CS-GPRS Communications Package User Guide Preliminary Issued 22.7.08 Copyright © 2008 Campbell Scientific Ltd.
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Contents PDF viewers note: These page numbers refer to the printed version of this document. Use the Adobe Acrobat® bookmarks tab for links to specific sections. 1. Introduction to GPRS .................................................. 1 2. Hardware ...................................................................... 2 2.1 Power use considerations ........................................................................... 2 3. Network Contract and SIM card ................................. 2 4.
CS-GPRS Communications Package This manual is designed to act as an addendum to the CS-GSM manual that describes general use of the Wavecom Fastrack modem with Campbell Scientific dataloggers.
CS-GPRS Communications Package • Can do a one way transmission to Loggernet or another logger (Senddata) • Can open virtual serial ports to other dataloggers or sensors via the IP network. 2. Hardware The CS-GPRS package comprises an SC105 interface, an SC12 cable for connection of the SC105 to the datalogger CS I/O port plus a cable to connect between the modem port of the SC105 and the Wavecom modem. A mounting bracket is also provided.
User Guide For full flexibility specialist suppliers provide a service to give individual devices a fixed IP address, which can either be private, e.g. accessed via a VPN connection, or a public address on the internet. In the UK one such supplier is Wyless.net. Such companies are suitable for larger scale networks and provide additional on-line tools to let you monitor the state of your GPRS connections, traffic use etc.
CS-GPRS Communications Package baud rates may be possible, depending on the modem being used, its set-up and how busy the network is locally. See the screen image below. If using an SC105 interface you may also need to setup the SC105 so that it is set to connect to the datalogger on the correct SDC address (SDC7 by default) and also that the serial port of the SC105’s baud rate is set to match the Wavecom modem RS232 baud rate (9600 by default) and the SC105 is set in Modem mode.
User Guide Once the port/baud rate is set you will find the main PPP settings under the Deployment, TCP/IP tab. You need to enter your username and password provided by the airtime company (this is sometimes blank or a non-user specific value for open networks). You also need to specify the GPRS dial command for your modem.
CS-GPRS Communications Package Hyperterminal. The setting can also be sent from the datalogger program itself (contact CS for details of how to do this). NOTE The TCP/IP info box will only show valid IP address values once a PPP connection has been established. If you intend to run the modem without turning power off to it and without resetting the modem under program control, it is advisable to include commands to reset the modem either at regular intervals or at the start of the dialling process.
User Guide 7. General Principles of Operation Once the PPP setting is enabled on a giving serial port the datalogger will immediately try to establish a PPP connection. It repeats the dial attempt every few seconds. If the modem is able to dial and everything is set correctly a successful connection will take 5-10 seconds to establish. 7.
CS-GPRS Communications Package 7.2 Using systems with dynamic IP addresses If you have a dynamic IP SIM (as is standard on most networks) you will not be able to call out to the logger to start up the link for communication using Loggernet. Instead you need to configure the datalogger to open a connection back to the Loggernet PC which must have a public IP address (see firewall issues below). There are two ways of doing this.
User Guide 7.3 Keeping the connection open Once a connection between the logger and the Loggernet PC is established, Pakbus messaging will keep the port open and allow Loggernet to make outgoing calls to the logger, e.g. via scheduled data collections. Note, for the connection to stay open you must set the Pakbus port to be always open (but do not set this setting if the logger is making less frequent call-back connections controlled by code in the logger to conserve power).
CS-GPRS Communications Package every 30 minutes or set up another process, e.g. low frequency pinging, to keep the connection active. It should be noted that when you download a program to the datalogger via a TCP/IP connection, the datalogger will reset that connection as part of the process of compiling the program. This will cause it to drop the PPP connection for some tens of seconds.
User Guide NOTE By implication the logger defaults to the PPPOpen state as soon a port is activated for PPP. This is not dependent on a program running, although if you load a program that incorrectly calls PPPClose you could block further communications.
CS-GPRS Communications Package Note that Device Configuration program only reads these settings once when the program starts. If you wish to monitor the IP state of the PPP connection in realtime use the Data Monitor tab of the program and look at the status screen. Look at the IPInfo field (about 2/3 of the way down the list). This shows the same information as above but is automatically updated every few seconds.
User Guide If the PPP link works (i.e. you get an non-zero IP address in the screen above) but you do not get a connection to Loggernet, check these points for calling out to fixed IP addresses: • • • • That you are using the right IP and port setting in Loggernet to match those assigned to you for the SIM. Make sure any local firewalls allow you to make outgoing connections on the ports being used.
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