WiFly Serial Adapter
www.rovingnetworks.com
wifly-serial-um 6/30/2010
809 University Avenue
•
Los Gatos, CA 95032
•
Tel (408) 395-6539
•
~ 3 ~
1.0.
Overview
The Battery powered WiFly Serial Adapter supports RS-232 interfaces. When connected to a remote host,
the WiFly serial adapter transfers data read or written to the serial interface to a remote application such as
an iPhone app, data logger or PC control console. Data is transferred over a reliable TCP/IP socket.
802.11 b/g infrastructure or adhoc networking has the advantage of using existing, low cost wireless
connectivity and being able to remotely connect to any WiFly serial adapter in the world.
The WiFly serial adapter is powered by two AAA batteries, an external AC to 5VDC power brick, or 5VDC
(only) on pin 9 of the DB9 connector. Rechargeable NiMH batteries will be trickle charged when used with
an external 5VDC (only) power source. The WiFly Serial Adapter will run for up to 8 hours while
connected over WiFi on a fully charged set of batteries.
Since Apple Computer requires an additional Bluetooth authorization co-processor for any and all devices
connecting to the iPhone, using the WiFi serial adapter in adhoc mode is a simple and cost effective way to
connect to iPhone apps. The WiFly Serial Adapter is more than a cable replacement solution. By allowing
multiple TCP/IP sockets, applications can control and monitor hundreds of Wi-Fi Serial adapters remotely
distributed across a building LAN or campus WAN.
Other usage modes can be setup. When configured in auto connect mode, the WiFly Serial Adapter will
connect out to a pre-stored IP address whenever data is written to the serial port. The WiFly Serial Adapter
can also be set to automatically go to sleep once idle, and wakeup based on time delay, or UART
RX data or state change of CTS signals.
1.1.
Powering up the WiFly Serial Adapter
The red button on the top of the WiFly Serial Adapter is a soft ON/OFF switch. The WiFly Serial Adapter
can be powered from batteries or from the external power connector.
Warning: Do NOT use alkaline batteries when connecting the external power. Doing so will cause
permanent damage.
To turn ON the WiFly Serial Adapter, press down the red button for 1 second, and then release it. You will
see the green, yellow, red and blue LEDs flash in succession. After a moment the blue and yellow LEDs
will go OFF, leaving the red and green LED flashing.
To turn OFF the WiFly Serial Adapter, press down on the red button for 1 second, then release it. The
green, yellow, red and blue LEDs flash in succession several times. Then All the LEDs will turn off and the
device will be in sleep mode.
By default the WiFly Serial Adapter automatically shuts itself off if not connected for more than 3 minutes
= 180 seconds. The sleep timer duration is controlled by using the
set system sleep <seconds>
command.
Use the
get sys
to display the current settings of the sleep timer.
