Sierra Wireless AirCard 580 WAN User manual

AirCard® 580 Wireless WAN
Modem
Installation Guide
2130536
Rev 2

Preface
Rev 2 Mar.11 1
Important Notice Duetothenatureofwirelesscommunications,transmission
andreceptionofdatacanneverbeguaranteed.Datamaybe
delayed,corrupted(i.e.,haveerrors)orbetotallylost.
Althoughsignificantdelaysorlossesofdataarerarewhen
wirelessdevicessuchastheSierraWirelessmodemareusedin
anormalmannerwithawell‐constructednetwork,theSierra
Wirelessmodemshouldnotbeusedinsituationswherefailure
totransmitorreceivedatacouldresultindamageofanykind
totheuseroranyotherparty,includingbutnotlimitedto
personalinjury,death,orlossofproperty.SierraWireless
acceptsnoresponsibilityfordamagesofanykindresulting
fromdelaysorerrorsindatatransmittedorreceivedusingthe
SierraWirelessmodem,orforfailureoftheSierraWireless
modemtotransmitorreceivesuchdata.
Safety and Hazards DonotoperatetheSierraWirelessmodeminareaswhere
blastingisinprogress,whereexplosiveatmospheresmaybe
present,nearmedicalequipment,nearlifesupportequipment,
oranyequipmentwhichmaybesusceptibletoanyformof
radiointerference.Insuchareas,theSierraWirelessmodem
MUSTBEPOWEREDOFF.TheSierraWirelessmodemcan
transmitsignalsthatcouldinterferewiththisequipment.
DonotoperatetheSierraWirelessmodeminanyaircraft,
whethertheaircraftisonthegroundorinflight.Inaircraft,the
SierraWirelessmodemMUSTBEPOWEREDOFF.When
operating,theSierraWirelessmodemcantransmitsignalsthat
couldinterferewithvariousonboardsystems.
Note: Some airlines may permit the use of cellular phones while the
aircraft is on the ground and the door is open. The Sierra Wireless
modem may be used at this time.
Thedriveroroperatorofanyvehicleshouldnotoperatethe
SierraWirelessmodemwhileincontrolofavehicle.Doingso
willdetractfromthedriveroroperatorʹscontrolandoperation
ofthatvehicle.Insomestatesandprovinces,operatingsuch
communicationsdeviceswhileincontrolofavehicleisan
offence.
Limitation of
Liability
Theinformationinthismanualissubjecttochangewithout
noticeanddoesnotrepresentacommitmentonthepartof
SierraWireless.SIERRAWIRELESSANDITSAFFILIATES
SPECIFICALLYDISCLAIMLIABILITYFORANYANDALL
DIRECT,INDIRECT,SPECIAL,GENERAL,INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL,PUNITIVEOREXEMPLARYDAMAGES
INCLUDING,BUTNOTLIMITEDTO,LOSSOFPROFITSOR

AirCard® 580 Wireless WAN Modem - Installation Guide
22130536
REVENUEORANTICIPATEDPROFITSORREVENUE
ARISINGOUTOFTHEUSEORINABILITYTOUSEANY
SIERRAWIRELESSPRODUCT,EVENIFSIERRAWIRELESS
AND/ORITSAFFILIATESHASBEENADVISEDOFTHE
POSSIBILITYOFSUCHDAMAGESORTHEYARE
FORESEEABLEORFORCLAIMSBYANYTHIRDPARTY.
Notwithstandingtheforegoing,innoeventshallSierra
Wirelessand/oritsaffiliatesaggregateliabilityarisingunderor
inconnectionwiththeSierraWirelessproduct,regardlessof
thenumberofevents,occurrences,orclaimsgivingriseto
liability,beinexcessofthepricepaidbythepurchaserforthe
SierraWirelessproduct.
Patents Thisproductmaycontaintechnologydevelopedbyorfor
SierraWirelessInc.
Thisproductincludestechnologylicensedfrom
QUALCOMM®3G.
ThisproductismanufacturedorsoldbySierraWirelessInc.or
itsaffiliatesunderoneormorepatentslicensedfromInter‐
DigitalGroup.
Copyright ©2011SierraWireless.Allrightsreserved.

Preface
Rev 2 Mar.11 3
Trademarks AirCardand“HeartoftheWirelessMachine”areregistered
trademarksofSierraWireless.
SierraWireless,theSierraWirelesslogo,theredwavedesign,
thered‐tippedantenna,andWatcheraretrademarksofSierra
Wireless.
Windows®isaregisteredtrademarkofMicrosoftCorporation.
QUALCOMM®isaregisteredtrademarkofQUALCOMM
Incorporated.
InstallShield®isaregisteredtrademarkandservicemarkof
InstallShieldCorporation.
Othertrademarksarethepropertyoftherespectiveowners.
Comments
Yourcommentsandsuggestionsonimprovingthisdocumen‐
tationarewelcomeandappreciated.Pleasee‐mailyour
feedback,notingdocument2130536Rev2,to
[e-mail].Thankyou.
Consultourwebsiteforup‐to‐dateproductdescriptions,
documentation,applicationnotes,firmwareupgrades,trouble‐
shootingtips,andpressreleases:
www.sierrawireless.com
Sales Desk: Phone: [phone]
Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time
E-mail: [email protected]
Post: Sierra Wireless
13811 Wireless Way
Richmond, BC
Canada V6V 3A4
Fax: [phone]
Web: www.sierrawireless.com

AirCard® 580 Wireless WAN Modem - Installation Guide
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Rev 2 Mar.11 5
Table of Contents
Introducing the AirCard® 580 Wireless WAN Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Feature summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wireless WAN modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CDMA 3G services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Additional AirCard features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Package contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
System components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Your host computing device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The AirCard 580 wireless WAN modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The AirCard drivers and enabling software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
A CDMA service provider account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The CDMA wireless network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
The AirCard 580 software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Account activation and configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
AirCard software installation procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Card insertion and removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Inserting the AirCard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Removing the AirCard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Account configuration procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Activation Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Manual activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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Automated activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Care and Maintenance of Your AirCard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Watcher Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Starting and closing Watcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Components of the Watcher window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Window controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Docking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Always On Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Interpreting icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Connection Status Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Call Status Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Indicator area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Minimized Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
LED operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Radio frequency and electrical specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Environmental specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Rev 2 Mar.11 7
1
1: Introducing the AirCard® 580
Wireless WAN Modem
•Welcome
•Feature summary
•Package contents Welcome
Note: Do not insert the AirCard
into your PC Card slot prior to
installing the software. It is
important to install the software
and driver in the correct order.
For detailed procedures, see
page 15.
TheSierraWirelessAirCard 580wirelessWANmodemisa
dual‐bandwirelessPC CardforcellularandNorthAmerican
PCSnetworks.Itenhancesthefunctionalityofyourmobile
computingdevicebyaddingwirelessdataand2‐way
messaging.
Thiscardallowsyoutodothefollowing(subjecttofeature
availability),withoutusingawirelinephoneornetwork:
•ConnecttotheInternet,VPNandcorporatenetworks
•Sendandreceivee‐mail
•SendandreceiveSMSmessages
ThesoftwareprovidedwiththeAirCardalsoallowsyouto
manageandmonitorconnectionswithaWiFinetwork
adapter.
Note: You can view this guide online or print it to keep on hand. If
you're viewing it online, simply click a topic in the Table of Contents, or
a page number in the Index, or any page reference or section
reference. (Most text that is blue is a clickable link.) The PDF
automatically displays the appropriate page.
Feature summary
Note: For step-by-step instruc-
tions to access features of the
AirCard, consult the online help
available with Watcher™
(page 31).
TheAirCardisdesignedtoprovideawiderangeofcapabil‐
itiesusingCDMAnetworktechnology.Implementationof
thesefeaturesdependsontheparticularserviceproviderand
accountfeaturesyouhavechosen.
Somefeaturesdescribedinthismanualmaynotbesupported
byyourserviceproviderormaynotbeavailablewithyour
networkaccount.Fordetailsoftheservicesandaccounts
available,contactyourserviceprovider.

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Wireless WAN modem
Onceinstalledandconfigured,theAirCardcanconnecttothe
CDMAnetworkautomatically.YoujustinserttheAirCard,
allowWatchertoautolaunchandauthenticateyouraccounton
thenetwork,thenlaunchyourInternetbrowser—you’re
online!
Asamodem,theAirCardalsoallowsyoutodialupanyother
modem(suchasacorporateserver).
CDMA 3G services
TheAirCardoperatesoveratypeofwirelessnetworkcalled
CDMA (CodeDivisionMultipleAccess).
CDMA 3Gtechnologyprovidesavarietyofconnectivity
features,dependingonyourserviceproviderandaccount:
•1x‐EVDOsupportsInternetconnectionswithdataratesup
to2.4 Mbps(downlinkfromthenetwork)and153.6 kbps
(uplinktothenetwork).Averagedataratesareroughly
700 kbps(downlinkfromthenetwork)and153.6 kbps
(uplinktothenetwork).Actualspeeddependsonthe
networkconditions.
•1XsupportsInternetconnectionswithdataratesupto
153.6 kbps(downlinkfromthenetwork)and76.8 kbps
(uplinktothenetwork).Actualspeeddependsonthe
networkconditions.
Oncetheconnectionisestablished,youcanopenyourbrowser
andconnecttoanywebsitethatisaccessiblethroughthe
Internet,oraccessotherInternetservices(suchase‐mail).
Theconnectionis“active”whendatatransmissionis
occurring.Ifdatatransmissionstopsforaperiodoftime
(determinedbythenetwork),theconnectionbecomes
“dormant”;seepage 29.
•Circuitswitched(dial‐up)data,usingtheearlierCDMA
IS‐95specification,supportsdataconnectionstoanydial‐
inserviceatratesupto14.4 kbps.
•QNC (QuickNetConnect),providesasimplifiedwayto
dialintoanInternetconnection(usingcircuitswitched
data)where3G(1xEV‐DOor1X)high‐speedpacket
serviceisnotavailable.
•SMS (ShortMessageService),allowsyoutosendand
receiveshorttextmessagesusingtheAirCard.