AW900R2-PAIR USER’S MANUAL 900 MHz Outdoor Wireless RS-232 Bridge Industrial-grade, long-range wireless systems AvaLAN W I R E L E S S
AW900R2-PAIR User’s Manual Thank you for your purchase of the AW900R2-PAIR Outdoor Wireless RS-232 Bridge. If you have any questions when configuring your AvaLAN system, the best place to get answers is to visit www.avalanwireless.com. You will also find the latest updates there. If more assistance is needed, send email to support@avalanwireless.com. To speak to a live technician, please call technical support at the number below during normal business hours.
User’s Manual AW900R2-PAIR Operational summary RS-232 is a point-to-point serial data connection that requires just three wires: Transmit Data, Receive Data and Ground. Because there is no handshake involved, both ends must be configured for matching data timing and protocol or communication will not occur. Also, it is possible to lose data if the receiving device cannot keep up with the sending device. The AW900R2-PAIR supports data rates from 9600 Baud to 115,200 Baud and has a 4 KB data buffer.
AW900R2-PAIR User’s Manual Electrical Connections The AW900R2-PAIR 900 MHz Outdoor Wireless RS-232 Bridge contains two each of the following items: • • • • • • Outdoor wireless RS-232 radios AW2-900 Omnidirectional Antennas RJ-45 to Screw Terminal 30 foot cables DB-9 Female to Screw Terminal breakout adapters 20” USB to Mini-USB Adapter Cables 120VAC to 12 VDC Wall Hanger Power Supplies Antennas or other useful accessories such as pole-mounting brackets may be purchased from AvaLAN Wireless or our distr
User’s Manual AW900R2-PAIR Configuration Setting or changing the configuration (Baud rate, etc.) of the AW900R2-PAIR is done via the USB interface on their internal modules. Follow these steps with both radios: 1. Remove the four screws holding the radio’s cover. The screws have a 1/8” Allen hex head. Be careful not to damage the rubber sealing gasket or the lip on the box. A labeled picture of the internal module may be found on page 10. 2.
AW900R2-PAIR User’s Manual 5. Run EvkUtilityLite.exe and you should see a window like this: 6. Use the dropdown menu labeled “Boot Config Serial Port” to select the virtual COM port connected to your AW900R2 radio. Note that the list is populated only when EvkUtilityLite first starts. If you change your cable connection or plug in another module, restart the utility to see the changes. Next click the “Get” button to fetch the current configuration from the radio. 7.
User’s Manual AW900R2-PAIR Serial Port Settings These settings must match the RS-232 device wired to the radio. Baud Rate Drop down menu providing 6 choices from 9600 Baud to 115,200 Baud (serial data rate).
AW900R2-PAIR User’s Manual • Dumping a large volume of data at a fixed high Baud rate runs the risk of data corruption if anything (tuning, noise retries, channel switching, etc.) causes the 4 KB buffer in the sending radio to be overwritten. 9. The AW900R2’s chosen configuration can be saved to a local data file for future use by clicking the “Save” button. You might want to do this when configuring both ends of the link since the AccessPoint/Subscriber Unit choice is the only difference.
User’s Manual AW900R2-PAIR 13. A snapshot of the module’s status can be retrieved by clicking the “Get Stats” button. Here is an explanation of the values returned: Name Meaning RSSI Received Signal Strength Indication in dBm. This is useful when aligning antennas or evaluating path attenuation. Radio Block Error Rate Percentage of radio data blocks that are incorrectly received. Radio Failed Packets Count of failed data packets since the last reboot.
AW900R2-PAIR User’s Manual Reset Switch: Press momentarily to cycle power and reboot the module.
User’s Manual AW900R2-PAIR Technical specifications Characteristic Specification/Description Serial Baud Rate 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 76800, 115200 RS-232 Signal Characteristics See data sheet for Maxim 3221 chip (www.maxim-ic.com) RF transmission rate 1.536 Mbps RF Output Power +21 dBm (4 Watts EIRP with 15 dBi antenna) Receiver Sensitivity -97 dBm at 10-4 Bit Error Rate Range Up to 40 miles line-of-sight with 15 dBi antennas RF channels/bandwidth 12 non-overlapping with 2.
AW900R2-PAIR User’s Manual FCC Certification The AW900R2 OEM RF Module complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules and regulations. Compliance with labeling requirements, FCC notices and antenna regulations is required. IMPORTANT: The AW900R2 OEM RF Modules have been certified by the FCC for use with other products without any further certification (as per FCC section 2.1091). Changes or modifications not expressly approved by AvaLAN could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
