Related Manuals for Campbell RF401A-Series
Summary of Contents for Campbell RF401A-Series
- Page 1 RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radios Revision: 4/15 C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 0 1 - 2 0 1 5 C a m p b e l l S c i e n t i f i c ,...
- Page 4 (780) 454-2655. Campbell Scientific (Canada) Corp. is unable to process any returns until we receive this form. If the form is not received within three days of product receipt or is incomplete, the product will be returned to the client at the client’s expense.
- Page 5 Periodically (at least yearly) check electrical ground connections. WHILE EVERY ATTEMPT IS MADE TO EMBODY THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF SAFETY IN ALL CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS, THE CLIENT ASSUMES ALL RISK FROM ANY INJURY RESULTING FROM IMPROPER INSTALLATION, USE, OR MAINTENANCE OF TRIPODS, TOWERS, OR ATTACHMENTS TO TRIPODS AND TOWERS SUCH AS SENSORS, CROSSARMS, ENCLOSURES, ANTENNAS, ETC.
- Page 6 PLEASE READ FIRST About this manual Please note that this manual was originally produced by Campbell Scientific Inc. (CSI) primarily for the US market. Some spellings, weights and measures may reflect this origin. Some useful conversion factors: Area: 1 in...
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Page 8: Table Of Contents
Table of Contents PDF viewers: These page numbers refer to the printed version of this document. Use the PDF reader bookmarks tab for links to specific sections. 1. Introduction ..............1 2. Cautionary Statements ..........1 3. Initial Inspection ............1 4. - Page 9 Table of Contents 11. Operation ..............17 11.1 Main ....................18 11.1.1 Active Interface ................18 11.1.2 SDC Address ................19 11.1.3 RS-232 Baud Rate ..............19 11.1.4 Protocol ..................19 11.1.5 RF Hop Sequence ............... 20 11.1.6 RF Network ................20 11.1.7 RF Radio Address ..............
- Page 10 B.2.7 Path Loss ................... B-5 Real World Distance Estimates ............B-6 Examples ..................B-7 Figure 6-1. RF401A-series dimensions ..............5 Tables 7-1. USB Pinout (USB Type B Jack) ............7 7-2. CS I/O Pinout ( 9-PIN D-SUB MALE) ..........7 7-3.
- Page 11 Table of Contents...
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Page 12: Introduction
(p. B-1) distance. Initial Inspection The RF401A-series radios ship with an SC12 serial cable, a USB A to USB B Cable, 2 grommets, and 2 screws. Upon receipt of the RF401A-series radio, inspect the packaging and contents for damage. File damage claims with the shipping company. -
Page 13: Quickstart
Immediately check package contents against shipping documentation. Thoroughly check all packaging material for product that may be trapped inside it. Contact Campbell Scientific immediately about any discrepancies. Model numbers are found on each product. On cables, the model number is often found at the connection end of the cable. -
Page 14: Overview
RF interference from other spread spectrum devices by providing user- selectable frequency hopping patterns. The RF401A-series radios can provide up to one mile transmission range when using an inexpensive whip antenna. The radios can provide up to 10 mile transmission range when using a higher gain directional antenna at ideal conditions. - Page 15 RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Power Powered over CS I/O or 2.5 mm DC power jack Input Voltage: 9 to 16 Vdc Average Current Drain Transmit: < 80 mA (250 mW TX Power) Receive: 15 mA Stand-by: < 0.5 mA (depending on power saving mode)
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Page 16: Rf401A-Series Dimensions
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio FIGURE 6-1. RF401A-series dimensions... -
Page 17: Product Description
#6-32 x 0.375 inch stainless steel Phillips head screws (pn 505) and nylon grommets (pn 6044) are supplied for securing the radio to the backplate of a Campbell Scientific enclosure. Power There are three ways the radio may be powered for operation. The radio may be powered via CS I/O, USB, or the 2.5 mm DC power jack labeled as Power. -
Page 18: Cs I/O
Campbell Scientific datalogger using the supplied SC12 cable. This connection is used for power and data. The CS I/O port is not a typical RS-232 connection and is specific to Campbell Scientific products. CS I/O cannot be used for radio configuration using the Device Configuration Utility. -
Page 19: Rs-232 Pinout (9-Pin D-Sub Female)
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Serial data receive line Modem Enable Raised when datalogger determines that associated modem raised the ring line Synchronous Used by datalogger to address Device Enable synchronous devices; can be used as a printer enable CLK/Handshake Used by datalogger with SDE and TX... -
Page 20: Leds
7.7.1 Compatible Antennas Campbell Scientific offers antennas to satisfy the needs for various base station and remote station requirements. All antennas (or antenna cables) that attach directly to the radio have an RPSMA plug connector. The use of an... -
Page 21: Electrostatic Issues And Surge Protection
Also to protect against electrostatic damage, Campbell Scientific offers pn 14462, Antenna Surge Protection Kit. The surge protection kit includes a Polyphaser surge protector, a coax jumper for connecting the RF401A-series radio to the Polyphaser, ground wire lead, and mounting hardware. The Polyphaser has Type N jack connectors on both ends;... -
Page 22: Configuring The Rf401A Series
USB cable between the USB port on your computer and the USB port on the radio. Click the browse button next to Communication Port. Select the port labeled RF401A-Series. Click OK. Click Connect. Configure the radio as needed for your application. See Section 11, Operation (p. - Page 23 RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Finally, click the Close button on the Add submenu. Your setup tree should appear as shown below:...
- Page 24 With the setup tree entered, you will now need to complete the configuration of each element. Start with selecting the ComPort element at the root of the tree. Under ComPort Connection, select port labeled RF401A-Series. Set the Extra Response Time to match the Power Mode of the RF401A...
- Page 25 RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Select the PakBusPort element in the tree, and select the PakBus Port Always Open checkbox. Set the Maximum Baud Rate to 115200.
- Page 26 RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Finally, select your datalogger in the tree. Set the PakBus Address field to the PakBus® address of your datalogger. Enter the Security Code, if security has been set up in your datalogger. Press the Apply button to save your changes. You are now ready to connect to...
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Page 27: Using A Repeater
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Using a Repeater When using an RF401A-series radio as a repeater in your network, it can be entered into the LoggerNet Setup screen using the pbRouter device and entering the PakBus® address of the RF401A series in the PakBus Address field. -
Page 28: Antenna Selection, Placement, And Mounting
Maintain electrical connectors in a clean, corrosion-free condition by means of a periodic application of a good quality aerosol-based contact cleaner. 11. Operation The following settings are available for the RF401A-series radios. Configure them as appropriate for your application. -
Page 29: Main
CS I/O ME Use this setting only under special circumstances where Master the CSI/O port is connected to another Campbell Scientific peripheral configured for Modem Enable (ME) through an A100 Null Modem Adapter. The A100 will swap TX / RX and ME / RING and supply power to the devices. -
Page 30: Sdc Address
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio 11.1.2 SDC Address Specifies the CS I/O port SDC address when Active Interface is set as CS I/O SDC. 11.1.3 RS-232 Baud Rate Specifies the baud rate that will be used on the RS-232 port when Active Interface is set as RS-232. -
Page 31: Rf Hop Sequence
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio 11.1.5 RF Hop Sequence Specifies the radio channel hop sequence. This setting must match in all radios in the same RF network. This setting can also be used to prevent radios in one RF network from listening to transmissions of another. -
Page 32: Retry Level
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio Always < 15 mA The radio receiver is always on. A wakeup header on, 8 Sec of 8.2 seconds is transmitted at the beginning of Header the first transmission occurring after a period of RF inactivity to ensure that other radios in the network set to an 8 second mode are awake and ready to communicate. -
Page 33: Radio Tx Power Level
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio NOTE Set Retry Level to None when Protocol is set to Transparent for the purpose of communicating with RF400/RF410 radios, CR205/CR210 dataloggers, or RF401/RF411 radios and CR206/CR211 dataloggers with Protocol also set to Transparent. If the Retry Level is increased in a network with poor reception... -
Page 34: Pakbus Verify Interval
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio 11.2.3 PakBus Verify Interval This setting specifies the interval, in units of seconds, which will be reported as the link verification interval in the PakBus® hello transaction message. It will indirectly govern the rate at which the device will attempt to start a hello transaction with a neighbor if no other communication has taken place within the negotiated PakBus®... -
Page 35: Radio Firmware Version
RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio 11.3.3 Radio Firmware Version Radio firmware version 11.3.4 Received Signal Strength Indicates the signal strength of the last packet received addressed to this radio and with a valid CRC. The range of values reported, generally between 6 and 54, represent the approximate range from –35 dBm to –110 dBm with each... -
Page 36: Rs-232 Parity
RS-232 interface before the RF401A series exits command mode automatically. 11.3.15 Net Address Mask Specifies the network portion of the address mask. 11.3.16 Radio Address Mask Specifies the radio address portion of the address mask. 12. Attribution PakBus is a registered trademark of Campbell Scientific, Inc. - Page 37 RF401A-Series Spread Spectrum Radio...
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Page 38: Part 15 Fcc Compliance Warning
Appendix A. Part 15 FCC Compliance Warning Changes or modifications to the RF401A-series radio systems not expressly approved by Campbell Scientific, Inc. could void the user’s authority to operate this product. Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. - Page 39 Appendix A. Part 15 FCC Compliance Warning...
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Page 40: Distance Vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, And Other Factors
Appendix B. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors B.1 Introduction The communication distance you can expect to obtain using the RF401A series depends on many factors including line of sight, antenna height, and antenna gain. Examples of distance achieved using different antennas and line of sight are shown in TABLE B-1. -
Page 41: How Far Can You Go
There is a great deal of interest in estimating the distance you can expect to achieve with the RF401A-series radios. Also of interest are the effects of cable length, antenna gain, and terrain. Some of these items are easy to quantify (cable loss, for instance);... -
Page 42: Transmitter Power
Appendix B. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors Where: Pt => transmitter output power, in dBm (24 dBm in the case of the RF401A series at maximum transmitter power) Lt => cable loss between transmitter and antenna in dB (see Cable Loss section) Gt =>... -
Page 43: Antenna Gain
Appendix B. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors TABLE B-3. Cable Loss Cable Type Outside Diameter Loss (dB/100 ft) @ 900 MHz RG-58A/U 0.195” 21.1 COAX RPSMA-L 0.195” 11.1 RG-8 0.405” COAX NTN-L 0.405” LMR-400 0.405” *CSI stocked antenna cables are shaded. CSI’s “COAX RPSMA-L”... -
Page 44: Path Loss
Appendix B. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors If the received signal strength is greater than the receiver sensitivity, a link can be established. Any excess signal strength above the receiver sensitivity is “link margin”, and is a very good thing; a minimum of 6 dB of link margin should be sought. -
Page 45: Real World Distance Estimates
Appendix B. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors Ground Reflections These are caused by the RF signal being reflected from the ground (or water), and undergoing a phase shift so that it destructively interferes with the line-of- sight signal. The conditions that cause this the most are propagation over water, or over a low-lying fogbank. -
Page 46: Examples
B.4 Examples Some examples will help illustrate the trade-offs in a link analysis. These examples will all use the RF401A-series 900 MHz radio at maximum transmitter power, and will use –106 dBm as the required power level at the radio receiver. This is 3 dB higher than the quoted sensitivity of –109 dBm, which will give us a 3 dB margin. - Page 47 Appendix B. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors Example #2 Base has MaxRad BMOY8905 Yagi, with 50 ft of LMR195 cable on a 30 ft tower, also a lightening protection device with a VSWR of 1:1.75; remote also has a MaxRad BMOY8905 Yagi with 5 ft of LMR195 cable on a 4 ft pole.
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