GE MDS DS-9810 Spread Spectrum Data Tranceiver User Manual

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Installation and Operation Guide

Installation & Operation Guide

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

JULY 2004

900 MHz Spread Spectrum

Data Transceivers

Microwave Data Systems Inc.

MDS 9810

QUICK START GUIDE

Below are the basic steps for installing the transceiver. Detailed instructions are given in “INSTALLA-

TION” on Page 14 of this guide.

1. Install and connect the antenna system to the radio

• Use good quality, low-loss coaxial cable. Keep the feedline as short as possible.

• Preset directional antennas in the direction of desired transmission.

2. Connect the data equipment to the radio’s INTERFACE connector

• Connection to the radio must be made with a DB-25 Male connector. Connections for typical sys-

tems are shown below.

• Connect only the required pins. Do not use a straight-through RS-232 cable with all pins wired.

• Verify the data equipment is conﬁgured as DTE. (By default, the radio is conﬁgured as DCE.)

3. Apply DC power to the radio

• Observe proper polarity. The red wire is the positive lead; the black is negative.

4. Set the radio’s basic conﬁguration with a Hand-Held Terminal (HHT)

• Set the baud rate/data interface parameters as follows. Use the

BAUD xxxxx abc

command,

where

xxxxx

equals the data speed and

abc

equals the communication parameters as follows:

= Data bits (7 or 8)

= Parity (N for None, O for Odd, E for Even

= Stop bits (1 or 2)

(Example:

BAUD 9600 8N1

) NOTE: 7N1, 8E2 and 8O2 are invalid data parameters.

5. Verify proper operation by observing the LED display

• Refer to Table 4 on Page 26 for a description of the status LEDs.

• Reﬁne directional antenna headings for best received signal strength using the

RSSI

command.

• If difﬁculties are encountered, please refer to Table 14 on Page 56 for troubleshooting help.

DB-25 DB-25

6DSR DSR

TXD

RXD

GND

RTS

CTS

TXD

RXD

GND

CTS

RTS

DB-9 DB-25

DB-9 to DB-25 ExampleDB-25 to DB-25 Example

RXD

TXD

DCD

GND

DSR

RTS

RXD

TXD

DCD

GND

As required for application

CTS

DSR

RTS

CTS8

GND GND

8 8

DCD DCD

As required for application

RTU

(DTE)

TRANSCEIVER

(DCE)

RTU

(DTE)

TRANSCEIVER

(DCE)

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 ABOUT THIS MANUAL.........................................................................................................1

2.0 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION................................................................................................... 1

Transceiver Features........................................................................................................................2

Model Conﬁguration Codes .............................................................................................................2

2.1 Spread Spectrum Radios—How Are They Different? ....................................................................3

2.2 Typical Applications .......................................................................................................................3

Multiple Address Systems (MAS) ....................................................................................................3

Simplex “Peer-to-Peer”.....................................................................................................................4

Peer-to-Peer with Repeater Assistance ...........................................................................................4

Point-to-Point System.......................................................................................................................5

Tail-End Link (“MAS Extension”)......................................................................................................5

Repeater System—Traditional .........................................................................................................6

“Single-Radio” Repeater—Alternative Method.................................................................................6

2.3 Accessories ...................................................................................................................................7

3.0 INSTALLATION PLANNING.................................................................................................. 7

3.1 General Requirements ..................................................................................................................7

3.2 Site Selection ................................................................................................................................8

Terrain and Signal Strength .............................................................................................................9

Conducting a Site Survey ................................................................................................................9

3.3 A Word About Radio Interference ................................................................................................10

3.4 Antenna & Feedline Selection .....................................................................................................11

Antennas........................................................................................................................................11

Feedlines .......................................................................................................................................12

3.5 How Much Output Power Can be Used? .....................................................................................13

Transmitter Power vs. Antenna System Gain.................................................................................13

4.0 INSTALLATION ................................................................................................................... 14

4.1 Transceiver Installation ................................................................................................................15

4.2 Peer-to-Peer Systems .................................................................................................................19

Simplex Peer-to-Peer.....................................................................................................................19

Peer-to-Peer with Repeater Assistance .........................................................................................20

4.3 Tail-End Links ..............................................................................................................................21

Interface Wiring..............................................................................................................................21

Programming .................................................................................................................................22

4.4 Repeaters—Traditional Method ...................................................................................................22

Antennas........................................................................................................................................23

System Addresses.........................................................................................................................23

Interface Wiring..............................................................................................................................23

Diagnostic Limitations....................................................................................................................23

ii MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

4.5 “Single-Radio” Repeater—Alternative Method ............................................................................24

Interface Wiring..............................................................................................................................24

Software Programming (TDD Command)......................................................................................24

Limitations of Single-Radio Repeaters...........................................................................................25

4.6 Using the Radio’s Sleep Mode ....................................................................................................25

Sleep Mode Example.....................................................................................................................25

5.0 OPERATION ....................................................................................................................... 26

5.1 Initial Start-up ..............................................................................................................................26

5.2 Performance Optimization ...........................................................................................................26

Antenna Aiming..............................................................................................................................27

Antenna SWR Check.....................................................................................................................27

Data Buffer Setting.........................................................................................................................27

Hoptime Setting .............................................................................................................................27

Baud Rate Setting..........................................................................................................................28

Radio Interference Checks.............................................................................................................28

6.0 PROGRAMMING................................................................................................................ 28

6.1 Hand-Held Terminal Connection & Start-up ................................................................................28

6.2 Hand-Held Terminal Setup ..........................................................................................................29

6.3 Keyboard Commands ..................................................................................................................30

Entering Commands ......................................................................................................................30

Error Messages..............................................................................................................................31

6.4 Detailed Command Descriptions .................................................................................................35

ADDR [1...65000]...........................................................................................................................36

AMASK [0000 0000–FFFF FFFF]..................................................................................................36

ASENSE [HI/LO]............................................................................................................................36

BAUD [xxxxx abc] ..........................................................................................................................36

BUFF [ON, OFF]............................................................................................................................37

CTS [0–255]...................................................................................................................................37

CTSHOLD [0-6000]........................................................................................................................38

DEVICE [DCE, CTS KEY].............................................................................................................38

DLINK [xxxxx] ................................................................................................................................39

DMGAP [xx] ...................................................................................................................................39

DTYPE [NODE/ROOT/GATE/PEER] .............................................................................................39

HOPTIME [XSHORT, 16, 20, 25, 32, SHORT, NORMAL, LONG] .................................................40

INIT ................................................................................................................................................41

MODE [M, R, R-M].........................................................................................................................41

OWM [xxxxx]..................................................................................................................................42

OWN [xxxxx] ..................................................................................................................................42

PWR [xx–30]..................................................................................................................................42

RSSI...............................................................................................................................................42

RTU [ON/OFF/0-80].......................................................................................................................43

RX [xxxx]........................................................................................................................................43

RXTOT [NONE, 0–1440]................................................................................................................43

SEND [n, -n, +n].............................................................................................................................43

SETUP...........................................................................................................................................44

SHOW [PORT, DC, PWR]..............................................................................................................45

SIMPLEX [ON, OFF]......................................................................................................................45

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide iii

SKIP [NONE, 1...8] ........................................................................................................................46

SKIPSYNC [ON/OFF] ....................................................................................................................46

SNR ...............................................................................................................................................46

SREV .............................................................................................................................................47

STAT...............................................................................................................................................47

TDD [ON/OFF]...............................................................................................................................47

TEMP.............................................................................................................................................48

TX [xxxx] ........................................................................................................................................48

UNIT [10000–65000]......................................................................................................................48

ZONE DATA ...................................................................................................................................49

ZONE CLEAR................................................................................................................................50

7.0 TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................................................................................ 50

7.1 LED Indicators .............................................................................................................................50

7.2 Alarm Codes ................................................................................................................................51

Checking for Alarms—STAT command..........................................................................................51

Major Alarms vs. Minor Alarms ......................................................................................................51

Alarm Code Deﬁnitions ..................................................................................................................52

7.3 Performing Network-Wide Remote Diagnostics ..........................................................................53

DLINK [xxxxx] ................................................................................................................................55

DTYPE [NODE/ROOT/GATE/PEER] .............................................................................................55

7.4 Troubleshooting Chart .................................................................................................................56

8.0 TECHNICAL REFERENCE................................................................................................. 56

8.1 Technical Speciﬁcations ..............................................................................................................56

8.2 RSSI Checks with a Voltmeter .....................................................................................................58

8.3 Data Interface Connections (DB-25) ...........................................................................................58

8.4 Bench Testing Setup ....................................................................................................................61

8.5 Using Radio Conﬁguration Software ...........................................................................................61

Connecting a PC............................................................................................................................62

Upgrading the Radio’s Software ....................................................................................................62

8.6 dBm-Watts-Volts Conversion Chart .............................................................................................63

9.0 GLOSSARY OF TERMS..................................................................................................... 63

This Installation and Operation Guide and all software described herein are protected by

copy-

right: 2004

Microwave Data Systems

Microwave Data Systems reserves its right to correct any errors and omissions in this document.

Operational Safety Notice

The radio equipment described in this guide emits radio frequency energy. Although the power

level is low, the concentrated energy from a directional antenna may pose a health hazard. All

antennas used with this transmitter, whether indoor or outdoor mounted, must be installed to pro-

vide a separation distance of at least

23 cm

from all persons, and must not be co-located or oper-

ating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter. In mobile applications (vehicle

Exposure

iv MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

mounted) the above separation distance must be maintained at all times. More information on RF

exposure is available on the Internet at

www.fcc.gov/oet/info/documents/bulletins

. This manual

is intended to guide a professional installer to install, operate and perform basic system mainte-

nance on the described radio.

CSA/

Notice

This product is available for use in Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C & D Hazardous Locations. Such

locations are defined in Article 500 of the National Fire Protection Association publication NFPA 70, oth-

erwise known as the National Electrical Code.

The product has been recognized for use in hazardous locations by the Canadian Standards Association

(CSA), which also issues the US mark of approval (CSA/

). The CSA Certification is in accordance with

CSA STD C22.2 No. 213-M1987. The product has been evaluated in accordance with the following stan-

dards:

• CSA Std C22.2 No. 142-M1987 - Process Control Equipment

• CSA Std C22.2 No. 213-M1987 - Non-Incendive Electrical Equipment for Use in Class I, Division 2

Hazardous Locations

• ANSI/UL Std No. 508 - Industrial Control Equipment

• UL Std No. 1604 - Electrical Equipment for Use in Class I and II, Division 2; Class III Hazardous (Clas-

sified) Locations

ISO 9001 Registration

Microwave Data Systems' adherence to this internationally accepted quality system standard pro-

vides one of the strongest assurances of product and service quality available.

MDS Quality Policy Statement

We, the employees of Microwave Data Systems, are committed to achieving total customer satis-

faction in everything we do.

Total Customer Satisfaction in:

• Conception, design, manufacture and marketing of our products.

• Services and support we provide to our internal and external customers.

Total Customer Satisfaction Achieved Through:

• Processes that are well documented and minimize variations.

• Partnering with suppliers who are committed to providing quality and service.

• Measuring our performance against customer expectations and industry leaders.

• Commitment to continuous improvement and employee involvement.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide v

FCC Notice, U.S.A.

The transceiver complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two

conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any

interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

This device is specifically designed to be used under Section 15.247 of the FCC Rules and Regu-

lations. Any unauthorized modification or changes to this device without the express approval of

Microwave Data Systems may void the user’s authority to operate this device.

Furthermore, this device is indented to be used only when installed in accordance with the instruc-

tions outlined in this manual. Failure to comply with these instructions may also void the user’s

authority to operate this device.

Manual Revisions/Updates

While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this manual, product

improvements may result in minor differences between the manual and the product shipped to you.

If you have additional questions or need an exacts specification for a product, please contact our

Customer Service Team using the information at the back of this guide. In addition, manual

updates can often be found on the MDS Web site at www.microwavedata.com.

vi MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 1

1.0 ABOUT THIS MANUAL

This guide presents installation and operating instructions for the

MDS 9810 transceiver. Following installation, we suggest keeping this

guide near the equipment for future reference.

NOTE:

Earlier versions of this manual also covered the MDS 24810

(2.4 GHz) transceiver, which has been discontinued by MDS.

An electronic version of the earlier manual is available for

download at www.microwavedata.com.

2.0 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The transceiver, shown in Figure 1, is a spread spectrum radio designed

for license-free operation in the 900 MHz frequency band. Employing

microprocessor control and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) tech-

nology, the unit is highly reliable for long-distance communications,

even in the presence of weak signals or interference.

DSP technology also makes it possible to obtain information about radio

operation and troubleshoot problems, without going to the remote radio

site. Using the appropriate software at the master station, diagnostic data

can be obtained on any DSP radio in the system, even while payload

data is being transmitted. (See “Performing Network-Wide Remote

Diagnostics” on Page 53.)

The transceiver is housed in a compact and rugged die-cast aluminum

case that need only be protected from direct exposure to the weather. It

contains a single printed circuit board with all necessary components for

radio operation. No jumper settings or adjustments are required to con-

figure the radio for operation.

Invisible place holder

Figure 1. MDS 9810 Transceiver

EXTERNAL

INTERFACE

CONNECTOR

(DB-25)

DIAGNOSTICS

CONNECTOR (RJ-11)

13.8 VDC POWER

CONNECTOR

ANTENNA CONNECTOR

(TYPE “N”)

SERIAL NUMBER

LABEL

LED INDICATORS (4)

2 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Transceiver Features

Listed below are several key features of the transceiver. These are

designed to ease the installation and configuration of the radio, while

retaining the ability to make changes in the future.

• 1,019 frequencies over 902–928 MHz, subdivided into eight

frequency zones

• Configurable operating zones to omit frequencies with constant

interference

• 65,000 available network addresses

• Network-wide configuration from the master station; eliminates

most trips to remote sites

• Data transparency–ensures compatibility with virtually all

asynchronous SCADA system RTUs

• Peak-hold RSSI, averaged over eight hop cycles

• Operation at up to 19200 bps continuous data flow;

38400 bps non-continuous

• Same hardware for all supported data rates:

1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400 bps asynchronous

• Same hardware for master or remote configuration

• Data latency typically less than 10 ms

• Supports EIA-232 (formerly called RS-232) user interface

• Low current consumption–30 mA or less average draw in

“sleep” mode.

Model Configuration Codes

The radio model number is printed on the end of the radio enclosure, and

provides key information about how the radio was configured when it

left the factory. See Figure 2 for an explanation of the model number

characters.

Invisible place holder

Figure 2. Transceiver Model Configuration Codes

PACKAGE

1= Transceiver only

OPERATION

X= Remote/Master

POWER SETTING

1= 10.5 - 30 Vdc*

DIAGNOSTICS

0= None

1= Non-Intrusive

N= N/A

SAFETY APPROVAL

N= N/A

MOUNTING BRACKETS

A= Standard

B= None

0XN

AGENCY APPROVAL

F= FCC/IC

U= FM/UL/CSA

* Units shipped prior to Revision “U” (November 1999) may be configured for 25 Vdc maximum DC input.

THIS INFORMATION IS

SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

DO NOT USE FOR

PRODUCT ORDERING.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 3

Invisible place holder

2.1 Spread Spectrum Radios—How Are They

Different?

The main difference between a traditional (licensed) radio system and

the MDS 9810 transceiver is that these units “hop” from channel to

channel many times per second using a specific hop pattern applied to

all radios in the network. A distinct hopping pattern is provided for each

of the 65,000 available network addresses, thereby minimizing the

chance of interference with other spread spectrum systems. In the USA,

and certain other countries, no license is required to install and operate

this type of radio system.

2.2 Typical Applications

Multiple Address Systems (MAS)

This is the most common application of the transceiver. It consists of a

central control station (master) and two or more associated remote units,

as shown in Figure 3. An MAS network provides communications

between a central host computer and remote terminal units (RTUs) or

other data collection devices. The operation of the radio system is trans-

parent to the computer equipment. When used in this application, the

transceiver provides an excellent alternative to traditional (licensed)

MAS radio systems.

Invisible place holder

Figure 3. Typical MAS Network

RTU

MASTER RADIO

(MDS 9820 Shown)

REMOTE RADIO

HOST SYSTEM

4 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Simplex “Peer-to-Peer”

Peer-to-peer communication is possible using the transceiver’s simplex

mode. With this arrangement (Figure 4), two or more remote units can

share information by direct communication with each other in addition

to communicating with a central master radio. This is possible because

the transmit and receive frequencies for each hop channel are the same

at each radio when simplex mode is enabled. If adequate transmission

paths exist, each radio can communicate with all other units in the net-

work. Additional details for peer-to-peer systems are provided in

Section 4.2 (Page 19).

Invisible place holder

Figure 4. Typical simplex “Peer-to-Peer” Network

Peer-to-Peer with Repeater Assistance

Peer-to-peer communication is also possible using this alternate

arrangement (see Figure 5). It overcomes the range limitations of a sim-

plex peer-to-peer system by using a repeater to re-transmit the signals of

all stations in the network. The repeater consists of two radios—one pro-

grammed as a remote using master frequencies (

MODE R-M

command),

and the other programmed as a conventional master. Additional details

for peer-to-peer systems are given in Section 4.2 (Page 19).

RTU RTU

PEER-TO-PEER PEER-TO-PEER

RTU

REMOTE RADIO

MASTER RADIO

HOST SYSTEM

PEER-TO-PEER

REMOTE RADIO REMOTE RADIO

REMOTE RADIO

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 5

Invisible place holder

Figure 5. Typical Peer-to-Peer Network with Repeater Assistance

Point-to-Point System

A point-to-point configuration (Figure 6) is a simple arrangement con-

sisting of just two radios—a master and a remote. This provides a sim-

plex or half-duplex communications link for the transfer of data between

two locations.

Invisible place holder

Figure 6. Typical Point-to-Point Link

Tail-End Link (“MAS Extension”)

A tail-end link can be used to extend the range of a traditional (licensed)

MAS system. This might be required if an outlying site is blocked from

the MAS master station by a natural or man-made obstruction. In this

arrangement, an MDS 9810 radio links the outlying remote site into the

rest of a licensed MAS system by sending data from that site to an asso-

ciated MDS 9810 installed at one of the licensed remote sites. (See

Figure 7).

As the data from the outlying site is received at the licensed remote site,

it is transferred to the licensed radio (via a local cable connection) and

is then transmitted to the MAS master station in the usual manner. Addi-

tional details for tail-end links are given in Section 4.3 (Page 21).

RTU

REMOTE

HOST COMPUTER

RTU

REPEATER STATION

Pin 3 Pin 2

* Special operating mode.

See Programming section of manual.

REMOTE

REMOTE-MASTER*

MASTER

REMOTE RADIO

RTU

MASTER RADIO

HOST

SYSTEM

6 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Invisible place holder

Figure 7. Typical Tail-End Link Arrangement

Repeater System

—Traditional

Although the range between MDS 9810 radios is typically 10 to15 miles

over average terrain, it is possible to extend the range considerably by

connecting two units together at one site in a “back-to-back” fashion to

form a repeater, as shown in Figure 8. Additional details for repeater

systems are given in Section 4.4 (Page 22).

Invisible place holder

Figure 8. Typical Repeater System Configuration

“Single-Radio” Repeater

—Alternative Method

A repeater may also be established using a

single

MDS x810 Trans-

ceiver. This type of repeater cannot operate in full-duplex mode as with

the traditional repeater described above. However, if a loss in transmis-

sion speed and efficiency can be tolerated, it may be a viable solution in

some systems.

POINT

-T

O-POINT

SPREAD SPECTRUM

LINK

REMOTE

RADIO

MASTER

STATION

MAS SYSTEM (LICENSED OR UNLICENSED) MDS 9810/9820 LINK TO AN OUTLYING SITE

REPEATER

RTU

REMOTE

RADIO

Null-Modem

Cable

RTU

MDS 9810 / 9820

MASTER RADIO

MDS 9810 / 9820

REMOTE RADIO

REMOTE

RADIO

RTU

REPEATER LINK

Null-Modem Cable

RTU

MASTER

RADIO

REMOTE RADIO

MASTER

RADIO

HOST COMPUTER

POINT-TO-POINT LINK

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 7

A single-radio repeater works similar to the system shown in Figure 8,

but consists of just one transceiver at the repeater site. It works by buff-

ering (storing) incoming messages and retransmitting them a short time

later. Accordingly, there will be a delay in transmissions through this

type of repeater. Additional details for Single-Radio repeater s are given

in Section 4.5 (Page 24).

2.3 Accessories

The transceiver can be used with one or more of the accessories listed in

Table 1. Contact the factory for ordering details.

3.0 INSTALLATION PLANNING

The installation of the radio is not difficult, but it does require some

planning to ensure station reliability and efficiency. This section pro-

vides tips for selecting an appropriate site, choosing an antenna system,

and reducing the chance of harmful interference.

3.1 General Requirements

There are three main requirements for installing the radio—adequate

and stable primary power, a good antenna system, and the correct inter-

face between the transceiver and the data device.

Table 1. Accessories

Accessory Description MDS P/N

Power Supply

Kit For powering the transceiver from an AC source. 01-3682A01

Hand-Held

Terminal Kit

(HHT)

Terminal that plugs into the radio’s RJ-11

DIAG(NOSTICS) connector. Allows radio

programming, diagnostics & control. Includes

carrying case, cable set and manual.

02-1501A01

RTU Simulator Test unit that simulates data from a remote

terminal unit. Comes with polling software that

runs on a PC. Useful for testing radio operation.

03-2512A01

Radio

Configuration

Software

Windows-based software that allows radio

programming and control using a PC. Includes

on-line instructions. (See Section 8.5 (Page 61)

for PC connection details.)

03-3156A01

Paging Filter Antenna system filter used to reduce RF

interference from paging transmitters operating

in the 905-915 MHz band.

20-2822A01

Paging Filter Antenna system filter used to reduce RF

interference from paging transmitters operating

in the 902-927 MHz band.

20-22822A02

EIA-232 to

EIA-422

Converter

External adapter that converts the radio’s DATA

INTERFACE connector to EIA-422 compatible

signaling. May be required for long cable runs

(over 50 feet/15 meters).

03-2358A01

8 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Figure 9 shows a typical remote station arrangement. At a remote sta-

tion, a directional antenna is normally used, and a Remote Terminal Unit

(RTU) or other telemetry equipment replaces the host computer nor-

mally used in a master station.

Invisible place holder

Figure 9. Typical Remote Station Arrangement

3.2 Site Selection

For a successful installation, careful thought must be given to selecting

proper sites for the master and remote stations. Suitable sites should pro-

vide:

• Protection from direct weather exposure

• A source of adequate and stable primary power

• Suitable entrances for antenna, interface or other required

cabling

• Antenna location that provides an unobstructed transmission

path in the direction of the associated station(s)

These requirements can be quickly determined in most cases. A possible

exception is the last item—verifying that an unobstructed transmission

path exists. Radio signals travel primarily by line-of-sight, and obstruc-

tions between the sending and receiving stations will affect system per-

formance. If you are not familiar with the effects of terrain and other

obstructions on radio transmission, the discussion below will provide

helpful background.

13.8 VDC

POWER

CABLE

13.8 VDC

POWER

SUPPLY

REMOTE TERMINAL

UNIT ANTENNA SYSTEM

(Directional Type

Normally Used)

LOW-LOSS FEEDLINE

REMOTE RADIO

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 9

Terrain and Signal Strength

While the 900 MHz band offers many advantages over VHF and lower

UHF frequencies for data transmission, they are also more prone to

signal attenuation from obstructions such as terrain, foliage or buildings

in the transmission path.

A line-of-sight transmission path between the master station and its

associated remote site(s) is highly desirable and provides the most reli-

able communications link. A line-of-sight path can often be achieved by

mounting the station antenna on a tower or other elevated structure that

raises it to a level sufficient to clear surrounding terrain and other

obstructions.

The importance of a clear transmission path relates closely to the dis-

tance to be covered by the system. If the system is to cover only a limited

geographic area, say up to 3 miles (4.8 km), then some obstructions in

the transmission path can usually be tolerated with minimal impact. For

longer range systems, any substantial obstruction in the transmission

path could compromise the performance of the system, or block trans-

mission entirely.

Much depends on the minimum signal strength that can be tolerated in

a given system. Although the exact figure will differ from one system to

another, a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) of –90 dBm or

stronger will provide acceptable performance in many systems. While

the equipment will work at lower signal strengths, this provides a “fade

margin” to account for variations in signal strength which may occur

from time-to-time. RSSI can be measured with a Hand-Held Terminal

connected to the remote radio’s DIAG(NOSTICS) connector. (See Section

6.0, beginning on Page 28.)

Conducting a Site Survey

If you are in doubt about the suitability of the radio sites in your system,

it is best to evaluate them before a permanent installation is begun. This

can be done with an on-the-air test (preferred method); or indirectly,

using path-study software.

An on-the-air test is preferred because it allows you to see firsthand the

factors involved at an installation site and to directly observe the quality

of system operation. Even if a computer path study was conducted ear-

lier, this test should be done to verify the predicted results.

The test can be performed by first installing a radio and antenna at the

proposed master station site and then visiting each remote site with a

transceiver and a hand-held antenna. (An RTU simulator—MDS Part

No. 03-2512A01—can be connected to each radio in the network to sim-

ulate data during this test.)

10 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

With the hand-held antenna positioned near the proposed mounting

spot, a technician can check for synchronization with the master station

(shown by a lit SYNC lamp on the front panel) and measure the reported

RSSI value. If adequate signal strength cannot be obtained, it may be

necessary to mount the station antennas higher, use higher gain

antennas, or select a different site. To prepare the equipment for an

on-the-air test, follow the general installation procedures given in this

guide and become familiar with the operating instructions given in Sec-

tion 5.0, beginning on Page 26.

If time is short, and a site survey is impractical, a computer path study

is a good alternative. Factors such as terrain, distance, transmitter

power, receiver sensitivity, and other conditions are taken into account

to predict the performance of a proposed system. Contact MDS for more

information on path study services.

3.3 A Word About Radio Interference

The transceiver shares frequency spectrums with other services and

other Part 15 (unlicensed) devices in the USA. As such, near 100% error

free communications may not be achieved in a given location, and some

level of interference should be expected. However, the radio’s flexible

design and hopping techniques should allow adequate performance as

long as care is taken in choosing station location, configuration of radio

parameters and software/protocol techniques.

In general, keep the following points in mind when setting up your com-

munications network:

1. Systems installed in rural areas are least likely to encounter

interference; those in suburban and urban environments are more

likely to be affected by other devices operating in the license-free

frequency band and by adjacent licensed services.

2. If possible, use a directional antenna at remote sites. Although these

antennas may be more costly than omnidirectional types, they con-

ﬁne the transmission and reception pattern to a comparatively nar-

row lobe, which minimizes interference to (and from) stations

located outside the pattern. (The use of a directional antenna may

not be possible in a simplex peer-to-peer network, where all remotes

are designed to communicate with one another.)

3. If interference is suspected from a nearby licensed system (such as a

paging transmitter), it may be helpful to use horizontal polarization

of all antennas in the network. Because most other services use ver-

tical polarization in this band, an additional 20 dB of attenuation to

interference can be achieved by using horizontal polarization.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 11

4. Multiple MDS 9810 systems can co-exist in proximity to each other

with only very minor interference as long as they are each assigned

a unique network address. Each network address has a different hop

pattern.

5. If constant interference is present in a particular frequency zone, it

may be necessary to “lock out” that zone from the radio’s hopping

pattern. The radio includes built-in software to help users identify

and remove blocked frequency zones from its hopping pattern. Refer

to the discussion of ZONE DATA (Page 49) and SKIP (Page 46) com-

mands for more information.

6. If interference problems persist even after removing blocked zones,

try reducing the length of data streams. Groups of short data streams

have a better chance of getting through in the presence of interfer-

ence than do long streams.

7. The power output of all radios in a system should be set for the low-

est level necessary for reliable communications. This lessens the

chance of causing unnecessary interference to nearby systems.

3.4 Antenna & Feedline Selection

Antennas

The equipment can be used with a number of antennas. The exact style

used depends on the physical size and layout of a system. Contact your

MDS representative for specific recommendations on antenna types and

hardware sources.

In general, an omnidirectional antenna (Figure 10) is used at the master

station site in an MAS system. This provides equal coverage to all of the

remote sites.

NOTE: Antenna polarization is important. If the wrong polarization is

used, a signal reduction of 20 dB or more will result. Most

systems using a gain-type omnidirectional antenna at the

master station employ vertical polarization of the signal; there-

fore, the remote antenna(s) must also be vertically polarized

(elements oriented perpendicular to the horizon).

When required, horizontally polarized omnidirectional

antennas are also available. Contact your MDS representative

for details.

12 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Invisible place holder

Figure 10. Typical Omnidirectional Antenna

At remote sites and point-to-point systems, a directional antenna, such

as a Yagi is generally recommended to minimize interference to and

from other users. Antennas are available from a number of manufac-

turers.

Invisible place holder

Figure 11. Typical Yagi Antenna (mounted to mast)

Feedlines

The choice of feedline used with the antenna should be carefully consid-

ered. Poor-quality coaxial cables should be avoided, as they will

degrade system performance for both transmission and reception. The

cable should be kept as short as possible to minimize signal loss.

For cable runs of less than 20 feet (6 meters), or for short range trans-

mission, an inexpensive type such as Type RG8A/U may be acceptable.

Otherwise, we recommend using a low-loss cable type suited for 900

MHz, such as Heliax®.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 13

Table 2 lists several types of feedlines and indicates the signal losses (in

dB) that result when using various lengths of each cable at 900 MHz.

The choice of cable will depend on the required length, cost consider-

ations, and the amount of signal loss that can be tolerated.

3.5 How Much Output Power Can be Used?

The transceiver is normally supplied from the factory set for a nominal

+30 dBm (1 Watt) RF power output setting; this is the maximum trans-

mitter output power allowed under FCC/IC rules. The power must be

decreased from this level if the antenna system gain exceeds 6 dBm. The

allowable level is dependent on the antenna gain, feedline loss, and the

transmitter output power setting. Power considerations for various

antenna systems are discussed below.

NOTE: In some countries, the maximum allowable RF output may be

limited to less than 1 watt (e.g., 100 mW /+20 dBm). Be sure

to check for and comply with the requirements for your area.

Transmitter Power vs. Antenna System Gain

To determine the maximum allowable power setting of the radio, follow

the steps below. It is imperative that professional system planning

include cable loss or attenuators to ensure that the FCC/IC limit of 36

dBm EIRP is not exceeded under any circumstances.

1. Determine the antenna system gain by subtracting the feedline loss

(in dB) from the antenna gain (in dBi). For example, if the antenna

gain is 9.5 dBi, and the feedline loss is 1.5 dB, the antenna system

gain would be 8 dB. (If the antenna system gain is 6 dB or less, no

power adjustment is required.)

2. Subtract the antenna system gain from 36 dBm (the maximum

allowable EIRP). The result indicates the maximum transmitter

power (in dBm) allowed under the rules. In the example above, this

is 28 dBm.

Table 2. Length vs. Loss in Coaxial Cables at 900 MHz

Cable Type 10 Feet

(3.05 Meters) 50 Feet

(15.24 Meters) 100 Feet

(30.48 Meters) 500 Feet

(152.4 Meters)

RG-8A/U 0.85 dB 4.27 dB 8.54 dB 42.70 dB

1/2 inch HELIAX 0.23 dB 1.15 dB 2.29 dB 11.45 dB

7/8 inch HELIAX 0.13 dB 0.64 dB 1.28 dB 6.40 dB

1 1/4 inch HELIAX 0.10 dB 0.48 dB 0.95 dB 4.75 dB

1 5/8 inch HELIAX 0.08 dB 0.40 dB 0.80 dB 4.00 dB

The maximum

EIRP allowed under

FCC/IC rules is +36

dBm. Follow this

section carefully to

ensure compliance.

IMPORTANT

14 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

3. If the maximum transmitter power allowed is less than 30 dBm, use

the PWR command (described on Page 42) to set the power accord-

ingly.

For convenience, Table 3 lists several antenna system gains and shows

the maximum allowable power setting of the radio. Note that a gain of

6 dB or less entitles you to operate the radio at full power output—30

dBm (1 watt).

* Many antenna manufacturers rate antenna gain in dBd in their

literature. To convert to dBi, add 2.15 dB.

† Feedline loss varies by cable type and length. To determine the

loss for common lengths of feedline, see Table 2 on Page 13.

4.0 INSTALLATION

Figure 12 shows a typical transceiver product shipment, along with an

optional Hand-Held Terminal (HHT). Check the contents against the

packing list secured to the outside of the shipping box. Accessories and

spare parts kits, if any, are wrapped separately. Inspect all items for

signs of damage and save all packing materials for possible re-shipment.

Table 3. Antenna System Gain vs. Power Output Setting (USA)

Antenna System Gain

(Antenna Gain in dBi*

minus Feedline Loss in dB†)

Maximum Power

Setting

(in dBm) EIRP

(in dBi

6 (or less) 30 36

72936

82836

10 26 36

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 15

Invisible place holder

Figure 12. Typical Transceiver Shipment

Below are the basic steps for installing the transceiver. In most cases,

these steps alone will be sufficient to complete the installation. Should

further information be required, contact the factory at the number given

on the inside back cover of this manual.

If you are installing a peer-to-peer, tail-end link or repeater system, you

should also review Sections 4.2 (Page 19) and 4.3 (Page 21) for impor-

tant details on antennas, cabling and software settings.

NOTE: It is recommended that the master station be installed first. In

this way, it will be possible to quickly check the operation of

each associated remote station as it is placed on the air.

4.1 Transceiver Installation

1. Mount the transceiver to a stable surface using the brackets supplied

with the radio. (Fasteners/anchors are not supplied.) Figure 13

shows the dimensions of the transceiver case and its mounting

bracket. If possible, choose a mounting location that provides easy

access to the connectors on the end of the radio and an unobstructed

view of the LED status indicators.

INSTALLATION &

OPERATION GUIDE

13.8 VDC

POWER CABLE

HAND-HELD

TERMINAL

(OPTIONAL)

FGH

KLM

PQR

UVWX

CTRL ESC

BKSP SPACE ENTER

SHIFT

)

–#

TRANSCEIVER

16 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Invisible place holder

Figure 13. Transceiver Mounting Dimensions

The screws holding the brackets to the radio are 5⁄16 inch (8 mm). If

replacement screws are used for any reason, they must not exceed

this length to avoid damage to the radio’s PC board.

2. Install the antenna and antenna feedline for the station. Antennas

should be mounted in the clear and in accordance with the manufac-

turer’s instructions.

Additional information on antennas and feedlines is contained in

Section 3.4 (Page 11).

NOTE: Strong fields near the antenna can interfere with the operation

of the low level RTU circuits and change the reported values

of the data being monitored. For this reason, the antenna

should be mounted at least 10 feet (>3 meters) from the radio,

RTU, sensors and other components of the system.

3. Connect the data equipment to the transceiver’s DATA INTERFACE

connector. Use only the required pins for the application—Do not

use a fully pinned (25 conductor) cable. Typical applications require

the use of Pin 2 (transmit data—TXD), Pin 3 (received data—RXD)

1.75"

4.44 CM

Alternate

Position

2.25"

57 mm

2.0"

50 mm

6.63"

168 mm

8.5"

216 mm

5.625"

143 mm

7.25"

184 mm

2.75"

70 mm

CAUTION

POSSIBLE

EQUIPMENT

DAMAGE

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 17

and Pin 7 (signal ground). Figure 14 shows a detailed view of the

DATA INTERFACE connector.

If hardware ﬂow control is desired, Pin 4 (request to send—RTS)

and Pin 5 (Clear-to-Send—CTS) are also required. A detailed chart

of pin functions is provided in Table 15 on Page 59.

Invisible place holder

Figure 14. Transceiver Interface Connector Pins

(As viewed from outside the radio)

NOTE: The data cabling between the transceiver and the connected

device should be kept as short as possible. Cable runs over 50

feet (15 meters) may require the use of EIA-422 signaling.

Consult the factory for details.

4. Measure and install the primary power for the transceiver. It must be

within 10.5–30 Vdc* and be capable of furnishing up to 500 mA. Be

sure to observe proper polarity. The red wire on the power cable is

the positive lead; the black is negative.

* Transceivers shipped prior to Revision “U” (November 1999) may be

configured for 25 Vdc maximum DC input voltage.

NOTE: The radio is designed for use only in negative ground systems.

Additionally, the chassis must be bonded to an Earth ground,

either directly, through its mounting bracket, or via the antenna

system ground (coaxial shield). The radio may be damaged if

the chassis is not properly grounded per this recommendation.

Radios damaged in this way will not be covered under

warranty.

The power supply used with the transceiver should be equipped

with overload protection (NEC Class 2 rating), to protect against a

short circuit between its output terminals and the transceiver power

connector.

5. Set the radio’s conﬁguration using a Hand-Held Terminal (HHT).

Review Section 6.0, PROGRAMMING (beginning on Page 28), if

you are unfamiliar with connecting and using the HHT.

Unused

Radio Inhibit (Sleep)

Unused

Receiver Unsquelched Sensor

Unused

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

Signal Ground*

Data Set Ready (DSR)

Clear-to-Send Output (CTS)

Request-to-Send Input (RTS)

Received Data (RXD)*

Transmitted Data (TXD)*

Protective Ground

Alarm Output

Analog Input Pin

Diagnostic Channel Enable

RSSI Voltage

9.9 Vdc Regulated Output

Unregulated DC Input/Output

Digital Output Pin

Unused

Description Pin

No. Pin

Description

Unused

Future use— do not connect

* Required in most installations

18 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

The three essential settings for the transceiver are:

Mode—Master or Remote

Network Address—a unique number from 1–65000

Data Interface Parameters—bps, data bits, parity, stop bits

a. Connect an HHT to the DIAG(NOSTICS) connector (see

Figure 15). After the HHT beeps, press to display the

ready “>” prompt.

b. Set the Mode—Determine whether the transceiver will be used

as a master or remote, and program it accordingly using the

MODE M or MODE R command (Page 41). (MODE M = Master,

MODE R = Remote.) Press . The HHT will display PRO-

GRAMMED OK.

NOTE: Transceivers are normally shipped from the factory

pre-configured as remotes. A master must be specifically

programmed using the MODE M command.

Invisible place holder

Figure 15. HHT Connected to Transceiver

c. Program the network address—Type ADDR (Page 36) followed

by , , and then the desired address number

(1–65000). Press . All radios in a given system must be

programmed with the same network address. After programming

the address, PROGRAMMED OK will be displayed.

NOTE: It is strongly recommended that the last four digits of the

master radio’s serial number be used as the network address.

In this way, it is unlikely that two systems will have the same

address.

ENTER

ANTENNA

13.8 VDC

+ –

CTRL

–

)

(

SHIFT ESC

BKSP

SPACE

ENTER

SPACE SHIFT

ENTER

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 19

d. Set the data interface parameters to match the connected data

device—The default setting is 4800 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1

stop bit. If your data equipment requires a different setting, use

the BAUD xxxxx abc command (Page 36), where xxxxx equals the

baud rate (1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, or 38400 bps) and abc

indicates the control bits as follows:

a = Data bits (7 or 8)

b = Parity (N for None, O for Odd, E for Even)

c = Stop bits (1 or 2)

Using this scheme, a sample entry for the BAUD xxxxx abc com-

mand would look like this: BAUD 4800 8N1 (A similar example

using a five-character baud rate would appear as follows: BAUD

19200 8N1)

Press . After setting the data parameters, PROGRAMMED

OK will be displayed.

NOTE: 7N1, 8O2, and 8E2 are invalid communication settings and are

not supported by the transceiver.

e. Record the Mode, Network Address, and Baud Rate settings on

a label and afﬁx it to the transceiver cover.

6. Repeat the above steps for each transceiver in the network.

This completes the basic installation of the transceiver. Section 5.1, Ini-

tial Start-up (beginning on Page 26), contains steps for evaluating radio

performance.

4.2 Peer-to-Peer Systems

Peer-to-peer systems allow remote radios to communicate with each

other as well as with the master station. The paragraphs below describe

two types of peer-to-peer systems—simplex and repeater assisted.

Simplex Peer-to-Peer

A simplex peer-to-peer system is one in which all radios use the same

transmit and receive frequencies. This is also known as single-frequency

operation. A simplex arrangement is the simplest configuration for

peer-to-peer systems, but it usually has limited transmission range

because of the need for all stations to use omnidirectional antennas. (If

range is a concern, see “Peer-to-Peer with Repeater Assistance” on page

20.)

With a simplex peer-to-peer system, there are three key items to

remember:

Programming To program a system for simplex operation, the master radio must

be set to SIMPLEX ON (Page 45). This setting is automatically

ENTER

20 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

applied to all remote radios as soon as they become synchronized

with the master radio.

Antennas Omnidirectional antennas are normally required at all stations in a

simplex system. The transmission range may be signiﬁcantly

reduced as compared with stations using directional antennas, so it

is especially important that sites be chosen to allow sufﬁcient signal

strength between all units. A discussion of site selection is provided

in Section 3.2.

Data “Collision”

Avoidance One drawback with peer-to-peer systems is the risk of data “colli-

sions” that can occur through self-interference. This problem can be

alleviated with data protocols (such as Harris DNP3) which use

Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) to detect a busy channel. In

these systems, Pin 10 (Receiver Unsquelched-RUS) on the trans-

ceiver should be connected to the RTU’s Data Carrier Detect

(DCD) pin.

Peer-to-Peer with Repeater Assistance

A shortcoming of a simplex peer-to-peer network is that communication

range is often reduced because of the need for all stations to use omni-

directional antennas. An alternative peer-to-peer network can be estab-

lished using a repeater station to re-transmit the signals of all stations in

the network. (See Figure 16.) Because directional antennas (aimed at the

repeater site) can be used at all remote sites, the communication range

of the system is greatly increased. Like a simplex peer-to-peer system,

each remote station can “hear” the transmissions of the others so that

data collisions can be avoided.

Invisible place holder

Figure 16. Peer-to-Peer Network with Repeater Assistance

Here are some specific requirements for peer-to-peer systems with

repeater assistance:

Repeater Setup The repeater station in a peer-to peer network consists of two

co-located transceivers—one programmed as a remote using master

MASTER

REMOTE-MASTER

RTU

REMOTE

HOST

COMPUTER

RTU

REMOTE

RTU

REMOTE

REPEA

STATION

TER

Pin 3 Pin 2

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 21

frequencies (MODE R-M command, Page 41), and the other pro-

grammed as a master (MODE M command).

Interface Wiring Pin 2 (TXD) of the master radio must be connected to Pin 3 (RXD)

of the other radio (the one programmed as MODE R-M) using a local

interface cable. This allows the signals received by the MODE R-M

radio to be re-transmitted by the master. The signal ground leads

(Pin 7) must also be connected to each other.

Invisible place holder

Figure 17. Data Interface Cable Wiring

for Peer-to-Peer Systems with Repeater Assistance

Antennas Two omnidirectional antennas are required at peer-to-peer repeater

stations—one for each radio. It is important to minimize coupling

between these antennas. The necessary isolation can be achieved by

vertical separation. In this arrangement, one antenna is mounted

directly over the other, separated by at least 10 feet (3.2 Meters).

This takes advantage of the minimal radiation exhibited by verti-

cally polarized antennas directly above and below one another.

Full-Duplex

Configuration The paragraphs above discuss the requirements for a basic Repeater

Assisted Peer-to-Peer system. If a full-duplex system is required

(with the SCADA host computer located at the repeater), additional

considerations apply. If you are constructing this type of system,

contact the factory and request a copy of Application Bulletin

97002. The bulletin can also be found at www.microwavedata.com.

4.3 Tail-End Links

A tail-end link is established by connecting the radio “back-to-back”

with another radio such as a licensed MDS 2300/4300 series transceiver.

This can be used to link an outlying remote site into the rest of an MAS

network. Here are some specific requirements for tail-end link systems:

Interface Wiring

The connection between the two radios in a tail-end link system

must be made as shown in Figure 18.

DB-25 DB-25

Master

(Mode M

Remote Master

(Mode R-M)

RXD

TXD

GND

TXD

RXD

GND

22 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Invisible place holder

Figure 18. Data Interface Cable Wiring for Tail-End Links

Programming

In a tail-end link system, the radio’s device behavior must be set to

DEVICE CTS KEY (Page 38) using the HHT. This allows one radio to

control the keying of another. Also, the CTS delay time must be set

(using the CTS xxx command, Page 37) to the time required for the

other transceiver to key up. This time is typically 10 ms for MDS

2000/4000 series transceivers.

4.4 Repeaters—Traditional Method

Two MDS 9810 radios (or another MDS spread spectrum radio) may be

connected “back-to-back” using a null-modem cable to form a repeater

station. This is sometimes required in a network that includes a distant

remote station that would otherwise be unable to communicate with the

master station due to distance or terrain.

A repeater works by re-transmitting data from the outlying remote site

to the master station and vice versa. It introduces a small amount of

end-to-end transmission delay, but this is not a problem in most systems.

The geographic location of a repeater station is especially important. A

site must be chosen that allows good communication with both the

master and the outlying remote site. This is often on top of a hill, or other

elevated terrain from which both sites can be “seen” by the repeater sta-

tion antennas. A detailed discussion on the effects of terrain is given in

Section 3.2, Site Selection (beginning on Page 8).

The following paragraphs contain specific requirements for repeater

systems.

DB-25 DB-25

MDS 2000/4000 Series XCVR

(or device requiring keyline)

MDS Spread Spectrum

Remote XCVR

(DEVICE CTS KEY)

TXD

RXD

GND

RXD

TXD

GND

CTS RTS

Keyline

DCE DCE

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 23

Antennas

Two antennas are required at repeater stations—one for each radio.

Measures must be taken to minimize the chance of interference between

these antennas. One effective technique for limiting interference is to

employ vertical separation. In this arrangement, one antenna is

mounted directly over the other, separated by at least 10 feet (3 Meters).

This takes advantage of the minimal radiation exhibited by most

antennas directly above and below their driven elements.

Another interference reduction technique is to cross-polarize the

repeater antennas. If one antenna is mounted in the vertical plane, and

the other in the horizontal plane, an additional 20 dB of attenuation can

be achieved. (Remember that the corresponding stations must use the

same antenna orientation when cross-polarization is used.)

System Addresses

The two radios that are wired together at the repeater site must have dif-

ferent system addresses. To set or view the system address, see “ADDR

[1...65000]” on page 36.

Interface Wiring

A null-modem cable (Figure 19) is required between the DATA INTER-

FACE connectors of the two radios forming a repeater station. This

allows them to freely exchange data even though they are both config-

ured as DCE devices.

Invisible place holder

Figure 19. Data Interface Cable Wiring for Null-Modem Cable

(used for traditional repeater)

Diagnostic Limitations

As of the date of publication, over-the-air diagnostics is not fully sup-

ported in repeater systems. Diagnostic data from these systems may be

unavailable or unreliable. This is particularly true if a repeater radio is

configured as the “root” in a diagnostics scheme (See “Performing Net-

work-Wide Remote Diagnostics” on Page 53.) Better success might be

achieved by picking a standard remote to use as the root.

DB-25 DB-25

Spread Spectrum

Master

(DCE)

Spread Spectrum

Remote

(DCE)

TXD

RXD

GND

RXD

TXD

GND

24 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

4.5 “Single-Radio” Repeater—Alternative Method

A single MDS x810 transceiver may be used to form a repeater station

to extend the range of a system. The general repeater principles dis-

cussed in Section 4.4 apply to single-radio repeaters—why repeaters are

used, geographic site considerations, etc. However, there are some

important differences in single-radio repeater systems:

• Only one transceiver is used at the repeater site.

• The transceiver’s TXD & RXD pins must be tied together (DB-25).

• There may be considerable delay through the repeater, because the

radio buffers (stores) incoming data and retransmits it a short time

later.

The paragraphs that follow contain specific requirements for

single-radio repeater systems.

Interface Wiring

A single-radio repeater is formed by connecting TXD (Pin 2) and RXD

(Pin 3) on the DATA INTERFACE connector together as shown in

Figure 20.

Invisible place holder

Figure 20. Data Interface Cable Wiring for Single-Radio Repeater

Software Programming (TDD Command)

As with other repeater systems, the network must be configured for

TDD operation by programming the master radio with TDD ON. This

places the DATA INTERFACE port in time division duplex (sometimes

called “simulated full-duplex”) mode.

Although a single radio can never actually transmit and receive RF data

at the same time, the TDD ON command enables the radio to simulate

full-duplex at the data port, by designating alternate channel hops as

transmit or receive hops, and buffering data when transmission is not

permitted.

DB-25

DATA INTERFACE

CONNECTOR

TXD

RXD

Pins 2 & 3

Connected Together

for Single-Radio Repeater

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 25

Limitations of Single-Radio Repeaters

Diagnostics As of the date of publication, over-the-air diagnostics is not fully sup-

ported in repeater systems. Diagnostic data from these systems may be

unavailable or unreliable. This is particularly true if a repeater radio is

configured as the “root” in a diagnostics scheme (See “Performing Net-

work-Wide Remote Diagnostics” on Page 53.) Better success might be

achieved by picking a standard remote to use as the root.

Data Throughput

Delay When TDD is set to ON, there will be a significant delay in data

throughput and an increase in latency (see Glossary of Terms). In gen-

eral, the data throughput will be cut in half, and worst case latency will

increased by two hoptimes.

4.6 Using the Radio’s Sleep Mode

In some installations, such as at solar-powered sites, it may be necessary

to keep the transceiver’s power consumption to an absolute minimum.

This can be accomplished using Sleep Mode. In this mode, power con-

sumption is reduced to less than 30 milliamperes.

Sleep Mode can be enabled under RTU control by asserting a ground (or

EIA-232 low) on Pin 12 of the radio’s DATA INTERFACE connector. The

radio stays in Sleep Mode until the low is removed, and all normal func-

tions are suspended. As a status indication, the radio’s PWR LED flashes

once every four seconds to indicate that it is in Sleep Mode.

The radio can be “woken up” by your RTU every minute or so to verify

synchronization with the master station. When Pin 12 is opened (or an

EIA-232 high is asserted), the radio will be ready to receive data within

75 milliseconds.

It is important to note that power consumption will increase signifi-

cantly as communication from the master station degrades. This is

because the radio will spend a greater period of time “awake,” looking

for synchronization messages from the master radio.

Sleep Mode Example

The following example describes Sleep Mode implementation in a typ-

ical system. Using this information, you should be able to configure a

system that meets your own particular needs.

Suppose you need communications to each remote site only once

per hour. Program the RTU to raise an EIA-232 line once each hour

(DTR for example) and wait for a poll and response before lower-

ing it again. Connect this line to Pin 12 of the radio’s DATA INTER-

FACE connector. This will allow each RTU to be polled once per

hour, with a signiﬁcant savings in power consumption.

26 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

5.0 OPERATION

5.1 Initial Start-up

In-service operation of the transceiver is completely automatic. Once

the unit has been properly installed and configured, operator actions are

limited to observing the LED status indicators for proper operation.

If all parameters are correctly set, operation of the radio can be started

by following these steps:

1. Apply primary power to the radio.

2. Observe the transceiver LED status panel (Figure 21) for the proper

indications. Table 4 provides a complete explanation of the LED

functions.

In a normally operating system, the following LED indications will

be seen within 16 seconds of start-up:

•PWR lamp lit continuously

•SYNC lamp lit continuously

• Remote radio(s) transmitting data (TXD) and receiving data

(RXD) with the master station Invisible place holder

Figure 21. LED Status Indicators

5.2 Performance Optimization

After the basic operation of the radio has been checked, you may wish

to optimize its performance using some of the suggestions given here.

The effectiveness of these techniques will vary with the design of your

system and the format of the data being sent.

PWR SYNC TXD RXD

Table 4. LED Status Indicators

LED Name Description

PWR • Continuous—Power is applied to the radio; no problems detected.

• Flashing 5 times per second—Fault indication.

See Section 7.0, TROUBLESHOOTING (beginning on Page 50).

• Flashing once every 4 seconds—radio is in Sleep mode.

SYNC Lights continuously to indicate the radio is receiving/sending

synchronization frames. Within 16 seconds of power-up, this LED

should be lit continuously.

TXD Indicates EIA-232 space (logic high) signal input to the DB-25

connector.

RXD Indicates EIA-232 space (logic high) signal output from the DB-25

connector.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 27

Complete instructions for using the software commands referenced

herein are provided in Section 6.0, PROGRAMMING (beginning on

Page 28).

Antenna Aiming

For optimum performance of directional antennas, they must be accu-

rately aimed in the direction of desired transmission. The easiest way to

do this is to point the antenna in the approximate direction, then use the

remote radio’s built-in Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) fea-

ture to further refine the heading for maximum received signal strength.

RSSI can be read by connecting an HHT to the remote radio’s RJ-11

DIAG(NOSTICS) jack and entering the RSSI command. Instructions on

connecting and using an HHT are given in Section 6.0, PROGRAM-

MING (beginning on Page 28).

In an MAS system, RSSI readings are only meaningful when initiated

from a remote station. This is because the master station typically

receives signals from several remote sites, and the RSSI would be con-

tinually changing as the master receives from each remote in turn.

Antenna SWR Check

It is necessary to briefly key the transmitter for this check by placing the

radio in the SETUP mode (Page 44) and using the KEY command on the

HHT. (To unkey the radio, enter DKEY; to disable the setup mode and

return the radio to normal operation, enter Q or QUIT.)

The SWR of the antenna system should be checked before the radio is

put into regular service. For accurate readings, a wattmeter suited for

1000 MHz is required. One unit meeting this criteria is the Bird Model

43™ directional wattmeter with an 5J element installed.

The reflected power should be less than 10% of the forward power (≈2:1

SWR). Higher readings usually indicate problems with the antenna,

feedline or coaxial connectors.

Data Buffer Setting

The default setting for the data buffer is ON to accommodate virtually

any data format. However, if the system can operate satisfactorily with

the buffer OFF, we recommend doing so using the BUFF OFF command

(Page 37). This allows the radio to operate with the lowest possible

latency and improves channel efficiency.

Hoptime Setting

The default hop time setting is HOPTIME NORMAL. If message sizes typi-

cally exceed 256 bytes, channel efficiency can be improved by setting

this parameter to HOPTIME LONG.

28 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

A detailed explanation of the HOPTIME command, and a table listing the

available selections and the channel efficiency associated with each, can

be found on Page 40.

Baud Rate Setting

The default baud rate setting is 4800 bps to accommodate most systems.

If your system will support a higher data rate, you should increase the

radio’s transmission speed using the BAUD xxxxx abc command (Page

37). It should be set to the highest speed that can be sent by the data

equipment in the system. (The transceiver supports 1200 to 38400 bps)

Radio Interference Checks

The ZONE DATA command (Page 49) can be used to check for interfer-

ence in the radio’s eight frequency zones. If interference is found in one

or more of these zones, the SKIP command (Page 46) can be used to omit

them from the hop pattern. You should also review Section 3.3, A Word

About Radio Interference (beginning on Page 10), when dealing with

interference problems.

6.0 PROGRAMMING

There are no manual adjustments on the transceiver. Programming and

control is performed remotely, using one of these methods:

• MDS Hand-Held Terminal (P/N 02-1501A01)

• MDS Radio Conﬁguration Software (P/N 03-3156A01)

• MDS Network Management Software

This manual describes control of the radio using the Hand-Held Ter-

minal (HHT). Instructions for using the other methods are contained in

their respective user manuals or on-line documentation.

6.1 Hand-Held Terminal Connection & Start-up

This section gives basic information for connecting and using the MDS

Hand-Held Terminal for control of the radio. For more information

about the terminal, see the instructions supplied with each HHT kit.

The steps below assume that the HHT has been configured for use with

the transceiver (80 character screen display). If the HHT was previously

used with a different model transceiver, or if its default settings have

been changed, refer to Section 6.2 for setup details.

1. Connect the HHT’s coiled cord to the DIAG(NOSTICS) (RJ-11) jack

on the radio as shown in Figure 22. This automatically places the

radio into the control and programming mode.

As an alternative, the DATA INTERFACE (DB-25) connector may be

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 29

used for programming instead of the DIAG(NOSTICS) jack. With this

arrangement, Pin 23 of the HHT cable must be grounded to enable

the diagnostic channel. (See Table 15 on Page 59.)

Invisible place holder

Figure 22. Hand-Held Terminal Connected to the Transceiver

2. When the HHT is connected, it runs through a brief self-check, end-

ing with a beep. After the beep, press to receive the ready

“>” prompt.

6.2 Hand-Held Terminal Setup

The following is a set of instructions for re-initializing an HHT for use

with the transceiver. These steps may be required if the HHT was previ-

ously used with a different radio, or if the HHT default settings have

been inadvertently altered.

1. Plug the HHT into the DIAG(NOSTICS) connector. Enable the setup

mode by pressing the , and keys in sequence.

The display shown in Figure 23 will appear.

ANTENNA

13.8 VDC

+ –

CTRL

–

)

(

SHIFT ESC

BKSP

SPACE

ENTER

SHIFT

CTRL

SPACE

30 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Invisible place holder

Figure 23. HHT setup display

2. The ﬁrst of 15 menu items will be displayed. Settings can be

reviewed by pressing the NEXT function ( key). Parameter set-

tings can be changed by pressing the ROLL function ( key).

3. Set up the HHT as listed in Table 5.

4. Exit the HHT setup mode by pressing for Exit, or by pressing the

(Roll) key after the ﬁnal menu item has been reviewed.

6.3 Keyboard Commands

Table 6 is a reference chart of software commands for the transceiver.

See Section 6.4 for detailed command descriptions.

Entering Commands

The proper procedure for entering commands is to type the command,

followed by an keystroke. For programming commands, the

command is followed by and the appropriate information or

values, then .

Table 5. HHT Operational Settings

Parameter Setting Parameter Setting

Re-init HT NO Scroll On 33rd

Baud Rate= 1200 Cursor ON

Comm bits= 8,1,n CRLF for CR OFF

Parity Error OFF Self Test SLOW

Key Repeat OFF Key Beep ON

Echo OFF Screen Size 80

Shift Keys YES Menu Mode LONG

Ctl Chars PROCS

ENTER

SPACE

ENTER

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 31

Here are some additional points to remember when using the HHT:

• Use the key to access numbers; press again to return let-

ters.

• Flashing square cursor ( ) denotes letter mode.

• Flashing superscript rectangular cursor ( ) denotes number

mode.

• Use key to edit information or commands being typed

into the terminal.

Error Messages

Below are some HHT error messages you may encounter and their prob-

able causes:

•UNKNOWN COMMAND—Command was not recognized.

•INCORRECT ENTRY—Command format or its arguments invalid.

•COMMAND FAILED—Command was unable to complete success-

fully. Possible software problem.

•NOT PROGRAMMED—Software was unable to program the

EEPROM or the requested display item was not programmed.

•TEXT TOO LONG—Response to OWN or OWM command when too

many characters have been entered.

•NOT AVAILABLE—The entered command or parameter was valid,

but it referred to a currently unavailable choice.

•PASSWORD INVALID—The entered password was invalid, and

was not accepted.

•ACCESS DENIED—Command is invalid for current password

level.

•EPROM FAILURE—The INIT command cannot write to the radio’s

EEPROM.

SHIFT

ESC/BKSP

32 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Table 6. Command Summary

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

NETWORK

CONFIGURATION

These programming commands

can only be set at the master radio.

BUFF [ON, OFF]

Details Page 37 ON = Seamless data, OFF = Fast byte through-

put.

HOPTIME [XSHORT, 16, 20,

25, 32, SHORT, NORMAL,

LONG]

Details Page 40

Select hop time—XSHORT, 16 ms, 20 ms, 25

ms, 32 ms, SHORT, NORMAL, LONG

SEND [n, -n, +n]

Details Page 43

Sets/displays re-send count for data packets.

Useful in areas with heavy radio interference.

SIMPLEX [ON, OFF]

Details Page 45 Program simplex/half-duplex selection.

ON = simplex, OFF = half-duplex

SKIP [NONE, 1...8]

Details Page 46 Select combination of frequency operating

zones to avoid.

SKIPSYNC [ON/OFF]

Details Page 46 May be used to suppress transmission of

SYNC messages in skipped zones. (See also

SKIP command). Default setting is OFF.

TDD [ON/OFF]

Details Page 47 Sets or displays time-division multiplex status of

DATA INTERFACE connector. (Sometimes

referred to as “simulated full-duplex” mode.)

NETWORK-WIDE

DIAGNOSTICS

CONFIGURATION

DLINK [xxxxx]

Details Page 39 Set baud rate of diagnostics link

DTYPE

[NODE/ROOT/GATE/PEER]

Details Page 39

Set radio’s operational characteristics for net-

work-wide diagnostics

UNIT [10000–65000]

Details Page 48 Program unit address. Used to set a unique

address for network-wide diagnostics.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 33

SET/PROGRAM COMMANDS

ADDR [1...65000]

Details Page 36

Program network address

AMASK [0000 0000–FFFF

FFFF]

Details Page 36

Sets alarm response. Default is FFFF FFFF.

ASENSE [HI/LO]

Details Page 36 Changes the sense of the alarm output. Default

sense is HI.

BAUD [xxxxx abc]

Details Page 36 Set data communication parameters

CTS [0–255]

Details Page 37 Program CTS delay in milliseconds.

(A value of 0 returns CTS immediately)

CTSHOLD [0-6000]

Details Page 38 Set/display “hold time” that CTS remains

present following last character transmission

from DD-25 port.

DEVICE [DCE, CTS KEY]

Details Page 38

Set device behavior; DCE (normal) or CTS Key

(Repeater)

INIT

Details Page 41 Initialize parameters to factory default values

MODE [M, R, R-M]

Details Page 41 Program operating mode, where M = Master,

R = Remote, R-M = Remote-Master (Remote

radio programmed to operate on Master fre-

quencies)

OWM [xxxxx]

Details Page 42 Program owner’s message

(30 characters maximum)

OWN [xxxxx]

Details Page 42 Program owner’s name

(30 characters maximum)

PWR [xx–30]

Details Page 42 Program forward power output in dBm.

RTU [ON/OFF/0-80]

Details Page 43 Re-enables or disables the radio’s internal RTU

simulator and sets the RTU address.

RXTOT [NONE, 0–1440]

Details Page 43 Speciﬁes max. duration (in minutes) to wait

before issuing a time-out alarm. Default is OFF.

SEND [n, -n, +n]

Details Page 43

Sets/displays re-send count for data packets.

Useful in areas with heavy radio interference.

TDD [ON/OFF]

Details Page 47 Sets or displays time-division multiplex status of

DATA INTERFACE connector. (Sometimes

referred to as “simulated full-duplex” mode.)

UNIT [10000–65000]

Details Page 48 Program unit address. Used to set a unique

address for network-wide diagnostics.

ZONE DATA

Details Page 49 Show zone data statistics. Press “Q” to quit

ZONE CLEAR

Details Page 50 Reset zone data statistics

Table 6. Command Summary (Continued)

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

34 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

DISPLAY OPERATING STATUS

ADDR [1...65000]

Details Page 36 Network address (1-65000)

AMASK [0000 0000–FFFF

FFFF]

Details Page 36

Sets alarm mask (response). Default is FFFF

FFFF.

ASENSE [HI/LO]

Details Page 36 Changes the sense of the alarm output. Default

sense is HI.

BAUD [xxxxx abc]

Details Page 36 Display data communication parameters.

Example: BAUD 9600 8N1

BUFF [ON, OFF]

Details Page 37 Data buffering mode: ON = seamless data

OFF = fast byte throughput

CTS [0–255]

Details Page 37 CTS delay in ms (0-255 ms)

DUMP Show all settings. Use with PC-based Radio

Conﬁguration software (P/N 03-3156A01).

DEVICE [DCE, CTS KEY]

Details Page 38 Device behavior (DCE, or CTS KEY)

HOPTIME [XSHORT, 16, 20,

25, 32, SHORT, NORMAL,

LONG]

Details Page 40

Show hop time in milliseconds (ms).

HREV Hardware revision level

MODE [M, R, R-M]

Details Page 41 Show operating mode: M = Master, R =

Remote, R-M = Remote-Master (remote oper.

on master freqs.)

OWM Owner’s message or site name

OWN Owner’s name or system name

PWR [xx–30]

Details Page 42 Forward power output setting in dBm

RSSI

Details Page 42 Received signal strength in dBm (continuously

updated). Not available at master radio unless

SETUP is enabled.

RXTOT [NONE, 0–1440]

Details Page 43 Speciﬁes amount of time (in seconds) to wait

before issuing a time-out alarm. Default is

NONE.

SEND [n, -n, +n]

Details Page 43

Sets/displays re-send count for data packets.

Useful in areas with heavy radio interference.

SER Serial number of radio

SHOW [PORT, DC, PWR]

Details Page 45 Show active port, DC voltage or measured RF

power (dBm)

SIMPLEX [ON, OFF]

Details Page 45 Simplex/half-duplex selection

ON = Simplex, OFF = half-duplex

SKIP [NONE, 1...8]

Details Page 46 Skip a frequency operating zone

SKIPSYNC [ON/OFF]

Details Page 46 When ON, suppresses transmission of SYNC

messages in skipped zones. Default setting is

OFF.

Display parameters continued...

Table 6. Command Summary (Continued)

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 35

6.4 Detailed Command Descriptions

The essential commands for most applications are Network Address

(ADDR), Mode, (MODE) and Baud Rate (BAUD). However, proper use of

the additional commands allows you to tailor the transceiver for a spe-

cific use, or to conduct basic diagnostics on the radio. This section gives

more detailed information for many of the user commands listed in

Table 6.

Most of the commands below can be used in two ways. First, you can

type only the command name (for example, ADDR) to view the currently

programmed data. Second, you can set or change the existing data by

typing the command, followed by a space, and then the desired entry

(for example, ADDR 1234). In the list below, allowable programming

variables, if any, are shown in brackets [ ] following the command

name.

DISPLAY OPERATING STATUS

(CONTINUED)

SNR

Details Page 46 Signal-to-noise ratio. Expressed in dB.

SREV

Details Page 47

Display transceiver ﬁrmware revision level

STAT

Details Page 47 Show current alarm status

TDD [ON/OFF]

Details Page 47 Sets or displays time-division multiplex status of

DATA INTERFACE connector. (Sometimes

referred to as “simulated full-duplex” mode.)

TEMP

Details Page 48 Transceiver’s internal temperature (°C)

UNIT [10000–65000]

Details Page 48 Show programmed unit address for net-

work-wide diagnostics

ZONE DATA

Details Page 49 Show zone data statistics (see text for details).

Press “Q” to quit.

DIAGNOSTIC/TEST

KEY Enables the transmitter.

(Radio must be in Setup mode.)

DKEY Disables the transmitter.

(Radio must be in Setup mode.)

DMGAP [xx]

Details Page 39 Sets the amount of time to wait after the

receipt of a character before interpreting the

next received character as the start of a new

message.

TX [xxxx]

Details Page 48 Set/display transmit test frequency.

(Radio must be in Setup mode.)

RX [xxxx]

Details Page 43 Set/display receive test frequency.

(Radio must be in Setup mode.)

SETUP

Details Page 44 Enables Setup mode. Times out after 15 min-

utes. Press “Q” to quit.

Table 6. Command Summary (Continued)

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

36 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

ADDR [1...65000]

This command sets or displays the radio’s network address. The net-

work address can range from 1 to 65000.

Network address must be programmed at the time of installation and

must be common across each radio in a given network. Radios are typi-

cally shipped with the network address unprogrammed. This causes the

address to display as NONE. This leaves the system in an invalid state and

prevents operation.

NOTE: It is recommended that the last four digits of the master radio’s

serial number be used for the network address (or chassis serial

number if the radio is installed in a P-20 redundant chassis).

AMASK [0000 0000–FFFF FFFF]

This command sets the alarm bits that cause the alarm output signal to

be triggered. The PWR LED will still flash for all alarms, but the alarm

output signal will only be activated for those alarms that have the corre-

sponding mask bit set. The hex value for the mask aligns directly with

the hex value for the ALARM command. The default is FFFF FFFF.

Through proper use of the AMASK command, it is possible to tailor the

alarm response of the radio. Contact the factory for more information on

configuring the alarm mask.

ASENSE [HI/LO]

This command is used to set or display the sense of the alarm output at

Pin 25 of the DATA INTERFACE connector. The default for transceivers is

active HI.

BAUD [xxxxx abc]

This command sets or displays the communication attributes for the

DATA INTERFACE port. The command has no effect on the RJ-11

DIAG(NOSTICS) port.

The first parameter (xxxxx) is baud rate. Baud rate is specified in

bits-per-second and must be one of the following speeds: 1200, 2400,

4800, 9600, 19200, or 38400. In the worst case, the radio will always

accept a minimum of 500 data bytes in a single continuous data trans-

mission. At baud rates of 4800 bps or less, the radio can support unlim-

ited continuous data transmission at any hop rate. If hop time is set to

NORMAL or LONG, baud rates of up to 19200 bps with continuous unlim-

ited data transmission are possible. (See HOPTIME command.)

The second parameter of the BAUD command (abc) is a 3-character block

indicating how the data is encoded. The following is a breakdown of

each character’s meaning:

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 37

a = Data bits (7 or 8)

b = Parity (N for None, O for Odd, E for Even)

c = Stop bits (1 or 2)

The factory default setting is 4800 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit

(Example: 4800 8N1).

NOTE: 7N1, 8O2, and 8E2 are invalid communication settings and are

not supported by the transceiver.

BUFF [ON, OFF]

This command sets or displays the received data handling mode of the

radio. The command parameter is either ON or OFF. (The default is ON.)

The setting of this parameter affects the timing of received data sent out

the DATA INTERFACE connector. Data transmitted over the air by the

radio is unaffected by the BUFF setting.

If data buffering is set to OFF, the radio will operate with the lowest pos-

sible average latency. Data bytes are sent out the DATA INTERFACE port

as soon as an incoming RF data frame is disassembled. Average and typ-

ical latency will both be below 10 ms, but idle character gaps may be

introduced into the outgoing data flow.

If data buffering is ON, the radio will operate in a seamless mode. That

is, data bytes will be sent over the air as quickly as possible, but the

receiver will buffer the data until enough bytes have arrived to cover

worst case gaps in transmission. The delay introduced by data buffering

may range from 25 to 50 ms, but the radio will not create any gaps in the

output data stream. This mode of operation is required for protocols

such as MODBUS™ that do not allow gaps in their data transmission.

Note that seamless mode (BUFF ON) is intended only for applications

where the transmitter’s baud rate is greater than or equal to the

receiver’s baud rate. Enforcement of this rule is left up to the user.

Changes to the BUFF setting may only be made at the master radio. This

is because the master radio broadcasts the buffer setting for the entire

network. At remote radios, the buffer setting may be read when the radio

is in synchronization with the master, but it may not be changed.

CTS [0–255]

The CTS (clear-to-send) command sets or displays the timer value asso-

ciated with the CTS line response. The command parameter ranges from

0 to 255 milliseconds.

38 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

For DCE operation, the timer specifies how long to wait after the RTS

line goes high before asserting the CTS line. A timer value of zero

means that the CTS line will always be asserted (unless the radio is

attempting to throttle back data as part of normal flow control opera-

tion).

For CTS Key operation (see the DEVICE command), the timer specifies

how long to wait after asserting the CTS line before sending data out the

DATA INTERFACE port. A timer value of zero means that data will be sent

out the data port without imposing a key-up delay. (Other delays may be

in effect from other radio operating parameters.)

CTSHOLD [0-6000]

Used in DEVICE CTS KEY mode, this command sets the amount of time in

milliseconds that CTS remains present following transmission of the

last character out the RXD pin of the DATA INTERFACE port. This “hold

time” can be used to prevent squelch tail data corruption when inter-

working with other radios.

The CTSHOLD setting can range from 0 to 6000 (i.e., 6 seconds). The

default value is 0, which means that CTS will drop immediately after the

last character is transmitted. If the command is entered when the radio

is in DEVICE DCE mode, the response CTSHOLD N/A will be displayed.

DEVICE [DCE, CTS KEY]

The DEVICE command sets or displays the device behavior of the radio.

The command parameter is either DCE or CTS KEY.

The default selection is DCE. In this mode, CTS will go high following

RTS, subject to the CTS programmable delay time. Keying is stimulated

by the input of characters at the data port. Hardware flow control is

implemented by dropping the CTS line if data arrives faster than it can

be transmitted.

If CTS KEY is selected, the radio is assumed to be controlling another

radio, such as in a repeater system. The RTS line is ignored and the CTS

line is used as a keyline control for the other radio. CTS is asserted

immediately after the receipt of RF data, but data will not be sent out the

DATA INTERFACE port until after the CTS programmable delay time has

expired. (This gives the other radio time to key.)

Following transmission of the last byte of data, CTS will remain

asserted for the duration specified by the CTSHOLD command. CTSHOLD

should be set sufficiently high.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 39

DLINK [xxxxx]

DLINK followed by the baud rate sets the baud rate (bps) of the diagnos-

tics link. The following DLINK baud rates selections are allowed:

• 1200

• 2400

• 4800

• 9600

• 19200 (default setting)

Example: DLINK 4800 sets the RJ-11 DIAG port to operate at 4800 bps.

The default is DLINK 19200 and DLINK ON.

NOTE: The same baud rate must be entered into the appropriate

field(s) of any Network Management Software, if used.

DMGAP [xx]

The DMGAP command sets the amount of time in milliseconds to wait

after the receipt of a character before interpreting the next received char-

acter as the start of a new message. When data port baud rates are slow,

the gap between characters within a poll may be so long that the radio

interprets the next character as the start of a new poll. When diagnostics

is being performed using passive messaging (see Performing Net-

work-Wide Remote Diagnostics on page 53), this command may be used

to change this behavior.

DTYPE [NODE/ROOT/GATE/PEER]

The DTYPE command specifies the radio’s operational characteristics for

network-wide diagnostics. There are four possible types of nodes in a

network-wide diagnostics system.

The common types are:

•NODE–The most common setting, and the default. This is the

basic system radio device-type. Typically, the radio network is

comprised of nodes and one root. Intrusive diagnostics can orig-

inate from any node. However, non-intrusive diagnostics can

only be conducted from the root node.

•ROOT–Always one, and only one, per network. The root is the

focal point of network-wide diagnostics information. Intrusive

diagnostics can originate from any radio, including the root.

However, the root is the only radio through which non-intrusive

diagnostics can be conducted.

The default radio device-type is NODE. Less used are:

•GATE

•PEER

40 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

These node types are needed for repeater sub-networks and simplex

sub-networks where simplex frequencies are used. See the Net-

work-Wide Diagnostics System Handbook (05-3467A01) for an expla-

nation of these node types.

HOPTIME [XSHORT, 16, 20, 25, 32, SHORT, NORMAL, LONG]

The HOPTIME command sets or displays the hop time setting. The com-

mand is one of eight keywords whose parameters and related efficien-

cies are shown in Table 7.

Although the default setting is HOPTIME NORMAL, transmission effi-

ciency can usually be improved by using HOPTIME LONG when message

sizes typically exceed 256 bytes. This is because there will be less fre-

quent channel hops when using this setting, contributing to a smoother

flow of transmitted data.

Normally, HOPTIME NORMAL and LONG are the only settings required.

Other hoptimes can be used to customize performance based on SEND

count settings and payload data poll length.

The only time shorter settings (SHORT through XSHORT) should be con-

sidered is when the message size is very small and strong interference

of a persistent nature is occurring on many frequencies. In these cases,

a shorter hop time may improve the chances of a message getting

through—but at the cost of reduced channel efficiency.

Changes to the HOPTIME setting may only be made at the master radio.

(This is because the master radio establishes the hop time setting for the

entire network.) At remote radios, the hop time setting may be read

when the radio is in synchronization with the master, but it may not be

changed.

Table 7. Hoptime Parameters

Hop Time

Keyword

Time

per

Hop

Max.

Bytes

per Hop Channel

Efficiency

XSHORT 10 ms 9 32.1%

16 16 ms 21 46.7%

20 20 ms 30 53.6%

25 25 ms 39 55.7%

32 32 ms 57 63.3%

SHORT 40 ms 72 64.3%

NORMAL 80 ms 162 72.0%

LONG 160 ms 336 74.5%

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 41

INIT

The INIT command is used to reset the radio’s operating parameters to the

factory defaults. This may be helpful when trying to resolve configura-

tion problems that may have resulted from the entry of one or more

improper command settings. If you are unsure of which command set-

ting may have caused the problem, this command allows you to get back

to a known working state.

Use of the INIT command causes the changes shown in Table 8 to be

applied.

MODE [M, R, R-M]

The MODE command sets or displays the operating mode of the radio. A

master radio is designated by an M; a remote is designated by an R.

Table 8. Factory Default Values

Produced by INIT Command

Default Setting Corresponding

Command

For all radios

Device operation DCE DEVICE DCE

RF output power 30 dBm (1 watt) PWR 30

CTS delay 0

(CTS is continuously

asserted)

CTS 0

DATA INTERFACE port 4800 baud

8 data bits

no parity

1 stop bit

BAUD 4800 8N1

Remote radios

Transmitter

test frequency Per factory default TX xxx

Receiver

test frequency Per factory default RX xxx

Master radios

Transmitter

test frequency Per factory default TX xxx

Receiver

test frequency Per factory default RX xxx

Skipped frequencies None (radio will hop

across all 1019

frequencies)

SKIP NONE

Hop time Normal (80 ms per hop) HOPTIME NORMAL

Simplex/duplex

operation Half-duplex SIMPLEX OFF

Buffer mode Seamless data mode

enabled BUFF ON

42 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

R-M indicates that the transceiver has been programmed to the special

remote-master mode (remote radio operating on master frequencies)

This is used in repeater-assisted peer-to-peer systems; see Section 2.2,

Typical Applications (beginning on Page 3) for details. The R-M mode

denotes a remote radio operating on master frequencies. In all other

respects, a remote-master behaves the same as a normal remote.

All units default to remotes; other modes must be specifically pro-

grammed with the MODE command.

OWM [xxxxx]

The OWM command sets or displays an optional owner’s message, such

as the system name. The entry can contain up to 30 characters.

OWN [xxxxx]

The OWN command sets or displays an optional owner’s name, such as

the site name. The entry can contain up to 30 characters.

PWR [xx–30]

This command displays or sets the desired RF forward output power set-

ting of the radio. The PWR command parameter is specified in dBm and

can range from 20 to 30 dBm in 1 dBm steps. The default setting is 30

dBm (1 watt). To read the actual (measured) power output of the radio,

use the SHOW PWR command.

In the USA and Canada, maximum allowable power is governed by

limits on Effective Isotropic Radiated Power output (EIRP). The EIRP

limit of +36 dBm means that any user with a net antenna gain greater

than 6 dBi must decrease the PWR setting accordingly. Section 3.5, How

Much Output Power Can be Used? (beginning on Page 13) contains a

detailed discussion of this topic.

RSSI

This command displays the radio’s Received Signal Strength Indication

in dBm (decibels relative to 1 mW). The output can range from –50 dBm

to –110 dBm. Command availability and results depend on the mode of

operation (master or remote). The closer to 0 dBm, the stronger the

signal, thus a reading of –70 dBm is stronger than –80 dBm.

For a remote radio, under normal operation, RSSI is based on the

average signal strength of the SYNC message received in each of the

eight frequency zones. (RSSI is sampled each time a SYNC message is

received—every 1.6 seconds.) When using the RSSI reading to align a

directional antenna, it is important to make changes slowly so that the

RSSI reading will provide meaningful results. It will take several sec-

onds to indicate a change in signal level. The radio stays in RSSI mode

until is pressed.

ENTER

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 43

For a master radio, under normal operation, entering the RSSI command

causes the response NOT AVAILABLE to be returned. This is because a

master is normally receiving signals from several remote stations and an

RSSI reading would be continually changing. The only exception is

when the SETUP command has been asserted. This disables hopping and

allows reading a “raw” RSSI signal level in real time from a master or

remote radio.

NOTE: RSSI Readings are not accurate for incoming signals stronger

than –50 dBm.)

RTU [ON/OFF/0-80]

This command re-enables or disables the radio’s internal RTU simu-

lator, which runs with MDS’ proprietary polling programs (poll.exe and

rsim.exe). The internal RTU simulator is available whenever a radio has

diagnostics enabled. This command also sets the RTU address that the

radio will respond to.

The internal RTU can be used for testing system payload data or pseudo

bit error rate (BER) testing. It can be helpful in isolating a problem to

either the external RTU or the radio.

RX [xxxx]

This command sets or displays the test receive frequency used in place

of hopping whenever the radio is in Setup mode. The test receive fre-

quency can be reprogrammed to any value between 927.975 MHz and

902.025 MHz, inclusive. The factory default settings are listed below

and have been selected to be non-intrusive to normal operation.

RXTOT [NONE, 0–1440]

This command sets or displays the amount of time (in minutes) to wait

for the next received data packet before issuing a receiver time-out

alarm. The default is NONE.

SEND [n, -n, +n]

The SEND command selects or displays the number of times that a radio

will re-transmit data. This command is associated with “robust” or “bul-

letproof” operation of the radio and is intended for use in areas with

heavy radio interference.

Default Receive Frequencies

Master Remote

927.975 MHz 902.025 MHz

44 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

When the SEND command is issued without parameters, the cumulative

retransmission count is shown. A value of 1 represents the default selec-

tion, meaning “normal, non-robust operation.” Values greater than 1

successively improve the chance of successful data delivery in spec-

trally harsh environments. (Note that the SEND count for a remote radio

is only viewable when the remote is synchronized with its master sta-

tion.)

There are two formats for entering the SEND command. One format

(SEND n) can be used only at the master station, and selects the base

transmission count for the entire network. The other format (SEND +n or

–n) can be used at any radio in the network, and provides a means to cus-

tomize the transmission count locally at each radio, as a delta (amount

of change) from the base.

For both formats, n represents number between 1 and 10; for the “delta”

format a value of zero is also permitted. The net transmission count for

a particular radio is determined by adding the local “delta” (+n or –n) to

the base transmission count for the network. The net transmission count

is automatically bounded to the range 1..10, irrespective of the delta.

The combination of the two formats provides a means to highly cus-

tomize the retransmission behavior of network.

Higher retransmission counts come at the cost of increased latency and

reduced data throughput. With BUFF ON, the radio maintains seamless

operation based on timing derived from the network SEND value. The

use of any tailored SEND values (e.g. SEND +/-x) within the system may

disrupt seamless operation. This is because the increased latency makes

seamless mode impractical. Table 2 lists the maximum cumulative SEND

count for continuous operation, at some typical data rates.

SETUP

This command sets up the transceiver for checking antenna SWR or

transmitter power with external measuring equipment. Do not use this

mode during normal operation.

Table 9. Baud Rate vs. Maximum SEND Count

BAUD

RATE

(BPS)

XSHORT

(max. send

count)

16 ms

(max. send

count)

20 ms

(max. send

count)

25 ms

(max. send

count)

32 ms

(max. send

count)

SHORT

(max. send

count)

NORMAL

(max. send

count)

LONG

(max. send

count)

1200 3 8 10 10 10 10 10 10

2400 N/A 4 5 5 5 7 8 8

4800 N/A 2 2 2 2 3 4 4

9600 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2 2

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 45

When the SETUP command is entered, the HHT prompt changes to

SETUP>, and:

• Hopping is disabled.

• Synthesizer frequencies are reset to the test frequencies speci-

fied by the TX and RX commands.

• The radio can be keyed using the KEY command. DKEY is used

to unkey the radio. (If the radio is left in a keyed state it is auto-

matically unkeyed after several minutes.)

• The RSSI is sampled in a raw, continuous fashion regardless of

whether the unit is a master or a remote.

Entering Q or QUIT returns the system to normal operation.

A timer keeps the Setup mode from accidentally leaving the system dis-

abled. After 10 minutes the system behaves as if Q or QUIT had been

entered, returning to normal operation.

SHOW [PORT, DC, PWR]

The SHOW command displays three types of information based on the

command variables. These are:

•PORT—Displays which connector port (RJ-11 or DB-25) is cur-

rently active for diagnostics and control.

•DC—Displays DC input/output voltages.

•PWR—Displays the actual (measured) RF power output in dBm.

Unlike the PWR command, this command shows the actual level

being measured, not the programmed RF power setting.

SIMPLEX [ON, OFF]

The SIMPLEX command sets or displays the radio’s mode of operation

(simplex or half-duplex).

By default, the system operates in half-duplex mode (SIMPLEX OFF). In

this mode, the transmit frequency of the master is the receive frequency

of the remote (and vice-versa). The transceiver uses a transmit/receive

frequency split of ±1.6 MHz. The offset varies such that both frequen-

cies will always fit within the same zone. (A zone is a 3.2 MHz

sub-band—see the ZONE DATA command.)

When simplex mode is selected (SIMPLEX ON), the master and remotes

always transmit and receive on the same frequency. This setting is

required for peer-to-peer simplex networks where remotes must be able

to communicate with other remotes. A slight increase in end-to-end

delay will occur when using this mode.

This command is “read-only” at remote radios. (Remotes must be syn-

chronized with the master radio to read the simplex status.)

46 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

SKIP [NONE, 1...8]

This command sets or displays which, if any, of the eight 3.2 MHz (128

frequency) zones will be skipped from the radio’s hopping sequence.

Skipping zones is one way of dealing with constant interference on one

or more frequencies. See Section 3.3 (Page 10) for more information on

dealing with interference.

Figure 24 shows the frequency range covered by each zone. The com-

mand parameter is either the keyword NONE or an undelimited string of

up to seven digits where each digit 1...8 represents a corresponding zone

to skip. (For zone parameter input, the digits can appear in any order and

can be optionally separated by a blank space.) The SKIP command is

read-only at remote radios. (Remotes must be synchronized with the

master radio to read the skip status.)

Figure 24. Frequency Zones for MDS 9810 Transceiver

SKIPSYNC [ON/OFF]

Selectively suppresses transmission of SYNC messages in skipped

zones (see SKIP command above). With SKIPSYNC set to ON, the trans-

ceiver will not transmit SYNC messages in skipped frequency zones.

This command is only available to transceivers that are set to be a master

(MODE M). The default setting for this command is OFF.

NOTE: Using SYNCSKIP when many zones are skipped will signifi-

cantly lengthen the time it takes a remote to achieve synchro-

nization with the master. (This will also manifest itself as very

slow RSSI reading response).

SNR

This command displays the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal

expressed in dB. As used in this guide, the definition of signal-to-noise

is based upon the signal level following equalization, for valid frames

only. (A valid frame is defined as containing no more than one bit error,

and belonging to a frame addressed for the receiving radio.) SNR is

updated and latched for each valid frame received. A filter in the DSP

tempers the effect of any sudden changes in the value.

ZONE 1

902.200

905.375

ZONE 2

905.400

908.575

ZONE 3

908.600

911.775

ZONE 4

911.800

914.975

ZONE 5

915.000

918.175

ZONE 6

918.200

921.375

ZONE 7

921.400

924.575

ZONE 8

924.600

927.775

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 47

SNR output ranges from 10 dB to 33 dB. A value of 10 dB represents

little or no signal. A value of 24 dB represents a very strong signal. For

remote radios, a value of 0 is reserved to mean “no signal”; it is dis-

played whenever a remote is not in synchronization with the master sta-

tion.

When the SNR command is used, it causes the DIAG(NOSTIC) port to

enter an update mode, and it will provide an updated signal-to-noise

ratio every 1.6 seconds. It stays in this mode until the key is

pressed.

SREV

This command displays the software version currently loaded into the

transceiver.

A display of 06-3111A01, 3.5.1 is an example of the software version iden-

tifier.

STAT

This command is used to check alarm status. If no alarms exist, the mes-

sage NO ALARMS PRESENT appears at the top of the HHT display.

If an alarm does exist, a two-digit event code (00–31) is displayed and

the event is identified as a “major” or “minor” alarm. A brief description

of the event is also given.

If more than one alarm exists, the word MORE appears at the bottom of

the screen and additional alarms are viewed by pressing the

key. Detailed descriptions of the alarm codes are provided in Table 12

on Page 52.

TDD [ON/OFF]

The TDD command selects or displays whether or not the DATA INTER-

FACE port is operating in time division duplex (sometimes called “sim-

ulated full-duplex”) mode. This command is “read-only” at remote

radios.

The x810 Transceiver is physically a half-duplex device. The radio can

never actually transmit and receive RF data at the same time. However,

TDD mode enables the radio to simulate full-duplex at the data port, by

designating alternate hops as transmit or receive hops, and buffering

(storing) data when transmission is not permitted. Default operation is

TDD OFF.

ENTER

48 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Note that when TDD is enabled (TDD ON), there is a significant impact

on both data throughput and latency. Data throughput is roughly cut in

half. Worst case data latency is increased by two hoptimes. The effect in

seamless mode (BUFF ON) is even more pronounced, as shown in Table

10.

TEMP

This command displays the internal temperature of the transceiver in

degrees Celsius. (Note that the radio is specified to operate in an envi-

ronment between –30 C° and +60 C°). This internal reading may be

higher than the outside temperature by several degrees.

TX [xxxx]

This command sets or displays the test transmit frequency used in place

of hopping whenever the radio is in Setup mode. The test transmit fre-

quency can be reprogrammed to any value between 902.025 MHz and

927.975 MHz, inclusive. The factory default settings are listed below

and have been selected to be non-intrusive to normal system operation.

UNIT [10000–65000]

This command sets the unit addressing for network-wide diagnostics.

The unit address is factory programmed to the last four digits of the

serial number. If re-programmed in the field, the entry must consist of

five digits between 10000 and 65000.

Table 10. Hoptime Setting vs. Delay (BUFF ON—”Seamless Mode”)

HOP TIME MINIMUM DELAY MAXIMUM DELAY

XSHORT 33 ms 66 msec

16 39 ms 78 ms

20 43 ms 86 ms

25 48 ms 96 ms

32 55 ms 110 ms

SHORT 63 ms 126 msec

NORMAL 103 ms 206 msec

LONG 183 ms 366 msec

Default Transmit Frequencies

Master Remote

902.025 MHz 927.975 MHz

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 49

ZONE DATA

The transceiver divides its frequency operating spectrum into eight con-

tiguous 3.2 MHz zones. (These are the same zones referenced by the

SKIP command described earlier.) Data frame statistics are maintained

for each zone to indicate the transmission quality through the network.

This information is useful for identifying zones where significant inter-

ference exists.

Zone quality information can be accessed using the ZONE DATA com-

mand on a connected HHT. For each zone (1–8), it shows you the

number of data frames sent, the number received, and the number

received with errors. If an excessive number of errors are seen in one or

more frequency zones, it may indicate interference, and you should con-

sider “skipping” those zones using the SKIP command.

The ZONE DATA command displays its information on four lines as shown

in Figure 25. If the display seems to “roll off” the screen, verify that

your HHT is set for an 80 character screen size. See Section 6.2,

Hand-Held Terminal Setup (beginning on Page 29).

Invisible place holder

Figure 25. HHT Display for ZONE DATA Command

If ZONE DATA alone is entered, the information for Zone 1 is displayed

first. Successive zones can be viewed by pressing the ENTER key, or by

entering the zone number of your choice (1...8) at the NEXT ZONE?>

prompt.

It is also possible to go directly to a specific zone by entering ZONE DATA

[1...8], where the number entered equals the desired zone. Data for the

specified zone is displayed and then control returns to the command

prompt.

Entering Q or QUIT causes the program to exit and return to the command

prompt.

TOTAL SENT

TOTAL RECEIVED

TOTAL REC'D WITH ERRORS

ZONE #

DATA FRAME STATISTICS

50 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

A variation on the ZONE DATA command is ZONE DATA! This causes data

to be retrieved from all zones. Data is sequentially displayed for each of

the 8 zones and then control returns to the command prompt.

(Note: If a frequency zone has been skipped, statistics will still be gath-

ered for that zone when ZONE DATA is invoked at a remote site, but the

numbers will accumulate very slowly since the only data being passed

in a skipped zone is the radio’s synchronization signal. When invoked

at a master, no polls will be received from a skipped zone.)

ZONE CLEAR

The ZONE CLEAR command clears the zone data for all zones, resetting

the count to 0. (Zone data is also cleared automatically upon reboot, or

upon saturation of a zone data counter.)

7.0 TROUBLESHOOTING

Successful troubleshooting of an MDS transceiver system is not diffi-

cult, but requires a logical approach. It is best to begin troubleshooting

at the master station, as the rest of the system depends on the master for

polling instructions and synchronization data. If the master station has

problems, the operation of the entire network will be affected.

When communication problems are found, it is good practice to begin

by checking the simple things. All radios in the network must meet these

basic requirements:

• Adequate and stable primary power

• An efficient and properly aligned antenna system

• Secure connections (RF, data & power)

• Proper programming of the radio’s operating parameters, espe-

cially Mode selection (MODE), Network Address (ADDR), and

interface Baud Rate (BAUD)

• The correct interface between the radio and the connected data

equipment (proper cable wiring, data format and timing).

7.1 LED Indicators

The LED status indicators are an important troubleshooting tool and

should be checked whenever a problem is suspected. Table 11 describes

the function of each status LED.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 51

7.2 Alarm Codes

When an alarm condition exists, the transceiver creates an alarm code

that can be read on an HHT connected to the radio’s DIAG(NOSTICS)

port. These codes can be very helpful in resolving many system difficul-

ties.

Checking for Alarms—STAT command

To check for the presence of alarms, enter STAT on the HHT. If no alarms

exist, the message NO ALARMS PRESENT appears at the top of the display.

If an alarm does exist, a two-digit alarm code (00–31) is displayed, and

it is identified as a major or minor alarm. A brief description of the alarm

is also given. Alarm codes and their meanings are listed in Table 12.

If more than one alarm exists, the word MORE appears at the bottom of

the screen; additional alarms can be viewed by pressing .

Major Alarms vs. Minor Alarms

Major alarms report serious conditions that generally indicate a hard-

ware failure, or other abnormal condition that will prevent (or seriously

hamper) further operation of the transceiver.

With the exception of alarm code 00 (network address not pro-

grammed), major alarms generally indicate the need for factory repair.

Contact MDS for further assistance.

Minor alarms report conditions which, under most circumstances, will

not prevent transceiver operation. This includes out-of-tolerance condi-

tions, baud rate mismatches, etc. The cause of these alarms should be

investigated and corrected to prevent system failure.

PWR SYNC TXD RXD

Table 11. LED Status Indicators

LED Name Description

PWR • Continuous—Power is applied to the radio, no problems detected.

• Flashing 5 times per second—Fault indication.

See Section 7.0, TROUBLESHOOTING (beginning on Page 50).

• Flashing once every 4 seconds—Radio is in Sleep Mode.

SYNC Lights continuously to indicate the radio is receiving/sending

synchronization frames. Within 16 seconds of start-up, this LED

should be lit continuously.

TXD Indicates EIA-232 space signal (logic high) input to the DB-25

connector.

RXD Indicates EIA-232 space signal (logic high) output from the DB-25

connector.

ENTER

52 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Alarm Code Definitions

Table 12 contains a listing of all event codes that may be reported by the

transceiver.

Table 12. Alarm Codes

Alarm

Code Alarm

Type Description

00 Major The network address is not programmed.

01 Major Improper software detected for this radio model.

02, 03 -- Reserved for factory use.

04 Major One or more of the programmable synthesizer loops is

reporting an out-of-lock condition.

05 -- Reserved for factory use.

06 Major Analog-to-Digital (A-to-D) fault.

07 Major One or more of the radio’s internal voltage regulators is

reporting a failure. The radio will not operate.

08 Major The system is reporting that it has not been calibrated. Factory

calibration is required for proper radio operation.

09 -- Reserved for factory use.

10 Major The microcontroller unit (MCU) was unable to properly

program the system to the appropriate defaults. A hardware

problem may exist.

11 -- Reserved for factory use.

12 Major Receiver time-out alarm.

13-15 -- Reserved for factory use.

16 Minor The unit address is not programmed.

17 Minor A data parity fault has been detected on the DATA

INTERFACE connector. This usually indicates a parity setting

mismatch between the radio and the RTU.

18 Minor A data framing error has been detected on the DATA

INTERFACE connector. This may indicate a baud rate

mismatch between the radio and the RTU.

19–24 -- Reserved for factory use.

25 Minor The 6.0 volt power regulator is out-of-tolerance. If the error is

excessive, operation may fail.

26 Minor The dc input voltage is out-of-tolerance. If the voltage is too far

out-of-tolerance, operation may fail.

27, 28 -- Reserved for factory use.

29 Minor RF output power fault detected. (Power differs by more than 2

dB from set level.) Often caused by high antenna system

SWR. Check antenna, feedline and connectors.

30 Minor The system is reporting an RSSI reading below –105 dBm. Bit

errors are likely to be present in the data.

31 Minor The transceiver’s internal temperature is approaching an

out-of-tolerance condition. If the temperature drifts outside of

the recommended operating range, system operation may

fail.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 53

7.3 Performing Network-Wide Remote Diagnostics

Diagnostics data from a remote radio can be obtained by connecting a

laptop or personal computer running MDS Network Management Soft-

ware to any radio in the network. Figure 30 shows an example of a setup

for performing network-wide remote diagnostics.

Invisible place holder

Figure 26. Network-Wide Remote Diagnostics Setup

If a PC is connected to any radio in the network, intrusive polling

(polling which briefly interrupts payload data transmission) can be per-

formed. To perform diagnostics without interrupting payload data trans-

mission, connect the PC to a radio defined as the “root” radio. A radio

is defined as a root radio using the DTYPE ROOT command locally, at the

radio.

RTU

DIAGNOSTICS

PORT

TO DATA

PORT

REPEATER

POLLING REMOTE

ROOT NODE

REMOTE NODE

OPERATION

Intrusive messaging only

(not preferred)

DIAGNOSTICS

COMPUTER

RUNNING InSite

TO RJ-11

DIAGNOSTICS

PORT

RTU

DTYPE

ROOT

DIAGNOSTICS DATA

(To InSite)

HOST COMPUTER

PAYLOAD DATA

(To SCADA application)

ROOT NODE OPERATION

Active messaging or

passive messaging (preferred)

54 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

A complete explanation of remote diagnostics can be found in MDS’

Network-Wide Diagnostics System Handbook (MDS P/N

05-3467A01).

1. Program one radio in the network as the root radio by entering the

DTYPE ROOT command at the radio.

2. At the root radio, use the DLINK ON and DLINK [baud rate] commands

to conﬁgure the diagnostic link protocol on the RJ-11 port.

3. Program all other radios in the network as nodes by entering the

DTYPE NODE command at each radio.

4. Use the DLINK ON and DLINK [baud rate] commands to conﬁgure the

diagnostic link protocol on the RJ-11 port of each node radio.

5. Connect same-site radios using a null-modem cable at the radios’

diagnostic ports.

6. Connect a PC on which MDS Network Management Software is

installed to the root radio, or to one of the nodes, at the radio’s diag-

nostic port. (This PC may be the PC being used to collect payload

data, as shown in Figure 30.)

To connect a PC to the radio’s DIAG. port, an RJ-11 to DB-9 adapter

(MDS P/N 03-3246A01) is required. If desired, an adapter cable

may be constructed from scratch, using the information shown in

Figure 27.

Invisible place holder

Figure 27. RJ-11 to DB-9 Adapter Cable

Table 13. Network-Wide Diagnostics Radio Setup Commands

COMMAND DESCRIPTION

NETWORK-WIDE

DIAGNOSTICS

CONFIGURATION

DLINK [xxxxx]

Details Page 55 Set baud rate of diagnostics link

DTYPE

[NODE/ROOT/GATE/PEER]

Details Page 55

Set radio’s operational characteristics

for network-wide diagnostics

RXD

TXD

GND

DB-9 FEMALE

(TO COMPUTER)

TXD

RXD

GND

RJ-11 PLUG

(TO RADIO)

RJ-11 PIN LAYOUT

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 55

7. Launch the MDS Network Management application at the PC.

(Refer to the software user’s manual for details.)

DLINK [xxxxx]

DLINK followed by the baud rate sets the baud rate (bps) of the diagnos-

tics link. The following DLINK baud rates selections are allowed:

• 1200

• 2400

• 4800

• 9600

• 19200 (default setting)

Example: DLINK 4800 sets the RJ-11 DIAG port to operate at 4800 bps.

The default is DLINK 19200 and DLINK ON.

NOTE: The same baud rate must be entered into the appropriate

field(s) of any Network Management Software, if used.

DTYPE [NODE/ROOT/GATE/PEER]

The DTYPE command specifies the radio’s operational characteristics for

network-wide diagnostics. There are four possible types of nodes in a

network-wide diagnostics system.

The common types are:

•NODE–The most common setting, and the default. This is the

basic system radio device-type. Typically, the radio network is

comprised of nodes and one root. Intrusive diagnostics can orig-

inate from any node. However, non-intrusive diagnostics can

not be facilitated through a node.

•ROOT–Always one, and only one, per network. The root is the

focal point of network-wide diagnostics information. Intrusive

diagnostics can originate from any radio, including the root.

However, the root is the only radio enabling non-intrusive diag-

nostics.

The default radio device-type is NODE. Less used are:

•GATE

•PEER

These node types are needed for repeater sub-networks and simplex

sub-networks where simplex frequencies are used. See the Net-

work-Wide Diagnostics System Handbook for an explanation of these

node types.

56 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

7.4 Troubleshooting Chart

Table 14 provides suggestions for resolving system difficulties that may

be experienced in the radio system. If problems persist, contact the fac-

tory for further assistance. Refer to the inside back cover of this guide

for contact information.

8.0 TECHNICAL REFERENCE

The following section contains material that is not essential to using the

radio, but may prove helpful in diagnosing performance problems or in

gaining a better understanding of the unit’s operation.

8.1 Technical Specifications

GENERAL

Frequency Hopping Range: Up to 1019 frequencies within:

902–928 MHz,

configurable in 3.2 MHz zones

Hop Pattern: Based on network address

Frequency Stability: ±1.5 ppm

Simplex Operation: User selectable

Half-Duplex Operation: ±1.6 MHz TX/RX split

Table 14. Troubleshooting Chart

Difficulty Recommended System Checks

Unit is

inoperative. a. Check for the proper supply voltage at the power connector.

b. The transceiver’s internal resettable fuse may have tripped. To

reset it, momentarily remove and re-apply power to the radio.

Interference is

suspected. a. Verify that the system has a unique network address. Nearby

systems with the same address will cause interference.

b. Use the ZONE DATA command (Page 49) to check for

interference in specific zones. Lock out affected zone(s) using

the SKIP command (Page 46).

c. If omnidirectional antennas are used on remote stations,

consider changing to directional antennas. This will often limit

interference to and from other stations.

synchronization

with master, or

poor overall

performance.

a. Check for secure interface connections at the radio and the

connected device.

b. Check the antenna, feedline and connectors. Reflected power

should be less than 10% of the forward power reading

(SWR ≈2:1 or lower).

c. If the remote radio is in synchronization, but performance is

poor, check the received signal strength using the RSSI

command (Page 42). If RSSI is low, it may indicate antenna

problems, or misalignment of directional antenna headings.

d. Verify proper programming of system parameters: mode,

network address, data interface baud rate, transmitter power,

CTS delay, etc. It may be helpful to use the INIT command

(Page 41), which resets all parameters to factory defaults.

e. Check for alarms using the STAT command (Page 47)

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 57

Network Addresses: 65,000

Temperature Range: –30°C to +60°C

Humidity: 95% at +40°C; non-condensing

Primary Power: 13.8 Vdc (10.5–30 Vdc range)*

* Transceivers shipped prior to Revision “U”

(November 1999) may be configured for 25 Vdc

maximum DC input.

Supply Current (typical):

Transmit: 400 mA @ 13.8 Vdc

Receive: 125 mA @ 13.8 Vdc

Sleep Mode: <30 mA @ 13.8 Vdc

Size (excluding mtg. hardware): 2.0" x 5.62" x 7.25"

51 x 143 x 184 mm

Weight: 2.38 lb/1.08 kg

Case: Die-cast aluminum

Approvals: • FCC Part 15.247

• Industry Canada RSS-210 and RSS-139

• CSA/US Class 1, Div. 2; Groups A, B, C and D

hazardous locations

• Contact MDS for information on availability and

governmental approvals in other countries

DATA CHARACTERISTICS

Data Interface: EIA-232 signaling standard

Interface Connector: DB-25 female

Data Rate: 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400 bps

asynchronous

Data Latency: <10 ms typical (buffer off)

Byte Length: 10 or 11 bits

Maximum Data Transmission: Continuous up to 19200 bps;

Non-continuous at 38400 bps

RF CHARACTERISTICS

TRANSMITTER:

Power Output

(at antenna connector): 0.1 to 1.0 watt (+20 dBm to +30 dBm) ±1.0 dB, set

by user

Duty Cycle: Continuous

Modulation Type: Binary CPFSK

Output Impedance: 50 Ohms

Spurious: –60 dBc

Harmonics: –80 dBc

RECEIVER

Type: Double conversion superheterodyne

Bit-Error Rate: Less than 1x10-6 at –110 dBm

Intermodulation: 59 dB minimum (EIA)

58 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Desensitization: 75 dB

Spurious: 70 dB minimum

Bandwidth: 25 kHz

Interference Ratio

(BER degraded by 10-1): Co-channel: –10 dB

Adjacent channel: +30 dB

Two channels away: +50 dB

Three channels away: +60 dB

Time Required to Synchronize

with Master Radio: Less than 13 seconds (typical)

8.2 RSSI Checks with a Voltmeter

As an alternative to the HHT method of measuring RSSI (see Antenna

Aiming on page 27), a dc voltmeter may be connected to Pin 21 of the

transceiver’s DATA INTERFACE connector.

Figure 28 shows the relationship between RSSI and the dc voltage at Pin

21.

NOTE: RSSI Readings are not accurate for incoming signals stronger

than –50 dBm.)

Invisible place holder

Figure 28. RSSI vs. Vdc at Pin 21 of DATA INTERFACE Connector

8.3 Data Interface Connections (DB-25)

The DATA INTERFACE connector is used to connect the radio to an

external DTE data terminal that supports the EIA-232 format. The radio

supports data rates of 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200 and 38400 bps

(asynchronous data only).

The DATA INTERFACE connector mates with a standard DB-25 plug that

is available from many electronics parts distributors. Figure 29 shows

the layout of the DATA INTERFACE connector.Table 15 lists each pin on

the connector and describes its function.

2.5

3.5

–110

–90

–70

–50

+ DC VOLTS (PIN 21)

SIGNAL LEVEL (dBm)

4.5

5.0

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 59

Invisible place holder

Figure 29. Data Interface Connector (DB-25) Pins

(As viewed from outside the radio)

Unused

Radio Inhibit (Sleep)

Unused

Receiver Unsquelched Sensor

Unused

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

Signal Ground*

Data Set Ready (DSR)

Clear-to-Send Output (CTS)

Request-to-Send Input (RTS)

Received Data (RXD)*

Transmitted Data (TXD)*

Protective Ground

Alarm Output

Analog Input Pin

Diagnostic Channel Enable

RSSI Voltage

9.9 Vdc Regulated Output

Unregulated DC Input/Output

Digital Output Pin

Unused

Description Pin

No. Pin

Description

Unused

Future use— do not connect

* Required in most installations

Table 15. Data Interface Connector (DB-25) Pin Descriptions

Number Input/

Output Pin Description

1--Protective Ground

Connects to ground (negative supply potential) on the

radio’s PC board and chassis.

2INTXD—Transmitted Data

Accepts TX data from the connected device.

3 OUT RXD—Received Data

Supplies received data to the connected device.

4INRTS—Request-to-Send Input

5 OUT CTS—Clear-to-Send Output

Goes “high” after the programmed CTS delay time has

elapsed (DCE), or keys an attached radio when RF data

arrives (CTS KEY).

6 OUT DSR—Data Set Ready

Provides a +6 Vdc DSR signal through a 2.5 kΩ resistor.

7--Signal Ground

Connects to ground (negative supply potential) at the

radio’s PC board.

8 OUT DCD—Data Carrier Detect

A “high” indicates hopping synchronization.

9 -- Unused.

10 OUT RUS—Receiver Unsquelched Sensor

Provides +8 Vdc through a 1 kΩ resistor whenever the

receiver squelch is open, and drops to less than 1 Vdc

when the squelch is closed.

11 -- Unused.

12 IN Sleep Mode

A ground on this pin turns off most circuits in the radio,

including transmit, receive, modem and diagnostic

functions. This allows for greatly reduced power

consumption, yet preserves the radio’s ability to be

quickly brought on line. See Section 4.6, Using the

Radio’s Sleep Mode (beginning on Page 25) for details.

13 -- Unused.

60 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

8.4 Bench Testing Setup

Figure 30 shows a sample test setup that can be used to verify the basic

operation of MDS radios. This test can be performed with any number

of remote radios by using a power divider with the required number of

output connections.

14 -- Unused.

15 -- Do not connect—Factory test point.

16 -- Unused.

17 -- Digital Output Pin

Output value is 3 Vdc for set and 0 Vdc for clear. May be

activated via MDS Network Management Software.

18 IN/OUT Accessory Power

Unregulated input/output. Provides a source of power

for low-current accessories. The supply voltage may be

between 11.0 and 25 volts.

19 OUT 9.9 Vdc Regulated Output

Provides a source of regulated voltage at 100 mA for

low-power accessories.

20 -- Do not connect—Reserved for future use.

21 OUT RSSI—Received Signal Strength Indication

A dc voltmeter may be connected to this pin to read the

relative strength of the incoming signal. Figure 28 on

page 58 compare RSSI to dc voltage.

22 -- Unused.

23 IN Diagnostic Channel Enable

A ground on this pin causes the radio’s microcontroller

to open the DB-25 DATA INTERFACE connector for

diagnostics and control (in place of the more commonly

used RJ-11 DIAG(NOSTICS) connector).

24 IN Analog Input Pin

Input value can range between 0 and 5 volts DC.

Voltage must not exceed 5 Vdc or damage may result.

Analog input voltage may be monitored via MDS

Network Management software, where the 0-5 Vdc

range is translated to a value between 0 and 255 (hex

address 0xFF).

25 OUT Alarm Output

A logic low (less than 0.5 volts) on this pin indicates

normal operation. A logic high (greater than 4 volts)

indicates that an alarm condition is present. This pin can

be used as an alarm output, provided the internal series

resistance of 1 kΩ is considered.

Table 15. Data Interface Connector (DB-25) Pin

Number Input/

Output Pin Description

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 61

The RTU simulator shown in the test setup (MDS Part No. 03-2512A01)

is a microcontroller that emulates a remote terminal unit operating at

1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bps. Custom software is supplied with the

RTU simulator that allows continuous polling of remote radios. The

software reports the number of polls sent, polls received, and the number

of errors detected. The software runs on an IBM-compatible personal

computer.

NOTE: It is very important to use attenuation between all units in the

test setup. The amount of attenuation required will depend on

the number of units being tested and the desired signal strength

(RSSI) at each transceiver during the test. In no case should a

signal greater than –50 dBm be applied to any transceiver in

the test setup.

Invisible place holder

Figure 30. Typical Setup for Bench Testing of Radios

8.5 Using Radio Configuration Software

Windows-based Radio Configuration software (MDS P/N 03-3156A01)

is used for upgrading the internal radio software when new features

become available from Microwave Data Systems. The software

includes on-line user instructions, and an installation booklet is provided

with the software package. Contact MDS for ordering information.

NOTE: The latest firmware revision for all MDS products may be

obtained at www.microwavedata.com.

Connecting a PC

To connect a PC to the radio’s DIAG(NOSTICS) port, an RJ-11 to DB-9

adapter cable (MDS P/N 03-3246A01) is required. If desired, this cable

may be constructed from scratch using the information shown in

Figure 31.

ANTENNA

3.8

VDC

–

ANTENNA

13.8

VDC

–

ANTENNA

13.8

VDC

–

POWER ATTENUATORS

• Fixed or adjustable

• 2W Minimum Rating

POWER DIVIDER

NON-RADIATING ATTENUATORS

• Install on Unused Divider Ports (if any)

• 2W Minimum Rating

RTU SIMULATORS

MDS P/N 03-2512A01

REMOTE

COMPUTER RUNNING

MDS POLLING SOFTWARE

ANTENNA

13.

VDC

–

MASTER

62 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Upgrading the Radio’s Software

Using the Radio Configuration software, select RADIO SOFTWARE

UPGRADE under the SYSTEM menu. Follow the prompts and on-line

instructions to complete the upgrade procedure.

Software upgrades are distributed as ASCII files with a .S28 extension.

These files use the Motorola S-record format. When the download is

activated, the radio’s PWR LED will flash rapidly, confirming that a

download is in process. The download takes about two minutes.

NOTE: If a download fails, the radio is left unprogrammed and inop-

erative. This is indicated by the PWR LED flashing slowly (1

second on/1 second off). This condition is only likely to occur

if there is a power failure to the computer or radio during the

downloading process. The download can be attempted again

when the fault has been corrected.

Invisible place holder

Figure 31. RJ-11 to DB-9 Adapter Cable

(for software upgrade using connected PC)

RXD

TXD

GND

DB-9 FEMALE

(TO COMPUTER)

TXD

RXD

GND

RJ-11 PLUG

(TO RADIO)

RJ-11 PIN LAYOUT

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 63

8.6 dBm-Watts-Volts Conversion Chart

Table 16 is provided as a convenience for determining the equivalent

voltage or wattage of an RF power expressed in dBm.

Table 16. dBm-Watts-Volts Conversion—for 50 ohm Systems

9.0 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

If you are new to spread spectrum radio, some of the terms used in this

guide may be unfamiliar. The following glossary explains many of these

terms and will prove helpful in understanding the operation of the trans-

ceiver.

dBm V Po

+53 100.0 200W

+50 70.7 100W

+49 64.0 80W

+48 58.0 64W

+47 50.0 50W

+46 44.5 40W

+45 40.0 32W

+44 32.5 25W

+43 32.0 20W

+42 28.0 16W

+41 26.2 12.5W

+40 22.5 10W

+39 20.0 8W

+38 18.0 6.4W

+37 16.0 5W

+36 14.1 4W

+35 12.5 3.2W

+34 11.5 2.5W

+33 10.0 2W

+32 9.0 1.6W

+31 8.0 1.25W

+30 7.10 1.0W

+29 6.40 800mW

+28 5.80 640mW

+27 5.00 500mW

+26 4.45 400mW

+25 4.00 320mW

+24 3.55 250mW

+23 3.20 200mW

+22 2.80 160mW

+21 2.52 125mW

+20 2.25 100mW

+19 2.00 80mW

+18 1.80 64mW

+17 1.60 50mW

+16 1.41 40mW

+15 1.25 32mW

+14 1.15 25mW

+13 1.00 20mW

+12 .90 16mW

+11 .80 12.5mW

+10 .71 10mW

+9 .64 8mW

+8 .58 6.4mW

+7 .500 5mW

+6 .445 4mW

+5 .400 3.2mW

+4 .355 2.5mW

+3 .320 2.0mW

+2 .280 1.6mW

+1 .252 1.25mW

dBm V Po

0 .225 1.0mW

-1 .200 .80mW

-2 .180 .64mW

-3 .160 .50mW

-4 .141 .40mW

-5 .125 .32mW

-6 .115 .25mW

-7 .100 .20mW

-8 .090 .16mW

-9 .080 .125mW

-10 .071 .10mW

-11 .064

-12 .058

-13 .050

-14 .045

-15 .040

-16 .0355

dBm mV Po

-17 31.5

-18 28.5

-19 25.1

-20 22.5 .01mW

-21 20.0

-22 17.9

-23 15.9

-24 14.1

-25 12.8

-26 11.5

-27 10.0

-28 8.9

-29 8.0

-30 7.1 .001mW

-31 6.25

-32 5.8

-33 5.0

-34 4.5

-35 4.0

-36 3.5

-37 3.2

-38 2.85

-39 2.5

-40 2.25 .1µW

-41 2.0

-42 1.8

-43 1.6

-44 1.4

-45 1.25

-46 1.18

-47 1.00

-48 0.90

dBm mV Po

-49 0.80

-50 0.71 .01µW

-51 0.64

-52 0.57

-53 0.50

-54 0.45

-55 0.40

-56 0.351

-57 0.32

-58 0.286

-59 0.251

-60 0.225 .001µW

-61 0.200

-62 0.180

-63 0.160

-64 0.141

dBm µV Po

-65 128

-66 115

-67 100

-68 90

-69 80

-70 71 .1nW

-71 65

-72 58

-73 50

-74 45

-75 40

-76 35

-77 32

-78 29

-79 25

-80 22.5 .01nW

-81 20.0

-82 18.0

-83 16.0

-84 11.1

-85 12.9

-86 11.5

-87 10.0

-88 9.0

-89 8.0

-90 7.1 .001nW

-91 6.1

-92 5.75

-93 5.0

-94 4.5

-95 4.0

-96 3.51

-97 3.2

dBm µV Po

-98 2.9

-99 2.51

-100 2.25 .1pW

-101 2.0

-102 1.8

-103 1.6

-104 1.41

-105 1.27

-106 1.18

dBm nV Po

-107 1000

-108 900

-109 800

-110 710 .01pW

-111 640

-112 580

-113 500

-114 450

-115 400

-116 355

-117 325

-118 285

-119 251

-120 225 .001pW

-121 200

-122 180

-123 160

-124 141

-125 128

-126 117

-127 100

-128 90

-129 80 .1ƒW

-130 71

-131 61

-132 58

-133 50

-134 45

-135 40

-136 35

-137 33

-138 29

-139 25

-140 23 .01ƒW

64 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Antenna System Gain—A figure, normally expressed in dB, repre-

senting the power increase resulting from the use of a gain-type antenna.

System losses (from the feedline and coaxial connectors, for example)

are subtracted from this figure to calculate the total antenna system gain.

Bit—The smallest unit of digital data, often represented by a one or a

zero. Eight bits (plus start, stop, and parity bits) usually comprise a byte.

Bits-per-second—See BPS.

BPS—Bits-per-second. A measure of the information transfer rate of

digital data across a communication channel.

Byte—A string of digital data usually made up of eight data bits and

start, stop and parity bits.

Decibel (dB)—A measure of the ratio between two signal levels. Fre-

quently used to express the gain (or loss) of a system.

Data Circuit-terminating Equipment—See DCE.

Data Communications Equipment—See DCE.

Data Terminal Equipment—See DTE.

dBi—Decibels referenced to an “ideal” isotropic radiator in free space.

Frequently used to express antenna gain.

dBm—Decibels referenced to one milliwatt. An absolute unit used to

measure signal power, as in transmitter power output, or received signal

strength.

DCE—Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (or Data Communications

Equipment). In data communications terminology, this is the “modem”

side of a computer-to-modem connection. By default, MDS transceivers

are set as DCE devices.

Digital Signal Processing—See DSP.

DSP—Digital Signal Processing. In the MDS 9810 transceiver, the DSP

circuitry is responsible for the most critical real-time tasks; primarily

modulation, demodulation, and servicing of the data port.

DTE—Data Terminal Equipment. A device that provides data in the

form of digital signals at its output. Connects to the DCE device.

Equalization—The process of reducing the effects of amplitude, fre-

quency or phase distortion with compensating networks.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide 65

Fade Margin—The greatest tolerable reduction in average received

signal strength that will be anticipated under most conditions. Provides

an allowance for reduced signal strength due to multipath, slight antenna

movement or changing atmospheric losses. A fade margin of 20 to 30

dB is usually sufficient in most systems.

Frame—A segment of data that adheres to a specific data protocol and

contains definite start and end points. It provides a method of synchro-

nizing transmissions.

Frequency Hopping—The spread spectrum technique used by the

MDS 9810 transceiver, where two or more associated radios change

their operating frequencies several times per second using a set pattern.

Since the pattern appears to jump around, it is said to “hop” from one

frequency to another.

Frequency Zone—The transceivers use up to 1,019 discrete channels

in the 902 to 928 MHz spectrum. A group of 128 channels is referred to

as a zone. The transceivers use eight frequency zones. (Five channels are

reserved for network control purposes.)

Hardware Flow Control—A transceiver feature used to prevent data

buffer overruns when handling high-speed data from the RTU or PLC.

When the buffer approaches overflow, the radio drops the clear-to-send

(CTS) line, which instructs the RTU or PLC to delay further transmis-

sion until CTS again returns to the high state.

Host Computer—The computer installed at the master station site,

which controls the collection of data from one or more remote sites.

Latency—The delay (usually expressed in milliseconds) between when

data is applied to TXD (Pin 2) at one radio, until it appears at RXD

(Pin 3) at the other radio.

MAS—Multiple Address System. A radio system where a central

master station communicates with several remote stations for the pur-

pose of gathering telemetry data. Figure 3 on page 3 shows an example

of an MAS system.

Master (Station)—The one radio transceiver in a spread spectrum net-

work that automatically provides synchronization information to one or

more associated remote transceivers. A radio may be programmed for

either master or remote mode using software commands. See Section

6.0, PROGRAMMING (beginning on Page 28).

MCU—Microcontroller Unit. This is the processor responsible for con-

trolling system start-up, synthesizer loading, hop timing, and key-up

control.

Microcontroller Unit—See MCU.

66 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

Mode—This refers to the programmed function of an MDS spread spec-

trum radio—master or remote. (See also Remote Station and Master Sta-

tion.)

Multiple Address System (MAS)—See Point-Multipoint System.

Network Address—User-selectable number between 1 and 65000 that

is used to identify a group of transceivers that form a communications

network. The master and all remotes within a given system must have

the same network address.

Network-Wide Diagnostics—An advanced method of controlling and

interrogating MDS radios in a radio network. It works by interspersing

diagnostic data with payload data.

Point-Multipoint System—A radio communications network or

system designed with a central control station that exchanges data with

a number of remote locations equipped with terminal equipment.

Poll—A request for data issued from the host computer (or master PLC)

to a remote radio.

PLC—Programmable Logic Controller. A dedicated microprocessor

configured for a specific application with discrete inputs and outputs. It

can serve as a host or as an RTU.

Remote Radio—A radio in a spread spectrum network that communi-

cates with an associated master station. A radio may be programmed for

either master or remote mode using software commands. See Section

6.0, PROGRAMMING (beginning on Page 28).

Remote Terminal Unit—See RTU.

RTU—Remote Terminal Unit. A data collection device installed at a

remote radio site.

SCADA—Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. An overall term

for the functions commonly provided through an MAS radio system.

Standing Wave Ratio—See SWR.

SWR—Standing Wave Ratio. A parameter related to the ratio between

forward transmitter power and the reflected power from the antenna

system. As a general guideline, reflected power should not exceed 10%

of the forward power (≈ 2:1 SWR).

Zone—See Frequency Zone.

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide I-1

INDEX

ACCESS DENIED error message 31

Accessories (table) 7

ADDR command (set/display radio network address) 36

Alarm

checking for 51

code deﬁnitions 52

codes 51

codes, table 52

major vs. minor 51

output pin (Pin 25) 60

receiver timeout (RXTOT command) 43

reset output signal 36

set/display output sense (ASENSE command) 36

status (STAT command) 47

ALARM command (obsolete; see STAT command) 47

AMASK command (conﬁgure alarm output signal) 36

Antenna

installation 16

performance optimization 26

selection 11

SWR check 27

system gain vs. power output setting, table 14

system gain, deﬁned 64

Yagi, illustrated 12

ASENSE command (set/display alarm output sense) 36

BAUD command (set/display data interface port attributes) 36

Baud rate

setting 28

setting for RJ-11 DIAG port (DLINK command) 54

Baud rate (diagnostics link) 39, 55

Bit, deﬁned 64

BPS (bits-per-seond), deﬁned 64

BUFF command (set/display received data handling mode) 37

Byte, deﬁned 64

Cable

adapter, for connecting diagnostics PC to radio 54, 62

adapter, RJ-11 to DB-9 (illustrated) 54, 62

data equipment to DATA INTERFACE connector 16

data interface wiring for null-modem 23, 24

data interface wiring for peer-to-peer systems with repeater

assistance 21

data interface wiring for tail-end links 22

feedlines 12

HHT to radio (coiled cord) 28

local interface for repeater system 21

maximum length, recommended 17

null-modem, for repeater system 22, 23

null-modem, for same-site radios 54

power (positive/negative leads) 17

COMMAND FAILED error message 31

Commands

ADDR (set/display radio network address) 36

AMASK (conﬁgure alarm output signal) 36

ASENSE (set/display alarm output sense) 36

BAUD (set/display data interface port attributes) 36

BUFF (set/display received data handling mode) 37

CTS (set/display CTS line response timer) 37

CTSHOLD (set/display CTS hold timer) 38

detailed descriptions 32–50

DEVICE (set/display DCE or CTS Key behavior) 38

display operating status 34

DLINK (set/display baud rate of diagnostics link) 39

DMGAP (set time to wait between characters) 39

DTYPE (set radio’s diagnopstics type) 39

entering on Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) 30

Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) 30

HOPTIME (set/display hoptime setting) 40

how used 35

INIT (restore factory default settings) 41

MODE (set/display master/remote operation) 41

most used 32, 35

network conﬁguration 32, 54

OWM (set/display optional owner’s message) 42

OWN (set/display optional owner’s name) 42

PWR (set/display RF forward output power) 42

RSSI (display received signal strength) 42

RTU (enable/disable internal RTU) 43

RX (set/display test receive frequency) 43

RXTOT (set/display received data timeout value) 43

SEND (set/display number of re-sends) 43

set/program 33

SETUP (enter testing and setup mode) 44

SHOW (display active port, dc volts, measured power

output) 45

SIMPLEX (set/display simplex/half-duplex operation) 45

SKIP (set/display frequency zone to skip) 46

SKIPSYNC (set/display status of SYNC messages in

skipped zones) 46

SNR (display signal-to-noise ratio) 46

SREV (display transceiver software version) 47

STAT (list alarms) 47

summary, table 32

TDD (set/display time division multiplex status) 47

TEMP (display internal temperature) 48

CTS command (set/display CTS line response timer) 37

CTSHOLD command (set/display CTS hold timer) 38

Data buffer setting 27, 37

DATA INTERFACE

connections 58

connector pin descriptions, table 59

connector pins, illustrated 59

connector, RSSI vs. V dc at Pin 21 of (illustrated) 58

Data interface

cable wiring for peer-to-peer systems with repeater

assistance 21

cable wiring for repeater, illustrated 23, 24

cable wiring for tail-end links, illustrated 22

setting parameters 19

I-2 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

dBi, deﬁned 64

dBm, deﬁned 64

DCE, deﬁned 64

Decibel (dB), deﬁned 64

Default settings

data interface baud rate 28

factory settings reset by INIT command (table) 41

re-initializing HHT to 29

restoring (INIT command) 41

See also individual command descriptions

DEVICE command (set/display DCE or CTS Key

behavior) 38

Diagnostics

network-wide, performing 53

setup mode (SETUP command) 44

using InSite software for network-wide 53

Display

alarm output sense (ASENSE command) 36

alarms (STAT command) 47

connector port, diagnostics (SHOW command) 45

CTS hold timer value (CTSHOLD command) 38

CTS line response timer value (CTS command) 37

data interface baud rate (BAUD command) 36

dc input/output voltages (SHOW command) 45

device behavior (DEVICE command) 38

hoptime setting (HOPTIME command) 40

master or remote operation (MODE command) 41

network address (ADDR command) 36

operating status commands 34

owner’s message (OWM command) 42

owner’s name (OWN command) 42

received data handling mode (BUFF command) 37

received data timeout value (RXTOT command) 43

received signal strength (RSSI command) 42

RF forward output power (PWR command) 42

RF power output, actual measured (SHOW command) 45

signal-to-noise ratio (SNR command) 46

simplex or half-duplex operation (SIMPLEX command) 45

skipped frequency zones (SKIP command) 46

software version, transceiver (SREV command) 47

temperature, internal (TEMP command) 48

test receive frequency (RX command) 43

DKEY command (dekey transmitter) 27, 35, 45

DLINK command (set/display baud rate of diagnostics

link) 39, 54, 55

DMGAP command (set/display time to wait between

characters) 39

DSP (Digital Signal Processing), deﬁned 64

DTE, deﬁned 64

DTYPE command (set radio’s diagnostics type) 39, 54, 55

EEPROM FAILURE error message 32

Enable

diagnostics channel by grounding Pin 23 of HHT cable 29

HHT setup mode 29

internal RTU (RTU command) 43

master/remote operation (MODE command) 41

network-wide diagnostics, procedures 54

Setup mode (SETUP command) 44

simplex/half-duplex operation (SIMPLEX command) 45

skipped zone (SKIP command) 46

Sleep Mode 25

Equalization, deﬁned 64

Error messages

on Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) 31

Fade margin, deﬁned 65

Feedline

selection 11, 12

Frame, deﬁned 65

Frequency hopping, deﬁned 65

Frequency zone

deﬁned 65

table 46

Gate (radio diagnostics type) 39, 55

Glossary 63–66

Hand-Held Terminal (HHT)

command summary, table 32

connected to transceiver, illustrated 18, 29

connection and start-up 28

entering commands 30

error messages 31

keyboard commands 30

operational settings, table 30

re-initialization 29

setup display, illustrated 30

Hardware ﬂow control, deﬁned 65

Hopping, deﬁned 65

Hoptime

parameters, table 40

setting 27

HOPTIME command (set/display hoptime setting) 40

Host computer, deﬁned 65

Illustrations

antenna, Yagi 12

bench test setup 61

data interface cable wiring 21

data interface cable wiring for repeater 23, 24

data interface cable wiring for tail-end links 22

DATA INTERFACE connector pins 59

HHT connected to transceiver 18, 29

HHT setup display 30

LED status indicators 26

model conﬁguration code 2

network-wide diagnostics 53

peer-to-peer network with repeater assistance 5, 20

point-to-point link 5

remote station arrangement 8

repeater system conﬁguration 6

RJ-11 to DB-9 adapter 62

RJ-11 to DB-9 adapter cable 54

RSSI vs. V dc at Pin 21 of DATA INTERFACE

connector 58

simplex peer-to-peer network 4

tail-end link 6

transceiver 1

typical MAS network 3

INCORRECT ENTRY error message 31

INIT command (restore factory default settings) 41

InSite software 53

Installation 14–25

antenna 16

conﬁguring the transceiver 17

connecting transceiver to data equipment 16

MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide I-3

feedline selection 12

peer-to-peer systems 19

performance optimization 26

primary power 17

programming network address 18

repeaters 22

requirements 7

setting data interface parameters 19

site selection 8

site survey 9

tail-end links 21

transmission path 8

Interference

about 10

checks 28

troubleshooting 56

Key

set to CTS keying (DEVICE command) 38

transmitter, for antenna SWR check 27

KEY command (key transmitter) 27, 35, 45

Latency, deﬁned 65

LED status indicators

illustrated 26

table 26

Master Station

default settings 41

deﬁned 65

MCU (Microcontroller Unit), deﬁned 65

MDS Radio Conﬁguration software 61

MODE command (set/display master/remote operation) 41

Mode, deﬁned 66

Model conﬁguration code, illustrated 2

Mounting instructions 15

Multiple Address System (MAS)

deﬁned 65

network, illustrated 3

Network address

deﬁned 66

programming 18

Network conﬁguration commands 32, 54

Network-wide diagnostics

deﬁned 66

illustrated 53

procedures 53

Node (radio diagnostics type) 39, 55

NOT AVAILABLE error message 31

NOT PROGRAMMED error message 31

Operation 26–28

OWM command (set/display optional owner’s message) 42

OWN command (set/display optional owner’s name) 42

PASSWORD INVALID error message 31

connecting to radio for software upgrade 62

connecting to radio’s diagnostic port 54

launching InSite application at 55

performing diagnostics using connected 53

Peer (radio diagnostics type) 39, 55

Peer-to-peer network

installation 19

with repeater assistance, illustrated 5, 20

Performance optimization 26

Pins, DATA INTERFACE connector descriptions (table) 59

PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), deﬁned 66

Point-to-multipoint system

deﬁned 66

power usage 13

Point-to-point system

link, illustrated 5

Poll, deﬁned 66

Power

how much can be run 13

measuring and installing primary 17

set/display RF forward output (PWR command) 42

sleep mode 25

Procedures

antenna aiming 27

antenna and feedline selection 11

antenna SWR check 27

conﬁguring the transceiver 17

connecting data equipment to DATA INTERFACE

connector 16

connecting PC and radios for network-wide diagnostics 54

enabling sleep mode 25

entering commands using Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) 30

Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) connection and start-up 28

Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) set-up 29

installation 14–25

installation planning 7

installing the antenna and feedline 16

interference check 28

measuring and installing primary power 17

mounting the transceiver 15

network-wide diagnostics 53

performance optimization 26

performing network-wide diagnostics 53

programming radio for network-wide diagnostics 54

programming the radio 28–32

reading LED status indicators 26

site selection 8

troubleshooting 50–56

Programming radio 28–50

as root or node 54

PWR command (set/display RF forward output power) 42

Radio

bench test setup, illustrated 61

bench testing setup 61

checking RSSI with voltmeter 58

connecting PC to (for software upgrade) 62

inoperative (troubleshooting chart) 56

no synchronization with master (troubleshooting chart) 56

poor performance (troubleshooting chart) 56

Remote radio

default settings 41

deﬁned 66

Remote station

typical arrangement, illustrated 8

Repeater

I-4 MDS 9810 Installation and Operation Guide MDS 05-3301A01, Rev. C

data interface cable wiring for, illustrated 23, 24

installation 22

installing peer-to-peer with 20

system, illustrated 6

using single radio for 24

Root (radio diagnostics type) 39, 55

RSSI

checking with voltmeter 58

RSSI command (display received signal strength) 42

RTU (Remote Terminal Unit)

deﬁned 66

simulator (used in test setup) 61

RTU command (enable/disable internal RTU) 43

RX command (set/display test receive frequency) 43

RXTOT command (set/display received data timeout

value) 43

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition),

deﬁned 66

SEND command (set/display number of re-sends) 43

Set

alarm output sense (ASENSE command) 36

alarm output signal (AMASK command) 36

CTS hold timer (CTSHOLD command) 38

CTS line response timer (CTS command) 37

data interface baud rate (BAUD command) 36

DCE or CTS Key device behavior (DEVICE command) 38

frequency zone to skip (SKIP command) 46

hoptime (HOPTIME command) 40

master/remote operation (MODE command) 41

network address (ADDR command) 36

owner’s message (OWM command) 42

owner’s name (OWN command) 42

received data handling mode (BUFF command) 37

received data timeout value (RXTOT command) 43

simplex or half-duplex operation (SIMPLEX command) 45

test receive frequency (RX command) 43

testing mode (SETUP command) 44

Set/program commands 33

SETUP command (enter testing and setup mode) 44

SHOW command (display active port, dc volts, measured

power output) 45

Simplex

installing peer-to-peer system 19

peer-to-peer network, illustrated 4

SIMPLEX command (set/display simplex/half-duplex

operation) 45

Single-radio repeater 24

Site selection 8

SKIP command (set/display frequency zone to skip) 46

SKIPSYNC (set/display status of SYNC messages in skipped

zones) 46

Sleep mode 25

SNR command (display signal-to-noise ratio) 46

Software

cable connection for upgrade 62

radio conﬁguration 61

SREV command (display transceiver software version) 47

STAT command (list alarms) 47

SWR (Standing Wave Ratio)

deﬁned 66

performance optimization 27

Tables

accessories 7

alarm codes 52

antenna system gain vs. power output setting 14

DATA INTERFACE connector pin descriptions 59

frequency zones 46

Hand-Held Terminal (HHT) command summary 32

HHT operational settings 30

hop time parameters 40

LED status indicators 26

troubleshooting 56

Tail-end link

cable wiring for, illustrated 22

illustrated 6

installation 21

TDD (set/display time division multiplex status) 47

Technical reference 56–63

Technical speciﬁcations 56–58

TEMP command (display internal temperature) 48

Temperature, display internal (TEMP command) 48

Testing

bench setup 61

bench setup, illustrated 61

TEXT TOO LONG error message 31

Transceiver

conﬁguring 17

connected to HHT, illustrated 18

connecting to data equipment 16

default settings 41

HHT connected to, illustrated 29

illustrated 1

mounting instructions 15

performance optimization 26

sleep mode 25

Troubleshooting 50–56

performing network-wide diagnostics 53

table 56

UNKNOWN COMMAND error message 31

IN CASE OF DIFFICULTY...

MDS products are designed for long life and trouble-free operation. However, this equipment, as

with all electronic equipment, may have an occasional component failure. The following informa-

tion will assist you in the event that servicing becomes necessary.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Technical assistance for MDS products is available from our Technical Support Department during

business hours (8:00 A.M.–5:30 P.M. Eastern Time). When calling, please give the complete

model number of the radio, along with a description of the trouble/symptom(s) that you are expe-

riencing. In many cases, problems can be resolved over the telephone, without the need for

returning the unit to the factory. Please use one of the following means for product assistance:

Phone: 585 241-5510 E-Mail: TechSupport@microwavedata.com

FAX: 585 242-8369 Web: www.microwavedata.com

FACTORY SERVICE

Component level repair of radio equipment is not recommended in the field. Many components are

installed using surface mount technology, which requires specialized training and equipment for

proper servicing. For this reason, the equipment should be returned to the factory for any PC board

repairs. The factory is best equipped to diagnose, repair and align your radio to its proper operating

specifications.

If return of the equipment is necessary, you will be issued a Service Request Order (SRO) number.

The SRO number will help expedite the repair so that the equipment can be repaired and returned

to you as quickly as possible. Please be sure to include the SRO number on the outside of the ship-

ping box, and on any correspondence relating to the repair. No equipment will be accepted for

repair without an SRO number.

A statement should accompany the radio describing, in detail, the trouble symptom(s), and a

description of any associated equipment normally connected to the radio. It is also important to

include the name and telephone number of a person in your organization who can be contacted if

additional information is required.

The radio must be properly packed for return to the factory. The original shipping container and

packaging materials should be used whenever possible. All factory returns should be addressed to:

Microwave Data Systems

Product Services Department

(SRO No. XXXX)

175 Science Parkway

Rochester, NY 14620 USA

When repairs have been completed, the equipment will be returned to you by the same shipping

method used to send it to the factory. Please specify if you wish to make different shipping arrange-

ments. To inquire about an in-process repair, you may contact our Product Services Group at

585-241-5540 (FAX: 585-242-8400), or vie e-mail at ProductServices@microwavedata.com.

Microwave Data Systems Inc.

Rochester, NY 14620

General Business: +1 585 242-9600

FAX: +1 585 242-9620

Web: www.microwavedata.com

175 Science Parkway

A product of Microwave Data Systems Inc.

GE MDS DS-9810 Spread Spectrum Data Tranceiver User Manual

GE MDS LLC Spread Spectrum Data Tranceiver Users Manual

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