Configuring The Rf Channel - Opticon ESL User Manual

ESL User Manual

5.6.1 Configuring the RF Channel

The base station always operates on a single RF channel, which can be selected in a range of
channel 11 to 26 (as specified by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard). When using multiple base
stations itʼs also strongly recommended to use a different RF channel for each base station
within range to improve the maximum throughput of data and reduce data collisions.
Since the IEEE 802.15.4 base station and ESLs operate on the same frequencies as WIFI and
Bluetooth, itʼs important to make sure that a base station does not operate on the same RF
channel as any nearby WIFI network to minimize interference.
To detect which RF-channels are least active, the base station can perform an energy scan on
all 16 available channels and graphically show the energy levels in a real-time graph. To
conduct an energy scan, simply press the scan button in a base station tab of the server
application. Select one of the RF channels showing the least activity during the scan. The
desired channel can be selected by pressing the Set Channel button.
If the RF channel has been changed, the base station will automatically reset itself to apply the
new configuration.
Be aware that any ESLs that were already associated with the base station before changing
the RF channel will lose their connection with that base station. By default, it will take 30 polls
(times the poll interval of 15 seconds—so 450 seconds) before the ESLs will time out and start
looking for a useable base station signal.
To avoid having to wait a couple of minutes before the ESLs starts looking for the base station
on the new RF-channel itʼs possible to disassociate all the ESLs from the base station prior to
changing the RF channel. This can be done by first pressing the select all button, and then the
Remove button. This will disassociate all ESLʼs from the base station and the ESLs will start to
disappear from the base stationʼs list. Once theyʼre all gone, quickly change the RF channel
and the ESLs should start to appear again on the new channel.
Be aware that ESLs donʼt search for base stations on all 16 RF channels, but only on a
configurable range of channels—the default being 11 to 15). So, if the RF channel of the base
station is set to a channel outside this range, the ESLs will not find that base station. For this
reason itʼs important to first configure the RF channel range on all ESLs before configuring the
base stations. (See section 5.4.5). If an ESL is not associating to any base station, and its RF
channel range is unknown, then configure a base station to channel 11. This channel can
always be scanned by any ESL, ensuring they can always be found and reconfigured without
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