Campbell Scientific RF300-Series DRL VHF/UHF Radio Transceivers - Manual (Page 15)

SECTION 2. ASSEMBLING THE RADIOTELEMETRY NETWORK
2-5
2.3 INSTALL NEAREST REPEATER/
FIELD STATION
Now to install the nearest field station. If it
communicates with the base station via a
repeater, the repeater station must also be
installed.
Following is the order in which a general RF
field station should be installed. A repeater
station is installed in the same order. For
instructions on installing any particular
component, refer to either Section 3 of this
manual or the Weather Station Manual.
1. Tripod or tower
2. Enclosure and datalogger
3. Antenna - Orient correctly; remember
direction and polarization
4. Solar Panel
5. Power Supply
6. Sensors
7. RF Modem - Set the Station ID according to
the map
8. Radio - Make sure to connect to RF
Modem, to power supply, and turn on power
supply
2.4 TEST THE RADIOTELEMETRY LINK
With the field station installed, return to the
base station for initial testing of the
communication link. An RF link can also be
tested at the field site with a portable base
station; hardware requirements for the portable
base station are described in Appendix B.
Testing begins with turning the RF232A base
station on. A quick check of connections is in
order. Start PC208W software and open the
Connect Window. The “Station List” will show
all dataloggers or field stations available. Using
the mouse, highlight the datalogger of interest
then click on the Connect button. The software
requires about 15 seconds to establish a PC to
datalogger RF link. The computer is “talking”
with the datalogger when the first button to the
right of the Connect button changes from
Terminate to Disconnect.
If you do not click on the Disconnect or
Terminate button before closing the Connect
window, PC208W will automatically start calling
the datalogger when the Connect window is
reopened.
2.4.1 A SUCCESSFUL TEST
The test is considered successful if you
establish communications between the PC and
the datalogger.
2.4.2 AN UNSUCCESSFUL TEST
When an RF test is unsuccessful, there are
three ways to troubleshoot the system:
1. Verify everything is connected properly.
See Section 2.5.1 for more suggestions.
2. Use the error messages in the error file to
identify where the link is breaking down.
See Section 2.5.2 for more information.
3. Try communicating from the base station to
the field station, one step at a time. Identify
where communications failed. See Section
2.5.3 for more information.
2.5 TROUBLESHOOTING UNSUCCESS-
FUL COMMUNICATION ATTEMPTS
2.5.1 TROUBLESHOOTING PHYSICAL LINK
BETWEEN BASE AND FIELD STATION
When communication is not established,
troubleshooting begins with the simplest RF link
in the system, which is usually communication
with the nearest field station. There is NO
substitute for first checking the hardware
connections, Station IDs, and everything listed
in the previous section. Below are a few
additional items to check:
1. Antenna is used in proximity of metal.
2. Transmitting inside a building.
3. Damaged or shorted cables.
4. Bad or improper connections.
5. Antenna frequency does not match the
radio frequency.
6. Base and field station radios aren't using
same frequency.
7. Datalogger power drops below 9.6 Volts
during RF transmission. Use datalogger
Instruction 10 or volt meter to measure
battery voltage.
If the field station's RF95A Modem's Carrier
Detect light goes on, then at least a signal is
reaching the site. If this occurs, check the
following: