Campbell Scientific RF300-Series DRL VHF/UHF Radio Transceivers - Manual (Page 11)

2-1
SECTION 2. ASSEMBLING THE RADIOTELEMETRY NETWORK
This section provides a logical order for RF network assembly and deployment. Details of specific
components in the system are described in Section 3 “Radiotelemetry Network Components.” Section 3
is cross-referenced throughout this assembly section.
2.1 FINAL LAYOUT
The initial locations of the base, field, and
repeater stations have likely been determined
already. Locate RF stations on an area map,
preferably a topographic map. Draw a line
along every communication path. Each field
station must have a path connecting it back to
the base station. No path can be going through
a mountain or large obstacle; this would negate
the line-of-sight requirement. A station may
need to be moved or a repeater station may
need to be added if this requirement is not met.
At each station there is an RF modem. Each
modem requires a unique ID number (Station
ID). The number may range from 0 to 255. On
the map, label the base station as 254. Label
the remaining stations with different ID
numbers. Later, each modem will be set with
the corresponding ID number. The Station ID,
similar to a phone number, allows the base
station to call many different field stations.
2.2 INSTALL BASE STATION
2.2.1 BASE STATION HARDWARE
The major component of the base station is the
RF232A Base Station. Refer to Section 3.5 for
location drawings and a description of the
RF232A Base Station.
1. Remove the top of the RF232A by
unscrewing the four screws on the sides.
2. Remove the radio and its cable from its
mounting bracket. Mount the radio directly
onto the bottom of the RF232A. Secure the
BNC connector from the radio's cable to its
hole on the back of the RF232A. See
Figure 3-7 for assistance.
3. Connect the radio to 12 V, ground, and the
RF Modem (RF95A). The RF modem is
located behind the front panel above the
"POWER ON" light. See Figure 3-8 for
assistance.
CAUTION: Radio transmission without an
antenna connected can damage radio.
4. Mount the base station antenna in a
location that is higher than any surrounding
buildings or obstacles. Refer to Section 3.3
for more information on mounting the
antenna.
5. After the antenna is mounted, connect the
coax cable between the antenna and the
BNC connector mounted in Step 2.
6. Replace the cover of the RF232A.
7. Connect a large gauge (approximately 8
AWG) copper wire from the antenna to a
good earth ground. This is for lightning
protection. This is required for any
antenna, especially if the coax cable from
the antenna goes inside a building.
8. Connect a 25-pin RS232 cable from the
computer serial port to the RF232A.
9. After verifying that the RF232A power
switch is off, plug in the RF232A's wall
transformer.
2.2.2 PC208W DATALOGGER SUPPORT
SOFTWARE
Once the base station hardware is installed, the
PC208W software must be setup. If PC208W
is not installed on the computer, you will need to
install it. Refer to the PC208W Manual if you
have questions about the installation procedure
or PC208W.
There are eight main windows in PC208W:
•
SETUP - Used to define communication
paths, set data collection parameters, and
schedule automatic data collection.
•
CONNECT - Used for manual
communications with field site. Supports
real time data display, graphs, data retrieval
and program transfer.
•
STATUS - Shows status of schedules and
communication information.
•
PROGRAM - Editor to aid writing datalogger
programs.