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Integrating the MDT SMART Link-485
Sensor Application Note #32
Overview
MDT's SMART MPBX is a flexible borehole extensometer with up to six anchor points and an integrated
electronic readout head. As each anchor moves, fiberglass rods within the MPBX produce a very precise
change in resistance at the wiper terminals. This resistance change is converted to a voltage, relative to a
reference voltage. The displacement is calculated as a ratio of this data. The displacement data from each
anchor is interpreted, and rock movement mapped. The MDT SMART Link-485 connects to the MPBX readout
head and provides a 2 wire RS-485 half duplex serial interface which can be connected to a Campbell
Scientific
CR6 Datalogger via a RSCOM2A RS-485 to RS-232 converter (provided by RESmith). The goal of
this document is to walk through the configuration of an MDT SMART Link-485 and configuring MultiLogger
to
ingest the data being produced by the MDT SMART MPBX.
System Wiring and Configuration
A converter is typically required to convert the RS-485 output of the MDT SMART Link-485 to RS-232. Figure
1 is the wiring diagram connecting a SMART Link-485 to a Campbell Scientific
CR6 using an RESmith
RSCOM2A converter. The RSCOMA2A provides a low-cost, highly configurable signal converter.
(Figure 1 - Connection path between CR6, RSCOM2A and two SMART Link-485. You can have one or more SMART Link-485s all
connecting to the same RSCOM2A.)
Note - In Figure 1, wiring for COM1 is used. Use alternate ports for other COM ports.
Integrating the MDT SMART Link-485
1
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Table of Contents
Summary of Contents for Canary Systems MDT SMART Link-485
- Page 1 MDT SMART MPBX. System Wiring and Configuration A converter is typically required to convert the RS-485 output of the MDT SMART Link-485 to RS-232. Figure 1 is the wiring diagram connecting a SMART Link-485 to a Campbell Scientific CR6 using an RESmith RSCOM2A converter.
- Page 2 First, connect the RJ11 to the RSCOM2A and the serial connection to a straight-through serial cable connected to a serial port on a computer. Next launch a terminal emulation program (HyperTerminal was used for this document) on a computer. Integrating the MDT SMART Link-485...
- Page 3 This is desirable to avoid accidentally awakening the SMART-Link 485 in electrically noisy environments. The command you need to send to the MDT SMART Link-485 is the serial number of the SMART Link-485 concatenated with “RDAAM” followed by a carriage return and line feed<CR><LF>.
- Page 4 In this case, use a Multiplexer configuration, the following section details this configuration. Note - A gage type has been added to support reading the MDT SMART Link-485. Contact Canary Systems if your installation of software does not list the required gage types.
- Page 5 When configuring the Direct Connect Channels, select MDT SMART Link-485 as the Gage Type. (Figure 9 - Direct Connect Channel configuration form, note the Gage Type (Make | Mode) selection for Channel 1) Subsequent channels would be configured with each SMART Link-485 position.
- Page 6 When configuring the Multiplexers, select Virtual as the Model and MDT SMART Link-485 as the Gage Type. (Figure 12 - Channel configuration when using Multiplexers) The Channels drop-down determines how many channel placeholders are available. Press the Edit Channels button to configure the channels.
- Page 7 10 – Position Female 7 – Position Male Pinout 7 – Position Male MultiLogger and Canary Systems are Registered Trademarks of Canary Systems, Inc. Campbell Scientific is a Registered Trademark of Campbell Scientific, Inc. Integrating the MDT SMART Link-485...
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