AW900R4-EVAL USER’S MANUAL 900 MHz Wireless RS-485 Module Evaluation Kit Industrial-grade, long-range wireless systems AvaLAN W I R E L E S S
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual Thank you for your purchase of the AW900R4-EVAL Wireless RS-485 Module Evaluation Kit. 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 AW900R4-EVAL Operational summary RS-485 is a point-to-multipoint serial data bus that requires just three wires: two differential data lines and a common. Because there is no handshake involved, all devices on the bus must be configured for the same data protocol and timing or communication will not occur. Also, it is possible to lose data if a receiving device cannot keep up with a sending device. The AW900R4 supports data rates from 9600 Baud to 115,200 Baud and has a 4 KB data buffer.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual Electrical Connections The AW900R4-EVAL 900 MHz Wireless RS-485 Module Evaluation Kit contains two each of the following items: • • • • • AW900R4 Wireless Ethernet Modules AW2-900 Omnidirectional Antennas AW-P8 Antenna to Radio Connectors 20” USB to Mini-USB Adapter Cables 120VAC to 6 VDC Wall Hanger Power Supplies Additional quantities of any of these components may be purchased from AvaLAN Wireless or our distributors.
User’s Manual AW900R4-EVAL Physical Dimensions 66 mm 23 mm 18 mm 55 mm 63 mm 18 mm 58 mm 15 mm 33 mm 25 mm 900 MHz Channels Channel 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Technical support (650) 384-0000 Center Frequency Auto Mode 903.12500 MHz 905.20833 MHz 907.29167 MHz 909.37500 MHz 911.45833 MHz 913.54167 MHz 915.62500 MHz 917.70833 MHz 919.79167 MHz 921.87500 MHz 923.95833 MHz 926.04167 MHz PAGE 5 www.avalanwireless.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual Configuration Setting or changing the configuration (Baud rate, etc.) of the AW900R4 module is done via the USB interface on the board. Follow these steps: 1. The PC that you will connect via USB to the module must have a USB 2.0 or later port available and be running MS Windows XP or later. In addition, three critical pieces of software must be installed; a driver, a utility and a dll. 2.
User’s Manual AW900R4-EVAL 4. Run EvkUtilityLite.exe and you should see a window like this: 5. Use the dropdown menu labeled “Boot Config Serial Port” to select the virtual COM port connected to your AW900R4 module. 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 module. 6.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual Serial Port Settings These settings must match those of the RS-485 bus connected to the module. Baud Rate Drop down menu providing six choices from 9600 Baud to 115,200 Baud (serial data rate).
User’s Manual AW900R4-EVAL • 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. 8. The AW900R4’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 a link since many of the parameters will be the same.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual 12. 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.
User’s Manual AW900R4-EVAL Reset Switch: Press momentarily to cycle power and reboot the module.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual Example Test Method If you already have a suitable RS-485 data source and an equally suitable destination, you will probably want to evaluate the AW900R4 capability with those. If you do not, you might consider using USB to Serial converters and hyperterm or some other terminal emulator program.
User’s Manual AW900R4-EVAL a “port closed” error, but no harm will be done. 6. You will need a serial data source program installed on your PC. If you are running Windows XP, hyperterm is already there and makes a good data source. Unfortunately, Microsoft has discontinued inclusion of hyperterm and you will need another alternative for later versions of Windows. There are many available for free or at low cost and they may be found by Internet search.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual Notes Technical support (650) 384-0000 PAGE 14 www.avalanwireless.
User’s Manual AW900R4-EVAL Technical specifications Characteristic Specification/Description Serial Baud Rate 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 76800, 115200 RS-485 Signal Characteristics See data sheet for Maxim 3079E chip (www.maxim-ic.com) RF transmission rate 1.
AW900R4-EVAL User’s Manual FCC Certification The AW900R4 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 AW900R4 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.
