GE MDS TD220X User manual

TD220X_manual_v8.doc Page 1 of 48 1/27/2017
GE MDS TD220X Manual
Version 8

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Table of Contents
1Important Information............................................................................................................3
1.1 Antenna Installation Warnings........................................................................................3
1.2 ESD Notice.....................................................................................................................3
1.3 FCC Approval Notice......................................................................................................3
1.4 FCC Part 15 Notice ........................................................................................................3
1.5 FCC Part 80 Notice ........................................................................................................4
1.6 Industry Canada ICES-003 and RSS-119 (Pending).....................................................4
2Introduction ...........................................................................................................................5
3Interfaces ..............................................................................................................................6
3.1 Data Interface (DB-25) ...................................................................................................6
3.2 USB ................................................................................................................................7
3.3 Power..............................................................................................................................7
3.4 Antenna Connector.........................................................................................................7
4Common Setup Tasks...........................................................................................................8
4.1 Key the Transmitter for Test Purposes...........................................................................8
4.2 Prepare the Network Interface for a Radio.....................................................................8
4.3 Upgrade the Firmware....................................................................................................8
4.3.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................8
4.3.2 Installing TD220X Firmware by TFTP......................................................................8
4.3.3 Upload Procedure....................................................................................................9
4.4 Set Up a GPS Base Unit ................................................................................................9
4.5 Set Up a PTP Base Unit.................................................................................................10
4.6 Set Up an OTA Mobile Unit............................................................................................10
4.7 Perform Test Polling.......................................................................................................11
4.8 Perform Field Survey......................................................................................................18
4.8.1 Set up the Base System ..........................................................................................18
4.8.2 Set up the Mobile System........................................................................................21
5Menu Interface ......................................................................................................................24
5.1 Main Menu......................................................................................................................26
5.2 Network Configuration Menus........................................................................................27
5.3 System Configuration Menu...........................................................................................31
5.4 Radio Configuration Menu..............................................................................................32
5.5 GPS Configuration Menu................................................................................................33
5.6 PTP Configuration Menu................................................................................................34
5.7 Security Configuration Menu..........................................................................................35
5.8 Statistics/Logging Menus................................................................................................36
5.9 Device Information Menus..............................................................................................41
5.10 Maintenance/Tools Menus .............................................................................................43
6Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................................47
7Change Log...........................................................................................................................48

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1 Important Information
1.1 Antenna Installation Warnings
1. All antenna installation and servicing is to be performed by qualified technical personnel
only. When servicing the antenna, or working at distances closer than those listed below,
ensure the transmitter has been disabled.
2. Depending upon the application and the gain of the antenna, the total composite power
could exceed 90 watts EIRP. For fixed/mobile configuration, the distances in the table below
must be followed.
Antenna Gain vs. Minimum Safety Distance
(Based upon a 50% Duty Cycle, 0 dB Feedline Loss) Controlled Exposure limits
Fixed/Mobile Antenna Gain
0-6 dBi
6-10 dBi
10-16.5 dBi
Minimum RF Safety Distance
1.50 meters
2.37 meters
5.01 meters
1.2 ESD Notice
To prevent malfunction or damage to this product, which may be caused by Electrostatic Discharge
(ESD), the radio should be properly grounded at the time of installation. In addition, the installer or
maintainer should follow proper ESD precautions, such as touching a bare metal object to dissipate
body charge, prior to touching components or connecting/disconnecting cables.
1.3 FCC Approval Notice
This device is offered as a licensed transmitter per FCC Parts 80, 90 and 95. It is approved for use
under the following conditions: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance will void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
1.4 FCC Part 15 Notice
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired
operation of the device. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible
for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.

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1.5 FCC Part 80 Notice
For FCC Part 80, the Effective Radiated Power (ERP) must be less than or equal to 4 Watts for mobile
use and 20 Watts for fixed use. This can be accomplished by adjusting the output power of the
radio and selecting an antenna with appropriate gain. Consult the following table for assistance in
setting the output power and selecting an antenna to maintain compliance. The table provides
examples, however other combinations can be used.
Radio Power Setting
ERP
Maximum Antenna Gain
2 W
4 W
3 dBd (5.2 dBi)
4 W
4 W
0 dBd (2.2 dBi)
2 W
20 W
10dBd (12.2 dBi)
10 W
20 W
3 dBd (5.2 dBi)
20 W
20 W
0 dBd (2.2 dBi)
1.6 Industry Canada ICES-003 and RSS-119 (Pending)
This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003 and with RSS-119. Cet appareil
numérique de la classe A est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

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2 Introduction
The GE MDS TD220X is a 25-Watt 220 MHz GMSK data radio intended for bridging messages over
the air between locomotives and wayside devices. The data interface is Ethernet and uses the
UDP/IP-based Simple Timeslot/Frequency/Power Protocol (STFP), defined elsewhere. STFP is capable
of supporting various payload protocols.
A time division channel access method is used by the TD220X for wireless communication. Each
second is divided into 8 133-byte time slots. The radio further defines a multi-second epoch to allow
the effective number of time slots to be scaled according to system design. Radios must be
configured with the same epoch size.
Precise synchronization of timing amongst radios is necessary for operation. Each radio can be
configured to use one of three timing sources: GPS, Precision Time Protocol (PTP), and over-the-air
(OTA). While system design can be flexible, a base radio installation typically uses either GPS or PTP
timing and a mobile radio typically uses OTA to synchronize to the wireless transmissions of a base
radio. Radios configured for GPS timing must be connected to an external GPS unit to receive NMEA
sentence information and the PPS signal. Radios configured for PTP timing will interact with a PTP
Grandmaster Clock over the Ethernet port using IEEE 1588 (PTPv2). Radios configured for OTA timing
use messages received wirelessly in the first time slot of each second to maintain timing.
With its time slot definition and variable epoch size, the TD220X provides a generic TDMA
implementation that can be used by an external Communication Manager (CM) to support a variety
of TDMA schemes. A CM is responsible for making decisions regarding timeslot, frequency, power,
and payload organization. The TD220X is responsible for requesting data from a CM for upcoming
timeslots, forwarding messages received wirelessly to a CM, and wirelessly transmitting messages
received from a CM using the specified timeslot, frequency, and power. All communication between
the TD220X and a CM is done using STFP.

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3 Interfaces
3.1 Data Interface (DB-25)
The Data Interface has several ports integrated into one connector: Ethernet, COM1 and COM2
Serial Ports, and GPS signaling. Note that COM3 is connected internally and therefore not available
on pins labeled with “COM3.”
DB-25
Pin
Signal
Direction WRT MDS
Equipment
Notes
1
COM3_DCD
Input
Reserved
2
COM2_TXD
Input
GPS NMEA Data Expected
3
COM2_RXD
Output
4
COM2_RTS
Input
5
COM2_CTS
Output
6
COM3_TXD
Output
Reserved
7
GND
Input/Output
8
COM2_DCD
Output
9
COM3_CTS
Input
Reserved
10
COM3_RTS
Output
Reserved
11
COM3_DTR
Output
Reserved
12
COM3_RXD
Input
Reserved
13
GND
Input/Output
14
ETH_TX_H
Output
15
ETH_TX_L
Output
16
ETH_RX_H
Input
17
ETH_RX_L
Input
18
EXT_KEY
Output
Reserved
19
EXT_DET
Input
Reserved
20
COM2_DTR
Input
21
ALARM_OUT
Output
Reserved
22
GPS_PPS_L
Input
Not Connected
23
GPS_PPS_H
Input
TTL level 1PPS signal input. 0 to 5 VDC nominal.
24
COM1_RXD
Input
Console
25
COM1_TXD
Output
Console
The DB-25 connector is female, and the orientation of the connector as looking into the front panel
of the unit is as shown below.
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
13
25

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3.2 USB
The radio provides a USB Port conforming to version 1.1 of the USB standard. This port is provided
for features such as logging STFP messages to text files on a memory stick. Consult GE MDS for
information on this feature. The pinout for this connector is given in the table below.
Pin
Signal Name
Description
1
PC_USB_+5V
+5 VDC
2
USBD-
USB Data Minus
3
USBD+
USB Data Plus
4
GROUND
Ground
3.3 Power
The power connector is a screw-secured 2-pin connector.
Pin
Signal Name
Direction with respect to MDS Equipment
Description
1 (L)
PWR
Input
13.8 VDC input, 7
Amps maximum.
2 (R)
GROUND
Input
Power return.
The pin orientation as looking into the connector is shown below.
Consult the following table to determine how much current is required for receiving or transmitting
vs. input voltage and RF power output.
Voltage (V)
RF Power Out
(W)
Duty Cycle (%)
Current Required
(A)
Thermal
Dissipation (W)
12
0 (RX)
0
0.3
TBSL
12
2
100
TBSL
TBSL
12
10
50
TBSL
TBSL
12
25
30
TBSL
TBSL
13.8
0 (RX)
0
0.3
TBSL
13.8
2
100
1.2
14
13.8
10
50
3.2
15
13.8
25
30
5.5
15
3.4 Antenna Connector
The Antenna Connector is a type N female connector with 50-Ohm characteristic impedance.
L
R

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4 Common Setup Tasks
Note: For accessing the COM1 console, use a serial terminal emulator program such as
HyperTerminal or Putty. The default settings are: baud rate 19200, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop
bit. The pins for this port are listed in section 3.1.
4.1 Key the Transmitter for Test Purposes
1. Log in to the radio on its COM1 console using a serial terminal emulator program.
2. Go to the Radio Configuration menu.
3. Select the frequency for the test transmission.
4. Select the RF Output Power to use. Note that power levels greater than 2 Watts will
timeout after a 5-second period by default. Ensure ventilation with supplemental forced
airflow if longer durations are desired.
5. Select the Force TX Key menu option.
6. When finished, deselect the Force TX Key menu option.
4.2 Prepare the Network Interface for a Radio
Each radio is assigned an IP Address, a Netmask, and a Gateway IP Address. The IP Address and
Netmask should be chosen carefully. The radio will network directly with other equipment with IP
Addresses that are on a common Subnet. IP Addresses that begin with the same numerical IP
address bits where the Netmask is one will be on the same Subnet. For example, if the IP Address is
10.4.100.1 and the Netmask is 255.255.0.0, the radio will attempt direct Ethernet communication
with any node whose IP Address begins with 10.4. If a message is bound for a node outside of the
10.4 network, it will be sent to the Gateway IP address instead so that it can be placed from the
radio’s subnet onto another subnet.
1. Log in to the radio on its COM1 console using a serial terminal emulator program.
2. Go to the IP Configuration menu.
3. Set the IP address of the radio, plus the Netmask and Gateway.
4. Go to the Maintenance/Tools Menu and select the Ping Utility.
5. Enter the IP address of a known node on the network.
6. Execute the Ping and observe the results. If the network interface is working properly, Ping
responses should be received.
4.3 Upgrade the Firmware
4.3.1 Introduction
From time-to-time MDS will offer upgrades to the TD220X firmware. Uploading new firmware into
the radio does not require that the radio be taken off-line until you want to operate the radio from
the new firmware image. You must use the TD220X’s embedded Menu System for all firmware
activities, including uploading firmware from a TFTP server. The Menu System can be accessed in
one of two ways:
Terminal-Emulator—Use a terminal emulator program on your PC, such as HyperTerminal
or Putty, connected directly to the TD220X COM1 port via a serial cable.
Telnet—Text-based access to the Menu System through a network connection.
Firmware images are provided free-of-charge on the MDS Web site at:
http://supportcentral.ge.com/products/sup_products.asp?prod_id=181796
4.3.2 Installing TD220X Firmware by TFTP
To use this function the user will need:

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A PC with a TFTP server running.
The IP address of the PC running the TFTP server.
If you do not know your computer’s address on a Windows PC, you can use the RUN function from
the Start menu and enter winipcfg or ipcfg to determine your local PC’s IP address. The IP address of
the radio can be found on the Starting Information Screen. (See Page 24.) A TFTP server can be
found on the MDS web site at:
http://supportcentral.ge.com/products/sup_products.asp?prod_id=181796
4.3.3 Upload Procedure
To upload a new firmware file (tdx-krmd-X_Y_Z.mpk) into the TD220X unit use the following
procedure:
1. Launch a TFTP server on a PC connected either directly or via a LAN to the Ethernet port
(LAN) of the radio. On the Options tab, set the outgoing path to the directory containing the
firmware image file.
2. Connect to the radio’s Menu System by whichever means is convenient: Telnet via the LAN
or Terminal emulator via the COM1 port.
3. Go to the Reprogramming Menu.
(Starting Menu->Main Menu>Maintenance Menu>Reprogramming Menu)
4. Fill in the information for the:
oTFTP Host Address –IP Address of the server (host computer) running the TFTP
server.
oRetrieve File –Name of the file (tdx-krmd-X.Y.Z.mpk) to be pulled from the TFTP
server holding the firmware file.
5. Pull the firmware file through the TFTP server into the TD220X radio.
(Note: the uploaded firmware image file replaces the “Inactive Image” file and
be automatically verified.)
6. Reboot the TD220X radio.
7. Test the radio for normal operation.
8. End of procedure.
4.4 Set Up a GPS Base Unit
1. If not already done, complete steps from 4.2 above.
2. Connect the RS-232 NMEA serial data output from the GPS receiver to the Base Radio via
the radio’s COM2 port. Drive serial data into the radio on DB-25 pin 2.
3. Connect the GPS’s PPS output to the Base Radio. Drive TTL into the radio on DB-25 pin 23.
4. Log in to the radio.
5. Go to the GPS Configuration menu.
6. Verify that the GPS NMEA Baud Rate and PPS Polarity match the connected GPS.
7. Go to the System Configuration menu.
8. Set the timing source to GPS and reboot if necessary.
9. Set the STFP radio ID. Set to 64 (decimal) to match the configuration in the tests below.
10. Set the IP Port on which the base will receive STFP messages from the Communication
Manager.
11. Set the IP Address of the Communication Manager to which timing markers and messages
received from mobiles should be sent.
12. Set the epoch size to match the same value configured on the neighboring radios and
reboot if necessary.
13. Set the STFP slot delay as necessary. This number, multiplied by 125ms, represents the slot
delay allowed from when a timing marker is sent to the Communication Manager to when a
data message must be received from the Communication Manager. For most cases the
default value of 2 should suffice.
14. Go to the Maintenance/Tools menu.
15. Verify the Ethernet Link using the Ping utility.

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16. Begin sending UDP data.
17. Verify the TX LED illuminates and the radio begins transmitting over the air.
4.5 Set Up a PTP Base Unit
1. If not already done, complete steps from 4.2 above.
2. Install and configure a PTP Grandmaster Clock. The clock must be connected to the base
through the Ethernet Link. The base also communicates with the Communication Manager
using the Ethernet Link; therefore an external switch or router may be required.
3. Log in to the radio.
4. Go to the PTP Configuration menu.
5. Set the IP Port on which the base will receive PTP messages from the Grandmaster Clock.
6. Set the IP Address of the Grandmaster Clock.
7. Set the IP Port of the Grandmaster Clock.
8. Go to the System Configuration menu.
9. Set the timing source to PTP and reboot if necessary.
10. Set the STFP radio ID. Set to 64 (decimal) to match the configuration in the tests below.
11. Set the IP Port on which the base will receive STFP messages from the Communication
Manager.
12. Set the IP Address of the Communication Manager to which timing markers and messages
received from mobiles should be sent.
13. Set the IP Port of the Communication Manager to which timing markers and messages
received from mobiles should be sent.
14. Set the epoch size to match the same value configured on the neighboring radios and
reboot if necessary.
15. Set the STFP slot delay as necessary. This number, multiplied by 125ms, represents the slot
delay allowed from when a timing marker is sent to the Communication Manager to when a
data message must be received from the Communication Manager. For most cases the
default value of 2 should suffice.
16. Go to the Maintenance/Tools menu.
17. Verify the Ethernet Link using the Ping utility.
18. Begin sending UDP data.
19. Verify the TX LED illuminates and the radio begins transmitting over the air.
4.6 Set Up an OTA Mobile Unit
1. If not already done, complete steps from 4.2 above.
2. Log in to the radio.
3. Go to the System Configuration menu.
4. Set the timing source to OTA and reboot if necessary.
5. Set the STFP radio ID to 0 to match the configurations in the tests below.
6. Set the IP Port on which the mobile will receive STFP messages from the Communication
Manager.
7. Set the IP Address of the Communication Manager to which timing markers and messages
received from bases should be sent.
8. Set the IP Port of the Communication Manager to which timing markers and messages
received from bases should be sent.
9. Set the epoch size to match the same value configured on the neighboring radios and
reboot if necessary.
10. Set the STFP slot delay as necessary. This number, multiplied by 125ms, represents the slot
delay allowed from when a timing marker is sent to the Communication Manager to when a
data message must be received from the Communication Manager. For most cases the
default value of 2 should suffice.
11. Go to the Maintenance/Tools menu.
12. Verify the Ethernet Link using the Ping utility.