User's Manual

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than 7dB are strictly prohibited for use with this device. The required antenna impedance is
50 Ohms. If in doubt please contact Comark or Distributor for advice.
The antenna for the Gateway is designated as ‘Long Range’, re-ordering part number 18299.
Backbone – A transmitter during setup is designated to be part of the backbone. This is
identified during site surveys. A backbone transmitter will be mains powered all the time and
will therefore be available for RF transmission when any adjacent leaf node becomes active.
Meshing – The technology used in the RF500 system provides a unique operating
environment for the transmitters. Transmitters are setup to be either part of the Backbone or to
be Leaf Transmitter. Those designated as part of the Backbone remain in RF contact with
each other constantly. By doing this the system is able to dynamically adapt to changing
conditions automatically ensuring the integrity of the system at all times. The meshing
technology allows the system to determine the best route for any data packets to be
transmitted from the transmitters back to the gateway or vice-versa.
Self-Healing – As part of the Meshing technology the system is able to adapt automatically if
one part of the system is damaged, i.e. Radio Contact is lost with part of the Backbone. Only
the leaf transmitters directly connected to the faulty part of the system will be affected with
the rest of the transmitters simply finding alternative routes for the data.
Leaf Transmitter – A leaf transmitter is designated during setup and will generally only be
battery powered. It will go into a low power mode when not transmitting or taking sensor
readings, only becoming active when it’s required to transmit data.
Event Logging – All transmitters have the capacity to measure from one or more sensor
inputs at a number of pre-defined logging intervals. However should an alarm event occur
between log intervals then the transmitters will wake up to record this event. As soon as the
alarm is triggered, the transmitter will wake up and transmit the alarm back to the Gateway
via the mesh network. This technique allows for long intervals between taking static readings
knowing that if an alarm does occur it will be captured. This results in a robust system that
only takes a reading when there is an event to record.