Digi XLR PRO User manual

XLR PRO™
Radio Frequency (RF) Modem
User Guide

Revision history—90002202
Revision Date Description
B March
2014
Removed the data sample RX indicator frame type.
Updated descriptions for the DN, ND, and FN commands; added clarification
note to the WR command documentation.
C May 2015 Updated web configuration and Device Cloud options available with XLR PRO
firmware version 1006.
Updated Device Cloud brand name and login URLs.
D December
2015
Added certifications for Mexico and Australia.
Added USB support available with XLR PRO firmware version 1007.
E February
2016
Noted that user guide applies to all XLR PROmodels (XLR PRO and XLR PRO
INTL).
Moved source content and made miscellaneous editorial corrections.
F January
2017
Added a serial cable warning. Added Brazil and Peru certification
information. Updated ATcommands and API frames.
Trademarks and copyright
Digi, Digi International, and the Digi logo are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United
States and other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2017 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimers
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of
any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or
merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual
or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Warranty
To view product warranty information, go to the following website:
www.digi.com/howtobuy/terms
Send comments
Documentation feedback: To provide feedback on this document, send your comments to
[e-mail].
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 2

Customer support
Digi Technical Support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages to help our
customers get the most out of their Digi product. For information on Technical Support plans and
pricing, contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 3

Contents
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide
Operational modes 10
For more information 11
Hardware
XLR PRO front panel 13
RJ45 serial port pinout 13
Hardware interfaces 14
Power supply 14
LEDs 14
Startup 15
Data transmission 15
Reset button 15
Antenna port 16
Set up the hardware
XLR PRO kit contents 18
Connect the hardware 19
Mount the XLR PRO 20
Right-angle mount DIN rail (not to scale) 20
Flush-mount bracket (not to scale) 21
Mounting guidelines 21
Antenna placement 22
Technical specifications
General 24
RF specifications 24
Rural range line-of-sight 24
Receiver sensitivity by RF data rate 24
UART interface data rates (software selectable) 25
Networking and security 25
Power requirements 25
Power supply 26
Environmental 26
Regulatory approvals 26
Connectors 26
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 4

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 5
Operations
XLR PRO operational design 28
Ethernet RF bridging 28
Serial mode selection 29
USB mode 30
Serial mode 30
RS-232 30
RS-485/422 30
IP socket mode 31
Controlling parameters 31
Operational description 32
Serial communications 32
Serial buffers 32
Networking methods
MAC/PHY layers 34
Ethernet bridging 34
Ethernet packet handling 34
Bridging precautions 35
Enable bridging 35
64-bit addresses 35
Unicast 35
Broadcast 35
Serial addressing basics 36
64-bit addresses 36
Unicast 36
Broadcast 36
Delivery method 36
AT commands
Special commands 39
AC (Apply Changes) 39
FR (Software Reset) 39
RE (Restore Defaults) 39
WR (Write) 39
MAC/PHY commands 40
ID (Network ID) 40
BR (RF Data Rate) 40
PL (Power Level) 40
RR (Unicast Retries) 41
MT(Broadcast Multi-Transmits) 41
Diagnostic commands 41
DB (Received Signal Strength) 41
EA (MAC ACK Timeouts) 42
ER (Received Error Count) 42
GD (Good Packets Received) 42
TR (Transmission Failure Count) 43
UA (Unicasts Attempted) 43
%H (MAC Unicast One Hop Time) 43
%8 (MAC Broadcast One Hop Time) 43
N? (Network Discovery Timeout) 44

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 6
Network commands 44
CE (Node Messaging Options) 44
BH (Broadcast Hops) 44
NH (Network Hops) 44
NN (Network Delay Slots) 45
RF Addressing commands 45
SH (Serial Number High) 45
SL (Serial Number Low) 45
DH (Destination Address High) 45
DL (Destination Address Low) 46
TO (Transmit Options) 46
NI (Node Identifier) 46
NT (Node Discovery Timeout) 47
NO (Node Discovery Options) 47
CI (Cluster ID) 47
DE (Destination Endpoint) 48
SE (Source Endpoint) 48
Addressing discovery and configuration commands 49
DN (Discover Node) 49
ND (Network Discover) 49
FN (Find Neighbors) 50
Security commands 50
KY (AES Encryption Key) 51
Serial interfacing commands 51
BD (Baud Rate) 51
NB (Parity) 51
SB (Stop Bits) 52
RO (Packetization Timeout) 52
FT (Flow Control Threshold) 52
AP (API Mode) 52
AO (API Options) 53
4E (Serial Protocol) 53
4D (RS-485 Duplex) 53
4T (RS-485 Termination) 54
D6 (RTS Flow Control) 54
D7 (CTS Flow Control) 54
Hardware diagnostics commands 55
TP (Temperature) 55
RP(RSSI PWM Timer) 55
Ethernet and IP socket mode commands 55
ES (IP Socket Mode Enable) 55
IB (IP Socket Baud Rate) 56
IP (IP Protocol) 56
DX (Destination IP Address) 57
C0 (Source Port) 57
DY (Destination Port) 57
TM (TCP Client Connection Timeout) 57
TS (TCP Server Connection Timeout) 58
MA (IP Addressing Mode) 58
MY (XLR IP Address) 58
MK (Subnet Mask) 59
GW (Default Gateway Address) 59
NS (DNS Address) 59
%M (Ethernet MAC address) 60
Device Cloud commands 60

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 7
DO (Device Cloud Enable) 60
KP (Device Description) 60
KC (Device Contact) 60
KL (Device Location) 61
LX (Latitude) 61
LY (Longitude) 61
EQ (Device Cloud FQDN) 61
DI (Device Cloud Indicator) 61
Web configuration commands 62
HE (Web Configuration Enable) 62
HU (Web Configuration User Name) 62
HW (Web Configuration Password) 62
Ethernet bridging commands 63
BE (Ethernet RF Bridging Enable) 63
BA (Bridge Destination MAC) 63
Command mode options 63
CC (Command Sequence Character) 63
CN (Exit Command mode) 64
CT (Command Mode Timeout) 64
GT (Guard Times) 64
Firmware commands 64
VB (Firmware Version) 64
VR (XLR PRO Firmware Version) 65
HV (Hardware Version) 65
VH (XLR PRO Baseboard Hardware Version) 65
*C (compatibility) 65
DD (Device Type Identifier) 65
PN (Part Number) 66
NP (Maximum Packet Payload Bytes) 66
CK (Configuration CRC) 66
Operate in API mode
API mode overview 68
Use the AP command to set the operation mode 68
API frame format 68
API operation (AP parameter = 1) 68
API operation-with escaped characters (AP parameter = 2) 69
API serial exchanges 70
AT command frames 70
Transmit and receive RF data 71
Remote AT commands 71
Code to support future API frames 71
API frame types 72
AT Command Frame - 0x08 72
AT Command - Queue Parameter Value frame - 0x09 74
Transmit Request frame - 0x10 75
Explicit Addressing Command frame - 0x11 77
Remote AT Command Request frame - 0x17 80
AT Command Response frame - 0x88 82
Modem Status frame - 0x8A 84
Transmit Status frame - 0x8B 85
Receive Packet frame - 0x90 87
Explicit Rx Indicator frame - 0x91 89
Remote Command Response frame - 0x97 91

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 8
Advanced application features
Network commissioning and diagnostics 94
Local configuration 94
Remote configuration 94
Send a remote command 94
Apply changes on remote devices 94
Remote command response 94
Test links in a network 95
Test links between adjacent devices 96
Example 97
RSSI indicators 97
Discover devices 98
General Purpose Flash Memory 98
Access General Purpose Flash Memory 99
Work with flash memory 110
Over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates 110
Distribute the new application 111
Verify the new application 111
Install the application 112
Keep in mind 112
Configure the XLR PRO using the web configuration interface
Access the XLR PRO web configuration interface 114
Set general options 114
Set Ethernet network options 114
Set Ethernet RF bridging options 115
Set Device Cloud connectivity options 116
Set XLR radio options 116
Set XLR radio serial options 117
Set XLR radio IP socket (Ethernet) options 118
Update firmware 119
Set web configuration options 119
Configure the XLR PRO using XCTU
Download and install XCTU 122
Download and install the USB driver 122
Connect XLR PRO to your PC 122
Launch XCTU and add the XLR PRO 122
Configure parameters using XCTU 122
Determine or assign an IP address 123
Determine the assigned DHCP address 123
Assign a static IP address 123
Update firmware with XCTU 123
Configure the XLR PRO using Digi Remote Manager
Create a Remote Manager account 126
Get the XLR PRO MAC address 126
Add a Digi XLR PRO to Remote Manager 126
Update firmware with Device Cloud 127

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 9
Configure Device Cloud connectivity options 127
Configure Ethernet network options 128
Configure Ethernet RF bridging options 128
Configure IP socket mode options 129
Configure serial mode options 130
Configure system options 131
Configure web configuration options 132
Configure XLR radio configuration options 132
Schedule Device Cloud configuration changes 134
Troubleshooting
Serial interface issues 136
Condition 136
Solution 136
Condition 136
Solution 136
Ethernet issues 136
Condition 136
Solution 136
General issues 136
Condition 136
Solution 136
Safety notices and certifications
RF exposure statement 138
Class 1, Division 2 (C1D2) certification—USA and Canada 138
FCC (United States) certification 139
Industry Canada (IC) certification 139
Australia certification 140
Mexico IFETEL 140
Brazil (ANATEL) 140
XLR PRO antennas
Omni-directional antennas 143
Yagi antennas 144

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide
The XLR PRO is a high performance, industrial grade long-range radio solution that offers serial,
Ethernet socket, and Ethernet bridging connectivity to ensure reliable wireless data communications
over long distances. There are two models:
nThe XLR PRO RF Modem for North American distribution
nThe XLR PRO INTL RF Modem for international distribution
In this documentation, the term XLR PRO refers to both models.
Packaged in a sturdy, rugged enclosure and using patent-pending Punch2™ Technology to maximize
range and significantly increase immunity to interference, the XLR PRO 900 MHz radio can connect a
variety of devices across many industrial applications.
Punch2 Technology leverages chirp spread spectrum (CSS) modulation to provide better receiver
sensitivity, multipath performance, and interference rejection than is available through commonly
used frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) systems.
The advantages of Punch2 Technology arise from the characteristics of the chirp signal as well as
several digital-signal-processing techniques that enhance performance and reliability. With Punch2
Technology, data is spread to a higher bandwidth by multiplying each transmit modulation symbol
with a chirp signal. Operating at an expanded bandwidth provides several benefits:
nGreater receiver sensitivity
nInterference immunity
nImproved multipath performance
nAdjustable data rates
Flexible configuration and management options allow you to quickly set up and deploy one or more
XLR PRO modems, as well as apply firmware updates, get device status information, and more.
Operational modes
The XLR PRO offers the following operational modes:
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 10

XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide For more information
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 11
nSerial (RS-232/RS-485/USB): In serial mode, the front panel serial port provides connectivity
to the XLR PRO via RS-232 or RS-485/422 as well as a USB serial virtual COM port.
nEthernet (IP socket): In IP socket mode, an XLR PRO can transmit and receive serial data via a
TCP or UDP connection from either of the front panel Ethernet ports.
nEthernet RF Bridging: In Ethernet RF bridging mode, an XLR PRO functions as an Ethernet
cable replacement, supporting point-to-multi-point transmission for a maximum of 16 XLR PRO
RF modems. By default, bridging mode is disabled. Serial data from serial or IP socket mode
operates concurrently with Ethernet RF Bridging. If serial and Ethernet traffic are sent at the
same time, there will be some latency.
For more information
The XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) family of products includes the following publications:
Title
Part
number Description
XLR
PRORadioFrequency
(RF) Module User
Guide
90001407 Provides complete information on all XLR PRO Radio Frequency
(RF) Module features; describes how to configure XLR PROs
using XCTU; provides reference information on all supported AT
commands and API frames.
XLR PRO Radio
Frequency (RF)
Modem Quick Start
Guide
90002204 Provides a brief summary of the XLR PRO and XLR PRO INTL
Radio Frequency (RF) Modem kit.
XLR PRO Radio
Frequency (RF)
Modem Getting
Started Guide
90002203 Provides step-by-step instructions for setting up a pair of XLR
PRO (or XLR PRO INTL) modems to test over-the-air
communications between the radios.

Hardware
XLR PRO front panel 13
RJ45 serial port pinout 13
Hardware interfaces 14
Power supply 14
LEDs 14
Reset button 15
Antenna port 16
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 12

Hardware XLR PRO front panel
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 13
XLR PRO front panel
The following figure shows XLR PRO front panel connectors and LEDs.
Item Description
1 Ethernet port 1
2 Ethernet port 2
3 Mini USB port
4 Serial data out LED
5 Serial data in LED
6 Power LED
7 Serial port
8 Link margin indicator LEDs (RSSI)
9 Reset button
10 DC power jack
WARNING! Use the serial port for serial connections only. Do not connect the serial RJ45
port to any PoE (power over Ethernet) device. Doing so could permanently damage the
XLR PRO or PoE device and void your XLR PRO warranty.
RJ45 serial port pinout

Hardware Hardware interfaces
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 14
Pin RS-232 RS-485 (4-wire) RS-485 (2-wire)
1 RXD TX+ TX/RX+
2 CTS TX- TX/RX-
3 TXD RX+ Unused
4 GND GND GND
5 GND GND GND
6 RTS RX- Unused
7 DRS/DCD Unused Unused
8 DTR Unused Unused
Hardware interfaces
The XLR PRO front panel offers the following interfaces:
nSerial (RJ45) port: The serial port (RJ45) supports RS-232 or RS-485/422 protocols.
nUSB (mini USB): The mini USB port is used for configuration and basic serial communication
with a host PC. XLR PRO can act as a USB client only and requires drivers (Windows only) to
operate. The XLR PRO USB driver is available here:
www.digi.com/support/productdetail?pid=5603&type=drivers
nEthernet: The Ethernet interface is 10/100 Base-T with a two-port Ethernet switch. The XLR
PRO does not support Power over Ethernet (PoE) and must be externally powered through the
DC power jack.
Power supply
The XLR PRO must be powered by a UL-listed power supply rated between 9 and 26 V DC. Refer to the
following table for the required input current settings.
Input voltage Minimum current rating
9 to 15 3 A
15 to 20 2 A
21 to 26 1.5 A
LEDs
The following tables describe XLR PRO LED behavior during startup and data transmissions. For a
diagram of the XLR PRO LEDS, see XLR PRO front panel.

Hardware Reset button
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 15
Startup
LED Status Description
Power Solid Power LED glows solid red.
Link margin
indicators (RSSI)
Solid All of the link margin indicator LEDs show green for one second.
Serial Data In
(green)
Solid On initial power on, if the green serial data in LED shows solid for three
seconds, the XLR PRO is in serial mode.
Serial Data Out
(yellow)
Solid On initial power on, if the yellow serial data out LED shows solid for
three seconds, the XLR PRO is in IP socket mode.
Data transmission
LED Status Description
Power Solid While power is on, the power LED shows solid red.
Link margin
indicators (RSSI)
Solid The link margin indicator LEDs illuminate for four seconds to show the
signal strength of the last valid RF packet received.
n3 LEDs = Very strong signal (> 30 dB fade margin)
n2 LEDs = Strong signal (>20 dB fade margin)
n1 LED = Moderate signal (>10 dB fade margin)
n0 LED = Weak signal (<10 dB fade margin)
Serial Data In
(green)
Solid Serial data in LED shows flashing when serial data is being transmitted.
Serial Data Out
(yellow)
Solid Serial data out LED shows flashing when serial data is being received.
Reset button
You can use the Reset button to reset the XLR PRO and to restore factory default settings.
To reset the XLR PRO:
1. Hold down the Reset button for up to five seconds. The serial data in and serial data out LEDs
flash three times to indicate that five seconds have passed.
2. Release the Reset button. The XLR PRO resets.
To restore factory default settings:
1. Hold down the Reset button for about eight seconds. While you are holding down the reset
button, the serial data in and serial data out LEDs flash three times to indicate that five
seconds have passed. Continue to hold down the Reset button until the serial data in and serial
data out LEDs flash six times.
2. Release the Reset button. The XLR PRO is restored to factory default settings.

Hardware Antenna port
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 16
Antenna port
The antenna port is a 50 ohm RF signal connector for connecting to an external antenna. The
connector type is Reverse Polarity TNC (RPTNC) female. The connector has threads on the outside of
a barrel and a male center conductor.

Set up the hardware
XLR PRO kit contents 18
Connect the hardware 19
Mount the XLR PRO 20
Mounting guidelines 21
Antenna placement 22
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 17

Set up the hardware XLR PRO kit contents
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 18
XLR PRO kit contents
The following table shows the XLR PRO accessories kit.
Item Description
XLR PRO modem
Power supply
Network cable
Note If you replace the Network cable, the
replacement cable must be shielded.
Mini USB cable
RJ45/DB9F adapter

Set up the hardware Connect the hardware
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 19
Item Description
Antenna
Note Australian kit only: Power plug adapter kit
(UK, EU, AS)
Connect the hardware
The following figure shows how to connect the XLR PRO cables and antenna.

Set up the hardware Mount the XLR PRO
XLR PRO Radio Frequency (RF) Modem User Guide 20
Mount the XLR PRO
CAUTION! You must install the XLR PRO in a Restricted Access Location. In addition, you
must restrict access to personnel who have been instructed on potential hazards, as
well as physically restrict access using a tool, or lock and key, or other means controlled
by a responsible authority.
The XLR PRO provides mounting holes in the bottom of the unit by which you can mount the unit
directly on a wall or attach mounting brackets. There are two mounting brackets for the XLR PRO:
nRight-angle mount
nFlush mount
The following illustrations show the dimensions of each option.
Right-angle mount DIN rail (not to scale)