RV-M8S Da ta / Pa gin g Radio Modem Te c hn ical Ma nu al Version B6 May 2014 Raveon Technologies Corporation 2461 Impala Drive Carlsbad, CA 92010 www.raveon.com Company Confidential 1 Raveon Technologies Corp.
Table of Contents 1. General Information about the RV-M8 ........................................................... 4 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 2. Overview ....................................................................................................... 6 2.1. 2.2. 3. LEDs ............................................................................................................................................ 10 I/O Pinout .............................................................................
9.2. 9.3. 10. Reading the Diagnostic Information ............................................................................................. 32 Status and Statistics Command ................................................................................................... 32 Tune-up and Alignment ............................................................................ 33 10.1. Periodic Calibration ....................................................................................................
1. General Information about the RV-M8 1.1. Congratulations! Congratulations on your purchase of an M8S OEM radio modem – the most advanced 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. NOTICE There are no user-serviceable points inside this transceiver.
4> FCC MPE Regulations WARNING: It is the responsibility of the user to guarantee compliance with the FCC MPE regulations when operating this device in a way other than described in this manual.
2. Overview The M8S RF Paging/Data radio modem is capable of high-speed narrow-band data communications and POCSAG paging decoding. 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-to-use transparent data radio link. The M8S’s user interface is asynchronous digital data into and out of the M8S.
POCSAG decoder mode operates at 512, 1200, and 2400 baud. 1-3 programmable cap codes. Promiscuous mode to receive all pages on the air. Automatic and manual switching between numeric and alpha-numeric modes. Small sized and very rugged extruded enclosure. Company Confidential 7 Raveon Technologies Corp.
3. Specifications 3.1. General Model Number, transceiver:............................................................. RV-M8S-xx Frequency Bands: ............................................................................... -VC 216-220MHz Serial Port Baud Rates ...................................................................... 1.2k, 2.4k, 4.8k, 9.6k, 19.2k, 38.4k, 57.6k, 115.2k Over-the-air baud rates ....................................................................
DC current draw, standby mode ............ < 150uA IO Voltage Levels ....................................... 3.3V digital logic RX and TX data .......................................... Transparent Async Word length ................................................ 8 bits Format ......................................................... N, O, or E Modem handshake signals ....................... RTS, CTS, CD Company Confidential 9 Raveon Technologies Corp.
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 M8S operates at up to 10% transmit duty cycle at ambient temperatures up to 50°C. For duty cycles up to 50%, the module requires additional heat sinking. 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 M8S module should be mounted to the system ground, using metal stand-offs. 4.5.
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. This is the default operating condition of the RF modem.
parameter, and then a carriage return. For Example, to set the address of the M8S 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.
1. Serial port 9600 baud, 8 data bits 1 stop, no parity 2. ATCT setting set to 60000 (60 second time-out) 3. Serial port on the front of the unit in RS232 mode, 9600bps, N/8/1. 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 M8S 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.
6. Command Mode Commands 6.1. General Command Common to Data Mode and Paging Mode These commands apply to the general configuration of the M8S, and are applicable in both the data modem mode and paging mode. These commands are for use by qualified service technicians. 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).
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 ATIC Read Current Draw Read the current draw in mA. Accuracy is within 20% of actual current draw. Range: 0-9999 ATJF Read/set the CTS threshold – Set the serial buffer threshold where the CTS line is negated.
Entering a will terminate the transmission. 3 = 1010… at ¼ baud rate 4 = TX all 0s 5 = TX all 1s 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.
ATMY ATPE Unit Address – Configures the individual; address for this unit. Each digit may be a 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,or F. Note: FF is interpreted as a group. See addressing section. Packet Error Display – Shows statistics to compute packeterror rate. Displays Packets Per Minute (PPM) and a running total. Range: 0000 - FFFF 1234 None (display PER) 1 = reset counters 2 = Stop PER display None RF Power Output. Set or show the RF power output setting.
PM Data Format. 0=Numeric, 1= Alpha-numeric, 2=tone, 3=voice, 4=auto detect based on function bits. Set/Read Cap Code. Two parameters, CC x yyyy x= 1,2 or 3 which is the cap code number. yyyy is the pager code 1 – 2097152. -1 to disable the particular cap code. Enter “CC” to see a list of all pager cap codes. Promiscuous Mode. Enable/disable promiscuous mode. 0 = off, 1 = ON (receive all paging messages). PR Pager Data Rate.
7. Using the M8S – Packet Data Mode This section describes the operation of the M8S 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 M8S 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) The packet or paging mode of operation is configured using the ATMT command. 7.1. Setup 1. Connect a DC power source to the M8S. 2. Connect a good quality antenna, cut to the operating frequency, to the BNC connector on the front of the modem. Use a good antenna, and place is at high-above obstructions as possible. 3. Connect a computer terminal, or PC computer running HyperTerminal, to the 9-pin I/O connector.
6. Connect your serial data device to the TXD and RXD pins of the I/O connector. To connect the M8S to an RS232 serial port, you will need an external digital to serial level converter. The M8S 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. Remember, that from the factory, all M8S modems are configured to simply work.
In Packet Mode, selection of the serial port baud-rate is important. As shown above, if the serial port baud-rate is the same as the over-the-air baud rate and the packets are short, the channel utilization is only about 50%. But, if the serial port baud rate is set much higher, say 2-8X the over-the air rate, the channel utilization becomes near 100%.
these settings, by default all M8s will talk to and hear all other M8S radio modems. Group Numbers By default the M8’s Group Number is 0. Group 0 means ignore the group numbering. The Group Number is set with the ATGP xx command, where xx is the group number. ATGP 0 disables group numbering and is the default way the M8S radio modem works. If the Group Number is set to any non-zero number from 1-255, then the group feature is enabled, and the group number will be the group specified in the ATGP command.
An alternate way to disable addressing altogether, is set the Address Mask to 0000 (ATMK 0000 command). This tells the M8S to ignore the address, and receive every transmission. Broadcast Transmissions The double FF is used to identify a broadcast packet. A transmission with a two digit FF in the first two positions of the destination ID, or in the last two positions of the destination ID, will be interpreted as a broadcast, and any modem with an ID that matches the two non-FF digits will receive the data.
` Figure 1 (Address Filtering) M8 receives data over-the-air to Destination Address xxxx M8 has Unit Address yyyy M8 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 M8S 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 M8’s Unit Address = 1234 Receiving M8’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, M8S 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 M8S 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 M8S A.
M8 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 M8S 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.
8. Debug Related Commands Bench Testing (Must be in command mode to test. Enter +++ at the keyboard to put unit into config/test mode.) ATTD x Various transmit test routines. 0 = Go back to normal mode. Stops the test. 1 = Random data transmit. 2 = Hop up/down one channel 3 = Force PLL to fast lock mode 4 = Transmit all 0s 5 = Transmit all 1s 6 = Enable the test points on the PCB. 7 = Transmit CW on center of channel 8 = Transmit preamble (101010 pattern) ML x Debug Message Level.
9. Diagnostic Provisions 9.1. Overview of Diagnostics Internal to the M8S 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 M8S radio network. 9.2.
10. Tune-up and Alignment The M8S 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.
2. Transmit random data on the center of the band, using the ATTD 1 command. This command will cause the M8S to automatically key up, and send random data for one minute. 3. Verify the DC center of the demodulated data is stable. The random data should be randomly timed 1s and 0s, and have little to no AC component on them. See pictures below for details. 4. If necessary, change the ATR9 setting so that the long data bit have the same amplitude and DC value as the shorter ones. 5.
Mode 3 - CD OFF In this mode, the CD pin is always negated. Mode 4 - Output Data Framing To enable the Output Data Framing feature, set ATR1 to 4, set ATS120 to the number of mS for the Pre-Data Time, and ATS121 to the number of mS for the Post-Data Time. Ouput Data Framing is used when it is necessary for the serial terminal to wake from sleep or enter an appropriate mode to receive data.
11. 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 M8S will not output data if the RTS signal on the DB-9 I/O connector is not asserted.
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. If the baud-rate was OK, verify the AT, BT and CT times, that they are long enough for you to enter the +++ string. Symptom: Long delay before transmitting Solution #1. Verify that serial port timeout is OK. The ATR3 command sets the number of milliseconds that the M8S will look for in the serial input data stream.
12. Mechanical A drawing is shown below. Company Confidential 39 Raveon Technologies Corp.
