SM8100/SM9100_Users_Guide PB63023 01 GC9200 Users Guide

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PB63023_01

GC9200 PLC Demo &

Evaluation Node User Guide

GC9200 DIN RAIL PLC MODEM

USER GUIDE

PB63023_01

GC9200 PLC Demo &

Evaluation Node User Guide

GC9200, GC-Net and the gridComm logo are trademarks of gridComm Pte Ltd registered in Singapore

and other countries.

GRIDCOMM MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND,

EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE OR IN ANY COMMUNICATION WITH YOU,

INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,

SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, AND

THEIR EQUIVALENTS.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or

by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written

permission of gridComm Pte Ltd

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1. Introduction- GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem ..................................................................................................... 4

2. Basic Setup to Connect GC9200 PLC Modem to Host PC via PLCM Utilities GUI ............................................... 6

3. Operation Modes ........................................................................................................................................... 20

4. gridComm GC-Net Simple Broadcast Communications .................................................................................. 20

5. gridComm GC-Net Point-to-Point Communications ....................................................................................... 22

6. gridComm GC-Net Auto-Routing Network Communications .......................................................................... 23

7. gridComm GC-Net Auto-Routing Software ..................................................................................................... 25

8. GC-Net Broadcast Routing Communications .................................................................................................. 35

9. Network Management Commands ................................................................................................................ 37

10. GC-Net PLC Quick Reference .......................................................................................................................... 40

11. FAQ ................................................................................................................................................................ 42

12. Dimensions of DIN Rail PLC Modem ............................................................................................................... 46

13. Contact Information ...................................................................................................................................... 46

14. Revision (051-03) ........................................................................................................................................... 47

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1. Introduction- GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem

Figure 1 - The GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem

The Gridcomm GC9200 is an industrial grade DIN Rail Power Line Communication (PLC) modem.

It mounts to a 35mm x 7.5mm or 35mm x 15mm DIN Rail. The rear of the GC9200 enclosure

contains a spring-loaded DIN Rail lock, which securely grabs the DIN Rail on which the enclosure

is mounted. To release the enclosure from the DIN Rail, insert a flathead screwdriver into the DIN

Rail locking tab and gently pull the tab downwards and away from the enclosure.

GC9200 has been tested to CE and FCC standards and found to comply with the limits of EN

50065-1, EN 55022, EN 55024, EN 61000-3-2, EN 610000-3-3, EN 61000-6-2 and EN 61000-6-

4 FCC Part 15B for EMC and EN 60950 for safety. These limits are designed to provide reasonable

protection against harmful interference.

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When connected with a Single-Phase AC power supply (220~240V at 50/60Hz with 100mA) via

“L” (Live) and “N” (Neutral) input connectors, the GC9200 becomes a smart device which can

automatically configure and self-adapt to the varying conditions on power lines, resulting in

extremely reliable and robust communications in a Low-Voltage power network. The DIN Rail PLC

modem utilizes the industry-leading GridComm GC2200, an OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency

Division Multiple Access) Power Line Communication Transceiver which has 18 independent

channels capable of communicating over 54 carrier frequencies in a wide frequency range from

5 KHz to 500 KHz. Its good performance and multiple features make it very attractive in

applications such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Smart Lighting Control,

Industrial/Building Automation, Alternative Energy, M2M and others.

The GC9200, powered with gridComm GC-Net software, can hook up with the gridComm

PLCM_Utilities tool via a RS485-USB cable for easy configurations and settings. It can

communicate over a transparent protocol in various operation modes.

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2. Basic Setup to Connect GC9200 PLC Modem to Host PC via PLCM Utilities GUI

The GC9200 supports a direct RS485 interface.

Figure 2 – GC9200Connection with a RS485-RS232-USB Cable

Figure 2 shows a typical RS485-RS232-USB cable (not provided) connection with a GC9200. The

default settings for the PLC modem serial communications are pre-configured ex-factory at

115200 Baud, No Parity Bit, 8 Data Bits and 1 Stop Bit. When the GC9200 is powered up under

“Auto Routing” or “Broadcast Routing” mode, the Link LED will light up and will flash every 10

seconds showing that it is working properly. When in “Point-to-Point” or “Simple Broadcast”

mode, it will flash every 0.2 seconds.

To use the PLCM Utilities GUI, connect the GC9200 to the RS485-RS232-USB cable and connect

the USB connector of the cable to a USB port of a Windows PC.

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Before using the GC9200 to communicate, it is necessary to configure the device. Start the

PLCM Utilities GUI on the PC which is connected to the GC9200 and use the GUI to configure

the GC9200. The following is a description of how to use the GUI.

2.1. “Communication” Tab

Figure 3 – “Communication” Settings

a) Host UART: Click on the “Communication” tab to set the virtual COM port that is

connected to the USB-UART board. To begin with, leave the rest of the serial

communication parameters as default: 115200 Baud rate, No Parity Bit, 8 Data Bits and 1

Stop Bit. These are the PC UART communication settings with the device.

The Host PC simulates a concentrator or terminal device connected to the device.

Start the UART communications by toggling “Open UART” until it is depressed. If the Host

YYYY.MM.DD)” message, will show up in the message window upon powering up or

resetting of the device.

b) Safe Mode: The Safe Mode serves two functions:

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 It can be used to restore the device to default settings (115200 Baud rate, No Parity Bit,

8 Data Bits and 1 Stop Bit) so as to regain access to the device should the user forget

the current UART configuration.

 It allows the user to amend the device configurations regardless of whether the

firmware is in locked or unlocked mode. The firmware can be locked or unlocked under

the “Mode Config” tab. Locking the firmware prevents accidental changes to the

settings. Unlocking the firmware from Locked mode allows the user to make changes to

all settings under Module Config, Mode Config and GC2200 Config tabs.

To activate Safe Mode, check the “Safe Mode” checkbox and reset the device. Upon reset,

the system will enter into Safe Mode within 2 seconds. The “Safe Mode” checkbox

automatically unchecks.

c) HEX Display/HEX Input: If HEX data is to be used, check the HEX Display and HEX Input

boxes.

d) “Time”ms/Auto Send: Setting the time in “ms” sets the time interval between each Send

when “AutoSend” is checked. It is highly recommended to start with more than 1000ms

for Point-to-Point mode and larger values for Auto-routing or Broadcast Routing mode

depending on the number of tiers in the network. The 1000ms is to allow sufficient time

for the packet to be sent over the PLC. If the time is too short, the transmissions may

collide and data will be lost. Try setting longer time intervals if packets are lost.

e) Tx/Rx: Under the “Auto Send”, the figure next to the “Tx” and “Rx” shows the number of

characters sent or received.

f) Reset Module: All “Write” functions such as “Write Into Module” and “Write Parameter”

must be followed by resetting the device via the “Reset Module” button. This will then

contained in the green message window over the power lines to destination PLC node(s).

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2.2. “Module Config” Tab

Figure 4 – “Module Config” Settings

a) Module UART Configuration: Click “Read From Module” to read the UART settings. To

make changes to the settings to connect with the Host UART(or your concentrator or

terminal device UART), enter the values accordingly and click “Write Into Module”. The

default settings of the device are 115200 Baud rate, No Parity Bit, 8 Data Bits and 1 Stop

Bit. After changes are made to the settings, reset the device to effect the changes to the

device. It is important to note that settings for the device UART must be exactly the same

as the Host UART (or the concentrator or terminal device UART) before the

communication link can be established. If the UART settings on the device are not known,

Safe Mode may be entered as described in“Safe Mode” section in page 7 which would

allow the user to gain access to the device to re-configure the UART settings.

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b) Module PHY_ID Configuration: Click “Read From Module” to show the pre-programmed

PHY_ID. The value in each of the four boxes under “Module PHY_ID Configuration” is an 8

bit number. The valid PHY_IDs for the GC9200 device range from 001.000.000.000 to

001.255.255.255. All PHY_IDs are unique and no two devices share the same PHY_ID.

c) Update Firmware: Allows the user to update device firmware (contained in a bin file) via

the UART. This works only in Safe Mode or if Locked mode is unchecked. When the button

is clicked, the GUI will prompt for the bin file to be used as the update. After choosing the

correct bin file in your folder on your PC, the update process starts. When the firmware is

updated, the device will reset automatically.

d) Reset Factory Default Setting: This resets the settings to factory default:

Module UART Configuration to 115200 baud rate, 8 Data Bits, 1 Stop Bit and none Parity

Expected Nuber of Slave Nodes to 1,

Operation Mode Configuration to “Simple Broadcast”,

Assign Master Node PHY_ID of Network to “0.0.0.1”, “0.0.0.2” and “0.0.0.3”,

Connection ID to “1”,

Output Power to “350”, and

GC2200 Parameters Configuration frequencies to 180.6KHz, 214.8KHz, 161.1KHz,

141.6KHz, 195.3KHz, 346.6KHz, 92.77KHz and 395.5 KHz

e) Expected Number of Slave Nodes: The expected number of slave nodes is the total

number of slave nodes (not including the master node) that is expected to be deployed in

a network. The master node will determine if the total number of slave nodes registered

during network discovery phase matches this Expected Number of Slave Nodes. As soon as

this number matches, the RUN LED on the master node will start flashing every 0.4 sec

rather than every 10 sec seen earlier. Hence, without knowing the Routing Table, the user

is able to tell if the given number of slave nodes have been registered in the network by

just observing the rate of flashing of the LED on the master node. If the RUN LED reverts to

flashing every 10 sec, it means that one or more slave nodes have been disconnected from

the network. However, should there be more slave nodes detected (more than the

“Expected Number of Slave Nodes”), the master node will still flash every 0.4 sec. For

details on the number of nodes discovered, one may look at the Routing Table

information, see “Routing Table” section in page 16. Click “Read From Module” to display

the existing settings for this field. To make changes to the existing settings, enter the

values accordingly and click “Write Into Module”. Remember to reset the device after

performing “Write Into Module”.

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2.3. “Mode Config” Tab

Figure 5 – “Mode Config” Settings

a) Operation Mode Configuration: There are four selectable operation modes to choose

from, namely the “Point-to-Point”, “Simple Broadcast”, “Auto-Routing”and “Broadcast

Routing”. In addition, there is also an evaluation mode called “SPI Serial”.

 “Point-to-Point” is between two nodes with no routing/repeater

 “Simple Broadcast” is between any node to a group of nodes in a Star-

configuration without routing/repeater.

 “Auto-Routing” is using network routing via PHYid addressing.

 “Broadcast Routing” is a combination of Broadcast and Auto-Routing without

PHYid addressing.

 “SPI Serial” is actually an evaluation option to interface with gridComm PLC_Demo

GUI and Link Adaptation demo software. The PLC_Demo GUI and Link Adaptation

demos enable user detailed evaluations at the chip level of GC2200. When

resetting Operation Mode from “SPI Serial” to other modes, a hard power reset is

required. For more details, please contact your sales agent.

 “Scan Frequency” is used between two nodes to scan for the best channel

frequencies with the highest RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) values. This

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operation will complete in about 10 minutes. See “Monitor Tab” section in page 15

for more details.

 “Noise Generator” allows the node to become a noise generator sending out

signals based on Output Power setting one frequency at a time across the entire

500KHz spectrum.

 “Scan Frequency Non Stop” performs Scan Frequency indefinitely.

 “Sniffer” turns the node to only listen to the power lines picking up valid GC2200

signals and in turn transmit these signals to the serial communication link (UART,

RS232, RS485).

More details regarding the operation modes are illustrated in the following sections.

b) Master/Slave: Setting “Master” or “Slave” will assign the particular PLC node as master

node or slave node respectively, which is only available under “Auto-Routing” and

“Broadcast Routing” mode. Note that there can only be one master node in a network.

The maximum number of slave nodes controlled by one master node is 240. For networks

exceeding 240 PLC nodes, multiple master nodes would need to be installed. Each master

node would then be controlled by a commanding node at the concentrator. For more

details, please see “Network Size” in page 35.

“Read From Module” will show the status of the operation mode as well as the assigned

role (master or slave) of the device. “Write into Module” needs to be performed as long as

new configurations are entered. Remember to reset the device after performing “Write

Into Module”.

c) Assign Master Node PHYid of Network: Assigns a particular PLC node with the given PHYid

as the master node of the network that this slave node is in. This will make this device

recognize a particular node in the network as the master node. There are three slots to

assign for Master Node PHYid. This is to enable a slave node, connected in a 3-Phase

network, to freely connect with any of the master nodes. This is useful when one does not

know which phase a slave node is connected to. When the three master nodes are

interconnected to a concentrator via UART or RS485 (round-robin way), it effectively

bridges all the slave nodes in each phase into a single network system.

Perform this operation only under “Auto-Routing” and “Broadcast Routing” mode and only

if the device is set as “Slave” under “Operation Mode Configuration”. Click “Read From

Module” to display the existing settings. To make changes to the existing settings, enter

the values accordingly, and then click “Write Into Module”. Remember to reset the device

after performing “Write Into Module”.

d) Locked/Unlocked Mode: If “Locked” is checked, performing a reset will lock the

parameters of the device from being altered during operation. To make changes to the

parameters, user must enter Safe Mode (see “Safe Mode” section in page 7) to make

changes or to uncheck Locked mode to return to Unlocked mode. Any operation to check

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or uncheck the Locked/Unlocked Mode must be followed by “Write Into Module” and a

reset. Click “Read From Module” to display the existing settings.

e) Send/Ack: This feature is only available for firmware vesion 2.00 and above. With

“Send/Ack” enabled, the network layer will continue to retry sending the same data packet

multiple times over different pre-configured frequencies should a Send from the Master to

the Slave is not Acknowledged. It is important to note that the same “Send/Ack” setting

must be applied across all nodes within the same network. Any operation to check or

uncheck must be followed by “Write Into Module” and a reset. Click “Read From Module”

to display the existing settings.

f) Connection ID: In Point-to-Point mode, a pair of communicating PLC nodes must share the

same Connection ID. A Data Received acknowledgement scheme that checks against the

Connection ID is implemented to ensure that only data packets from the intended

recepients are accepted and not data from other PLC nodes in the vicinity. Click “Read

From Module” to display the existing settings. To make changes to the existing settings,

enter the values accordingly and click “Write Into Module”. Remember to reset the device

after performing “Write Into Module”.

2.4. “GC2200 Config” Tab

Figure 6 – “GC2200 Config” Settings

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a) GC2200 Parameters Configuration: Configures the transmission channels and the

preferred carrier frequencies. Check the channel boxes (you may check any number of

boxes) and select the frequencies from the pull-down menu. Note that communications

between any two PLC nodes can only happen if they have at least one frequency in

common.It is suggested that all nodes in the same network have the same set of

frequencies.

b) Output Power: Select the “Output Power” from 10 to 500. As the power is not regulated, it

is a good practice to set at 250 when the nodes are closely positioned. Setting at 500 in

close proximity may distort the signals resulting in packet losses. Ensure that any change in

settings be followed by clicking “Write Parameter” and power cycling the device.

c) ECC On: This turns on Error Correction Code. It increases packet transmission and

reception timings by about 30%. It is important to note that the same “ECC” setting must

be applied across all nodes within the same network. Any operation to check or uncheck

must be followed by “Write Into Module” and a reset. Click “Read From Module” to

display the existing settings.

d) Modulation Mode: Configures the modulation scheme from a selection of 1BPSK, 3BPSK

and 3QPSK. At the PHY layer, the data rate is 1.22Kbps for 1BPSK, 3.66Kbps for 3BPSK and

7.22Kbps for 3QPSK respectively. As a general rule of thumb, 1BPSK is most preferred for

maximum robustness. While nodes configured with different modulation schemes could

work together, when configuring 3BPSK or 3QPSK, care should be exercised to set the

central frequency for each channel to be at least 3 frequencies apart. Any operation to

check or uncheck must be followed by “Write Into Module” and a reset. Click “Read From

Module” to display the existing settings.

Automatic selection frequencies under CENELEC A Band, CENELEC B Band, CENELEC C

Band, CENELEC D Band, FCC Band or ARIB Band can be done using the appropriately

named buttons. Clicking any of these will automatically assign up to six of the eighteen

channels within the specified band. Click “Read Parameter” to read the existing settings.

To make changes to the existing settings, enter the values accordingly and click “Write

Parameter”. Remember to reset the device after performing “Write Parameter”.

2.5. “Noise Check” Tab

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Figure 7 – Noise Check

a) Go to “Noise Check” tab and click on “Read Noise” to read the noise level on each of the

channels. The noise reading is a relative noise figure and does not have a unit. These

readings may be used to configure the frequencies for the transmission channels as in

“GC2200 Parameters Configuration” section in page 14. It is recommended to use

frequencies with noise levels less than 500. Note that low noise does not guarantee

reliable communications. Attenuation and low impedance loads may also impact

communications adversely.

2.6. “Monitor” Tab

The Monitor tab displays essential information regarding: (1) Frequency vs Received

Success Rate and RSSI (2) Routing Table.

a) Frequency vs RSSI: When “Scan Frequency” is selected under “Operation Mode

Configuration” under “Mode Config” tab, for a pair of nodes (configured as Master and

Slave) in communications, the GUI on the master node will scan across the entire

frequency range between the two nodes and display the Received Success Rate and the

corresponding RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) values (divided by a factor of 256

with figures between 0 to 256, 256 being the best signal strength). Under “Monitor” tab,

“Freq” shows the carrier frequency in KHz, “Rcv%” shows the percentage of packets

received over packets transmitted and “RSSI” shows the Received Signal Strength Indicator

values of the particular frequency. The RSSI and Rcv% may be used to determine the best

frequencies for communications. In general, the higher the RSSI value, the higher the

chance of successful communications. However, as shown in Figure 8, there are instances

where low RSSI values correspond with higher success rates. This is possible if there are

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less noise or interference over these frequencies. At the bottom of the table, the “Output

voltage” shows the value of “Outpower” of GC2200 Config, the “Total transmit” shows the

total packets transmitted, the “Total receive” shows the total packets received and the

“Success rate” shows the percentage of received over total transmitted packets. Note

“Total transmit” and “Success rate” only appear on the Master node table. The GUI for the

Slave node is not required to be used in order to perform this function. The table will also

present the best 18 sets of carrier frequencies based on success rate. These 18 sets of

frequencies will automatically be configured at both the master and slave nodes.

Figure 8 – Frequencies versus Received Success Rate and RSSI Values

To get out of Scan Frequency mode and change to a different operation mode, it is always a

good practice to get into Safe mode before making changes.

e) Routing Table: When in “Auto Routing” or “Broadcast Routing” mode, click the “Start

Refresh Routing Table” to display the routing information of the PLC network system.

“Stop Refresh Routing Table” stops the display. Double click on the screen to clear the

screen.. Note that the routing table display function should only be used by the Master

node and not the Slave nodes in Auto-Routing or Broadcast Routing mode. “Routing

Table” will have no effect on the GUI connected to a Slave node.

In the routing table, the number of slave nodes discovered will constantly be updated. The

following denotations are also used in the routing table:

 “NID” denotes the Net ID of the nodes of the network.

 “Phy addr” denotes the PhyID or physical ID of the nodes.

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 “Par” denotes the Parent node Net ID of the particular node.

 “RSSI” denotes “Received Signal Strenght Indicator” indicating the signal strength

of the message received.

 “ABPS” denotes “Average Beakons Per Slot” in percentage (%). This is used to as a

measure of quality of the downward communication link based on the success rate

of receiving a discovery packet.

 “Noise” is a value from 0 to 255 indicating the noise level present in the power

lines in absolute form.

Figure 9 – Routing Table Display

2.7. “Debug Mode” Tab

This feature is available only with firmware version plcm_v1_7_3.bin and above using

PLCM_Utilities version plcm_utilities_v205.exe and above. The “Debug Mode” is a useful

feature to help the user to check if any node in the network is incommunicable. Only Auto-

Routing and Broadcast Routing modes are supported. The “Debug Mode” tab allows the

user to be able to configure the Master node (only the Master node needs to be

configured) to remotely poll its Slave nodes registered in the network by sending a data

packet of 10 bytes and expecting a return packet of 30 bytes, 60 bytes or 120 bytes

depending on the setting in the “Connection ID” under “Mode Config” tab. A “0” set in the

“Connection ID” configures for a 30-byte reply, a “1” configures 60 bytes while a “1”

configures 120 bytes. To enable debug mode, go to Figure 10 – “Debug Mode” Tab and

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write 1 into the window followed by clicking “Write Into Module” button and “Reset

Module” button under the “Communication” tab. Upon resetting the module, a message

“Debug Mode = 1” will be shown in the window under the “Communication” tab and the

polling process will begin.

Figure 10 – “Debug Mode” Tab

As the polling progresses, the window under the “Communication” tab will tabulate the

results. In Figure 11, the follow messages appear:

<count=1, miss=0, fail=0%, node=11>

[from=11, time=6623, maxtime=6623]

<count=2, miss=0, fail=0%, node=8>

[miss msg]

<count=3, miss=1, fail=33%, node=16>

[from=16, time=9377, maxtime=9377]

Where

 “count” is the number of attempts the Master node polls the Slave nodes.

 “miss” is the cumulative number Master not getting return packets from Slave

nodes

 “fail” is the amount of misses registered at the Master in percentage

 “node” is the last byte of the PHYid of the slave node being polled.

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 “from=11, time=6623, maxtime=6623” denotes the time taken to & fro from Master

to Node 11 is 6623 msec. while “maxtime” is the maximum time captured thus far.

Figure 11 – Real-Time Polling Results

Figure 12 shows the polling results success rate in percentage under “Monitor” tab.

Figure 12 – Routing Table Display With Polling Success Percentage

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3. Operation Modes

The GC9200 has four operation modes, namely Simple Broadcast, Point-to-Point, Auto-Routing,

and Broadcast Routing. The different operation modes are enabled by configuring the settings

via the “Mode Config” tab. GC9200 is also pre-programmed with a unique PHYid starting from

001.000.000.000 to 001.255.255.255. It can support a total of 16,777,216 unique PHYid

addresses.

In Simple Broadcast, Point-to-Point and Broadcast routing modes, they are protocol transparent

in the sense that serial data is sent verbatim between transmitter and receiver without a need

for adding addressing. In Auto-Routing mode, the transmitting device needs to know the

address of the receiver and needs to append this address to the data being sent.

4. gridComm GC-Net Simple Broadcast Communications

This is the simplest form of PLC communications whereby any PLC node will transmit data

packets on the power line in a single hop. The transmitting PLC node will not supply a

destination node address: the data packet is broadcast from the transmitting node, and any PLC

node within receiving range will receive the packet from the power lines and send this data out

its UART.

As there is no addressing at the networking layer, a data acknowledgement scheme is not

implemented, and the transmitting PLC node will not know if the data packet has been

successfully received by the intended PLC node. It will be the responsibility of the receiving

device connected to the UART to authenticate this data: for example, to check if the packet is

addressed to it. Also, a time-out mechanism may need to be implemented at the transmitting

device to re-transmit data if required. For example, if the concentrator, which is connected to

the Host PLC node, does not receive a reply from the intended terminal device after a certain

time has elapsed, it should resend the data.

Figure 13 shows a typical broadcast network in a Star configuration.

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Figure 13 – Star-shaped Simple Broadcast Communication System

4.1 Demo & Evaluation of Simple Broadcast Communications

To evaluate Simple Broadcast mode, the user may use multiple GC9200s, each connected to a

PC via gridComm PLCM_Utilities GUI. Follow the steps below:

a) Configure the appropriate UART settings on both the Host UART and the Module UART

as in “Host UART” and “Module UART Configuration” section in page 7 and page 9.

b) Configure the channel frequencies under “GC2200 Config” in page 14 ensuring that all

the PLC nodes (GC9200) share the same group of frequencies. Note that

communications between any two PLC nodes may only happen over the same set of

channel frequencies.

c) Set the appropriate “Output Power” as recommended.

d) Go to “Mode Config” and set to “Broadcast Mode” under Operaton Mode Configuration

as in “Operation Mode Configuration” section in page 11.

e) Once the configurations are done, you may input any data in the bottom green window

under the “Communication” tab. The data can be in character (default) or HEX form

(check HEX Display and HEX Input). Enter a message in the green box and click “Send

Data”. The message will be received by all the other devices within range and sent

through their UARTs to be displayed on the gridComm PLCM_Utilities GUIs.

f) The standard data byte length per data packet is 42 bytes. It is highly recommended to

use smaller data packets if possible, because longer data packets may have a higher

chance of “packet loss” during transmission. When sending long data packets exceeding

42 bytes up to 512 bytes, such as in ModBus, the device firmware will automatically

break the long packet into multiple packets of up to 42 bytes without user intervention.

These packets will then be reassembled to form the original data packet at the receiving

PLC node.

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5. gridComm GC-Net Point-to-Point Communications

This mode provides a more reliable data communications path between two points over power-

line as in Figure 14. In this set up, there is no need to configure master or slave unlike in the

Routing modes. Communications are transparent, and can be initiated by either end of the

terminal devices to which the PLC nodes are connected once the serial communication settings

are configured. However, the pairing PLC nodes in communications must share the same

Connection ID address, because a Data Received acknowledgement scheme checks against the

Connection ID address, and is implemented to ensure that the intended data packet received

does not come from other irrelevant PLC nodes in the vicinity. Care should also be taken to avoid

data collisions that are caused by other PLC nodes in the vicinity communicating on the same

power lines network over the same set of frequencies. Data collisions may be prevented by

assigning the paired PLC nodes with a unique set of carrier frequencies different from other PLC

nodes in the vicinity.

Figure 14 – Point-to-Point Communication System

5.1 Demo & Evaluation of Point-to-Point Communications

a) To demo and evaluate the GC9200 with Point-to-Point communications, two instances

of the gridComm PLCM_Utilities GUI are required in order to observe the two PLC nodes

in communication.

b) Ensure the pairing PLC devices under test are configured with the same Connection ID

for Point-to-Point mode as per “Connection ID” section in page 13.

c) Go to “Mode Config” and set to “Point-to-Point” under Operaton Mode

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g) In Figure 15, once the basic configurations are set as in “Demo & Evaluation of Simple

Broadcast Communications” section in page 21 from 4.1.a to 4.1.c, you may input any

data in the bottom green window under the “Communication” tab. The data can be in

character (default) or HEX form (check HEX Display and HEX Input). Enter a message in

the green box. The message will be sent to the other device as shown in the other GUI

after clicking “Send Data”. The standard data byte length per data packet is 42 bytes. It

is highly recommended to use smaller data packets if possible, because longer data

packets may have a higher chance of “packet loss” during transmission. When sending

long data packets exceeding 42 bytes up to 512 bytes, such as in ModBus, the device

firmware will automatically break the long packet into multiple packets of up to 42

bytes without user intervention. These packets will then be reassembled to form the

original data packet at the receiving PLC node.

Figure 15 – PLC Device Point-to-Point Communications Demo

6. gridComm GC-Net Auto-Routing Network Communications

While Point-to-Point communications is easy to implement, most PLC systems are installed and

deployed in more complex network configurations today. This is especially true when

deployments require tens or hundreds of PLC nodes. Due to varying power line conditions (eg.

variations in attenuations, noise, distance and load impedance etc.), a smart Auto-Routing

Network system, which constantly searches for optimal routes and automatically reconfigures

itself to enable the master node to maintain communicatons with all its slave nodes is needed.

gridComm’s GC-NET Auto-Routing and Adaptive Routing Software enables users to effectively

and dynamically set up this network system.

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Figure 16, is an example of a Star-shaped PLC network system with five devices on the same

power line. When the power line conditions are ideal for communications, the Host PLC Module

(or master node) may communicate with all other slave devices (nodes) directly. However, if

power line conditions deteriorate between the Host PLC Module and PLC Module 3 and they

cannot communicate directly, the Host PLC Module may still maintain communication with PLC

Module 3 if data packets are routed through PLC Module 1, which acts as a repeater (also known

as a router, or a relay). gridComm’s GC-Net Auto-Routing software enables the setup of such PLC

networks.

Figure 16 – Star-shaped Communication System with a back-up route

A more general example of such a network systems, is in the form of a “Tree” structure

configuration, as in Figure 17. Apart from providing back-up routing over varying power line

conditions, the “Tree” structure extends the potential distance covered between the Host PLC

Module (or Master node) and PLC Modules (Slave nodes). The routers or repeaters are arranged

in different tiers or layers with several communication hops between Master and its most distant

Slave in the network. This is especially true for large complicated network systems. gridComm

GC-Net Auto-Routing software can dynamically reconfigure itself, and perform re-routing of data

paths should there be changes in the network due to an increase or decrease in PLC devices.

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Figure 17 – “Tree” Structure Network

7. gridComm GC-Net Auto-Routing Software

7.1 Master Node Driven Communication Model

Figure 18 – Operations of a Master Driven Communication Model

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For most applications such as Street Lighting Control and AMI, communications are initiated by

the Master node. The Master node controls most of the communications in the network. This is

how gridComm GC-Net software works, which is a Master-driven communication model based

on a known destination address (PHYid) in auto-routing network mode. Slave nodes may, but

should rarely initiate communications with the Master. Also, a Slave node cannot communicate

with another Slave node directly.

When the concentrator sends a command with a destination address of the terminal device, the

Master node which is attached to the concentrator will look up the route to the Slave PLC node

that is attached to the terminal device and send the command over that route. After the

destination Slave node receives the command, it will send the command via the UART to the

terminal device. The terminal device responds by replying through the UART to the Slave node it

is attached to. The Slave node will then send it via PLC back to the Master node, which is then

sent through the UART to the concentrator. Figure 18 depicts the operations of Master-driven

communication model.

7.2 Operations- Auto-Discovery Phase

When a network of PLC nodes with Auto-routing is installed and powered up, the first thing the

Master node will do is to search for all the Slave nodes within the network based on the

gridComm GC-Net algorithm. It does so by searching the best routes to the Slave nodes based on

the computation of a set of parameters such as noise, signal strength, and others. The Master

node then assigns the Slave nodes into different tiers so that a routing path to each Slave node

is created. The Master node will register those Slave nodes directly contactable with the master

node as tier-1 Slave nodes. Slave nodes that are directly contactable through the tier-1 Slave

nodes, will be assigned as tier-2 slave nodes, and so on.

The Master node will record and constantly update the routing paths for all the Slave nodes

discovered. The Slave nodes will only record the routing path leading back to the Master node.

The process of setting up the routing table during the discovery phase might take several minutes

depending on network complexity: power line conditions, size of network, and the number of

hops in the network. When the Master node wants to communicate with a particular Slave node,

it does so based on the routing path developed in the routing table for that node.

7.3 Demo and Evaluation of Auto-Discovery Phase

To view the building of the routing path network in Auto-Routing mode, a network of PLC devices

(eg. GC9200) will need to be set up. Follow the steps below to set up the network.

a) Perform the basic configurations as described in “Demo & Evaluation of Simple Broadcast

Communications” section in page 21 from 4.1.a to 4.1.c.

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b) Identify which PLC node (eg. GC9200) is to be the Master node. Go to “Mode Config” tab

and set “Master”. Note that there can only be one Master node in a network. The

maximum number of Slave nodes controlled by one Master node is 240. For larger size

of network exceeding 240 PLC nodes, multiple Master nodes would need to be installed

with each Master node controlled by a commanding node. For more details, please see

“Network Size” section in page 35.

c) Set the rest of the PLC nodes in the nework as Slave nodes. Point the Slave nodes to

recognize the Master node by entering the PHYid of the Master node under “Assign

Master Node PHYid in Network”. Perform “Write Into Module” and remember to reset

the device after that.

d) Set the Operation Mode to “Auto-Routing”

e) Go to the “Communication” tab of the PLCM_Utilities GUI and click “Start Refresh Routing

Table”. Once clicked, the routing table information will be displayed and will be updated

dynamically as changes to the network are detected, e.g. upon addition of new nodes or

removal of existing nodes. To disable printing of routing table, click the “Stop Refresh

Routing Table” box or reboot the device. Note that routing table display function is only

for the Master node and not the Slave nodes. Connecting the GUI to the Slave node and

enabling “Routing Table” will have no effect.

f) The number of Slave nodes discovered in the network will be constantly updated and

displayed above the table.

Figure 19 shows a series of diagrams with an example of how the routing table is developed for

a tree structure of one Master node and seven Slave nodes. Click the “Start Refresh Routing

Table” in the “Monitor” tab of the PLCM Utitlities GUI to display the routing table information.

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Figure 19 – Routing Table Developed for a Network of PLC Nodes

From the diagrams above, a tree structure with assignments of parent and child nodes is set up

after the Master node has managed to register all the Slave nodes. For example, 8.0.0.21 registers

8.0.0.22 as parent, while 8.0.0.22 registers 8.0.0.13 as parent, 8.0.0.13 registers 8.0.0.02 as

parent and finally 8.0.0.02 registers 8.0.0.0 (master node) as parent. When Master node 8.0.0.0

wants to send a command to 8.0.0.21, it will know the route via 8.0.0.02, 8.0.0.13 and 8.0.0.22

(routing path: 8.0.0.21 - 8.0.0.22 - 8.0.0.13 - 8.0.0.02 - 8.0.0.0).

7.4 Operations- Auto-Recovery Phase

When a Slave node is removed from or added into the network during operations, the Master

node must discover the changes dynamically and rebuild its routing table automatically. Figure

20 shows a new Slave node PHYid 8.0.0.23 (slave node address) being added while Slave node

with PHYid 8.0.0.22 is being removed from the network resulting in the rebuilding of the routing

table.

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Figure 20 – Rebuilding of Routing Path Due to Newly Added and Removed Slave Nodes

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When 8.0.0.23 is added into the network, it finds 8.0.0.11 as parent and forms a routing path to

8.0.0.0 (Master) via 8.0.0.01 and 8.0.0.11 (routing path 8.0.0.23 - 8.0.0.11 - 8.0.0.01 - 8.0.0.0).

When 8.0.0.22 is removed, 8.0.0.21 no longer uses the previous routing path through 8.0.0.21.

Insteads 8.0.0.21 forms a route through 8.0.0.12 as its parent to form a new routing path 8.0.0.21

- 8.0.0.12 - 8.0.0.01 - 8.0.0.0. As soon as 8.0.0.22 is being detected as removed from the network,

its parent node will be labeled with double dashes “_ _” to denote the missing status. Again, it

might take a few minutes to update the routing table in the Auto-Recovery phase when nodes

are being added or removed from the network.

7.5 What if Some PLC Nodes are not discoverable?

It is possible that some PLC nodes in the network are undiscoverable for various reasons such as

bad power line conditions, being on a different phase, being too distant etc. When setting up a

network, it is a good idea to know in advance the total number and the identity (PHYid) of nodes

being deployed. This potential list of nodes may be compared with the actual Slave node PHYids

displayed on the routing table of the gridComm PLCM Utilities GUI to know exactly which ones

are undiscovered.

If running the PLCM Utilities GUI on the Master node in operation is inconvenient, there is

another way to detect if the network is fully set up. Enter the correct number of “Expected

Number of Slave Nodes” in the “Module Config” tab of the PLCM Utilities GUI and perform a

“Write Into Module”. This figure will then be stored in the flash memory and stay there even

after the power down. When a network is initially powered up, all GC9200 devices including the

Master node will flash once every 10 seconds during the discovery phase. When any Slave node

is registered with the Master node, it will start to blink once every 0.2 second incessantly. As soon

as the total number of Slave nodes discovered by the Master corresponds with the number of

“Expected Number of Slave Nodes”, the Link LED on the Master will blink in quick succession at

0.4 seconds interval.

If the number of Slave nodes contactable by the Master drops below the expected number, the

Master will revert to blinking once every 10 seconds. (The contactable Slave nodes will continue

to blink every 0.2 second). Checking the routing table for double dashes “_ _” in the Parent

column will reveal which Slave node which has been disconnected from the network.

If new Slave nodes are added to the network with the total number exceeding the “Expected

Number of Slave Nodes”, the Link LED will continue to blink at 0.4 sec. Note again that network

changes could take several minutes to be detected by the Master especially in a more complex

network.

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7.6 Semi-Transparent Protocol and Mapping of Terminal Device Address

In Auto-Routing mode, a PHYid needs to be added to every packet sent from the Master node.

A mapping table may be required at the host controller (or concentrator) connected to the

Master PLC node to translate the destination terminal device address to the PHYid of the Slave

node attached to it. The 4-byte PHYid is transmitted just before the data packet itself.

When the designated Slave node receives the data packet, it will send the data packet without

the PHYid over the UART to the terminal device.

Unlike the host controller, when the terminal device responds, it must not add a PHYid to the

response data packet. The terminal device sends the data verbatim to the Slave node via the

UART. The Slave node will route the packet to the Master node and hence to the host controller

or concentrator.

Thus, for the Slave node, the protocol is transparent, unlike the Master node.

The auto-routing software is implemented in the network layer and is independent of the

output power, redundancy and modulation settings. The network layer also performs

segmentation and re-assembly of packets. This network layer may be customized to application

needs (may incur NRE, so please contact gridComm). The addressing scheme implemented for

gridComm GC-Net software is based on 32-bit addressing.

The standard length of a data packet of the gridComm PLC transparent protocol is 42 bytes

regardless of operation mode. In cases where the transparent protocol sends data packets larger

than 42 bytes (such as transporting Modbus protocol which could stretch up to 512 bytes in ASCII

form), the gridComm GC-Net software application layer will automatically break them down into

smaller chunks and then reassemble them into a single data packet when they are received at

the destination node.

7.7 Demo and Evaluation of Command Send and Data Read Back in Auto-Routing Mode

To demonstrate “command send” and “data read back” between the Master node (depicting a

concentrator) and a Slave node (depicting a terminal device eg. Smart Meter), two instances of

the PLCM Utilities GUI (one for master node and the other for slave node) are needed. Note that

the inputs (both the PHYid and data) needs to be in HEX format in Auto-Routing mode as per

Figure 21. Perform the following steps:

a) Go to the green window under “Communication” tab of the Master node and enter a

pseudo command in HEX in the gr een window with the PHYid of the destination Slave

node with PHYid as 8.0.0.23 in front of the data, eg. “08 00 00 23 54 65 73 74 20 6D 65

73 73 61 67 65…”.

b) Click “Send Data” to send a command to 8.0.0.23 Slave node.

c) “Text message” depicting the command appears on the PLCM_Utilities GUI of 8.0.0.23

Slave node.

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d) Place “Reply message” depicting data to read back in green window of the PLCM_Utilities

GUI of 8.0.0.23 Slave node and click “Send Data”.

e) “Reply message” is read at Master node PLCM_Utilities GUI.

Figure 21 – A GUI Showing Data Transmission Between Master Node and Slave Node

7.8 Implementing a Send-Acknowledge (Send-Ack) Mechanism

To ensure the successful reception of the data packet by the terminal device, a Send-Ack

mechanism may be implemented in the application layer of the host controller (or concentrator).

For example, when the host controller sends a data packet and it is received successfully by the

terminal device, the terminal device may generate a “Received” signal back to the host controller

as an acknowledgement. If the host controller did not receive the acknowledgment from the

terminal device after a specified time-out, it may then assume that the data packet has not been

received by the terminal device. The host controller may then retry sending the same data packet

again to the terminal device. In GC-Net, when Send-Ack is enabled, a total of 5 retries is

implemented.

As a general guideline, when Send-Ack is enabled, it is recommended to allow 3.5 seconds for

the parent node to transmit a data packet one way to the immediate child node at the next tier.

For example, if a network has three tiers of slave nodes under the master node, for the Master

node to send a data packet to the third (bottom) tier of Slave nodes with Send-Ack enabled, it is

best to cater 3.5 x 3 = 10.5 seconds of time-out.

7.9 Network Size

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To avoid the network from becoming sluggish, gridComm Auto-Routing scheme limits a

network to 240 Slave nodes to 1 Master node. When an application requires more than 240

Slave nodes, multiple Master nodes would be needed. For example, a network of 900 Slave nodes

would require at least 4 Master nodes to support it. These Master nodes will then connect with

a Commanding node (at the concentrator) to exchange data.

It is highly recommended that a smaller number of Slave nodes per Master node be used if

possible, because the number of hops in the worst case may increase with a larger number of

Slave nodes and this, in turn, will result in longer latency or even communications failure. Care

should be taken to avoid data collisions that are caused by other PLC nodes of a different

network in the vicinity communicating on the same power lines. Data collisions may be

prevented by setting the network of PLC nodes to use a unique set of carrier frequencies that

are different from other networks of PLC nodes in the vicinity. GC2200 possesses the flexibility

to freely configure the number of channels with different carrier frequencies, which is a very

useful feature to prevent undesired interference from other networks of PLC nodes.

8. GC-Net Broadcast Routing Communications

Broadcast Routing is developed to cater to the needs for users who want to run a transparent

protocol with network routing – in other words, enabling communications over power line

without knowing destination PLC node addresses (or slave node PHYids).

This is convenient since the PHYid is not sent and the protocol is transparent. All that is

required is to set up the UART on the PLC node. The network software will deliver data packets

sent from the Master node to all Slave nodes in the network tree, and data packets sent from

any Slave node back to the Master node.

During initial start-up of Broadcast Routing mode, the PLC system will first develop routing

paths for the network tree as in the Auto-Routing mode. Broadcast Routing will fully function

only after the routing paths have been developed and this could take several minutes

depending on nextwork complexity. Again, a blinking RUN LED every 0.2 seconds on the Master

device will indicate the readiness of the network: that is, the number of slave nodes detected

equals or exceeds the total Expected Number of Slave Nodes entered into the Master node.

When the network is ready, the concentrator will send data packets to a terminal device as if it

were sending it through a simple data communications line without a need for PLC addressing

or protocol handling.

Again, it is the user’s responsibility to define and set the time-out to implement a Send-Ack

scheme. As a general guideline for time-out, allow 3.5 seconds for a send from a parent node to

its immediate child node on the next tier. For example, if a network has three tiers of Slave

nodes, for the Master node to send a data packet to the third (bottom) tier of Slave nodes, it

would require 3.5 x 3 = 10.5 seconds of time-out.

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In Broadcast Routing, there is an increase in network utilisation. Hence, Broadcast Routing is

effective for use in smaller and less complex networks (e.g. 30 nodes with up to 4 tiers, or 100

nodes with up to 3 tiers with most of the nodes in the 2nd tier etc.). As in any form of power line

communications, Broadcast Routing should not be used in time-critical situations due to

latencies in scheduling.

8.3 Demo and Evaluation of Broadcast Routing Communications

To demo and evaluate Broadcast Routing Communications, a network of PLC devices (eg.

GC9200) would need to be set up. Follow the steps below to set up the network.

a) Perform the basic configurations as described in “Demo & Evaluation of Simple Broadcast

Communications” section in page 21 from 4.1.a to 4.1.c.

b) Identify which PLC node (eg. GC9200) is to be the Master node. Go to “Mode Config” tab

and set “Master”. Note that there can only be one Master node in a network. The

maximum number of Slave nodes controlled by one Master node is 240. For larger sizes

of network exceeding 240 PLC nodes, multiple Master nodes would need to be installed.

Each Master node would then be controlled by a commanding node. For more details,

please see “Network Size” section in page 35.

c) Set the rest of the PLC nodes in the nework as Slave nodes. Point the Slave nodes to

recognize the Master node by entering the PHYid of the master node under “Assign

Master Node PHYid in Network”. Perform “Write Into Module” and remember to reset

the device after that.

d) Set the Operation Mode to “Broadcast-Routing”

e) Go to the “Monitor” tab of the PLCM_Utilities GUI and click on the box, “Start Refresh

Routing Table”. Once clicked, the routing table information will be displayed and will be

updated dynamically as changes to the network are detected, e.g. upon addition of new

nodes or removal of existing nodes. To disable printing of the routing table, click on the

“Stop Refresh Routing Table” box or reboot the device. Note that the routing table

display function is only for the Master node only and not the Slave nodes. Connecting

the GUI to the Slave node and enabling “Routing Table” will have no effect.

f) Go to the green window under “Communication” tab of the master node and enter HEX

data in the green window, eg. “54 65 73 74 20 6D 65 73 73 61 67 65…”.

g) Hit “Send Data” to broadcast the data packet.

h) The “Text message” depicting the command will appear on the PLCM_Utilities GUI of any

slave node. In applications, it is likely that all the terminal devices will interpret the

command data packet and only the terminal device which the packet is addressed to

will respond to the command.

i) Place “Reply message” depicting a response to be sent in the green window of the

PLCM_Utilities GUI of any Slave node and hit “Send Data”.

j) The response finds its way to the Master node and “Reply message” is received and

displayed at the Master node PLCM_Utilities GUI.

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9. Network Management Commands

In order to differentiate a PLC data transmission from a Network Management command, a

certain escape sequence needs to be sent.

The format for a Network Management command is:

0x1b 0x67 0x72 0x1d 0xc0 0x6d 0x6d 0x3a FC1 FC2 Len Seq Cmd Obj Sub Values . . .

The format for a response is:

0x1b 0x67 0x72 0x1d 0xc0 0x6d 0x6d 0x3a FC1 FC2 Len Seq Status Values . . .

Seq is a sequence number that is used for matching responses to commands. This is required

for robustness especially on a UART which is asynchronous, full-duplex. Seq will be a wrap-

around unsigned 8-bit counter (that is, 0 - 255). The Fletcher’s checksum FC1 and FC2 are

calculated for all bytes following the checksum bytes. Len is the length of all bytes following the

checksum bytes (thus including the length byte itself).

Fletcher’s checksum is calculated as shown in the ‘C’ code below:

uint8_t fc1=0, fc2=0;

for(i=0;i<size;i++)

{

fc1 = (fc1 + buf[i]) % 255;

fc2 = (fc2 + fc1) % 255;

}

Where buf[ ] contains size number of bytes of data to be checksummed.

All mutli-byte values are big-endian, that is, Most significant byte stored first.

Command codes:

Command code

Operation

Get

Set

Object-SubObject table

Object

Sub-

object

Name

Size

(bytes)

Remarks

0 (System)

PHY ID

Get-only

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Product ID

Get-only

FW version

Get-only

Reset System

Set-only, causes a reboot

Reboot counter

Write to Config

Flash

Get returns a 16-bit sequence

number

Set, with sequence number. If

sequence number has not

changed, flash is written (this

ensures atomicity of changes)

1 (Run modes)

Operation Mode*

Lock Mode*

Test Mode*

2 (Local Comms)

UART Baud rate*

UART Baud frame

specs*

5 (PLC Channels)

Channel

Frequency*

Channel

modulation*

Channel Enable*

Transmit power*

8 (Point-to-point)

Connection ID*

9 (AutoRouting

Master)

Expected Number

of Slaves*

Master Only

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Current Number of

Registered Slaves

Master Only, Get-only

Total Number of

Unique

Registrations since

boot

Master Only, Get-only

Slave details for

given NetID:

PHY ID, Parent ID,

Node level, Alive,

RSSI, Tx Channel

Master Only, Get-only

NetID, and PHY ID

of last Reply

Master Only, Get-only

NetID, PHY ID, and

RSSI of next Slave

that is not Alive

Master Only, Get-only

10 (AutoRouting

Slave)

0 – 7

Master ID List*

Slave Only

(Measurement)

Configured

Channels Noise

54 (Get)

0 (Set)

Set to reset noise

Temporarily write

channel

frequencies

Set-only, for use in

measurement of noise. Should

only be used in safe mode.

18 (Defaults)

Set default

configuration 1

Set-only

* Objects that are written to config flash when using Write to Config Flash

Possible status codes returned:

0: OK

1: Bad Checksum

2: No Such Object

3: Cannot perform operation

4: Bad length

5: Operation Error

6: Write Error

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Examples of Network Management commands sent through the UART:

To read the FW version of the Node, send:

0x1b 0x67 0x72 0x1d 0xc0 0x6d 0x6d 0x3a 0x08 0x1f 0x05 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x02

- where the Seq is 0x01, FC1 = 0x08, FC2 = 0x1f

A valid reply with OK status would be:

0x1b 0x67 0x72 0x1d 0xc0 0x6d 0x6d 0x3a 0x3e 0x56 0x05 0x01 0x00 0x01 0x37

- where the Seq is 0x01, FC1 = 0x3e, FC2 = 0x56, and the result is 0x0137 as the firmware

version (version 1.55)

To reset the Node, send:

0x1b 0x67 0x72 0x1d 0xc0 0x6d 0x6d 0x3a 0x0e 0x33 0x05 0x05 0x01 0x00 0x03

- where the Seq is 0x05, FC1 = 0x0e, FC2 = 0x33

A valid reply with OK status would be:

0x1b 0x67 0x72 0x1d 0xc0 0x6d 0x6d 0x3a 0x08 0x13 0x03 0x05 0x00

where the Seq is 0x05, FC1 = 0x08, FC2 = 0x13

10. GC-Net PLC Quick Reference

Point to Point

Simple

Broadcast

Auto-Routing

Broadcast Routing

Maximum Number of Tier Support

1 (two layer of nodes)

7 (8 layers of nodes)

Maximum number of PLC nodes

Unlimited

240

Communications mode

Connection ID

Peer-to-Peer

Master Driven, 1 Master to multiple

Slaves

Send/Ack Mechanism (Network

Layer)

Built-in

Built--In

Only On Return Path

Auto discovery and recovery of

nodes

Yes

Auto Repeater

Yes

PhyID Agnostic

Yes

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Module "Link" LED Blinks

Quick Blinks at 200ms/blink

signal Ready for Operations

Marster Blinks at 400ms indicates

network is set up. Slave blinks at

200ms means registered with Parent

Maximum payload per data

packet per transmission

42 bytes

Maximum user data packet size

with auto-scaling

512 bytes

Latency per

direction for upto

42 byte data

packet with ECC

ON and W/O

ACK/SEND

(Broadcat

Routing only

applies for return

path, forward

path is 0.7 sec

per tier)

1 tier or 2

layers

0.7 sec

0.7~1sec

2 tiers or 3

layers

1.4~ 2sec

3 tiers or 4

layers

2.1~ 3 sec

30% more

Latency per

direction for upto

42 byte data

packet WITH ECC

ON and

ACK/SEND

(Broadcat

Routing only

applies for return

path, forward

path is 0.7 sec

per tier)

1 tier or 2

layers

0.7 sec per

channel set

0.7 ~ 5 sec

2 tiers or 3

layers

1.4~ 10sec

3 tiers or 4

layers

2.1~ 15 sec

Date rate at

1BPSK at PHY

layer

1.22 Kbps

Date rate at

3BPSK at PHY

layer

3.66Kbps

Date rate at

3QPSK at PHY

layer

7.22Kbps

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GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem User Guide

Max. Attenuation

Possible btwn 2

Nodes at 1BPSK

(60dB= 1000

times signal

reduction)

60 to 75dB

Max. Attenuation

Possible btwn 2

Nodes at 3BPSK

(40dB= 100 times

signal reduction)

40dB

Max. Attenuation

Possible btwn 2

Nodes at 3QPSK

(20dB= 10 times

signal reduction)

20dB

Anti- Noise

Capability

Effective against impulsive noise

by switching frequencies

Effective against impulsive noise by

switching frequencies and white-

band noise by setting close range

repeaters or alternate routing paths

11. FAQ

Q1. How do I know if the PLC device is working properly?

Ans: During power up, the red Power LED on the GC9200 device will light up. The yellow Link

will also light up showing that it is working properly. Turning off and on the power supply or

via PLCM_Utilities.

Q2. If two PLC devices are not communicating with each other in Point-to-Point mode, what

can be done?

Ans: These actions may be performed:

 Check that the PLC devices are working as in Q1.

 Check that the two PLC devices have the same Connection ID and frequency settings.

 Check that the PLC UART settings matches the device UART settings.

 Ensure that there are no other PLC devices in the vicinity transmitting simultaneously.

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GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem User Guide

 Ensure that the PLC devices are on the same power line phase.

Q3. Why may two working PLC devices, even on the same phase, not communicate with each

other?

Ans: Even if the two power points are on the same phase, communication may still fail due to

the unpredictable nature of power line communications. These include: variable load

impedances, variable attenuations, high noise levels, and phase distortions. For example,

attenuation varies from 2x to 500x (3-30db) in outlets of the same building and even in close

proximity to each other.

Q4. How do you overcome the problem mentioned in Question (3)?

Ans: These steps may be performed:

1. Run the Noise test using the PLCM_Utilities GUI to detect the noise level across the

default setting of the frequency spectrum of the PLC device. If the noise level is

extremely high (say > 500) on certain channels, reconfigure those channels affected by

high noise to other frequencies with lower noise. In general, higher frequencies

(>300KHz) experience a lower noise level.

2. Use auto-routing to extend the potential reach of the network. By routing packets

through intermediate, nearer nodes, communication may be made between nodes that

are otherwise out of reach. Refer to “Auto-Routing Network Commumnications” in

page 23 of the user guide.

Q5. When Auto Send is checked under the Communication tab of PLCM_Utilities GUI, why

does the other PLC device not receive the continuous data strings input?

Ans: When using the Auto Send feature under the Communication tab of the PLCM_Utilities

software, it is important to set the time interval to be sufficiently long. This is to allow sufficient

time delay for the PC to respond to the signals coming from the PLC device via the UART-USB

cable which is the bottleneck. If the time interval is too short for Auto Send, there is a high

chance the PC will not capture the incoming data from the UART-USB cable before the next

data string is transmitted. Since there is no display of the data strings on the PC GUI, the PLC

device would look like as if it is unable to receive the data from the other PLC device. Setting

the time to be > 2000ms should fix the problem.

Q6. Can some or all 18 channels be set to the same frequency?

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GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem User Guide

Ans: Yes, there is no impact in setting the channels to the same frequency except that the PLC

device is not taking advantage of using other frequencies, for example, for redundancy to

increase robustness.

Q7. Can I turn on/off certain channels, or configure the Tx output power of the GC9200 PLC

device?

Ans: Yes, these options are available in GC9200 under Point-to-Point mode.

Q8. How do I make use of the GC9200 PLC devices to communicate without the GUI software

in an embedded system?

Ans: The GC9200 works in transparent protocol. For Point-to-Point mode, simply send the data

over UART to the PLC device and the data will be sent verbatim to the receiving node. For auto-

routing mode, the concentrator (or host) would need to send the PHYid (address of the Slave

PLC node) immediately before the data proper over UART to the Master node. The Slave PLC

node in auto-routing, however, takes the data without a PHYid.

Q9. Does the GC9200 device send the data packet to its attached terminal device

automatically when it receives a data packet?

Ans: Yes, the data packet will be automatically sent from the GC9200 device to its attached

terminal device via the UART port.

Q10. Can GC9200 PLC device be used in a 3-Phase system and be able to withstand 1000 VDC

continuous isolation test?

Ans: Yes, the GC9200 PLC device can be used in a 3-Phase system. However, the default

coupling capacitor rated at 0.47uF/275VAC would have to be replaced to withstand the higher

voltage of 380 to 420V AC. GridComm provides customization service for use in a 3-Phase

system. Please contact your GridComm sales representative.

Q11. Can there be more than one Master node on the same power line?

Ans: Yes it is possible but there will be a greater chance of data collision between nodes if the

networks are in the same vicinity. This can be avoided by choosing a different set of frequencies

for the different networks of nodes.

Q12. Can two Slave nodes under the control of a Master node be able to communicate

between themselves without involving the Master node?

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GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem User Guide

Ans: All communications need to be handled and initiated by the Master node. Slave nodes are

not able to communicate between themselves.

Q13. What is the maximum number of Slave nodes in a network?

Ans: A network can only have one Master and up to 240 Slave nodes. Take note that a network

system with a larger number of nodes might have more tiers and thus more latency in

communications.

Q14. When the Host MCU receives the data from the GC9200 Master node, does the data need

to be further processed? Does the Host MCU need to respond to the GC9200 Master

node it is attached to?

Ans: The data received by the Host MCU is the actual data as it is a transparent protocol. The

Host MCU does not need to respond to the GC9200 Master node.

Q15. What is the maximum number of tiers or repeaters in network routing?

Ans: Theoretically, the maximum number of tiers is 7. However, more tiers/repeaters will mean

more delay in getting a response from Slave nodes. It is recommended not to have more than 5

tiers or repeaters in a network.

Q16. When two or more Slave nodes send data packets back to the Master node at the same

time, will there be data collision and if so, how could data collision be prevented?

Ans: It is possible that when two or more slave nodes send data packets at the same time, data

collision happens. When this happens, the terminal device devices should repeat sending of

data packets at different timing intervals.

Q17. When performing Noise Check on Master node, why do noise values generated are

incorrect sometimes?

Ans: This is a known bug and will be fixed in future firmware release. The short-term fix is to go

into Safe mode to perform Noise check.

Q.18 Can PLC nodes with different firmware versions interoperate amongst them?

Ans: No, all PLC nodes must operate with the same firmware version.

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GC9200 DIN Rail PLC Modem User Guide

12. Dimensions of DIN Rail PLC Modem

13. Contact Information

For more information regarding the GC9200 Demo and Evaluation node including reference

design, pricing and ordering please contact:

sales@gridComm-plc.com GridComm Pte Ltd www.gridComm-plc.com

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GC9200/9200 PLC Demo

& Evaluation Node User Guide

14. Revision (051-03)

Version

Description

Date

1.0

Initial release

28/05/2012

1.1

Device change Updates

29/11/2012

2.1

Major features update

16/06/2013

2.2

Review and rewrite

4/07/2013

2.3

Added Reset Default Factory Setting

9/09/2013

2.4

Edited Monitor Tab and API Commands for Settings

Configurations

5/12/2013

2.5

Expanded on Network Management commands and added

examples

27/1/2014

2.6

Added Send/Ack, ECC On, Modulation Scheme, Noise, ABPS

4/3/2014

2.7

Added Debug Mode, Sniffer, Scan Frequency Non Stop, Noise

Generator. Added GC-NET PLC Quick Reference.

15/4/2014

SM8100/SM9100_Users_Guide PB63023 01 GC9200 Users Guide

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