concatenated...

Page 71: ... modem If the password is already set then this command will not change it You must first remove the password via the menu Or reset the modem to factory defaults Range 12 alphanumeric characters Default Disabled AT 62 Set RTC Date Time Set the time of day in seconds since midnight Range 0 86400 Default 0 Other Commands There are more AT commands available on the RFI 9256 to many to list in descrip...

Page 72: ...des M2 Dialup Repeater X0 Set to basic response codes S0 Sync Mode Off W0 Fast Response S1 Sync Mode Input Follow W1 Delayed Connect Response S2 Sync Mode Output X4 Set to extended response codes S3 Sync Mode Repeater Z Initialise power on reset T8 Warm Start Reset A0 Auxiliary I O Disable T9 Cold Start Reset A1 Auxiliary I O Enable V View current profile A2 Auxiliary I O Follows Remote V0 View al...

Page 73: ...l S6 Wait for Dial Tone Timeout S61 UNIX Date Time seconds since 1970 S7 Wait for Carrier Timeout S62 System Log Timer in milliseconds S12 ESC guard time S70 Port Protocol Type S21 Set Security Code S80 Local Auxiliary I O S30 Inactivity Time out S81 Remote Auxiliary I O S39 Rx In Packetiser Timer S82 Auxiliary I O Bit Mask Direction S40 Tx out Packet Timer 0 to disable S83 Auxiliary I O Bit Power...

Page 74: ...ds Num Verbal Description 0 OK Command accepted 1 CONNECT Connection established 2 RING Incoming call detected 3 NO CARRIER Carrier not detected 4 ERROR Command error 7 BUSY The dialed number or extension is busy 8 NO ANSWER Extension not supported 255 FAULT Protocol or other error Table 7 6 Response Codes Table 7 5 Notes The register commands are single line commands and cannot be concatenated to...

Page 75: ...Serial Port 01 AUX Serial Port 91 Virtual Hayes Connection 92 Remote Menu Connection 93 Remote Logger Connection 99 Loop back Connection Table 8 1 Extension Port Numbers The MAIN and AUX port extensions allow the dialing Modem to select which port it wants to connect through The Virtual Hayes connection provides an interface for automated or scripted configuration and management of the radio The R...

Page 76: ...tem requires the following rules All Repeater radios must only have a two digit Rx Address unit id All End Point radios should use a full four digit Rx address unit id and will require a mandatory two digit extension number For example a destination End Point radio s Rx address may be 4022 and required port may be the MAIN port which is extension 00 so the End Point number would be 402200 6 digits...

Page 77: ...1998 Page 75 223889 Revision 2 2 This simple numbering system allows several repeaters to be concatenated and allows repeaters to branch to other repeaters in a tree like formation Figure 8 3Repeater Logical Connection Figure 8 4Repeater Physical Connection ...

Page 78: ...CARRIER DETECT LED is used to indicate the link quality by the ratio of green to red if the LED is green 100 of the time the link is perfect The CARRIER DETECT LED on the slave will always indicate the link quality On the Master the link quality is indicated more accurately when it is running a Margin Link Test Point to Multipoint Dial connection A point to multipoint dial connection behaves just ...

Page 79: ...esirable to use Yagi antennas to extend the range between the Repeater and either or both the Master and Slave Figure 9 5 shows a link with two repeaters between the master and slave With two repeaters there is clearly more flexibility in getting around obstacles and greater total range is possible Once again it would be desirable to use external omni directional antennas with the repeaters and at...

Page 80: ...gnated as a repeater slave that is connected to a remote instrument in the field Since this instrument is placed in an elevated location the transceiver may also be used as a repeater when it is not used as a slave At any time the master may call any of the slaves establish a connection and retrieve and send data Note point to multi point Dialup is the only mode available when the radio is configu...

Page 81: ...s allows you to preset the state High Low of an output line when the radio is first powered up This prevents devices that are attached to the radios I O from being unintentionally enabled Sample Rate control Used to balance the performance of the RFI 9256 between fast updates from the I O device for one application and fast serial data throughput for another application Fast sample rates below 15m...

Page 82: ...ed or when changes have been made which render the firmware incompatible with previous versions Combined they are the version number Revision The revisions reflect bug fixes or minor changes that don t render the system incompatible Country Firmware with versions with different country identifiers are always incompatible with their air interface This is due to the frequencies and hopping sequences...

Page 83: ...ally contains additional features such as protocols enhancements such as security coding and changes to the user interface Modems with different versions of firmware may be still compatible provided that features of the newest version modem are not utilized Version Inter Compatibility Guide The following firmware versions are for the RFI 9256 Data Strike Series 3 Radio Firmware Version 1 08 1 09 R...

Page 84: ...iagrams The diagram in Figure B 1 next page shows the dimensions of the mounting holes on the RFI 9256 radio The diagram in Figure B 2 next page is a cable assembly diagram for the RFI 9256 The two communication ports are output via DB9 connectors and supply power to the radio ...

Page 85: ...D I A G R A M S RF Innovations Pty Ltd 1998 Page 83 223889 Revision 2 2 Figure B 1 Mounting details of the RFI 9256 ...

Page 86: ...D I A G R A M S RF Innovations Pty Ltd 1998 Page 84 223889 Revision 2 2 Figure B 2 Cable assembly details for interfacing to the RFI 9256 radio 12 VDC 12 VDC ...

Page 87: ...t Power 1mW 1 Watt 30 dBm Error Detection 32 Bit CRC with packet retransmit ARQ Antenna Special BNC to RFI supplied antenna Power Requirements 9 0 to 28 0 VDC negative ground Power Consumption 350 mA Transmit 200 mA Receive 150 mA Average normal data loading Connector DB25 male power and data combined Unit Address Network ID User programmable Operating Modes Point to Point Point to Multipoint Dial...

Page 88: ...I2C Expansion data 12 I2C Expansion clock 25 GND 13 GND Table C 2 ModemRS 232 Interface Connector Functions Power supply Notes The power supplies used to power Radio Modems should have sufficient current rating and ripple rejection typically 500mVRMS of power supply noise can be tolerated The Modems contain a built in thermal fuse that will open the circuit in the event of any over current conditi...

Page 89: ...SEC Clear To Send 14 S Tx SEC Transmitted Data NS New Sync 15 TC Transmitted Clock 16 S Rx SEC Received Data DCT Divided ClockTransmitter 17 RC Receiver Clock 18 DCR Divided ClockReceiver 19 S RTS SEC Request To Send 20 DTR Data Terminal Ready 21 SQ Signal Quality Detect 22 RI Ring Indicator 23 Data Rate Selector Data Rate Selector 24 TC EXT Transmitter Clock 25 Busy Table C 3 DB 25 RS 232 Pin Ass...

Page 90: ... ARQ retries 50 Network fail timer 5000ms Online request time 1000ms Back off Retry is disabled Radio Personality Menu Hopping Pattern 0 Power setting 20 dBm RSSI trigger level 110 Frame Time 20 milliseconds Directional Bias is disabled Protocol Port Selection Hayes Dialup for both ports Serial Port Configuration Menu settings are the same for both ports settings are the same for both ports settin...

Page 91: ...up on DTR dropped Echo is ON Response is ON Escape character Escape guard time 1000 ms Connect timeout 10000 ms DCD CONTROLS DCD follows online RTD CONTROLS RTS disabled AUXILIARY I O Auxiliary I O enabled Radio Personality Menu Unit name is blank unit has no name Menu Password is disabled Security code is disabled Menu timeout is 15 minutes Diagnostics Menu Log level General Information ...

Page 92: ...ter would have its Remote Tx Address set to 4022 and the Slave s Remote Tx Address set to 20 In order to set the Remote Tx Address you have to select Point to Point Connection in the Radio Configuration Menu Final Notes If all else fails you can restore the modems to their factory defaults by selecting the option in the Radio Configuration Menu and set up the connection by following the steps in I...

Page 93: ... InTerm If the link succeeds then it is LapLink causing the problem and unfortunately there is no documented solution for it I have tried to access the menu via the RFI 9256 front panel Mode 6 config but I get no menu on my terminal program To resolve this problem it is best you double check the settings of firstly the cable connection then the terminal program you are using e g RFI s InTerm and f...

Page 94: ...re of the card Please contact your local PC distributor for further assistance The data I receive on my terminal package is corrupted i e I receive rows of weird characters and receive only certain characters This is a symptom of miss matched baud rates If you do not have the same baud rate settings in your terminal package as the settings of your modem the PC s communication port will not interpr...

Page 95: ...uto answer A modem capability that allowsit to automatically pick up Auxiliary Port Aux Port Port connected to 3 wire modem cable Cable contains Rx Tx and ground wires Only supports software flow control no hardware flow control B Bandwidth The range of signal frequencies that are accepted or passed by a circuit or network Base Frequency The frequency band occupied by a signal inits original or un...

Page 96: ...System A Leased Line For example X25 QPSX ISPN Connection Commands Commands that enable informationto be passed betweentwo modems after a communications link has been established Connector A physical devices such as a plug socket or jack used to connect one hardware component of a system to another A connector may also be called a port Console Part of a computer system usually a video display term...

Page 97: ...uipment which providesthe data source and or receiving end of a data transmission link The DTE may be a personal computer a printer and a front end processor to alarge mainframe computer or any other devicethat can transmit or receive data WithRS 232 connections the designation of DTE or DCE determines which device isresponsible for generating certain control signals See also Data Communications E...

Page 98: ... The re transmission of characters received by either the modem or remote system back to the DTE EIRP Effective IsotropicRadiated Power End Point Radio Radios that are connected tothe data device such as SCADA Acquisition PC As opposedto a repeater Escape Guard Time The amount of time for which no activity is allowed on the data line before and after the sequence is entered otherwise the escape se...

Page 99: ...k As with a normal phone call the phone must be hung up so that you can call and receive other calls Hang up on DTR Only available with the Main Port If activated will terminate the Communication Link when the Data Terminal Ready pin is low Hardware The electronic or electro mechanical devices in a computer system as opposed to the programs or software Hardware Handshaking The use of special RS 23...

Page 100: ...uter is communicating with a local modem The local mode assumes all commands are for it and acts on the AT commands As opposedto being connected to aremote modem seeOn Line State Local Rx Address 4 digit phone number address of the modem that you are dialing Each modem within a point to multipoint network must have a unique Rx address otherwise more than one modem will be dialed Used when dialing ...

Page 101: ... Node A point of interconnection on a circuit Noise Random electrical signals introduced by components of the circuit or natural disturbances that can produce errors in transmission Non Volatile Memory Stores data programs configurations without the need for a battery backup Will not be erased if there is a power failure Nearly permanent Null Modem See Modem Eliminator O Odd Parity Odd parity refe...

Page 102: ... fromthe computer and connected toit by wires cables or some other form of interface Physical Layer Logging Shows the modem statistics relating tothe quantity of data throughput Point to Multipoint Communication One radio the master communicates with more that one slave while each slave can only talk to the master As opposed to Point to Point Communication Point to Point Communication A connection...

Page 103: ...ommunications Response Codes Also called Result Codes Screen messages that indicate what the modem is doing For example OK will appear when a command has been executed successfully RF Channels Steps or intervals of frequency divisionsin the 915 928MHz spectrum 51 channels available Routing Table A table that is used by the radios to convert packet addresses intoradio addresses Router Guides data t...

Page 104: ...r a start bit always precedes the actual data Seven or eight data bits an optional parity bit and a stop bit will follow Stop Bit The last bit or element transmitted in asynchronous transmission of a character to return the circuit to an idle state One or two stop bits are sent at the end of each character of data Synchronous A data transmission in which the time between characters is fixed by syn...

Page 105: ...face for communication with and management of a remote radio W Wait Time for Connect Timethe radio will wait for valid connection before indicating communication unsuccessful Whip Antenna Small antenna usually approx 15 cm X XModem A communications protocol developed in the late 70s by Ward Christensen to perform error checking on data being sent between two computers SeeKermit XON XOFF Special co...

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Page 107: ...B L A N K P A G E RF Innovations Pty Ltd 1998 Page 105 223889 Revision 2 2 ...

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