W I R E L E S S C O M M U N I C A T I O N S Y S T E M S Paging System Handbook Version 7.XX Firmware WaveWare Technologies, Inc.
Contents Introduction - 3 Obtaining Pagers for your Paging System - 5 Paging System Operation - 6 Paging System Installation - 7 Trouble Shooting - 8 Appendix A – TAP Interface Specifications - 10 Appendix B – DIP Switch Settings - 14 Appendix C – TAP Checksum Calculation - 15 Appendix D – TAP Response Codes - 16 Appendix E – Extended ID Processing - 17 Appendix F – Embedded Control Characters - 18 Appendix G – WaveWare Interface Specifications - 19 Appendix H – COMP1 Interface Specifications - 26 Appendix
Introduction Your WaveWaretm Paging System allows you to send paging messages to one or more persons via pagers, and devices that incorporate POCSAG paging data receivers. You can setup automatic transmission of messages or you can compose messages on the fly and transmit them immediately. The WaveWare Paging Encoder can be provided in either standalone form or bundled with a radio transceiver to become a paging system.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Remote administration of Pager Database. Pager database can be modified using specially formatted TAP paging messages. Programmable Timed Messaging function, allowing the paging system to monitor the host system, and automatically deliver alert paging messages if the host system does not communicate to the paging system within a one minute time cycle.
Obtaining Pagers for Your Paging System You can use a wide variety of paging receiver types with WaveWare Paging Systems, including tone/vibe, numeric, alphanumeric, and wireless message centers. You can obtain WaveWare compatible paging receivers from many sources, including Motorola, NEC, Panasonic, and others.
Paging System Operation Your WaveWare Paging System includes a UHF transceiver, and onboard RS-232 communications, that transmits paging messages using the industry standard POCSAG paging protocol. The RS-232 communications allow you to interface the paging system to a PC or to other devices and systems that use RS-232 serial communications (Host Devices).
Paging System Installation Your WaveWare Paging System includes an encoder/transmitter unit, a “Rubber Duck” Antenna, a serial interface cable, and an AC/DC power adapter. Refer to the diagram on the following page. To install the paging system, perform the following steps: 1. Attach the “Rubber Duck” Antenna to the Transmitter Unit. In normal paging operations, the paging transmitter antenna should be oriented in a vertical position to maximize the paging range.
Trouble Shooting POWER When the WaveWare Paging Transmitter Unit is assembled and power is applied, you should be able to see a red Power indicator illuminated on the side of the Transmitter Unit. If not, verify that all connections are tight and verify that 110 VAC power is available at the power outlet. If connections are tight, power is available and the red Power indicator doesn’t illuminate, determine if the Power Adapter is at fault by trying another Power Adapter.
SITE SURVEY Some installation sites might cause paging reception problems. It might be beneficial to perform a site survey by monitoring the radio waves in the area that you want to install a system. It also might be beneficial to perform a range test to find out of the installed signal will be strong enough to be received in all of the areas you want to cover.
Appendix A – TAP Interface Specifications This appendix is included for those who want to develop their own paging control software or add an interface for the WaveWare Paging System to their existing software applications..
The TAP mode of operation can be supplemented with two additional functions, including Host Monitoring Function, and Contact Monitoring Function. See Appendix J - Host Monitoring Function and Appendix K Contact Monitoring Function, for operational details.
PAGING OPERATION Paging transactions are transmitted in blocks of characters, where one transaction is sent per block. Each block sent by the Host Device is acknowledged by the paging system. The Host Device must wait for this acknowledgement before sending the next block. The WaveWare Paging System provides acknowledgement in the form of an character.
If your WaveWare Paging System is configured to operate using TAP Non-Verbose mode, the paging system will respond only with an initial response code of: 211 Following the first part of the TAP message block response, if the input buffer of the paging system has capacity for another TAP message block, the paging system will send the following message. The response can be used as a flow control method to prevent overflow and lost messages.
Appendix B – DIP Switch Settings You may be required to configure the DIP switch bank in the paging encoder to establish the appropriate operating mode and serial communication parameters. Your WaveWare Paging System typically communicates with a PC or other host system via RS-232 at 9600 Baud, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. You can configure the paging system for other serial communication parameters.
Appendix C – TAP Checksum Calculation Following is sample Visual Basic™ code that creates a string to be sent to the paging system. A subset of the string has a checksum calculation performed on it, and then the checksum and a control character are appended to form the string to be sent to the paging system. Refer to the TAP specification at http://www.pcia.com, for more details on the checksum calculation.
Appendix D – TAP Response Codes Following is a table of response codes supported by the WaveWare Paging System. Please note that a response typically means the message should be resent by the host, and an response typically means the message should be abandoned by the host. Response Code Definition 110 1.8 Paging system supports TAP Specification v1.8 211 Page(s) Sent Successfully Paging message(s) successfully delivered.
Appendix E – Extended ID Processing The WaveWare TAP interface and both COMP2 interfaces support ID field lengths from 1 to 10 digits. The ID field can be formatted as follows: Standard Method - ID field lengths from 1 to 4 digits will cause a pager database lookup. ID fields of this format must contain numeric digits only. The numeric ID value will be compared to the ID values stored in the WaveWare Paging System’s onboard pager database.
Appendix F – Embedded Control Characters When using WaveWare mode it is not necessary to make use of the control character. Since WaveWare mode does not use the control character it is only necessary to hit carriage return on your keyboard to have it show up on the pager display. To embed a control character in a TAP mode paging message however, it is necessary include a control character followed by an offset version of the control character you want to embed.
Appendix G – WaveWare Interface Specifications This appendix is included for those who want to develop their own paging control software or add an interface for the WaveWare Paging System to their existing software applications. You can choose to use the WaveWare paging protocol defined in this appendix, the TAP paging protocol, defined in Appendix A – TAP Interface Specifications, COMP1, or COMP2, defined elsewhere in this manual.
System Identification Paging Message Setup Status PAGING MESSAGE COMMAND The Paging Message command is formatted as follows: Example 1: TBCC...CXXXX...XXX Example 2: T,B,CC...C,XXXX...XXX Note: The commas, the character, and the character are optional in the Paging Message command. They are used for appearance purposes to separate subparts of the command string and for formatting the echoed output while troubleshooting the system.
that begin with leading zeroes do not require the leading zeroes to be included in this numeric string, if you use comma delimiters. If comma delimiters are not used, you must include leading zeroes. Note: This numeric string may have one or no leading commas separating it from the data rate. (Hex code 02) is used to mark the beginning of a string of message characters to be transmitted.
will send the message “412-3433” at 1200 bps to a numeric pager with capcode 0765155. Note the lack of commas and the implied leading zeroes on the capcode. Example 4: 3,1,145678 will send a three beep tone/vibe only message at 1200 bps to a tone/vibe only, a numeric, or an alphanumeric pager with capcode 0145678 and multiple tone/vibe cadence capability. Certain paging receiver models may not be designed to respond to multiple tone/vibe cadence messages.
The QQ value is followed by a comma character. This parameter should be monitored if you intend to use software handshaking between your paging control software and the paging transmitter. The paging transmitter Input Queue overflows if the QQ value tries to exceed 14. As an example, with software handshaking, your software should stop sending data at a QQ value of 12 and resume sending data when the QQ value reaches 10 or less.
06 = Invalid Status/Setup Command. Indicates that the command was recognized as a Status or Setup command but the entire command string was not fully interpreted by the paging system. 07 = EEPROM Write Error. Indicates an internal system error in the paging system with regard to the proper storage of configuration information. This condition would likely indicate that paging system repair is required. 08 = Invalid Command Format.
1 = On Example 1: S,1,0 will set the Carrier Detect function to the Off status. Example 2: S11 will set the Carrier Detect function to the On status. STATUS COMMAND You may request the paging transmitter to respond with its current programmed settings using the Status command. The Status command is formatted as follows: S? Where the S? requests the paging system to respond with the status of its current programmed settings.
Appendix H – COMP1 Interface Specifications This appendix is included for those who want to attach the WaveWare Paging System to existing systems that output raw data or simple data strings that are normally used in printing status logs on serial printers. The COMP1 protocol is designed to emulate one of the operational modes of the Motorola People Finder™ paging system.
Appendix I – COMP2 Interface Specifications This appendix is included for those who want to attach the WaveWare Paging System to existing systems that output simplified paging system control commands. The COMP2 protocol is designed to emulate one of the operational modes of the Motorola People Finder™ paging system. There are two possible modes for COMP2, the Verbose and Non-Verbose modes. The Verbose mode has been designed to have human readable responses to message inputs and certain errors.
Tone/Vibe Only Example: PagerID Multiple Message Example: PagerID1Message1PagerID2Message2 Forced Resynchronization Example: PagerIDMessage Multiple Messages using Forced Resynchronization Example: PagerIDMessage 1PagerIDMessage 2 When incoming data is detected on the serial port, one of three things will happen: 1) The data in the serial port input buffer contains properly formatted COMP2 command strings, 2) a
Appendix J – Timed Messaging Function The Timed Messaging Function is designed to allow the WaveWare Paging System to be used for purposes of automatically transmitting predefined messages upon timer related conditions. The Timed Messaging Function can be activated during the process of programming the pager database using the WaveWare Paging Encoder Setup software. The Timed Messaging Function is available in all modes of operation.
Appendix K – Contact Monitoring Function The Contact Monitoring Function is designed to allow the WaveWare Paging System to be used for purposes of automatically transmitting predefined messages upon contact closure and/or contact open conditions. The Contact Monitoring Function can be activated during the process of programming the pager database using the WaveWare Paging Encoder Setup software. The Contact Monitoring Function is available with the TAP, WaveWare, COMP1, and COMP2 modes of operation.
Appendix L – Connectors and Indicators The SPS-5v7 paging system connectors include the following: Power (12VDC, 2 pin positive lock Molex) Serial Data (DB-9 female) Alarm Monitoring (RJ-45 jack, 8 pin). Pins 1 and 2 are the Opto-isolated contact monitoring input pins.
