Campbell RF401 User manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL
RF401/RF411/RF416 Spread
Spectrum Data Radio/Modem
5/05
Copyright (c) 2001-2005
Campbell Scientific, Inc.

Warranty and Assistance
The RF401 SERIES SPREAD SPECTRUM DATA RADIO/MODEMS are
warranted by CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC. to be free from defects in
materials and workmanship under normal use and service for twelve (12)
months from date of shipment unless specified otherwise. Batteries have no
warranty. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC.'s obligation under this warranty is
limited to repairing or replacing (at CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC.'s option)
defective products. The customer shall assume all costs of removing,
reinstalling, and shipping defective products to CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC,
INC. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC. will return such products by surface
carrier prepaid. This warranty shall not apply to any CAMPBELL
SCIENTIFIC, INC. products which have been subjected to modification,
misuse, neglect, accidents of nature, or shipping damage. This warranty is in
lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, including warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC,
INC. is not liable for special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.
Products may not be returned without prior authorization. The following
contact information is for US and International customers residing in countries
served by Campbell Scientific, Inc. directly. Affiliate companies handle
repairs for customers within their territories. Please visit
www.campbellsci.com to determine which Campbell Scientific company
serves your country. To obtain a Returned Materials Authorization (RMA),
contact CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC., phone [phone]. After an
applications engineer determines the nature of the problem, an RMA number
will be issued. Please write this number clearly on the outside of the shipping
container. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC's shipping address is:
CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC.
RMA#_____
815 West 1800 North
Logan, Utah 84321-1784
CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC. does not accept collect calls.

– CAUTION –
Where an AC adapter is used, CSI recommends
Item # 15966. This AC adapter is included as part of
Item # 14220 RF401 Series Base Station Cable/Power Kit.
Any other AC adapter used must have a DC output not
exceeding 16.5 Volts measured without a load to avoid
damage to the RF401 Series radio!
Over-voltage damage is not
covered by factory warranty!
(See Power Supplies, Section 4.2 for AC adapter requirements)
Power plug polarity

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i
RF401 Series Table of Contents
PDF viewers note: These page numbers refer to the printed version of this document. Use
the Adobe Acrobat® bookmarks tab for links to specific sections.
1. Introduction..................................................................1
1.1 RF400 and RF401 Differences.................................................................2
1.1.1 CR206, CR211, CR216...................................................................3
2. RF401 Series Specifications.......................................3
3. Quick Start....................................................................4
4. System Components...................................................8
4.1 RF401 Series Data Radio..........................................................................8
4.1.1 Indicator LEDs................................................................................8
4.1.2 Setup Menu.....................................................................................8
4.1.3 Networking—Transparent Mode..................................................11
4.1.4 Error Handling and Retries...........................................................13
4.1.5 Received Signal Strength..............................................................15
4.1.6 PakBus Networking ......................................................................15
4.2 Power Supplies .......................................................................................16
4.3 Serial Cables...........................................................................................18
4.4 Antennas for the RF401 Series...............................................................19
4.5 Antenna Cables and Surge Protection ....................................................23
4.5.1 Antenna Cables.............................................................................23
4.5.2 Electro-static Issues ......................................................................23
4.5.3 Antenna Surge Protector Kit.........................................................24
5. Software Setup...........................................................25
5.1 Point-to-Point..........................................................................................25
5.2 Point-to-Multipoint.................................................................................25
5.3 PakBus Configuration.............................................................................25
5.4 Example Setups ......................................................................................25
5.4.1 Direct PC to RF401 Series Base Station Setup.............................25
5.4.2 Remote Station Setup....................................................................28
5.4.3 LoggerNet Configuration..............................................................29
5.4.4 PC208W Configuration ................................................................30
6. Troubleshooting ........................................................32

RF401 Table of Contents
ii
Appendices
A. Part 15 FCC Compliance Warning .........................A-1
B. Setup Menu .............................................................B-1
C. RF401 Series Address and Address Mask............C-1
D. Advanced Setup Standby Modes ..........................D-1
E. RF401 Series Port Pin Descriptions ......................E-1
F. Datalogger RS-232 Port to RF401 Series Radio....F-1
G. Short-Haul Modems ................................................G-1
H. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and
Other Factors......................................................H-1
I. Phone to RF401 Series.............................................. I-1
J. Monitor CSAT3 via RF401 Series ............................J-1
K. RF401/RF411 Pass/Fail Tests.................................K-1
L. RF401/RF411 Average Current Drain
Calculations........................................................ L-1
M. PakBus Networking Details .................................. M-1
M.1 PB Aware, PB Node, and RF PakBus................................................M-1
M.2 Minimizing the Number of Small Link State Packets........................M-1
M.3 Maximizing the RF Packet Size .........................................................M-2
M.4 Establish an Ad Hoc Point-to-Point Link...........................................M-2
M.5 Net and Radio Address Settings.........................................................M-2
M.6 Hop Metric, Signal Strength, and Standby Modes.............................M-2
M.6.1 Hop Metric Code ......................................................................M-3
M.7 RF Router ...........................................................................................M-3
M.8 Optimization.......................................................................................M-4
M.9 Idiosyncrasies.....................................................................................M-4
Figures
1. RF411......................................................................................................... 2
2. RF401 Basic Point-to-Point Network ........................................................ 5
3. Point-to-Point LoggerNet Network Map ................................................... 6

RF401 Table of Contents
iii
4. Device Configuration screen for setting up the
RF401, RF411, RF416 radios..................................................................9
5. Device Configuration screen used when the
“PakBus Node” setting is chosen ..........................................................10
6. Some FCC Approved Antennas.......................................................... 20-22
7. Example COAX RPSMA-L Cable for Yagi or Omni Colinear................23
8. Antenna Surge Protector...........................................................................23
9. Enclosure with Antenna Surge Protector for RF401 ................................24
10. Point-to-Multipoint System ....................................................................30
11. PC208W Datalogger Generic Dial String...............................................32
G-1. Short-Haul Modem to RF401 Setup.................................................. G-1
I-1. LoggerNet Point-to-Multipoint Setup...................................................I-4
K-1. Loop-back Test without Antennas..................................................... K-3
K-2. Vertically Polarized 9 dBd 900 MHz Yagi ....................................... K-5
K-3. 3 dBd 900 MHz Collinear Omni Antenna......................................... K-6
Tables
1. Lacking 12 V on CS I/O Pin 8....................................................................6
2. Standard Setup Menu................................................................................11
3. 15966’s Voltage Regulation .....................................................................18
4. RF401 Series 12 V Power Supply Options...............................................18
D-1. Advanced Setup Menu ...................................................................... D-1
H-1. 900 MHz Distance vs. Path Loss (Lp in dB) per Three Path Types.. H-6
H-2. Path Type vs. Path Characteristics Selector ...................................... H-6
K-1. 900 MHz Gain Antenna Test Distances ............................................ K-6
L-1. Advanced Setup Menu........................................................................L-1

RF401 Table of Contents
iv
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1
RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data
Radio/Modems
1. Introduction
This manual discusses the RF401, RF411, and RF416 spread spectrum radios.
These radios differ from one another primarily in the radio frequencies at
which they communicate. Most of the information provided in this manual is
also relevant for our RF400, RF410, and RF415 radios that were retired in May
2005. For simplicity sake, throughout the manual the term “RF401” will refer
to the RF401, RF411, and RF416 radios, unless specified otherwise, and the
term “RF400” will refer to the RF400, RF410, and RF415 radios.
The RF401 is a 900 MHz, frequency hopping, spread spectrum, data
radio/modem for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint communications. An
excellent receiver combined with 100 mW transmitter power make possible,
depending on path specifics, communication distances of 1/4 to 5 miles using
omni-directional antennas and 10 to 20 miles using 9 dBd directional antennas
(see Appendix H for a discussion of antenna gain and other factors affecting
distance).
The RF411 differs from the RF401 in that it operates at 922 MHz for regions
such as Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The RF411’s communication
range is the same as that of the RF401.
The RF416 is a 2.4 GHz version with 50 mW transmitter intended mainly for
certain European and Asian markets. Communication distances vary from 300
feet (indoors) to ¼ mile (100 to 400 meters) with omni-directional antennas to
over 12 miles (19 kilometers) with gain antennas and optimal terrain.
Users do not normally need a communications authority license for the RF401
series configurations described in this manual including U.S. Government
Agencies regulated by NTIA Annex K. The 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands are
shared with other non-licensed services such as cordless telephones and with
licensed services including emergency, broadcast, and air-traffic control, so
band usage will vary from location to location as will man-made noise. Spread
spectrum technology resists noise and interference; however, the user may
wish to test communications on site using Quick Start (Section 3) before
committing to its use.
The RF401 operates from a 12 VDC power supply. The RF401’s low standby
current modes allow it to operate at remote sites on small power budgets.
The RF401 was designed for ease of installation. It works in many
applications “out of the box” with default settings.

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
2
FIGURE 1. RF411
The RF401 has a 9-pin serial CS I/O port and a 9-pin serial DCE RS-232 port.
The CS I/O port allows the RF401 to connect to a datalogger. The RS-232 port
allows direct PC connection for Setup Menu access and to create a direct
connect RF401 “base station” for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint
communications. Where necessary, a more distant base station can be set up
using short-haul modems or phone modems between PC and RF401.
Base Station power is usually provided by a wall adapter. For a remote RF401,
power is normally provided by the datalogger.
A PC running LoggerNet, PC208W, or PC208 is used for data collection,
program transfer, and other datalogger supported functions. The PakOS
software or a terminal program is used to configure the RF401 radios.
1.1 RF400 and RF401 Differences
Our RF400s and RF401s essentially function the same except the RF401s have
a choice of three protocol settings. By default, the RF401 is set to the
Transparent protocol, which is the protocol used by the RF400s. RF401s in
networks that also have RF400s must use the “Transparent” protocol setting.
The other protocol settings available for the RF401s are the PB Aware and PB
Node settings. Both of these settings are intended to make the radios easier to
use in a PakBus network. Changing it from Transparent (the default) to one of
the PakBus modes enables the new RF PakBus protocol. RF400s can be
upgraded to become RF401s by sending the RF400 to Campbell Scientific. An
RMA is required.

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
3
Do not mix the “Transparent” protocol with any of the
PakBus protocols. This will produce RF traffic without any
RF communications.
1.1.1 CR206, CR211, CR216
To reflect the change in the RF protocol, the CR205, CR210, and CR215
model numbers will be changed to CR206, CR211, and CR216 respectively.
Since the CR200 series dataloggers have always been PakBus devices, the
changes are not as extensive as the spread spectrum radios. The dataloggers
will have a new setting that enables/disables the RF PakBus protocol—called
Rf_Protocol in the dataloggers. When the Rf_Protocol setting is 1, the CR206
will operate just like the CR205; when the setting is 2, the CR206 will use the
same RF PakBus protocol as the RF401.
2. RF401 Series Specifications
POWER
•Voltage 9 – 18 VDC
•Current 75 mA typical during transmit
24 mA typical receiving a signal
(36 mA for RF416)
Quiescent Current in Standby Modes*
Avg. Quiescent
Current (mA) Advanced Setup Standby Mode Standard Setup
RF401/
RF411 RF416
24.0 33.0 0 (no duty cycling) 1
3.9 5.5 3 2
2.0 2.8 4 3
1.1 1.5 5
0.64 0.84 6
0.40 0.50 7 4
* Not receiving a signal nor transmitting
PHYSICAL
•Size 4.75 x 2.75 x 1.3 inches (12.1 x 7.0 x 3.3 cm)
•Weight 0.5 lbs (225 g)
•Operating temp. range –25°C to +50°C
•Humidity 0 to 95% RH, non-condensing
RF/INTERFACE
•Transceiver modules MaxStream
RF401 – 9XStream XO9-009
RF411 – 9XStream XH9-009
RF416 – 24XStream X24-009
•Frequency bands RF401 – 910.5 to 917.7 MHz
RF411 – 920.0 to 927.2 MHz
RF416 – 2.45015 to 2.45975 GHz
CAUTION

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
4
•Interface ports 1) CS I/O 9 pin
2) RS-232 9-pin (4 wire: Tx, Rx, CTS, GND)
•I/O Data Rates 38.4 K, 19.2 K, 9600, 4800, 1200 bps
•Mode Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS), 25
hop channels, 7 hopping sequences, direct FM
frequency control
•Channel capacity 65,535 addresses
•Transmitter output 100 mW nominal (50 mW RF416)
•Receiver sensitivity −110 dBm at 10-4 bit error rate
(−104 dBm for RF416)
•Antenna impedance 50 Ω, unbalanced (SMA male connector)
•Interference reject 70 dB at pager and cellular phone frequencies
(RF401/RF411)
•RF packet size up to 64 bytes, half-duplex
•Error handling RF packet CRC failure detection/rejection or
configurable retry levels
3. Quick Start
This section is intended to serve as a “primer” enabling you to quickly build a
simple system and see how it operates. This section describes in four steps
how to set up a pair of RF401s in a direct connect, point-to-point network. We
recommend that you do this before undertaking field installation. For
additional help on point-to-point networks and for help on creating point-to-
multipoint networks, refer to Software Setup Section 5.
For this system you will need the following hardware or the equivalent:
1. Two RF401s
2. Two RF401 antennas
3. AC adapter (Item # 15966 or part of kit #14220)
4. Serial cable (6 ft.) for PC COM port to RF401 RS-232 port (Item # 10873
or part of Item # 14220)
5. SC12 cable (included with RF401)
6. Datalogger (CR10X, CR510, or CR23X)
7. Field Power Cable (Item # 14291) if datalogger or wiring panel doesn’t
have 12 V on pin 8 of CS I/O port
You will also need:
1. An IBMTM compatible PC with one available COM port
2. LoggerNet or PC208W installed
Step 1 – Set Up Base RF401
a. Connect an antenna (or antenna cable with yagi or omni directional
antenna attached) to the RF401 antenna jack. Any RF401 antenna will
work at close range in any orientation. The main objective is to provide
an antenna. If you should transmit without an antenna attached, there will
be no equipment damage as the transmitter is protected against load
mismatch. The separation between the base RF401 antenna and the
remote RF401 antenna can be any convenient distance.
b. Connect 6 ft. serial cable from PC COM port to base RF401 RS-232 port.

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
5
c. Plug AC adapter into AC outlet and plug barrel connector into base
RF401 “DC Pwr” jack. You will see the red “Pwr/TX” LED light
immediately followed by the green RX LED in about 5 seconds. The
green LED goes off after a second and the red after ten seconds indicating
a successful power-up. The red LED then begins to flash on and off. The
red LED flashes once every half second in the default “< 4 mA, ½ sec
Cycle” standby mode as the RF401 wakes up briefly and listens for RF
transmissions with an average current consumption less than 4 mA.
d. Use default settings for the RF401 if not in a PakBus network; change
protocol setting to “PB Aware,” and RS-232 baud rate to 38.4 K if in a
PakBus network.
apx
TECHNOLOGIESINC.
CLASS2 TRANSFORMER
MODELNO: AP2105W
INPUT: 120VAC 60Hz 20W
LISTED
2H56
E144634
MADEIN CHINA
OUTPUT: 12VDC 1.0A
HICKSVILLE,NEW YORK
UL
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UL
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RS232
DC
Pwr
CS I/O
Pwr/TX
RX
MADE IN USASerial #
Program
Antenna
14320
RF400
Spread Spectrum Radio
Thisdevice contains transmitter module:
FCCID: OUR-9XTREAM
Theenclosed device complies with Part 15 of the
FCCRules.
Operationis subject to the following two conditions:
(1)This device may not cause harmful interference,
and(2) this device must accept any intererence
received,including interference that may cause
undesiredoperation.
Logan,Utah
RS232
DC
Pwr
CS I/O
Pwr/TX
RX
MADE IN USASerial #
Program
Antenna
14320
RF400
Spread Spectrum Radio
Thisdevice contains transmitter module:
FCCID: OUR-9XTREAM
Theenclosed device complies with Part 15 of the
FCCRules.
Operationis subject to the following two conditions:
(1)This device may not cause harmful interference,
and(2) this device must accept any intererence
received,including interference that may cause
undesiredoperation.
Logan,Utah
SE
DIFF GGH L
12
1AG H L AG H L AG E1 AG E2 G
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P1 G P2 G C8 C7 C6 C5 C4 C3 C2 C1 G 12V 12V
SDM
5V 5V G G
SW 12V
SW 12V CTRL
Logan, Utah
G 12V
POWER
IN
CR10X WIRING PANEL
MADE IN USA
WIRING
PANEL NO.
EARTH
GROUND
CS I/O
FIGURE 2. RF401 Basic Point-to-Point Network
Step 2 – Set Up Remote RF401
a. Connect an antenna (or antenna cable with yagi or omni directional
antenna attached) to the RF401 antenna jack. The separation between the
base RF401 antenna and the remote RF401 antenna can be any convenient
distance.
b. Connect SC12 serial cable from datalogger CS I/O port to remote RF401
CS I/O port. Current datalogger/wiring panel CS I/O ports apply power to
the remote RF401.
With older dataloggers lacking 12 V on pin 8 (see Table 1), you can
power the RF401 using a Field Power Cable (see above hardware list)
between the datalogger’s 12 V (output) terminals and the RF401’s “DC
Pwr” jack.
LoggerNet or PC208W
AC Adapter
RS-232
CS I/O
Datalogger CS I/O

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
6
TABLE 1. Lacking 12 V on CS I/O Pin 8
EQUIPMENT SERIAL NUMBER
CR500 < 1765
CR7 700X Bd. < 2779
21X < 13443
CR10 Wiring Panels All (black, gray, silver)
PS512M Power Supply < 1712
When you connect power to the RF401 (through the SC12 cable or the
optional Field Power Cable) you should see the power-up sequence of red
and green LEDs described in Step 1 (assuming datalogger is powered).
Current dataloggers and wiring panels (not mentioned in Table 1) provide
12 V on pin 8. For older products not listed, check for 12 V between CS
I/O connector pin 8 and pin 2 (GND) or contact Campbell Scientific.
c. Use default settings of RF401 if not in a PakBus network; change protocol
setting to “PB Aware” if in a PakBus network.
Step 3 – LoggerNet/PC208W Set-up
a. The next step is to run LoggerNet/PC208W and configure it to connect to
the datalogger via the RF401 point-to-point network you have set up. For
the “Transparent” protocol, the RF401 does not need to be represented in
the LoggerNet/PC208W network map for a point-to-point network. For
either of the PakBus protocols, the RF401 does not need to be represented
in the LoggerNet/PC208W network map for either point-to-point or point-
to-multipoint networks.
FIGURE 3. Point-to-Point LoggerNet Network Map

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
7
b. Set the Maximum Baud Rate to match the RF401 RS-232 baud rate; this
is 9600 by default, but should be set to 38.4 K for PakBus networks. The
datalogger “Extra Response Time” can be left at 0.
For safety, maintain 20 cm (8 inches) distance between
antenna and any nearby persons while RF401 is
transmitting.
Auto Sense
The RF401 has a default feature called “Auto Sense” that automatically
configures certain RF401 settings. When you connect an RF401 to a
datalogger (CS I/O port to CS I/O port) the RF401 detects the presence of the
datalogger and makes its CS I/O port the active port. When the protocol is set
to Transparent (RF400 compatible), the CS I/O port mode used for Auto Sense
is Modem Enabled (ME). If the protocol is one of the PakBus protocols,
CSDC 7 is used for the CS I/O port mode. When you are not connected to a
datalogger’s CS I/O port, Auto Sense detects that and configures its RS-232
port as the active port and configures certain other settings so it can serve as a
base RF401.
For point-to-point networks Auto Sense and default settings take care of
everything. An exception to this is where you have a neighboring network that
is also using the default RF401 settings. In this case, refer to Software Setup
Section 5 and change your RF401s to a hopping sequence different than the
default settings of “0” (zero). For this point-to-point network, configure both
RF401s the same.
Radio Address
Each RF401 has a “Radio Address” that can be changed by the user. In order
for two RF401s to communicate, their radio addresses must be set to the same
number. The RF401’s factory default radio address is “0” (zero) so a pair of
RF401s will be able to communicate out of the box (their network addresses
and hopping sequences are also “0” (zero) by default). See Section 4.1.3.1 and
Section 5 (Software Setup) for more details.
Step 4 – Connect
You are now ready to Connect to your datalogger using the
LoggerNet/PC208W Connect screen. After you connect, notice the flashing of
the green LEDs on both RF401s. This indicates that RF packets with the same
hopping sequence are being received by the RF401s. The red LEDs light solid
while the connection lasts. When you Disconnect, the red LEDs remain on for
five seconds, which is the default setting of the “Time of Inactivity to Sleep.”
Datalogger program transfer and data collection are now possible. Refer to
Appendix H for a treatment of communication distance vs. factors in the RF
path.
CAUTION

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
8
4. System Components
4.1 RF401 Series Data Radios
4.1.1 Indicator LEDs
The RF401 has a red LED labeled “Pwr/TX” and a green LED labeled “RX.”
When 12V power is applied the red LED lights for ten seconds. About 3
seconds after power-up the green LED lights for a second. Ten seconds after
power-up the selected standby mode begins to control the red LED. The red
LED lights to indicate when the receiver is actively listening. When the
receiver detects RF traffic (header or data with the same hopping sequence),
the red LED will light steadily. When the RF401 is transmitting, the red LED
will pulse OFF as the RF packets are transmitted (it will not be on solid).
Green LED activity indicates that there is an RF signal being received whose
hopping sequence corresponds to the configured hopping sequence of the
RF401. This does not necessarily mean that the network/radio address of the
received packet corresponds with that of the RF401 (where a neighboring
network exists it is a good idea to choose a unique hopping sequence).
4.1.2 Setup Menu
The RF401 has a built-in Setup Menu for configuring protocol, active
interface, RS-232 properties, network/radio addresses, hopping sequence,
power saving (standby) modes, address masks, and other parameters. The
Setup Menu is accessed by connecting the radio’s RS-232 port to a PC running
a terminal program such as Hyper Terminal TM or Procomm TM (always 9600
baud, 8-N-1) and pressing the “Program” button on the RF401 for one second.
Changed settings are saved in flash memory by selecting menu item “5” as you
exit the Setup Menu. If left idle, the Setup Menu will time out 60 seconds after
the last received character and exit without saving any parameter changes with
the message “Config Timeout.” A datalogger can remain connected to the CS
I/O port while setting RF401 parameters on the RS-232 port, although CS I/O
communications would be inactive until exiting the Setup Menu.
4.1.2.1 Device Configuration Utility
The RF401 can also be set up using the Device Configuration Utility
(commonly known as DevConfig). DevConfig is included with Campbell
Scientific’s PC400 and LoggerNet datalogger support software, and can also be
downloaded at no charge from our website. DevConfig is intended to facilitate
the setup process (see Figures 4 and 5 for the specific settings that are set with
DevConfig).

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
9
FIGURE 4. Device Configuration screen for setting up the RF401, RF411, RF416 radios.
The circled parameter shows where you choose the protocol setting.

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
10
FIGURE 5. Device Configuration screen used when the “PakBus Node” setting is chosen.
4.1.2.2 Protocol
The RF401 Protocol choices are “Transparent”, “PB Aware”, and “PB Node”.
The factory default setting for Protocol is “Transparent.” RF401 radios set to
the Transparent protocol provide the same functionality as the RF400 radios,
and therefore can coexist in the same network. The “PB Aware” and “PB
Node” protocols are intended for PakBus networks.

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
11
Do not mix the “Transparent” protocol with any of the
PakBus protocols. This will produce RF traffic without any
RF communications.
4.1.2.3 Auto Sense
The factory default setting for Active Interface is “Auto Sense.” It is designed
to automatically configure an RF401’s port for common user situations. When
selected, Auto Sense determines whether or not a datalogger (or PS100 with an
A100 adapter) is connected to the RF401 by monitoring for 5 V on CS I/O pin
1. If 5 V is present, Auto Sense selects the RF401’s CS I/O port. Not finding
5 V on CS I/O pin 1, Auto Sense selects the RS-232 port.
4.1.2.4 Standby Modes
The RF401’s average idle current can be set with the following Standby Modes
(default setting shaded):
TABLE 2. Standard Setup Menu
Duty
Cycle
Standby
Mode
Menu
Selection
Advanced
Standby
Mode
Avg.
Receive
Current
Wake-up
Interval
(red LED
flash interval)
Maximum
Response
Delay*
100% 1 0 < 24 mA 0 sec (constant) 100 ms
17% 2 4 < 4 mA ½ sec 600 ms
4% 3 6 < 2 mA 1 sec 1100 ms
2% 4 7 < .4 mA 8 sec 8100 ms
*Maximum time it takes to get an RF Packet sent and for the other RF401 to respond.
The Standard Setup standby modes automatically configure:
•Time of Inactivity to Sleep
•Time of Inactivity to Long Header
•Long Header Time
The default mode is the Standard Setup menu selection “2” for “< 4 mA and ½
sec Cycle.” There are standby modes available in addition to those in the
above table. They can be accessed in the Advanced Setup menu; however, if
you configure one of those, it will be necessary to also configure each of the
three bulleted parameters above. In any case, be sure to select the same
Standby Mode for all of the RF401s in the network. For more details see
Appendix D.
4.1.3 Networking—Transparent Mode
Each radio has a configurable network address, radio address, and hopping
sequence, and only radios that have the same network address, radio address,
and hopping sequence will receive each other’s transmissions. The exception
CAUTION

RF401 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems
12
to this is that an RF401 base station can receive packets from multiple remote
stations if the base station’s Radio Address Mask is other than the maximum
allowed number of 3ffh (hexadecimal). For example, if the base station’s radio
address mask is set to 0, it will receive packets from any radio that has a
matching radio network address (regardless of its radio address). See
Appendix C for more information on address masks.
4.1.3.1 Address and Address Mask
For simple point-to-point installations the RF401’s default settings (including
address settings) should work unless there is a neighboring network which uses
default settings. In that case the network address and, preferably, your hopping
sequence should be set to different numbers than the neighboring network uses.
A different network number is sufficient but a different hopping sequence
(there are 7 available) will result in fewer retries.
The RF401 has a two-part address. When the RF401’s Radio Address is
appended to its Network Address you have the complete 16-bit address.
Network Address Radio Address
(0 – 63) (0 – 1023) decimal
(0 - 11,1111) (0 - 11,1111,1111) binary
(3f) (3ff) hexadecimal
When an incoming packet arrives from another RF401 using the same hopping
sequence, the receiving RF401 compares the packet header’s 16-bit address to
its own 16-bit address. If they match, and there are no packet errors, the
receiving RF401 sends the packet data to the configured active port (CS I/O or
RS-232). This assumes a receiving RF401 address mask of ffffh. If other than
ffffh (1111,1111,1111,1111 binary), only those address bits that correspond to
address mask “1” bits will be used in the comparison. See Appendix C for
details.
4.1.3.2 ATDT Command Mode
This mode is not required for basic point-to-point communication.
For point-to-multipoint operation the RF401 can temporarily be put into AT
Command Mode by sending a string of three ASCII characters. The default
sequence to enter AT Command mode is:
1. No characters sent for one second (before command character)
2. “+++”characters sent (default command mode entry character)
3. No characters sent for one second (after command mode character)
4. RF401 responds by sending “OK” <CR>
The AT Command mode characters are sent by PC208W along with other
commands to change the base RF401’s Radio Address to talk to the desired
remote RF401 (see point-to-multipoint example in Software Setup Section).