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Intuicom Communicator User Manual

Wireless data transceiver
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Intuicom®
Communicator
TM
Wireless Data Transceiver
User Manual
Intuicom, Inc.
1880 South Flatiron Court
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 449-4330
www.intuicom.com

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  • Page 1 Intuicom® Communicator Wireless Data Transceiver User Manual Intuicom, Inc. 1880 South Flatiron Court Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 449-4330 www.intuicom.com...
  • Page 2 Intuicom reserves the right to make changes to this manual without notice. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, Intuicom assumes no responsibility or liability for the use of this manual or for the infringement of any copyright or other proprietary right and Intuicom shall deem nothing contained in this manual a warranty or guarantee.
  • Page 3 Intuicom, Inc. Any changes or modifications made to the device without the express written approval of Intuicom, Inc. may void the user’s authority to operate the device. This product is licensed by The United States. Diversion contrary to U.S. law is prohibited.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    (8) MultiMaster Synch ..................15 5.4.9 (9) 1 PPS Enable/Delay..................15 5.4.10 (A) Slave/Repeater ....................16 5.4.11 (B) Diagnostics...................... 16 5.4.12 (C) Subnet ID ......................16 5.4.13 (D) Radio ID......................19 Baud Rate Selections......................20 Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 5 Overall Rcv Rate (%) ....................38 Number of Disconnects ....................38 Radio Temperature......................38 Transceiver Location ...................... 39 Front Panel LEDs......................40 Using an External Antenna .................... 42 12.1 Antenna Alignment ......................44 Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 6 Establishing Data Communication Links ..............50 Other Settings ........................54 18.1 Baud Rate ........................54 18.2 Setup Timeout........................ 54 Technical Specifications....................55 Troubleshooting....................... 57 Antenna Installation Drawing..................60 Warranty Statement ....................... 61 Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 7 User Manual List of Figures Figure 3-1: Initial Menu ........................4 Figure 3-2: Communicator Operation Mode Menu ................ 5 Figure 5-1: Multipoint Parameters ....................13 Figure 5-2: Multipoint Subnet Diagram..................18 Figure 6-1: Baud Rate, Word Length & Modbus ................. 20 Figure 7-1: Call Book Menu ......................

  • Page 8: Quick Start

    The transceivers function as a 9-pin null modem cable. If the Communicator is to be used in an application where a null modem cable is used (such as communication between two computers), then the communicator can be connected directly. If the Communicator is to be used to replace a straight-through RS232 cable, then a null modem cable must be placed between the transceiver and the DCE instrument to which it is connected.

  • Page 9: Quick Start On A Multipoint System

    Will there be a repeater in the network? If so set that value to 1. Set the NetworkID to a value between 1 and 4095, other than 255. The rest is just fine-tuning . . . Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 10: Tuning Transceiver Performance

    DIP switch settings, or proprietary software. The setup program is invoked by connecting The Communicator to any terminal program, setting the baud rate for that terminal to 19200 baud, and putting the transceiver into setup mode (on most models this is done by pressing the Setup button).

  • Page 11: Figure 3-1: Initial Menu

    Intuicom Communicator User Manual When the setup program is invoked all three LEDs on the Communicator front panel will turn green and will remain green for the entire time the Transceiver is in setup mode. The main menu screen for the setup program is shown in Figure 3-1:...

  • Page 12: Figure 3-2: Communicator Operation Mode Menu

    Figure 3-2: Communicator Operation Mode Menu Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 13: Operation Mode Selections

    LEDs will be solid red. (1) Point-to-Point Slave When set up as a slave a The Communicator Transceiver will communicate with any master in its call book, either directly or through one or two repeaters. When functioning as a slave, the Entry to Call feature in the Transceiver's call book (Figure 5) is not operational.

  • Page 14: 4) Point-To-Point Slave/Repeater

    (5) Point-to-Point Repeater The Communicator allows the use of up to two repeaters in a communications link, significantly extending the operating range. When designated as a repeater a Transceiver behaves as a pass-through link. All settings for the call book, baud rate, and radio transmission characteristics are disabled.
  • Page 15 RF Data Rate ATXP_ RF Transmit Power ATDT_ Position in Call Book to Call ATD_ Allows specific Communicator Serial Number to be entered to call ATXC_ Used in conjunction with the ATD command, instructs transceivers which repeater path to follow ATXS...

  • Page 16: Using Mode 6 To Call A Transceiver Not Listed In The Call Book

    (7) Point-to-Multipoint Repeater Setting (7) allows the transceiver to operate as a repeater in a Multipoint network. Please refer to the next chapter, 'Multipoint Operation', for more information on running a Multipoint network. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 17: Multipoint Operation

    When installing multipoint systems it is important that some planning is done up front. Unlike point-to-point systems (where the master will set certain system parameters), a multipoint system requires that many parameters be set consistently on all transceivers in the Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 18: Overlapping Multipoint Systems

    In this scenario it becomes very important to include as much frequency and time diversity as possible through use of different frequency keys, min and max packet sizes, and frequency banks. Please contact Intuicom if you have any questions about the installation of multipoint systems.
  • Page 19 Therefore it is important to find the optimal mix between system robustness, throughput, and latency. In general a setting of 3 will work well for most systems. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 20: 2) Max Slave Retry

    However, it is possible that more than one slave will attempt to transmit to the master at the same time, and it is Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 21: 4) Dtr Connect

    The repeater may be programmed to either use the master's hopping pattern (selection 0) or its own (selection 1). Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 22: 6) Network Id

    MultiMaster Synch is reserved for applications (either point to point or multipoint) with concentrations of Master units where it is necessary to reduce interference between the Masters. Please contact Intuicom for more information. 5.4.9 (9) 1 PPS Enable/Delay The 1 PPS Enable/Delay option allows the radio network to propagate a GPS 1PPS signal from the master transceiver to all slaves in a multipoint network.

  • Page 23: A) Slave/Repeater

    4. A second computer to run the diagnostics software 5. A diagnostics cable, available through Intuicom. 6. Diagnostics software, also available through Intuicom. Please contact Intuicom if you are interested in using the diagnostics feature in your network. 5.4.12 (C) Subnet ID...
  • Page 24 Note: If both Rcv SubnetID and Xmit SubnetID are set to 0 the SubnetID will show Roaming in the menu. This feature has not been enabled at the time of the printing of this manual. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 25: Figure 5-2: Multipoint Subnet Diagram

    CD TX CTS WIRELESS DATA TRANSCEIVER WIRELESS DATA TRANSCEIVER Slave 4 CD TX CTS CD TX CTS Slave 1 Slave 3 WIRELESS DATA TRANSCEIVER CD TX CTS Slave 2 Figure 5-2: Multipoint Subnet Diagram Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 26: D) Radio Id

    5.4.13 (D) Radio ID Option (D) allows a transceiver to be designated with an arbitrary, user selectable, 4 digit number which identifies the transceiver in the diagnostics mode. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 27: Baud Rate Selections

    Transceiver(s) in the communication loop. For example, The Communicator may be used in an application to send data from remote process instrumentation to an engineer's computer. In this application the baud rate for the Transceiver on the instrumentation might be set to 9600, and the Transceiver on the computer might be set to 57,600 or 115,200.

  • Page 28: Data Word Length And Parity

    Data Word Length and Parity There are six data word length and parity configurations available to be used with Communicator transceivers. The default setting is 0 (8,N,1) and is the most commonly used serial communications protocol. Data word length and parity selections available:...

  • Page 29: Call Book Selections

    3. The master must be programmed to call the slave. As shown in Figure 7-1, the Call Book allows users to set up a list of up to 10 Communicator Transceivers with whom they can communicate, designate up to 2 repeaters to be used in communicating with a given transceiver, and tell the master which slave to call.

  • Page 30: Entering Or Modifying Numbers In The Call Book

    000-0000. If a valid serial number is entered after the all zero number it will not be recognized as a valid number to call by the master. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 31: Programming The Call Book In Multipoint Systems

    Call Book should contain only the serial number for the repeater in the upper left hand corner. Note: If the network ID option is used no entries are needed in the Call Book of any of the transceivers in a multipoint system. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 32: Radio Transmission Parameters

    In a point-to-point mode the radio parameters set in the Master will override the settings for the slave and repeater(s) in the link for all but RF Xmit Power, Slave Security, and Retry Time Out. Figure 8-1: Radio Parameters Menu Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 33: Freqkey

    8.2.1 900MHz Selection (0) in the Radio Parameters menu allows the user to modify the hopping patterns of the Transceivers to minimize the interference with other Communicator Transceivers in operation in the area. For instance, if there were 10 pairs of...
  • Page 34 Note: Irrespective of the Freq Key used, all transceivers in either point to point or point to multipoint networks must be set to identical Hop Tables and Table Size (number of frequencies). Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 35: Ghz

    User Manual 8.2.2 2.4GHz The Frequency Key for the Communicator 2.4GHz transceivers offers the ability to select more than just a different pseudo random hop table, but also the portion of the band which the transceiver will use. Because this feature offers the ability to select which portion of the spectrum will be used it is critical that all radios in a link, whether point to point or point to multipoint, use the same selections.

  • Page 36: 1) Max Packet Size And (2) Min Packet Size

    Selections (1) and (2) allow the user to designate the size of the packets (in bytes) used by the transceiver in its communication link. This may be of particular value when using The Communicator with different communications software packages; you may find that throughput is optimized when packet sizes are restricted by the transceiver. It should be noted, however, that in Point to Point modes the Max and Min Packet Settings will not have any material impact on throughput unless 115.2 KBaud is desired.
  • Page 37 Intuicom Communicator User Manual Setting Min Packet Size Setting Min Packet Size RF Data Rate = 2 RF Data Rate = 3 Table 8-3: Min Packet Size Settings (Bytes) Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 38 Intuicom Communicator User Manual Max Setting Min Setting Table 8-4: Max Packet Size Settings (Bytes) RF Data Rate=2 Max Setting Min Setting Table 8-5: Max Packet Size Settings (Bytes) RF Data Rate=3 Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 39: 3) Xmit Rate

    Transmit Rate 0 should be used only as a diagnostic tool and not for normal operation. (4) RF Data Rate The Communicator has two settings for the RF Data Rate (not to be confused with the RS232 Baud Rate). Setting 2 should be used when the transceivers are close together and data throughput is to be optimized.

  • Page 40: 5) Rf Xmit Power

    With option 6 the user may disable the transceiver’s security so it will accept a call from any other Communicator unit. The default setting is 0 where security is enforced (the caller’s serial number must be in the slave’s Call Book), with a setting of 1 security is disabled.

  • Page 41: 8) Retry Time Out

    While intended primarily for multipoint systems, the Retry Time Out parameter may also be modified in point to point systems. In point to point mode the Retry Time Out should not be set to a value of less than 151. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 42: 9) Lowpower Mode

    5. If the RTS line on the slave is held high the transceiver will remain in normal operation regardless of the Lowpower Mode setting. Once RTS is dropped it will go back into the lowpower mode that corresponds to its setting. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 43 LEDs dimmed, transceiver sleeps number of 30-26 28-26 slots corresponding to setting. For example, with a setting of 63 the transceiver is sleeping during 62 of the slots. Table 8-7: Low Power Settings Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 44: Radio Statistics

    High noise levels can often be improved with bandpass filters, antenna placement or antenna polarization. Please contact Intuicom for more information.

  • Page 45: Overall Rcv Rate (%)

    Radio Temperature The radio temperature value is the current operating temperature of the radio in degrees C (Celsius.) For proper operation, Intuicom radio modems must be in the range of –40° to 75°C. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc.

  • Page 46: Transceiver Location

    User Manual 10 Transceiver Location Placement of your Intuicom unit is likely to have a significant impact on its performance. In general the rule of thumb is that the higher the placement of the antenna the better the communication link - height is everything! In practice you should also place the transceiver away from computers, telephones, answering machines, and other similar equipment.

  • Page 47: Front Panel Leds

    User Manual 11 Front Panel LEDs The LEDs on The Communicator's front panel provide important information on the operation of the transceiver. Compare the status of a Transceiver's LEDs with the table below to aid you in the troubleshooting process.
  • Page 48 Table 11-2: LED Status in Multipoint Mode *CTS will be Solid Red with a solid link, as the link weakens the CTS light on the repeater and slave will begin to flash. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 49: Using An External Antenna

    These antennas allow versatility in deployment, extending its range and allowing it to get around obstructions. Any Intuicom transceiver which includes a standard RF connector is for professional installation only, and the professional installer must ensure frequency emission limits are not exceeded.
  • Page 50 Nearby lightning strikes or elevated levels of static electricity may lead to voltage spikes on the line, causing failure in the transceiver’s RS232 interface. The following antennas are approved for use with Communicator transceivers: 900MHz Directional Antennas Gain...

  • Page 51: Antenna Alignment

    User Manual 12.1 Antenna Alignment Intuicom modems have a convenient, built-in tool that simplifies the task of aligning directional antennas. This tool is particularly useful when the antenna on either end is not visible from the other end due to distance or obstructions. To use this feature, the modems must be configured for point-to-point operation.

  • Page 52: Rs232 Pin Assignments

    RTS is used as a control line in RTS/CTS mode (refer to Radio Transmission Parameters). Pin 8: Clear to Send (CTS) This signal is used to tell the system device connected to the modem that the modem is ready to receive data. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 53 38.4KB or there will be a risk of lost data if an RF link is not very robust. Pin 9: Ground (GND) Signal return for all signal lines shared with Pin 5. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 54: Dgro Small Footprint Series Pinout

    Table 14-1: DGRO Series Pinout Note: Pin 1 on the DGRO9 and DGR24 board level transceiver is the pin farthest from the three LEDs and pin 10 is closest to the LEDs. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 55: Dgr-115W Waterproof Enclosure Pinout

    Data Set Ready Output Violet Input Gray Clear to Send Output White Power Ground Power Ground Black Power Input Shield Shield Ground Shield Ground Table 15-1: DGR-115W Pinout Figure 15-1: Waterproof Connector Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 56: Data Communications Settings

    Intuicom Communicator User Manual 16 Data Communications Settings The device to which The Communicator is connected should be configured to match the settings shown in Table 21. Parameter Setting Baud Rate Match to The Communicator Data Bits Parity None Stop Bits...

  • Page 57: Establishing Data Communication Links

    User Manual 17 Establishing Data Communication Links The Communicator's versatility allows data communication links to be established using a variety of different configurations. This, in turn, makes it possible to extend the range of The Communicator and get around obstacles.
  • Page 58 At any time desirable the master may call any of the slaves, establish a connection, and retrieve and send data. Master Slave Slave / Slave Repeater Slave Repeater Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 59 The data is in turn sent out of the RS232 port of each of the three slaves. Master Slave Slave Slave Multipoint Repeater Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 60 This system works in a manner very similar to a standard multipoint system with repeaters, however the number of radios needed is reduced with the use of the multipoint slave/repeater feature. Master Slave Slave Multipoint Slave/Repeater Slave Slave Multipoint Repeater Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 61: Other Settings

    Intuicom Communicator User Manual 18 Other Settings A number of parameters other those shown in the setup menu may be set on Communicator transceivers. The parameters below may be set with DOS based software available by contacting Intuicom. 18.1 Baud Rate The transceiver's RS232 baud rate may be set to 300, 600, or 900 baud.

  • Page 62: Technical Specifications

    Operating Environment -40°C - +75°C -40°C - +75°C * Line of sight distance with unity gain antenna at 900 MHz, 5 dB omni at 2.4 GHz ** Throughput measured assuming 75% frequency availability. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...
  • Page 63 KNY-205-108213 (900) KNY-209228624168 KNY-209228624168 (2.4) (2.4) DOC Identifier 2329 101 340A 2329 101 340A 2329 102 336A (900) 2329 102 336A (900) 2329391130A (2.4) 2329391130A (2.4) * Voltages available in different models Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 64: Troubleshooting

    Intuicom Communicator User Manual 20 Troubleshooting "I am using A Communicator to communicate between two PCs. I am using pcANYWHERE, which is set to direct connection. Both pcANYWHERE and the modem are set to 115.2 KBaud, yet throughput is considerably lower."...
  • Page 65 Communicator essentially functions as a null modem cable. If the application will not work with a hard wire connection then it will not work with The Communicator, and the problem lies within the application or other hardware (such as the computer serial ports).
  • Page 66 Intuicom Communicator User Manual Notes: Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 67: Antenna Installation Drawing

    Intuicom Communicator User Manual 21 Antenna Installation Drawing Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

  • Page 68: Warranty Statement

    (1) year from the date of delivery. Intuicom, at its sole discretion, will repair or replace hardware covered under this limited warranty. Cables, antennas or other accessories manufactured by INTUICOM include a limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship under normal use and service for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of delivery.
  • Page 69 Intuicom Communicator User Manual ANY DAMAGES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE PROFIT REALIZED BY INTUICOM ON THE SALE OR PROVISION OF THE HARDWARE TO THE CUSTOMER. Revision A © 2001 Intuicom, Inc. September 2001...

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