Campbell Manufacturing R410, RF400, RF415 K-5

Appendix K. RF400/RF410 Pass/Fail Tests

(b)Choose an open area free of large2 metal objects within 10 feet of the RF400/RF410s (can be indoors or outdoors).

(c)Attach a 1/4 wave omni antenna (Item # 14310) to base RF400/RF410

(d)Set up remote RF400/RF410 with NO antenna

(e)Separate RF400/RF410s by 5 feet

(f)Type 8 groups of 5 characters on the terminal (aaaaabbbbbccccc etc.)

(g)You should receive 100% of the characters

(h)With bad or missing ¼ wave OMNI antenna you should get few to no characters echoed back.

1Be careful to not exceed maximum supply voltage of 18 VDC to RF400/RF410. Use “quiet” power supply without noise or hum (a 12V lead-acid battery is fine, if no trickle charger is attached during the tests).

2Examples of “large metal objects”: a steel filing cabinet; steel trim on cubicle dividers; or steel shelving. Especially avoid such metal objects facing the RF400/RF410s broadside. The idea is to avoid significant reflected signals because they can add to or subtract from the direct wave signal making test results vary a lot according to exact location. A fully absorbent rf environment with no reflections would be ideal.

(2)TESTING YAGI or COLLINEAR ANTENNA

(a)Connect 12V power to base RF400/RF410 and remote RF400/RF410. We recommend AC adapter Item # 15966 or a Field Power Cable Item # 14291 connected to a 12V battery pack or 12V power supply (see footnote 1 above).

(b)Choose an open area to conduct the tests (see footnote 2 above).

(c)Attach the yagi or collinear antenna being tested to base RF400/RF410

(i)A yagi can be mounted on a microphone stand or similar (metal, wood or PVC ok). Orient antenna elements vertically as shown in figure below and adjust height so the bottoms of the elements are 20 inches above floor. Aim yagi at remote RF400/RF410.

FIGURE K-2. Vertically Polarized 9 dBd 900 MHz Yagi

(ii)A collinear antenna should be solidly mounted in a vertical position so that its omnidirectional “pancake” pattern is horizontal. A metal or wooden stand can be used.

K-5

Contents

RF400/RF410/RF415 Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modem Warranty and Assistance – CAUTION – Page RF400 Series Table of Contents Introduction Quick Start Software Setup Troubleshooting D. Advanced Setup Standby Modes E. RF400 Series Port Pin Descriptions Short-Haul Modems H. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Page Page RF400 Series Spread Spectrum Data Radio/Modems 1. Introduction 2. RF400 Series Specifications 3. Quick Start Step 1 – Set Up Base RF400 Step 2 – Set Up Remote RF400 Step 3 – LoggerNet/PC208W Set-up Step 4 – Connect 4. System Components 4.1 RF400 Series Data Radios 4.1.1 Indicator LEDs 4.1.2 Setup Menu 4.1.3 Networking 4.1.4Error Handling and Retries 4.1.4.2 Number of Retries 4.1.4.3 Number of Time Slots for Random Retry 4.1.4.4 Number of Bytes Transmitted before Delay 4.1.4.5 Sync Timer Setting 4.1.5 Received Signal Strength 4.2Power Supplies The RF400 series radio will sustain damage if the DC Pwr jack voltage ever exceeds Volts 4.3 Serial Cables 4.4 Antennas for the RF400 Series FCC OET Bulletin No. 63 (October 1993) approved antennas Page Page 4.5 Antenna Cables and Surge Protection 4.5.1 Antenna Cables 4.5.2 Electro-staticIssues 4.5.3Antenna Surge Protector Kit 5.Software Setup 5.1Point-to-point 5.2 Point-to-multipoint 5.3 Example Setups 5.3.1Direct PC to RF400 Series Base Station Setup Page 5.3.2Remote Station Setup Page 5.3.3 LoggerNet Configuration 5.3.4PC208W Configuration Page 6. Troubleshooting Page Page Appendix A. Part 15 FCC Compliance Warning Page Appendix B. Setup Menu B-2 B-3 B-4 Appendix C. RF400 Series Address and Address Mask Combined Network/ Radio Addresses C-2 C-3 C-4 Appendix D. Advanced Setup Standby Modes D-2 Appendix E. RF400 Series Port Pin Descriptions CS I/O FUNCTION E-2 Appendix F. Datalogger RS-232Port to RF400 Series Radio Page Appendix G. Short-HaulModems G-2 Appendix H. Distance vs. Antenna Gain, Terrain, and Other Factors Overview Link Analysis Transmitter Power Cable Loss Antenna Gain Receiver Sensitivity Path Loss Real World Distance Estimates Examples Range from ~9 to ~22 miles Range from ~14 to 30+ H-8 Appendix I. Phone to RF400 Series Page 2)AT Command Character: “-” Page Appendix J. Monitor CSAT3 via RF400 Series J-2 J-3 Page Appendix K. RF400/RF410 Pass/Fail Tests TESTING SC12 CABLE and PC COM PORT K-2 TESTING RF400/RF410s TESTING ANTENNAS K-5 TABLE K-1.900 MHz Gain Antenna Test Distances Antenna Power Ratio Distance Apart Over ¼ Wave Appendix L. RF400/RF410 Average Current Drain Calculations L-2 EXAMPLE #1 It ≈ 6.1 mA L-3 EXAMPLE #2 It ≈ 6.9 mA L-4 EXAMPLE #3 It ≈ 12.4 mA L-5 EXAMPLE #4 It ≈ 2.4 mA L-6 EXAMPLE #5 It ≈ 4.1 mA L-7 EXAMPLE #6 It ≈ 0.6 mA L-8 EXAMPLE #7 It ≈ 0.43 mA L-9 L-10 Page Campbell Scientific Companies Campbell Scientific, Inc. (CSI) Campbell Scientific Africa Pty. Ltd. (CSAf) Campbell Scientific Australia Pty. Ltd. (CSA) Campbell Scientific do Brazil Ltda. (CSB)