RV-M6S / RV-M6G Da ta Radio Modem Module Optional GPS Tracking Te c hn ical Ma nu al Version A8 March 2021 Raveon Technologies Corporation 2320 Cousteau Court Vista, CA 92081 www.raveon.com Company Confidential 1 Raveon Technologies Corp.
Table of Contents 1. General Information about the RV-M6 ........................................................... 4 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 2. Overview ....................................................................................................... 7 2.1. 3. General Command Common to Data Mode and Paging Mode .................................................... 17 Data Modem Mode Related Commands ......................................................................................
10. M6 Diagnostic Provisions ......................................................................... 53 10.1. 10.2. 10.3. 11. Tune-up and Alignment ............................................................................ 54 11.1. 11.2. 11.3. 11.4. 11.5. 11.6. 12. Overview of Diagnostics ............................................................................................................... 53 Reading the Diagnostic Information .............................................................
1. General Information about the RV-M6 1.1. Congratulations! Congratulations on your purchase of an M6 OEM radio modem – the most advanced and flexible radio modem of its kind available today. Please take a few minutes to read this manual carefully. The information presented here will allow you to derive maximum performance from your radio modem. After reading it, keep the manual handy for quick reference, in case questions arise later on. 1.2.
1.5. Safety Training Information Antennas used for this transmitter must not exceed an antenna gain of 0 dBi. The radio modem must be used in fixed vehicle-mount configurations or at fixed basestation sites. It is not intended for portable applications. The RV-M6S-UC (UHF version) safety information: The maximum permissible exposure to the antenna is: The minimum separation distance is 30cm. Max peak output power at antenna input terminal = 33.
1.6. FCC Compliance Information This device complies with Part 15 and Part 90 FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
2. Overview The M6 RF radio modem module is capable of high-speed narrow-band data communications and is compatible with Raveon’s M7 and M6 series Radio Modems. Its powerful microprocessor enables it to perform as both a data radio modem and a paging receiver. It contains a receiver, a transmitter, and modem, creating an easy-touse transparent data radio link. The M6’s user interface is asynchronous digital data into and out of the M6.
Automatically transmit location and status information. Very efficient compressed and encrypted over-the-air protocols. Utilizes TDMA algorithm for transmitting GPS data so eliminate interference. Report Rate and TDM slot timing are user configurable. 2.2. Firmware Updating The M6 is a software based radio and modem. There are times an existing unit needs to get updated with a new feature, and this can often be done by loading the new firmware into the older radio modem.
3. Specifications 3.1. General Model Number, transceiver: .............................................................RV-M6-xx Model Number, receive only: ...........................................................RV-M6R-xx Model Number, GPS option: ............................................................RV-M6G-xx Frequency Bands: ...............................................................................-UC 450-470MHz -VB 150-174MHz Serial Port Baud Rates ..........................................
3.4. Interface Specifications Connector Type .......................................... 20-pin 2mm header DC Input ..................................................... 6-14V (Clean or regulated, contact Raveon for other voltages) DC power draw, RX mode ....................... < 600mW DC power draw, TX mode, 2W ................ < 6W DC current draw, standby mode ............. < 150uA IO Voltage Levels ....................................... 3.3V digital logic RX and TX data .................................
4. Electrical Inputs and Outputs 4.1. LEDs Status LED (TX) This LED blinks red when the transmitter keys and is putting out RF power. It blinks green upon the reception of data or RF carrier. It turns orange when decoding a paging message. Power LED (PWR) This LED does a short blink, once every two seconds, indicating to the user that the power to the modem is ON and the modem is working. When the modem is in the command mode, this LED will blink on and off, once per second. 4.2.
4.3. Heatsinking The M6 operates at up to 25% transmit duty cycle at ambient temperatures up to 60°C. For duty cycles up to 100%, the module requires additional heat sinking and airflow. If an external heat sink presses against the “GND PAD” are of the PCB, the RF power transistor will run cooler, and allow higher duty cycles. 4.4. Mounting Holes 6 mounting holes are provided on the module. For best RF performance, the M6 module should be mounted to the system ground, using metal stand-offs. 4.5.
4.6. I/O Options (RS232, 485, USB, 422, Digital I/O …) The RV-M6 OEM radio module is designed to be integrated into other products. If there is a need for an enclosure and an I/O connector, contact Raveon for their Tech Series M22 enclosure with a myriad of I/O options. The M6 can be ordered in the Tech Series enclosure as a model RV-M22x-BB where BB is the frequency band: VA, VB, UA, UC,.. The Tech Series enclosure support a myriad of IO options.
is more than 2V, the modem is in active run state. When DZTR is less than 0.6V, the unit will go into a deep sleep mode. 5. User Serial Port Commands 5.1. Overview The serial portion the RF modem is used to send and receive data over the air, as well as to configure the RF modem. In normal operation, the user sends data into the TXD pin of the IO connector, and this data is transmitted over the air. Received data from another RF modem is output to the user via the RXD pin of the IO connector.
return. For Example, to set the address of the M6 modem to 1234, enter the following command: ATDT 1234 Once a Parameter is changed, the modem will begin using the new parameter and the new parameter is saved to non-volatile. 5.4. Reading a Parameter To read the value of a particular setting, issue the command, with no parameter. The modem will return the value followed by an “OK”. The modem’s OK response is: The value in ASCII decimal format. A ( = ASCII 0D, = ASCII 0A).
Even though the serial baud rate reverts to 9600 baud when the CONFIG button is pressed and the IO port is RS232, it will revert back to the settings programmed into the M6 modem once the Command Mode is exited. 5.6. Exiting the Command Mode There are three ways to exit the command mode. They are: 1. ATCN Issuing the ATCN. The M6 radio will exit the command mode, and begin normal operation. 2. EXIT Issuing the EXIT. The M6 radio will exit the command mode, and begin normal operation. 3. Time Out.
6. Command Mode Commands 6.1. General Commands These commands apply to the general configuration of the M6, and are applicable in both the data modem mode and paging mode. Command Command Description Parameters Silence AFTER Sequence - Sets period of silence after the command sequence characters in mS. Range:0 – 1000 (mS) ATBD Baud Rate – Sets serial com port baud rate (bps). Type the range index (0-7) or the actual desired baud rate.
ATHN Channel Number Select current radio channel number. This command does not store the channel number into EEPROM, Range: 1 - 6 1 ATHP Channel Number – Select current radio channel number. The channel number is stored in EEPROM memory. Range: 1 - 6 1 ATI0 Read/Set IO Mode Normal digital serial mode is 5. If plugged into Tech Series enclosure, set this to ATIO 8 for automatic IO detection. Cycle Power to radio after changing ATIO mode. MIMIC mode ATIO 1.
6 = Test Points ON 7 = Transmit CW 8 = Transmit 1010101… ATTE Read product temperature – Read the internal temperature of the unit’s circuit board in degrees Celsius. -40 to +99 - ATVB Read DC input Voltage– Returns the DC input voltage reading, in mV (12500 = 12.5VDC input). None none ATVR Firmware Version – Returns firmware version currently loaded on the module. Restore Factory – Restore the factory default values. This command will not erase the calibration values.
ATBW Set/Read IF Bandwidth - Sets the IF bandwidth to narrow (N) or wide (W). Narrow is for 12.5kHz channels, and wide is for 25 or 30kHz spaced channels. N, W ATHS Show History – Show a table of listing the most recent receptions, and the IDs that the data was sent from No parameter ATHX ATLA ATMK ATMY ATPO ATR0 Enable/Disable single-hop repeating – 0=any number of repeats, 1 – unit will not repeat a packet that was already repeated. Listen Address – Configures the listen address for this unit.
PING REPEAT RPR Ping another modem. Format is PING xxxx, where xxxx is the ID of the modem to ping. If remote access is enabled on xxxx, it will respond. Turn Repeater feature on/off. If 1, a quick way to enable repeating all packets. I f 0, disables the repeat feature. Remote Procedure Request. Used to request execution of a command on a remote mode (over the air). See M6 System Protocol manual for information on using this feature.
the internal local GPS. OUTPUT PREFIX PROX TRIGDX TRIGSPEED TXRATE SLOTQTY Set Output format. Set/read the serial port output format to output GPS position/status messages. This parameter is set by the GPS x command. It may be manually reconfigured AFTER the GPS x command is issued. 0=none, 1=$PRAVE, 2= $GPTLL, 3=$GPWPL, 5=PIN, 6=$QVPOS, 9=Debug, 11=$GPGGA, 12=$GPRMC, 12=GGA, 13=GLL, 14=GLL&VTG, 16=!AIVDM&$PRAVE ID Prefix. Set an ID prefix.
SLOTNUM SLOTTIME TDMATIME TDMADATA TRIGBITS TRIGPOL TRIGEX Change the TDMA slot number. Use this command with caution! This will change the TDMA slot assignment, leaving the ID (MYID) unchanged. Typically, the ID and the slot number are the same. Once this command is used, the TDMA slot number for this transceiver to will no change if the ID of the device is changed. Set SLOTNUM to -1 to force the Slot Number to be automatically set to the MYID of the radio. This is the factory default setting.
CBIT FAILSAFE GOUT GINP IOPIN MIMIC SBIT TBIT CBIT XX Clears output bits, XX is hexadecimal format. Any bit in x set to 1 will cause the same output bit in the modem’s output register to be cleared to 0. No bits get set. X=C3 to set bits 0, 1, 14, 15. To read the output bit register, enter CBIT with no parameter or better to use GETOUT command.
Over-the-air data modem baud rate: ................. 4800 baud, 2-level Serial port .......................................................... 9600baud, N/8/1 Hardware flow control ........................................ Off RF Power Output ............................................... 100% (2watts) Channel number selected.................................. 1 ID (ATMY) ......................................................... 1234 Address Mask (ATMK) ......................................
7. Using the M6 – Packet Data Mode This section describes the operation of the M6 when it is in the Packet Mode of operation. It is the easiest and most reliable mode of operation for a data modem. In Packet Mode, all transmissions are sent in bursts or packets, and contain address, error detection, and error correction information. Date enters the M6 modem’s serial I/O port, and is stored in a buffer within the modem until it is ready to be transmitted.
(Packet Mode of Operation) 7.1. Setup 1. Connect a DC power source to the M6. 2. Connect a good quality antenna tuned to the operating frequency, to the RF connector on the front of the modem. Use a good antenna, and place is at high-above obstructions as possible. The antenna should always be connected when the power to the unit is on. Removing the antenna when the unit is transmitting may damage the power amplifier in the unit. 3.
ATMK ATDT The network address mask. Default is FFFF. The address of the unit this modem will talk to. Default is 1234. 6. Connect your serial data device to the TXD and RXD pins of the I/O connector. To connect the M6 to an RS232 serial port, you will need an external digital to serial level converter. The M6 is now ready to use. Any serial data going into the modem will be transmitted over the air, and any data received over the air will be sent out the serial port.
to 450.100MHz. Alternately, you may enter the frequency in hertz by entering ATFX 450100000. You must enter all of the zeros if you enter the frequency in hertz. 3. Review the frequency setting with the ATFT, ATFR, or ATFX command. To see a list of all of the channels , enter ATF. 4. To change the radio channel, use the ATHP x command while the modem is in the command mode. 5. For MURS versions of this product, the ATFX command will not change frequency.
Channel-Lockout”, using the ATBC 1 command. ATBC 0 disables BCL, and thus the modem will transmit whenever it has data to send out. The factory-default is BCL disabled. Use caution when enabling it, as a CW interferer, PC with poor shielding, or some other source of RF can stop the modem from transmitting. The threshold where the M6 senses RF carrier, and determines that the channel is busy is set by the ATRA command. This is factory calibrated to an equivalent RF level of approximately -110dBm. 7.4.
When communicating over the air, M6 modems transmit their Unit Address and the Destination Address along with the data. Receiving modems check the received Destination Address, and see if it matches their Unit Address. If it does match, the receiving modem outputs the data it received via its serial port. If it does not match, the receiving modem discards the data, and does not send it out the serial port.
Note: Logically 1 AND 1 = 1, 0 AND 0 = 0, 1 AND 0 = 0, 0 AND 1 = 0 ` Figure 1 (Address Filtering) M6 receives data over-the-air to Destination Address xxxx “AND” them together M6 has Unit Address yyyy M6 has Address Mask “AND” them together zzzz Compare the two results from these two ANDs Output the data via serial port if the two results were identical One effect of this is that an address mask of 0000 will cause the M6 modem to receive all data from all units that transmit data messages.
Result: Data will be received. 1236 ANDed with FFF0 is 1230. 1234 ANDed with FFF0 is 1230. The results of the ANDing match, and thus the data will be received. Example 4 (able to receive from a group, xx34 where xx is any two digits) Sending Destination Address = 2234 Receiving M6’s Unit Address = 1234 Receiving M6’s Address Mask = 00FF Result: Data will be received. 2234 AND 00FF equals 0034. 1234 AND 00FF equals 0034, therefore they match.
Figure 2 Overview of Repeater Operation In the example shown in Figure 3 above, M6 A is will communicate with all other modems in the system. It can directly communicate with B, H, and F. Because of propagation limits, it cannot communicate reliable to E, D, C, and G. To solve this problem, some of the M6 modems are configured as repeaters. The still are able to send and receive data, but they also will repeat data out to the modems that are out of range of M6 A.
M6 Unit ID (ATMY) Destination (ATDT) Network Mask (ATMK) Addresses programmed into unit Repeat Source Repeat Source Mask Repeat Destination Repeat Destination Mask Repeater table programmed into unit A B 1000 1010 1000 1000 FF00 FF00 1020 1000 FFFF FFFF 1000 1000 FFFF FFFF C D 1020 1030 1000 1000 FF00 FF00 1031 FFFF 1000 FFFF 1000 FFFF 1000 FFFF 1030 FFFF 1000 FFFF 1000 FFF0 1000 FFFF E F G H 1032 1021 1031 1022 1000 1000 1000 1000 FF00 FF00 FF00 FF00 Store-and-forw
To delete an entry in the table so it has no effect on the operation, set the fields to 0. For example, to disable entry 1, use the ATX1 0 0 0 0 command. There can be an issue with regard to store-and-forward repeating and busy channels, particularly on polled systems. Raveon’s M6 wireless modem has a number of provisions in it to make store-and-forward repeating work smoothly. For example, in the diagram above, assume A is the master station, and C is a remote station being polled.
not ne encrypted in the ATDEN 0 mode. GPS position transmissions will be encrypted with AES128 if the KEYPHRASE is set to anything but 0. ATDEN 2 AES128 data encryption Data Encryption mode 2 is to force the M6 modem to encrypt all transmissions with AES128 methodology. The packets may become a little longer than unencrypted packets.
MURS channels on channels 1-5. The user cannot change the frequency of the M6G, only the channel number. 6. With the unit in the command mode, change any of the default operating parameters that must be modified as you desire. From the factory, the modems are configured and delivered ready-to-use. Out of the box, they will communicate on the default radio channel using the factory defaults.
8.1. GPS Operation Mode Configuration The GPS x command is provided to make configuring the M6G simple to setup for common configurations. The following table summarizes the various standard configurations. Choose the configuration that is most similar to your usage, and execute the appropriate GPS x command. See Section 3 for a complete list of the various GPS modes. To review the overall configuration of the GPS features of the M6G radio, type GX when in the command mode.
M6G GPS Modes of Operation Transponder RavTrack PC 1 GPS Display -LX receive only GPS display and/or MDT Data Modem with GPS info Data Modem with GPS info 3 $GPTLL ( x=2 ) 4 $GPWPL ( x=3 ) 5 $PRAVE ( x=1 ) 6 $GPWPL ( x=3 ) 11 nothing ( x=3 ) Yes(1) 13 $GPGLL & GPVTG No(0) Yes (1) No (0) 10 GGA, GLL, RMC GGA, GLL, RMC GGA, GLL, RMC 10 TX & RX (0) Yes TX & RX (0) Yes RX only (1) Yes RX (1) No 10 RX & TX (0) Yes 10 RX & TX (0) No 10 RX & TX (0) Yes 10 4800 NO 38400 Ye
8.2. Position Transmission When the M6G transmits its position, it also reports other status information such as voltage, input bits, temperature, velocity, and heading. All of these parameters are compressed into a short data packet, and sent over the air in the proper TDMA time slot. Each M6G is assigned a time slot, based upon its ID. ID 1 is slot 1, ID 2 is slot 2… Position/status reporting happens in one of 2 different intervals. A) At the TXRATE setting.
GPS Position Transmission Trigger Diagram 42 Raveon Technologies Corp.
8.4. Digital Inputs (Trigger Bits) The stock GX Transponder has 3 digital inputs. The status of these input bits is transmitted every time the M6 reports its position. When configuring an M6 GPS transponder, you may configure any or all of the digital inputs to be “Trigger Bits”. The status of all bits is transmitted every time, but when a bit is designated as a Trigger Bit, it will also cause the M6 to wake-up if it is sleeping, and triggers it to send a transmission as soon as it can.
TRIGBITS x This command enables or disables individual bits for use as input triggers. If a bit is designated a Trigger Bit, then its state is latched until it is transmitted. TRIGPOL x Sets the polarity of the input trigger bit. 0=active high, 1=inverted, active low. Setting TRIGPOL 0 will mean all trigger bits are active high, and their state will be latched as a high (1) if the bit ever goes high. TRIGEX x Sets which bits are used to report on exception.
TRIGBITS 1 (enables bit 0) TRIGEX 1 (configures bit 0 for exception reporting) To configure all bits to be used to report when they change, issue these commands: TRIGBITS 7 (enables bit 0, 1 and 2) TRIGEX 7 (configures bit 0, 1, and 2 for exception reporting) To configure bit 0 to be used to report when it changes, bit 1 to cause a report when it goes low, and disable bit 2, use these commands.
other Transponders. The GPS will normally output various NMEA messages from its serial port. These NMEA messages from the external GPS must not be transmitted, or the radio channel will become much too busy. The M6G “mutes” its data input when configured in GPS mode 4. The M6G will send position/status as well as transmit and receive serial data when it is in GPS mode 2. Serial Port Baud Rate While the modem is transmitting, the user may continue to send more data into the M6G.
$GPWPL 8.7. NMEA WayPoint List. Output 3 This message is commonly used to share waypoint locations among GPS units. The M6G can output this message when it receives a position report from other M6G transponders. A GPS connected to it, should put a waypoint on its screen, and in its database, at the location specified by the M6G.
The default Address Mask is F000, which means the M6G will receive a transmission from any other M6G as long as the fist digit matches, in this case, is a 0. Make sure you set the MYID of each M6G in your system to a different number.
When communicating over the air, M6G modems transmit their Unit Address and the Destination Address along with the data. Receiving modems check the received Destination Address, and see if it matches their Unit Address. If it does match, the receiving modem outputs the data it received via its serial port. If it does not match, the receiving modem discards the data, and does not send it out the serial port. Broadcast Transmissions The double FF is used to identify a broadcast packet.
` Figure 3 (Address Filtering) M6 receives data over-the-air to Destination Address xxxx M6 has Unit Address yyyy M6 has Address Mask “AND” them together “AND” them together zzzz Compare the two results from these two ANDs Output the data via serial port if the two results were identical One effect of this is that an address mask of 0000 will cause the M6G modem to receive all data from all units that transmit data messages.
Result: Data will be received. 1236 ANDed with FFF0 is 1230. 1234 ANDed with FFF0 is 1230. The results of the ANDing match, and thus the data will be received. Example 4 (able to receive from a group, xx34 where xx is any two digits) Sending Destination Address = 2234 Receiving M6’s Unit Address = 1234 Receiving M6’s Address Mask = 00FF Result: Data will be received. 2234 AND 00FF equals 0034. 1234 AND 00FF equals 0034, therefore they match.
Once you set the “GPS Mode” of the radio using the GPS X command, you can change the NMEAMASK parameter to modify with of the NMEA sentences will come out the serial port. For example, to have only the RMC sentence come out the serial port, use the following command” NMEAMASK 256 To have the GGA and GLL come out the serial port use this command: NMEAMASK 3 The NMEAMASK parameter is the sum of all of the decimal values of the individual bits corresponding to the NMEA messages. 9.
10. Diagnostic Provisions 10.1. Overview of Diagnostics Internal to the M6 radio modem, is a powerful 32-bit microprocessor. Along with handing all aspects of radio modulation and demodulation, the microprocessor also maintains an extensive array of diagnostic information. This section details the diagnostic information available, and describes how to us the information to optimize or troubleshoot a M6 radio network. 10.2.
11. Tune-up and Alignment The M6 modem has been factory calibrated, in should not require any recalibration when installed, or when changing frequency or channel. Unless the user is trained in radio test and calibration, the values stored in the R registers should not be modified. Radio calibration and alignment is performed using the ATRx commands. Improper adjustment of the radio calibration (R0-R9 and RA registers), can result in failure of the radio modem.
R3 Serial Port time out – Number of mS of no activity on the serial port before transmitting the data in its buffer. R5 Preamble length – The number of bytes to send overthe-air in the pre-amble. 20 (mS) Range: 1 - 5000 4** R8 Frequency Offset. Used to set the radio on the center of the radio channel. R9 Modulation Balance. RA Select RF CD output threshold – This value is the RSSI threshold where the carrier detect is asserted.
this value, Carrier Detect is asserted. The pre-set value may be change with the ATRA command. Note: “Asserted” means low. “Negated” means high. The CD pin will sit at about 3.3V when CD is not asserted. A digital 1 (3.3V) on the CD pin is the standard convention used to indicate no carrier detect. This allows the digital signals like the CD pin to be connected to standard RS232 line driver circuits and operated with the correct polarity.
If Output Data Framing is enabled, any other Carrier Detect and flow control output configuration is ignored. 11.6. RF Power Output The ATPO command sets the RF power output. The setting is 0-100. ATPO 0 disables the transmit RF power output. Setting ATPO to 100 puts the RF power output at 100% power output. The actual RF power output at 100% is the full RF power for the board. This may vary by model number. See the data sheet for maximum RF power levels for various models.
12. Troubleshooting Symptom: Unit will not receive Solution #1. Verify that the modem is on the correct RF channel. If it is, the RX LED should blink every time another modem tries to transmit to it. If the RX LED does not blink when it should be receiving, it is on the wrong RF frequency. Soultion #2. If the addresses match, and RX LED blinks but still no reception of data, verify that the RTS signal is asserted. The M6 will not output data if the RTS signal on the DB-9 I/O connector is not asserted.
Solution #2. Verify the serial port baud rate. This is difficult if it is set wrong, because you cannot enter the command mode to check it. Try all possible baud rates, and see if one of them works with the modem. Alternately, remove the rear cover of the modem, and press the CONFIG button. This will force the modem into the Command Mode, as well as set the serial port to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, one stop, and no parity.
13. Mechanical A drawing is shown below. 60 Raveon Technologies Corp.
Limited One Year Warranty If within 12 months from date of purchase, this Product fails conforms to Raveon Technologies Corporation’s (the Company) published specifications for the model purchased due to a defect in material or workmanship, Raveon Technologies Corporation will repair or replace it, at Raveon’s sole discretion. This warranty is extended to the original purchasing end user only and is not transferable.
Warranty service is available by mailing postage prepaid to: Raveon Technologies Corporation 2320 Cousteau Court Vista, CA 92081 - USA To obtain warranty service, include a copy of the original sales receipt or invoice showing the date, location, and price of purchase. Include a written description of the problem with the product, a phone number and name of person who may be contacted regarding the problem, and the address to where the product should be returned.
