Multilink ZipLink User manual
1
ZipLink
WirelessPhoneLine&Ethernet
Extender
UserGuidev.5
Multi‐Link,Inc.
122DeweyDrive|Nicholasville,KY|40356USA
SalesandTechSupport800.535.4651
FAX859.885.6619
2
StatementofConformity
Note:Thisequipmenthasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywiththe
limitsforaClassAdigitaldevice,pursuanttopart15oftheFCCRules.
Theselimitsaredesignedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainst
harmfulinterferencewhentheequipmentisoperatedinacommercial
environment.Thisequipmentgenerates,uses,andcanradiateradio
frequencyenergyand,ifnotinstalledandusedinaccordancewiththe
instructionmanual,maycauseharmfulinterferencetoradio
communications.Operationofthisequipmentinaresidentialareais
likelytocauseharmfulinterferenceinwhichcasetheuserwillbe
requiredtocorrecttheinterferenceattheirownexpense.
ThisdevicecomplieswithIndustryCanadalicense‐exemptRSS
standard(s).Operationissubjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:(1)this
devicemaynotcauseinterference,and(2)thisdevicemustacceptany
interference,includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesiredoperation
ofthedevice.
3
Technical Support Contact:
1‐800‐535‐4651
techsupport@multi‐link.net
*SafetyWarningsforGroundingandRFexposure*
Inordertocomplywithelectricalcodesinmost
areas,aswellasprovideadequateprotection
fromlightning,youMUSTgroundtheZipLink
outdoorunit!
Thisdevicecontainsalowpowerradiotransmitter.Whenthisdevice
isconnectedandtransmitting,itsendsoutRadioFrequency(RF)
signals.
ThisWirelessRadiodevicehasbeenevaluatedunderFCCBulletinOET
65CandfoundtobecomplianttotherequirementsassetforthinCFR
47Sections2.1091,2.1093,and15.247(b)(4)addressingRFExposure
fromradiofrequencydevices.Theradiationoutputpowerofthis
wirelessdeviceisfarbelowtheFCCradiofrequencyexposurelimits.
Nevertheless,thisdeviceshouldbeinstalledandusedinsucha
mannerthatlimitsthepotentialforhumanexposuretodistances
greaterthan20cmor8inchesfromthedevice.
Thisdeviceshouldnotbeinstalledwithin10meters/30feetofany
otherRFtransmitter.
4
Contents
StatementofConformity.............................................................................2
TechnicalSupport ........................................................................................3
SafetyWarningsforGroundingandRFexposure .......................................3
Contents ......................................................................................................4
Introduction.................................................................................................5
BoxContents................................................................................................5
Cabling .........................................................................................................5
CableGlandAssembly .................................................................................6
BenchTesting ..............................................................................................8
Installation ...................................................................................................8
AssemblyTips ..............................................................................................9
ElectricalConnections ...............................................................................12
Aimingtheantennas..................................................................................14
BenchTesting ............................................................................................14
Startup/Testing ........................................................................................15
SystemDiagram.........................................................................................16
Warranty....................................................................................................19
Disclaimer ..................................................................................................19
5
Introduction
TheMulti‐LinkZipLinkisawirelesssystemthatcomesintwodifferent
models.TheZipLink‐1allowsonestandardanalog(POTS)phonelineand
anEthernetLAN(internet)connectiontobeextendedbetweentwo
locationsupto1mile/1.6kilometersapart.TheZipLink‐2hasidentical
functionality,butfortwophonelines.
TheZipLinkisdesignedtobequicklyandeasilyinstalled.Youwillneed
thefollowingtools:
‐PowerDrill/Screwdriverw/Phillipsbits
‐10mmnutdriver/wrench
‐Electrician’sfishline
BoxContents
TheMulti‐LinkZipLinkboxcontainsthefollowing:
‐2ZipLinkOutdoorRadios,Master&Remote,withoutdoorcable
‐2poweradapters
‐2AntennaMounts
‐AccessoryKit(WhiteBox)
Cabling
EachZipLinkradiocomesequippedwith30Meters/100feetof
OUTDOORRATEDcablewhichrunsfromtheZipLinktothePower/POTS
PowerInjector,whichisusuallymountedindoors.Thecableisusedfor
thePOTSconnectionsaswellaspower.YOUMAYSHORTENTHISCABLE
IFYOUWISH,BUTYOUMAYNOTLENGTHENIT.
Keepinmindthatthiscablelengthmaximumdistanceisduetothe
maximumlengthallowableforthepowerwiresinsidethiscableonly.
ThecablelengthFROMtheMulti‐LinkpowerinjectorPOTSRJ11
connectorTOthetelcoline,PBXordesksetmaybeupto300feetintotal
6
usingunshieldedtwistedpairCAT3cableforthetelephonecircuitsand
CAT5EorCAT6forEthernet/data,orevengreaterdistanceswhenusing
shieldedcables.ThisallowsforalmostanyinstallationtousetheZipLink
system.
TherearetwoconnectionstotheZipLink.Theprecabledconnectionis
thePOTSline(s)andpower,thebottommiddleweatherproofconnector
isforCat5Edata.
EachoutdoorZipLinkradioshouldbeelectricallygroundedbyuseofa
groundluginstalledononeoftheboltsusedtoholdtheZipLinkonthe
polemountbracketsandruntoaproperelectricalground.Thisisnot
onlyasafetyrequirementforlightningdissipationpurposes,butalso
improvessystemradioperformance,sincetheenclosureprovidesradio
shieldingagainstunwantedradioandelectricalnoiseonthePOTSline.
AssumingthattheoutletwhichtheMulti‐LinkPowerInjectorspower
supplyisproperlyinstalledaccordingtoelectricalcodes,nofurther
groundingpointsinthesystemisrequired.Theelectricalcircuitsforthe
POTSandEthernet/DataconnectionsshouldNEVERbegrounded.This
includesallconnectionsinthepowerinjector.POTSPhoneconnections
“float”.
CableGlandAssembly
InsidetheaccessoryboxthatcamewiththeZipLink,
youwillfind2blackcableglandsthatlooklikethis:
Youshouldunscrewthetwoparts.Youshould
leavethesmallrubberO‐ringwhereitis.
YouwillnoticethattheO‐ringhasaslitinit.Thisisto
allowtheEthernetcabletobecompletelyassembledon
theground,priortoinstallingitontheradio.
7
Thisisthecorrectorderforthecableglandcomponentsonthecable:
Thenextstepistopushtherubberringinto
positionsothatitwillcompresswhentheglandis
assembled.YoushouldGENTLYuseasmall
screwdrivertoslideitinsidethemainbodyofthe
glandhousinguntilitisflushwiththelittleplastic
fingersatthebottomofthegland,likeshownin
thepicturetotheright:
Youcannowslidetheglandupanddownthecablewhileyoupluginthe
Ethernetconnectorintothebottomoftheradio:
Screwintheglandhousing: Andthenthebottomglandcap:
8
BenchTesting
WhenbenchtestingtheZipLink,youneedtoknowthefollowing:
‐TheminimumdistancebetweentheradiosMUSTbe25feetor8
meters.IfyouhavetheMasterandRemoteZipLinkcloser
togetherthanthisduringtesting,thesystemmaynotoperate
properly,especiallyinmodemtesting.
‐Youshouldalwaysorienttheradiossimilarlytohowtheywillbe
orientedwhentheyareinstalled.Optionally,youmaysitthem
BOTHsidewayswiththeSKYarrowpointingatthesamewallto
facilitateeasyRJ45cableinstallation.
‐Bothunitsshouldbeelectricallygroundedontheirchassisto
ensurenoisefromlightsandmotorsinthevicinitydonotaffect
callquality.
Installation
MounttheZipLinkRadiosashighupaspossibleonbothbuildings.The
radiosmust“see”eachotherwithoutobstructionsbetweenthem,and
sincetheradiosignalstravelina“football”shapebetweenantennas,you
mustnotonlyhaveadirectpathbetweentheantennas,butthepathalso
mustbewideenough,asdeterminedbythedistancebetweentheradios:
Radioheightrequiredbydistancebetweenradios
Distance(mi./km).25/.40.5/.801/1.6
MinimumHeight(ft/m)10/314/4.319/6
Forexample,ifyouhavetwobuildingsahalfmileapart,theZipLink
radiosshouldbe14feetabovetheground,plustheheightofanything
elsethatisinbetweenthebuildings.So,iftherearevehiclesmoving
betweentheradios,theyneedtobe14abovethemaximumheightofthe
traffic,approx.30feetup.Sameruleappliesfortrees,buildings,and
otherstructures.
9
TherearetwoZipLinkradiosincludedineachkit.ThereisoneMaster
unitandoneRemoteunit.TheRemoteunitneedstobeconnectedtoa
Phone(orModem)atthe“remote”end.TheMasterunitneedstobe
connectedtothePBX,KeySystem,orPOTSlineatthe“main”location.
DialtoneislocallygeneratedontheRemoteunit,soifyoureversethe
radios,youwillnotgetdialtoneattheRemoteend.Thefastestwayto
checkifyouhavethecorrectradioateachendistolookatthecolorof
thecableglandontheZipLink.RemoteZipLinkradioshaveBLACKcable
glandsonthetelcocable.MasterZipLinkradioshaveBEIGEcableglands
onthetelcocable:
Beige(Master)Radio Black(Remote)Radio
AssemblyTips
Therearetwoofeverything.Herearesomebasicsetuptips:
•TheradiounitsMUSTbeinstalledatcorrectendpoint.
•TheZipLinkunitthathasaBLACKcableglandontheCAT3cable
shouldplugintoaphoneormodemorfaxmachine.(Youmay
alsosaythatthisistheradiothatgoestotheREMOTEend,orthe
endthatcurrentlydoesnothavephoneservice.)
•TheZipLinkthathasaBEIGE(orWHITE)cableglandontheCAT3
cableshouldplugintoatelephoneline(thatcomesfromaphone
company,orofficePBX).
10
•Theothercomponentscanbeusedateitherendofthe
installation.ThisincludestheZipLinkPowerInjectors.
•Hereiswhateachendwilllooklikejustbeforeyouinstallit:
•First,attachthe
aluminumbrackettothe
backoftheZipLink.Use
the4bolts,washers,and
lockwashersthatare
alreadyonthebackof
theradio:
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•Next,puttheU‐Boltsinplace.These
arealsopackagedintheAccessory
Kit,alongwithwashersandlock
washers:
•Thehardwareforthepolemountsisincludedwiththebrackets
themselves.Includedarethreebolts‐‐‐2short,square‐flanged
boltsandonelongpivotbolt‐‐‐withnuts.Hereishowyoushould
putthepiecestogetherpriortotighteninganything:
12
ElectricalConnections
HereisadiagramoftheZipLinkelectricalconnectivity(nottoscale):
•ThepoweradaptersmustbepluggedintothewallAFTERthe
otherconnectionshavebeenmade.Theonlydifference
(electrically)betweentheZipLink‐1andtheZipLink‐2isthatthe
ZipLink‐2hasconnectionstoextendasecondPOTSlineoverthe
radiolink.TheZipLink‐2hasasecond“dongle”thatisconnected
tothePowerInjectorforthesecondPOTScircuit(seeimage
below).Inallotherrespects,theinstallationofthesystemis
identical.
ZipLink‐2
•Itdoesnotmatterinwhatordertheradiosarepoweredup.
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•TheweatherproofRJ45connectorsmaybeleftunused,aslongas
youtightenthemtoensurenomoistureorcontaminantsget
insidethem.
•TheRJ45connectionperformanceisapprox.equaltoanoffice
networkLANconnection.Itissuitableforemail,internetaccess,
VoIPgradeconnectivity.
•TheRJ‐45connectionontheMastersidemaybepluggedintoan
officerouter,etc.IfthePhone/RemoteRJ45connectionistobe
sharedbetweencomputers,itisrecommendedthatitisrouted
aswell,toensureLANtrafficbetweencomputersattheremote
enddoesnotgo“overtheair”,therebyaffectingthe
performanceofthewirelessLANconnectionbyrelaying
unnecessaryLANtraffic.
•WhenusingtheZipLinkwithdevicesotherthanstandardphones
andtelephonecompanylines,youneedtobecarefulaboutthe
polarityinuse.Somethirdpartydeviceswillnotautomatically
switchwhenthelineisreversed.
•Standardtelephonecableshavethetwoendsreversed.This
meansthatredwillbeonpin2ononeendandpin3onthe
other,andviceversaforgreen.
•Ifyouhaveaphonecablethatisastraightthroughcable,ie.Red
isalwayspin2andgreenisalwayspin3,itmaycauseanissue
withtheZipLinkoperation.StandardphonecablesreverseRed
andGreen.
•EvenifyouuseaZipLinkonlyfortheEthernetcapability,you
MUSTstillruntheprovidedCat3cableinsidetothepower
injector.TheZipLinkdoesnotsupportpoweroverEthernet.
14
Aimingtheantennas
Onceyouhavecompletedtheinstallation,trytogetbothradiospointing
attheotherasbestasyoucan.Itisessentialthattheradiosaremounted
insuchawaythatthecablingcomesoutthebottom(towardsthe
ground).
TheZipLinkantennasallowupto15degreesvariationinbetweenthe
RemoteandMasterunitsleft/rightandup/down.Alignmentdoesnot
havetobeperfecttohavethesystemwork.Forexample,ifyourZipLink
RemoteandMasterunitsare500yards/metersapart,andoneis
mounted5feethigherthantheother,andtheleft/rightangleisoutby3
or4degrees,youwillstillhaveagoodstablelink.
TheTUtilZipLinksoftwarecanassistyouingettingthebestsignal
possible.ContactMulti‐LinkTechSupportforthedownloadlink.
BenchTesting
WhenbenchtestingtheZipLinkpriortodoingafieldinstallation,there
areafewimportantthingstoknow.
First,theradiosaredesignedtobeatleast20feetapartwhenin
operation.Itispossibletooverdrivetheradiosiftheyareonlyafewfeet
apartandfacingeachother.
Generally,itisokaytoputbothZipLinkradiosonthebenchfacing
upwardsandafewfeetapartwhentesting.Thiswillbringthesignal
strengthdowntoareasonablelevel.
WhenusingtheZipLinkwithdevicesotherthanstandardphonesand
telcolines,youneedtobecarefulaboutthelinepolarityinuse.Some
thirdpartydeviceswillnotautomaticallyswitchwhentheline
connectionsarereversed.
15
Standardtelephonecableshavethetwoendsreversed.Thismeansthat
RedwillbeonPIN2ononeendandPIN3ontheother,andviceversafor
green.
Ifyouhaveatelephonecablethatisastraightthroughcable,ie.Redis
alwaysPIN2andGreenisalwaysPIN3,itmaycauseanissuewiththe
ZipLinkoperation.
Startup/Testing
Oncetheantennashavebeenaligned,youmaytestthesystembydialing
inandoutofthephoneattheremoteend.Youdonotneedtodo
anythingdifferentthanyouwouldforanyotherphonethatisonthe
system,withoneexception.Ifyourphonesystemrequiresyoutodial“9”
foranoutsideline,youneedtodialtheentirephonenumberwiththe
leading9atonetime,ie.919165551212,insteadof“9”(Waitfordial
tone),thenthenumber.Thisiscalledonestagedialing,andistheonly
methodusedwiththeZipLink.
IfyouareusingtheRJ45dataconnectionaswell,youshouldbeableto
use your computer in exactly the same way you would at the other end.
16
BasicTroubleshooting
•TUtilZipLinksoftwareisaprogramthatwillassistwiththe
installationandconfigurationsettingsoftheZipLinksystem.
Thelatestup‐to‐datesoftwaremaybeacquiredfromMulti‐
LinkTechnicalSupport(800‐535‐4651).Thereisnocharge
forthissoftware.
•Ifyoudonotgetadialtonewhenyoupickupthephoneat
theremoteend,itismostlikelythatyoueitherhaveno
powertotheRemoteZipLinkradio,orhaveaccidentally
installedtheMasterunitattheremoteend.Checkthatthe
RemoteispluggedintoaZipLinkunitwithtwoblackcable
glands(onesmallandonelarge),andthatthepower
adaptersLEDisilluminatingwhenpowerisapplied.
•IfyouareexperiencinganykindofAChumornoiseduringa
phonecall,thisusuallyindicatesthatoneoftheoutdoor
unitshasnotbeenproperlygrounded.Youneedtoground
theoutsidechassisoftheoutdoorunitsinordertoensurea
suitablepathtogroundinthecaseofalightningstrike,and
toreducespuriousradionoise.
•Incomingringforwardingdelayiswhathappenstocapture
callerIDonincomingcalls.Ifyoudialintotheremotesite
whileyouarerightnexttoit,youwillnoticeabouttworings
occurbeforetheremotesitephoneattheRemoteendwill
ring.ThisisrequiredbytheZipLinktocapturethecallerID
information,whichissuppliedafterthefirstringbythe
phonecompany,priortocompletingthecalltotheremote
site’sphone.Thisisnormal.
17
•Grounding–TheZipLinkisconsideredtobealowvoltage
device,andthereforeusuallymaybeinstalledbyanyone
withoutneedforpermitsorinspections.However,you
needtomakecertaintheoutsidecaseisgroundedfor
lightning,andyoushouldconsultyourlocalelectrical/
safetycodesinyourareapriortoperforminganykindof
permanentequipmentinstallation.Additionally,theZipLink
PowerInjectorlidcanberemovedifyouwanttoeither
permanentlyscrewittothecommunicationsroomwall,or
directlyruntelephonewiretotheunit.However,DONOT
GROUNDANYCONNECTIONSINSIDETHEZipLinkPOWER
INJECTOR.ThegreenwireinsidetheZipLinkPowerInjector
isafloatingPOTSphonesignal–thesystemwillmalfunction
ifyougroundit!
•UsewithModems–TheZipLinkhasbeentestedupto2400
bpsusingstandardmodemsandphonelines.Inmany
cases,higherdataratescanbeobtaineddueto
compressionthatisautomaticallyprovidedbythemodem
protocol.Toimprovedialupconnectiontimesand
reliability,youshouldsetthemaximumconnectspeedfora
ZipLinkconnectedremotesiteto2400bps.These
commandsmayvarybyyourparticularmodem
manufacturer.
•ZipLinksystemsthatareshippedpre‐programmedfor
operationwithmodemshaveaMODEMstickeronthe
shippingbox.IfyouareuncertainwhatkindofZipLinkyou
have,orifyouwanttochangeaZipLinkfromaVoice/Fax
unittoaModem‐optimizedunit,youwillneedtocontact
Multi‐Linktechnicalsupport@800‐535‐4651forassistance.
18
•ItisimportanttounderstandthateachZipLinksystemis
programmedtoONLYtalktoitself.IfyouhavetwoZipLink
systems,youcannotmixandmatchRemoteandMaster
units.
•TheZipLinkdoesnotcurrentlysupportdistinctivering.If
yourequireservicingtwoPhone/Remotenumbersfromthe
sameline,thereareaccessoryproductsthatmaybeusedin
conjunctionwiththeZipLink‐2tocreateasecondline
occurrence.PleasecontactMulti‐Linksupportfordetails.
•Ifyouareexperiencingvoiceordataperformanceproblems,
thereisapossibilitythattheZipLinkisgettinginterference
fromanotherwirelessnetworknearthesite.Tocheckif
thisisthecasedownload(nocharge)andinstallonalaptop
computeraprogramcalledinSSIDerfromthefollowinglink:
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
Ifyouneed
assistance,youmaycontactyourlocalreseller,distributor,
orMulti‐Linktechnicalsupportdirectlybycontactingyour
regionaltechnicalsupportcenter,listedontheMulti‐Link
websiteunderSupport.
•Fax–TheZipLinksupportsfaxmachinereceiveandtransmit
upto14.4kbps.
•ShouldyouwishtoremovetheoriginalZipLinkstickerfrom
thefrontoftheoutdoorunitandreplaceitwithsomething
else,pleaseensurethatanythingappliedtothefrontofthe
ZipLinkradioallowshighfrequencyradiotopassthrough.
Youcannotuselabelsthathaveanykindofmetallicbased
inks,orafoillabelwithoutharmingtheZipLink,orseriously
degradingitsperformance.
19
Warranty
Multi‐LinkwarrantstheZipLinksystemforoneyearfromdateof
purchasebytheoriginalowner.
Multi‐Linkwillreplaceorrepair,atitsoption,anyZipLinksystem
thatfailstoperformundernormaluse,providedthatthesystemis
returned,atthecostoftheowner,toMulti‐Link.Itemsthatare
returnedforwarrantyrepairmustbeaccompaniedbyacopyofthe
originalinvoiceorproofofpurchase.Forfurtherdetailsabouthow
toreceivewarrantyorafterwarrantyserviceinformation,please
contactyourMulti‐Linkdistributor,orvisittheMulti‐Linkwebsite
atwww.Multi‐Link.net.
AnyoperationoftheZipLinkoutsideofspecifiedtemperatures,
power,environment,orinamannerspecifiedinthismanualas
harmfultothedevicewillvoidanywarranty.Additionally,any
attemptedrepairordismantlingofanyMulti‐Linkproduct,inany
way,willvoidallwarranties.
InnoeventshallMulti‐Linkliabilityexceedtheoriginalpurchase
priceoftheproductfromdirect,indirect,special,incidental,or
consequentialdamagesresultingfromtheuse,ormisuse,ofthis
product.
Disclaimer
Installationofthisequipmentmustbeinstrictaccordancewiththe
instructionsincludedinthisdocumentation.
Anychangesormodificationsmadetothisdevicethatisnotexpressly
approvedbyMulti‐Linkmayvoidtheuser’sauthoritytooperatethe
equipment.
20
Specifications
RadioRange 1Mile/1.6km
POTSLine 1or2regularanalog
REN8
EthernetPort RJ45/10BTequivalent
FaxSpeed 14.4kbps
ModemSpeed(ModemVersion) Upto2400bps
OperatingTemperature‐30Fto+145F
PowerRequired120VAC/7W,(ZipLink)/10W(ZipLink2)
RadioType 5.8GHzDSSS,LicenseFree
Encryption 256BitWPA2‐PSK(AES)
RadioPower +41dBm
RadioSensitivity ‐89dBm@10
‐5
BER
OutdoorUnitSize 9”x9”x3.5”
(23cmx23cmx9cm)
SystemShippingWeight 23lbs/10.5kg
ShippingDimensions 24”x11”x8.75”
(61cmx28cmx22cm)
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