NL900PRO User Manual Version B0 Radio Data Modem With Selectable RS232 RS485 RS422 7610 MIRAMAR ROAD San Diego, CA 92126 (800) 233-1728 www.rfneulink.com sales@rfneulink.
DOCUMENT INFORMATION Copyright © 2013 Raveon Technologies The information contained in this manual and the accompanying software programs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by Raveon Technologies Corporation. Raveon reserves the right to make periodic modifications of this product without obligation to notify any person or entity of such revision.
1 NL900PRO RF TRANSCEIVER 1 The NL900PRO transceiver is a Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) radio designed for license-free operation in the 900 MHz ISM band. The radio sustains a standard asynchronous serial data stream between two or more radios out of the box. Housed in a compact and rugged die-cast enclosure, the radio is equipped to replace miles of serial cable using a selectable RS232, RS485, or RS422 interface.
C H A P T E R 1 - NL900P R O R F T R A N S C E I V E R This document contains information about the hardware and software interface between an Raveon Technologies NL900PRO transceiver and an OEM Host. Information includes the theory of operation, specifications, interface definition, configuration information and mechanical drawings. The OEM is responsible for ensuring the final product meets all appropriate regulatory agency requirements listed herein before selling any product.
2 SPECIFICATIONS 2 TABLE1: NL900PRO SPECIFICATIONS INTE RFACE Serial Interface Connector DB-9 Female RF Connector RPSMA Jack Impedance 50 ohms unbalanced Serial Interface Data Rate Baud rates from 1200 bps to 115,200 bps Power Consumption (typical) 400 mA @ 12VDC Channels 52 (USA); 7 (Australia) Supported Network Topologies Point-to-Point, Point-to-Multipoint Security One byte System ID. 56-bit DES encryption key.
3 SERIAL INTERF ACE 3 The NL900PRO supports RS232, RS485, and RS422 protocols. Raveon Technologies wireless solutions are not subject to the cabling restrictions for distance, and either interface is available when ordering. F i g u r e 1: N L 9 0 0 P R O S t a t u s L E D s Status LEDs DIP Switch RPSMA Antenna Connector ON 1 2 Pwr Link Rx 3 4 5 6 Tx TABLE 2: STATUS LEDS LED COLOR DESCRIPTION Pwr Green On indicates that the unit is powered up.
CHA PTER 3 - SERIAL INTE RFACE RS232 RS232 is a single-ended data transmission protocol. The RS232 signals are represented by voltage levels with respect to a system common (power/logic ground). The “idle” state (MARK) has the signal level negative with respect to common, and the “active” state (SPACE) has the signal level positive with respect to common.
CHA PTER 3 - SERIAL INTE RFACE RS485 (2-WIRE) The RS-485 interface uses a Differential Data Transmission that can help nullify the effects of ground shifts and induced noise signals that can appear as common mode voltages on a network. The NL900PRO implements a RS-485 (2-wire Half Duplex) multi-drop interface. Typically, a RS-485 bus will consist of a master and several slaves. The nodes will have unique addresses and can send addressed packets to specific nodes.
CHA PTER 3 - SERIAL INTE RFACE RS485 (4-WIRE) AND RS422 Figure5: RS4 85 Full Duplexwith T e r m i n at i o n D I P S w i t ch S e t t i n g s ON 1 ON 2 3 4 5 6 With Termination 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Without Termination 1. Termination is a 120 ohm resistor.
CHA PTER 3 - SERIAL INTE RFACE Note: CTS is always enabled by default. RS-485 Interface does not support Hardware flow control. DESIGN TIP Can I implement a design using just Txd, Rxd and Gnd (Three-wire Interface)? Yes. However, it is strongly recommended that your hardware monitor the CTS pin of the radio. CTS is taken High by the radio when its interface buffer is getting full. Your hardware should stop sending at this point to avoid a buffer overrun (and subsequent loss of data).
4 THEORY OF OPER ATI ON 4 RF ARCHITECTURE The NL900PRO utilizes a Server-Client network where all Clients synchronize their hopping to the Server. The Server transmits a beacon during the first 1 ms of every hop (20 ms). The Client transceivers listen for this beacon and upon hearing it assert their In Range Low and synchronize their hopping with the Server.
10 CHAPTER 4 - THEORY OF OPERATION RECEIVE MODE When a transceiver is not in Transmit or Command mode, it will be in Receive Mode listening for data. While in Receive Mode, subsequent data of up to 80 bytes can be received every hop (20 ms). COMMAND MODE A radio will enter Command Mode when data is received over the serial interface from the OEM Host and contains the “AT+++” (Enter AT Command Mode) command. Once in Command Mode, all data received by the radio is interpreted as command data.
11 CHAPTER 4 - THEORY OF OPERATION NETWORK TOPOLOGIES Topology refers to the shape of a network, or the network's layout. How different nodes in a network are connected to each other and how they communicate, is determined by the network's topology. The NL900PRO supports a Point-to-Point and a Point-to-Multipoint network topology. POINT-TO-POINT A point-to-point network consists of a single Server and Client pair.
5 NL900PRO SETTINGS 5 SETTINGS 1) Client/Server: Designates NL900PRO type. In each network, there must be only one Server. All other NL900PRO units must be programmed as Clients. The number of Clients in the network is not limited; however, if performance diminishes, consider additional RF Networks. 2) Interface Baud Rate: This defines the baud rate used for communicating with the NL900PRO over the serial interface. The RF baud rate is fixed at 76.8 Kbps and is independent of the Interface Baud Rate.
CHA PTER 5 - NL 900PRO SE TTI NGS 12 10) MAC Address: A unique 6 Byte, IEEE 802.3 Ethernet address assigned by Raveon Technologies to each NL900PRO. RADIO FEATURES 1) Data Encryption: Enables the Data Encryption Key. All NL900s in the same network must have the same encryption setting. 2) RTS Enable: Enables the Request To Send control line. When enabled, enables Hardware Flow Control. 3) Parity: Needs to be enabled if host requires even or odd parity and 8 data bits. This is considered as 9-bit mode.
CHA PTER 5 - NL 900PRO SE TTI NGS Note: The Show Defaults button can be used to display the default Radio settings. DESIGN TIP The Raveon Technologies Configuration utility automatically programs the mode (point-to-point or point- to-multipoint) based on the radio’s current settings: If the Destination Address field is set to any value other than FF FF FF FF FF FF, the radio will send data only to the radio whose MAC matches that specified in the Destination Address field (point-to-point).
6 MECHANICAL 7 Figure 7: NL900PRO Mechanical 1.170 Ante SMA 0.536 0.060 0.000 Side View Label Recess, 3.5w x 2.0h 0.15 (4) p 2.750 2.375 2.0 D-Connector Status 0 dia. pin and g, pin is PWR. 0.375 0.
Limited One Year Warranty If within one years from date of purchase, this product fails due to a defect in material or workmanship, Raveon Technologies, Incorporated will repair or replace it, at Raveon’s sole discretion. This warranty is extended to the original consumer purchaser only and is not transferable.
