ASTRON DD-600 Setup guide

DD-600
Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
DD-600 DD-600
Data Dolphin Logger System/Manual
DD-600
A member of the Data Dolphin
Family of Data Logging Systems
Real Time Wirel ess Monitoring Solution
Data Dolphin Installation and Usage Manual
Last Revision: May 2012

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Note to the user:
This manual may cover items not specific to your system or particular
configuration and was prepared as a reference for the many typical uses of the
DD-600.

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Table of Contents
BILL OF MATERIALS DATA LOGGING SYSTEM (ALL MODEL 600) 5
BILL OF MATERIALS DD-600: 5
BILL OF MATERIALS DD-600 ROUTER: 5
BILL OF MATERIALS MASTER RADIO: 5
COMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS 6
BATTERY CHARGER OR AC CONNECTIONS (ALL MODELS) 7
SENSORS CONNECTIONS 8
SENSOR WIRING 8
Pin Outs 9
4-20mA Sensors 10
Thermistors 10
0-5 VDC Out Sensors 10
Smart Sensor Pigtail 10
POWERING UP THE DD-600 11
POWERING UP THE DD-600 MASTER RADIO 15
USING THE DATA DOLPHIN HMI SOFTWARE 16
QUICK GUIDE ON DOWNLOADING AND VIEWING RECORDED DATA 18
Connecting your Logger to your Computer 18
DOWNLOADING THE DATA AND STATUS FROM YOUR DATA LOGGER 23
Reading the Current Status of the Inputs 23

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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Refreshing the status window 24
Downloading the Data 24
DOWNLOADING THE DATA AND STATUS FROM YOUR DATA LOGGER 25
Downloading the collected data from the data logger to your PC 25
Data logger memory and site database conflicts 25
LOADING THE DATA INTO MICROSOFT EXCEL 27
Exporting the Recorded Data to a CSV File(SDI-12 Data is loaded thru different menu) 27
Exporting the recorded data to a CSV file 27
GRAPHING THE RECORDED DATA 32
Graphing Functionality in the Data Dolphin Software 32
The Graph window 32
Advanced Graphing Options 38
Printing Graphs 40
UPDATING THE FIRMWARE 41
Optiloader 41
TROUBLESHOOTING THE DD-600 44
FLOW OF DATA 44
CHECK LIST 44
CHECK ANTENNA CONNECTOR 45
CHECK DC POWER 47
CHECK SENSORS 48

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Bill of Materials Data Logging System (all Model 600)
Bill of Materials DD-600:
- DD-600 Data Logger with LCD
- 900 MHz End Point Radio
- Internal Rechargeable Lithium Battery Pack
- Battery Charger
- USB Cable
- Waterproof/Crushproof Clear Lid ABS Enclosure
- SMA Antenna Jack
- 5db Magnetic Mount Antenna
Bill of Materials DD-600 Router:
- DD-600 Data Logger
- 900 MHz Repeater Radio
- Internal Rechargeable Lithium Battery Pack
- Waterproof/Crushproof ABS Enclosure
- SMA Antenna Jack
- 5db Magnetic Mount Antenna
Bill of Materials Master Radio:
- 900 MHz Master Radio
- Waterproof/Crushproof ABS Enclosure
- TNC Antenna Jack
- 5db Magnetic Mount Antenna
- AC Adaptor
- USB Cable

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Communications Connections
The DD-600 has an internal USB B-Type connector located above the buttons that can be accessed when
the clear lid is opened and the circuit board screws are loosened off during unit set up and
configuration. Use this to program the unit and configure your setup. The USB is an FTDI type and
updated drivers can be found at http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm if necessary.
Windows 7 for example will automatically install the driver for you once you plug the USB cable in to
your PC.

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Battery Charger or AC Connections (All Models)
The above left battery charger will charge the internal lithium battery packs of the DD-600.
Simply plug it into the battery charger plug on the side of the DD-600 and the light on the
charger will indicate the status. RED is for charging. GREEN means charging is complete. The
above right AC adaptor powers the master radio.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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Sensors Connections
Sensor Wiring
Sensor connectors are available to connector sensors to the DD-600. They are 8 pin aluminum
water proof connectors that have screw terminals ready to simplify wiring. Sensor connectors
can be programmed to contain information about the sensor so they become plug-and-play any
time after to reduce any necessary configuration.
Take apart the connector and slide it over your sensor wire as shown below and then strip the
wires and use the terminals as described on the next page.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Pin Outs
There are four externally available inputs for sensors to the DD-600. They are numbered 1, 2, 3
and 4 from left to right, top then down.
Pin
Number
Pin Description
Wire
Colour
6
2.5V Reference
Green
5
Ground
N/A
4
Smart Sensor
N/A
7
4-20mA Sensor Shunt
Purple
1
Analog A Shunt
Purple
8
25.9V Excitation
Red
2
Analog A Input
White
3
Ground
Black

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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4-20mA Sensors
When using a 4-20mA sensor the Analog Shunt A and 4-20mA Sensor Enable Shunt pins must be
connected. Use a jumper wire between pins 1 and 7. This inserts the 100 Ohm precision resistor into the
circuit to convert the analog signal to be read by the DD-600.
Your 4-20mA sensor connects to the 25.9V Excitation and the Analog A input if it does not have its own
power source. Refer to the sensor documentation on wiring for external inputs. Pins 8 and 2 are the
power source and sensor input.
Thermistors
When using a thermistor such as a YSI 5k use the 2.5V Reference (pin 6) and Analog Input (pin 2) pins to
connect the sensor. A 10k precision resistor is then inserted between the Analog A Shunt (pin 1) and
Ground (pin 3) connections to complete the wiring.
0-5 VDC Out Sensors
These sensors typically have a power input for excitation with a signal out. Connect the power to 25.9V
Excitation (pin 8) and Ground (3) and the signal out is connected to Analog Input (pin 2)
Smart Sensor Pigtail
Also present in the connectors utilized by the DD-600 is a circuit that stores sensor characteristics to
make future installations extremely easy. This circuit is on the Smart Sensor and Ground pins.
In Data Dolphin 2 software, when applying a sensors configuration in Setup, the same settings are stored
to the sensor itself. If this sensor is moved to a new input, the DD-600 will read in and populate the
input parameters upon next power cycle automatically.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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Powering up the DD-600
On DD-600 Data Logger, and Router models make sure the antenna is attached securely and all other
connections are properly tightened before powering the unit up. If the antenna is not connected,
there is a risk of damage to the radio.
To power up the processor take the 4 corner screws off and lift the circuit board. Plug the green
terminal into the processor as shown on the bottom right side of the circuit board as in the image
below. Next switch the power from OFF to ON.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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The DD-600 will tick and the red light will flash letting us know that the clock is not set if the internal
clock was not previously set to the current time. By using a PC and the Data Dolphin 2 software you can
set the clock.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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With the DD-600 the LCD screen provides information on what the current battery level is at, what the
current readings of the sensor inputs are, and information about the radio signal to aid in deployment.
The signal value for the radio is usually given in units of decibels (dBm), and it ranges in value from -30
dBm to the value of -115 dbm. The table below presents the DD-600s signal levels from the viewpoint of
practical use.
RSSI Value
Expected Quality of Communications
-30dBm to-70 dBm
Very Good
-71 dBm to -80 dBm
Good
-81 dBm to -90 dBm
Fair
-91 dBm to -100 dBm
Weak or Spotty
-101 dBm to -110 dBm
Infrequent to Unusable
<-110 dBm
Unusable

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
Powering up the DD-600 Master Radio
On DD-600 Master make sure the antenna is attached securely and all other connections are properly
tightened before powering the unit up. If the antenna is not connected, there is a risk of damage to
the radio.
Connect the AC adaptor to the DD-600 Master Radio and then plug it into an available power source.
Plug in the USB Cable to the PC to let it also install the driver and verify your COM port as before in
Device Manager. There should be some LED activity viewable through the clear lid.

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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Using the Data Dolphin HMI Software
The main window after the DD-HMI software has been installed will initially be empty.
First set up the COM port to match the COM port your Master Radio Is connected on. Baud rate is
115200.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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Press “Request Configurations” to bring in units connected to the wireless network.
The main screen will add tabs for each that is discovered and added.

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Data Dolphin Installation Manual
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Quick Guide on Downloading and Viewing Recorded data
Connecting your Logger to your Computer
Attach the USB cable from your computer to your Dolphin Data Logger. See image below for location on
DD-600.
Computer and DD-400 Data Logger
USB Cable for Data Logger

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600

Astron Wireless Technologies, Inc. • 22560 Glenn Drive., Sterling, Virginia 20164•Tel: [phone],
Fax: [phone], www.astronwireless.com
Data Dolphin Installation Manual
DD-600
After installing, the System will generate an additional COM Port, USB Serial Convertor for the DD-600 to
communicate with your PC.
Device Manager
Use this port in your Data Dolphin Windows Configuration software as your Communications port.
COM13 was assigned in this example image.