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Appendix B - Conducting a Site Survey
A site survey, or Radio Signal Strength Indication
(RSSI), analyzes the radio communication link between
the gateway and any node within the network by
analyzing the radio signal strength of received data
packets and reporting the number of missed packets
that required a retry.
Perform a site survey before permanently installing the
radio network to ensure reliable communication.
Activate Site Survey mode from either the gateway
buttons or the gateway modbus holding register 15.
Only the gateway can initiate a site survey, an the site
survey analyzes the radio communications link with one
node at a time.
Site Survey Using the Menu
System
Initiate a survey using the gateway's buttons and menu
system.
1. Remove the rotary dial access cover.
2. To check the status of node 1, change the
gateway's right rotary dial to 1. The gateway is now
enabled to read the status of node 1, and the
display scrolls through the node's I/O status.
3. Single-click button 1 to scroll across the menu levels
until reaching the Site Survey (SITE) menu.
4. Single-click button 2 to enter the Site Survey menu.
5. Single-click button 2 again to begin conducting a
site survey with the node selected in step 2. The
gateway analyzes the quality of the signal from the
selected node by counting the number of data
packets it receives from the node.
6. Examine reception readings (M, R, Y, G) of the
gateway at various locations. Site survey results are
displayed as percentages. M represents the percent
of missed packets, while R, Y, and G represent the
percent of received packets at a given signal
strength. M = missed packets; R = Red, marginal
signal; Y = Yellow, good signal; G = Green,
excellent signal.
7. Change the gateway's right rotary dial to conduct a
site survey on another node and repeat steps 2
through 6.
3A6715B
Appendix B - Conducting a Site Survey
8. To end the site survey, double-click button 2.
9. Change the gateway's right rotary dial back to 0.
The LCD displays the device readings for the
gateway.
10. Double-click button 2 to move back to the top-level
menu.
11. Single-click button 1 to return to Run mode.
12. Install the rotary dial access cover, referring to the
Installation section of the manual to create an IP67
seal.
Site Survey from a Gateway
Board Model
Perform the following steps to conduct a site survey
from the board module gateway:
1. Set the gateway's rotary dials to the node address
you'd like to conduct a site survey with. The site
survey automatically begins running. If there is no
node at the address, the LED is solid red. If there is
a node, the LED flashes amber.
2. Evaluate the signal strength. The amber LED
flashes at specific rates to indicate the site survey
results. Each signal strength represents the majority
of the data packets being received at that signal
strength.
-
Eight flashes per second: Very strong signal
strength
-
Four flashes per second: Strong signal strength
-
Two flashes per second: Good signal strength
-
One flash per second: Weak signal strength
-
Solid amber LED: No radio communication
detected
3. To exit the site survey, set the gateway's rotary dials
to 00. Otherwise, the gateway automatically exits
Site Survey mode after 15 minutes. The LED
flashes green to indicate the gateway is in standard
operating mode.
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