Wireless Ethernettm Product Description and Installation Guide Volume III 062-0983-01 Rev C Bill Adams 02/01/00 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL FOR AUTHORIZED Spacelabs Medical USE ONLY © 2000, Spacelabs Medical, Inc Part Number 062-0983-01 Rev C page 3 - 1
Table of Contents 1 1. Wireless Ethernet Product Description a. Overview of Spacelabs Wireless Networks ............................................................................ 1 b. 90309 Option "W".................................................................................................................... 2 c. UCW – Z, 90367 and 90369 Option "Z" .................................................................................. 2 d.
1. Wireless Ethernet Product Description a. Overview of Spacelabs Wireless Networks Spacelabs wireless ethernet allows connection between a conventional wired ethernet network and a wireless (radio) ethernet network. This enables the two networks to function as one. Wireless ethernet provides 1 to 5 outbound waveforms and numeric vital signs.
b. 90309 Option "W" (Bedside or Slave) The PC Ranger (90309-W) is a PC Scout bedside/transport monitor with added wireless communications capability. The PC Ranger includes an extended rear panel containing the I/O Bay board (670-0623-xx), with an attached ethernet Interface board (670-0829-xx) in a slave configuration, a Proxim Radio card (010-0914-xx), and a dipole whip antenna.
The 90310-A is a Master WNI and contains one Network Interface and one Radio board; the 90310-B WNI has two Network Interface and Radio boards, and functions as two separate Masters in a single WNI housing. The 90310-C WNI is used as a slave interface for Spacelabs bedside monitors without internal wireless network capability. This allows wireless connection of Spacelabs network patient monitoring devices such as a UCW bedside monitor. e.
f. Ethernet Interface Card Note that the 670-0829-XX (PCB Assembly, Ethernet Interface) is used in the 90310 and the 90309-W. The Ultraview 1030/1050 wireless monitor does not have the 670-0829-XX with the components discussed below. The 670-0829-XX PCBA has a 16-position rotary microswitch (also referred to as a "thumb wheel switch") for channel selection. The switch is normally covered by a protective cap. Switch selections are made using a small screwdriver.
g. OEM radio card There are two types of OEM radio cards used in the Spacelabs wireless ethernet system, one for U.S. and one for European use. Both cards are identical in form, fit and function; only the filtering circuitry is different. Part number 010-0914-xx is for use in the US only. There are two versions of this card: Proxim Radio card 010-0914-04 -- may use software version 1.57m or 1.8B Proxim Radio card 010-0914-05 -- requires the use of software version 1.
h. Understanding Signal Interference Physical Obstructions and Communication Range Communication range between master and slave may be up to 500 feet nominal or 1000 feet for a clear line of sight transmission path across an open space. In a hospital environment this will likely be limited to 250 feet or less based on walls and other barriers.
Ob jec nal Si g l na Sig Ob jec t ted Reflected Signal A P al ign al gn Si d ate nu tte ath Refracted Signal Signal strength and signal quality are not the same. Reflections can interfere with intended signals even though the strength of the signal will still measure as acceptable. Familiar examples of this are "ghosts" on a television screen caused by reflections off buildings or hills; the TV antenna is picking up plenty of signal strength, but the signal quality is poor.
i. Coverage Area Domains NOTE: Information about Domains is only supplied for information and to better understand existing wireless networks which may already be installed in the hospital. Wireless networks sold to date (01/18/00) do not have capability to alter Domains in both the WNI and bedside monitors. For communication on the wireless network to function, all nodes must be set to the same Domain. The default domain for Spacelabs Medical is 1 (one).
Range Range is the RF coverage distance between a master and a slave on the same channel. The absolute maximum range between a master and a slave is nominally 500 feet. This range is achieved only under ideal conditions. A more realistic maximum for very open areas in hospitals is 250 feet. Objects obstructing the line of sight between the master and slave reduce transmission distance. Range vs. Cell Even though a slave is within RF range of a master, it may not be seen within that cell.
masters to communicate with the moving slave even though their channels don't match. The Wireless bedside would look for masters on another channel when it looses synchronization with its current master. In either case, as the Wireless bedside approaches the boundary of the cell, and looses synch, a brief period of signal dropout is experienced at remote monitors until the Wireless bedside establishes synch with the new master.
When looking at the equipment in a wireless network, you must remember these capabilities and limitations: 1. Each 90309-W PC Ranger can transmit either 1 or 2 waveforms at a time to a 90310 WNI. 2. Each UCW wireless or Ultraview 1030/1050 wireless can transmit from 1 to 5 waveforms at a time to a 90310. 3. A single 90310-A supports a maximum of 20 waveforms, and the 90310-B supports a maximum of 40 waveforms on two unique cells. 4. There are 15 unique radio channels.
l. Selecting Wireless Network Equipment locations WNI Master location The placement of the 90310-A/B and its antenna is critical. Antenna placement and relative polarity (vertical orientation) are critical. Best placement of a Master for most universal coverage and greatest range will be in an unobstructed, centrally placed locations. This is, of course, an ideal location and may not be the most practical location to place the antenna.
Bedsides or Slaves Slaves may overlap the coverage (transmission) areas of other slaves. Slaves on the same channel or on different channels may overlap. m. Installation Hardware Antennae IMPORTANT NOTE: The Ranger or Ultraview 1030/1050 wireless antenna and the WNI antenna are different: • The Ranger or Ultraview 1030/1050 wireless use the 117-0029-00 Ranger 2.4 GHz Dipole Antenna (stubby antenna), which has a gain of x2.
Bed Rail, Bedside, Rolling Stand & Wall mounting All portable bedside monitors are supported by the existing bedside mounts and roll stands. Wall mounting a 90310 is performed using the UCW wall channels. Part numbers for mounting hardware are included in the parts list which follows.
n. Part Numbers Description Part Number WNI Antenna Kit, includes Pedestal Mount Antenna and Antenna Mount 650-0521-00 Antenna, Dipole, 2.
Cover, Left, 90310 200-0205-00 Cover, Right, 90310 200-0204-00 Cover, Rear Panel, DC, 90310 200-0209-00 Cover, Bottom, 90310 200-0206-00 Cover, Front Panel, 90310 200-0207-00 Label, Front Panel, 90310 334-1440-00 Cable Assy, PCB To Power Supply, 90310 175-0939-00 Cable Assy, Ribbon, AUI, 90310 175-0938-00 Power Supply 90486 Meter, Microwave Leakage Detector 149-0002-00 90367 / 90369 Wireless Ethernet Option Parts Proxim Radio card -- requires the use of software version 1.
2. Wireless Network Site Survey Procedure (NOTE: Refer to Appendix 1 for information regarding operation of the site survey laptop computer with the RangeLAN2 PCMCIA card that is used during this procedure.) a. Things To Have Before Beginning The Site Survey • Current, accurate floor plans for the proposed coverage area from the hospital Facility Manager. • Meter, Microwave Leakage Detector, Spacelabs part number 149-0002-00.
d. Performing a Wireless Site Survey: Use the up-to-date floor plans for the coverage area with the coverage area desired by the hospital staff. 1. Find a boundary for the coverage area. 2. Place the WNI at the boundary of the coverage area. Mount the test antenna to the ceiling, which is how it will be positioned in actual use - do NOT place it on a desk or table. 3. Place the survey laptop in the location that the typical bedside antenna would be. 4.
Site Survey Example 2: Completed drawing. (or use tab and space keys,) Microwave oven position Walk down hallway 3. When throughput falls to 40kB/sec, Throughput @60kB/sec move WNI here move WNI here 2. Walkdown down hallway hallway recording signal Walk recording strength as you go. signal strengths 1. Place WNIhere here. Place WNI Note all rooms and corridors to be covered by this survey. Note microwave placement and allow at least 20 feet between any potential microwave location and a WNI antenna.
Final documentation: Document the findings of the survey on the floor plan. Provide one copy with the TIP book for future review should this be necessary. e. Completing the site survey: Site Survey Example 1: Concerns and Logical Placement The following site survey illustrates concerns and logical placement. This would be the first step in designating test areas. The drawing should also show the location, or potential location, of any microwave ovens. Also noted must be any other wireless devices in the 2.
Based on the complex physical shape and the site survey of the coverage area, it is determined that we need two masters. The survey shows that X1 master can cover; TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, TR10, TR11, TR12, ER5, ER4, ER3, the lower hallway, the middle hallway, the right half of the upper hallway, the PCMS central area and the observation area. Thus we need X2 to cover TR5, TR8, ER8, ER7, ER6, the left side hallway, and the left half of the upper hallway.
3. Post-Installation Verification and Troubleshooting a. Acceptance Criteria: Because of the nature of microwave communications, and the effects on it from some of the transient events listed earlier, it is normal to observe infrequent gaps in remote views of Wireless waveforms. The maximum number of waveform gaps allowed is three per minute, lasting less than 3 seconds each, on a 16-waveform central where the Wireless bedsides are stationary.
The master list will provide you with the WNI radio’s network address. Use the network address to differentiate WNI’s in cases where multiple WNI’s are set to the same channel. When the Main Menu is opened, the window displays which master (WNI) the laptop is synchronized to (see illustration below). The Site Survey window lists all stations (wireless bedsides) synchronized to that specific WNI. Since you can determine the radio address of the monitor at power up.
For example, the floor plan on page 9 illustrates one room where two WNI’s are clearly seen. Let’s say that any wireless monitor placed in that room frequently has gaps in the waveform at the central station. You can use the RangeLAN2 program to determine which WNI the wireless monitor in the problem room is communicating with. You may find that the wireless monitor is subject to more dropouts when it is synchronized with WNI A than WNI B.
Again, back to our example. If the lowered throughput from WNI A is not attributable to transient causes as listed above, WNI A may need to be relocated to an area where is will be out of range of the suspect room. This will assure that a wireless monitor in the suspect room will synch to WNI B, where the communications are better. Remember that the effect of any change of WNI position must be evaluated from all rooms that can see the WNI, not just the suspect room.
c. Troubleshooting with the ULTRAVIEW 1030 / ULTRAVIEW 1050 Site Survey screen. NOTE: Current ULTRAVIEW-1030/ULTRAVIEW-1050 site survey screen does not provide throughput information. Therefore this tool is only to be used for network troubleshooting and operational verifications. To enter the SITE SURVEY mode: Go to “MONITOR CONFIGURATION” Screen. Select “PRIVILEGED ACCESS” button. Enter Password. Select “MORE” button. Select “SERVICE FUNCTIONS” button. Select “SYSTEM INFORMATION” button.
APPENDIX 1 - RangeLAN2 PCMCIA Card a. Installing and Configuring the RangeLAN2 PCMCIA card. The RangeLAN2 card will come with driver disk(s) that are used to install the RangeLAN2 software onto a laptop computer. REFER TO THE MANUFACTURER’S SOFTWARE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIFIC STEP-BY-STEP SOFTWARE INSTALLATION INFORMATION. A typical installation is shown here to provide essential configuration information needed to make the RangeLAN2 work with Spacelabs wireless networks.
7. Select Configuration. 8. Click on the arrow beside the station type pull-down menu. Set the station type as a Station (see below). There may be times that the laptop will need to be set up as a Master or Alternate Master; however, for most site survey mode applications, Station is the desired setting.
9. In the Configuration screen set the Network Domain to 1 (see below). 10. Click OK. 11. The software is now installed and configured.
b. Using the Proxim RangeLAN2 PCMCIA card for Site Survey. Equipment required: Laptop computer with RangeLAN2 PCMCIA card installed and RL2SETUP program loaded. Spacelabs Medical 90310 WNI with 90486 power supply Starting the RangeLAN2 program: Double-click on the Pnetcon.exe icon on the Desktop. The program Main Window is as follows: Performing an RF Sweep: • Start the RangeLAN2 program. • Select SNOOP.
The SNOOP MODE display shows the RF spectrum that the wireless monitor radio uses. If the site survey is for a new SMI wireless monitor installation, there should not be any activity in this spectrum. If there is, other wireless products or noise sources are in the area. The activity characteristic of a spread spectrum, frequency-hopping radio is several peaks per screen update. Once the activity in the RF spectrum is identified, power the WNI on. You should now see the typical display as above.
Entering SITE SURVEY mode: Start the RangeLAN2 program. Select SITE SURVEY. The Site Survey mode display provides three important pieces of information for testing a wireless installation: Link Quality, Received Signal Strength, and data throughput via a Directed Link. The Site Survey mode displays the Node Address of the radio. This Node Address (MAC address) is for the wireless card and is not associated with the monitor’s Node ID number. This window also identifies the WNI Master Name as SPACELABSM?.
DIRECTED LINK. To enable the Directed Link display, on the Site Survey main screen place the mouse pointer over a displayed master and click. A Directed Link allows measurement of the data throughput from the laptop to the WNI. The desired minimum data throughput from the laptop to the WNI, in a Directed Link, is 40 Kbytes/second. Signal strength should not go below 40%.
APPENDIX 2 - Microwave Leakage Measurements a. Microwave ovens can be a major source of interference in the 2.450 GHz range and may cause loss of data between the bedside and central stations or remote views. This loss of data will be seen as “holes” in waveform data, or if the interference is of a long duration, complete loss of a channel at the central station.
3. While pressing the orange button on the MD-2000 unit, start the operation of the microwave oven (highest power output setting). The microwave oven must be operational for a minimum of 30 seconds. 4. Place the MD-2000 unit within 2 inches around the door cracks of the microwave oven. The meter MUST be held in a horizontal orientation perpendicular to the surface you are measuring, such that you can read the display from the top.
Part Number 062-0983-01 Rev C page 3 - 38
