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Campbell RF401A-Series Instruction Manual - Assistance
Assistance
Products may not be returned without prior authorization. The following
contact information is for Canadian and international clients residing in
countries served by Campbell Scientific (Canada) Corp. directly. Affiliate
companies handle repairs for clients within their territories. Please visit
www.campbellsci.ca
to determine which Campbell Scientific company serves
your country.
To obtain a Returned Materials Authorization (RMA), contact CAMPBELL
SCIENTIFIC (CANADA) CORP., phone (780) 454-2505. After a
measurement consultant determines the nature of the problem, an RMA
number will be issued. Please write this number clearly on the outside of the
shipping container. Campbell Scientific’s shipping address is:
CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC (CANADA) CORP.
RMA#_____
14532 131 Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta T5L 4X4
Canada
For all returns, the client must fill out a “Statement of Product Cleanliness and
Decontamination” form and comply with the requirements specified in it. The
form is available from our web site at
www.campbellsci.ca/repair
. A
completed form must be either emailed to
repair@campbellsci.ca
or faxed to
(780) 454-2655. Campbell Scientific (Canada) Corp. is unable to process any
returns until we receive this form. If the form is not received within three days
of product receipt or is incomplete, the product will be returned to the client at
the client’s expense. Campbell Scientific (Canada) Corp.f reserves the right to
refuse service on products that were exposed to contaminants that may cause
health or safety concerns for our employees.
Summary of RF401A-Series
Page 1
Ins tr uc ti on ma nu al rf401a-series spread spectrum radios revision: 4/15 c o p y r i g h t © 2 0 0 1 - 2 0 1 5 c a m p b e l l s c i e n t i f i c , i n c ..
Page 4: Assistance
Assistance products may not be returned without prior authorization. The following contact information is for canadian and international clients residing in countries served by campbell scientific (canada) corp. Directly. Affiliate companies handle repairs for clients within their territories. Pleas...
Page 5: Precautions
Precautions danger — many hazards are associated with installing, using, maintaining, and working on or around tripods, towers, and any attachments to tripods and towers such as sensors, crossarms, enclosures, antennas, etc. Failure to properly and completely assemble, install, operate, use, and mai...
Page 6: Please Read First
Please read first about this manual please note that this manual was originally produced by campbell scientific inc. (csi) primarily for the us market. Some spellings, weights and measures may reflect this origin. Some useful conversion factors: area: 1 in 2 (square inch) = 645 mm 2 length: 1 in. (i...
Page 8: Table of Contents
Table of contents pdf viewers: these page numbers refer to the printed version of this document. Use the pdf reader bookmarks tab for links to specific sections. 1. Introduction ................................................................. 1 2. Cautionary statements ................................
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Table of contents 11. Operation ................................................................... 17 11.1 main .................................................................................................. 18 11.1.1 active interface ................................................................
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Table of contents b.2.7 path loss ................................................................................... B-5 b.3 real world distance estimates ........................................................ B-6 b.4 examples .........................................................................
Page 11
Table of contents iv.
Page 12: 1. Introduction
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 1. Introduction this manual discusses the configuration, operation, and maintenance of the campbell scientific rf401a and rf411a frequency-hopping spread spectrum (fhss) radios. This manual will refer to these devices collectively as either “radio,” “rf401a series...
Page 13: 4. Quickstart
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio x immediately check package contents against shipping documentation. Thoroughly check all packaging material for product that may be trapped inside it. Contact campbell scientific immediately about any discrepancies. Model numbers are found on each product. On cab...
Page 14: 5. Overview
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 5. Overview spread spectrum radios spread the normally narrowband information signal over a relatively wide band of frequencies. This allows the communications to be more immune to noise and interference from rf sources such as pagers, cellular phones and multipat...
Page 15
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio power powered over cs i/o or 2.5 mm dc power jack input voltage: 9 to 16 vdc average current drain transmit: receive: 15 ma stand-by: connections usb usb type b jack can draw enough power for normal operation from standard usb host rs-232 db9, female 1200, 4800, 9...
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Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio figure 6-1. Rf401a-series dimensions 5.
Page 17: 7. Product Description
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 7. Product description 7.1 mounting the mounting holes are designed to align with a one-inch-on-center hole pattern and provide for ridged mounting of the radio in either a vertical or horizontal orientation. #6-32 x 0.375 inch stainless steel phillips head screws...
Page 18
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio when the radio is connected to the pc, a virtual com port will be added to the list of available ports (com and lpt) devices. It will be descriptively labeled, for example “rf401a series (com10)”, where com10 denotes the com port enumerated by the windows operatin...
Page 19
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 4 rx o serial data receive line 5 modem enable i raised when datalogger determines that associated modem raised the ring line 6 synchronous device enable i used by datalogger to address synchronous devices; can be used as a printer enable 7 clk/handshake i/o used ...
Page 20
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 7 8 o cts 9 i = signal into the rf401a series, 0 = signal out of the rf401a series 7.6 leds the radios have a red led labeled pwr/tx and a green led labeled rx. When 12v power is applied, the red led lights for ten seconds. About three seconds after power-up, the ...
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Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio approved antennas campbell scientific part number description 14201 900 mhz 9 dbd yagi antenna with type n female and mounting hardware 14204 900 mhz 0 dbd omnidirectional 1/2 wave whip antenna with right angle and rpsma male 14205 900 mhz 6 dbd yagi antenna with ...
Page 22: 9. Loggernet Setup
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio coaxntn-l is a rg8/u coax cable terminated with a type n plug on both ends. The coaxntn-l is typically used to connect antennas with a type n jack connector to an inline surge protector, or to a bulk head type n jack. 8. Configuring the rf401a series 8.1 device co...
Page 23
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio finally, click the close button on the add submenu. Your setup tree should appear as shown below: 12.
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Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio with the setup tree entered, you will now need to complete the configuration of each element. Start with selecting the comport element at the root of the tree. Under comport connection, select port labeled rf401a-series. Set the extra response time to match the po...
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Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio select the pakbusport element in the tree, and select the pakbus port always open checkbox. Set the maximum baud rate to 115200. 14.
Page 26
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio finally, select your datalogger in the tree. Set the pakbus address field to the pakbus® address of your datalogger. Enter the security code, if security has been set up in your datalogger. Press the apply button to save your changes. You are now ready to connect ...
Page 27
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 9.2 using a repeater when using an rf401a-series radio as a repeater in your network, it can be entered into the loggernet setup screen using the pbrouter device and entering the pakbus® address of the rf401a series in the pakbus address field. If the repeater is ...
Page 28: 11. Operation
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio directional antenna may make a significant difference. Keep in mind that commercial tower sites and urban areas tend to evolve over time meaning that sources of interference may develop over time. 10.2 antenna selection, placement, and mounting antenna selection a...
Page 29
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 11.1 main 11.1.1 active interface the radio provides three physical ports for interfacing to a computer, datalogger, or other device. They are usb, rs-232, and cs i/o. The cs i/o port has two operational modes, sdc and me master. Additionally, there is pakbus rout...
Page 30
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 11.1.2 sdc address specifies the cs i/o port sdc address when active interface is set as cs i/o sdc. 11.1.3 rs-232 baud rate specifies the baud rate that will be used on the rs-232 port when active interface is set as rs-232. Other related advanced settings includ...
Page 31
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 11.1.5 rf hop sequence specifies the radio channel hop sequence. This setting must match in all radios in the same rf network. This setting can also be used to prevent radios in one rf network from listening to transmissions of another. 11.1.6 rf network specifies...
Page 32
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio always on, 8 sec header the radio receiver is always on. A wakeup header of 8.2 seconds is transmitted at the beginning of the first transmission occurring after a period of rf inactivity to ensure that other radios in the network set to an 8 second mode are awake...
Page 33
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio set retry level to none when protocol is set to transparent for the purpose of communicating with rf400/rf410 radios, cr205/cr210 dataloggers, or rf401/rf411 radios and cr206/cr211 dataloggers with protocol also set to transparent. If the retry level is increased ...
Page 34
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 11.2.3 pakbus verify interval this setting specifies the interval, in units of seconds, which will be reported as the link verification interval in the pakbus® hello transaction message. It will indirectly govern the rate at which the device will attempt to start ...
Page 35
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 11.3.3 radio firmware version radio firmware version 11.3.4 received signal strength indicates the signal strength of the last packet received addressed to this radio and with a valid crc. The range of values reported, generally between 6 and 54, represent the app...
Page 36: 12. Attribution
Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 11.3.7 rs-232 parity specifies the parity that will be used on the rs-232 port. 11.3.8 rs-232 stop bits specifies the number of stop bits used on the rs-232 port. 11.3.9 rs-232 character length specifies the length in bits of character frames on the rs-232 port. 1...
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Rf401a-series spread spectrum radio 26.
Page 38: Warning
Appendix a. Part 15 fcc compliance warning changes or modifications to the rf401a-series radio systems not expressly approved by campbell scientific, inc. Could void the user’s authority to operate this product. Note: this equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class b d...
Page 39
Appendix a. Part 15 fcc compliance warning a-2.
Page 40: B.1 Introduction
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors b.1 introduction the communication distance you can expect to obtain using the rf401a series depends on many factors including line of sight, antenna height, and antenna gain. Examples of distance achieved using different antennas and...
Page 41: B.2 How Far Can You Go?
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors gain antennas increasing antenna gains improves signal strength and distance. For example, the substitution of a 9 dbd yagi antenna where a 0 dbd omnidirectional existed theoretically extends the attainable distance by a factor of 2.8...
Page 42
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors where: pt => transmitter output power, in dbm (24 dbm in the case of the rf401a series at maximum transmitter power) lt => cable loss between transmitter and antenna in db (see cable loss section) gt => transmit antenna gain in dbi (d...
Page 43
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors table b-3. Cable loss cable type outside diameter loss (db/100 ft) @ 900 mhz rg-58a/u 0.195” 21.1 coax rpsma-l 0.195” 11.1 rg-8 0.405” 6.9 coax ntn-l 0.405” 4.5 lmr-400 0.405” 3.9 *csi stocked antenna cables are shaded. Csi’s “coax rp...
Page 44
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors if the received signal strength is greater than the receiver sensitivity, a link can be established. Any excess signal strength above the receiver sensitivity is “link margin”, and is a very good thing; a minimum of 6 db of link margi...
Page 45
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors ground reflections these are caused by the rf signal being reflected from the ground (or water), and undergoing a phase shift so that it destructively interferes with the line-of- sight signal. The conditions that cause this the most ...
Page 46: B.4 Examples
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors the following table helps select a path type in the above “distance vs. Path loss” table to best fit your situation. Table b-8. Path type vs. Path characteristics selector path type path characteristics 2 nd power mountaintop to mount...
Page 47
Appendix b. Distance vs. Antenna gain, terrain, and other factors example #2 base has maxrad bmoy8905 yagi, with 50 ft of lmr195 cable on a 30 ft tower, also a lightening protection device with a vswr of 1:1.75; remote also has a maxrad bmoy8905 yagi with 5 ft of lmr195 cable on a 4 ft pole. Terrain...
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Campbell scientific companies campbell scientific, inc. (csi) 815 west 1800 north logan, utah 84321 united states www.Campbellsci.Com info@campbellsci.Com campbell scientific africa pty. Ltd. (csaf) po box 2450 somerset west 7129 south africa www.Csafrica.Co.Za cleroux@csafrica.Co.Za campbell scie...