Campbell Scientific RF310, RF312, RF313 Narrowband Radios - Manual (Page 21)

Section 2. Assembling the Radiotelemetry Network
2-9
2.5.3 Troubleshooting with the Terminal Emulator
A general understanding of the communication sequences is necessary to
properly trouble-shoot an RF link. The base station RF modem (RF310M) is
called the Start Of Link modem, or SOL modem. The field station RF modem
is called the End Of Link modem, or EOL modem. When powered up, the SOL
modem immediately goes into a Wait Mode. The RF310M Modem has five
different modes of operation; these are described in Section 3 of this manual.
PC208W, Connect window has two tabs: Tools and Terminal Emulator. With
the Tools tab active, select the datalogger of interest in the “Station List”.
Select the “Terminal Emulator” tab. Once in the Terminal Emulator window,
select “Open Port”. Terminal Emulator allows you to send individual
commands to each device in the communication path. This will allow you to
test each piece of the communication path separately.
Try the following TASKs in order.
TASK A, Contact RF310B: Press [ENTER] a few times, to set the baud rate
between the Base Station's RF modem and the computer. This baud rate can be
set at 300, 1200, or 9600 baud. The RF310M will detect the computer’s baud
rate and match it.
RESPONSE IF SUCCESSFUL: "!" prompt given, SOL modem is now in the
Local Command Mode. This is where PC208W is communicating with the
RF310B base station.
If TASK A is unsuccessful, check:
1. Communication port (COM port) could be configured improperly,
computer setup.
2. The wrong COM port may be specified in the Station File, PC208W setup.
3. Communication cable may be connected to the wrong port. Use the correct
serial port, not the parallel port.
4. Computer mouse driver could be interfering with COM port.
5. The base station or radio may not be powered sufficiently.
6. The radio and RF modem may not be connected properly.
7. Communications cable between computer and RF310B must be standard
RS-232 cable.
TASK B: Task A must be successful before Task B can be tested. To test the
RF link; enter the 'RF Path' at the “!” prompt. For example, "S5 8F"
communicates to a field station with a Station ID of 8 through a repeater with
an ID of 5. After typing the 'RF Path', press [ENTER].
RESPONSE IF SUCCESSFUL: "$" prompt given. The dollar sign prompt is
returned by the EOL modem. The “$” indicates you are now communicating
with the modem at the field site.