Using the FireLine Modem
Setup
1. Connect a DC power source to the DC IN connection on the front of the
modem.
2. Connect a good quality antenna, cut to the operating frequency, to the
BNC connector on the front of the modem. Use a good antenna, and
place is at high-above obstructions as possible.
3. Connect a computer terminal, or PC computer running HyperTerminal, to
the 9-pin I/O connector.
4. Program the modem’s operating frequency to your desired operating
frequency. Using the AT commands, change any of the default operating
parameters that must be modified. See the section “
Serial Port
Commands
” for information describing the various parameters that may
be modified in the modem. In most applications, the default settings from
the factory will work fine.
5. Connect your serial data device to the 9-pin connector on the front of the
modem. The default serial port settings are 9600bps, 8 data bits, 1 stop
bit, no parity.
The radio is now ready to use. Any serial data going into the modem will be
transmitted over the air, and any data received over the air will be sent out the
serial port.
Addressing
One of the more powerful aspects of the
FireLine
modem is its addressing
scheme. Each FireLine contains a 16 bit address, called its Unit Address,
and is represented as a 4 digit hexadecimal number.
FireLine
address may
be any number between 0000 and FFFF, which is 65,535 different addresses.
For those not familiar with hexadecimal numbers, a hexadecimal digit
represents a 4-bit binary pattern. There are 16 possible values
(0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,and F). These 16 values represent 4 bits of
information, thus 4 hexadecimal digits can represent 16 bits of information.
The hexadecimal numbers represent 4 bit data in the following way:
Hexadecimal Table
Hex #
Binary
Hex #
Binary
Hex #
Binary
Hex #
Binary
0
0000
5
0100
8
1000
C
1100
1
0001
6
0101
9
1001
D
1101
2
0010
7
0110
A
1010
E
1110
3
0011
8
0111
B
1011
F
1111
When communicating over the air,
FireLine
modems transmit their Unit
Address along with the data. Receiving modems check the received Unit
