Rice Lake AirStream User manual

63108
AirStream
™
Wireless Modem
Operation
Manual

i
Chapter 1: Overview1.........................................................................................1
Why Wireless? ....................................................................................................1
AirStream Technology ........................................................................................................2
Frequency Hopping .................................................................................................................. 3
Speed and Bandwidth ............................................................................................................. 3
Sessions and Links................................................................................................................... 4
Error Detection and Correction .................................................................................................4
Transmit Power Control ............................................................................................................ 5
Data Transfer Sessions ............................................................................................................ 5
Security.............................................................................................................................. 6
Transceiver Features ..........................................................................................................6
Using This Manual ............................................................................................................. 7
Assumptions ....................................................................................................................... 8
Getting Help........................................................................................................................ 8
Chapter 2: Installation and Specifications ....................................................9
Hardware Installation ........................................................................................................ 9
Installing Stand-alone Transceivers .........................................................................................9
Interface Requirements .................................................................................................. 11
Stand-alone Transceiver Pin Out .............................................................................................12
Serial Communications ................................................................................................... 13
Hardware Specifications .................................................................................................15
Software Requirements ...................................................................................................16
Software Installation ........................................................................................................ 16
Configuration Manager ............................................................................................................16
Network Software Utilities ....................................................................................................... 17
Antennas ...........................................................................................................................17
Chapter 3: Point to Point and Network Topologies .....................................19
Point to Point Pair.............................................................................................................19
Networks ..........................................................................................................................19
Multi-Point Network ................................................................................................................ 20
Repeater Network ...................................................................................................................20
Broadcast Network................................................................................................................. 22
Network Software Utilities ...............................................................................................23
Copyright © 2002 Rice Lake Weighing Systems. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Specifications subject to change without notice.
February 2002
Contents

ii
ComPort Intercept ..................................................................................................................23
TCP/IP Intercept .....................................................................................................................24
ActiveX Library ........................................................................................................................24
DOS Library............................................................................................................................ 24
Chapter 4: Configuring Your Transceiver ........................................................ 25
Getting Status ..................................................................................................................26
The Toolbar ...................................................................................................................... 27
Exiting the program .......................................................................................................... 27
Quick Configuration ................................................................................................... 27
Modifying Settings ..................................................................................................... 31
Applying and Storing Changes......................................................................................... 31
Generating Reports ....................................................................................................32
Power Management................................................................................................... 34
Passwords and Access............................................................................................... 36
Levels Of Access .............................................................................................................36
Passwords .......................................................................................................................36
Using Hop Tables......................................................................................................... 37
Entering Hop Table Numbers ...........................................................................................37
Validating the Hop Table.................................................................................................. 38
Specifying Hopping Parameters ....................................................................................... 38
Assigning IDs.............................................................................................................. 39
Signal Analysis .......................................................................................................... 41
Serial Settings ............................................................................................................ 41
Data Threshold ...........................................................................................................43
Chapter 5: Setting up a Network with ComPort ..............................................45
ComPort Configurator ................................................................................................ 46
Advanced View ................................................................................................................48
Entering and Changing Information ..................................................................................48
Adding Virtual Ports ......................................................................................................... 48
Setting Control Line Parameters .......................................................................................51
Tx Purge........................................................................................................................... 51
Remove Unit ID Number .................................................................................................. 52
Remove Virtual Communications Port............................................................................... 53
Renaming Virtual Ports ..................................................................................................... 53
Using ComPort Activator............................................................................................ 53
ComPort Activator ............................................................................................................54

iii
Chapter 6: Setting up a Network with TCP/IP .............................................. 55
TCP/IP Configurator .......................................................................................................... 56
Advanced View....................................................................................................................... 57
Entering and Changing Information ......................................................................................... 58
Adding TCP/IP Ports ...............................................................................................................58
Editing Ports ...........................................................................................................................60
Setting Control Line Parameters.............................................................................................. 61
Remove Unit ID Number .........................................................................................................61
Remove TCP/IP COM Port ......................................................................................................62
Renaming TCP/IP Ports ..........................................................................................................62
Monitoring Activity ...........................................................................................................62
Using TCP/IP Activator..................................................................................................... 64
TCP/IP Activator ..................................................................................................................... 64
Chapter 7: ActiveX Network Applications 67
wCi_OPEN ........................................................................................................................67
wCi_Close ........................................................................................................................68
wCi_WriteDataEx .............................................................................................................68
wCi_GetDestinationID ......................................................................................................69
wCi_CheckRxQue .............................................................................................................69
wCi_SetOutputDeviceID ...................................................................................................69
wCi_StartStopPrinting ......................................................................................................70
wCi_GetSourceID .............................................................................................................70
wCi_SetGpioOutput ..........................................................................................................71
wCi_GetGpioOutput ..........................................................................................................71
wCi_GetGpioInput ............................................................................................................72
wCi_GetGpioMode ............................................................................................................72
wCi_Ping ..........................................................................................................................73
AboutBox ..........................................................................................................................73
NewMessage..................................................................................................................... 73
ActiveX Design Time Properties Page:............................................................................ 74
Chapter 8: Testing Your Units .......................................................................75
Terminal Mode Test .........................................................................................................75
What You Need .......................................................................................................................75
Performing the Test................................................................................................................. 76
Loopback Test ..................................................................................................................76
What You Need....................................................................................................................... 77
Performing the Test ................................................................................................................77
Viewing Data In The Rx And Tx Panes ....................................................................................79

iv
Using Hyperterminal ...............................................................................................................80
Chapter 9: Troubleshooting.............................................................................. 81
Chapter 10: Learning Exercises....................................................................... 83
Point to Point .............................................................................................................. 83
Materials Needed ............................................................................................................. 83
Procedure........................................................................................................................ 83
Multi-Point ComPort Intercept................................................................................... 86
Materials Needed ............................................................................................................. 86
Procedure........................................................................................................................ 86
Multi-Point TCP/IP Intercept ...................................................................................... 91
Materials Needed.............................................................................................................. 91
Procedure ........................................................................................................................91
Repeater TCP/IP Intercept ......................................................................................... 95
Materials Needed ............................................................................................................. 95
Procedure ........................................................................................................................95
Broadcast Remote-To-All .........................................................................................100
Materials Needed........................................................................................................... 100
Procedure ......................................................................................................................100
Broadcast Remote-To-Host ...................................................................................... 104
Materials Needed ........................................................................................................... 104
Procedure ......................................................................................................................104
Glossary...........................................................................................................109
Warranty ..........................................................................................................110

1
1
AirStream User’s Manual
Chapter 1: Overview
Welcome to the AirStream
™
family of wireless
Transceivers. These frequency hopping transceivers
are supplied as a Stand-alone Transceiver that plugs
into the RS232 port of an existing product and can be
used to create wireless data networks in the license-
free band at 2.4 GHz. AirStream Transceivers can
function in a wide array of network topologies. This
manual provides the information you need to install,
configure, and test this transceiver in a variety of
these networks.
WHY WIRELESS?
AirStream Transceivers provide the first practical and
affordable alternative to wire for industrial and
commercial applications where data must be
transmitted reliably and securely in a wide range of
indoor and outdoor environments.These applications
are solutions for OEMs and Systems Integrators in
need of reliable, secure, long-range, and low-cost
alternatives to wire for commercial and industrial
applications. There are hundreds of factory, office,
industrial, transportation, medical, financial, and
retail applications for which AirStream solutions are
ideally suited.
Wireless data connectivity offers many advantages
over wire:
•Wireless systems are easier to install
•Wireless system installation and maintenance
costs are lower
•Wireless links are feasible in many locations
where wire is not
•Wireless installations can be reconfigured or
relocated easily
•Wireless products are mobile
In this Chapter
•Why Wireless
•AirStream
Technology
•Frequency
Hopping
•Security
•Transceiver
Features
•Assumptions
•Using this
Manual
•Getting Help

AirStream Technology
Overview
2
AirStream User’s Manual
Reliability, security, range, and cost have been the traditional obstacles to
widespread adoption of wireless data networks. But today frequency
hopping technology provides reliability comparable to and security
greater than wire.AirStream Transceivers have been designed specifically
for long range and low cost. Moreover, the license-free band at 2.4GHz
allows wireless data connectivity solutions to be implemented without
site licenses or carrier fees. These developments make wireless data
networks more practical and affordable than wire for many applications.
AirStream wireless data connectivity solutions are more reliable, more
secure, longer range, and lower cost than wire:
•More Reliable
AirStream Transceivers evaluated with industry standard test
equipment have exceeded a bit error rate (BER) standard 100 times
more rigorous than for 10 BaseT Ethernet and 1,000 times more
reliably than cellular devices.
•More Secure
AirStream Transceivers utilize frequency hopping technology
developed by the military and refined by intelligence agencies to
avoid interception and interference. It is more difficult to intercept
communications between AirStream wireless devices than to tap a
wire.
•Longer Range
AirStream Transceivers operate through walls and floors up to 1,500
feet in most buildings, and line-of-sight to the horizon outdoors. For
longer distances, networks of AirStream Transceivers can relay data
packets to and from out-of-range devices to significantly extend the
range of a wireless data network.
•Lower Cost
Wireless devices are installed at prices that can be a fraction of the
cost of wires. AirStream devices can be moved or reconfigured at no
additional cost.
AIRSTREAMTECHNOLOGY
AirStream uses Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) technology
to ensure secure, reliable long-range data transmissions. AirStream
utilizes this proven technology to provide OEMs and Systems Integrators
with a superior wireless data connectivity solution for many industrial and
commercial applications.

AirStream Technology
Overview
3
AirStream User’s Manual
Frequency Hopping
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum technology was developed by the
U.S. military to prevent interference or interception of radio transmissions
on the battlefield. Frequency hopping devices concentrate their full power
into a very narrow signal and randomly hop from one frequency to
another within that spectrum up to 200 times per second. If they
encounter interference on a particular frequency, the devices retain the
affected data, randomly hop to another point on the spectrum, and
continue transmission. There are always spaces without interference
somewhere in the allotted radio spectrum. A frequency hopping device
will find those spaces and complete a transmission where other wireless
technologies fail.
AirStream Transceivers operate in the license-free Industrial, Scientific,
and Medical (ISM) band at 2.4GHz. No one owns or licenses these
frequency bands. Consequently, anyone may operate a wireless network
in a license-free band without licenses or carrier fees (unlike cellular
technology), subject only to restrictions on how much power can be used
(1 watt or less in the U.S.) and the type of radio signals transmitted
(spread spectrum). The U.S. FCC and telecommunications regulators in
many countries have designated this band for low-power license-free use.
Speed and Bandwidth
There is a common misconception regarding speed and data connectivity;
specifically, that faster is better. In computer and telecommunications
networks, higher speeds are unquestionably superior. However, this is not
the case with wireless data connectivity. There are many circumstances
where range, in-building penetration, and reliability are more important
than speed.
Paying for more speed than what is necessary to implement a data
connectivity application is not efficient. The broader radio frequency (RF)
bandwidth needed to transmit higher data rates dramatically reduces
range. In contrast, the lower data rates used by AirStream allow narrow
bandwidths to be used. This is ideal for intermittent, repetitive data
transfer, where the premium is on accuracy and long-range transmission.
AirStream products have been designed specifically to meet the
requirements of such applications. A lower data rate enables AirStream
Transceivers to operate within a narrow RF band over significantly longer
ranges than other 2.4 GHz Frequency Hopping or Direct Sequence Spread
Spectrum (DSSS) products.
...
..
..
.
..
...
..
.
..
2.483
2.4
Interference
Transmitting
Transceiver
Receiving
Transceiver

AirStream Technology
Overview
4
AirStream User’s Manual
Sessions and Links
AirStream Transceivers use demand-based frequency hopping where RF
is only transmitted when there is data available to transmit. The initiating
transceiver is termed the master and the receiving transceiver is called the
slave. Any device (host or remote transceiver) can be a master or a slave
depending on who initiates the data transfer. AirStream Transceivers
transmit data using sessions and links. A session represents a complete
data transfer cycle between two devices. The session lasts as long as it
takes to transfer all of the data being sent.A session can be comprised of a
number of links which represent the actual transfer of data between two
devices. Radio interference can break a link but not end a session. It may
take several links to complete a session. If a link is broken, it is the job of
the master to reinitiate the link in order to complete the session. This
strategy reduces the collision rate of packets and RF interference from
adjacent devices.
Data going in and out of the transceiver via the serial port is (or can be) a
continuous stream of information; whereas, data transmitted over the air
is broken into frames. Links consist of these frames. The frame represents
the physical data packet transmitted per hop between units.
The transceiver’s channel access (communications link) is based on the
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) protocol. This protocol has the
advantage of requiring no special coordination between remotes and
works best with a large or variable number of remotes transmitting
infrequent bursts of data. Channel latency is exponentially distributed,
meaning there is a wait cycle during interference. During interference,
data is hopped to another frequency. Although there is a slight delay
during each hop, data is not lost.
Error Detection and Correction
AirStream Transceivers provide CRC error correction, forward error
correction, and transmission retry to ensure complete transmissions, even
in the most demanding circumstances.
The transceiver uses the ITU cyclical redundancy code 16 (CRC-16) for
error detection. Two separate CRC-16 checks are used within each packet
frame:
•Header Section
•Data Section